Chapter 686 37: Arrival

Just as Weidong and Wu Han were escaping the trap, back at the Deep Unexplored District's Fighting Hall, Lu Fang was instructing his students when his Realm Token suddenly chimed, followed by a conspicuous notification alert.

Surprised, he stopped and took a look, only to find he had received a notice from the Administrative Affairs Department.

It informed him that the land occupied by the Fighting Hall was public property and that no private structures or unapproved commercial activities were permitted on it.

They were given one day to vacate the premises and were required to pay six years' worth of back taxes and fines. After one day, law enforcement officers would arrive to carry out a forced eviction.

Upon receiving this message, he immediately sensed the situation was very tricky and quickly contacted the two senior brothers who were away.

After contacting them, he learned that he wasn't the only one who received the notice; both senior brothers had gotten it as well. They rushed back one after the other, arriving within an Hour.

Both men had deeply furrowed brows.

They found it incomprehensible, unbelievable even.

The Fighting Hall, after all, was located in the neglected "Lower City District," situated in the cracks between the city's high-rises—an area excluded from municipal management. People with official citizenship wouldn't even spare it a second glance.

The Administrative Affairs Department probably didn't even know a place like this existed, yet they had specifically issued a notice to them. The whole thing seemed absurd, so they naturally began to question its authenticity.

'Could someone be deliberately targeting us? Or is this some Resonator's prank?'

Senior Brother Yu turned to Lu Fang and said, "Junior Lu, can you have that friend of yours confirm this?"

Lu Fang nodded, stood up, and moved to one side. He contacted No. 13, who now went by the name Shi Yi. Once the call connected, he said, "Shi, the Fighting Hall just ran into some trouble..."

He briefly explained the situation, then asked, "Can you trace the source of this notice?"

Shi Yi replied, "Brother Lu, hold on, I'll help you trace the message's source."

After about ten minutes, Shi Yi's reply came. "Brother Lu, the message was definitely sent from the Administrative Affairs Department, but I can't trace it to a specific department at the moment.

However, there are no administrative notices indicating that the Fighting Hall or its surrounding area is being appropriated. Plus, the message was sent exclusively to the Fighting Hall."

Hearing this, Lu Fang was first surprised, then seemed to realize something. "Alright, Shi, thank you."

He walked back to the other two and explained the situation.

"This is aimed specifically at us?" Senior Brother Yu was baffled.

Senior Brother Guo was also trying to recall if they had offended some big shot during a recent commissioned mission. It was certainly possible, but he couldn't think of anyone.

But since they had confirmed that people from the Administrative Affairs Department were targeting them, there was truly no way they could continue operating the Fighting Hall.

For one thing, they could just send an enforcement squad to drive them away and confiscate the hall outright.

If they dared to resist, they would immediately be branded as wanted criminals.

They had been working hard all these years trying to obtain official citizenship. If they became wanted criminals, that dream would be all but hopeless.

Senior Brother Guo thought for a moment, then stepped aside as if to contact someone. A short while later, he returned and said, "I just asked Boss Hao and his men. He said someone originally wanted to hire them to trash our Fighting Hall, but he refused because he thinks we have a good relationship."

Senior Brother Yu was dismissive. 'These gangs might talk about loyalty, but claiming he refused because of a 'good relationship' is a load of bull. The only reason is that they can't beat us, so they don't dare to make a move.'

But this confirmed one thing: someone was deliberately targeting them, and they weren't afraid of being found out. The culprit was most likely from the Administrative Affairs Department.

Senior Brother Guo said in a low voice, "Boss Hao said that if the hall is confiscated, they can provide us with some space to teach."

He then shook his head. 'If it comes to that, we'll be living under their roof. In the future, if the gang runs into trouble, will we help them or not? Could we really stay out of it? Their calculations are sharp. All they have to do is provide a space, and they can tie the three of us to their gang.'

Senior Brother Yu felt utterly stifled. They had struggled here for more than five years, almost six. He was absolutely unwilling to give it all up now. Besides just leaving, they were also being forced to pay back taxes and fines. Where were they supposed to get that kind of money? Just then, something occurred to him. He looked up at Lu Fang and said:

"Junior Lu, you're close with Junior Chen, right? He seems to have a high-ranking position at the Processing Bureau. He should have some influence. I wonder if we can use his connections to sort this out?"

Lu Fang thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll talk to Junior Chen."

Ordinarily, he would never bother Chen Chuan with this kind of problem. However, Chen Chuan had specifically told him to be on the lookout these past few days and to notify him immediately if anything happened.

Besides, given the current situation, he was afraid the other party's goal wasn't just to evict them from the Fighting Hall, but that they had other moves planned. So he immediately placed his hand on his Realm Token.

But at that moment, it occurred to him that this might involve some internal strife within the Administrative Affairs Department. So he lowered his hand and, instead of contacting Chen Chuan directly, chose to send a voice message.

Chen Chuan was currently waiting for results at his residence. When he heard a message arrive and checked its contents, he immediately knew this situation was also instigated by people from the Gray Shell Office.

'It seems anyone who has had frequent contact or close dealings with me is being targeted and pressured lately,' he thought.

He sent a reply to Lu Fang: "Don't worry. If all goes well, it will be resolved after noon." After sending it, he checked the time on his Realm Token. It was 10:19. There was still a little over an Hour until noon.

Just as he was sending the message, a giant white Airship traveled all the way from the continental heartland and arrived just outside Central City. But the Airship didn't enter Central City; instead, it hovered motionlessly in the sky just beyond the city limits.

The pure white gasbag was exceptionally striking under the Sun's light. On its surface were a few simple silver lines that seemed to faintly outline the face of a person with closed eyes, inspiring a sense of awe and fear in all who saw it.

The Airship's arrival seemed to startle the entire Upper Layer of Central City. The Administrative Affairs Hall and the City Council immediately dispatched personnel toward the Airship to establish contact.

At the same time, the density of Domain information traffic within the city spiked by an order of magnitude, and a series of urgent radio signals shot out from Jibei Dao, spreading in all directions.

Simultaneously, the military in Ji Yang District received orders to go on alert. Large numbers of security personnel began to converge on Weiguang District, while the active Consciousness Bodies of various international corporations began to activate, cautiously observing the situation.

Half an Hour later, the liaison personnel who had gone to communicate with the Airship finally sent back a message. Central City's Upper Layer immediately convened an emergency meeting.

The meeting was unprecedentedly efficient, reaching a decision in just over ten minutes.

Afterward, a team of functionaries rushed to the Processing Bureau at top speed. Because communication had been established beforehand, the group proceeded without obstruction and directly retrieved Ji Xinmin and the other two from their holding cells.

Ji Xinmin and the other two appeared very relaxed as they came out. Although they had been locked up, they never believed they wouldn't get out.

There had been no news for a few days, but Litigation Masters had been coming and going, so their contact with the outside world was never severed. They knew pressure was still being applied to "that person." Similar incidents had happened before, and no one could hold out for too long.

As far as they were concerned, today was pretty much the day it would all end.

When they saw the person who had come for them—a man with a chiseled jaw wearing sunglasses—they showed expressions that said, "Just as we expected."

This was the person in charge of communications between the Gray Shell Affairs Hall and the higher-ups. The appearance of such an important figure meant that the situation outside had truly changed.

The three men sat down with relaxed expressions. One of them even had the leisure to joke, "Mr. Lin, why trouble yourself to come in person for such a small matter? A phone call would have been enough for us to let ourselves out, wouldn't it?"

No emotion could be seen on Mr. Lin's sunglass-covered face. He reached out and took a file from the Litigation Master behind him, then pushed it across the table to the three men.

"There are still some procedures to follow. Sign it."

The three men chuckled. This must be the paperwork for their release.

'So what if we were detained? They still have to let us out in the end, don't they?'

They brought the document up to their eyes. At first, they were nonchalant, but after seeing its contents, they froze. Then, pulling it closer, their faces filled with shock, anger, and disbelief.

One of them slammed the document down on the table and growled, "Mr. Lin, what is the meaning of this?"

Ji Xinmin also frowned deeply, staring at Mr. Lin. "Mr. Lin, what is the meaning of this?"

Mr. Lin looked at him and said, "It means exactly what it says."

Ji Xinmin's gaze was fixed on him, his fist on the table clenching tightly. "I expect an explanation."

"An explanation?"

Mr. Lin took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of cold eyes. "Why didn't you report to the School before you acted? Why did you act on your own authority?"

Ji Xinmin took a breath. "I believe you know that we received a call from that lord. He was the one who ordered us to do this."

Mr. Lin pointed at him with his sunglasses. "Don't speak nonsense. This matter was your own unauthorized decision."

He gestured at the three documents. "Sign them. This is the School's will, and this is the best possible outcome. Your families will be kept safe. If you're unwilling, I can help you."

Ji Xinmin was furious and confused. He demanded angrily, "Why? Is one Investigation Chief really worth you being this scared?"

"Investigation Chief?"

Mr. Lin sighed. He leaned forward, staring daggers at the three of them. "Do you have any idea? Two Fighting Masters from the Pure Sect are on that Airship outside Central City right now."

A vein seemed to bulge on his forehead as he ground out his words through clenched teeth, "Two Fighting Masters. Do you know what that means? Right now, the fucking high officials from the Administrative Affairs Hall and the councilmen from the City Council are all watching me. The School's upper echelons have sent a telegram, ordering me to resolve this matter properly.

The key is that the Pure Sect has evidence! Evidence, do you understand? You three idiots!

If this isn't resolved within their specified time frame, it could lead to an all-out conflict between our two Schools, maybe even war!

Letting the three of you die is the best possible outcome!"

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