Chapter 198: Lin Yu's Invitation

As the armored vehicle's top hatch opened, a tall young military officer stepped out from the ranks of the black-uniformed soldiers. The lieutenant colonel's insignia on his shoulder gleamed in the sunlight, and his face bore a disciplined sternness.

He strode up to Chen Jingwen, stood at attention, and saluted loudly: "Report to Assistant Minister Chen! I am Feng An, battalion commander of the guard regiment directly under the Security Command Headquarters. By Commander Lin's order, I have come specially to receive you, Sir!"

This sudden 'treatment' left Chen Jingwen unsure how to respond. But what shocked him even more was still to come.

As soon as Feng An finished speaking, the two hundred 'loyal and devoted' guards behind Chen Jingwen, and the company commander who had always been pretentiously respectful, instantly did a complete 180-degree turn in attitude.

The company commander seemed to have become a different person, jogging up to Feng An with a fawning smile, bowing and scraping: 'Battalion Commander Feng! Commander Feng! It's all a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding! Governor Xu had already instructed us—we're only here to escort Minister Chen for show! We would never dare show the slightest disrespect to Commander Lin! Look...'

Saying that, he glanced back at his subordinates. The two hundred guards immediately understood, as if receiving orders, and spread out to both sides in unison, completely exposing Chen Jingwen and his few personal attendants to Feng An and his black-clad soldiers.

"You..." Chen Jingwen's face turned ashen, his hands trembling slightly. At this moment he finally understood why Xu Shaoyuan had given him only two hundred men. It was not an escort but surveillance! It was to ensure he would be 'safely' delivered into Commander Lin's hands!

"Minister Chen," Feng An's voice remained respectful, but his eyes held a hint of mockery: 'Commander Lin has prepared a banquet at Lin Gong Guan awaiting you. Please come this way.'

Chen Jingwen looked around. Xu Shaoyuan's guards had completely defected; those black-uniformed soldiers were silently tightening the encirclement, and the armored vehicle behind them let out a low rumble, like a steel beast poised to strike.

He suddenly realized that from the moment he boarded this southbound special train, he had already fallen into a meticulously designed trap—and now the trap was closing.

"Please, Minister." Feng An made a gesturing invitation, saying, 'Commander Lin said you must be received with the utmost hospitality as an imperial envoy.'

His tone remained respectful, yet laced with an imperceptible mockery—as if laughing at this naive imperial official who still thought he could rely on two hundred bribed guards to play a game of hide-and-seek on Lin Yu's turf in Shen City.

Feng An merely glanced at the company commander's fawning performance, as if looking at a dog wagging its tail for mercy. His gaze returned to the ashen-faced Chen Jingwen, his tone still 'respectful,' but his words left no room for doubt:

"Assistant Minister Chen, you have worked hard on your journey. Commander Lin specially ordered me to insist you come to Lin Gong Guan for a reunion, to wash away the dust of travel."

He turned sideways and made a 'please' gesture toward a row of black cars waiting not far away. They were several brand-new American-made Buicks, their black bodies flashing coldly in the sunlight, like leopards poised to pounce.

Chen Jingwen's Adam's apple bobbed. This was no 'please'—it was outright house arrest! But what could he do? Though the black-clad soldiers around him took no further action, their very presence was the most direct threat. Not to mention the armored vehicle eyeing him like a tiger, its gun barrel still pointed this way, its engine's roar like the low growl of a steel beast.

"Minister Chen," Feng An added, seeing his hesitation, 'Commander Lin said that as an imperial envoy you deserve the highest-standard reception. Please do not decline.'

These words sounded polite, but everyone could hear the condescending tone. In Shen City's territory, the status of an imperial envoy had become a laughingstock.

Chen Jingwen surveyed his surroundings. Xu Shaoyuan's guards had already retreated to the side, while that company commander kept nodding and bowing before Feng An, wearing a fawning grin. His few personal attendants looked terrified, huddling close to him but powerless.

He suddenly grasped a brutal fact: in this city, as an imperial envoy, he didn't even have the freedom to choose where to stay.

"Since Commander Lin has extended such a warm invitation," he suppressed his humiliation and forced a bitter smile, "I, as an official, will obey."

"Please." Feng An gestured, and two black-clad soldiers stepped forward to 'escort' Chen Jingwen toward the row of black cars.

"Since Commander Lin has extended such a warm invitation, I, as an official, will obey."

As these insincere words left his mouth, Chen Jingwen felt a chill surge from his feet to his head, his whole body turning icy.

He watched the guards who had instantly defected, the black-clad soldiers brimming with killing intent before him, the armored vehicle exuding a cold aura, and listened to Feng An's words that were an invitation in name only but coercion in reality—everything became clear.

His so-called imperial authority was nothing but a pale blank check; the 'escort' he had brought turned out to be bought-and-paid insiders; his feeble plan to duck into the tax office for temporary refuge, in the face of Lin Yu's absolute strength and meticulous arrangements, was nothing short of a huge joke!

He hadn't even begun his mission and was already in the enemy's grasp. From the moment he boarded the southbound special train, he had fallen into a carefully woven net—and now that net was tightening.

"Minister Chen? Please." Feng An made another inviting gesture, his glance deliberately flicking toward the armored vehicle eyeing him like a tiger.

Chen Jingwen's lips twitched a few times as he tried to utter some formal words to preserve the last shred of his imperial envoy's dignity, but he couldn't get a single word out. His throat felt blocked, and he could only make indistinct sounds.

He knew he had no choice. The black-clad soldiers' gun muzzles and the armored vehicle's ferocious cannon silently told a brutal fact: in Shen City's territory, as an imperial envoy, he could not even control his own actions.

In the end, Chen Jingwen's face turned deathly pale, his posture slightly stooped. Under Feng An's 'courteous' gaze and the black-clad soldiers' silent 'escort,' he moved like a puppet on strings, involuntarily walking toward the black car that would carry him to an unknown fate.

His few personal attendants were also 'invited' onto the following cars, while Xu Shaoyuan's guards were casually dismissed by Feng An, as if dealing with some trivial chores.

The car door shut with a 'bang.' Chen Jingwen slumped into the soft leather seat, watching the train station recede through the window, feeling utterly weak.

His trip to Shen City had slipped completely out of his control from the start. What fate awaited him? Thinking of the bloody rumors about Lin Yu, he couldn't help but shudder.

The convoy slowly set off, under the armored vehicle's 'escort,' heading for Lin Gong Guan. The deep autumn sunlight shone on the windows, yet brought no warmth at all.