Chapter 56 – Map

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

Hearing Wen Yu's answer, Lin Haifeng gave a slight nod and said nothing more.

With a casual gesture, he ordered the Class Holders behind him to search the hall.

Perhaps he was worried Wen Yu hadn't done a thorough enough job, or perhaps he hoped to find something.

Either way, it had nothing to do with Wen Yu anymore.

Wen Yu glanced at the dead man from Modu Settlement draped over one of the Class Holders' shoulders and pursed his lips.

"Something happened over at Modu Settlement, but we haven't managed to determine exactly what. This man was a suicide operative," Kuangliu explained.

Wen Yu nodded. His earlier question had merely been out of curiosity.

He rose to his feet and addressed Lin Haifeng, who was standing beside Old Master Fang's corpse.

"The mission's complete. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."

Lin Haifeng had been standing before Old Master Fang's body all this time, lost in thought. At Wen Yu's words, he gave a faint nod.

"Come to Military Headquarters tomorrow. We'll make a deal that benefits both of us. Consider it our first collaboration."

Wen Yu chuckled at Commander Lin's words, nodded, and turned to leave.

…

Modu Settlement, Peng Jun's office.

Peng Jun had received word the moment Lin Haifeng launched his attack on the Central District.

"Old Lin moved too quickly!"

Peng Jun sighed, rubbing his temples with a wry smile.

Beside him stood a young man in military uniform with bright eyes and sharply defined brows. He gave a slight nod.

"My original plan was to wait for the right opportunity, then contact the Aristocratic Families and join forces with them to subdue Lin Haifeng. That would've allowed us to take over the Yanjing Settlement. But now that Old Lin has made his move, those fools who couldn't read the situation don't stand a chance of surviving!"

Peng Jun shook his head helplessly, though there was little regret in his voice.

"By the way, what happened with the information I asked you to look into?"

The young man seated nearby nodded.

"We've found it. The Demon Seed is in Harbin1."

At the news, naked greed immediately surfaced in Peng Jun's eyes.

"You'll handle the administrative affairs here at Modu Settlement for the time being. I need to make a trip to Harbin."

The young man nodded.

Peng Jun rose and hurriedly got dressed. Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he froze for a long moment before asking,

"Has the new Apostle Leader finished his training?"

The young man nodded.

"Have him come with me."

"Understood."

Upon receiving Peng Jun's orders, the young man immediately headed for the door.

"One more thing, Pengguang. Keep an eye on Sequence 2. He's gotten mixed up with Old Lin recently. Speak to Guardian No. 1 and find an opportunity to eliminate him."

At the words "Sequence 2," a cold gleam flashed through Pengguang's eyes.

Seeing his reaction, Peng Jun chuckled.

"Spend some time exploring your new ability. Once the time is right, you'll be Sequence 2 instead of Sequence 5."

"Also, talk to Guardian No. 1 more often. Try to get as many benefits from him as you can."

"Understood."

Pengguang nodded, then turned and left the room.

Peng Jun remained standing there alone, deep in thought.

After a long while, he chuckled and muttered to himself.

"Now this is interesting. I never expected a Treasure Land Guardian serving the Ruler to harbor thoughts of betrayal…"

"So the so-called Ruler isn't omniscient and omnipotent after all!"

…

When Wen Yu woke up, the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood.

He drew the curtains open slightly, allowing warm sunlight to spill into the bedroom and wash over him.

Looking down at the Military vehicles driving back and forth along the streets and the soldiers patrolling on high alert, Wen Yu frowned.

It seemed the operation to purge the remnants of the Aristocratic Families was still ongoing.

After giving it some thought, Wen Yu quickly understood why.

The Aristocratic Families had infiltrated the Military far too deeply. Their influence existed both openly and in the shadows. There was no way everything could be dealt with in a single night.

Wen Yu quickly washed up, called One-Eye and Xing over, then headed downstairs.

…

Less than ten minutes later, Wen Yu arrived at Military Headquarters in his car.

He was not subjected to any security checks. The soldiers guarding the entrance let him through as soon as they saw his license plate.

He made his way directly to Commander Lin's office. Before he even entered, he heard Commander Lin's calm, methodical voice coming from inside.

"Disarm the 32nd Mobile Brigade immediately. Activate our sleeper agent as well and have Feng Shaobai killed."

"Deploy a group of Class Holders to hunt down the remaining descendants of the Aristocratic Families who have fled the city. We must eliminate every last one of them."

"Mobilize…"

Wen Yu stood outside, listening as Commander Lin issued order after order.

Uniformed Class Holders came and went. Nearly an hour passed before Commander Lin finally finished arranging the cleanup operations and called toward the door.

"Come in."

Wen Yu pushed the door open and entered.

…

Commander Lin looked tired, but his eyes shone brighter than ever.

Wen Yu looked at him and smiled.

"Congratulations, Commander Lin. You're now the sole ruler of the entire Yanjing Settlement."

Commander Lin smiled and nodded, accepting the praise without the slightest modesty. "It's all thanks to your strength. You've done me an enormous favor, and I won't forget it."

"Good."

With that, Wen Yu sat down across from Commander Lin. As he watched Lin Haifeng expertly prepare the tea set before him, he slowly continued, "I'm sure you understand why I've come…"

Commander Lin nodded at once.

"As it happens, I have a few matters that require your strength."

Wen Yu took a small sip of the tea Lin Haifeng handed him before replying, "I won't take part in purging the remnants of the Aristocratic Families or anything along those lines."

There was nothing to gain from hunting those people down, and it would only waste his time. Wen Yu had no intention of doing it.

Lin Haifeng understood his reasoning and nodded.

"Let's take a look at this first."

With that, Lin Haifeng pulled out a map from beside him.

Several red and black markings of varying sizes were clearly indicated on it.

"What is this?"

Wen Yu asked in confusion as he studied the markings.

"These are the Mutant Creatures the Military has identified as dangerous so far. Some are solitary, while others move in groups."