186: Chapter 185 The Battle Ends
His voice was very calm, not loud, not heavy, and devoid of killing intent, as if he were calling out the name of an old friend.
But when Zhou Tiannan heard this voice, he froze in place as if struck by lightning.
On his face, which was covered in purple flames, all arrogance and madness solidified, replaced by a slowly emerging, unhideable fear.
It was not the instinctive fear of wanting to flee upon meeting a powerhouse, but the kind of fear one feels when caught red-handed after doing something wrong—knowing that everything is over and being unable to even muster a thought of resistance.
"You... you all..."
His voice was raspy, and his lips were trembling.
"It's you..."
The old man ignored his reaction and simply took a document out of his sleeve.
It was a red-header document with a bright red seal on it; the seal's seal script characters were particularly striking under the sunlight.
"As approved by the Federal Supreme Council, the Ministry of State Security's Adjudication Division has formally opened an investigation into the Zhou Family for multiple felonies, including suspicion of treason, colluding with hostile foreign forces, stealing state secrets, smuggling restricted strategic materials, and unauthorized mobilization of military forces."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Zhou Tiannan's heart like a hammer.
"Now, execute the judgment."
As soon as he finished speaking, the bald man moved first.
He walked toward Zhou Tiannan; his steps weren't fast, but every step left a deep footprint on the ground.
The asphalt road was crushed by his steps, sending gravel flying.
Zhou Tiannan grit his teeth and formed hand seals. A purple fire dragon shot out from his palm, carrying the extreme heat of the Heaven-Burning Purple Flame as it blasted toward the bald man.
The bald man didn't even lift an eyelid.
He raised his right hand—which was larger than an average person's face—and delivered a slap.
It was like swatting a fly.
The fire dragon was slapped into pieces, and purple flames splattered everywhere, burning scorched pits into the ruins.
Without stopping his pace, the bald man reached Zhou Tiannan and delivered another slap.
Zhou Tiannan raised his arms to block, condensing the Heaven-Burning Purple Flame into a fire shield in front of him.
The slap hit the shield, and the shield shattered.
Zhou Tiannan flew out like a broken kite, crashing through a load-bearing pillar in the villa ruins.
The pillar collapsed with a bang, and chunks of reinforced concrete smashed onto him, burying him underneath.
He struggled out of the rubble. Most of the flames on his right arm had been slapped out, and one arm hung limp, likely dislocated.
"A mere level 79, yet you dare to collude with foreign enemies within Huaxia territory."
The bald man looked at his palm, where a few purple sparks still remained.
He blew a breath, scattering the sparks.
"When I was fighting alien races at the border, I killed hundreds of your kind every year."
Sato Ichiro took the opportunity to activate his space Talent, his body turning into a dark shadow as he shot off into the distance.
He didn't need to outrun these five people; he only needed to get out of their line of sight and then dive into the Void Interlayer—
The short-haired woman took off her reading glasses and glanced at him.
Just a single glance.
The space around Sato Ichiro suddenly froze.
He was frozen mid-air in his fleeing posture, like an insect trapped in amber.
His feet were still in a pushing position, his hands were still forming seals, and even the ferocious expression of a desperate struggle on his face was frozen in time.
"A space Talent is indeed hard to catch."
The short-haired woman put her reading glasses back into her jacket pocket and pulled a form from the folder.
The form was densely packed with a list of Sato Ichiro's criminal evidence.
"But playing with space in front of me? You're still too green."
She reached out and lightly clenched her fingers.
The space around Sato Ichiro began to collapse inward, like an invisible giant hand crushing a soda can.
Sato Ichiro's body struggled frantically within that collapsing space; he wanted to shout something, but even sound couldn't escape as the space collapsed.
His body began to deform—not melting, not shattering, but twisting along with the warping of space. His arms bent at impossible angles, and his body was compressed into a clump less than half a meter tall.
The short-haired woman lowered her hand, and Sato Ichiro—or what was left of him—crashed onto the ground.
He had already fainted, his body still twitching slightly.
"Take him back for interrogation."
The short-haired woman clapped her hands as if she had just finished a routine piece of paperwork.
"The seventeen cases he committed in Huaxia must be interrogated and cleared up one by one."
The square-faced man walked toward the backyard of the Zhou Family Manor, where a few Guest Elders and guards were still trying to resist.
A few minutes later, he walked out carrying one in each hand.
Zhou Tianbei and another Zhou Family Elder were carried in his hands like little chicks, their legs kicking wildly in the air. This level 75 ice-attribute powerhouse was bound from head to toe by a golden rope, tied up like a zongzi.
The golden rope continued to tighten. With every bit it tightened, a fine flash of lightning would flicker across it, shocking him until his whole body convulsed.
"You lunatics!" Zhou Tianbei's face turned beet red. "Let me go! I am the Second Elder of the Zhou Family! You can't do this to me!"
The square-faced man ignored him, threw the two onto the ground, and piled them up with the three Guest Elders from before.
Zhou Tianbei's Ice Jade Body crashed against the ground, scattering ice shards. He struggled to sit up but was pinned down by the square-faced man's foot on his chest.
The middle-aged man walked over to Lin Feng.
He knelt down and frowned as he looked at the wound on Lin Feng's chest, which was still spreading purple patterns.
"shadow poison, a special poison from Baga Country's 'Shadow Kill' organization, specifically designed for light element Physiques. Luckily, you didn't use light element to resist this poison head-on; otherwise, the toxin would have corroded your heart along your light element Meridians."
He reached out and pressed his palm above Lin Feng's wound.
A warm green glow surged from his palm, enveloping Lin Feng's entire body.
The green light was very soft and not dazzling, seeping into Lin Feng's skin, Meridians, and bones like a gentle spring rain.
Lin Feng felt the purple patterns at the wound begin to recede. Those purple lights, which had been spreading like living things, were like mice seeing a cat upon meeting the green light. They frantically retracted, eventually being forced to the edge of the wound and flowing out as a few drops of purple liquid.
The liquid dripped onto the ground, corroding several small holes into the asphalt that emitted white smoke.
"Dual-attribute healing of wood and water?" Xiao Guang's eyes widened. "Are you a Life Body?"
The middle-aged man glanced at Xiao Guang, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.
"The little guy knows quite a bit. A Prodigy-level Life Body, with both water and wood attribute affinities above ninety-five percent."
Xiao Guang gasped—a Prodigy-level Physique was a one-in-ten-thousand Genius even in its era, and the Life Body was one of the rarest among the Prodigy-level types. Those with this Physique were born to be top-tier healers.
The wound on Lin Feng's chest healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The pierced lung lobes were repaired, the broken ribs rejoined in the green light, and not even a trace of a crack could be seen.
Ruptured blood vessels reconnected, and fresh blood flowed into the heart along the repaired vessels.
He felt the light element inside him begin to flow again, like a thawing river, gradually recovering from its initial sluggishness to a smooth surge.
The feeling of weakness quickly receded, replaced by a warm sense of comfort—as if soaking in a hot spring, every pore relaxing and every muscle stretching out.
In less than a minute, the wound was completely healed.
No scar was left behind; the skin was as smooth as before, with only the hole in his clothes proving that the blade had truly pierced his chest earlier.
"All done."
The middle-aged man withdrew his hand and stood up.
"Rest for a few days. Don't use those high-consumption skills anymore, and let your Meridians fully recover."
Lin Feng stood up and moved his arms a bit.
His chest no longer hurt, his arms weren't sore, and the light element within him began to circulate freely again.
He tried to circulate his mana; it flowed smoothly without any obstruction.
"Thank you, Senior." He said solemnly.
"No need for thanks. You are a national hero, and the country will not let its heroes die at their own doorstep."
The middle-aged man waved his hand and turned to look at the ruins of the Zhou Family Manor.
"Besides, it's long past time for the Zhou Family's actions to be settled. We didn't just come here this time to save you—we came to enforce the national laws."
Lin Feng followed his gaze.
The Zhou Family Manor had completely turned into ruins.
Half of the main villa building had been collapsed by his battle with Zhou Tiannan. The roof was nowhere to be seen, and the remaining walls were covered in cracks, with rebar sticking out like bones poking through a wound.
A large patch of the forest on the back mountain had been burned away by the flames. The ground was still smoking, with charred stumps and ashes everywhere.
The water in the swimming pool had evaporated, leaving a thick layer of volcanic ash on the bottom.
The bald man was still standing in the center of the ruins, pinning Zhou Tiannan under his foot.
Zhou Tiannan had already exited his flame-form state, returning to his deep purple robes.
But now the robes were in tatters, his hair was disheveled, there were several bloody gashes on his face, and half of his face was swollen high. He no longer showed any of the prestige of the acting head of one of Donghai City's three great families.
He was stepped on by the bald man, looking like a rat pinned to the ground.
"Zhou Tiannan, you have the right to remain silent."
The bald man looked down at him, his voice as coarse as a knife grinding against stone.
"But every word you say will become evidence in court. This isn't a negotiation—this is legal procedure."
Zhou Tiannan's face was deformed from being stepped on, his lips pressed against the ground, yet he was still laughing.
It was an extremely desperate, "nothing left to lose" kind of laugh.
"The law? Since when has your Ministry of State Security's Adjudication Division ever cared about the law?"
"We always follow the law."
The bald man crouched down and brought his face close to Zhou Tiannan's.
"It's just that some people don't deserve to enjoy the law."
For the first time, true fear appeared in Zhou Tiannan's eyes.
He had lived for so many years and seen countless powerhouses and life-and-death situations, but never before today had he felt like an ant being pinched in someone's palm.
"Take him away."
The bald man picked up Zhou Tiannan and tucked him under his arm like a piece of luggage.
Zhou Tiannan's legs kicked wildly in the air. He wanted to say something, but the bald man slapped him on the back of the head, knocking him out instantly.
The other Guest Elders and Zhou Family Elders were also picked up one by one by the square-faced man and the middle-aged man. Some were bound by ropes, some were grabbed by the scruff of their necks, and some were slung over the bald man's shoulder like a pile of newly captured prey.
Xiao Guang stood on Lin Feng's shoulder, its little golden face full of shock as it watched this scene.
"It's... over just like that?"
It thought there would be another tough battle, that these men in Zhongshan suits would engage in an earth-shattering fight with Zhou Tiannan.
Instead, it took less than the time for a cup of tea from start to finish. They picked them up like adults picking up children; it wasn't a battle at all, it was cleaning up.
"They... what level are they exactly?"
Lin Feng looked at the backs of the five men in Zhongshan suits and remained silent for a moment.
"I don't know. But I can't feel any energy fluctuations from them—this either means they don't have an attribute panel, or their control over power has exceeded our understanding."
Xiao Guang gasped.
If the panel couldn't detect them, there were only two possibilities—either the opponent was so weak the System didn't bother to record them, or they were so strong they exceeded the System's current evaluation limit.
Someone who could crush a space crack with one hand was clearly the latter.
"Do they usually not take action? Why have I never heard of such strong people before?"
"They are the Adjudication Division. The Adjudication Division only handles treason cases."
As Lin Feng spoke, his gaze fell on the White-haired Old Man leaning on a cane.
The old man seemed to sense something; he looked back at him and nodded slightly.
In that gaze, there was scrutiny, approval, and a hint of something meaningful—as if saying, "Kid, I've already read your file more than once."
Then he turned around and walked down the mountain, leaning on his cane.
His pace was very slow and steady, each step creating a faint golden ripple.
The other four men in Zhongshan suits followed behind him, carrying Zhou Tiannan and the Guest Elders as they filed into the void.
The void rippled like a water surface, swallowing their figures one by one.
Before leaving, the short-haired woman looked back at Lin Feng one last time.
"Lin Feng, someone will contact you tomorrow to sign some documents."
Her tone was as if she were saying, "Come to the neighborhood committee tomorrow to pick up a registration form."
"How to handle the Zhou Family's assets requires your signature for confirmation. After all, you led the charge in this case; you are a direct party involved."
After saying that, she pushed up her reading glasses and turned to walk into the void.
The ripples dissipated, and the void returned to peace.
The five people, along with Zhou Tiannan, Sato Ichiro, and the Guest Elders, all disappeared.
Leaving behind only a stretch of ruins still emitting faint smoke.
Lin Feng stood in place as the mountain wind blew over, carrying the smell of burning and the lingering scent of sulfur.
He looked down at his chest—the hole in his clothes was still there, but the wound was so gone that not even a scar remained.
He patted Xiao Jin's carapace and then rubbed Xiao Guang's head.
"Let's go, let's go home."
He turned around and walked down the mountain.
Xiao Jin followed to his right, half a Spirit Stone in its mouth, crunching away happily.
To this dung beetle, the clan-extermination battle just now and everything that happened today weren't as substantial as the half Spirit Stone in its mouth.
Xiao Guang sat on Lin Feng's left shoulder, its golden legs swinging back and forth as it reminisced about the scene it had just witnessed.
"Lin Feng, how strong is that White-haired Old Man exactly? I can feel something on him—like the aura on the master of the Taixu Dojo, but not quite the same..."
"I don't know."
"Can that short-haired woman really control space? Whose space Talent is stronger, hers or your Void Walk?"
"She is stronger."
"What about that bald guy? He's not even afraid of fire, and he flattened Zhou Tiannan with one slap—what's his Physique?"
"I don't know."
"How do you not know anything?"
Xiao Guang got anxious.
"I've only been in this world for a few days! Can't you tell me more things! Where's your phone? Look up that Adjudication Division for me!"
Lin Feng took out his phone and handed it over.
Xiao Guang took it, holding it with both small hands, and began poking the screen with its fingertip.
After poking for a while and finding the screen didn't light up, it tilted its head and looked for a good while, suddenly remembering Lin Feng's finger movements when operating the phone.
It tried pressing its thumb on the circular area below the screen—the screen lit up.
"It's on, it's on, it's on!"
Xiao Guang was so excited it almost fell off Lin Feng's shoulder.
It mimicked Lin Feng's manner, swiping its fingertip in the search bar, but because its fingers were too small, it swiped for a long time only to get gibberish.
"Lin Feng, how do you type on this?"
Lin Feng glanced down.
Xiao Guang had entered a string of gibberish in the search bar—"jckkssdif".
"Forget it, I'll buy you a tablet when we get back."
He took back the phone and quickened his pace down the mountain.