41: Chapter 41 The First Demon-Slaying Force in the East

Ten o'clock in the morning, the gate of the Jiangcheng Special Operations Bureau.

Dozens of fully armed SWAT officers fanned out in a semicircle. Although their muzzles were slightly lowered, the oppressive feeling of facing a formidable enemy could make one's hair stand on end, even through the bulletproof glass.

A low-key black commercial vehicle slowly glided inside the cordon line.

The car door slid open, and 'Grey Eagle,' who had been embarrassed at the bar last night, was the first to jump out. He stared at the back seat with a complex expression.

Xu Mo stepped out of the car, smoothing the cuff of his shirt. Lin Sa followed closely behind; the hem of her black trench coat was lifted by the wind, revealing a section of her toned calf and combat boots.

"Your collar is crooked." Xu Mo leaned sideways and naturally reached out to adjust the collar of Lin Sa's trench coat, his tone casual. "When we see the big leader later, you need to mind your appearance."

Lin Sa didn't dodge, allowing him to adjust her, even yawning boredly.

The surrounding SWAT officers, who were on high alert, had their eyelids twitching wildly.

This sense of relaxation was completely out of place here. These two were either ignorant and fearless madmen, or they possessed enough confidence to punch a hole in the sky.

"Two of you, this way please." Grey Eagle took a deep breath and made a 'please' gesture, his voice stiff.

Passing through three heavy gates equipped with retinal and gait recognition, the group arrived at a fully metal-enclosed cabin.

There were no windows. The walls were covered with dense, specially made rune stickers that suppressed spiritual-magnetic fluctuations. In the center was a cold alloy interrogation table.

It was euphemistically called a 'reception room,' but those in the know understood it was actually a cage specifically designed to imprison S-rank, extremely dangerous individuals.

A thick-set interrogator was already seated behind the table, holding a thick stack of files. He didn't even lift his eyelids: "Sit. Routine procedure, first empty everything you have on you—phones, jewelry, and all those miscellaneous props. Everything must be registered and filed."

A show of force.

Lin Sa raised an eyebrow, about to flare up, but Xu Mo pulled out a chair and sat down instead. He casually took a business card from his pocket—the one Grey Eagle hadn't managed to deliver last night.

"Slap."

Xu Mo pressed the card with two fingers and gently slid it in front of the interrogator.

"We are here to discuss cooperation, not to sit on the hot seat. If the Director is busy, we can come another day..."

The interrogator's face stiffened, and he was just about to slam the table in anger.

"Click."

The heavy metal door was pushed open.

A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit strode in.

His temples were streaked with white, but his back was as straight as a spear. The aura of someone long accustomed to high authority made the already somewhat cramped room feel even more oppressive.

The head of the Special Operations Bureau, Zhao Guobang.

He had an inconspicuous black earpiece in his ear. As he entered, he seemed to have just finished listening to an instruction, nodding slightly.

"Everyone out." Zhao Guobang waved his hand. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty.

The interrogator and Grey Eagle exchanged a look. Although unwilling, they could only salute crisply and retreat.

The metal door closed again. Only three people remained in the room.

Zhao Guobang pulled out a chair and sat opposite the two. There was no intention of small talk; his gaze was as sharp as an eagle's: "I am Zhao Guobang, Director of the Special Operations Bureau. Black and White Impermanence picked you up after you cleared the first s-rank instance. The files on both of you are now classified as top national secrets."

He tapped the table and got straight to the point: "The nation is not blind, and we acknowledge your uniqueness. But I am very curious: in that s-rank instance where gods and men danced together, how did two ordinary people without any divine favor manage to survive? And why would that... entity value you so highly?"

Probing. This was the national apparatus assessing their value.

If their survival was merely due to luck or sacrificing dignity, then the so-called 'cooperation' would be nothing more than a joke.

Xu Mo smiled.

He turned to look at Lin Sa and nodded slightly.

Lin Sa understood. She simply slowly raised her right hand and placed it on the metal tabletop, fingers spread wide.

"Buzz—"

A cold, violent, yet purely extreme aura instantly burst from her palm.

The temperature in the entire room plummeted below freezing in the blink of an eye, and a layer of white frost quickly condensed on the tabletop.

There was no substantial damage, but the positional suppression originating from the depths of the Underworld caused the room's temperature to drop to freezing point in an instant.

"Sizzle sizzle..."

The explosion-proof light bulbs overhead flickered wildly, emitting the sound of electrical current on the verge of collapse. The indicator lights on the surveillance cameras in the corners instantly flashed red, and the screens turned directly to static.

Zhao Guobang's pupils constricted.

He had seen countless so-called 'ability users' and 'Gods Chosen Ones' who borrowed Western divine power. Although their power was immense, it always carried a sense of being illusory and uncontrollably chaotic.

But the power Lin Sa displayed was different.

It was a controllable force of order!

"This is our trump card," Xu Mo's voice was steady. "Director Zhao, this is not a handout from the gods, nor is it an evil art that drains life. This is the orthodox inheritance of the Eastern Underworld, a power that humanity can master through cultivation."

He stared into Zhao Guobang's eyes and tossed out the super bargaining chip capable of changing the nation's destiny.

Xu Mo stated deliberately, "We can help you turn the elites in the army into warriors capable of directly confronting the bizarre."

Zhao Guobang maintained his posture, but his breathing became somewhat rapid.

He slowly straightened up, raised his hand, and pressed his earpiece, but his gaze remained locked firmly on Xu Mo's face, as if waiting for some instruction.

A moment later, an old yet firm voice seemed to come through the earpiece.

Zhao Guobang's tense shoulders relaxed.

"What do we need to pay?"

No beating around the bush, straight to the point.

"The highest level of access to all national S-rank supernatural case files, absolute security guarantee for Pei Duo and the Pei family, and... the status of two 'Special Appointed Instructors' exempt from conventional control."

Zhao Guobang nodded, turned, picked up the red secure phone on the table, and directly dialed a three-digit number. After a brief exchange, Director Zhao looked back at Xu Mo.

"The higher-ups have agreed. As long as you can prove your strength, we will immediately draft documents to specially appoint Xu Mo and Lin Sa as 'Tactical Chief Instructors' of the Special Operations Bureau, with unlimited resource allocation."

Xu Mo heard the answer he wanted, a satisfied curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's begin."

...

Ten minutes later, the underground third level of the Special Operations Bureau, the special operations training ground.

This place was originally used for counter-terrorism CQB training for the elite soldiers. Now, it was surrounded by hundreds of elite troops. They all looked defiant, watching the two 'parachuted instructors' in plain clothes in the center of the field. Although discipline kept them silent, their eyes carried a hint of insubordination: 'If you can do it, you go ahead.'

"Who are these two? They look like celebrities. Can they fight?"

"Shh, I heard they were specially approved by the top brass; they really have something."

Lin Sa listened to the whispers around her. Instead of getting angry, she felt a touch of familiarity.

A few days ago, she was treated the same way in front of the Eighth Master.

A few meters opposite her stood a heavy anti-riot shield made of special alloy.

This thing could withstand the impact of an RPG rocket without being pierced; it was currently the physical limit of individual defense.

Lin Sa casually pulled down a regular nylon training rope used for bundling from the nearby equipment rack. It was soft and had no lethality whatsoever.

She flicked her wrist.

That limp nylon rope seemed to be infused with some terrifying will, instantly becoming as straight as an iron spear!

Black Yin Sha energy frantically spread from her arm, completely covering the surface of the rope, forming a layer of black light visible to the naked eye, as if the rope had been plated with black gold.

"Break!"

Lin Sa softly exclaimed, combining her waist and horse stance, her arm whipping out like a whip.

The nylon rope, enveloped in black light, shot out like an enraged black dragon, ignoring air resistance, crossing fifty meters, and heavily striking the alloy shield.

There was only a dull, teeth-grinding tearing sound, like a hot knife cutting through butter.

"Boom—!!"

The alloy shield, which could not be pierced even by a rocket launcher, actually shattered directly in the middle, like a fragile soda cracker! Metal fragments scattered, embedding deeply into the concrete load-bearing wall behind it, filling the air with dust!

And the nylon rope was completely intact.

The entire field fell silent.

Hundreds of elite soldiers had their mouths wide open. They looked at the shattered shield, then at the rope in Lin Sa's hand. Their decades-old materialist worldview lay shattered on the floor.

Lin Sa casually dropped the rope and swept her gaze across the field, her voice cold as a knife: "Those who want to learn, step forward."

"Boom—!!"

The next second, the sound of unified footsteps shook the entire underground base.

Xu Mo stood on the viewing platform, watching the scene, pushed up the glasses on his nose, and a satisfied curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The seed had been planted.

When this 'Demon-Slaying Army' belonging solely to the East takes shape, those so-called 'Gods Chosen Ones' in the West who are still playing with divine descent will probably lose sleep.