Mr. Pan fidgeted in the car.
He didn’t want to take this route not only because the surroundings here made him uneasy, but also because the Plague Gang had a horrible reputation even in the lower city district. No regular person wanted to come close to this place.
But they had no other choice. If he didn’t provide an alternate route, he would not leave the car alive.
As the motorcade continued forward, his uneasiness grew. The area was only lit up by their headlights, and it was completely silent aside from the sounds from the motorcade.
The dark tunnel ahead made him feel as if they had been cast into an endless hole. It felt extremely oppressive.
Che Gaoyi narrowed his eyes. They had been driving for more than half an hour, but had yet to see the exit. He also noticed something unsettling: The doodles on the walls repeated.
Third Limit martial artists had great memory, and his was exceptionally good. Hence, even if he had only cast them a single glance, he had memorized all of them.
They weren’t heading to their destination. They were going in circles.
Once Che Gaoyi noticed this, he shouted into his Realm Pass, “Stop the cars!”
The motorcade stopped.
“Check your cars and report your situation,” he ordered.
All the cars began giving their reports, and they soon noticed that one car was missing.
They had last communicated with it five minutes ago.
Mr. Pan found the situation off. The rumors about the Plague Gang kept replaying in his head, and he said, “Mr. Che, what’s this...”
“Why are you panicking?” Che Gaoyi asked coldly
Even though they lost a car, no one had come forward to attack them. This meant that whoever was hiding in the dark either didn’t want to fight them head-on or didn’t have the power to fight them.
“Each car is to report to me once every two minutes. We will now retreat,” he instructed through his Realm Pass.
Then, he did a U-turn while leading the motorcade. At that moment, he was recalling all the details about the route they had taken, including the changes of the doodles on the wall and the traces on the ground. Every change rose in his mind.
He didn’t even need to pay special attention to the road to bring the entire motorcade out.
At that moment, his observational prowess was as sharp as an active biosentient entity’s.
Half an hour later, they made it to the entrance of the tunnel.
“We’re out.” When Mr. Pan saw the familiar light from the Sun Vines, his nerves relaxed, and he gasped for breath in his seat.
But once they started checking the motorcade, they found that they had lost yet another car.
This shocked the group, and fear started creeping into them. They had contacted each other right before they came out, so how did another car disappear?
They weren’t scared of fighting to the death, but things like this made their skins crawl, because there was no logical explanation for it.
Che Gaoyi was the only one who remained calm. He had no intention of searching for the two missing cars. The propagated offspring wasn’t in them, and he wasn’t going to stop just because of two missing cars.
Mr. Pan looked at him hesitantly. “What should we do now, Mr. Che?”
Both roads were off-limits, so he really didn’t know what to do anymore. He was also worried that Che Gaoyi was going to strike him down in anger.
“We’ll go back to the first exit and force our way out,” Che Gaoyi said resolutely.
Even though it wasn’t a good idea to charge at the Resolution Department’s checkpoint, it was the only available exit. It was much better than facing the strange and unexplainable situation inside the tunnel leading to the other exit.
The motorcade reorganized itself and left once Che Gaoyi gave an order. On the way out, he cast a profound glance at the dark, endless tunnel behind him.
***
Back at Roaring Victory District, Chen Chuan put on an overcoat and went back to his car to have a warm drink provided by the response team.
He checked his palm. Chen Bitong had transferred a stream of mental energy into him through the last punch. It had information contained within it, but Chen Chuan would only be able to see it after his mind became stronger.
But that wasn’t going to take much time.
He could tell that he was close to reaching that state. The day was far from over, so he still had a chance to achieve it.
Even if he wasn’t aiming to see what Chen Bitong had left for him, the pure essence that was going to come next made him determined to improve his mental energy. He wanted to get as much pure essence as possible.
After the warm drink, he rested for a bit until his Realm Pass rang. Once he checked who it was, he answered the call.
“Special Officer Liang?”
“Captain Chen, I know that you might be tired from the Roaring Victory District incident, but I need your help once more. You’re the best fit for it,” Liang Guanghai said.
“What is it, sir?” Chen Chuan asked.
“Several propagated offspring have slipped from our grasp. We suspect that United Might has been hired to transport at least one of them, since their motorcade has gone to the lower city district.
“An hour ago, the officers at the checkpoint we set up at a hidden exit noticed someone trying to get out through there. The officers suspect that they were from United Might, but they didn’t see them again. I believe they left to find another exit.
“The situation in the lower city district is really complicated, so it’s not convenient for our officers to go in. They won’t be trusted. I heard that Border Fusion supports a logistics team down there, and you happen to be their security advisor. You’d have a much easier time moving about there.
“That’s why we hope that you can head there and intercept United Might’s motorcade.”
After some thinking, Chen Chuan asked, “How much clearance do I have?”
“I’ll give you authority in the name of the World Ring Defense System and the Department of Administrative Affairs,” Liang Guanghai said seriously. “You’re allowed to use any method you deem necessary in matters related to the propagated offspring. We can also set up communication channels and a response unit according to your needs.
“I only have one condition: Intercept the motorcade in the lower city district whatever the price. If you find any propagated offspring, destroy them on the spot.”
“Got it. I’ll get it done, sir,” Chen Chuan answered.
“I’ve sent a motorcade to pick you up. The lower city district is unlike the other districts. Be careful,” Liang Guanghai cautioned.