Chapter 362 - 237: The Security Bureau’s Plight: Assassination (Part 2)

Chapter 362: Chapter 237: The Security Bureau’s Plight: Assassination (Part 2)

Taolang gave a wry smile. "It wasn’t until I joined the Security Bureau that I realized it. The number of Martial Artists has been skyrocketing in recent years, but development in the major border zones has hit a bottleneck. Resources are becoming harder to get, so an increasing number of people are willing to take desperate risks."

"You probably don’t know this, but right now in the Yu Kingdom, private duels between Martial Artists are happening at any given moment. Some organizations even establish their headquarters in the border zones, where the constant flow of people is much harder to monitor. Many of them have multiple identities. They network and accept missions in the border zones, then return to their home planet to execute them."

"Murder, plundering treasures, kidnapping... you name it. The kinds of guys we ran into from the Illuminati in Tianning County? They’re small-time."

"The Night Owl Mansion is a large organization, but it’s actually considered a minor one. Its founder wasn’t very powerful, so he never dared to expand aggressively. It only became dangerous in recent years after a few Grandmasters with hidden identities took it over."

"Its members are primarily mid-rank Martial Artists; it lacks enough high-rank Martial Artists for support. So, in the eyes of the higher-ups, it’s naturally not considered a major concern."

"But for us, they’re still a formidable enemy!"

Yu Fei grew thoughtful. He suddenly had a question. "Don’t the Seven Greats all possess intelligent cores with technology far surpassing the civilian internet? It should be easy for them to crack these cybercrimes that rely on civilian platforms!"

Taolang fell silent for a moment before saying in a low, restrained voice, "It’s a legal issue. For martial arts technology to access the civilian network, it requires a majority vote from the Martial Saints on the Supreme Council. The issue has been debated for nearly fifty years, and it’s never been passed."

"That’s strange..."

"Not strange at all. In fact, we have a consensus at the Security Bureau: it’s likely those very Martial Saints are the ones behind many powerful illegal organizations. If the current civilian network were upgraded, they might be exposed, so they find all sorts of excuses to vote against it!"

As he spoke, Taolang’s voice dropped. "It’s been eight hundred years since the start of the Yu Kingdom’s new era. A lot of things have... soured."

The topic was too heavy, and complaining was pointless. Yu Fei didn’t respond.

’In a world where ultimate power belongs to the individual, mere reason is useless. Without absolute strength, flipping the table will only make things worse.’

"By the way, are there any rewards for this mission?"

Taolang refocused on the mission.

"Your situation is special. I’ll have to submit an application to the director for you!"

"Alright, I’ll take the mission!"

The car sped toward the Xiling City Security Bureau headquarters. They dropped off Yang Meng, leaving him in the care of Xie Qing and Lu Qian, before Taolang drove Yu Fei out toward the suburbs.

"We estimate the Night Owl Mansion will have a significant number of Gang Qi Realm Martial Artists taking part in Mei Shasha’s assassination, and possibly even high-rank Grandmasters. If this were to happen in the city, we fear it could cause a mass-casualty event. That’s why we’ve placed Mei Shasha in a suburban location to better concentrate our protective forces. Our director is there as well."

"Mei Shasha is the defector, and she’s the one we’re protecting now."

Yu Fei still had many questions about the mission. "Then how can you be sure they know Mei Shasha’s location?"

Taolang gave another wry smile. "A traitor, of course. The Night Owl Mansion grew quickly. Back in its early days, when membership was anonymous, some Security Bureau officers must have joined. Now they don’t want Mei Shasha alive either, so the mission details were leaked."

"By the same token, we’ve also planted our own moles inside the Night Owl Mansion."

"So you’re basically playing with your cards on the table. Both sides know what the other plans to do next. It just comes down to who’s stronger."

Taolang nodded. "Exactly."

They arrived at a manor at the foot of a mountain. There, Yu Fei met Taolang’s superior: the director of the Jingshan Province Security Bureau, Grandmaster Song Cheng.

He was personally waiting at the door to welcome Yu Fei.

Song Cheng was an elderly man with salt-and-pepper hair. His back was slightly stooped, a clear sign of his advanced age. Observing his overall vitality, Yu Fei guessed it would be difficult for the man to advance any further in his martial arts cultivation.

"You must be Yu Fei," he said. "On behalf of the Jingshan Security Bureau, I want to thank you for your assistance. Yang Meng is a veteran of the bureau with a distinguished service record. Had you not intervened, I fear we would have lost another trusted comrade."

As a Grandmaster, Song Cheng was humbling himself, showing Yu Fei a great deal of respect.

"You’re too kind, sir. Fortune favors the good, so Yang Meng was bound to be fine. Besides, Taolang’s combat prowess is extraordinary; those petty thugs were nothing to worry about. And now, with a pillar of strength like you personally overseeing things, success is guaranteed!"

Yu Fei quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the Grandmaster.

"Hahaha, you’ve got a silver tongue, kid. Come on, have a couple of drinks with me!"

"After you, sir!"

Song Cheng had started as an ordinary Martial Artist and had scraped and clawed his way to the Grandmaster Realm. Yu Fei’s Reversing Destiny Vision confirmed it: the old Grandmaster himself only possessed a blue-level talent, just like Yan Sea.

This was the allure of the martial path. In cultivation, talent was the dominant factor, but it wasn’t the only one.

He took Yu Fei very seriously. While on the road, Taolang had submitted his mission report and mentioned the reward for outside assistance, prompting Song Cheng to specifically look up Yu Fei’s information.

In such a critical time, he worried Taolang might have been deceived. If this kid turned out to be an infiltrator from the Night Owl Mansion, it would be a disaster.

But as it turned out, even with his authority as the director of an entire provincial Security Bureau, he still didn’t have the clearance to view Yu Fei’s file.

Later, when he heard from Taolang that the young man was in the first-year Celestial Pride Class at Shenhan University, he reached out to a friend who was an alumnus to ask about him. In response, his friend sent him a mind-blowing combat highlights reel from a Shenhan University military exercise called [Desperate Fortress].

’Yu Fei... This kid is undoubtedly one of the strongest of his generation. If I build a good relationship with him, perhaps the Security Bureau can reap some benefits down the line.’