Chapter 610: Those Who Obey Me Flourish

Li Li Banfeng sat in his office, listening to Luo Zhengnan describe what he had seen at Zhong Desong Cliff.

The situation at Zhong Desong Cliff was highly unusual; the struggle for territorial control had escalated into a localized war. According to Luo Zhengnan's observations, multiple gangs from Pulu Province had participated in the fighting, including members of San Ying Gate and Bai He Gang.

Li Li Banfeng struggled to understand: "What are they doing at Zhong Desong Cliff? What were Shen Shen Jinzhong and Bai Bai Wuchuan thinking? Can they even claim a piece of De Xiu's territory?"

"Seventh Master, this isn't the two bosses' fault. I asked several friends—several hall leaders from San Ying Gate and Bai He Gang have ties with Song Song Demei, the village chief of De Yuan Village. When Song Song Demei asked, those hall leaders brought their men."

"Do hall leaders bring men without asking their bosses?"

"Seventh Master, these two gangs are too big for their bosses to manage every detail. Even if they had asked, the bosses couldn't have stopped them. Gangs operate on personal connections. If they'd been barred from going, these two gangs would've been shut out of Zhong Desong Cliff forever!"

"Did Qingyun Society go?"

Luo Zhengnan had someone investigate: "Qingyun Society didn't go. They're under He He Jiaqing now. He He Jiaqing isn't yet familiar with gang operations—he issued an order: anyone who meddles in Zhong Desong Cliff matters will be punished under gang rules, without mercy."

He He Jiaqing wasn't unfamiliar with gang rules—he saw something was wrong. "Has the fighting at Zhong Desong Cliff calmed down these past two days?"

"Dr. Cui went, and the fighting has lessened—but how long it lasts is uncertain." What was Cui Ti's purpose in going to Zhong Desong Cliff? What had the peddler promised him?

While Li Li Banfeng was pondering, Tang Yuan suddenly entered the office: "Seventh Master, Deng Pao found Hulucun."

"He didn't go in, did he?" Li Li Banfeng wasn't concerned. Finding Hulucun wasn't a big deal—Deng Pao could handle himself. Even if he'd gone in, he'd be out in half a month at most.

"He didn't go in. He used the Invisible Space Tracker to lock onto Hulucun!" Invisible Space Tracker?

Did the Dark Star Bureau even have something like that?

Li Li Banfeng had never even heard of such tools. Xiao Shen, why don't you stay a few more days in Hulucun?

If the Dark Star Bureau had the Invisible Space Tracker, why wasn't it deployed earlier? With this device, they should've found Hulucun long ago!

If Deng Pao truly locked Hulucun, this was serious. If the entire Dark Star Bureau marched in single file, it wouldn't be a matter of staying half a month—they might be trapped there for life.

Trapped for life? So what? Is the Dark Star Bureau's business that important?

Li Li Banfeng rushed to the scene and saw Guan Guan Zhengyang's car already there. He felt trouble was coming. Guan Guan Zhengyang had over a hundred men in camouflage, wearing protective masks, preparing for battle.

Li Li Banfeng asked Tang Yuan: "Who are these people?"

Tang Yuan lowered his voice: "They're the Dark Star Special Operations Team—a specialized unit directly overseen by Director Guan. Their weapons, gear, and combat readiness are top-tier." Guan Guan Zhengyang had once led the Dark Energy Lab; after its dissolution, this Special Operations Team appeared. He was always stirring up trouble.

Deng Pao stood before a motorhome. Seeing Li Li Banfeng arrive, he hurried forward to report. Ming Xing followed closely, occasionally interjecting.

"Li Ju, during patrol, I noticed irregularities at Wenyu Road No. 21—the hair salon. I was operating Tracker No. 6. When I detected the anomaly, I immediately activated the device and locked onto Hulucun's entrance..."

Ming Xing added: "Tracker No. 6 is the Bureau's most advanced sixth-generation Invisible Space device. Today, we two were assigned to transport it."

Deng Pao glared at Ming Xing, pulled out a notebook, and handed it to Li Li Banfeng: "I recorded the time, location, and details of the incident. Please review." Ming Xing added: "At the first sign of the incident, we evacuated nearby residents and sealed off Wenyu Road."

Deng Pao could no longer tolerate it. He glared at Ming Xing: "What's your point?"

Ming Xing blinked: "I'm just stating facts."

"Stop trying to steal credit like this. You've used this cheap trick too many times—don't you find it disgusting?" Ming Xing shrugged: "I don't know what you mean."

"I found Hulucun's entrance alone. You weren't even in the vehicle then. Why are you clinging to me?" Ming Xing fell silent. The team members all suppressed smiles.

Taking credit meant staying close to key information and obscuring the truth so superiors couldn't determine who truly earned the credit. After such manipulation, Ming Xing at least secured a "participant" status—and if lucky, even "primary participant." This was his standard tactic, known to every member of the Public Security Team.

Li Li Banfeng reviewed Deng Pao's notebook. Deng Pao's achievement was pure luck. The so-called Invisible Space Tracker couldn't actively hunt invisible spaces. Its function was simple: once an invisible space was detected, it could lock its entrance and establish a passage into it.

Hulucun appeared and vanished unpredictably. Discovering its entrance was always accidental. By the time the tracker was brought to the location, the entrance had already disappeared—and the tracker couldn't locate Hulucun again.

The tracker only worked if it happened to be nearby when Hulucun appeared. The odds were minuscule. Yet Deng Pao hit that impossible chance.

Deng Pao and Ming Xing's mission was to deliver the tracker to Mi Mi Jian, who would command its use. But during transport, Ming Xing stopped to buy drinks, Deng Pao rolled down his window to smoke, and looked up—two young women stood at the salon's entrance.

Deng Pao described the scene in detail to Li Li Banfeng: "Both women had figures shaped like gourds, and they were stunningly beautiful. They waved at me, calling out: 'Dong Dong Xiaoning, come play!'"

"I wouldn't go to a place like that—I had a mission. I ignored them. But suddenly, the two women vanished!"

"I realized something was wrong—it matched Hulucun's known signs. I immediately activated the tracker. The new device only needed sixteen seconds to start. As soon as it powered on, it showed 'locked.'"

Ming Xing added: "I was back in under a minute."

Deng Pao waved him off: "Didn't make it? Didn't make it. No amount of faking changes that. Li Ju, Hulucun is now locked. Open the tracker's entrance, and we can enter directly."

Li Li Banfeng hadn't even seen the tracker when Guan Guan Zhengyang stepped forward and seized it. "Director Guan, what's your meaning?"

"Li Ju, I've already reported to my superiors. This mission is now under the Special Operations Team. The Dark Star Bureau is to withdraw."

"I've heard both your reports. It was a lucky accident—but it still counts as your bureau's achievement. You'll receive proper recognition." "Director Guan, I didn't hear that!" Li Li Banfeng tapped the projector.

"I'm taking over this operation! Do you understand?" Guan Guan Zhengyang repeated. Li Li Banfeng ordered: "Dark Star Bureau, withdraw." Guan Guan Zhengyang gave the command. Over a hundred Special Operations Team members boarded the motorhome.

How could one motorhome fit over a hundred people?

In fact, none of them stayed inside the motorhome. They entered the locked invisible space directly through the vector channel.

Deng Pao, fearing Li Li Banfeng's anger, whispered: "Li Ju, don't feud with him. Let them handle the fighting—it might not be bad." Li Li Banfeng wasn't angry. He was wondering: Had Deng Pao truly seen Hulucun?

Hulucun's welcoming guests usually didn't know visitors' names. They knew Li Qi only because Zhui had told them. "Dong Dong Xiaoning, come play!" That phrase violated Hulucun's rules.

As the hundred-plus Special Operations Team members vanished into the invisible space, Li Li Banfeng asked Tang Yuan: "Who called Guan Guan Zhengyang?"

"Who else?" Tang Yuan glared at Deputy Director Wang. "That suck-up's the most shameless!"

Guan Guan Zhengyang, wearing headphones, watched the monitors, exuding total command. Only he could communicate with the team. Fifteen minutes passed—the Special Operations Team's communication cut out.

Guan Guan Zhengyang looked slightly embarrassed, but he still had a plausible explanation.

If Hulucun were an Anwei space, wireless communication would be blocked upon entry. But Li Li Banfeng was thinking of something else: Was Hulucun even an Anwei space?

Even if it were, the Special Operations Team's strategy was flawed. They should've kept some members near the vector channel's exit to maintain contact. After fifteen minutes, communication resumed—but video feed did not.

Guan Guan Zhengyang's expression shifted from hopeful, to grim, to tense. Clearly, the operation had gone badly. If they'd encountered Hulucun, it'd be bad enough—but Li Li Banfeng suspected they'd met something else.

"Extract! Extract quickly!" Guan Guan Zhengyang shouted at Li Li Banfeng.

Li Li Banfeng had already withdrawn his Public Security Team. Now, without any details, Guan Guan Zhengyang suddenly demanded extraction. Li Li Banfeng wouldn't send his men charging blindly. Deputy Director Wang panicked: "Li Ju, did you hear Director Guan call for extraction? Public Security Team, follow my order—now!"

Li Li Banfeng grabbed Deputy Director Wang and marched him to Guan Guan Zhengyang's side. "What happened?"

Before Guan Guan Zhengyang could speak, several team members burst from the motorhome—including the team leader. He shouted: "Director, shut down the vector channel entrance immediately!"

"Shut it down..." Guan Guan Zhengyang froze. "Only you few are left?" *Whoosh! *

A gray-white spherical object, over fifty centimeters in diameter, erupted from the motorhome and slammed into Guan Guan Zhengyang. He collapsed. The sphere opened a massive maw and swallowed his head whole.

The team leader took command: "Shut down the vector channel immediately!"

Other members rushed to wrestle the sphere, trying to force it to release Guan Guan Zhengyang.

They dared not use weapons, dark energy carriers, or even dark abilities—afraid of harming Guan Guan Zhengyang. Deputy Director Wang was frantic: "Li Ju, think of something..."

Li Li Banfeng lifted Deputy Director Wang and carried him toward Guan Guan Zhengyang. Wang trembled violently and dared not speak again. Under repeated assaults, the sphere spat out Guan Guan Zhengyang and turned on the team.

Its attack was crude—just open-mouthed biting. Likely due to poor adaptation to the environment, the sphere moved sluggishly.

The team, familiar with the street environment, quickly found their rhythm. Two walkers used their speed advantage to flank the sphere at eight o'clock and four o'clock, firing high-powered rounds that pierced its thick shell.

The sphere's thinking was simple: hit back when struck. It lunged at the four o'clock attacker. Other team members timed their shots perfectly and blew the sphere apart with rocket launchers.

Throughout the entire battle, Li Li Banfeng watched silently. Not a single Dark Star Bureau member moved. Medics arrived and loaded Guan Guan Zhengyang onto an ambulance.

Guan Director truly had luck. Last time, when held hostage by the Birch Hermit Society, he survived—losing only one ear. Now, after having his head devoured by an unknown creature, he still lived.

But this time was far worse. Both his ears were gone. His nose was gone. Most of his facial skin had been stripped away. Only a single lock of hair remained, dangling from the right side of his scalp.

Deputy Director Wang wept: "Director Guan, say something..."

Seeing Wang's genuine emotion, Li Li Banfeng assigned him alone to care for Guan Guan Zhengyang.

Only him. No other Dark Star Bureau member was permitted near.

With no leader, the team captain didn't know whom to report to. He wanted to call his superiors directly but feared saying too much—or too little.

Yet silence meant bearing full responsibility. As he hesitated, Li Li Banfeng approached, smiling: "Tell me what happened inside." The captain glanced around: "Our team isn't under Dark Star Bureau command..."

"Don't want to talk?" Li Li Banfeng's smile grew colder. The aura of a Cloud Realm cultivator made the captain shiver.

After a brutal battle, most of his team dead, their leader critically wounded—the captain's mental defenses shattered. He reported everything to Li Li Banfeng.

"After entering the vector channel, the Special Operations Team strictly followed the battle plan. Fifteen members conducted an initial survey of the invisible space and confirmed no anomalies. Then, other members entered sequentially."

"What do you mean by 'no anomalies'?"

"Inside the space, there was nothing. Within our visible and detectable range, we found no life forms." Clearly, they hadn't entered Hulucun.

Li Li Banfeng asked: "So you let all your men enter the invisible space?"

"I didn't. I left fifteen men at the vector channel exit to maintain communication. But they were the first to be attacked."

According to the captain's account, the spherical lifeform appeared in the vector channel—not the invisible space. Since the communication team was attacked first, contact was severed. Li Li Banfeng believed the captain wasn't lying—but his account had serious flaws.

"The vector channel was built by our tracker. How could a spherical creature be inside it?" The captain had no explanation. Li Li Banfeng ordered him to continue.

The channel attack cut off the team's retreat. The captain could only lead his men backward, fighting the sphere for control of the vector channel.

The captain estimated thirty to fifty spherical creatures. In the narrow channel, they held overwhelming advantage—they could attack from only one direction, forcing the team to face their bites head-on. That's how most casualties occurred.

Li Li Banfeng imagined the vector channel as a simple tunnel—but he still couldn't grasp the process: "You entered without encountering the spheres. So why did they suddenly appear inside the channel?"

The captain couldn't explain. He had already entered the invisible space when the spheres appeared—he wasn't present. One communication team member survived and described what happened.

"The monsters came out of the walls. They could enter and move through walls. Our communication devices were the first targets..." The soldier sketched and wrote, trying to clarify the battle.

A group of monsters hiding, moving, and attacking within walls—perfectly adapted to the tunnel? Li Li Banfeng wanted to see the actual battlefield. "Didn't you bring drones?"

"We had several drones. But none were recovered. They played a crucial role in the final defense." Some truths the captain couldn't speak—many team members had died.

Yet in pure combat performance, the drones outperformed the soldiers. They locked targets faster and were far less likely to be hit by the spheres.

"Where are the drone video feeds?"

Several team members stayed outside the tunnel to assist Guan Guan Zhengyang's command: "Li Ju, all video footage is stored on a dedicated device. Only Director Guan has the access password."

Li Li Banfeng had no reply. Throughout, Guan Guan Zhengyang's greatest skill had been secrecy. Without the video, there was no rush—this case would inevitably fall to the Dark Star Bureau.

By afternoon, superiors convened an emergency meeting, summoning Li Li Banfeng. He had no interest. He sent them the video recorded by the projector. In it, Guan Guan Zhengyang clearly stated: they had taken over the operation and ordered Li Li Banfeng to withdraw.

This invisible space had nothing to do with Hulucun. This case had nothing to do with the Dark Star Bureau. Responsibilities were clearly separated.

Blaming Li Li Banfeng was impossible. Moreover, he was from Pulu Province—if they refused reason, he could simply walk away. Superiors could only urge him to raise his stance and shoulder responsibility.

Li Li Banfeng felt his position was already strong. His demand was clear: if they could fully investigate this Anwei space, he wanted three heads—and the Dark Star Bureau wanted the Harmonizing Agent.

The superiors agreed to Li Qi's demand and issued official orders. Li Li Banfeng wasn't in a hurry to begin the investigation. He would never risk his Public Security Team's lives the way Guan Guan Zhengyang had.

He needed to first understand how this tracker worked, and also uncover the true origin of the spherical organism and the invisibility space—if the spherical organism had originally been parasitic inside the tracker, then the manufacturer bore serious suspicion.

Following Li Qi's orders, all evidence was under the control of the Dark Star Bureau; no one else was allowed to interfere. The tracker was sealed in place and to be inspected personally by Li Qi; no one else was permitted to approach.

The tracker's structure was simpler than Li Li Banfeng had imagined: a cabinet, a display screen, a power distribution unit, and a door with a metal frame. It was truly a door—not just a frame, but with a panel as well.

The panel was connected to the cabinet at the back and locked at the front; the lock could not be opened. According to the device manual, the door could only be opened after the tracker was activated.

Li Li Banfeng entered his Personal Dwelling and brought out his wife. His wife had already read the device manual and, after a quick scan of the components, had roughly deduced the tracker's operational procedure. "My dear wife, shall we activate the device and give it a try?"

"Husband, don't rush," she said. "As you said, this thing is locked onto an unnamed place. If we open it now, who knows what might escape? Let me study it carefully first."

After an entire night's work, the phonograph had figured out the tracker's working principle: "This is a wonderful device. I'll make you a list later—help me buy these things, and I'll modify the Dark Bridge Cannon. If the modification succeeds, one shot can carry a hundred or more people without issue."

The technology for breaking through boundaries was growing increasingly mature; Li Li Banfeng's spirits lifted. Should he return to Pulu Province?

Should he still manage the affairs of the Dark Star Bureau?

Li Li Banfeng sat in his office, pondering his next move, when Tang Yuan entered and reported the latest progress: "Sir Li, we've made a major discovery in the remains of the spherical organism—this fragment bears the mark of the Steam Restorationists."

"What do the Steam Restorationists do?" Li Li Banfeng looked baffled.

"They're an enthusiast group devoted to steam-powered technology. They enjoy reconstructing modern devices using steam-era methods."

"You mean the spherical organism was made by some civilian group?" Li Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly—he didn't believe any civilian group could possess such advanced technological capability.

But Tang Yuan was certain: "Sir Li, three years ago, we investigated the Steam Restorationists. Their capabilities might surprise you greatly."

Li Li Banfeng frowned. "Then don't investigate—just arrest them!"

"We can't catch them," Tang Yuan shook his head. "Three years ago, the Dark Star Bureau deployed all its resources and still failed to apprehend a single person connected to the Steam Restorationists."

Li Li Banfeng felt Tang Yuan was expressing himself poorly: "Saying you can't find one specific person is understandable. But saying you can't find a single member of an organization operating within Da Huan Country? That's absurd."

"Brother Qiye, I wouldn't dare speak nonsense," Tang Yuan said seriously. "This organization is too powerful. Since its founding, the Dark Star Bureau has never encountered a foe like this."

"I'd really like to see what they're made of," Li Li Banfeng said, examining the photos Tang Yuan brought. On the fragment of the spherical remains was a square with a vent valve—that was the Steam Restorationists' emblem.

This civilian group certainly couldn't have built the spherical object. But if they had ties to Neizhou, that was another matter. Was this incident connected to the war Neizhou was about to launch?

The De De Songya affair had not yet settled. If Neizhou truly intended to act, would they target Waizhou or Pulu Province? After Tang Yuan left, Li Li Banfeng contacted Luo Zhengnan to inquire about De De Songya's condition.

"Brother Qiye, De De Songya is fine. Recently, no one's fighting. Whoever fights gets sick—first their hands rot, then their feet. If they still want to fight, their whole body rots." Only Cui Ti could devise such a method.

The key question was: how did he manage to precisely strike every person who wanted to fight?

In the cave, Cui Ti was rolling out noodles. "This is a traditional dish from Pulu Province. It should suit your taste better than my bread." The child took a bite of the bread—he actually loved bread.

Cui Ti dropped the sliced noodles into the pot and said to the child, "I've prepared new food. Out of respect for me, stop eating so much bread." The child nodded, then took another bite of bread.

Cui Ti grew angry: "I warn you once more—think of something valuable to tell me soon. My patience with you is nearly exhausted!" The child nodded and kept eating bread.

The noodles were cooked. Cui Ti specially prepared a fried soybean paste.

The child ate a bite of noodles, then a bite of bread, then a bite of the fried soybean paste.

Cui Ti sighed helplessly. "I've taught you so long—you should at least understand basic table manners. Today's dish is fried soybean paste noodles." The child dipped the bread into the sauce, took a bite, and said, "Delicious!"

Cui Ti sighed. As he ate the noodles, he said to the child: "I've expanded the scope of my rule—not only those who attack me directly will fall ill, but also those who make promises to me and then break them."

"I've thought carefully. This has gone beyond the scope of a rule—it's become a technique. What do you think I should name it?" The child looked up. "Noodles are delicious."

"I'm talking about a technique, do you understand? I want to name this technique 'Those Who Obey Me Prosper!' What do you think? Isn't it a bit too boastful?"

The child nodded. "Give me noodle broth. Noodles are delicious!"

Cui Ti sighed. "Can't you focus at all? My patience with you is truly at its end." "Here's noodle broth!" The child ladled a bowl of broth and carried it to the cave entrance.

At the cave entrance stood a Dao Dao Laogui. The child offered the broth to him.

The Dao Dao Laogui refused. He was on guard duty—that was his job. "Noodle broth, delicious!" The child kept holding out the bowl.

"Eat it while it's hot," Cui Ti ordered. The Dao Dao Laogui picked up the bowl and devoured it greedily. After finishing, he forced a smile at the child and returned the bowl.

This Dao Dao Laogui was planted by Cui Ti at the cave entrance. He had warned many times not to water the seed—but the child had done so anyway.

To Cui Ti's surprise, the Dao Dao Laogui had not harmed the child. Though it had roared and growled at him, terrifying the child, the child had suffered no injury.

"'Those Who Obey Me Prosper'—excellent technique," Cui Ti nodded slightly, a hint of pride in his eyes. "If I truly master this technique, perhaps I won't need to kill everyone."

PS: What is special about this child? What exactly is Cui Ti trying to extract from him?