The nightlife in Cliff City was always loud and bustling. Street food stalls, late-night BBQs, KTVs, and other forms of entertainment never stopped, offering endless choices. But compared to everyone else’s bright, colorful nights, some people’s evenings felt cold, tense, and a little unhinged.

It wasn’t until near dawn that the screaming finally ceased in the underground training grounds of the Security Bureau.

Expressionless, Yu Hanguang pushed the door open and left, without even bothering to offer the usual perfunctory greetings to the staff who had come to clean up. Even after he left, it took a long while for the chill in the air to dissipate.

“Ah... Why’s he in such a bad mood?”

A cleaning staff member, holding a mop and broom, stared in the direction Yu Hanguang had gone, utterly confused. When they stepped onto the training ground, they froze in place.

The place was a disaster. The massive training hall, with its floors, walls, and vaulted ceilings all reinforced with alloy steel, was covered in scorch marks. Some areas still glowed red-hot, and the targets had long since melted into puddles of molten metal. Not even the skeletons were left.

It was like a natural disaster had swept through this place. The entire training hall was utterly ruined. Forget using it again; it was a complete wasteland.

“Clean everything up. If anyone’s careless, throw them out. It’s a critical time, don’t cause any more trouble!”

Only after returning to his office did Yu Hanguang’s expression finally reveal a trace of gloom. After hanging up the phone, he sank into his chair. His previous fury had been contained, leaving only pure, icy coldness in his eyes.

Having been severely outplayed by Wen Wen, he had to swallow this bitter loss. He had been forced to cut off all his subordinates’ ties to any business connected to Jiang Jin’s gang, suffering losses that were almost impossible to measure.

Everything he’d earned over the past few years had basically been wiped out overnight, and then some. If she dared to keep pushing the issue, who knew how much more trouble he’d end up tangled in.

And the one he was truly wary of wasn’t Wen Wen.

Even if she was Minerva... So what? That Celestial Being in Central Capital hadn’t killed her, but she wasn’t dead either. As long as she existed, as long as her power still had roots in the tangled upper echelons of the Federation, Wen Wen’s reach would never extend beyond Cliff City. She wouldn’t be able to stir up anything too big.

No matter how strong she was, she wasn't the only strong person in this world. Even the strongest had to play by the rules, or they were excluded from the game.

He had never feared Wen Wen. No matter how embarrassed she made him feel, the real issue was the connection between Wen Wen and Ji Jue. The Chosen One’s future was bright and promising, but so what? If he wanted to kill him now, it wouldn’t be any harder than crushing an ant. But if the two of them joined forces...

Just thinking about it, there was no way last night’s events could have been planned solely by Wen Wen, whose mind seemed only capable of murder and annihilation. Who else could have set the trap behind the scenes besides Ji Jue?

It was almost unimaginable that she could trust someone to that extent. The way she acted, she practically seemed like his strategic mastermind.

Whether Ji Jue would grow into a powerful ally for her later didn’t even matter that much. Right now, a Wen Wen with an extra brain to think for her was already many times harder to deal with than before. One misstep, and she could tear another chunk out of him.

The moment he realized all of this, it became clear that Ji Jue was the real threat.

A cold, undisguised sharpness flickered in Yu Hanguang’s eyes. Ji Jue had to be eliminated as soon as possible! As for Wen Wen’s protection... yeah, that was a bit of a headache. But why should he dirty his own hands?

He didn’t need to do anything or even ‌lift a finger. To deal with someone like Ji Jue, a rootless drifter with no backing, all he had to do was stick to procedure, take the “tips” from an informant, and file a report. That alone would be enough.

In a place like the Security Bureau, where leaks were as common as holes in a sieve, that alone would be enough to stir up endless trouble, each wave more than enough to drown Ji Jue completely. Even without solid evidence, suspicion alone was enough to crush someone.

Besides, who didn’t have weaknesses? Classmates, friends, family... There were far too many points of attack, far too many ways to ruin a person. Sometimes no blood needed to be shed at all; just a little nudge in the right direction, and a person could walk straight to their own doom. Even a Chosen One wouldn’t be able to remain arrogant for long.

Yu Hanguang let out a cold chuckle and picked up his phone. Just as he was about to make a call, it suddenly vibrated in his hand.

An unknown number had bypassed all blocks and filters to reach his phone. Borderless Communications had even given it a gold-framed caller ID, marking the caller’s unusual status and internal privileges.

He froze for a moment, but he answered the call.

“Who is this?”

“I’m Ye Xian,” a calm, even voice said straightforwardly. “Mr. Yu, from what I hear, you have some intentions with my apprentice.”

Yu Hanguang was caught off guard. His mind raced, and his brow furrowed.

Ye Xian? Who?

He racked his brain for a while before finally recalling a name mentioned in an old case file, an alchemy master who had come to Cliff City years ago.

A craftsman?

He almost laughed out of sheer irritation. Really, anyone thought they could get over his head now?

“When we from the Security Bureau handle matters, there’s no need to explain anything to outsiders,” he said coolly. “If that’s all, I’ll hang up now.”

A resigned sigh came from the other side. “Is that so? Mr. Yu, I don’t know if you’re aware, but there’s a saying in alchemy. When your emotions are unstable, it interferes with the mind. When the mind is unwell, it affects the body. And when the body is unwell, one should get more rest.”

Nonsense! He couldn’t make heads or tails of what she was saying.

Yu Hanguang let out a cold laugh, no longer interested in humoring her. Just as he was about to hang up, he realized that his fingers couldn’t move.

A thread of icy numbness, sharp as a blade, spread from his fingertips and expanded in an instant to engulf his entire body, stripping away his control. Then it surged outward, like a freezing tidal wave swallowing everything in its path.

In a sudden spasm, Yu Hanguang couldn’t help but cough violently. But what burst out with each cough wasn’t just air, it was bright red blood. Mixed within were distinct iron filings and metal shards that clattered onto the table, still sizzling and crackling with flashes of electricity.

Yu Hanguang’s eyes went wide as he stared at them in disbelief.

This is my... matrix?!

In that instant, his matrix had gone out of control! As if it had been contaminated by aberration, it convulsed violently, twisting and warping beyond control. Rampaging power and blessings collided within his body, detonating and causing internal damage.

It wasn’t fatal. With a few days of rest, he would recover. But what if it could become serious? What if it could get even worse?! All along, he had taken pride in having absolute control over his own abilities. But now, his power had betrayed him.

A bone-deep chill swallowed him whole, making him tremble uncontrollably. He had never experienced terror like this before.

“You’re tired. Probably overworked to the point of illness. Starting today, you should take a few months off to rest,” the calm voice on the phone said. “I don’t have the best temper, and I don’t like it when people are rude to me, so I hope the Security Bureau keeps that in mind...”

She paused, then said plainly, “Don’t push your luck.”

And with that, the call ended. In the dead silent office, only the dull, repetitive busy tone echoed, along with Yu Hanguang’s heavy breathing.

For a long, long time, he couldn’t even rise from his chair, and he was drenched in sweat. He didn’t even have the strength to make a sound, like a hyena with its tail crushed under the foot of a tyrannosaur.

***

That morning, Ji Jue finally saw Ye Xian in the workshop after several busy days. The professor held her teacup, sipping that bitter, overly strong tea at an unhurried pace, as she said calmly, “You certainly made quite a scene last night. Since this morning, the Security Bureau’s inquiries have been coming at me nonstop. It’s almost too much for a poor, unbacked craftsman like me to handle.”

“My apologies, Professor. I’m sorry,” Ji Jue said. Stunned, he lingered in silence before the guilt became impossible to hide.

On one hand, yesterday’s situation had been so urgent that there had been no time to think things through. On the other hand, Ji Jue still didn’t fully grasp where he stood exactly.

He had never expected that his actions would drag the professor into this mess. Anything involving the Security Bureau was bound to be trouble. Even if the professor was a master of the Taiyi Ring, getting caught up in this mess wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

Damn it... that bastard Yu Hanguang...

Ji Jue made a mental note before saying solemnly, “I promise this won’t happen a second time.”

If there ever was a next time, he’d put on a mask, hide his identity, and go kill that son of a—

“Enough. The day I brought you in, I already made my preparations. Save the empty promises,” Professor Ye said, glancing at him. “The capable stand out no matter what they do. The incapable, no matter how much they jump around, are nothing but clowns. If you eventually become a grandmaster, who would dare say I made the wrong choice today? Don’t disappoint me.”

“Understood.” Ji Jue nodded frantically, almost wishing he could write a formal guarantee.

What surprised him even more was that there was none of the scolding or harsh reprimand he had anticipated. What happened yesterday was brushed off just like that, as if it barely mattered. She didn’t question him nor probe into the details.

Ji Jue quietly breathed a sigh of relief and added another note to Yu Hanguang’s mental ledger. Just you wait till I’m stronger... You’re as good as dead, you motherfucker!

After reviewing Ji Jue’s results and work from the past two days, Professor Ye waved her hand with disinterest. “Nothing special. Using scraps on scrap work, I suppose it fits well enough. Compared to that, the technique you used when you engraved that Supreme Benevolence emblem on the gun with a portable probe, like it were just a pair of pliers, was far more impressive. Did you bring it?”

“Uh, that was borrowed from someone else, and I returned it on the way over,” Ji Jue said, nervously tapping his toes on the floor in embarrassment. He hadn’t expected his impromptu antics to catch Professor Ye’s attention.

The professor didn’t hide her curiosity. “And the rest? What about that scooter, the one that could suppress the shadow beast of a Chosen One? You rode it here today, didn’t you?”

She adjusted her glasses, her gaze lighting up with the instinctive fervor of a craftsman. “To be honest, it’s been years since something has opened my eyes like this...”

Her student had just started—no, he hadn’t even properly begun yet—and he’d already made something this outrageous?

It was a pleasant surprise. Well, more like an utter shock.