Chapter 172

After receiving Xu Jingming's phone notification, the special operations team waiting outside immediately launched their operation.

Leng Chang's Blue Ocean Technology Group indeed had formidable security forces.

But among them, only the bodyguard Wu Hang was a mid-level fourth-rank.

The rest of the patrol adepts were at most mid-level second-rank, most of them barely first-rank.

Yet the special operations team consisted of twenty second-rank adepts, plus the official backing of the Public Security Bureau.

Thus, after entering the tech park, they encountered virtually no resistance.

They secured the entire tech park in less than five minutes.

When Cai Ju and his fully armed team rushed over, preparing for a grueling battle,

they were stunned to find the tech exhibition site orderly and calm.

Even adepts bearing the Public Security Bureau emblem patrolled back and forth.

"Officer Cai!"

Seeing Cai Ju's group arrive, Wang Gang, the team leader stationed at the exhibition entrance, hurried forward respectfully.

"How's the situation? Did you catch Leng Chang?"

Cai Ju strode anxiously into the exhibition hall, with Zhang Tong and the others close behind.

Even the usually composed team leader Cai Ju's expression had grown subtly uneasy.

The reason was simple: Wang Gang's uniform was clean and neat.

His weapons bore no blood, and his gun barrels carried no trace of recent gunfire.

It was clear they had not fought at all—Leng Chang had likely escaped.

But Wang Gang's reply took him by surprise:

"Report, Officer: Blue Ocean Tech Park is fully under our control. Leng Chang has been captured."

"Huh?"

Cai Ju halted his rapid advance.

His previously grim face instantly lit up with shock and disbelief:

"Leng Chang was captured? Then how come none of you show any signs of battle?"

Zhang Tong and the others, who had braced for mission failure, also looked astonished.

"We don't know the details. When we arrived, Senior Xu had already handled everything."

"We only did the cleanup..."

Wang Gang, the six-foot-one-inch-tall giant, scratched his head sheepishly.

Before the mission began, their special operations team knew they were facing a mid-level fourth-rank enhancement adept.

They also learned their leader, Senior Xu, was only a low-level third-rank.

They had fully prepared to sacrifice themselves, ready to give everything to assist Senior Xu in completing this nightmare-level operation.

But they received only one order: "Stand by."

When they next received word and entered Blue Ocean Tech Park,

they found the main boss already dead and the target securely detained.

The nightmare-level mission had suddenly become kindergarten-level.

It left their elite adept team utterly bewildered.

Holy hell.

In all their years of missions, they'd never been this easy.

"Xu Jingming handled it all?"

Cai Ju froze, then hurried Zhang Tong and the others into the exhibition hall.

As soon as they stepped inside, a strong stench of blood filled the air.

He instinctively turned his head,

and saw a headless corpse lying on the blue stone floor ten meters to the right.

The blood flowing from the corpse's neck had dried, staining the surrounding area dark red.

Though decapitated and with skin charred as if struck by lightning,

Cai Ju still recognized the corpse as Wu Hang, Leng Chang's bodyguard.

"Wu Hang is dead?!"

Cai Ju's eyes widened.

Defeating a mid-level fourth-rank was nothing like killing one.

He had assumed Xu Jingming had somehow driven Wu Hang away before capturing Leng Chang.

He never expected he'd killed him outright.

And the method of killing...

Cai Ju's gaze flickered.

The corpse bore two fatal wounds: one to the heart, one to the head.

Adepts guard these two vital points most fiercely.

The clean, precise nature of these wounds proved Xu Jingming had slaughtered him with overwhelming dominance.

"I underestimated the S-rank from Mo University..."

Cai Ju silently marveled, and felt a flicker of relief.

Thank goodness he hadn't been disrespectful during their meeting last night—otherwise things would've been messy.

"Officer Cai, over here."

At that moment, a low, slightly amused voice rang out.

Cai Ju turned instinctively and saw Xu Jingming standing ten meters to the left, among several young boys and girls.

At their feet lay the mission's primary target: Leng Chang.

"Xu student, you've worked hard—thank you so much. Without you, our team wouldn't have known what to do.

After the mission, I'll treat you to a drink!"

Cai Ju strode forward, beaming with warmth.

He meant it.

If Leng Chang had escaped, finding the Heavenly Fate Sect's branch in Jinning City would've been nearly impossible.

"We'll talk about drinks later, Officer Cai. Quickly interrogate Leng Chang for the branch's location."

Xu Jingming, finally seeing Cai Ju's group arrive, smiled.

"Leave it to us."

Cai Ju thumped his chest, then reached down and dragged Leng Chang, lying like a dead dog, away.

Come on,

the hardest part was already done by Xu Jingming—if they couldn't extract even one useful detail now,

they might as well retire immediately. What use were they in the Public Security Bureau?

Sun Yan, the team's third-rank upper-level mental adept, couldn't directly read memories,

but he could still manipulate Leng Chang's mental state to force truthful answers.

Just ten minutes later, Sun Yan approached Xu Jingming with the key intelligence:

"The Heavenly Fate Sect branch's location has been confirmed—it's in the suburbs of Jinning City.

The branch houses over two hundred cultists, mostly first- and second-rank adepts.

There are eight third-rank adepts, three low-level fourth-rank, and one mid-level fourth-rank.

These four fourth-ranks are the sect's so-called Divine Blood Messengers."

"Divine Blood Messengers?" Xu Jingming's eyes lit up.

After all this effort, he'd finally found what he wanted.

"Four fourth-ranks, eight third-ranks..."

Cai Ju, beside him, frowned.

With this strength composition, plus two hundred first- and second-ranks,

such a large force of adepts was beyond what their team could handle.

Instinctively, Cai Ju turned to Xu Jingming, awaiting his decision:

"Xu student, the branch has too many adepts. Should we request reinforcements from headquarters?"

"No. I can handle it."

Xu Jingming shook his head dismissively.

For enhancement adepts, a numbers game might pose some threat.

But for him, who wielded the SS-rank Heavenly Thunder, it was nothing but cannon fodder.

No matter how many, it made no difference.