Light Fortress
Chapter 128 - 116: Fire in the Palm

Chapter 128: Chapter 116: Fire in the Palm

"Escaped?"

Wu Yong was stunned.

The azure Heavenly Curtain opened, with countless droplets of rain falling.

Song Ci, who had previously withstood the barrage alone, had simply... chosen to flee?

Qi Lv hadn’t expected this either. He silently lifted his sniper rifle’s butt and slowly stood up amidst the downpour. After the Purple Silver Bullets went astray, he was well aware that this confrontation was anything but easy and even prepared for the worst case scenario.

In a battle between Transcendents, the sacrifice needed to bridge the gap in strength with sheer numbers was enormous.

Considering the ghostly movements Crow had just displayed... if it came to close combat, almost no one could match him. To think of how many brothers who had come to the river bank tonight would die to take down this number one warrior of Beitang.

"He’s not willing to confront the ’Heavenly Curtain’, that’s why he’s running... We can’t let him get away just like this!"

Wu Yong was the first to react. He drew his long blade and ran across the river surface, slicing through the night fog with his blade, and called out loudly, "Follow me across the river!"

The azure Heavenly Curtain flickered with arcs of light. The falling raindrops were momentarily suspended, as if time had frozen. These clearly controlled "water droplets" hung distinctly above the great river, forming a tight layer.

Following Wu Yong’s shout!

The myriad droplets churned and surged towards the river’s center, creating a straight line.

A bridge of rainwater was formed.

Wu Yong stepped down, the water bridge extremely solid, only creating a slight downward dent that recovered with elasticity in a blink. In the long night, the man in a black trench coat ran swiftly, his coat billowing parallel to the surface of the river due to the fierce wind, resembling a giant bird crossing the river. Behind him, the convoy quickly started up, like a pack of off-road horses crashing into a mud pit. The rugged tires thudded heavily onto the water bridge, the cylinders roaring and steaming white fog.

The Heavenly Curtain was stretching towards the distance.

To cover an area of the river like this... was already an immensely terrifying ability. Even high-ranking Transcendents from Deep Sea couldn’t wield their powers at will; ultimately, humans have limits.

The extending Heavenly Curtain strained to encompass the leading figure within its reach.

The price paid for this was... the compulsory withdrawal of the Heavenly Curtain’s rear, the overall coverage area of this vast curtain was stretched to its limit, and it could break at any moment.

The wielder of the "Heavenly Curtain", ranked first among Chen San’s four adopted sons, had yet to show himself, but it was certain that he was within the convoy. This was a smart move. With the Heavenly Curtain, Wu Yong and Qi Lv’s side had the absolute home advantage. Without clear knowledge of Crow’s true abilities, the Heavenly Curtain controller should indeed be commanding from the rear.

But the biggest problem was that, to maintain the Heavenly Curtain, the convoy had to keep up with Crow’s speed.

Wu Yong, racing at high speed across the river’s surface, had a thread of darkness entwining his brow, the more he chased after Crow, the stronger his ominous premonitions became.

The fog over the river was too thick, many had lost their vision and could only find their direction with the guidance of the "Heavenly Curtain". Lao San’s "Eagle Eye" was in a state of exhaustion and would need some time to recover.

Crow’s speed was very fast and remained unchanged from the beginning to end... like an indefatigable ostrich.

He had not crossed this great river.

Instead, he continued along the river’s central channel towards the desolate downstream.

It was unfathomable whether he was genuinely fleeing with all his might or simply toying with his pursuers.

This strategy was undoubtedly effective.

Because some had already started to fall behind... Maintaining top speed, engines struggle to endure prolonged overloading and once overheated, they would be flung out of the fast-moving Heavenly Curtain’s domain.

The result of falling behind was quite straightforward.

Outside the domain of the Heavenly Curtain, the river would no longer solidify into a water bridge.

Wu Yong had realized that.

From the moment he decided to set foot on the great river, the initiative had changed. A pack of lone wolves had decided to hunt their prey, expecting it to be a fierce lion that would fight to the death. However, they hadn’t anticipated the prey would be a fox that turned tail at the first sign of danger, setting traps at every turn.

The deeper they went, the more they found themselves mired in a quagmire.

...

...

South Bay Building, alongside Huazhi Building, has a total of thirty-nine floors.

This is the headquarters of the Sincere Heart South Hall, almost identical in strategic layout to Huazhi, which is the fundamental reason why the Zhao and Chen figures can feel secure about each other... The enemy’s deployment is all within their sight.

There are actually three council seats allocated for Da Du.

Because of consideration for certain reasons... of the three chairs reserved for Da Du, only two were occupied. This was currently the best outcome for everyone, as the appearance of any additional council member would disrupt the balance.

"If South Bay Building has a setup similar to Huazhi Building, disregarding the thirty-nine floors above ground, there should be another ten underground..."

"Which floor would house the closed-circuit mainframe containing Sincere Heart’s messages?"

Gu Shen had a bit of a headache.

He was already in front of South Bay Building, standing at the farthest end of the street, surveying the tall structure that resembled a gaunt blade, its edges shining coldly under the lights.

Because Cui Zhongcheng had taken him to visit Huazhi’s underground.

So initially, Gu Shen guessed... important things must be buried beneath the building.

But soon he dismissed this conjecture.

Gu Shen had just been to Huazhi Building’s underground.

Because it involved the functioning of the Transcendent world, everything here was handed over to Deep Sea’s management... If the idea behind designing the closed-circuit mainframe was to hide it from Deep Sea and evade detection, then this machine should not be buried underground.

This "secret" should be placed above ground.

Of course.

This was just speculation.

"But there are thirty-nine floors above ground..."

This closed-circuit mainframe doesn’t need to work all the time; it only requires independent power and to be placed in a specific area to maintain writing and recording during designated periods.

As long as this can be ensured, it could appear anywhere!

Many things... can only be attempted in very dumb and clumsy ways.

Finding the closed-circuit mainframe is just such a task.

Security would be relaxed tonight at South Bay Building, and if one wanted to find an introducer to Shi Li, this would be the best opportunity.

The game with the master of the Compass... was worth the risk to Gu Shen.

It was noteworthy that even though the riverbank attracted a large number of Transcendents, South Bay Building still had a tight and comprehensive set of security measures, making Gu Shen’s mission extremely difficult.

Fortunately, Gu Shen had already prepared a relatively thorough action plan.

Gu Shen silently lowered his hat.

He walked towards South Bay Building.

Four or five invisible flames swept out from the center of Gu Shen’s forehead.

Then, during the following short distance, the several passersby who brushed past Gu Shen stopped in their tracks. They stood in place, looking at the youth with odd expressions, their eyes gradually becoming lost.

...

...

"Please wait, we need to verify your identity..."

Before reaching South Bay Building, the security personnel, who provided 24-hour protection, stopped Gu Shen.

"I’m just here to get a document..."

Gu Shen smiled warmly and slowly raised his head.

After a moment of eye contact.

"..."

The security guard’s expression turned bewildered, and he slowly moved back to his original post, looking numb.

The building’s doors slowly opened.

Gu Shen did not enter but squinted his eyes and inconspicuously raised his head a little.

He could see the surveillance camera positions installed in the building... His previous conversation with the security personnel shouldn’t have looked abnormal on the cameras, as many people come and go from South Bay Building every day, and no one could recognize every face.

He merely talked and then stepped back.

And the security personnel returned to his spot as if he had refused entry to a visitor.

Therefore, the monitoring room staff likely had not yet noticed anything amiss about Gu Shen’s presence.

But from that moment on.

The plan had begun!

"No matter how well-prepared, as soon as I enter the building, I will quickly be exposed, so I need to act fast before that happens, find the main server, and then evacuate..."

Gu Shen took a deep breath to calm his emotions.

"I need to start from the thirty-ninth floor, which is the most likely location... But directly going there will draw attention."

"So... I need a little help."

Gu Shen turned and left.

It wasn’t long before several familiar figures appeared before him, a group of young men and women walking briskly towards the building. Their expressions were blank as they entered the building unimpeded.

Upon reaching the elevators of South Bay Building... there were twelve in total.

With the arrival of these people, the monitoring room became alert... it was not a time for the usual business rush.

Although a part of South Bay Building’s staff was still working overtime, it was rare to see so many people arrive at once and use different elevator lobbies.

"Nine five two seven, nine five two seven—"

There was no response to the call in the earpiece.

The security guard at the entrance remained standing dumbfounded, ignoring the voice coming from the communicator.

Then.

The men and women flooded into different elevators, each person pressing a button for a different floor.

Next, they raised their heads, gazing calmly at the cameras overhead.

And then—

With a "whoosh"!

The monitoring screens corresponding to their elevators went dark, one after another.

The elevators began their slow ascent.

Standing outside the building, Gu Shen’s back pressed tightly against the wall. He positioned himself at the edge of the cameras’ view, his complexion pale.

This was the first time he had his Chi Huo leave his body and travel such a distant space.

The plan for entering South Bay Building was not complicated.

He had used the third level ability of the Spiritual series, "Great Hypnosis," to implant simple psychological suggestions in the random passersby he encountered.

After hypnotizing South Bay Building’s security officer, these people could enter the building without obstruction. They only needed to enter the elevators and randomly select a floor button.

The wrong information was conveyed.

The monitoring room’s attention would be drawn to these people... Gu Shen’s task was simple: retrieve Chi Huo and simultaneously burn the camera in the elevator alcove and the main building entrance.

Gu Shen extended his palm, with spiritual power stretching like multiple fishing lines, beginning to gather them in!

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—"

Invisible thin flames escaped from the foreheads of the passersby and instantly entered the cameras, the intense heat instantly causing the control room to lose vision.

Ultimately, the spiritual power transformed into fishing lines, and within seconds, the seemingly sturdy walls of the elevator melted and bore through.

Ten seconds after the monitors went dark.

The dispersed Chi Huo reconvened outside the building and back into the palm of Gu Shen.