Fright

Yacheng's nightlife had always been noisy and lively, with street-stall supper, barbecues, KTV, and all sorts of other activities going nonstop. There was no shortage of choices, either. Yet compared with other people's colorful, dazzling nights, some people's were cold and frenzied.

It was not until nearly dawn that the rumbling from the underground Training Ground inside the Security Bureau finally came to an abrupt stop.

Then, expressionless, Yu Hanguang pushed open the door and left. He did not even put on his usual false greeting for the administrators who had come to clean up after him.

Only long after Yu Hanguang had gone did the chill in the air seem to slowly dissipate.

"Whoa, did he eat gunpowder?"

The administrator, carrying a mop and broom, stared blankly in the direction Yu Hanguang had left, completely baffled. But when he pushed open the Training Ground, he froze on the spot.

The entire floor was a mess.

Inside the enormous Training Ground, the ground, walls, and domed ceiling covered in alloy steel were scorched all over. Some places were still glowing red, and the several targets had long since melted into pools of Molten Iron, leaving not even a trace of their remains!

It was simply as though a Natural Disaster had swept through!

The entire Training Ground had become a ruin, let alone being usable...

"Clean everything up. If there are any idiots who don't know better, get rid of them immediately. These are troubled times—don't cause any more trouble!"

Only after returning to his office did a trace of gloom finally surface on Yu Hanguang's face. He casually hung up the phone and returned to his chair.

His original fury had finally come under control. All that remained in his eyes was pure coldness.

Wen Wen had played him for a fool, and he had been forced to swallow the bitter pill.

He had no choice but to order his subordinates to sever all ties with every industry connected to that old dog Jiang Jin. The losses were impossible to measure.

One could say that everything he had earned over the past few years had been lost overnight—and then some.

If she dared use this as an excuse to stir up more trouble, who knew how many more problems would become entangled around him?

What made him truly wary, however, was not Wen Wen.

So what if it was Minerva? The Celestial of Central Capital had merely failed to kill her; she was not dead. As long as that person remained—even if it was only the other party's power embedded throughout the upper echelons of the Federation—Wen Wen could at most spend the rest of her life turning circles around Yacheng's tiny patch of land. She could not cause any major upheaval.

No matter how strong she was, this world did not belong to her alone. Even the strongest had to follow the rules. Otherwise, everyone would cast them out of the game.

He had never feared Wen Wen. No matter how much she humiliated him, the crucial point was... Wen Wen's relationship with Ji Jue.

The Chosen Summoner's future was indeed bright and vast, but so what? If he truly wanted to kill him now, it would hardly be any more troublesome than crushing an ant.

But if the two joined forces...

Even someone using his heels to think could tell that none of last night's events could have been arranged by Wen Wen, that lunatic whose mind held nothing but killing and wiping out entire families. Other than Ji Jue, who else could have been the one behind the scenes, baiting him onto the hook?

It was simply inconceivable that she could trust someone else to that extent.

She had practically become his military mastermind.

Never mind whether the grown-up Ji Jue would become a powerful ally for Wen Wen. Even now, Wen Wen with an external brain was already countless times harder to manipulate than before. If he made one wrong move, she might tear another piece or two of flesh from him...

The instant he realized all this, he understood that Ji Jue was the true threat!

Unconcealed severity appeared in Yu Hanguang's eyes.

—He had to eliminate him as soon as possible!

As for Wen Wen's protection, it was indeed somewhat troublesome.

But why should he act personally?

He did not have to do anything. Not a thing.

To deal with a rootless duckweed like Ji Jue, all he needed to do was perform his duty, write a report based on the clues provided by his "informant," and submit it. That would be enough!

In a place inside the Security Bureau that leaked like a sieve, it would naturally set off endless waves. Any one of them would be enough to completely drown Ji Jue.

Even without any concrete evidence.

Sometimes, crushing a person required nothing more than suspicion.

Besides, who did not have weaknesses?

Classmates, friends, family...

There were far too many places to strike, and far too many ways to destroy a person. One did not even need to draw blood. A little guidance would be enough to make someone walk willingly to their own doom.

By then, even a Chosen Summoner would not be able to run wild for long.

Yu Hanguang sneered and picked up his phone. Just as he was about to make a call, his palm suddenly vibrated.

An unknown number had actually bypassed the blocking and interception measures and called his phone. Boundless Communication had even provided the caller with a gold number display frame, highlighting their extraordinary status and internal privileges.

He paused slightly before answering.

"Who is this?"

"Ye Xian."

A calm voice sounded, without the slightest ripple. The question was direct: "Team Leader Yu, as far as I know, you seem to have some ideas about my apprentice?"

"..."

In that instant of astonishment, Yu Hanguang's thoughts raced, and his brows drew together.

Ye Xian? Who?

He racked his memory for a long while before finally recalling the Alchemy Master mentioned in a previous file, the one who had come to Yacheng several years ago...

An Artisan?

He was almost laughing from anger. Had just anyone started daring to climb onto his head?

"The Security Bureau handles its affairs. I don't believe I have any need to explain myself to others," he said coldly. "If that's all, I'm hanging up."

"Is that so?"

A helpless sigh came from the other end of the call. "Team Leader Yu, I wonder if you know that in Alchemy, there is a saying... When one's emotions are poor, they interfere with the spirit; when the spirit is poor, it affects the body."

She said, "Those with poor health should get more rest."

What nonsense!

He had no idea what she was talking about!

Yu Hanguang sneered and did not want to bother with her anymore. But just as he was about to hang up, he discovered... that his finger could no longer move.

A thread of cold numbness, sharp as a blade, spread from his fingertips. In an instant, it enveloped his entire body, robbing him of control over his flesh before suddenly spreading farther.

It was like a surging tsunami and freezing tide, swallowing everything.

Amid a sudden spasm and convulsion, Yu Hanguang unexpectedly began coughing violently despite himself. Yet what he spat out through his choking coughs was bright-red blood.

Mixed within it were clearly visible grains of iron sand and fragments of iron!

The iron sand and iron fragments landed on the desk, still hissing as dazzling arcs of electricity scattered across them!

Yu Hanguang's eyes widened as he stared fixedly at them, unable to believe what he was seeing.

That was his... Matrix?!

But in that instant, his Matrix had actually gone out of control!

It was as if it had suffered Fiendification Pollution. Violently churning and twisting, it had lost control. His rampaging abilities and Blessing collided inside his body, causing injuries like an internal explosion!

They were not serious. If he merely rested for a few days, he could recover completely.

But... what if it could become serious?

What if it could become even more serious?!

All this time, he had prided himself on his absolute control over his abilities. Yet now, his abilities had actually betrayed him!

In an instant, bone-chilling dread completely swallowed him, making him tremble uncontrollably. He had never experienced such terror before!

"You're tired. It may be the result of accumulated exhaustion. You should take several months off, starting today."

The calm voice on the other end of the call gave its final farewell. "My temper isn't very good. I don't like people speaking rudely to me, so I hope the Security Bureau will pay more attention as well..."

She said, "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness."

With that, the call ended.

In the deathly silent office, only the busy signal echoing again and again and Yu Hanguang's heavy breathing remained.

For a long, long while, he could not stand up from his chair. He was drenched in sweat.

He did not even have the strength to make a sound.

He was like a hyena whose tail had been snapped beneath a Tyrannosaurus's foot.

"You certainly made quite a spectacle last night."

It was morning when Ji Jue finally saw Ye Xian, who had been busy for several days, in the workshop. Professor Ye was still holding her teacup, leisurely sipping tea so strong it had turned bitter, as she spoke calmly:

"Starting this morning, the Security Bureau's demands for accountability have been coming at me nonstop. It's left a rootless, unsupported Artisan like me barely able to hold on."

"My fault, Professor. I'm sorry."

Ji Jue was stunned. After remaining dazed for a long while, he could not hide his shame.

On one hand, yesterday's situation had been urgent, leaving him no time to think it through. On the other, he still did not fully understand his current identity.

He had truly never expected that his actions would drag Professor Ye into it as well... Once the Security Bureau was involved, even a Master of the Taiyi Ring would have no idea how troublesome it could be to get caught up in this mess.

Damn that bastard Yu Hanguang...

After viciously adding another mark against Yu Hanguang in his heart, Ji Jue said solemnly, "I guarantee there won't be a second time."

If there is a next time, I'll put on a mask, conceal my identity, and then go kill that son of a bitch...

"Enough. I prepared for this the day I recruited you. There's no need to say these useless words or make guarantees. A capable person stands out no matter what they do, while an unqualified person can only scramble about like a clown. If you can become a Grandmaster in the future, who will be able to say I was wrong to choose you today?"

Professor Ye glanced at him and said indifferently, "Don't disappoint me."

"Understood." Ji Jue nodded frantically, practically wishing he could write out a guarantee.

What was even more unbelievable was that there had been none of the expected difficulties or scolding. Yesterday's incident had simply been brushed aside just like that.

She had not even asked about the details.

Ji Jue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then added another mark against that son of a bitch Yu Hanguang: When your old man has grown up, you'll just wait to die, you fucking moron!

But after inspecting Ji Jue's results and assignments from the past two days, Professor Ye waved her hand without interest. "An ordinary product. It suits being used on scrap materials.

"Compared with that, the technical content is even lower than the Supreme Goodness Emblem you drew on that gun using the Portable Probe, that pair-of-pliers-like repair tool.

"You didn't bring it?"

"Uh, that belonged to someone else. I returned it on the way here." Ji Jue's toes curled furiously against the floor in embarrassment. He had not expected his spur-of-the-moment reckless tinkering to catch Professor Ye's eye.

"What about the others?"

Professor Ye did not hide her curiosity. "What about that Animated Motorcycle capable of suppressing a Shadow Beast that could confront a Chosen One head-on? I saw you ride it here today, didn't I?"

She adjusted her glasses, and a burning gaze born of an Artisan's instinct emerged. "To be honest, in all these years, I've never had my horizons broadened like this..."

Her student, who had only just entered the field—no, who had managed to create something so outrageous even before entering it?

It was truly a pleasant surprise!

No, it ought to be called a fright...

(End of chapter)