Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 364 - 95: The Trap

The armored vehicle left the port warehouse and headed for the Elephant House Inn. Sun Rao and Chen Chuan had just received word that the rich kids were out again, and this time they were heading straight for that location.

It was not a good place to be, especially right now.

Yinglu District had the largest population of foreign immigrants in Jibei Dao Central City. The dominant force there now was the Swordfish Gang, whose members were mostly from the various Island Countries of the Outer Ocean and backed by the Ferris Wheel Company. However, they had only risen to prominence in recent years.

The largest gang that used to control Yinglu District was the Elephant Gang. Most of its members were laborers who had come from the Sheni Great Peninsula during the Great Expansion. After the Swordfish Gang rose up, the two gangs clashed repeatedly, and the Elephant Gang was gradually pushed to the fringes of the district.

However, many other powers didn’t want the Ferris Wheel Company to have a monopoly in Yinglu District, so they provided the Elephant Gang with financial and armed support from behind the scenes. As a result, even though the Elephant Gang couldn’t expand, they could still firmly hold on to their own territory.

The Elephant Gang had several skilled Fighters in particular. So, after conquering the vast majority of the territory, the Swordfish Gang didn’t want to provoke them too far, and so maintained the current stalemate.

But the conflicts between the two gangs hadn’t stopped; they flared up every few days. The Elephant House Inn was Elephant Gang territory, a place that refused entry to any Foreigners. Now, a Conservative Faction within the gang had even begun to show hostility toward anyone not of their own kind.

"The father of those two brats does business with the Ferris Wheel Company. They’d be fine in Swordfish Gang territory, but what the hell are they doing running off to the Elephant Gang? Are they out of their minds? You really think the Elephant Gang can’t find that out? And they just had to pick a time when the two gangs are about to go to war. They’re complete morons!"

Sun Rao was cursing up a storm. "You know, junior, I honestly wish those two suicidal idiots would just hurry up and die. But the thought of the Bureau having to clean up their mess just makes me sick to my stomach."

Chen Chuan remained silent. ’It’s not that the siblings are out of their minds,’ he thought. ’They probably just want to see people from the Processing Bureau clash with the gangs. They’re looking for fun and excitement.’

He understood Sun Rao’s frustration. The truth was, no matter where you were, the people doing the grunt work always had to deal with this kind of crap. Unless you could get promoted, then you could just have your subordinates deal with it.

For a Fighter, the simplest way was to become a Three-Limited Fighter. The higher-ups wouldn’t assign them this kind of work. Even if the Bureau tried, that Fighter could just turn around and find a new employer immediately.

As long as you had strength, you could live comfortably anywhere. Otherwise, it was the same everywhere you went.

Fifteen minutes later, they could see the tower-like inn from a distance. Its top soared high, the entire structure a brilliant gold and white. It was exceptionally tall and wide, casting a dazzling shadow.

However, as they drew closer, they heard intense gunfire erupt ahead. The sound grew louder and louder. From the looks of it, at least a hundred people were involved in a fierce battle.

There was no point in counting on the city patrol at a time like this. With such intense firepower, they wouldn’t go anywhere near the fighting. They were the ones who got chewed out on a daily basis, and now they were expected to rush into the line of fire? They weren’t that stupid.

Just then, the Resonator informed Sun Rao that they had detected a Domain shield around the inn, making it impossible to see what was happening inside. Meanwhile, a message came from the Bureau confirming that the siblings were inside and telling them to "figure something out."

"Fuck!"

Sun Rao cursed. "Let them die!

We have no tech support right now, so we can’t find them. We don’t have the power to stop a gang war, and I’m not going to risk my life or my team’s by going in there."

He turned to Chen Chuan. "I’m the team leader this time, so of course, I’ll take the responsibility."

Chen Chuan looked at him, about to say something.

Sun Rao waved a hand dismissively. "Don’t say it. I said I’ll take responsibility. This is your first day on duty. You don’t know the situation, so there’s no reason for you to share the blame."

Chen Chuan said, "Senior..."

"Stop talking. We’re not in school anymore. This isn’t about loyalty. We do things by the book. I made this decision, and it has nothing to do with you!"

Chen Chuan tried to speak again, but just as the words were on his lips, Sun Rao cut him off once more. "I know what you’re going to say. Our armored vehicle could ram its way in, but there’s no guarantee the gangs don’t have experts inside, maybe even heavy weapons. It’s too dangerous to go in. Staying outside is the right call!"

Chen Chuan waited a moment. When he was sure Sun Rao was finally done talking, he said, "That’s not what I was going to say."

"...What were you going to say?"

Chen Chuan said, "I was going to say, with the Swordfish Gang and the Elephant Gang clashing and so many people mobilized, is it possible that Tong Daguang, the guy we’re supposed to be watching, is involved? If not, is he at his stronghold? And if he is, does that mean there’s nobody with him? Could he have been targeted?"

Sun Rao froze for a second, his expression changing. "You’re right to bring that up." He paused. "We need to find out where he is first."

He immediately told his Resonator to find Tong Daguang’s location, but they seemed to be running into some kind of interference. The process was extremely slow, and for a long time, there was no response.

After waiting for about twenty minutes, a message finally came through. He wasn’t at the stronghold. He had left in a hurry half an Hour ago but seemed to have stopped somewhere near Rope Street.

Sun Rao sensed something was wrong and immediately ordered the driver to head there at top speed.

When the armored vehicle arrived at the block at breakneck speed, they found the street completely cordoned off by city patrol vehicles.

But when they saw the Processing Bureau’s vehicle approaching, they cleared a path. After driving in, they saw twisted corpses littering the ground, along with limbs that had been torn from bodies. Human tissue and Implants were scattered everywhere. Fragments of flesh hung from tree branches, dripping tissue fluid and blood. The scene was utterly gruesome.

A crowd was gathered in the center of the area. Although they were in plainclothes, one look was enough to tell they were from the Processing Bureau. Sun Rao, realizing something, parked the vehicle, got out, and shouted to one of them, "Captain Li!"

Chen Chuan recognized the man as well—it was the same Captain Li he had worked with before. He glanced at the surroundings, a thoughtful look on his face.

Captain Li turned, saw them, and walked over. "What are you two doing here?" he asked in surprise. "Weren’t we supposed to keep this from you?"

As he said this, he saw the look on Sun Rao’s face and suddenly realized what had happened. He slapped a hand to his forehead. "I let it slip. Oh well. At this point, there’s no need to hide it from you anymore."

Sun Rao looked at him. "So... the Bureau had a plan all along?"

Captain Li glanced around, then said to him and Chen Chuan, "Let’s talk over here."

He led the two of them aside. "Yes, the Bureau had a plan. We transferred personnel to other districts and left only you two on duty here to set a trap, making it look like we were shorthanded.

The Bureau didn’t tell you beforehand because we were afraid that, being young, you wouldn’t be able to fool Wei Wusheng’s eyes and ears. I hope you don’t mind."

Sun Rao said, "Captain Li, we were in the vehicle the whole time on duty. You could have told us, and we would have cooperated."

Captain Li mulled it over for a moment, seeming to consider something. Then he looked at Sun Rao and said, "We discovered a while ago that the Resonator you work with has been under surveillance, though he himself is completely unaware.

He’s worked with the Bureau many times and has access to certain clearances and information. If someone were to use him, they could easily obtain our internal intelligence.

It’s not just you, actually. A number of Resonators partnered with our Bureau members have issues, more or less. This time, the Bureau decided to use this vulnerability to set up a few missions. And it seems your situation was indeed one of those leaks."

Sun Rao’s expression soured.

Captain Li waved his hand. "Sigh. It has nothing to do with you. The Bureau authorized your use of that Resonator. Besides, we managed to lure out Wei Wusheng this time. You’re not at fault; in fact, you’ve done us a service. If it weren’t for you, how could we have found him so easily?"

"Wei Wusheng!" Sun Rao exclaimed, the name finally registering. "Captain Li, did you catch him?"

Captain Li let out a sigh. "Wei Wusheng’s strength was beyond our expectations. Two Three-Limited Fighters participated in the ambush, with other specialized personnel providing support, but even so, he managed to fight his way out."

Sun Rao couldn’t help but feel disappointed. "Why didn’t the Bureau get more people?"

Captain Li sounded helpless. "The Bureau wanted to, but the outside world knows who our people are. Most of them were transferred elsewhere as part of the plan, precisely to make Wei Wusheng believe that our forces really weren’t here.

As for the two Three-Limited Fighters who joined the ambush, the Bureau had to requisition them from regional posts. When you’re dealing with Three-Limited experts, it’s not a simple matter. There’s a lot of troublesome red tape. Getting two of them on such short notice, from decision to execution, was already impressive."

Chen Chuan then asked, "Captain Li, was Wei Wusheng injured?"

Captain Li said, a bit uncertainly, "Both of the experts we brought in were injured, so Wei Wusheng couldn’t have escaped completely unscathed. We’re going to intensify the search..."

As he was speaking, a signal suddenly came through his Realm Token. His expression changed slightly, and he said to the two of them in a grim voice, "Zhe Rong is dead. I have to go check it out. You two..." He glanced at Chen Chuan, and something seemed to occur to him. "Never mind, come with me."

After saying that, he hurried back to gather his team.

After Chen Chuan returned to the vehicle, he pieced together the situation from fragmented reports. Wei Wusheng had first ambushed Tong Daguang on his way to the Elephant House, killing all twenty-seven of his men in one fell swoop before being caught in the Processing Bureau’s own ambush.

But because Wei Wusheng displayed strength far beyond what was previously recorded, they had failed to capture him. After breaking out of the encirclement, he didn’t flee directly or even try to leave Yinglu District. Instead, he turned around and went to kill Zhe Rong, who was in the middle of a martial arts hall exchange.

It was an undeniably insane and audacious move.

But on second thought, it was a perfectly logical choice. Since Wei Wusheng had managed to escape the Processing Bureau’s ambush, he would naturally know that the Bureau’s forces were limited to just that one group. There was no one else outside. It was the perfect opportunity to go kill Zhe Rong.

Judging by his actions, the ambush probably hadn’t seriously injured him, which was why he still had the strength to do all this.

’However, there is another issue to consider,’ he thought. ’I’m also on Wei Wusheng’s list. Will the man decide he might as well go all the way and turn around to come after me next?’

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