"Brother Su, thank..." Du Yu was still shaken.
"Let's go." Yuan Chenyang led the team away, calling Su Chen along as well.
Following Yuan Chenyang, Su Chen got into his vehicle, which looked exceptionally prestigious. Its steady black-and-blue color scheme resembled a seemingly tranquil sea concealing raging waves beneath.
The two sat in the back seat. The windows darkened, and there was barely any engine noise.
"Someone actually tried to assassinate you."
Only then did Yuan Chenyang speak, his eyes thoughtful.
Su Chen acted as though he had not heard him and felt around the armrest between them. "Doesn't this have a mini-fridge in the back?"
Yuan Chenyang's face darkened. "It's just a means of transportation."
Only then did Su Chen sit up straight, righteously indignant. "Those people dared to attack so openly. They clearly have no respect for you."
"Plenty of people have no respect for me." Yuan Chenyang sounded unconcerned.
As if he had not heard, Su Chen continued, "Can we trace any leads through the people who attacked?"
"We definitely can." Yuan Chenyang seemed distracted. "The leader was a Tier 2 Professional, and he looked vaguely familiar. He was probably from Southwind City."
"But you don't seem to have done anything. Why would they target you?"
Yuan Chenyang seemed to be talking to himself, yet also questioning Su Chen. Using Su Chen as bait had merely been an offhand move, but the catch had surprised him.
Su Chen naturally knew why. It was probably because of the two Spatial Crystals that had been swallowed. Yet he wore an equally confused expression. "I intercepted the Holy Word Stone, and Zhou Xian has always believed I killed his son. Isn't that enough?"
"Zhou Xian should be avoiding suspicion right now. He couldn't possibly keep making moves." Yuan Chenyang muttered. "Retaliating because you intercepted the Holy Word Stone? Is that thing really so important?"
Scratching his head, Su Chen asked curiously, "What exactly does the Holy Word Stone do?"
Yuan Chenyang explained, "Its main function is to record professional information. Its secondary function is to serve as a vessel for communicating with Strange Gods."
"What exactly are Strange Gods?" Su Chen pressed.
"Strange Gods..." Yuan Chenyang faltered and rubbed his bald head. After seeming to think for a long while, he said, "Strange Gods are Strange Gods. They make people worship them and drive people mad."
Even Yuan Chenyang could not explain the essence of Strange Gods. Perhaps feeling embarrassed, he waved a hand impatiently. "I added a little something to the potion you asked Old Sun to make for you. I've already had him deliver it."
That was the benefit. Su Chen immediately said, "Thank you, Teacher."
"What is it?" Yuan Chenyang asked upon seeing that he seemed hesitant to speak.
Su Chen hesitated. "Does this mean I can't go out anymore?"
"Not necessarily." Yuan Chenyang shook his head. "Southwind City hasn't reached the point where Strange God's spies are everywhere. This banquet had been in preparation for a long time, and the guest list could easily leak. It was a perfect opportunity for an ambush assassination."
"Under normal circumstances, no one could predict when you would go out or where you would go."
"That's good." Su Chen sighed in relief.
The banquet gradually came to an end. As they left, everyone was still discussing what had just happened. Zhang Hengyu followed Zhang Yunqing as she saw everyone off.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Yunqing caught sight of her younger brother's tightly furrowed brows.
"Su Chen is stronger than me. He's more qualified to go to Yingfeng." Zhang Hengyu spoke quietly. The battle just now had happened in a flash.
After thinking it over carefully, he realized that if it had been him, it would have been difficult to escape unscathed.
"What does Father usually do, anyway?" Zhang Yunqing froze briefly, then said helplessly, "Giving him this slot would be useless. Refugees will be quietly excluded."
"But Father can alter his records for him this year. There's no need to wait another year." Zhang Hengyu still felt uneasy.
"Why should he?" Zhang Yunqing's gentle smile faded, and her voice gradually turned cold. She looked at Zhang Hengyu icily. "Power is also a form of strength, and a major one at that. Who told him to be born unlucky?"
"This concerns more than just you. If you lack that awareness, then this slot really can be given away."
Zhang Hengyu stared at her in astonishment, only to find that his sister had already turned and left. He could vaguely hear something about a "stupid little brother."
After returning to the Inspection Department, Su Chen obediently went upstairs. Yuan Chenyang, meanwhile, took the corpses and the sole survivor to the interrogation room, though he was not in high spirits. These people were all lunatics; they would probably get nothing out of them.
Someone had already been waiting in the corridor. He was short and looked terrible. "Minister, we've identified that Tier 2 Professional. He's from the Exploration Department—Chen Wu."
"The Exploration Department!?"
Yuan Chenyang's expression changed dramatically. He gave a low order, "Old Du, lock down this information. If anyone dares leak it, don't blame me for turning on them."
Old Du nodded solemnly. The two entered a small room beside the interrogation room. Looking at the survivor on the other side, whose face was twisted as he fanatically screamed something, Old Du spoke softly.
"Minister, what do we do?"
"They've really dumped a problem in my lap." Yuan Chenyang's face was livid. "First there was a traitor in the Patrol Department. Then someone from the Inspection Department sneaked into Su Chen's room. Now the assassin is from the Exploration Department."
"Southwind City is a sieve! Yingfeng's people will be here soon. If they find out, we're all finished together!"
"Should we... stop for now?" Old Du hesitated. "The City Lord left with the head of the Patrol Department. If we wait for them to return and they find out we're investigating traitors within their ranks, then..."
What if they really uncovered something?
"An impressive move..." Yuan Chenyang's brow twitched as he paced back and forth. "But what's the point of doing this? They've still been exposed in the end. How long can they stall for?"
"No!" Yuan Chenyang abruptly stopped, a sharp light bursting from his eyes. "Their goal may be to stall for time!"
"We don't know what's going on with the City Lord. If we wait for them to come back and discuss it, who knows how far things will have progressed by then!"
"Investigate. We have to investigate!" Yuan Chenyang practically roared from his throat. "Start with these people's relatives and friends. Put every suspect under surveillance!"
"And Zhou Xian—keep a close watch on him!"
Old Du's heart tightened, and he hurriedly answered, "Understood!"
Two of the three heads of the city's violent enforcement agencies were absent. In Southwind City now, there truly was no one who dared tug Yuan Chenyang's beard.
But this act was like a stab in the back. Whether they found something or not,
those two would be furious when they returned.
Su Chen, heading upstairs, had no idea that a storm was about to erupt. He only saw Old Sun standing outside his room with a beaming smile.
"Brother Sun, why are you waiting outside my room again?" Su Chen said, his gaze inevitably drifting toward the metal case in Old Sun's hand.
"If you need anything, just send me a message. I can come find you."
"There's nothing much to do in the office anyway." Fatty Sun chuckled as he followed Su Chen into the room. After only a few pleasantries, he placed the metal case on the table.
When he unclasped it, icy white mist poured out. Inside were three rows of potions. The top row contained ten tubes of Blackflame Potion.
The middle row held ten tubes of a rich, luminous blue potion.
The bottom row contained only three tubes of pink potion, which Su Chen had never seen before.
Before you continue