Book 4, Chapter 172: When The Dust Settles, Everything Returns To Normal

The gigantic Monster Airship shattered to pieces. It stayed frozen for a moment before its torn and burning hull fell down.

Explosives and artillery shells exploded once they fell in the distance with loud noise and bright light. It was as if countless fireworks were set off.

***

Back in the municipal government’s building, the two politicians enjoying their wine and the scene watched in dumbfounded silence.

The screen in front of them was still flickering because of the explosions from the Monster Airship or the ball of light.

“What the hell was that?!”

Unease rose in their hearts. Things had left their control and understanding.

Just then, one of the politicians’ Realm Pass flashed, which was a signal that he had received an emergency call. After answering it, he heard scattered, muffled sounds, as if he was experiencing major interference. All he could hear were a few words. “Stop... Retreat... Martial arts master...”

Soon, though, he was unable to hear any legible phrases. All he heard was static.

“What exactly did he say?” the other politician asked in frustration.

The first one’s face was pale as a sheet. “H-he said... a martial arts master...”

“A what? A martial arts master?!”

The politician finally realized what had happened. As disbelief colored his face, he looked at his companion as if he was joking.

A moment later, he threw his wine glass on the floor. Red wine spilled all over as he lost his composure and started cursing. “I sent men to capture him and even issued a bounty on his head, and they’re now friggin’ telling me that he’s a martial arts master?!”

After the venting, he was filled with deep dread.

The closer they were to the top, the more they knew just what sort of impact and destruction a martial arts master could cause. If they had known that they were up against one, they wouldn’t have used such extreme methods. No. They would have never even considered using brute force against him!

However, they had issued orders to attack him. If the martial arts master wanted to fight back, it would only make sense for him to do so. How were they supposed to stop him, though?

With bloodshot eyes, he said, “I don’t think we’ll be the only ones affected. The municipal government will get the heat too. They have to help us stop him. They can’t cast us aside, or we’re all going to die!”

***

They weren’t the only ones panicking at the moment. The entire municipal government descended into chaos.

The politicians who had been really proud of their plan had found out that the person they thought they could easily intimidate and control was actually a martial arts master, and he even showed off his strength and destructive abilities in Central City without an ounce of fear.

Few martial arts masters did that. This was because they didn’t want to waste their strength on something that wasn’t of any value to them and because most martial arts masters faced a lot of restrictions from contracts or rules placed on them.

The deciding factor behind whether a martial arts master would fight in Central City was actually the second reason. If a martial arts master didn’t want to be restricted, there had to be another force equal in strength to hold them back, or there was simply no way for them to be stopped. Right now, they had no idea what Chen Chuan was going to do next.

They also didn’t know whether the Department of Administrative Affairs had approved Chen Chuan’s actions. This was their greatest and primary fear.

If they let things continue like this, they would end up falling into a bottomless pit.

“Activate Guardian Spider! We have to do it!” a politician shouted. Guardian Spider was their active biosentient entity, which was the only thing that could give them a sense of safety.

Once the suggestion was voiced, many of the politicians calmed down. It wasn’t all that bad. They could still salvage the situation, so they started making arrangements.

Their first task was to get rid of the baseless accusations and demands for accountability. After all, they couldn’t exactly ask Chen Chuan to hold back his power while ruining his reputation and infringing upon his interests.

They ordered all the news media outlets under their control to proclaim that this was just a misunderstanding. The corruptive substances weren't going to affect the citizens, and the Crisis Management Center had made a grave mistake. It had acted without authorization, and the municipal government had known nothing about it.

In order to cut ties with the Crisis Management Center, they fully intended to sacrifice the two politicians in charge of the plan to calm Chen Chuan’s anger. At the very least, they needed to give him a reason to not attack them.

Even though they were essentially humiliating themselves by doing so, they were forced into it.

Then, they contacted the Union and the Linacrox Union to get their support in squashing this matter down.

Mr. Quan remained seated while watching the other politicians heatedly discuss their new course of action. He didn’t say much and soon left the meeting room to go to another one.

The man in sunglasses was inside it. When he saw Mr. Quan, he smiled. “You don’t seem nervous, Mr. Quan.”

Mr. Quan sat down across from him. “I wasn’t nervous. Due to the unique nature of the merged space, the Department of Administrative Affairs is not allowed to tell the public of its existence. This means that the World Ring Defense System can’t turn their victory in the merged space into a political advantage, like the time they destroyed Ferris Wheel.

“The only imbalance we have right now is in fighting power. We’ve always been worried about it, but I believe that your faction can help us with it.”

The man smiled gently. “Well, aren’t you confident in us?”

Mr. Quan continued, “You know that I’ve always been accepting of your faction and supported its development in Central City. I believe that you can sense my cordiality toward you.

“As for Lead Investigator Chen, he’s from the purity faction. Before, they sent two martial arts masters to defend him, and they’re set on returning to Jibei Road. If the Department of Administrative Affairs gets an advantage, they won’t have any problems with it, and I’m sure that you know what their beliefs are.”

Mr. Quan had become a politician twenty years ago, and back then, the purity faction had been pretty big in Jibei Road until they had to leave after a major accident. It seemed like the fusion faction and refined training faction were behind that incident.

After that, Jibei Road’s Central City became an important base for the two factions, so they were bound to not want the purity faction to come back.

The purity faction had gained a martial arts master, and if the two factions didn’t respond to it, they would only be letting the purity faction continue growing in power. That was why Mr. Quan wasn’t as anxious as the other politicians. He knew that the two factions were going to lose their cool as well.

“Mr. Quan, we’ve been working well together, and we believe that it’d be best if we maintained the current political situation, but we need to avoid a war between factions. Given the overall situation, it’s not allowed. I’m sure you understand,” the man said.

“I know. Balance is the most important thing,” Mr. Quan stated.

“I’m glad you understand. I’ve sent word just now, and if nothing goes wrong, a martial arts master will arrive. I hope that Jibei Road will invite him here instead of him having to drop by unannounced,” the man said meaningfully.

Mr. Quan nodded. “But of course.”

“Allow me to say something from the point of view of an onlooker. If I were you, I’d think of a way to calm him down. No matter when and where, getting on a martial arts master’s bad side is a stupid decision. Regardless of whether my faction will send a martial arts master over or not, you’ll have to pay a price, and I mean a substantial one. Based on what I understand, no martial arts master wants to see another martial arts master being treated unfairly, be they friend or foe.”

Mr. Quan’s heart trembled at that. After some consideration, he said grimly, “I’ll get things done.”

***

All the remaining airships stayed away from the Resolution Department’s square. After seeing such a shocking sight, none of them dared to fire again.

The Monster Airship’s fragments were still falling from the sky, and a layer of ash had covered the ground of the square and the buildings around it.

Chen Chuan stood at the center, but no ash fell within a few dozen meters of him, which stood out quite obviously and was seen by thousands of people.

Xu Chan’s group stared at the falling embers and ashes. They were shocked but also filled with exhilaration.

Captain Lu was stunned for a long while, then grabbed Xu Chan’s shoulder and asked in excitement, “Captain Xu, Lao Xu, Lead Investigator Chen is a martial arts master, right? Huh? You knew, didn’t you? Come on, tell me!”

He was quite incoherent.

Xu Chan could understand that. “Do you remember who we came back with on the airship? I had a guess back then.”

“You’re right. Yes, of course.” Captain Lu nodded vigorously.

Hai Gao and Captain Hu exchanged looks and saw each other’s shock and delight.

They weren’t part of the Resolution Department. After returning to Central City, they had to report to the World Ring Defense System and the Department of Administrative Affairs for duty. They had built camaraderie while fighting together, so they had come to the Resolution Department to show their support. They weren’t expecting to witness such a sight, though.

A martial arts master...

As Third Limit martial arts masters, no one knew what that meant better than they did.

Chen Chuan ignored the airships hovering in the air and walked toward the Resolution Department. His teammates did the same.

There was an armored car across from the square with a domain communications entity in charge of broadcasting the situation. The news anchor gritted her teeth before opening the door, chucking away her heels, and running across the road barefoot as her colleagues shouted for her to come back.

“Mr. Chen!” she shouted.

Chen Chuan turned around.

“You’re a lead investigator of the Resolution Department, aren’t you? As a lead investigator, how could you kill law enforcers so blatantly? Even if you possess such strength, you don’t have the right to take other people’s lives!” the news anchor shouted out.

“I do, actually,” Chen Chuan replied and threw a jade card over. It landed not too far away from the news anchor. The jade card was an unrestricted defense permit.

“The state has given me the right to fight back against all those who attack me without reason,” he answered calmly before leaving. Xu Chan’s group followed after him with uniform footsteps.

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