When Did This Happen

Magnetic Storm Weapon capable of destroying large numbers of communication devices in a short period of time.

If this weapon were actually deployed, the entire Outer State's combat capabilities would be reduced by a level. Shen Jingye considered having someone take a statement, but then changed his mind.

Once someone comes to take a statement, Geng Shunxi will likely refuse to tell the truth again.

Moreover, there might be a mole within the bureau; once a statement is taken, the truth will leak out. Shen Jingye asked Geng Shunxi, "Where is the base for the Magnetic Storm Weapon located?"

"I have coordinates on the seabed southeast of Jiahe Island, and I also have the license plates of several ships that frequently visit the base. I'll give them all to you, as long as you can protect my safety." Geng Shunxi gave the coordinates and license plate numbers. Shen Jingye took out his notebook and had just written them down when the lights in the interrogation room suddenly went out.

A power outage? That can't be!

The Dark Star Bureau has three power supply systems: two from the power grid and one from its own generator. Even if the power grid experiences a major malfunction, the Dark Star Bureau will not experience a power outage. Just as the electrician was about to go to the power distribution room to check, Shen Jingye had someone stop him.

Someone has infiltrated the Dark Star Bureau.

Shen Jingye returned to the interrogation room and said to Geng Shunxi, "I'll ask you one more time, is Du Wenming one of your men?" This question had been asked many times, but Geng Shunxi dared not speak, and did not even dare to make a special expression.

This confirms that Du Wenming is a member of Hundred Demons Workshop, and like the Hundred Demons Workshop Master and several other high-ranking members, his name is protected by Curse Art.

Du Wenming had participated in the renovation project of the Dark Star Bureau building several times, and his understanding of the Dark Star Bureau was no less than that of Shen Jingye. If he had infiltrated the Dark Star Bureau building and went to check the electrical equipment at this time, it would have been tantamount to sending the electrician to his death.

Shen Jingye took out his phone and found that it had no signal at all.

He ordered the communications department to contact their superiors immediately. The head of communications replied that all communication equipment had failed. Had the Magnetic Storm Weapon already been developed?

Shen Jingye ordered all personnel of the Dark Star Bureau to assemble and prepare for battle.

They needed to act quickly. Shen Jingye didn't know how many men Du Wenming had brought, nor could he determine Du Wenming's current combat strength. He only knew that Du Wenming could appear at any moment. Prepare for battle...

Can it fight?

The farm had much higher level of security measures than the Dark Star Bureau, but they still couldn't stop Du Wenming.

Over 90% of the Dark Star Bureau's personnel, facilities, and equipment have been dispatched on missions, leaving mostly archivists, lab technicians, and non-combat personnel in the Dark Star Bureau. Du Wenming had participated in the modification and design of over 90% of the building's defensive facilities.

Unable to fight.

No one here can stop Du Wenming. We can't lead them to their deaths; we have to get them out of the Dark Star Bureau.

Shen Jingye wanted to issue the evacuation order, but he quickly realized that the chances of everyone successfully evacuating were extremely slim.

There must be an ambush around the Dark Star Bureau. If everyone evacuates, the commotion will be too great, and Du Wenming will definitely be prepared to intercept them. Non-combat personnel won't even be able to leave the gate, and they might be sent to their deaths.

Assign a special person to deliver the message, and find the person with the highest combat strength.

Within the Dark Star Bureau, all their capable personnel, including Chen Changrui, are out on missions, and with communications cut off, Shen Jingye can't contact them. It seems only one capable person remains...

Everyone was waiting for Shen Jingye's order. Shen Jingye looked at the boundary switch on the table; it was their last hope.

Shen Jingye gathered all the personnel in the interrogation room, preparing to activate the boundary line.

Shen Jingye scanned everyone present, including some of the remaining detectives, lab technicians, archivists, plumbers, cleaners, and the gatekeeper... Should he leave all these people in the interrogation room?

No, Du Wenming's target is the interrogation room. And the storage room in the Carrier Section —that's also marked off.

They left their own people in the Carrier Section's warehouse, and kept the people from Hundred Demons Workshop in the interrogation room.

This is one solution, but the key is that there might be a mole among our own people. If the mole and Du Wenming are working together, how should we deal with it?

After observing for a moment, Shen Jingye called away three people: his secretary Liu Ning, the head of the investigation section Song Qingping, and the head of the communications section Gu Hao. Of all the people left in the bureau, these three were the ones Shen Jingye trusted the most.

He brought the three men to his office one after the other, assigned each of them a task, and then gave the boundary switch to his secretary, Liu Ning. The boundary between the interrogation room and the storage room of the Carrier Section was activated.

Shen Jingye told the warehouse staff that he was going to the interrogation room, and told the interrogation room staff that he was going to the warehouse. But he went neither to the warehouse nor to the interrogation room.

He went down the stairs to the underground parking lot alone.

As things stand, Shen Jingye is currently the most powerful person in the Dark Star Bureau.

According to his speculation, Du Wenming would go straight to the interrogation room and kill all the core members of Hundred Demons Workshop.

If he doesn't have a way to cross the boundary, the core members of Hundred Demons Workshop can still be protected. If he does have a way to break through the boundary, then he can only send out the message while doing everything he can to protect his own people.

The Carrier Section's warehouse is heavily guarded and equipped with a lot of equipment; Du Wenming probably won't force his way in.

Shen Jingye needed to seize this opportunity to immediately leave the Dark Star Bureau building, bring in reinforcements from outside, and then report the news to his superiors. This was not a decision made lightly; it involved Shen Jingye's understanding of Du Wenming and Calculation Cultivator's assessment of probability.

Should we go out through the main gate?

Shen Jingye did a simple calculation and concluded that there must be an ambush near the gate.

He went to the parking lot, hoping that if he drove out of the building, he would have a chance to send the message out.

As soon as Shen Jingye opened the car door, he heard a voice that sent chills down his spine. "Director Shen, where are we going?" Du Wenming was in the parking lot!

Is this a low-probability event?

No, it's not a low-probability event! It's an inside job.

Shen Jingye's head was buzzing. Only those three people knew he was leaving the Dark Star Bureau. Could there be a traitor among them? The Dark Star Bureau's communication equipment malfunctioned. Could it not be caused by the Magnetic Storm Weapon, but...?

Du Wenming walked up to Shen Jingye with a smile and said, "You always like to maintain a frugal and simple image in front of your superiors, but you still need to receive the treatment you deserve. You don't even bring a driver when you go out?"

Shen Jingye smiled and said, "It's too late, the drivers are all resting, I don't want to disturb them."

Du Wenming sighed, "It is indeed a bit late. Aren't you afraid of disturbing your superiors by reporting on work so late?"

"It's not a work report, it's just to go home and rest. You know my wife, if I come home even a little late, she goes crazy."

"Yes, your sister-in-law's mental health issues have certainly caused you a lot of suffering. I've found a hospital abroad specifically for her treatment, and I've also arranged for your child to study abroad."

As for you, you've worked hard for most of your life. I'll give you some money so you can retire comfortably abroad. If you agree, come upstairs now, close the boundary, and I'll kill those people from Hundred Demons Workshop and then take you away."

Shen Jingye was taken aback. "Director Du, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly talking about retirement again?"

I'm a career-minded person. Although I'm not young anymore, I still want to climb the ranks. You say it's too early to retire now?

Du Wenming nodded and said, "If you don't want to retire, that's fine too. I heard you disappeared for a while before the new year, so you can disappear for a while longer. After some time, I'll let you come back and you can continue to be an official. How high you can go depends on your fate."

Shen Jingye shook his head and said, "That won't do. You know I made a mistake before. If I don't learn from that, the higher-ups won't trust me anymore." Du Wenming frowned slightly. "After all this time, you still don't understand what I mean?"

Shen Jingye looked at Du Wenming and said, "Who among us didn't understand what the other meant?" Du Wenming stretched his ankles and said, "You want to be a hero?"

Shen Jingye rubbed the car door. "I wouldn't call myself a hero, I just want to do my duty."

Du Wenming laughed, "What are you talking to me about duty? What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think you're writing a report? Others may not know, but I know you. You've reached this position, and you don't know who you are? You still think you're a good person?"

Shen Jingye thought carefully for a moment, "Not quite a good person, but half a good person, more than half." Du Wenming twisted his ankle, and Shen Jingye's ankle twisted accordingly, dislocating his ankle joint.

Ignoring his ankle, Shen Jingye pulled a tissue from the car and threw it on the ground.

The location where it was thrown was calculated. Du Wenming, who was dancing, stepped on the tissue the next time, causing his Dance Steps to become disordered. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen Jingye broke free of control, dragged his twisted left foot into the car, and prepared to start the engine.

The car sped towards the parking lot entrance, but Shen Jingye's right foot, which was on the accelerator, suddenly slammed on the brake instead. The car came to a stop, and Shen Jingye glanced in the rearview mirror. Du Wenming had slid up to catch up.

Li Banfeng rushed towards the Dark Star Bureau. Half a block away, his gloves suddenly started trembling in his pocket. "What happened?"

"Our Daoist sect, our patriarch..." The glove struggled to speak. Smiling Thousand Hands?

Is he nearby?

Shen Jingye's calculations were correct; there was an ambush at the building entrance, and Smiling Thousand Hands was guarding outside.

Li Banfeng activated his Golden Eyes Autumn Down, Discern Spiritual Sounds, Hundred Flavors Exquisite, carefully determining the location of Smiling Thousand Hands. "Master, there's movement..." The Thread-Pulling Earring's words were cut off abruptly.

Li Banfeng looked up and saw Smiling Thousand Hands squatting on the lamppost, holding the Thread-Pulling Earring in his hand, and said with a smile, "This is a treasure from the voyeur, it's quite nice, and you're just giving it to me like this? Aren't you heartbroken?"

Gloves was terrified; he was afraid that Li Banfeng would rush up and fight Smiling Thousand Hands to the death.

Li Banfeng had always treated the magical artifacts like family, but if he acted rashly now, Smiling Thousand Hands would only steal more and more, making the battle increasingly unfavorable. Returning to his Portable Abode now was also not an option, as Smiling Thousand Hands would definitely pick up the key.

Li Banfeng seemed to have no chance of winning; the gap between the two in cultivation and experience was too great. The earring trembled incessantly on Smiling Thousand Hands's fingertips, as if pleading for help from Li Banfeng.

Smiling Thousand Hands's fingertips trembled, and she tucked the earring into her sleeve.

One of the important uses of the "Sleeve Universe" technique is to sever the connection between the magical artifact and its master. Otherwise, the artifact that has just been stolen may still help its master in battle.

However, this technique is highly dependent on skill level. Low-level thieves using the Sleeve Universe technique will find it difficult to completely sever the connection between the magic weapon and the cultivator. In addition, it also depends on the level of the opponent, the level of the magic weapon, and the relationship between the two.

If the magical artifact and its owner are of a high level, or if they have a deep bond, even a high-level thief might fail.

Smiling Thousand Hands was confident he wouldn't fail, because he was the one who created this technique. In his eyes, the Thread-Pulling Earring weren't a high-level magic weapon, and Li Banfeng wasn't a high-level cultivator either. As for sentiment, Smiling Thousand Hands thought it was a joke. He didn't believe in sentiment, but he could use sentiment as a bargaining chip.

"Brother, I see you really like these earrings. Let's do a deal. You return my disciple to me, and I'll return the earrings to you. You won't lose out in this transaction! If you don't agree, you won't get the earrings back, I'll still take my disciple with me, and you might not even save your life."

Li Banfeng remained silent, his fingertips moving slightly towards his right pocket.

Smiling Thousand Hands glanced at it: "You have more good stuff? You're quite generous. Bring on whatever good stuff you have. I'm happy to take as much as you have." "Master, I'll go!" Gloves said, "It's already my blessing to have this connection with you. I'm content."

Smiling Thousand Hands had very sharp ears; he heard the glove's voice. "Did you hear that? My disciple is a sensible person. He wanted to come back to me. What's the point of you blocking the way? Don't you think you're being superfluous?"

Li Banfeng's fingertips trembled slightly as he reached for his right pocket again, then a smile appeared on his face:

"Old Thief, the one who spoke just now wasn't your disciple, that was my brother. And the earring you took wasn't a magic weapon, that was my sister. I have urgent business to attend to today and don't want to waste my time with you. Give me back my sister, and get the hell out of here."

Smiling Thousand Hands laughed and said, "Kid, who are you talking to?" Li Banfeng stretched out his foot and kicked the lamppost, breaking it in half.

"Look at you, so young and already so hot-tempered!" The lamppost fell to the ground, Smiling Thousand Hands's figure vanished without a trace. This was a thieving cultivation technique, appearing and disappearing without a trace. "Old Thief, where did you run off to?" Li Banfeng's tone seemed somewhat anxious.

Smiling Thousand Hands replied, "Don't ask me, you look for it. Let's make a bet. If you find it, I'll give the earring back to you. If you don't find it, I'll take something else from you."

"Master, watch out!" The gloves were terrified; this was the most dangerous moment.

Coming and going without a trace, and Treading Snow Without a Trace, Li Banfeng was completely unaware of Smiling Thousand Hands.

Once Smiling Thousand Hands gets close, he can take any of Li Banfeng's magical treasures, Spiritual Object, and weapons, including all of Li Banfeng's techniques.

Smiling Thousand Hands remained hidden in the shadows, not in a hurry to make a move or kill Li Banfeng. In his view, killing was never something a thieving cultivator should do. He only wanted to keep Li Banfeng here and retrieve his disciple while he was at it.

He really likes seeing Li Banfeng like this now.

Li Banfeng looked around anxiously, realizing he had lost something and didn't know where to look for it. Every time he stole something, Smiling Thousand Hands loved to see the victim's pitiful state.

Then look at Li Banfeng, who touched his pocket, then put his hand away, clutching the treasure tightly for fear of losing it. He kept telling others where the treasure was. Let this fool suffer a bit more, so he can learn a lot.

Then Li Banfeng turned around and smiled at Smiling Thousand Hands. Smiling Thousand Hands shuddered; Li Banfeng had actually seen him. How did he see him...?

Li Banfeng's figure suddenly vanished. Oh no! Ride a Horse and Admire Flowers!

Smiling Thousand Hands quickly searched for Li Banfeng 'Li Banfeng whereabouts and soon found him in the bushes beside the road. (Scale!)

Although he saw Li Banfeng, Smiling Thousand Hands's chest trembled; he was still injured, Ride a Horse and Admire Flowers effect had taken hold prematurely. How did he see me?

Li Banfeng rushed towards Smiling Thousand Hands, intending to trap him and kill him by Close Doors and Windows.

Xiao Ganshou didn't know that Li Banfeng was House Cultivator, but he didn't want Li Banfeng to get close to him. He immediately changed his location. He jumped from the awning in front of the bank to the lightbox behind the hotel, and flew in mid-air until his figure disappeared again.

Li Banfeng looked around.

Smiling Thousand Hands prepared to launch a sneak attack, Li Banfeng glanced behind the lightbox, only to find that he had vanished again.

Bang!

A wound exploded on Smiling Thousand Hands's chest.

Li Banfeng gave chase again, attempting to use the Close Doors and Windows tactic, but Smiling Thousand Hands escaped once more.

Although he managed to evade Li Banfeng's pursuit, Smiling Thousand Hands couldn't understand why Li Banfeng could always see him.

In the parking lot, Shen Jingye, with several broken bones, half-crawled and half-walked against the wall, looking at Du Wenming and saying, "Your skills have improved quite a bit."

"What are you pretending for?" Du Wenming laughed. "I've never fought you before, how could you possibly know how capable I am? You've probably only heard Li Qi mention me once or twice."

However, your methods have truly impressed me. I know you're not White Lamb, but I never expected you to have such profound knowledge in mathematics.

Old Shen, it's a real shame you died. Take my advice, come upstairs now, close the boundary, and come with me!

Shen Jingye shook his head and said, "I dare not go with you. I don't trust your character."

Du Wenming frowned and said, "Didn't I already tell you? Stop pretending with me. How good can your character be?"

Shen Jingye stood up, looked at Du Wenming, and smiled, "I'm still a bit better than you."

After suffering two losses, Smiling Thousand Hands finally discovered the problem.

His own sleeves were smoking.

There wasn't much smoke, just a small puff occasionally, but even that little bit was enough to reveal Smiling Thousand Hands's location.

Where did this cigarette come from?

Without a doubt, the smoke and Li Banfeng's movements were perfectly coordinated; it must have been sent by the earring.

But the earring was hidden in his sleeve, and Smiling Thousand Hands simply couldn't believe that this not-so-high-level magic weapon could break through his "Sleeve Universe" technique.

There must be something more to this than meets the eye.

Smiling Thousand Hands was right; there was indeed a hidden secret here.

But what he couldn't have guessed was that what could break through the Sleeve Universe was not the Thread-Pulling Earring, but Li Banfeng's Counting Family Treasures technique.

House Cultivator are able to deter thieves; House Cultivator who guard their homes are not afraid of thieves stealing their things.

Counting Family Treasures is the Pillar Skill the House Cultivator skills, and it is also the best technique used by Li Banfeng. The Thread-Pulling Earring are Li Banfeng's family members. Even when they are in Smiling Thousand Hands's sleeve, they can still sense each other with Li Banfeng and fight together.

Smiling Thousand Hands was very surprised, but not angry. He planned to destroy the earring immediately.

But Smiling Thousand Hands had no idea what level of earrings they were. If he failed to destroy them and gave Li Qi an opportunity to do so, then he would lose more than he gained.

The founder of a school has countless ways to deal with enemies.

Smiling Thousand Hands used the Shadowless Technique to hide himself again, seemingly unaware that smoke was rising from his sleeves.

A short while later, a puff of smoke shot out from his sleeve. Li Banfeng glanced back at Smiling Thousand Hands, then strode away. The trash cans on the street exploded, sending packaging boxes, water bottles, and scraps of paper flying everywhere.

Bang!

Smiling Thousand Hands also saw the smoke in his sleeve. This time he was prepared and used Stealing the beams and replacing the pillars to swap himself with the trash can.

Li Banfeng sensed danger approaching, Smiling Thousand Hands seized the opportunity to arrive at his side.

The man in the gloves cried out in alarm, "Everyone, be careful!"

No one knew what Smiling Thousand Hands was trying to steal; even the gloves couldn't reveal Smiling Thousand Hands intentions. Smiling Thousand Hands reached his left hand towards Li Banfeng's chest; he wanted to steal the technique.

This time, Li Banfeng missed his chance and reacted quickly enough to Carefree and Unrestrained.

With his second move, Smiling Thousand Hands stretched out his right hand toward Li Banfeng's neck. This time, it seemed he wasn't trying to steal anything, but rather to take Li's life.

Unable to use the Dao Yao Zi Zai technique consecutively in such a short time, Li Banfeng, in desperation, reached into his right pocket again. Smiling Thousand Hands burst into laughter, his right hand suddenly turning and heading towards Li Banfeng's pocket as well. "What good stuff is it? Give it to me!"

His smile made Li Banfeng smile too. He had been affected by the Smiling Cultivator Technique, Universal Celebration. His hand movements were noticeably slower.

In a fight between Travel Cultivator and thieves, speed is the Achilles' heel for both sides. Li Banfeng grasped the item but couldn't pull it out, and Smiling Thousand Hands stole it. Knowing his thieving nature, Smiling Thousand Hands knew the item was valuable.

It was a broken test tube, and the liquid inside had spilled out, leaving a sticky residue. Smiling Thousand Hands paused for a moment, then asked, "What is this?"

Li Banfeng looked at the sticky liquid on his hands and replied sincerely, "Good stuff." The test tube was crushed by Li Banfeng, and both of them got the liquid inside on them.

This is the medicine that Cui Tike prescribed for Du Wenming. It is indeed a good thing, especially for Du Wenming, it is a lifeline. But for others, it is a fatal lesion.

Rashes began to appear on their hands one after another. Smiling Thousand Hands, while Li Banfeng remained calm. "Come on, let's keep fighting!" Li Banfeng patted his gloves, telling him to watch over their belongings.

Are the gloves secure enough?

He wasn't sure about the gloves himself, but Li Banfeng trusted him.

Li Banfeng fought Smiling Thousand Hands empty-handed, but Smiling Thousand Hands was in no mood to fight Li Banfeng; his mind was filled with worries. In the Outer State, he had offended Zhou Badou and Li Qi; in Pro State, he had offended the Peddler, Sun Tiecheng, and He Jiaqing.

It's not a problem to offend people; who in the underworld doesn't have a few enemies?

However, their fighting strength has not recovered, and if they are also afflicted by the epidemic, things will become troublesome.

Smiling Thousand Hands flashed a few times, then used the ring on his left hand to swing it towards his right hand, severing his own right hand along his elbow.

If there is even the slightest hesitation, the lesions could spread throughout the body. At this critical moment, Smiling Thousand Hands was able to be so ruthless to himself. Only at this time can we see the insight and decisiveness of a sect's founder!

Li Banfeng punctured a pimple and flicked the pus onto Smiling Thousand Hands's left hand.

Smiling Thousand Hands gritted his teeth, and from below his right ribs, another hand reached out, took the ring, and chopped off his left hand as well. This hand below his right ribs was Smiling Thousand Hands' own hand.

Smiling Thousand Hands went through countless hardships to find his three hands, only to lose them all in one night.

If it were anyone else, they would have collapsed long ago. But the quality of a sect's founder is different. Smiling Thousand Hands can withstand it. He is the kind of person who can snatch a life back from the Peddler! In the midst of the battle, the blisters on Li Banfeng's body burst one after another, splashing Smiling Thousand Hands's face.

"You..." Smiling Thousand Hands didn't know how to evaluate Li Banfeng.

Seeing that Li Banfeng was covered in rashes, the disease had spread quite far. If this continued, the two of them would die together.

Smiling Thousand Hands had no desire to die with Li Qi. While fighting wasn't Smiling Thousand Hands forte, his escape skills were unmatched. After a few rounds, Smiling Thousand Hands's figure flickered and disappeared once again.

Li Banfeng glanced at the Dark Star Bureau building and abandoned the idea of giving chase. He couldn't fall for it; this guy was just stalling for time.

Li Banfeng picked up Smiling Thousand Hands's two hands from the ground and put them into his Portable Abode, then took out the Thread-Pulling Earring from his sleeve. "Master, I was terrified." The Thread-Pulling Earring snuggled into Li Banfeng's arms.

Looking at Li Banfeng's body covered in rashes, the record player asked, "My dear husband, how did you catch such a disease?"

Li Banfeng used his "Carefree Sleep" technique to quickly expel the ailment. "My dear Wife, I just exchanged a couple of blows with Smiling Thousand Hands. If I had been able to use 'Close Doors and Windows' or 'Expand Territory,' I definitely wouldn't have let that old man escape!"

The record player enveloped Li Banfeng in a puff of steam and said, "My dear husband, Smiling Thousand Hands's moves are too fast. It's not easy to use your skills in front of him. Husband, take a careful look and see if anything is missing."

Li Banfeng checked and found that nothing was missing, but there was an extra item.

The man in the gloves produced a ring. "Master, this is a piece from our Daoist sect. The craftsmanship is exquisite; it's a rare find." Li Banfeng glanced at it. "You got this from Smiling Thousand Hands?"

The glove pointed to its index finger. "I took it off his hand under his ribs!"

"Well done, a generous reward!" Li Banfeng put the ring on the index finger of the glove and agreed that after Smiling Thousand Hands's two hands were refined, one would be given to the glove and the other to the earring.

Having recovered from the plague, Li Banfeng left his Portable Abode and immediately went to the Dark Star Bureau.

The building lost power, plunging all floors into darkness. Li Banfeng walked around the building and approached the Carrier Section. Thread-Pulling Earring say, "Sir, there's some noise." Li Banfeng followed the sound to the Carrier Section's warehouse, pushed open the door, and saw a number of people inside.

"What are you all doing here?"

Just as Li Banfeng was about to walk in, his secretary Liu Ning shouted, "Director Li, you can't come in! There's a boundary here!" Boundary?

Why are there boundaries inside the Dark Star Bureau building?

The boundary line connects to the ground below and the sky above. If the Dark Star Bureau crosses the boundary line, won't it burn down the building? This must be some kind of special technology that Li Banfeng doesn't yet possess.

Liu Ning took out the boundary switch, turned off the boundary, walked up to Li Banfeng and said, "Director Shen has ordered that after seeing you, he will hand over command of the Dark Star Bureau to you. This is the key to Director Shen's office."

Li Banfeng took the keys and asked, "Where did Director Shen go?"

Liu Ning replied, "Director Shen is going to report important work to his superiors." This was the task Shen Jingye had assigned to Liu Ning before he left.

Li Banfeng called Shen Jingye's cell phone, but no one answered. "Are all the people in the bureau here?"

Song Qingping, the head of the investigation section, said, "Everyone who stayed at the bureau is here. The people from Hundred Demons Workshop are being held in the interrogation room. The boundary around the interrogation room has been opened. Director Shen has ordered that this switch be handed over to you. Until he returns, only you have the authority to close the boundary of the interrogation room."

Li Banfeng went to the interrogation room, and Liu Ning and Song Qingping both looked at Gu Hao, the head of the communications department. Gu Hao remained expressionless.

Before leaving, Director Shen also gave Gu Hao a task. Judging from Gu Hao's reaction, it seemed that this task could not be told to Director Li.

But what exactly is the job? We still can't tell Director Li.

Upon reaching the interrogation room door, Li Banfeng closed the boundary.

Upon entering the interrogation room, Li Banfeng saw that the floor was littered with corpses. All the detainees of Hundred Demons Workshop had died here; not a single one remained.

Li Banfeng examined several corpses and found that their necks were limp; their cervical vertebrae had been broken. So close, so very close.

If Li Banfeng had arrived any later, the remaining Dark Star Bureau members might have faced total annihilation. Dark Star Bureau communications had not yet been restored, Li Banfeng went to Shen Jingye's office. The lock had been pried open, and the room was a mess.

Shen Jingye must have left something in the office, but it seems that thing has been destroyed. Li Banfeng asked Liu Ning, "Do you know who broke into the Dark Star Bureau?"

Liu Ning glanced at Gu Hao, the head of the communications section, Gu Hao face remained expressionless. Had Director Shen not assigned this task to him?

Song Qingping, the head of the investigation section, brought some documents from his office and handed them to Li Banfeng: "This is a report from the farm. Several members of Hundred Demons Workshop died from broken cervical vertebrae. According to Director Shen's judgment, they should have died at the hands of Du Wenming."

Du Wenming. It's him.

He was the one helping Hundred Demons Workshop silence witnesses.

So many things happened in Yuezhou tonight, all to buy time for this cover-up operation.

Shen Jingye likely extracted crucial clues from members of the Hundred Demons Workshop. He reported these clues to his superiors and left information for Li Banfeng. It's highly probable that Du Wenming has taken the information, and the Dark Star Bureau has lost contact with the outside world.

Li Banfeng immediately gathered manpower to restore communication and power supply.

The electrician hesitated to work. "Director Li, Director Shen said it's not safe in the bureau right now." Li Banfeng replied, "Don't worry, I'll go with you."

Communications Section Chief Gu Hao said, "Director Li, don't worry, leave the communications matters to me!"

An hour later, power and communications were restored. Li Banfeng contacted the various groups. Most of the suspects had fled the scene. Six suspects were shot dead on the spot, and one suspect was accidentally killed by the victim at a barbecue restaurant opposite Lu Family Bookstore. There were still three crime scenes where fierce fighting was underway.

We need to find a way to capture one alive!

Li Banfeng went to three crime scenes where fierce battles were taking place. At 6:00 a. m., one suspect was shot dead and two suspects were captured alive by Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng handed the suspects over to Chen Changrui: "Take them back for interrogation. We must find out who the mastermind is. They may be under Curse Art. Be careful during the interrogation. Contact Director Shen as soon as possible. I'll wait for his news."

After explaining everything, Li Banfeng went to Lu Family Bookstore.

He was tracking Du Wenming. So much had happened yesterday, including a case across from the bookstore. Boss Lu should have some leads. The bookstore wasn't open; Boss Lu was practicing calligraphy, his practice sheets piled high with writing.

Li Banfeng's prediction was correct; Boss Lu did indeed have a lead. "I almost took Du Wenming in last night, but I didn't expect that Old Pliers Smiling Thousand Hands to sneak into the bookstore." Li Banfeng was somewhat surprised. "Sneaking into your bookstore, that can't be that easy, can it?"

Thinking about this, Boss Lu gave a bitter laugh, "This whole thing is strange, and the fight was shabby, fought with hesitation and timidity. I was worried he'd cause trouble in Outer State and ruin my business, and I was also worried he'd go to Pro State and ruin my other businesses."

Afterwards, I thought, what if I really let him go to Pro State? If he were in Pro State, once he entered my study, he wouldn't leave alive. But this study has too few things; there aren't even a few decent calligraphy or paintings. I wanted to write more calligraphy and also buy some household items, but I didn't expect to buy the wrong things, leading to a chaotic battle.

At this point, Boss Lu took out a Magic Box: "This was sold to me by Hundred Demons Workshop. I left some writing on it, hoping to find clues about Du Wenming, but so far, the writing hasn't given any indication. It seems the clues have been lost. If you have any of their stuff, destroy it quickly, it's all a menace!" Boss Lu gently poked the box with his pen, and the box immediately turned into powder.

He took out several books from Hundred Demons Workshop from the counter, and with a stroke of his pen, turned them all into ashes.

After cleaning up, Boss Lu gave Li Banfeng a word of advice. "Smiling Thousand Hands is the founder of a martial arts school. Even though his circumstances are not what they used to be, his status and methods are still far from ordinary."

His willingness to work for Hundred Demons Workshop is something I truly cannot understand. There must be a great secret behind it. Last night's situation was just like when the war broke out in Inner State. You must be very careful.

After leaving the bookstore, Li Banfeng immediately called Tang Changfa: "Destroy everything I bought from Hundred Demons Workshop." He hung up, and then Light Bulb call came in, "Seventh Master, the Chuunibyou surgery is finished."

"How's it going?" "It's alright..." "How exactly is it going?"

"I'm not sure if he's still alive. Why don't you come and take a look?"

Li Banfeng went to the hospital. Chuunibyou was still in the intensive care unit. Mi Jian's eyes were red from crying. Light Bulb greeted him, and Li Banfeng changed into a sterile gown and went into the ICU with Light Bulb.

"Brother, Director Li is here," the Light Bulb whispered in Chuunibyou's ear. Guided by the doctor, Chuunibyou twitched his right index finger.

Li Banfeng breathed a sigh of relief and asked the doctor, "When will he recover?"

The doctor replied, "This is likely his best condition for the foreseeable future." Li Banfeng paused for a moment, then asked, "How long is the foreseeable future?"

The doctor shook his head. "Not sure."

"What do you mean by the best-case scenario?" "That he can respond to external stimuli."

Making a reaction means simply moving your index finger.

Li Banfeng looked at the doctor and asked, "That's it?"

The doctor sounded a little nervous, "We've done our best." "That's it?"

"His injuries are very serious." "That's it?"

"We'll have to see how well he recovers..." The doctor hesitated to speak, but the Light Bulb stopped Li Banfeng and they left the intensive care unit together.

How is that possible?

Before he was in his Chuunibyou, he could at least speak. How could he have become like this? This isn't the doctor's fault; that's just their skill level.

Li Banfeng said, "I'll try to contact Kang Zhenchang later. You guys wait here for me."

Just after leaving the hospital, Li Banfeng received another call from his secretary, Liu Ning: "Director Li, we contacted our superiors, but they haven't been able to meet with Director Shen!"

What does "not seen" mean?

"Director Shen said he went to report on his work, but his superiors didn't..."

Li Banfeng hung up the phone, returned to the Dark Star Bureau, and summoned his secretary Liu Ning: "Contact all the higher-ups, regardless of whether you know them or not, call them one by one, and tell them I ordered you to do so!"

Liu Ning nodded, walked to the door, then turned back. "Director Li, before Director Shen left, he assigned a task to me, Section Chief Gu, and Section Chief Song respectively. We didn't know the details of each other's tasks. After you arrived, Section Chief Song and I reported our tasks, but Section Chief Gu didn't report anything to you. I'm a little worried..."

"Section Chief Gu? Section Chief Gu from the Communications Section? Summon him to see me immediately!"

Liu Ning returned shortly after leaving. "Section Chief Gu is not in his office, and I can't get through to him on the phone."

"Arrest him immediately!" Li Banfeng's veins throbbed. He dialed Shen Jingye's number, but there was still no answer. An hour later, Tangyuan entered the office and said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, we've found Director Shen." "Where is he?"

"We've found Director Shen's body..." "When did this happen?"

"Just now, when we were checking the vehicles in the parking lot..." "When did this happen?"

"Just now, in the trunk of a government vehicle..." "When did this happen?"

Tangyuan fell silent. "When did this happen?"

Li Banfeng's eyes were bloodshot, and he covered his mouth with both hands.