Chapter 229: The Storm Is Near

The next day.

"Sir."

Guo Zixuan stood respectfully at the study's doorway, holding a stack of freshly organized files.

The man with his back to him stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the garden in the distance that had been meticulously crafted for his sister.

He did not turn around.

He only asked in a tone from which no emotion could be discerned, lightly.

"Everything arranged?"

"Yes, sir," Guo Zixuan quickly bowed, "The private jet for your destination is ready, and the flight path has been approved."

"All of the Guo Family's assets are now under my control; the funds can be mobilized at any time."

Guo Zixuan finished his report in one breath, awaiting his master's praise.

Chen Shao slowly turned around.

He neither looked at the documents nor at Guo Zixuan; his gaze pierced everything, landing on some void point.

"When I'm away, keep this place secure."

His voice was soft.

"If I return, Yao Yao will be missing a strand of hair."

Chen Shao stepped to Guo Zixuan's side.

Guo Zixuan's body was as rigid as a stone, and a dense cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

He smelled the familiar, death‑laden oppressive scent emanating from Chen Shao.

"You will die a hundred times more miserably than those at the banquet three days ago."

After speaking, Chen Shao brushed past him, not looking back, and walked toward the estate's exit.

Guo Zixuan's legs gave way, nearly forcing him to kneel.

He gulped breath after breath until the suffocating pressure completely vanished, then dared to lift his head.

In the study, only he remained, amid a room of utter silence.

At the same time.

Federal Weird Investigation Bureau, headquarters, a hundred meters underground.

Inside the Data Center, hundreds of top technicians were hurriedly working before a massive server array.

"Report! The 'Heaven's Eye' system has captured the movement trajectory of the target 'Silent One'!"

A technician sprang up, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Based on cross‑referencing data from all surveillance probes, mobile signal towers, and the city's traffic network surrounding Hongzhi Correction Center, the target headed east after leaving the correction center!"

On the massive electronic screen, a red trajectory line stretched from Tai Tao City all the way, ultimately pointing to a new city.

"Target city locked!"

"Anhe City!"

"Immediately retrieve Anhe City's population database and cross‑check Silent One Xu An's social connections!"

"Comparison complete! Xu An's parents, Xu Cheng'an and Li Juan, currently reside at Building A, Room 1701, Shui'an Flower City Residential Complex, Tianhu District, Anhe City!"

Information popped up one by one, eventually compiled into a complete report, which, encrypted at the highest level, was sent to the Director's Office.

Wei Gong set down his brush and calmly stared at the file on the screen.

In the file photo was a delicate young boy, but in another on‑site picture his mouth was crudely stitched with a black line, his eyes hollow, lacking any spark of life.

Wei Gong's fingers tapped lightly on the desk.

"For a child, the utmost malice in this world is none other than betrayal and abandonment by one's own parents."

"Sending him to hell with one's own hands, then adding, 'Increase the intensity.'"

Wei Gong's voice revealed no hint of joy or anger, yet made the secretary standing nearby feel a chill.

"Notify Jiang Yuan."

"This is not merely a capture operation."

"It is also a rescue."

"Hope the timing is sufficient."

Special Grade Equipment Room.

Jiang Yuan, fully equipped in the latest combat suit, was carefully polishing a set of Metal Playing Cards.

Shadow Ghost's power flowed silently within him, rendering his entire demeanor steady and restrained.

He was no longer the fresh rookie agent who would get nervous upon seeing his idol.

His death‑and‑rebirth at Saint John Hospital completed his transformation.

He picked up a card.

King of Spades.

On the face, the king's profile was cold, hard, and imposing.

Jiang Yuan looked at the card as if he were looking at himself.

He slipped the card back into the Card Bag, turned, and walked out of the equipment room.

Outside, the wind howled.

Morning.

The heavy rain had just ceased, yet the sky remained so overcast it seemed about to collapse.

A sleek Bay Flow G650 private jet burst through the thick clouds, carving a white line at ten‑kilometer altitude, racing toward Anhe City.

Inside the luxurious cabin, a soft wool carpet was laid.

Chen Shao closed his eyes, leaned back on the leather seat to rest, and the sunglasses lens over his left eye reflected the rolling sea of clouds outside the window.

A glass of gently swaying red wine sat on the small table before him.

And in another airspace.

A camouflage-painted armed helicopter roared loudly, skimming low through the cloud layer.

Inside the cockpit, Jiang Yuan and several fully armed Special Forces members sat opposite each other, the atmosphere grim.

The massive noise of the propeller cutting the air forced everyone to communicate through tactical headsets.

"Target 'Silent One', B-grade Anomalous, ability presumed to be Rule-based Murder, specific rules unknown."

"Repeat: our primary mission is to stop the target from committing murder, then only to contain!"

Jiang Yuan opened his eyes and calmly answered into the headset.

"Received."

Two completely opposite forces.

One chaos representing the desire to overturn the rules.

One official representing the desire to maintain order.

At the same dawn, from different directions, they flew toward the same coordinates.

A storm is about to converge over Anhe City.

Anhe City, Shui'an Flower City.

As one of the city's most upscale neighborhoods, the morning here should be tranquil.

But in Building A, Room 1701, the atmosphere is especially oppressive.

"It's all your fault! I told you not to send him! Not to send him! You wouldn't listen!"

An elegantly dressed middle-aged woman pointed at the man on the sofa, shouting sharply.

"Now it's bad! The school got into trouble! It's on the news! If people find out that Little An also came from that school, where will our family's reputation go!"

Man Xu Cheng'an impatiently stubbed out his cigarette.

"How could I have known this would happen! Didn't you say back then that the kid was getting more disobedient, so we should send him for discipline, to temper his temperament!"

"I was just......"

The woman still wanted to say something.

Ding-dong—

The crisp doorbell sound suddenly interrupted the couple's argument.

The husband and wife exchanged a glance, each seeing confusion in the other's eyes.

"Who could it be so early?"

Xu Cheng'an impatiently stood up, walked to the door, and leaned up to the peephole to look outside.

The next second.

His body suddenly stiffened, and his pupils contracted to the extreme in an instant!

Within the tiny circular view of the peephole.

A face was pressed tightly against the outside.

A young, pale, bloodless face.

The mouth of that face was sewn together crookedly with thick black thread.

A pair of hollow, emotionless eyes stared back at him through the peephole.

It was his son.

Xu An.