Chapter 38: Life is Like Chess, Every Game is New

When Han Zhen realized it, it was already too late.

Outside the tall building of the Guardian Organization, the roaring sound of warplanes echoed.

The skies over the entire city were thick with dark clouds.

Many teams of spirit-contractors, fierce and unprecedented, appeared on every street and corner of Deep Blue City.

Such a massive operation, all for the capture of the fugitive—Han Zhen.

The evidence was conclusive.

Han Zhen squinted his eyes. He had fallen into the opponent's trap, but that wasn't the most crucial part. The critical thing was that Li Shutong was also in Deep Blue City. How could they dare to do this?

A bad premonition arose in his heart.

"You three, leave quickly."

"Go to the villa district and find Master."

"I'll handle things here. GO!"

Han Zhen spoke quickly, and Yi Fan, without hesitation, turned and ran.

The two girls also, under Han Zhen's urging, swiftly retreated together.

In the next second, the entire room was enveloped by an aura of immense strength.

The air instantly turned viscous.

Han Zhen felt as if a giant hammer had slammed into him, forcing him to the ground.

He lifted his head, trying to see who had come.

But all he could see was a vast expanse of blinding white light.

"Suspect Han Zhen has been apprehended."

A cold, ethereal voice seemed to come from an infinite distance.

———

Li Shutong sat on a rattan chair in a gazebo, pouring two cups of tea.

One cup for himself, the other placed opposite him.

He seemed certain that someone would come.

As he expected, the next second, a figure, pitch-black and resembling a quantum projection, appeared out of thin air across from him.

"So secretive. We're old friends, yet you still hide your face?"

The shadowy figure said nothing.

Facing the number one figure in Daxia, he sat boldly, picked up the teacup, and sniffed it.

"You still like Qingzhou tea."

"I really wish you hadn't said that."

The probing had begun the moment they met.

The other party's knowledge of "Qingzhou tea" confirmed his identity—it was one of the very few top figures.

Li Shutong rubbed the tea cup and drained it in one go.

"You don't seem anxious at all."

"Anxious? Why would I be?"

"Because the disciple you chose is already in prison, and the evidence is irrefutable. He'll be publicly executed tomorrow."

"Must you target an old friend like this?" Li Shutong raised his head to look at his opponent, his fists subtly clenching.

Behind him, dense white mist faintly took the shape of a ferocious tiger, its soft growls barely audible.

Beneath Li Shutong's calm surface lay unmistakable killing intent and rage.

"Even if you kill this quantum projection of mine, it won't matter."

"Old Shang prepared plenty of quantum projections for all of us, didn't he?"

Li Shutong suddenly uttered an "oh" and sat back down.

"Then let's continue drinking tea."

He returned to calmness as if the earlier anger hadn't come from him at all.

The opponent, puzzled, asked, "You're not worried?"

"Worried."

Li Shutong refilled his cup with Qingzhou tea.

He smiled faintly and added,"But life, like chess, is ever-changing with each game."

———

[Second District Headquarters]

A rapid report was handed to Lin Jingxuan.

"Han Zhen has been captured."

"Which war division acted?"

"Not one of the Eight Great War Zones. It appears to be private forces raised by the big shots."

"Heh."

Lin Jingxuan's face revealed a sneering, mocking expression.

"To deal with external threats, we must first stabilize internally, yet our internal situation grows messier and messier—power, power, and nothing but damn power."

"Sharing hardships is easy, but sharing prosperity is not."

"The fact that these private forces chose to act now means they're confident. Capturing my junior brother is meant to send a warning to our teacher."

"Someone doesn't want to see our teacher taking on another disciple."

"Commander Lin, should we intervene?" a subordinate asked from behind.

"Intervene? Why intervene?"

Lin Jingxuan countered with a question.

"Don't forget, he's my teacher. The world remembers him for his thousand-mile assassination of three insect emperors, but who remembers his century-long planning for the people of Daxia?"

"For a teacher who could produce someone like me, this is just another chess game."

"And who's to say that junior brother wasn't deliberately left as the 'bait' by our teacher?"

This sentiment echoed in other districts as well. Upon hearing the news, Li Shutong's other students all asked the same question:

"Is Lin Jingxuan making any moves?"

When their subordinates replied negatively, they all relaxed.

If even Lin Jingxuan wasn't moving, why should they panic?

Such was the unshakable trust among disciples.

————

[Deep Blue City Prison]

Han Zhen wasn't faring so well.

His hands and feet were bound with suppressors, preventing him from channeling the power of his spirit contracts.

The torturer's fist slammed into his abdomen, staining the metal cuffs with blood.

"Still not confessing?"

"Haha." Han Zhen laughed aloud.

Another heavy punch landed on his stomach.

"Sorry, I've been tough since I was a kid. Got plenty of beatings at home."

"I've got nothing to say."

"Feel free to hit harder."

Han Zhen's words, seemingly mocking, infuriated his captors. To them, he was nothing more than a prisoner here, regardless of who he was outside.

The punches rained down on him, heavier and heavier.

True to his word, Han Zhen didn't utter a single groan.

Suddenly, someone entered and raised a hand.

The beating temporarily stopped.

"Han Zhen, wake up. Li Shutong, your elder, probably can't save you now."

"Now, you have two choices."

"First, join us. You don't need to know who we are—just understand that while Li Shutong might represent the past, we represent the future."

"With your talent, as long as you grow, you'll have a place in the future."

"Second, you can continue like this. Sure, you're tough, but no matter how tough you are, you'll be in two pieces under the guillotine tomorrow."

"What's the use of pride when you're dead?"

The speaker remained in the shadows, his face unseen.

Han Zhen exhaled lightly and asked, "So, the Tier 4 insect, the Devouring Worm, was deliberately let into Deep Blue City by you to be discovered by Yi Ming?"

"You could say that. To us, the insects aren't enemies. Used properly, they're unbeatable tools."

"So, have you made your choice?"

Han Zhen took a deep breath.

Then he spat out a mouthful of blood directly onto the shadowy figure's face.

Watching the scene, Han Zhen burst into laughter.

"I choose a third option—Fu*k your mother."

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