The Earth Condemnation Bureau

Downtown Jinghai City.

A special government building stood there.

Its exterior walls were made of blast-resistant material, and its windows were fitted with specially made bulletproof glass. Everything about it suggested it was no ordinary building.

This was the Earth Condemnation Bureau.

Unlike the Security Patrol Office, a basic institution that handled incidents involving ordinary people, the Earth Condemnation Bureau was quite different.

It specialized in handling all kinds of unusual cases.

Secret Martial Arts practitioners committing crimes, enhanced humans causing trouble, cyborgs running out of control—all fell under its jurisdiction.

Many of the Earth Condemnation Bureau's members were powerhouses of that kind themselves.

At that moment, on the third floor.

In the Human-Level Group leader's office.

Xu Jiang sat behind his desk, reading a document.

His face looked like that of an ordinary middle-aged man, forty-five or forty-six, a little overweight and with thinning hair.

But a glance farther down revealed something amiss.

His hands weren't flesh and blood.

From the wrists on, both arms were mechanical, forged entirely from white steel.

His sleeves were rolled up, revealing metal that extended all the way to his shoulders.

Even his feet were mechanical. A faint silver metallic sheen could be seen through his pant legs.

His left eye wasn't real either; it was a lifelike mechanical eyeball.

He was what was known as a semi-cyborg.

Part of his body was flesh and blood, while part had been modified using the lowest-grade cybernetic components. His actual strength depended mainly on his combat ability.

People like him started at a minimum combat power of 100,000. Xu Jiang, for instance, had a combat power of 150,000.

Above semi-cyborgs were junior complete cyborgs, advanced complete cyborgs, and so on.

Complete cyborgs retained only their brains; everything else was mechanical.

Their materials varied, and their strength increased with each level. Their combat power was terrifying.

"Knock, knock."

Just then, a knock came from outside the door.

"Come in." Xu Jiang didn't look up.

The door opened, and Bai Xue walked in.

She was also a semi-cyborg, with a combat power of 108,000.

Her right arm and right leg were mechanical, and her left eye was a mechanical eye.

She was twenty-three, with short hair and a pretty face.

"Group leader." Bai Xue placed a document on the desk.

"There's a new case here."

Xu Jiang put down what he was holding, picked up the document, and opened it.

The first page bore Su Han's photograph.

The information listed him as a nineteen-year-old university student.

His crimes were listed below: murdered his parents, gravely injured his older sister, murdered Zhang Qu, chief of the Tai'an Road Patrol Station, murdered two patrol officers, murdered his neighbor Zhao Mu, and murdered forty-three patrol officers at the Jiayuan Residential Complex today...

Strength assessment: suspected Secret Martial Arts An Jin; fighting style belongs to the Heavenly Phenomenon Secret Martial Arts.

Danger level: low.

"The Security Patrol Office couldn't handle it, so it's been escalated to us."

There was a note of indignation in Bai Xue's voice as she spoke.

"He murdered his parents, brutalized his older sister, and killed so many patrol officers."

"His crimes are simply beyond forgiveness!"

"Group leader, I request permission to go and bring him to justice."

Xu Jiang said nothing.

He simply continued leafing through the document, reading each page carefully.

"Group leader?" After waiting a while, Bai Xue couldn't help speaking again.

Xu Jiang looked up and glanced at her. "Leave it here."

"Then the arrest..."

"We'll talk about it in a few days."

Xu Jiang closed the document and set it aside, then picked up what he'd been reading earlier.

Bai Xue was stunned by the group leader's response and hurriedly spoke up.

"Group leader, this case is so serious. Why wait?"

"What if he kills someone else?"

Xu Jiang didn't explain. He merely waved a hand.

"You can go out now."

"But..."

"That's an order." Xu Jiang's voice grew a little deeper.

Bai Xue opened her mouth, but in the end she swallowed her words.

She glanced at Xu Jiang, then turned and left the office, feeling helpless.

In the hallway.

Bai Xue marched forward in a huff, her footsteps thudding against the floor.

"Hey, Xiao Bai, who made you angry?"

A rough voice rang out.

Bai Xue looked up and saw Wang Baihu approaching from the other end of the hall.

He was a veteran member of the Human-Level Group, nicknamed Brother Hu.

He was a Secret Martial Arts practitioner who had also been enhanced with an enhancement serum, and his combat power was 120,000.

He had a big bald head and a burly frame, stood about 1.9 meters tall, and was built like a bear.

He looked fierce, but was actually quite amiable.

"Brother Hu," Bai Xue called, still wearing a stern face.

Seeing her aggrieved expression, Wang Baihu walked over and asked,

"What's the matter? Did you have a fight with the group leader?"

"No," Bai Xue said.

"It's just that there's a case... I want to go arrest someone, but the group leader won't let me."

"What case?"

"Someone named Su Han killed more than forty patrol officers, and..."

Bai Xue wore a resentful expression as she stated her firm conviction.

"His crimes are beyond forgiveness. He should be arrested immediately!"

Wang Baihu's gaze sharpened slightly when he heard Bai Xue's account.

He naturally knew some of the inside story, but had no intention of revealing it. He merely reassured her.

"If the group leader said to wait a few days, he must have his reasons." He patted Bai Xue on the shoulder.

"Listen to the group leader. You can't go wrong."

"But!"

"No buts." Wang Baihu cut her off.

"The Earth Condemnation Bureau's rule is to obey orders. Don't you know that?"

Bai Xue bit her lip and said nothing.

Wang Baihu offered a few more words of comfort, then went on with his own business.

Bai Xue stood where she was, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she grew.

She had been at the Earth Condemnation Bureau for half a year and had been on several missions, but she'd only ever assisted others and hadn't really played much of a role.

This time, she'd finally gotten a case that wasn't too difficult but was serious in nature. She desperately wanted to prove herself.

She couldn't just let it go.

If they won't let me do it, I'll do it myself in secret.

But Bai Xue also knew that if she acted without authorization, whether she succeeded or failed, the group leader would scold her afterward.

She needed to get someone else to do it with her.

She took out her phone, thought for a moment, and made a call.

"Hello, Xiao Zhou? It's Bai Xue. I've got a mission here. Are you coming? Right, okay, see you at the entrance."

After hanging up, Bai Xue hurried toward the elevator.

At the entrance to the Earth Condemnation Bureau.

A young man was already waiting there.

He was in his early twenties and rather handsome, but his left arm was mechanical.

His name was Zhou Ming. He was also a semi-cyborg, with a combat power of around 110,000.

Zhou Ming was somewhat interested in Bai Xue, and many people at the Earth Condemnation Bureau knew it.

Now, as soon as he heard Bai Xue needed his help with something, he came running over without a second thought.

"Sister Xue, what mission is it?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Come arrest someone with me."

Bai Xue briefly explained Su Han's situation to Zhou Ming, telling him about the crimes he had committed and his assessed strength.

"Every extra day a scumbag like him roams free, he might kill another person."

"The group leader told me to wait a few more days, but I can't wait."

"I want to bring him in as soon as possible. Zhou Ming, you'll help me, won't you?"

When Zhou Ming heard that Bai Xue was acting without authorization, he immediately hesitated.

"This... isn't it a bit improper to act without authorization?"

"Are you scared?" Bai Xue looked back at him.

"It's not that I'm scared, it's just..." Zhou Ming scratched his head, unsure what to say.

"Then go back." A trace of disappointment appeared in Bai Xue's eyes, and she turned to leave.

"Wait, wait, wait." Zhou Ming hurriedly caught her.

He steeled himself and agreed.

"I'll go. I'll go, all right?"

Only then did Bai Xue stop, a smile appearing on her face.

"That's more like it. Come on, let's first find out where he went."