CHAPTER 186: CLEARANCE

Chen Chuan cast a glance at the floor before flipping the saber around to continue down the passageway at a moderate pace. His footsteps echoed through the spacious factory.

When he drew close to the exit, Wei Jun and his group heard him. Fear and anxiety rose in their hearts, and cold sweat broke out on their bodies.

Panicked, one of them sped up and slipped, falling forward quite a distance. When he realized what had happened, his lower body was already two meters away from his head, and he started screaming.

The others were triggered by the sight. Their faces drained of color, and their breathing turned rapid, but they didn’t dare to stop. They could only continue moving forward while trembling like leaves.

A moment later, the sound of footsteps behind them stopped. It was as if they had disappeared entirely.

“I don’t hear anything.”

“What’s going on? Has he stopped following us, or have the combat praying mantises killed him?”

Unable to help himself, Wei Jun turned around to look. That one look made his pupils shrink in fear. Chen Chuan was standing at the corner and staring at them calmly.

“Fuck!”

Despair rose in his heart.

“Hurry up and call our reinforcements in! I know they’re outside!” One of the members had also noticed Chen Chuan and started screaming in panic.

But that was all he could do.

They had a large number of reinforcements stationed outside, but unfortunately for them, they had instructed those reinforcements that things might get lively in the factory later, so they were to stay away. That was why the reinforcements did not move in despite the noise. Even if they heard gunshots and screams, no one blinked.

Also, due to them only having a short time to set things up and this place being located in the old, abandoned factory area, they didn’t have a telephone line. They had set up a telegraph, but they had no time to use it now.

Someone then cried out in excitement, “Wait! This thing is also blocking his way! That’s right! He can’t come here! We can leave!”

It was as if he had found a way to survive.

The others also realized, to their glee, that this did seem to be the case.

“That’s right! He can’t come after us!”

Jiang Wei continued forward while ignoring everyone behind him. If Chen Chuan had made it here, it meant that he had killed the two combat praying mantises. Then, nothing could block the bio-weapon Chen Chuan brought, not that they would be able to fend both of them off in this cramped space in the first place.

Instead of wasting his energy talking, it was better to focus on moving. That way, he might have a chance of getting out.

He swung the knife again, only to realize to his surprise that there were no longer any obstacles in front. He wasn’t the only one who noticed it. The others discovered this fact too. Their knives no longer ran into any obstacles.

That was because the threads’ effect had run out, and the web fell apart when Jiang Wei touched it with the knife.

The Mutual Aid Group members got up and stumbled out.

Chen Chuan started walking over at a seemingly languid pace, but somehow, he managed to make it behind them in an instant. With a flick of his saber, one of them fell.

Wei Jun kicked a person in front of him toward Chen Chuan. The Frost King Saber swept past the person’s neck, and he flipped around before cradling his neck and stumbling to the wall. Then, with a hand against the wall as support, he staggered to the door.

Chen Chuan ignored him. The person walked about a hundred paces forward with blood flowing down his neck. In the end, he collapsed on the floor and twitched helplessly a few times before he stopped moving.

Another member’s eyes turned bloodshot with desperation and rage, and with a shout, he charged at Chen Chuan.

But Chen Chuan suddenly appeared beside him and grabbed his neck. With a snap, the person’s limbs fell limp, his knees buckled, and all strength drained from his body.

Chen Chuan’s arm remained steady as he dragged the person forward a little before letting go. The man collapsed on the floor.

Wei Jun saw all of it, and his breathing grew labored. He was a true martial artist and wanted to fight Chen Chuan. If he was going to die either way, why shouldn’t he face death with a tough front?

But his legs were glued to the floor. Without Tan Wang, based on the strength Chen Chuan displayed just now, Wei Jun had no hope of winning.

No one wanted to die if they could continue living.

Zhao Qian had said that he’d send powerful martial artists over, but they had yet to arrive! Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been driven into a corner!

Looks like I have no other choice, he thought.

He took out a wriggling, transparent worm from his pocket and ate it.

It was an object left by the Two-Faced Creature every time it killed someone. If anyone ate it, for a short amount of time, they would suffer effects similar to those of being attacked by the Two-Faced Creature.

Even though he would hallucinate and get hurt if he attacked anyone, all external attacks would no longer affect him.

This meant that as long as he could survive for a time, he could live!

After Jiang Wei got up, he didn’t immediately run toward the door. His slight pause was too long for the person beside him, and he shoved him away to get to the door. Right when he was about to grab the door handle, a black shadow shot over, and the person was instantly cut to shreds.

Jiang Wei kept a close eye on the black shadow. He jumped toward the door, then moved to the side, but he wasn’t fast enough and lost an arm.

His expression did not change. The thing needed to stop for a moment before it could accelerate, so he could use this chance to leave. Losing an arm was nothing. As long as he could make it out, he could come back later to retrieve his arm. If worse came to worst, he could even get an implant.

When he was about to grab the door handle, he felt himself lurching forward until his face was plastered against the door, as if someone had shoved him. Slowly, he pushed himself back so that he could look down, and he saw a blade going through his stomach.

Even so, he didn’t give up. While enduring the pain, he stepped back a bit and grabbed the blade to not make the wound worse as he shimmyed backward. Finally, he was able to pull the saber out of the door.

Someone grabbed the saber hilt behind him and drew the saber out.

Jiang Wei felt a chill in his stomach and grunted, but he didn’t turn around. Instead, while cradling his stomach, he stumbled forward and tried to grab the door handle again, but his hands were covered in blood, causing the door handle to slip out of his grasp. In the end, he turned around and slid down to the ground.

His face was bloodless, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead. “Why do this? If you kill us, you’ll die too. I can keep you alive if you spare me...”

Chen Chuan watched him bleed out.

His reaction made Jiang Wei come to a stark realization. He stared at him. “You... won’t die? Do you have the unrestricted defense permit? You already have it, don’t you? Don’t you?!”

He shouted the last part at the top of his lungs.

Chen Chuan didn’t answer him. Instead, he turned around and left the passageway. Only one person was left. Jiang Wei’s voice became weaker behind him. His consciousness faded away. In the end, his head fell against his chest, and he breathed his last.

Wei Jun’s voice came from the factory, followed by the sound of fists hitting the pillars and walls.

“Shen Zheng, you’re not dead? Why aren’t you dead? Why won’t you die?! Just die already!

“Don’t come here! Your sister isn’t with me! Zhao Qian took her to Central City! Don’t fucking come to me!

“Why?! Why are you so strong? Is it because of talent? I’m the most talented one here!”

Wei Jun’s face was twisted with savagery while he was trying to choke a pillar. Though, he seemed to be suffering from asphyxiation worse than well, the pillar.

Chen Chuan watched in silence. He had fought briefly against Wei Jun, only to realize that Wei Jun was impervious to external damage while being deeply entrenched in some sort of hallucination. When he tried to attack Chen Chuan, he got hurt instead.

Chen Chuan figured that this was related to the supernatural being.

Shen Zheng had to have gone through this. That was why the autopsy report showed that he was the one who hurt and eventually killed himself.

Wei Jun’s complexion started turning purple. He could no longer let out a sound, but he acted as if he was facing the most dangerous thing in the world. He kept squeezing the pillar with his hands while his own eyes were rolling back.

***

The sky was starting to turn bright. Lu Fang, Shu Han and the other members of the Aspiration Club drove several SUVs down the road leading to the factory at the fastest speed possible.

“Come on, drive faster,” they urged the driver.

The members of the Aspiration Club had heard the news that Chen Chuan received evaluation points from the Foreign Affairs Department, and that the Mutual Aid Group had learned about this. They also learned that the Mutual Aid Group had called Chen Chuan for a “talk” at Li’an Machinery.

The place instantly struck a nerve, because Shen Zheng had died there, yet they had dared to say that he killed himself.

Now, they had called Chen Chuan. Was the past going to repeat itself?

The Aspiration Club unanimously decided to go to the factory. Even though they weren’t strong individually and were no longer a strong club after many of their pillars had graduated, those who remained were still fixated on their regret.

“Lu Fang, you’ve already graduated. You don’t have to come,” Shu Han said.

Lu Fang shook his head and said with great determination, “When he was in trouble, I wasn’t around, and I hated myself for it. Why wasn’t I the one who died? Why him? If he were still around, things might be different today.” He sighed. “I hope I can make up for it today.”

“You’re right. When he died three years ago, we couldn’t do anything, but now, we can’t just stand by and do nothing. Chen Chuan got the evaluation points, so he can sit for the unrestricted defense permit test. He’s our only hope after his passing. We can’t give up. Even if he is no longer around, we need someone to keep walking down his path!”

The other Aspiration Club members nodded. Some of them had already graduated, but they still came. Chen Chuan might have rejected their invitation, but they had still been paying attention to him.

It did not take them long to realize that Chen Chuan never fell behind despite choosing to practice the All-Encompassing Refined Force. Instead, he kept performing feats that the average student could not do, thereby proving that he was walking down the right path.

A little while later, they arrived near the old factory.

“It’s right there!” Someone pointed at a building ahead of them.

The Aspiration Club members’ gazes turned into a complicated mix of sadness and anger.

Three years ago, they had seen Shen Zheng’s corpse being carried out of the place. Now, when someone who was just as strong finally showed up, those people wanted to kill him too. They weren’t going to let that happen.

But when they reached the entrance of the road, they found that not only was the place barricaded, but there were also security guards patrolling the area.

When they reached the barriers, the security guards stopped them and told them that it was private property. They weren’t allowed to get close.

Wei Jun’s butler recognized them. It had been a little over an hour since Chen Chuan went inside, but the door hadn’t been raised. Since the young master and his friends might still not have had their fill of fun, they had to stop these people from going in.

Still, the sun was about to rise, so it was about to put an end to the event. The butler had also received a telegram that some people were rushing over.

Lu Fang’s group was really anxious. They knew that every extra second they were blocked outside meant greater danger for Chen Chuan. So, they decided to force their way through. The security guards didn’t have guns, and they could not stop them with brute force alone.

Just as they were about to take action, the ground started trembling, and armored patrol cars rolled down the road.

“It’s the Constabulary! Those are their cars!”

Armed constables came out and surrounded the place. When one of them stopped, Deputy Chief Guan Yuming came out.

The butler was shocked. He wasn’t expecting Guan Yuming to come, but before he could go forward, he heard more noise, and he turned to the other side. Black armored cars came from that direction and stopped in front of the butler.

His expression changed. “The Cult Investigation Bureau?”

The door of the first car opened, and Lei Guangcheng came out. Behind him were men in black trench coats. Their faces and the backs of their hands were covered in tattoos serving as wards against rituals. They, too, walked over.