Light Fortress
Chapter 171 - 158: Killing for a Life

Chapter 171: Chapter 158: Killing for a Life

Chen Mei had not expected such a disastrous outcome from his wait—

The Holy Wood of the Grand Judge had locked him in.

If he couldn’t break free, this place would be both his prison and his coffin.

Even without the Holy Wood sealing... he had no confidence in escaping the clutches of the mysterious man before him, as his Time Slow Domain seemed to have no effect on him.

Because the man’s voice had not slowed.

It seemed like a direct interrogation on his spiritual level.

When did Da Du acquire such a Transcendent from beyond the Deep Sea 12th Floor?

"You’re crazy..."

Chen Mei gritted his teeth, "If we’re caught in a direct explosion, we’ll both die."

The shadow remained unmoved.

Clearly, he didn’t care about the explosion, only about Chen Mei’s answer—

"I don’t know..."

Chen Mei took a deep breath and gritted his teeth as he gave this seemingly weak response.

But it was the truth.

He had not had many interactions with Xiao.

They had established a connection through a Spiritual Link... and this man indeed possessed extraordinary abilities. With just a few interactions, he had successfully taught Chen Mei the top body technique practices.

Beyond practice, they hadn’t had much other interaction.

"I really don’t know his location... but I’ve seen his face in a dream, it’s that photo..."

As he spoke, Chen Mei judged the correct direction to escape the explosion within the slowly passing time domain.

The glass outside the interrogation room shattered, and he saw a rough view outside; as long as he was fast enough, smashing through the nearest corridor would allow him to escape this desolate building... how many floors up didn’t matter anymore, escaping the explosion was now the most pressing concern.

The shadow received Chen Mei’s answer.

The shadow lowered its head in contemplation.

In the next instant, the Holy Wood Chair that tightly bound Chen Mei seemed to loosen slightly.

Chen Mei gritted his teeth and shifted sideways, crashing through the red-silver glass of the interrogation room and flying out.

His abilities reached their limit—

The Time Slow disappeared, and time returned to normal speed.

"Bang!"

The explosion sounded.

In the last moment, Chen Mei crashed through the corridor, his planned escape route accurate... as he burst out of the fiery inferno and glanced back the way he had come, he only saw the calm white shadow sitting amidst the shattered interrogation room, hands propped on elbows, seemingly deep in thought.

The next moment.

The entire desolate building shattered in the explosion.

Flames engulfed the building as smoke rose into the air.

A violent shockwave swept through, Chen Mei grunted, tasting a metallic sweetness in his throat.

His bone density could barely withstand the impact’s remainder.

As one wave stopped,

another began.

In mid-air, amidst another deafening roar yet to cease, a second explosion sounded.

Chen Mei’s eyes widened as he saw the raging fire wave chasing after him, bursting out of the building with a tremendous force.

He roared and lifted his hands up in front of him, a last defense... unable to activate Time Slow twice in quick succession, he had to endure this second explosion with his body alone.

And in the moment when countless waves of fire were about to engulf him,

everything came to a standstill.

As if... someone had paused the hands of the clock.

And yet, it seemed as if all of this were just a dream.

"Do you... want to live?"

The voice of the white shadow echoed in Chen Mei’s mind.

Without waiting for Chen Mei’s response,

The voice of the white shadow spoke for the last time, "Then join the special investigation team."

It was not a question.

It was not a request.

It was a demand.

The shackles of the Holy Wood unlocked themselves, and countless fire waves rushed forward... this massive explosion, with its roaring wind, nearly swept across every inch of land within a ten-mile radius.

But no one knew...

For those ten miles were barren.

The dome above rolled with thick smoke and dark clouds.

Buildings collapsed.

A bird with broken wings fell, crashing onto a thick stack of straw.

...

...

With a "snap".

A dull thud came from the window.

Gu Shen saw a bird with a broken wing hit the window.

Was it enveloped by his own ominous aura?

He thought somewhat self-deprecatingly as he slowly got off the sickbed. The dizziness brought by the illusion had almost vanished, and before he could open the window, the shivering bird, startled, struggled with all its might and eventually fell off the edge of the windowsill, plummeting towards the ground below...

At the critical moment,

a knife scabbard reached out, catching the broken-winged bird.

Lan Qie’s power could be fierce, but also gentle.

Lu Nanjin, sitting by the window, slowly gathered the bird in her palm, gently soothing it.

"Phew... "

Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief.

He had intended to lend a hand.

But that had caused the downfall of the broken-winged bird.

Gu Shen ruefully withdrew his hand, feeling that everything had been going awry since their encounter at the Freedom Hall. The idea of luck might really hold water... Regardless, he did not want to meet with Tomb Ghost again.

"Don’t get close to Tomb Ghost."

Nan Jin said in a low, teasing voice, "It will bring you misfortune."

"I thought the ’New World’ project was a sweet deal, never imagining it was a deep trap," Gu Shen rubbed his head and lay back on the bed, frowning as he asked, "That phrase sounds familiar. Have you said something similar before?"

"Have I?"

Nan Jin raised an eyebrow, calmly saying, "Maybe your body is too weak so you remembered it wrong. After the alley explosion, you stepped out of the cordon and fainted, not waking up until now. I haven’t spoken much with you."

"???"

Gu Shen looked towards the light screen.

The election ceremony for the prospective councilor had ended, and his wife’s ’I object’ must have already caused an uproar within the council.

A total reversal.

South Bay had given up the contest, but the real war was just beginning.

From Nan Jin’s expression, it seemed she was not surprised by any of these developments.

"Elder Sister, was all of this... planned by you in advance?" Gu Shen slowly began, "Opposing the Awakening Bill."

Lu Nanjin, holding a knife, sat at the desk by the window. She placed the injured bird back on the windowsill and watched it tremble as it flew away, finally out of danger as it left the ward.

"Mhm."

She didn’t contradict him.

Instead, she admitted it outright.

"Is it because of... the Lion Alley case?"

Having visited the old district and checked the case files... Gu Shen considered himself one of the few people still interested in the truth of the Lion Alley case.

This case had lasted too many years.

So long that, apart from the Crow, Nan Jin, and Nanzhi, no one else cared anymore.

Now, the balance in Da Du was, in a sense, all "thanks" to Lu Cheng’s death... The word ’thanks’ sounded bloody, but it was actually quite appropriate.

"Have you ever experienced something like this?" Elder Sister opened the window, and a breeze brushed across her face.

"No evidence, but you just determine... that’s the truth."

Gu Shen suddenly fell silent.

Since joining the Judgement Institute, the real cases he had resolved were just those two, both calculated and handed to him by Cui Zhongcheng... But he could understand his elder sister’s feelings.

Before special events, a person’s intuition is very accurate.

Especially for women.

"You think Zhao Xilai is the murderer..." Gu Shen whispered.

"It’s not a suspicion, but a certainty."

"No evidence, but I have this intuition, which is why I’ve been desperately practicing with the knife. My enemy is a man standing at the highest point of Da Du; I have to be powerful enough."

Lu Nanjin calmly said, "This return to Da Du is to uncover the truth of the Lion Alley case back then."

"And... what then after you find the truth?"

This question should have been pondered a thousand times in his mind.

But those practicing the knife seemed to have neglected it.

She was only focused on practicing, only on moving forward... As for finding the truth, that was put at the final endpoint.

After a long time,

Elder Sister uttered four words.

"Murder for a life."