Celestial Human Diagram

After lunch, Chen Chuan stood by a viewport with a hot drink in hand, looking down. From this altitude, Central City offered a completely different perspective.

Sunlight streamed down from above, creating a gradient of light and shadow. The wide, crisscrossing streets looked like nothing more than a handful of thin threads. Towers that normally scraped the sky, seeming impossibly tall from the ground, were now all far below, inspiring an inevitable sense of detachment.

Pan Xiaode spoke up beside him. "Our airship handles maintenance and serves as an emergency backup, so we fly around inspecting all the districts. Because of that, all sorts of information gets passed on to us. The people from the Administrative Affairs Hall and the Defense Department are handling the situation. Critical intelligence is classified, of course, but there’s no harm in us knowing the general stuff.

I heard that besides the creature invasion from the Merging Land, there was also a raid by the Old Imperial Family. They were stopped out at sea to the east, though. Overall, it looks like the Administrative Affairs Hall and the Defense Department still have the situation under control.

I reckon it’ll be like this for another two days.

Oh, right, Chen, you probably don’t know, but a resistance group supposedly showed up too. They had a fight in Fengde District not long ago. I just saw the footage. An entire street was wrecked. It looks like it was all caused by Third Limit Fighters clashing... Here, let me show you..."

As he spoke, he sent the footage over, asking curiously, "Chen, do all you Third Limit Fighters have that kind of destructive power?"

Chen Chuan said, "Not everyone can do that."

Pan Xiaode looked on with deep admiration, wishing he could immediately cross that threshold himself.

Chen Chuan watched the footage. A number of the skyscrapers had pockmarked gashes in them, and the road looked like it had been repeatedly bombarded.

’Only Third Limit Fighters who have mastered Heart Force could cause this level of widespread destruction. And there was more than one of them,’ Chen Chuan thought. ’It seems many factions have come to Central City to get a piece of the action this time.’

’And as long as the Fumu’s fission-reproduction continues, scenes like this are bound to happen again.’

Inside the Defense Department Command Center, Specialist Liang glanced at the time. It was ten minutes to one in the afternoon. The Fumu’s fission-reproduction was about to enter its tenth wave.

According to the Sentry Towers’ analysis, there would likely be around thirteen to fifteen waves this time.

However, although there were many offspring, they had been modulated to be smaller and more numerous. This meant each individual had various defects.

If the Dashun Government wanted to cultivate new Domain Creatures, they would normally select the optimal individuals as candidates. If none met the required standard, the batch would undergo modulation. This required a greater investment of resources, an expense that only a major power could typically afford.

So, in theory, each individual was simultaneously insignificant yet crucial.

Based on previous estimates and the Sentry Towers’ current analysis, they could confirm that the intervals between subsequent waves would likely be longer, not as frequent as in the initial stages.

This meant they no longer had to mobilize their forces with such urgency and could concentrate a larger contingent.

In fact, the companies intending to get involved were likely aware of this, which was why they had all made their moves in the early-to-mid stages. Most of their strength had been exhausted during that initial period. It was hard to say if they would act again. He leaned toward the belief that they would exercise restraint, but necessary precautions still had to be taken.

He glanced at the screen showing the area outside Ji Yang District. The Old Imperial Family’s General of Conquest was still in a standoff with Xue Shou. It seemed he wouldn’t leave until the fission was over.

For now, everything else was manageable. What he worried about most was that entity.

’But... where is it?’

He couldn’t figure it out for the moment. But aside from that, there was another matter that needed attention: the Ferris Wheel Company.

According to reliable intelligence, the company had gone all-in, putting every force at its public disposal on the table in a bid to join the Federation and escape its predicament.

The Ferris Wheel Company’s next move depended on the outcome of the battle at sea, but so far, no news had come back.

On the sea of the Outer Ocean off Bahu Island, the wreckage of half-sunken warships littered the surface. A thick smell of sulfur and burnt wood filled the air.

Countless buoys and life rafts drifted on the water as the United Fleet’s crew attempted to rescue fallen personnel from both sides.

This naval battle between three companies began at 5:20 AM and raged for nearly eight hours until 1:30 PM, concluding with the victory of the United Fleet, composed of Canglong Company and the Overseas Development Group.

The Ferris Wheel Company lost five of its nine Distant Mountain Level Battleships, with three captured and one fleeing. Nine of its twelve gunboats were sunk, and the remaining three were captured. Over half of its twenty-five airships managed to retreat from the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the Dashun side lost only one reconnaissance ship and two gunboats. Only four of their twelve Changwei Class warships sustained light damage. It was, by all accounts, a resounding victory.

But in reality, the battle had been quite perilous.

At the start of the battle, the Ferris Wheel Company had immediately released modified flying creatures provided by the Lynx Federation. These insectoid creatures could cling to the airships’ gasbags and inject a special biological fluid through stingers on their abdomens. After they detached, the fluid would rapidly ignite a massive fire.

These were likely newly developed Modified Creatures from the Lynx Federation, something the United Fleet had no prior knowledge of. As a result, their airships, which should have held absolute superiority, lost a third of their strength right at the outset.

Losing air superiority would have made the battle incredibly difficult, as they would be left without any cover from above.

Fortunately, thanks to a staff officer’s timely suggestion, the United Fleet had brought along a batch of modified birds from the Wing Blade Light Nest Company. These birds managed to halt the enemy creatures’ assault, allowing the battle to proceed.

The four submarines dispatched by the Dashun Military were particularly instrumental. They were responsible for sinking most of the Distant Mountain Level Battleships, all within the first two hours of the battle.

Already outnumbered by the United Fleet, the Ferris Wheel Company was crippled by this blow and never recovered. The United Fleet then spent nearly six hours pursuing the remnants, sinking them or forcing their surrender one by one.

And so, the fleet that the Ferris Wheel Company had painstakingly assembled over a decade was utterly destroyed. Henceforth, it would exist only in historical records.

After confirming the battle’s outcome, Captain Fengding Mountain immediately sent a coded telegram to report the results to the Central City Defense Department.

At 1:30 PM, the telegram was delivered to the Central City operations command center.

Specialist Liang received the message immediately. After repeatedly confirming its authenticity, a great weight lifted from his mind.

This naval battle was of critical importance. Had the United Fleet lost, nothing would have stood in the Ferris Wheel Company’s way at sea. Their forces could have withdrawn or returned at will, leaving the government in an extremely passive position.

Now that the Ferris Wheel Company had lost its naval power, they were effectively trapped on land, unable to make a move.

He handed the telegram to his female assistant and instructed, "Relay this message via secure channel to Chief Qi and Director Wei."

The female assistant immediately complied.

About ten minutes after the message went out, the female assistant placed a hand on her Realm Token and then said something to him.

Specialist Liang nodded, left the second-floor common area, and went to the office hall on the third floor. The surroundings dimmed, a light screen on the wall flickered, and the figures of two people appeared there.

On the left was Qiao Yang, the trusted secretary to Chief Qi of the Administrative Affairs Hall. On the right was Deputy Director Wu Quan of the Processing Bureau, in charge of specific operations.

Specialist Liang said, "Chief Qi and Director Wei should have seen the telegram by now. Do you two have anything to convey?"

Qiao Yang, a man in his forties with gold-rimmed glasses and a gentle, refined appearance, smiled and said, "We need to provide the public with an explanation for this incident. The Ferris Wheel Company is a perfect scapegoat."

Specialist Liang immediately understood the Administrative Affairs Hall’s intention. He considered it for a moment and said, "What does Chairman Quan say? If we make a move against the Ferris Wheel Company, the City Council probably won’t agree."

Qiao Yang smiled. "Special circumstances call for special measures. This is a state of emergency, so military regulations apply—but only for the time being."

Specialist Liang nodded. As things stood, with the exception of the security forces guarding Weiguang District, Wuding District, White Bird District, and Motie Mountain, all other military power was controlled by their three departments. Furthermore, communications outside these districts were unreliable.

If they were to take action, they could cut off all communication signals beforehand, and the Council would be completely unable to stop them. But if they waited until after this period, handling it would be much more difficult.

He reminded them, "But don’t forget, those people from the Old Imperial Family are still camped on our doorstep. We can’t just ignore that. And we still don’t know what that thing that slipped over from the other side wants, or where it is.

Facing these threats, we’re still going to divert forces to deal with the Ferris Wheel Company? Is that wise?"

Director Wu spoke up then, "Mr. Xue is handling the standoff with the Old Imperial Family. That’s sufficient for that front. Unless they find another stable Rift, it’s impossible for them to break through. And given the current situation, that possibility is close to zero.

As for that entity, Specialist Liang, Director Wei has already confirmed with headquarters. The Processing Bureau’s active Consciousness Body, ’An Shield,’ can mount a corresponding countermeasure."

’The Processing Bureau’s active Consciousness Body is essential for countering the active Consciousness Bodies of the various corporations,’ Specialist Liang thought. ’In fact, those corporations are the ones we truly need to be wary of. If we deploy it, aren’t they afraid the other corporations will make a move?’

Director Wu said in a low voice, "We’ve been in contact with Wuyi Academy. If the corporations make any unusual moves, their active Consciousness Body, Hong Fu, can stand in for An Shield if necessary."

Specialist Liang understood. It seemed both departments had a clear stance on the Ferris Wheel Company, and it even represented the opinions of the higher-ups behind them. Now, they were just waiting for him to state his position.

He thought deeply for a moment, then looked at the two of them and said slowly, "In view of the Ferris Wheel Company’s repeated disruption of order in Jibei Dao Central City and the serious security threat posed to the Central City Government, I, in my capacity as the Defense Department’s specialist stationed in Jibei Dao Central City, propose..."

His voice grew solemn. "...to invoke the National Special Cleanup Ordinance and conduct a full-scale purge and restructuring of the Ferris Wheel Company, so as to ensure that the national security and public interest of Dashun are not infringed upon."

"Seconded!"

"Seconded!"

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