Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1543 Critical and Crossing

Although the country of Chirogado is like a sieve, it is mainly outside the central city. Inside the central city, the intelligence department is still very powerful. For example, Assistant Kou was targeted just a few days after he arrived.

However, once outside the city and beyond the city's sphere of influence, the power it can project becomes relatively limited.

However, they will still pay extra attention in some very special circumstances.

For example, they are quite wary of foreign fighters entering the country, especially those from Da Shun.

The previous operation to capture Assistant Kou in Pop Valley was due to their awareness of certain circumstances. However, the failure of the operation made them realize that the Da Shun fighters who had entered the country were an elite armed group, which raised their awareness.

During this time, another unidentified force provided them with intelligence, warning them that there was a high possibility of fighters appearing this time.

This forces the Three Eyes Bureau to pay even more attention. No country can accept foreign fighters operating within its territory. Not knowing is one thing, knowing is another.

However, mobilizing fighters outside the central city is not so easy, and the timeframe is somewhat rushed.

Especially now, during this special period, with the outer layer under attack, various parties have ways to use this as an excuse to refuse deployment.

After coordination, two fighters were finally brought in, one of whom was urgently transferred from within the Three-Eyes Bureau overnight.

They believed this should be enough and were very confident, because they always thought that in a one-on-one fight, the fighting power of the Chirogado fighters was undoubtedly stronger than that of the Da Shun fighters, let alone in a two-on-one fight, where they would be absolutely certain of victory.

Since Huo Zhuifeng and his group were traveling within the territory of Chiluojiado and had even taken a main road, the Three-Eyed Bureau quickly located their position and route.

The two fighters didn't do any prior reconnaissance and went straight for the convoy.

In reality, there's no point in conducting reconnaissance. They came here to deal with this Da Shun army. If they can overwhelm them by force, everything else is superfluous, and they are extremely confident in this regard.

Huo Zhuifeng immediately noticed this situation, and in that instant, he felt that these two people were excellent whetstones for his apprentice Gu Wenqing.

But after changing his mind, he felt he could wait a little longer. They still had a long way to go before leaving Chiluojiado, and certain domestic power groups were more to be wary of. This was just an appetizer.

Two figures, their bodies shimmering with light, surged forward with a deafening roar. They disregarded the direction of the car and made no attempt to coordinate their attacks, charging directly at the most conspicuous vehicle.

But when they were halfway there, a blinding light suddenly burst out in front of them, and their bodies seemed to sink into a quagmire. Two figures, one real and one illusory, appeared in front of them and placed their hands on their heads.

Both of them showed expressions of horror.

In just a moment, the spirits of both people dissipated under the impact of a powerful spiritual force.

The next moment, the heads of the two people also instantly vaporized under a fleeting flash of spiritual light, and the two headless corpses, which were twitching incessantly, fell to the ground.

Huo Zhuifeng remained seated throughout the entire process. As a martial artist of the Divine Realm, even if he had to suppress the anomaly, it would be almost effortless for him to spare some of his divine energy to deal with two ordinary martial artists.

What he needs to worry about is whether killing the opponent's fighter in Chirogado will attract the attention of the higher-ups.

However, it must be said that this period has happened to be a good time. This impact is almost global, and what happened in Da Shun has been repeated in various countries. The situation is arguably more severe than ever before.

Faced with such severe external turmoil, the country's top leadership had no time to deal with such trivial matters, so they were able to break through smoothly without encountering any further obstacles.

They walked quickly for another day and finally arrived at the coastal border.

It wasn't that Huo Zhuifeng didn't want to leave faster; if he had shaken off everyone and left alone, he might have already returned to Da Shun by now. However, he still needed to suppress the abnormal power that was growing stronger and the struggles becoming more intense.

Fortunately, after learning of the deaths of two fighters, the Three-Eyed Bureau realized that the fighters from Da Shun who had come this time were not simple, and they dared not make any rash moves, which allowed them to break through smoothly.

Upon reaching the shore, Gu Wenqing looked at a ship floating on the sea and said, "Teacher, that should be my junior brothers and sisters. They've come to pick us up."

Huo Zhuifeng didn't speak; he had already sensed that Chen Chuan should also be on the ship.

He said in a telepathic communication: "Advisor Chen, I didn't expect you to come too. It seems that I, Huo, will be witnessing some grand spectacle later."

He could easily guess that Chen Chuan had come here personally to ensure their safety. If Chen Chuan felt that he might not be able to handle them, then they must be very formidable opponents.

Chen Chuan was now sitting in the cabin. At such close range, he no longer needed Gu Wenqing as a medium; he could directly transmit his thoughts to her.
“These are minor matters. I’m here because of this anomaly in Detective Huo’s possession. This thing is related to the deity of Chirogado. If I don’t make some arrangements, I suspect that as soon as you take it out of Chirogado’s territory, it will disappear from your hands and return to its original place.”

Upon hearing this, Huo Zhuifeng was taken aback. He looked at the corpse in his hand. If he took this back, all his work would have been for nothing.

He thought to himself that he needed to spend more time studying these unusual things in the future, otherwise he probably wouldn't be able to solve many related cases. Gu Wenqing then thanked the resistance members who had helped them get there; it was time for them to part ways.

He was very grateful for the help these people had given him these past few days. He knew they were able to leave, but these people would still have to fight here, and would undoubtedly continue to endure the pressure and wrath of Dhritarashtra. There wasn't much he could do but offer his sincere thanks.

After parting ways with everyone, he returned to Huo Zhuifeng's side: "Teacher, shall we board the ship?"

Meanwhile, in the central city of Annam, at the Fusion Faction branch.

The newly appointed deputy director of the branch, Guo Tongyao, was looking at the field screen, where the building displayed was the research institute they had built in Chiluojiado.

Originally, after they developed the Heart-Eating Worm and transferred the data, they planned to destroy it immediately. However, an anomaly occurred here, leaving it abandoned.

This place has now become a ticking time bomb. This matter should have been dealt with quickly, but the previous deputy minister, Ruan Chengnian, was killed before he could do so.

Now he's taking over this mess.

Fortunately, the anomaly hindered their plans and also deterred other forces from coveting it. Although some people became interested in the research institute afterward, almost none of those who went in ever came out.

But this time he received news that people from Zhongjing might be eyeing this place, and they were undoubtedly looking for evidence. If the anomalies there were solved, he really didn't know how much he could uncover.

Even if they destroyed a large amount of data when they removed the Heart Eater, it is still difficult to guarantee that no traces will be left behind, and it is hard to say whether unexpected situations will occur under abnormal influence.

At this moment, a voice came from Jie Ping: "Minister, all the delegates are in place."

Guo Tongyao spun his chair around and placed his hand on a square stone slab that had sunk into the table.

After a while, figures appeared in his mind.

The people who are here now are the core members of the Fusion Faction in the South China Sea. Each of them is a martial artist, and through cooperation with the Refinement Faction and international factions, their influence and reach have spread throughout the southern and coastal areas of Da Shun, including the political situations of various small countries.

Although they don't have a skyline, they can achieve the same goal through lost objects. However, this method of communication comes at a cost; it's not as convenient as a skyline and can only be used occasionally.

They are aware of the benefits of the skyline, but they also know what it will bring; they may lose more than they gain, so they prefer to reject these conveniences.

After everyone arrived, Guo Tongyao said, "Time is short, so I'll get straight to the point. The reason I've called you all here today is that more and more forces are paying attention to our research institute in Chiluojiaduo. Recently, people from Zhongjing have been investigating there, and we need to find a way to clean it up."

Someone asked, "Can't the research institute handle this even now?"

One of the staff members in charge of the matter said, "The area had become abnormal. We tried to blast it, but it didn't work. Two days later, it returned to normal."

"What if we destroy the entire area?"

Anomalies are related to regions; they can destroy an entire region, and even if it's Dhārajad's territory, they don't think it's that difficult.

As long as it doesn't involve the central city, would Chloragado really go to war with them? At most, they'd just make a few noises on the international stage.

“We’ve tried that method before, but it didn’t work. We had the esoteric master analyze it, and it’s very likely that this anomaly involves the deity on the other side, or even higher powers.”

Everyone frowned immediately; once something like this was involved, it would be extremely difficult to handle.

They are adept at dealing with things on the other side, and know that it is easy to use their power, but very difficult to get rid of them.

Someone coldly remarked, "If you can't solve the anomaly, then solve the people."

Someone else asked, "Minister Guo, do you know the identity of the investigators?"

Guo Tongyao fiddled with a pen in his hand and said, "It's still unclear, but you all should know very well how Minister Ruan died last time."

Everyone was immediately taken aback. They still didn't know the reason for Minister Ruan's death, but even the higher-ups couldn't investigate the matter further. They didn't dare to think too deeply about the background of the person who did it.

Guo Tongyao said slowly, "The good news is that we can confirm that the people who came to investigate this time are not from Dongxuan Temple, and we have roughly grasped their whereabouts. Now, it depends on your determination."

……

……

(End of this chapter)