"Thanks, Bro Su..." Du Yu's voice trembled with lingering fear.
"Let's go." Yuan Chenyang led his team out, beckoning Su Chen along.
Following Yuan Chenyang, Su Chen climbed into his formidable vehicle — a deep black-blue ride, like a silent ocean surface concealing violent undercurrents.
The two sat in the back row. The windows darkened, and the cabin was virtually noiseless.
"Someone actually tried to assassinate you."
Yuan Chenyang spoke at last, his eyes contemplative.
Su Chen acted as if he hadn't heard, running his hand along the armrest between them. "No mini-fridge in the back?"
Yuan Chenyang's expression went black. "It's a vehicle, not a bar."
Su Chen straightened up, indignation blazing across his face. "These people attacked in broad daylight — they're treating you like you don't exist, teacher!"
"Plenty of people don't take me seriously." Yuan Chenyang waved it off.
Su Chen pressed on as though he hadn't heard, "Can you trace any leads from the attackers?"
"Probably." Yuan Chenyang seemed slightly distracted. "The lead attacker was a 2nd-tier professional, and he looked vaguely familiar. Most likely someone from right here in Nanfeng City."
"But you haven't really done anything noteworthy. Why would they target you?"
Yuan Chenyang seemed to be talking to himself as much as asking Su Chen. Using Su Chen as bait had been a passing move, but the catch had exceeded expectations.
Su Chen knew perfectly well why — those two Spatial Crystals he'd absorbed — but he put on a puzzled face. "I intercepted the Saint Word Stone, and Zhou Xian still thinks I killed his son. Isn't that enough?"
"Zhou Xian should be keeping a low profile right now. He can't afford to make any more moves." Yuan Chenyang murmured. "Revenge for intercepting the Saint Word Stone? Was that thing really worth all this?"
Su Chen scratched his head curiously. "What exactly does the Saint Word Stone do?"
Yuan Chenyang explained, "Its primary function is recording class information. Secondarily, it can serve as a conduit for communicating with the Evil Gods."
"What exactly are the Evil Gods?" Su Chen pressed.
"The Evil Gods..." Yuan Chenyang faltered, rubbing his shiny scalp. He seemed to think for a long time before managing, "Evil Gods are just... Evil Gods. They make people worship them, drive people mad."
Unable to articulate their true nature, and perhaps feeling a bit foolish about it, he waved dismissively. "The potions you had Old Sun arrange — I topped them up. They've already been sent to your room."
Now that was a tangible benefit. Su Chen responded immediately, "Thank you, teacher."
"What is it?" Seeing Su Chen's hesitant expression, Yuan Chenyang prompted.
Su Chen asked cautiously, "Am I... not allowed to leave anymore?"
"It's not that bad." Yuan Chenyang shook his head. "Nanfeng City isn't crawling with Evil God agents everywhere. This banquet was planned well in advance — the guest list was easy to leak. A perfect setup for an ambush."
"Under normal circumstances, nobody can predict when you'll go out or where you'll head."
"Good." Su Chen relaxed.
............
The banquet gradually dispersed. As the guests departed, they were still buzzing about what had just happened. Zhang Hengyu walked with Zhang Yunqing, seeing everyone off.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Yunqing noticed her brother's furrowed brow.
"Su Chen is stronger than me. He's more qualified to go to Yingfeng." Zhang Hengyu said quietly. The fight had unfolded in the blink of an eye.
He'd replayed it carefully. In the same situation, he doubted he could have emerged unscathed.
"What has father been doing all this time?" Zhang Yunqing was momentarily taken aback, then sighed helplessly. "That nomination wouldn't help him anyway. Refugees face invisible discrimination."
"But father could amend his records this year. There's no reason to make him wait another year," Zhang Hengyu argued. The thought still gnawed at him.
"Why should he?" Zhang Yunqing's warm smile vanished. Her voice turned cold as she stared at Zhang Hengyu. "Power is a form of strength too. It's not our fault he was born unlucky."
"This isn't just about you. If you can't accept that reality, then by all means — give the nomination away."
Zhang Hengyu looked at her in stunned silence, but she had already turned and walked off. Faintly, he caught something like "foolish little brother" trailing behind her.
............
Back at the Supervision Department, Su Chen obediently headed upstairs, while Yuan Chenyang took the bodies and the lone survivor to the interrogation wing. His expectations were low — these fanatics were madmen; extracting anything useful was unlikely.
Someone had been waiting in the corridor — a compact man with a grim expression. "Chief, the 2nd-tier professional's identity has been confirmed. He's from the Exploration Department — Chen Wu."
"The Exploration Department!?"
Yuan Chenyang's face contorted violently. In a deathly quiet voice, he commanded, "Old Du, lock this information down. If anyone leaks it, they answer to me personally."
Old Du nodded solemnly. The two moved to a small room adjacent to the interrogation chamber. Through the one-way glass, Old Du watched the surviving captive, face twisted in zealous frenzy, shrieking something unintelligible.
He lowered his voice. "Chief, what do we do?"
"This mess just landed in my lap." Yuan Chenyang's face was iron. "First the City Patrol had moles. Then someone infiltrated Su Chen's room right under us. Now an assassin turns out to be Exploration Department personnel."
"Nanfeng City has become a sieve! The envoys from Yingfeng are practically at our doorstep — if they find out about this, we're all finished!"
"Should we... hold off?" Old Du suggested cautiously. "The City Lord left with the Patrol Chief. If they come back and discover we've been digging through their ranks..."
What if they actually found something?
"Clever bastards..." Yuan Chenyang's brow twitched as he paced back and forth. "But what's the endgame? Eventually it gets exposed — how long can they stall?"
"No — wait!" Yuan Chenyang halted abruptly, an explosive glint sparking in his eyes. "Stalling might be exactly the point!"
"We don't know what's happening on the City Lord's end. If we wait for them to return before acting, things could spiral beyond control!"
"Investigate! We investigate now!" The words tore from Yuan Chenyang's throat. "Start with these people's families and associates. Anyone suspicious — surveillance on all of them!"
"And Zhou Xian — I want eyes on him around the clock!"
Old Du snapped to attention. "Understood!"
With two of the three violent organizations' leaders absent, there truly wasn't anyone in Nanfeng City who dared challenge Yuan Chenyang.
But this kind of action was a knife in the back. Whether the investigation bore fruit or not, those two leaders would be furious when they returned.
............
Su Chen, heading upstairs, was blissfully unaware that a storm was about to break. All he saw was Old Sun's smiling face, waiting by his door.
"Brother Sun, why are you camped outside my room again?" Su Chen said, though his gaze inevitably fell on the metal case in the man's hand.
"Just send a message next time — I'll come to you."
"Nothing better to do in the office." Old Sun chuckled as he followed Su Chen inside. After barely a few pleasantries, he set the metal case on the table.
The clasps clicked open. White, frost-cold mist billowed out, revealing three rows of vials. The top row held Black Flame Potions — ten tubes total.
The middle row was a vivid, luminous blue — also ten tubes.
But the bottom row contained only three tubes of a pink potion Su Chen had never seen before.