The clamor of the black market was forcibly suppressed by even greater violence, replaced by a suffocating atmosphere of death.
Like a swarm of ants startled, the vendors and customers, after a brief moment of astonishment, erupted into even greater chaos, desperately fleeing in the direction away from the law enforcement team, and the once crowded passageway quickly became empty.
Only where Lu Chen was located was he completely surrounded by dozens of menacing Demon Suppression Division enforcement officers from the Sha Qi Suppression Division, leaving no room for maneuver.
Liu Mingquan and his two guards were also trapped within the encirclement.
The two guards looked solemn, their True Qi subtly circulating as they stood protectively in front of Liu Mingquan, but they made no further moves, clearly determined to remain neutral and observe the situation.
Captain Wang's cold, hard face loomed large before Lu Chen's eyes. The blade of the long sword in his hand remained steady without trembling, demonstrating his superb skills and ruthless nature.
"Caught red-handed! You are Ghost Face's accomplice! Come with us!" His voice repeated the previous accusation, leaving no room for argument.
Lu Chen could sense that if he made any unusual move, he would immediately be met with a thunderous attack.
He did not draw his sword, and even his True Qi was deliberately kept in a suppressed and slightly disordered state.
He slowly raised his hands to show he was harmless, and then spoke loudly, "Gentlemen, there's a misunderstanding! I am Lu Chen, a newly appointed Banner Sergeant transferred from Nanling Prefecture to the Archives Bureau in the Capital City. I have official appointment documents and identification badges! I was ordered to come to the capital only a few days ago, and I haven't even fully familiarized myself with the affairs of the government office yet. How could I be some kind of accomplice of the Ghost Face gang? There must be some misunderstanding here!"
" The Archives Bureau?" Captain Wang scoffed, his contempt almost overflowing. "Even better! We've discovered that the disgraced Sixth Prince and his remnants like to plant their own people in clean, obscure departments like yours, hidden away from scrutiny! This piece of Extinction Iron on you, we've determined, is the key evidence we found yesterday on a low-ranking member of the Ghost Face rebel group who was shot dead! Now that you have the stolen goods, do you still dare to say you're not an accomplice?"
His words were logically sound, directly linking Lu Chen's identity as Archives Bureau to the remnants of the Sixth Prince, and further confirming the status of the Extinction Iron as evidence.
This is an almost impenetrable dead end.
No matter how Lu Chen tried to explain, the other party seemed to have a complete set of arguments ready.
Just then, Liu Mingquan's voice rang out at the perfect moment. " Captain Wang, Brother Lu has indeed only recently arrived in the Capital City. Perhaps... perhaps he really has been framed. How about this, let Brother Lu return to the headquarters with everyone first, so that the Commander or the Deputy Commanders can personally interrogate and investigate. If it really is a misunderstanding, we can clarify it in time and clear Brother Lu's name."
His words sounded like he was pleading for Lu Chen and suggesting that they follow the proper procedures.
But in reality, it was extremely vicious!
Lu Chen was escorted back to the headquarters of the Demon Suppression Division. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, this mudslinging, even without evidence, was enough to completely tarnish his reputation and ruin his future!
Liu Mingquan is determined to escalate this completely and forever shame Lu Chen!
Lu Chen felt a surge of murderous intent in his heart, but he forcibly suppressed it.
He saw through Captain Wang's arrogance and eagerness to make a name for himself beneath his seemingly fair enforcement of the law, and he also saw through Liu Mingquan's ruthlessness beneath his hypocritical mask.
Words are powerless at this moment.
Lu Chen slowly reached one of his raised hands into his chest, the movement appearing somewhat weak.
Captain Wang's eyes sharpened, and he slightly pushed the blade forward, shouting, "What are you doing! Don't move!"
"My identification badge... my identity badge... and... the token given to me by Lord Zhou... I want to show it to Captain Wang..."
He deliberately spoke vaguely, and his movements remained slow.
Captain Wang's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but his eyes remained fixed on Lu Chen's hand.
Under these circumstances, he didn't believe that a mere Banner Sergeant at the Meridian Opening Realm could pull off any tricks.
Lu Chen's hand rummaged in his pocket, and in the end, what he pulled out was not the standard waist tag of the Demon Suppression Division, but an inconspicuous black iron tag with even rough edges.
He didn't fully display the iron plate, but rather held it deftly with two fingers.
While everyone's attention was focused on the waist tag.
Lu Chen moved! He moved like a rabbit!
His figure moved like a ghost, suddenly spinning and crashing to the side and back, skillfully using his Movement Method to escape the blade's lock-on range!
At the same time, he shouted, "Brother Liu! Catch the evidence! Run!"
He forcefully threw the hot potato-like fragment of the Extinction Iron towards Liu Mingquan, who was being protected by the guards behind him!
This action was extremely sudden and caught everyone off guard!
Liu Mingquan instinctively reached out and caught the flying fragment.
Instantly, he and the evidence in his hands became the focus of everyone's attention!
Almost all the law enforcement officers' attention was drawn to this sudden turn of events and the stolen goods in Liu Mingquan's hands!
Taking advantage of this fleeting moment of chaos, Lu Chen's internal True Qi circulated wildly at an unprecedented speed, pushing the < Shadow Demon Trace Steps > to its limit!
His figure left a faint, almost lifelike afterimage in place, but his true form was like a ghost blending into the shadows, moving faster than anyone could imagine. With a few flashes and leaps, he had already rushed out of the tiny gap created by the enforcement team's momentary lapse in concentration.
He plunged headlong into the intricate, labyrinthine dark alleys deep within the black market and vanished!
"Damn it! Chase him! Chase him!"
In another, more secluded corner of the black market, reeking of sewage and stench, Lu Chen's figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
He leaned against the cold, damp wall, breathing slightly heavily.
In order to create an opportunity to escape, he had almost pushed his speed and Movement Method to their limits, which put some pressure on his meridians and caused some hidden pain.
Without the slightest hesitation, he directly commanded in his mind: [Consume 50 years of Demon Devil Lifespan to replenish.]
A powerful yet gentle warm current immediately surged from the depths of his Dantian, quickly flowing through his limbs and bones. Wherever it passed, the swelling and pain in his meridians and the fatigue in his body were swept away, and his condition instantly returned to its peak. Even his True Qi subtly improved.
Just as he was preparing to leave this troublesome place immediately and return to the Archives Bureau to reconsider his actions—
A uniquely shaped jade talisman, emitting a faint glow, silently slid down to his feet, as if drawn by invisible threads.
Lu Chen's eyes narrowed as he picked up the jade talisman. He probed it with his Divine Sense, and Liu Mingquan's voice, which carried a hint of mockery, regret, and an indescribable depth, rang directly in his mind.
"Brother Lu, what a brilliant move to shift the blame and escape unscathed! I admire you. However, this time you've messed with more than just that fool Captain Wang. Behind him stands the Capital Zhang Family, whose influence is deeply entrenched."
"Moreover, an enforcement team clearly belonging to the Aristocratic Clan faction, instead of investigating the cases they should be investigating, has come to this black market to precisely investigate the remnants of the Sixth Prince... Heh, Brother Lu, by now, those in the know probably already know that you, the winner of the Hidden Dragon Trial who just came from Southern Mausoleum, are a newly recruited capable henchman of our disgraced Sixth Prince."
"Congratulations, Banner Sergeant Lu. You've already become famous far and wide even before officially debuting in Capital City. But this reputation... tsk tsk."
The transmission abruptly ended there, and the jade talisman turned to dust.
Lu Chen stood there, the shadows that the moonlight couldn't penetrate covering most of his face. Only his eyes gleamed with a cold, piercing light in the darkness, colder than the deepest chill of this black market.
The crisis, instead of being resolved, has been pushed into a more complex and dangerous situation.
He has been forcibly dragged into the bottomless murky waters of the Capital City.