The crimson combat vehicles surrounding them rumbled to a halt. Fully armed Exploration Guards began disembarking one after another, fanning out wordlessly toward every corner of the camp. They were clad completely in crimson, single-soldier combat armor that covered them from head to toe.
"Tsk, Director Zhou's reputation certainly precedes him," Yuan Chenyang remarked from the side, his tone laced with a mocking edge.
"Ahem..." Catching Zhang Hongbo's completely deadpan expression, Zhou Xian coughed dryly twice.
Only then did Hu Xiang finally snap out of his daze. He hurriedly turned his gaze to Zhang Hongbo and asked respectfully, "City Lord, what brings you here?"
"We received word that the Area A2 outpost lost contact," Zhang Hongbo replied in a mild tone. "I feared you all might be in danger."
"The outpost lost contact?!" Hu Xiang was startled, but realization quickly dawned on him. "No wonder we suffered two consecutive attacks."
"You handled the situation quite well..." Zhang Hongbo's gaze drifted toward the mountain of corpses piled up in the distance, a flicker of surprise flashing across his face.
"A pride of Azure-Scaled Lions? The Alpha should have been a 2nd-tier Mutant, right? Not only did you beat them back, but you also inflicted such heavy casualties on them. Captain Hu, you've been hiding your true strength quite deeply."
The others couldn't help but look toward the pile of corpses stacked on the edge of the camp as well. Both Yuan Chenyang and Zhou Xian's expressions shifted, a deep sense of worry surfacing in their eyes.
Hu Xiang's heart skipped a beat, and he replied with a bitter smile, "City Lord has sharp eyes. The Alpha was indeed a 2nd-tier Mutant. However, these corpses are largely thanks to the assistance of the Nanfeng Academy students, especially..."
"No need to be so modest," Zhang Hongbo interrupted with a dismissive wave of his hand, clearly not taking it to heart. He knew exactly what kind of mettle those students possessed.
Hu Xiang felt a surge of anxiousness. He had deliberately set the stage to pique Zhang Hongbo's curiosity so he could smoothly toss Su Chen into the spotlight. That way, it would be much harder for Zhou Xian to lash out at the boy later.
But who could have predicted that the City Lord wouldn't be the least bit interested in the details?
"What are the casualties?" Yuan Chenyang couldn't help but ask.
Hu Xiang sighed helplessly. "Twelve lightly injured, seven heavily injured... one dead."
"Sigh..." Zhang Hongbo exhaled deeply. "Ensure the family is properly compensated and comforted. Every City Patrol guard is a hero."
"The casualty wasn't a City Patrol guard," Hu Xiang said, his head bowed, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously.
"Not a City Patrol guard... a student?" Zhang Hongbo's gaze sharpened, but he subsequently shook his head and sighed again. "I can't blame you. The outpost losing contact... no one could have anticipated that."
"Which student died? I will personally go console their family," he offered.
Hearing this, Hu Xiang slowly raised his head, his gaze bypassing Zhang Hongbo entirely.
Seeing Hu Xiang's eyes lock onto him, Zhou Xian's heart gave a violent lurch, and an ominous premonition instantly washed over him.
"It... it was Zhou Zong..." Hu Xiang forced the name out of his mouth.
"What?!" Zhou Xian's pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks. Searing lightning exploded from his body, and a deafening thunderclap roared through the sky above the camp, the blinding flashes illuminating his twisted, ghastly face.
"What did you just say?!" he roared, his voice booming like rolling thunder as he glared murderously at Hu Xiang. "My son was merely a singular step away from becoming a Professional! He was no ordinary person! So many students far weaker than him are still breathing, yet he's the only one who died?!"
"Hu Xiang, did you do this on purpose?!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the heavens flared with blinding light. A crackling bolt of lightning tore through the dense fog like an arrow of a god, smashing directly toward Hu Xiang.
"Stop!"
Zhang Hongbo appeared right beside Hu Xiang. With a seemingly casual raise of his hand, the raging lightning simply vanished into his palm without a trace.
"City Lord!" Zhou Xian bellowed, his hair whipping wildly around his face like a maddened old lion, arcs of electricity dancing violently in his eyes.
"I said, stop!" Zhang Hongbo repeated, his gaze completely undisturbed.
In the end, logic managed to suppress Zhou Xian's fury. The lightning arcing around him gradually receded. He stood there panting heavily like an exhausted ox, his eyes entirely bloodshot.
Seeing him calm down, Zhang Hongbo's tone softened slightly. "There will be a proper explanation for this matter. But if you kill Hu Xiang, how is he supposed to give it to you?"
Rustling sounds echoed from all directions as students began to tentatively peek out of their tents. The deafening commotion had jolted many of them awake, and some hadn't even managed to fall asleep yet.
"P-Principal?!"
Some students burst into tears on the spot, feeling as though they had finally found a sturdy pillar to lean on.
"It's alright now," Zhang Hongbo comforted them gently as a chorus of muffled sobs rippled through the crowd.
"Where is my son's body?" Zhou Xian demanded, his voice raspy and hollow.
Hu Xiang sighed heavily inwardly and pointed toward a tent in the distance.
Zhang Hongbo nodded approvingly to himself. Hu Xiang had actually handled this quite well, even arranging a separate tent specifically for the corpse.
His face etched with profound grief, Zhou Xian stormed into the tent.
A moment later, he charged right back out, the muscles on his face twitching violently. Glarcing dagger at Hu Xiang, his eyes bulging with rage, he ground his teeth together and hissed, "Whose... whose tent is this?!"
Deep within his eyes, however, there lay a deeply hidden flicker of panic.
The tent was littered with living necessities; it clearly hadn't been set up solely to store a corpse.
Zhang Hongbo glanced at Hu Xiang, the corner of his eye twitching slightly.
The students who had stepped out exchanged bewildered glances.
"It's mine." A clear, ringing voice cut through the tension. Zhou Xian's gaze instantly locked onto the source.
"You!!" Zhou Xian roared furiously.
Su Chen's heart skipped a beat. 'This guy actually recognizes me? Even if I had a tiny spat with his son, why would a big shot like him pay any attention to me?'
Yuan Chenyang raised an eyebrow. He vaguely remembered this little guy.
Not entirely sure what the situation was, he refrained from speaking recklessly. A corpse randomly appearing inside this kid's tent was incredibly suspicious to begin with.
Wait, if this was his tent, then whose tent did he just come out of?
Hold on!
Yuan Chenyang's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets as he caught sight of Bai Fengxi stepping out of the tent right behind Su Chen.
"Little Bai?!" He stared wide-eyed, the look he shot Su Chen instantly turning incredibly un-friendly.
"Teacher!"
Before Yuan Chenyang could even process the situation, the boy looked directly at him with an expression of utmost solemnity.
'Teacher? Who? Who's his teacher?'
Yuan Chenyang literally looked around, only to realize he was the only one standing there.
'This little bastard is trying to use me as a shield?!'
Given his vast experience, Yuan Chenyang instantly saw through the kid's ploy, and whatever tiny sliver of goodwill he might have had evaporated in an instant.
He sneered coldly in his heart. 'You might be able to sweet-talk Little Bai, but do you seriously think you can play me?'
"He's your man?!" Accompanied by Zhou Xian's suppressed fury and Zhang Hongbo's highly suspicious gaze, the question hung heavily in the air.
The reprimand that had formed on the tip of Yuan Chenyang's tongue died in his throat. Because right before his eyes, this little bastard pulled out a thin "metal sheet" that pulsed with a faint glow, its surface shifting with countless flowing runes. Holding it respectfully before him, Su Chen declared deeply, "Fortunately, I have not failed my mission!"
Zhang Hongbo's gaze instantly turned incredibly profound, while Zhou Xian's entire body went rigid.
"The Saint Word Stone!" Yuan Chenyang's expression changed drastically, his eyes locking onto the object in the boy's hands as if glued there.
That was precisely the stolen artifact from Nanfeng Academy! The very item they hadn't been able to locate even after turning the thief into minced meat—the Saint Word Stone!
"Acting under your orders, I've been conducting a secret investigation within the City Patrol guard. Fortunately, I have not disappointed your trust. I finally managed to locate it."
'This thing is actually called a Saint Word Stone? Why doesn't it look like a stone at all?' Su Chen muttered internally. However, he made sure his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear perfectly clearly.
Hu Xiang blinked, utterly dumbfounded. Did that Qi Chuan guy know about this?
The other students found their heads spinning. Su Chen was also Yuan Chenyang's student?! No wonder... no wonder...
The words "Who's your teacher?" were stuck firmly in Yuan Chenyang's throat, but he simply couldn't squeeze them out.
The importance of this item to him went without saying. With this recovered, he would finally have a proper explanation for Yingfeng.
Furthermore, Su Chen's phrasing was brilliant. With this, Yuan Chenyang was no longer an incompetent fool who had been played by a thief. Instead, he became a shrewd, calculating mastermind who had sensed the anomaly long ago and had been quietly playing a very long game.
The only price to pay was bearing the brunt of Zhou Xian's wrath.
He looked at the boy standing before him, his gaze then sliding past him to look at Bai Fengxi. She gave him a subtle, almost imperceptible nod.
"Good boy!" Yuan Chenyang suddenly burst into hearty laughter. Stepping forward, he clapped a heavy hand onto Su Chen's shoulder and praised loudly, "As expected... of my student!"
The corner of Su Chen's mouth twitched. He felt like his collarbone was about to fracture under the grip.
'This kid's physical body... is quite extraordinary. Is he already a Professional?' Yuan Chenyang thought, genuinely surprised.
"Excellent work, Chenyang. Playing the long game flawlessly—as expected of the Inspector-General of my Nanfeng City," Zhang Hongbo praised, finally tearing his gaze away from the Saint Word Stone.
"What does any of this have to do with my son's corpse being in your tent?!" Zhou Xian demanded coldly. However, everyone present could tell that his fury seemed to have diminished somewhat.
"Because, this item was found hidden on Zhou Zong," Su Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone like a thunderbolt.
Yuan Chenyang, who had been busy authenticating the item, snapped his head up instantly, glaring at Su Chen with eyes so sharp they practically pierced through him. "A claim like that is not to be made lightly."