106: Shit pot

"Elder Han! Why are you here?"

"I followed the spatial fluctuations here." Elder Han was somewhat shaken, his beard twitching twice. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine... thanks to your timely intervention." Chu Yuan was also shaken. If that insect egg had truly taken shape in his mind, what would have happened?

He would have become just like Zhao Mingren, a Puppet of the Nightmare Insect Clan;

Or perhaps... a skin suit?

However, given the nature of his Divine Sense, it wouldn't be so easy for the Nightmare Insect Clan to control him;

Furthermore, he still had the military talisman given to him by Wei Huang...

"Damn it! I rushed over the moment I sensed someone opening a spatial rift within Great Qin... but I was still a bit late." Elder Han cursed. "It's lucky you held your own, kid. Otherwise, that bastard Wei Huang would have fought me to the death!"

After a pause, he asked, "What's going on? Shouldn't you be participating in the Jianmu Project? Why are you here, and why were you targeted by these damn insects?"

"Uh... I have a friend..." Chu Yuan briefly explained.

Elder Han didn't express an opinion on this, only sucked his teeth. "So, they were targeting you from the start?"

"It seems so..." Chu Yuan was actually quite confused as well;

The Nightmare Insect Clan exposed a stronghold just to assassinate him?

You have to understand, while Great Qin might seem loosely guarded, it is not easy for alien races to establish strongholds within its borders;

For instance, just now, someone had barely opened a spatial rift before Elder Han immediately sensed it and came charging over...

Another issue is the difficulty of disguise, especially for someone like a captain of the Zhenwu Bureau; they are highly likely to encounter powerhouses and be exposed;

Relatively speaking, it is actually easier for rebel organizations like the Day of Vengeance to hide;

Generally, these hidden individuals seek to cause significant losses to Great Qin or reap benefits.

Assassinating him... what would be the benefit?

Elder Han also couldn't figure it out, because assassinating Geniuses was not a popular thing in Great Qin;

Unless it was like that time in Secret Realm No. 7, wiping out a whole bunch at once—the cost-effectiveness was super high! Not doing something would be inhuman...

First, not all alien races are hostile to Great Qin; otherwise, Great Qin would have been gone long ago;

In reality, the fighting in the Outer Heaven Battlefield adheres to the absolute law of the jungle! Although many alien races are hostile to Great Qin because they covet Earth Star... some alien races already have hatred between them;

And there is only one Earth Star—who does it belong to?

Second, the 'Geniuses' of Great Qin are truly a bit disappointing; among those up-and-coming talents, even those who can advance to the Eighth Realm are pitifully few;

To put it in a mercenary way: targeting them isn't even worth the cost...

Third, from the perspective of the alien races, even if a Great Qin Genius really grows up, the reckoning won't be against them personally. Why should they put in the manpower and effort and draw the hatred of Great Qin, just for you to sit back and reap the rewards?

(It's like that certain auto-battler game; if none of you are holding cards, why should I sacrifice my economy and tempo to block someone else? Anyway, if the eighth-place player chases a three-star five-cost unit, it's not like they're only going to target me...)

"Elder Han, I've received a video..." Seeing that their conversation had finished, the man in military uniform flew over to report;

As for the two people from earlier who were affected by the mental torrent and lost their minds, intending to attack Chu Yuan, they had already passed out after Elder Han intervened.

The video was received by that Sky Soaring Realm Martial Artist from the Zhenwu Bureau earlier, coming from his colleague...

Elder Han opened it, and Chu Yuan leaned in to watch;

Inside the video, Zhao Mingren was sitting in an office chair, expressionless;

Opposite him, a thin woman with her chin held high said, "Captain Zhao, have you considered it?"

"Why are several of your Martial Arts Families joining forces to target an ordinary girl?"

"Who told her to take something she shouldn't have?" The woman scoffed. "That Chu Yuan got lucky and was issued a zhenwu token, so it's hard to move against him for now! But this little bitch has no one protecting her! As long as the Zhenwu Bureau steps in... aren't you afraid she won't just obediently submit?"

"What if Chu Yuan comes looking for her?"

The woman held her chin even higher. "How deep can a friendship from a single trial be? If he really is that loyal and righteous... that would actually be a good thing! If I recall correctly, having a zhenwu token doesn't allow one to interfere with the operations of the Zhenwu Bureau, right? We actually hope he does something rebellious. Otherwise, for a mere Inner Breath Realm, I have ten thousand ways to make her die without anyone knowing! Do you think I would need to come looking for you?"

Zhao Mingren nodded, then changed the subject. "Chu Yuan... is indeed a huge threat; however, you dare to seek cooperation with me?"

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Do you know who I am?"

"Of course..."

A strange smile appeared on Zhao Mingren's face. "What if it's exposed... aren't you afraid of the Human Race's reckoning?"

"Heh~ In any case, if Chu Yuan doesn't make a move, we'll spread rumors that he is heartless, unrighteous, and cruel, and that anyone associated with him meets a bad end! If Chu Yuan dares to come... we'll find a way to brand him a rebel! It would be best if we could revoke his zhenwu token!"

"And what if we kill him?"

The woman paused, then smiled again. "Resisting law enforcement, executed on the spot... killing him would naturally be even better!"

"I agree, but the Martial Arts Families behind you must help me do one thing."

"What thing?"

"I have some old friends who are tired of the slaughter on the Outer Heaven Battlefield... help me bring them back."

"That can be done."

...

The video itself didn't have any issues; it was just a simple case of collusion and abuse of power;

Of course, that was on the premise that Zhao Mingren was just a 'Zhenwu Bureau Captain'!

But he was of the Nightmare Insect Clan...

In the video, the woman 'dared to seek cooperation with him' and 'knew his identity'...

Even if there was an element of Zhao Mingren intentionally misleading them, the 'dirty pot' of 'colluding with an alien race' was firmly placed on the heads of the few Martial Arts Families the woman represented!

The key is that they certainly wouldn't admit it!

Guilty until proven innocent, or innocent until proven guilty... it's all very subjective...

Just after finishing the video, another list was sent to this terminal;

Elder Han briefly scanned it and sneered. "Where are that bug's 'old friends'?"

"We only heard that Martial Artists are gathering at an auto repair shop in the west of the city..."

Elder Han nodded. "Find the other surviving members of the Zhenwu Bureau and take them into custody. Chu Yuan, let's go."

Just as Chu Yuan was about to respond, he felt a blur of light and shadow before his eyes;

In an instant, his vision cleared, and he had already appeared above an old repair shop.

In a large open space, dozens of insects were kneeling together around overlapping Formation patterns, facing the center, long devoid of life...

Elder Han took a look and explained, "This is using the power of the Formation to sacrifice all of their Mental Energy to that bug in the Zhenwu Bureau; only then could he connect to the outer realms and tear open a sliver of a spatial rift..."

Chu Yuan's gaze, however, was fixed on the obsidian-like giant cocoon in the center of the Formation patterns. Tian Tian... was inside...