Chapter 955: Chapter 823: Refusing to Yield
The City Guard reacted in the same way as the patrol guard and also wrote an investigation report truthfully.
Anyone who saw this report could instantly realize: the kidnappers were likely taken down by the Rhodiola Rosea team.
However, the City Guard deliberately avoided mentioning it; they even stated: they could have conducted a door-to-door investigation, but since it involved the Supreme, it wasn’t convenient.
The underlying message: We’ve investigated up to this point; if anyone has objections, do it themselves!
Qu Jianlei wasn’t aware of such changes outside; he had already set up an ordinary Qi Gathering Array, putting away the previous one.
Next, what he needed to do was to calculate the corresponding Spirit Gathering Array.
Creating something from nothing is quite difficult, but deducing changes is much simpler, though it’s still not an easy task.
Yet, barely two days into his calculations, Granny Jia’s Spiritual Power approached him, "!"
Since she learned to convey messages using Spiritual Power, she couldn’t be bothered to greet by other means, even within the same estate.
The Paranoid was the same way and stated that it was considered a form of honing Spiritual Power, which was necessary to persist.
The two arrived under the tree where Granny Jia was sitting and found her expression somewhat peculiar, "Someone’s coming!"
To alert her, naturally, it was someone with Supreme, and it was rare that this person was an acquaintance of hers.
Chatelet, a Wood Attribute Supreme, just over two hundred and forty years old, considered old among the Supreme rank.
This person wasn’t on Celestial Blade Star previously; he suddenly appeared yesterday, entering the surroundings alone.
What put pressure on Granny Jia wasn’t Chatelet himself.
"This person suffered severe injuries just over two hundred years old and had to agree to join the Anomalous Management Division to heal."
Given the Imperial’s technological prowess, aside from spiritual trauma, other injuries could generally be healed, and being a Supreme, money wasn’t an issue.
But some injuries were indeed hard to treat, and a Supreme’s body was somewhat different from ordinary people.
Specifically, Chatelet could have afforded limb regeneration costs, and his previous injuries weren’t spiritual.
However, even for the same injury, using different resources naturally resulted in different outcomes.
Granny Jia wasn’t clear about the details of his injuries and felt it wouldn’t be polite to inquire.
But Chatelet himself expressed that he had no choice but to turn to the Anomalous Management Division because it wasn’t easy for his injuries to heal.
And he still wished to ascend beyond the Supreme within his lifetime, making it essential to strive for full recovery as soon as possible.
Granny Jia was relatively familiar with him, and hadn’t heard of him going into seclusion to break through; at over two hundred forty, the hope was dim.
Why he appeared abruptly, she wasn’t clear, but if he got injured this time, any hope of ascending further would be gone.
The most crucial point was, "Considering the Anomalous Management Division’s background of this person... it’s necessary to pay attention."
Currently, the Anomalous Management Division was very active on Celestial Hook, and to find Ran Bingluan, they even teamed up with the Divine Text Association.
"Tsk," the Paranoid couldn’t help but click his tongue, "This Anomalous Management Division... why is it everywhere?"
Qu Jianlei couldn’t be bothered to comment; he was more concerned, "Senior, are you planning to plead for him?"
"Plead... not exactly," Granny Jia’s gaze seemed evasive, evidently not entirely calm.
However, it was a known fact she rarely stood up for others, let alone for Qu Jianlei, and treated Zi Jiu Immortal the same way.
"But you need to consider whether attracting more attention from the Anomalous Management Division is good or bad?"
Known adversary Balrog was already tough to handle; would it be worthwhile to add more enemies from thin air?
Hearing this, even the Paranoid’s expression grew slightly more serious, "It’s indeed necessary to consider this."
He was naturally indifferent to others but wouldn’t act recklessly either.
Qu Jianlei pondered for a moment and replied, "Then let’s observe first; if it’s indeed related to me, then I’ll deal with it."
He wasn’t a character that killed indiscriminately; if it wasn’t related to him, he indeed wouldn’t mind.
Yet, the Paranoid raised an eyebrow, "The likelihood of it being unrelated to you is low... Have you thought it through, wanting to make more enemies?"
"It’s not my stubbornness," Qu Jianlei replied faintly, "Stopping because I’m afraid of the Anomalous Management Division, does that suit my character?"
Didn’t he know that he should make many friends and fewer enemies?
However, he also lived up to his reputation... If the Rhodiola Rosea dared to attack the Customs Enforcement Warship directly, could he just swallow his anger because the opponent was strong?
"Well... that’s true," the Paranoid nodded, "It’s better to keep actions consistent."
Granny Jia pondered for a moment, then sighed lightly, "This Chatelet... why does he want to get involved in this mess?"
The next day, Granny Jia received new information—Chatelet had gone to the patrol guard to investigate the source of Paraquat in Harman’s hands.
Being a Wood Attribute Supreme, such behavior wasn’t surprising.
He hadn’t shown his Supreme cultivation level, only an A-level aura, along with a certificate issued by the Divine Text Association.
The patrol guard indicated they were unaware of the source of Paraquat—in fact, multiple entities within the Imperial were secretly replicating it already.
Chatelet didn’t press for answers, opting to rent a place to stay.
Qu Jianlei, while focusing on his calculations, stealthily approached the vicinity of where Chatelet resided, gathering intelligence and ready to act any time.
That morning, he just mentioned that he had been busy all night and was going back to rest for a while. Just as he returned to the manor, Little Lake brought news.
"That guy took out a wristwatch and contacted an A-level officer in the government."
Obviously, Chatelet didn’t know Rhodiola rosea’s team had an artificial intelligence.
He had been acting very cautiously, yet he was first discovered by an old friend and then monitored by the AI.
Chatelet asked this A-level, saying he was compiling a book on special crimes and wanted to know about typical cases on Celestial Blade Star.
The A-level was quite willing to curry favor with a supreme, went to the City Guard specifically to grease some wheels, and then took him there.
Chatelet still had the A-level aura as he lingered in the City Guard for two days.
He recorded many cases, including the extermination case of a landlord’s family.
His actions seemed unconnected, but Qu Jianlei had already decided — to take this guy out!
Clearly, the opponent was targeting him. There might be coincidences in the world, but they wouldn’t be this coincidental!
To prevent Granny Jia from being soft-hearted, he found the Paranoid, "Could you help with the response?"
The Paranoid had been observing Chatelet recently and understood why Qu Jianlei wanted to strike, "You’re worried about not being able to handle him alone?"
"Who knows if there’s a hidden supreme," Qu Jianlei answered with a blank expression.
His behaviour of making enemies everywhere was out of necessity. When cautious action was required, he would never be reckless.
The Paranoid nodded slightly, "Actually, if you don’t want a living witness, I can help you eliminate him."
He had a Gold Attribute, making it effortless to deal with a Wood Attribute opponent, so he guessed Rhodiola rosea intended to capture the opponent alive.
Qu Jianlei raised his eyebrows, "I just find it strange, why do some people always insist on seeking death?"
"Is it hard to guess?" The Paranoid coldly smiled, "This Chatelet is very likely trying to provoke step by step!"
Qu Jianlei thought for a moment after hearing this and nodded. He had to admit, when this guy wasn’t being paranoid, his analytical skills were indeed not bad.
Chatelet first learned about Paraquat, to reduce the sensitivity surrounding Harman’s disappearance.
He then reached out to the City Guard, which involved consolidating cases, thus taking a small step forward.
If he hesitated for a moment, what the opponent would do next might very well increase the stakes.
It’s like the boiling frog syndrome, testing your limits bit by bit, waiting for you to retreat further and further.
Backing down indeed has inertia — having already endured so much, why not take a step further back?
Qu Jianlei truly understood that if he allowed the other party to unearth the truth step by step, confronting them would soon put him at a disadvantage.
"Then there shouldn’t be a living witness... but don’t execute directly, let him disappear instead."
The Paranoid smiled hearing this. He genuinely liked the other’s character: recognizing mistakes and correcting them.
"Aren’t you curious about his reasons for meddling in this affair?"
"What’s the use of knowing so much?" Qu Jianlei replied indifferently.
He did indeed want to understand the reasons, partly to provide an explanation to Granny Jia, but now it seems, "Sooner or later, action must be taken."
The Paranoid suggested, "Then first give Jia Shuqing a heads-up, at least we’ve considered her reaction."
Just then, a spiritual power descended, sent by Granny Jia, "!"
"In that case, sooner rather than later," the Paranoid expressed without hesitation, "Let’s do it tonight."
The two made a decision, that evening, taking advantage of the drizzle, they sneaked near the opponent’s residence.
Just past midnight, Qu Jianlei decisively launched a spiritual attack, causing Chatelet to stagger suddenly.
Immediately after, the Paranoid launched another spiritual attack... Since they weren’t planning on leaving a living witness, ganging up seemed normal.
To their surprise, after two spiritual attacks, although the opponent’s body was swaying, he hadn’t fallen unconscious.
He actually had a tool for defense against spiritual attacks! Qu Jianlei squinted slightly, launching a fierce spiritual attack once more.
This time, the force was three degrees stronger than before!
"He really came prepared!" The Paranoid muttered, but his reaction wasn’t slow, launching another spiritual attack.
When Chatelet suffered the first spiritual attack, he knew something was wrong, but he felt a bit lucky: thank goodness for the armor!
This was something he specifically prepared because he heard about Rhodiola rosea’s astonishing spiritual power, used during Siegfried’s elimination.
However, as soon as this feeling of relief surfaced, the second spiritual attack followed immediately.
His face changed instantly: It’s over, I might not get out of this one!
He could sense that the two spiritual attacks were not from the same person!
Therefore, since these two could launch a spiritual attack, a second strike would be perfectly normal — no need for overthinking.
Negligence! At that moment, he really wanted to say something, however, his consciousness couldn’t control his body!
With that, his vision went black, and he permanently lost consciousness.
(It’s the end of the month, an early morning update as usual. Pre-booking monthly votes for next month, seeking votes for the last three hours of May.)
