Celestial Human Diagram

A short while later, Chen Chuan walked back into the tunnel he had just come from. The car that brought him was still parked there, but Lan Xinnan and the others had already left.

They had followed the instructions he gave them on the way over.

The matter of the Fumu’s split-off body was extremely sensitive. Whether carrying it or disposing of it later, it was best for uninvolved parties to stay far away. Getting dragged into it would be nothing but trouble.

He opened the car door, got in, and placed the briefcase to one side. Then, he started the car and began to drive back.

Fighters have excellent memories, and he remembered the entire route he had taken. Plus, this particular stretch of road was known only to people from Lu Tong Logistics, so he was unlikely to encounter any obstructions on his return trip.

After driving for five or six minutes, he felt he was more or less back within the city limits. He stopped the car and retrieved the briefcase.

He opened it and took out a box sealed with some kind of heavy metal. Channeling Power into his fingers, he shattered the box in his hand.

The split-off body emerged, surrounded by a hazy halo, and floated in midair. After a moment, it began to drift slowly upward, as if trying to return to the surface.

Chen Chuan glanced at it, then turned back to the car and retrieved the capture box. He shone its light at the creature, which immediately froze in place.

He slowly drew the Snow Monarch Blade. Stepping in front of the creature, he swung. In a flash of cold light, the body was cleaved in two, its remains plummeting from the air.

He had expected the Snow Monarch Blade to react in some way, which was why he had chosen to handle the disposal in this deserted tunnel.

This time, however, no strange light appeared. ’Looks like the Snow Monarch Blade has had its fill,’ he thought. ’It doesn’t care about this one.’

Seeing this, he took out a vial of destruction fluid and poured it over the split-off body’s remains. A moment later, the creature had dissolved completely.

Meanwhile, as he was busy with this task, Zhen Ping and Guan Xiaohui were hiding cautiously in the area where he had just fought Xiang Tiancheng.

Earlier, they had heard thunderous crashes from afar. Guan Xiaohui had said people were fighting, and she had nearly fainted just from trying to sense it. They had quickly moved farther away, only returning after the commotion had completely ceased.

Now, they were worried. ’Was the person from headquarters one of the combatants? What happened in the end?’

But as they looked at the ground, which was so pockmarked it looked like it had been plowed by artillery shells, they saw nothing but large pools of blood.

"Hey, you two."

A voice called out from not far away.

Startled, Zhen Ping spun around, pulling Guan Xiaohui behind her and assuming a defensive stance.

She saw a man standing in the distance. But in the next instant, he was suddenly right in front of them, having seemingly crossed the distance without moving. She was shocked. ’That speed... No wonder Xiaohui couldn’t react in time...’

Seeing their defensive posture, Xiang Tiancheng stopped and didn’t move any closer. He held up his open hands. "You two, don’t be nervous," he said. "I’m Xiang Tiancheng. I was sent by our superiors to meet you."

As he spoke, he unfastened something hanging around his neck and tossed it to them. "Take a look."

Zhen Ping caught it and opened it in her hand. It was a piece of metal shaped like a torch. She took a similar piece from her own person and compared the two, finding that their minute notches fit together perfectly.

Plus, he had given his name, which was the same one Group Leader Yu had told them. This all but confirmed he was the contact sent from above.

Her expression relaxed. "Mr. Xiang," she asked, "are you from headquarters?"

"Yes. You can just call me Manager Xiang," Xiang Tiancheng said. "Did you bring the item?"

"We brought it. Xiaohui, take it out."

Guan Xiaohui grunted in acknowledgment, stepped forward, and handed the package to Xiang Tiancheng. "We haven’t opened it since we got it," she said. "The item should be inside."

As Xiang Tiancheng took it, he sensed a strange Domain. He didn’t know if this was what the organization wanted; he only knew his job was to bring it back.

He patted the package and chuckled wryly. At first, he’d really thought the item Che Gaoyi had was the one their resistance group had acquired, but now it just looked like a coincidence.

’What a fucking coincidence.’

The memory of what had just happened still made his heart pound. He had been a hair’s breadth away from death. Luckily, his opponent had apparently only wanted the item back and had no intention of finishing him off. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten away today.

’It’s this dangerous outside the city; I can’t imagine what it’s like inside.’

He’d heard that to seize this item, the higher-ups had dispatched an Elder. Many other members had also entered Central City disguised as mercenaries to coordinate the operation.

According to the plan, they were supposed to create a diversion to draw fire, covering the item’s transport out of the city. ’I wonder how many of them will make it back this time.’

He looked up at Zhen Ping and Guan Xiaohui. "I have the item, so your mission is complete. Keep your half of the token. It will serve as proof for your superior."

With that, he took a couple of steps to leave, then turned back. "I suggest you don’t go back. The city is extremely dangerous."

Zhen Ping nodded. "Thank you, Elder Xiang. We’re aware."

Their superiors had instructed them that if the handover was successful, they were to hide outside Central City and not return for the time being.

"I’m leaving, then. Take care of yourselves."

Xiang Tiancheng waved and left with the package. Along the way, he glanced into the distance. Someone was watching him. He knew this was the person their superiors had sent to record the events and provide support. If not for that person’s thrown knife earlier, he would have met his end back there.

In theory, this person wasn’t supposed to reveal themselves, so he just waved in their direction before quickly departing.

「At that same moment, inside the Defense Department Command Center.」

Specialist Liang stared at a light screen with a grave expression. Below him, the Defense Department members and liaisons were utterly silent.

The screen displayed a scene from a certain location in Central City’s Fengde District. The street was in shambles. Buildings and pavement along the road were heavily damaged, and vehicles had been overturned and smashed like toys. One car was even embedded in the wall of a high-rise building. Rubble periodically fell from the buildings on either side of the street, and the ground was littered with the bodies of security guards and mercenaries.

A massive hole ran straight through the wall of one high-rise, almost piercing the entire building. It was hard for an ordinary person to imagine this was caused by the impact of just two Fighters locked in a desperate battle.

A tall figure was now standing directly in front of the hole.

This man was around seven and a half feet tall and looked incredibly powerful, but he was no longer moving.

There was hardly an intact spot on his body. Large patches of skin and flesh had been stripped away, and what remained was caked in a foul mixture of blood and dirt. Half of his head was missing. Of his two legs, one still retained some flesh, while the other was supported only by a thick, bare bone.

And just thirty seconds ago, this man had still been fighting their dispatched personnel, despite these grievous injuries.

This was the man who had single-handedly tied up most of the elite combatants from both the Processing Bureau and the Defense Bureau in this district. The Processing Bureau had even sent two Execution Captains, while the Defense Department had deployed members of Team One.

The four of them had ganged up on him, taking over half an hour to finally bring him down.

Now, several members of a response team could be seen cautiously approaching to inspect the body.

After a moment, a voice came through Specialist Liang’s Realm Token: "Report, Specialist. We’ve conducted our inspection. We didn’t find the split-off body on him or any nearby accomplices. It must have been moved ahead of time."

Specialist Liang had anticipated this. The group had been so brazen; it was obvious they were acting as a diversion to draw fire and make it easier to move the split-off body.

But this group was simply too destructive, and they were also attempting to seize other split-off bodies. Neither the Processing Bureau nor the Defense Department could afford to ignore them.

Suddenly, a voice from the Sentry Tower station called out: "Split-off body detected. Domain signature has vanished. Confirmed neutralized. Cross-referencing handler’s identity... Identity confirmed: Processing Bureau Execution Captain, Chen Chuan."

Specialist Liang asked, "Are you sure?"

"Confirmed."

Specialist Liang nodded. Containing a split-off body was different from neutralizing one. When damaged and subjected to the chemical agent, a split-off body emitted a unique Domain just before its destruction—a Domain that could not be faked.

The mood among the staff below lifted, and they began to murmur among themselves. "Thank goodness Captain Chen was successful."

"Captain Chen is the most efficient one in this operation."

"Yeah, Captain Chen has already handled three of the bodies. The most anyone else has recovered so far is one."

"And Captain Chen has been fighting all the tough battles. Just look at Chen Bitong—Team Two was wiped out by him. If it weren’t for Captain Chen, we might still not have dealt with that situation."

"Well, you can blame that other group for that. They’re tying up too much of our strength."

Specialist Liang stood at the second-floor railing, his expression still grave. While it was good news that Chen Chuan had secured another one, three split-off bodies were still at large, and search-and-intercept operations were ongoing.

Just then, his female assistant seemed to hear something. She looked up and told him, "Specialist, we’ve run a check. The deceased is suspected to be a high-level inspector from the Resistance Alliance Front. His specific identity is still being confirmed."

"The Resistance Alliance Front..." Specialist Liang said. "It must be them. Order the teams to continue their search. And tell Old Xu not to let his guard down. I don’t want him getting involved elsewhere. I just need him to hold his position, no matter what."

"Yes, Specialist."

Specialist Liang glanced at the imaging of Central City. According to their intelligence, the Lianwei Zhongyu convoy had split into two groups.

Chen Chuan had just dealt with one. As for the other, he had a good idea of where it was headed, so he had already stationed personnel there in advance—more than enough to block their path.

...

...

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!