I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 218: Chapter 127: The Exposed Foundation Establishment Cultivator

Yang Wenqing returned to his desk. Just as he picked up an analytical report to review, a unique and urgent pulse of Spiritual Qi emanated from the Communication Array inside the badge on his chest. It was a top-level encrypted communication.

Once he answered, Vice Director Gao Zhen’s voice came through. "Wenqing, the city bureau has approved the arrest warrant for ’Gray Kite.’ The operation will be carried out jointly by the city bureau’s Internal Affairs Inspectorate and the Municipal Inspectorate."

Yang Wenqing’s grip on the report tightened, then slackened. He finally exhaled, releasing a breath he felt he’d been holding for ages.

’Finally! It’s come to this!’

He was desperate to know: this great web entangling Lingshan Town, woven from cultic blood sacrifices, official corruption, and illegal profiteering—just who was the powerful figure at its center? And what exact role did Zhang Qiming play in it all?

"Understood, Vice Director Gao," Yang Wenqing replied grimly. "We’ll maintain the highest state of alert and be ready to respond to any potential backlash."

"Good. Hold the line. ’Gray Kite’s’ capture will inevitably trigger a chain reaction. Be extra careful over in Lingshan Town," Vice Director Gao warned, then cut the connection. He was clearly in the middle of a tense operation on his end.

Yang Wenqing lowered the badge, his gaze sweeping over the busy staff in the office. He then called Liao Tianming, Xia Meng, Zhao Tiezhu, Wang Ze’en, and Zhang Li into a small adjacent conference room. They held a brief meeting with the objective of reinforcing security in and around Lingshan Town to prevent any unforeseen incidents.

By the afternoon, Yang Wenqing grew restless, unable to settle his mind. He was preoccupied with the operation back at the city bureau. He finally stood up and went to the station’s backyard to clear his head, forcing himself to think about other things to calm his nerves.

Qian Lu, Zhao Tiezhu, and Xia Meng watched him quietly from a short distance away. All three could sense the pressure Yang Wenqing was under, so they kept quiet and made sure no one else disturbed him.

Time seemed to slow as he waited, each second stretching into an eternity. Just as Yang Wenqing’s anxiety and distracting thoughts reached their peak, a familiar pulse of Spiritual Qi came from the badge on his chest.

He answered almost instantly.

"Wenqing," Vice Director Gao Zhen’s voice came through, "the middleman is gone."

"What?!" Yang Wenqing gasped, his exclamation drawing the alert gazes of Qian Lu and the other two from across the yard. "How is that possible? Weren’t the agents from the city bureau’s Internal Affairs Inspection keeping him under surveillance?"

Vice Director Gao’s words came in a rush. "Just half an hour before we were about to make the arrest, the array we had deployed on the villa’s perimeter detected a spatial teleportation wave. By the time the strike team stormed in, the place was empty!"

’A Teleportation Array?’

Yang Wenqing fought the urge to curse. ’Letting such a critical figure escape with a Teleportation Array from right under their noses in the city... The entire city bureau’s security protocol needs to be overhauled.’ But his rank was low and his words carried little weight, so he could only swallow the curses that rose in his throat.

Vice Director Gao’s tone shifted, taking on a ruthless edge. "This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. His disappearance solidifies the case against the person behind him. Without this middleman, we’ll just have to force a direct confrontation. Wenqing, your most important mission now is to keep the situation in Lingshan Town stable."

"Understood!" Yang Wenqing replied, his voice grim.

The communication ended.

’Bad news. Unquestionably bad news.’

But strangely, after the initial shock, the fire of anxiety in Yang Wenqing’s heart felt as if it had been doused with a bucket of ice water, cooling rapidly.

"So be it..." The uncertainty and anxiety in Yang Wenqing’s eyes vanished, replaced by an icy calm and sharp focus. He turned, and just as he was about to head back to the station...

BOOM!!!

A tremendous explosion suddenly erupted from the north side of town. The ground began to shake, the windows of the station’s main building rattled violently, and dust showered down from the eaves.

Yang Wenqing staggered but immediately caught his balance.

"Highest alert!"

Zhao Tiezhu’s roar thundered across the courtyard. His burly frame shot forward like a cannonball, planting him in front of and to the side of Yang Wenqing. He instantly raised his rifle, its dark muzzle pointed toward the northern sky. Three of the other Government Soldiers on guard immediately secured the perimeter, while two others rapidly assembled a mounted grenade launcher.

Xia Meng’s reaction was just as swift. He lunged to cover Yang Wenqing’s other flank, barking orders into his badge, "All strike team members, execute Emergency Protocol One! Hold the station’s core area! All perimeter patrols, converge on the station! I repeat..."

The next moment, a piercing siren wailed through the already fraught atmosphere of Lingshan Town.

Standing within the protective cordon formed by Zhao Tiezhu and Xia Meng, Yang Wenqing stared at the column of smoke billowing up from the north, his expression growing impossibly cold.

The sound of approaching footsteps heralded Liu Xin’s appearance at the back door. They hurried over to report to Yang Wenqing, "An extremely high-intensity energy eruption was detected in the northern temporary housing district! Our initial assessment puts it at the Foundation Establishment level, at least!"

In the northern sky, after the turbulent energy eruption, there were no follow-up attacks or spreading chaos as one might expect. Instead, from amidst the roiling clouds of smoke and dust, an auspicious cloud suddenly rose!

A figure was being held aloft by the auspicious cloud, hovering unsteadily in mid-air. The person wore dark gray linen clothes, now marred by scorch marks and dark red bloodstains. He was clearly severely injured in the preceding blast, so much so that he struggled to remain airborne.

Yang Wenqing’s pupils constricted. Without hesitation, he cast ’Sharp Eye Spell’ on himself.