Search! Turn This Place Upside Down!

"Brother Su, thank..." Du Yu was still shaken.

"Let's go." Yuan Chenyang led the team away, motioning for Su Chen to come with him.

Following Yuan Chenyang, Su Chen climbed into his vehicle, which looked exceptionally distinguished. Its calm black-and-blue color scheme resembled a seemingly tranquil sea concealing raging waves beneath its surface.

The two sat in the back seat. The windows darkened, and there was almost no sound from the vehicle in motion.

"Someone actually tried to assassinate you."

Only then did Yuan Chenyang speak, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Su Chen acted as if 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, indignation filling his face. "Those people dared to act so openly. They simply don't respect you at all."

"Plenty of people don't respect me." Yuan Chenyang sounded unconcerned.

As though he had not heard, Su Chen continued, "Can we find any leads by tracing the people who made the move?"

"We definitely can." Yuan Chenyang seemed distracted. "The leader was a second-tier 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 asking Su Chen. Using Su Chen as bait had merely been an offhand decision, but the catch had caught him by surprise.

Naturally, Su Chen knew why. It was probably because of the two Spatial Crystals that had been swallowed. Still, he wore an equally puzzled 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 can't possibly keep making moves." Yuan Chenyang murmured. "Retaliation for taking the Holy Word Stone? Is that thing really so important?"

Scratching his head, Su Chen asked curiously, "What exactly is the Holy Word Stone used for?"

Yuan Chenyang explained, "Its primary purpose is recording professional information. Its secondary purpose is serving as a vessel for communicating with Weird Gods."

"What exactly are Weird Gods?" Su Chen pressed.

"Weird Gods..." Yuan Chenyang faltered. He rubbed his smooth bald head and seemed to think for a long while before saying, "Weird Gods are Weird Gods. They inspire worship and tempt people into madness."

Even Yuan Chenyang could not explain the true nature of Weird Gods. Perhaps feeling embarrassed, he impatiently waved a hand. "I added a little something to the potion you asked Old Sun to prepare. I already had him deliver it to you."

This was a benefit. Su Chen immediately said, "Thank you, Teacher."

"What is it?" Yuan Chenyang asked when he saw Su Chen hesitate.

Su Chen said uncertainly, "Does that mean I can't go out anymore?"

"Not necessarily." Yuan Chenyang shook his head. "Southwind City isn't so thoroughly covered with Weird God informants yet. This banquet had been prepared for a long time, and the guest list could easily have leaked. It was a perfect opportunity for an ambush."

"Under normal circumstances, no one can predict when you'll go out or where you'll go."

"That's good." Su Chen let out a breath of 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 noticed her younger brother's tightly furrowed brows.

"Su Chen is better than me. He's more qualified to go to Ying Feng." Zhang Hengyu spoke quietly. The battle just now had unfolded in the blink of an eye.

After thinking it over carefully, he knew that if it had been him, it would have been difficult to escape unscathed.

"What does Father usually do?" Zhang Yunqing paused in surprise, then said helplessly, "Giving him that slot would be useless. Refugees will face unspoken exclusion."

"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. Who told him to be born with such poor circumstances?"

"This isn't just about you. If you lack even that awareness, then that slot really can be given to someone else."

Zhang Hengyu looked over in astonishment, only to find that his sister had already turned and left. He could faintly 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. Yet he was not in high spirits. Those people were all lunatics; they probably would not get anything out of them.

Someone had already been waiting in the corridor. He was short and looked extremely grim. "Minister, we've identified that second-tier professional. He was from the Exploration Department—Chen Wu."

"The Exploration Department!?"

Yuan Chenyang's expression changed drastically. He gave the order in a deep voice, "Old Du, seal off this information. If anyone dares leak it, don't blame me for turning hostile."

Old Du nodded solemnly. The two entered a small room beside the interrogation room. Looking at the survivor on the other side, who was baring his teeth and shouting something fanatically, Old Du lowered his voice. "Minister, what do we do?"

"They've dumped quite the problem on me." Yuan Chenyang's face was livid. "First there was a traitor in the Patrol Department. Then someone from the Inspection Department secretly entered Su Chen's room. And now the assassins are from the Exploration Department."

"Southwind City is full of holes! People from Ying Feng will be here soon. If they find out, we're all finished!"

"Should we... stop for now?" Old Du hesitated. "The City Lord left with the Patrol Department Minister. If they come back and discover that we were investigating traitors within their own department, then..."

What if they really found something?

"An impressive move..." Yuan Chenyang's brows twitched as he paced back and forth. "But what's the point? They'll be exposed eventually. How long can they stall for?"

"No!" Yuan Chenyang abruptly stopped, a sharp gleam bursting from his eyes. "Their purpose may be to stall!"

"We don't know what's happening with the City Lord. If we wait for them to return and discuss this, who knows how far things will have gone by then!"

"Search. We have to search!" Yuan Chenyang nearly roared the words from his throat. "Start with the relatives and friends of these people. Put every suspicious person 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 leaders of the major enforcement agencies were absent. In Southwind City right now, there truly was no one who dared cross Yuan Chenyang.

But this was no different from stabbing them in the back. Whether they found something or not—

When those two returned, they would both be furious.

Su Chen, who had gone upstairs, still had no idea that a storm was about to erupt. All he saw was Old Sun standing outside his room with a cheerful smile.

"Brother Sun, why are you waiting outside my room again?" Su Chen said, his gaze involuntarily shifting to the metal case in Old Sun's hand.

"If you need something, just send me a message. I can come find you."

"There's nothing to do in the office anyway." Fatty Sun chuckled and followed Su Chen inside. After only a few pleasantries, he placed the metal case on the table.

When he opened the latches, icy white mist spilled out. Inside were three rows of potions. The top row contained ten tubes of Blackflame Potion.

The middle row contained ten tubes of a rich, luminous blue liquid.

The bottom row held only three tubes of pink potion, which Su Chen had never seen before.