After sending the telegraph, Director Lei had the car head in that direction. Just as they were approaching Olive Street, they received an update.

The car came to a slow stop at the corner of the street. A captain from the Review Bureau approached the vehicle, and as the window rolled down, he reported:

"Director, per your instructions, we found three pillars in the surrounding shops, wrapped in decorations. Paper effigies with names written on them were affixed to the pillars. We then searched the company and discovered that a total of eight people are missing.

We examined their work supplies. Judging by the signs, the most recent absence is five or six days, while the longest is at least two months.

However, their colleagues at the company believe they are still there, interacting with them day in and day out, and haven’t noticed anything unusual."

Director Lei said, "Give me the list."

The captain immediately handed over a sheet of paper with the names. Director Lei glanced at it before passing it to Chen Chuan beside him. "Is the person you’re looking for on here?"

Chen Chuan took the paper. He saw Min Lan’s name was indeed on the list and nodded to Director Lei.

Director Lei said, "The employees must have been influenced by an Esoteric Ritual. They think those people are still there, but in reality, they’ve been gone for a long time."

’No wonder,’ Chen Chuan thought. ’When I called earlier, they said she was there but couldn’t come to the phone. The person must exist only in their minds, unable to actually speak with anyone.’

’But even so, with so much time having passed, their families must have noticed something was wrong. There must be another reason this has been kept under wraps.’

The captain added, "During our investigation, we found that a relatively high number of this company’s employees have gone missing on assignments in the past six months. Most of them disappeared during the same assignment."

Director Lei considered this for a moment. "Any word from the communications bureau?"

"We’re still waiting. It should be soon." Just then, another officer came over and handed the captain a slip of paper. He glanced at it before passing it on. "Director, we’ve got it. A telegraph was sent from the building just as we were entering Qingyao Company. This is the receiving address."

Director Lei took the paper and glanced at it. "Send this address to Old Gao immediately. Have him check it out and secure anyone inside."

"Yes, sir," the captain said, then turned and hurried away.

Director Lei turned to Chen Chuan. "The people they perceive to be there are likely still alive. To achieve this effect, their lives must be maintained. Esoteric Rituals are typically bound by restrictions; they require fulfilling certain conditions and paying a price to yield a result."

Chen Chuan couldn’t help but think of Director Lei’s son. ’Maintaining the ritual requires keeping the subject alive. Perhaps because the child was so young, they were afraid of accidentally killing him, so they didn’t do anything too drastic.’

’But if all they need to do is keep these people alive, without any regard for their well-being, then their condition is anyone’s guess.’

’He could only hope they were still unharmed.’

He asked, "Director Lei, why are they doing this?"

Director Lei said, "After reading the file you gave me, I knew this had to be a branch of the ’Life Sect.’ The origins of this school of Esoteric Buddhism are unknown, and its makeup is complex. To put it simply, its followers believe that a person’s Life Essence Qi can be transferred to another through certain methods.

The theory itself isn’t necessarily correct, but the intended result can sometimes be achieved. The problem is that the process can create unintended side effects that are beyond one’s own control.

From the looks of it, they deliberately created a certain assignment and had the company’s employees disappear while carrying it out. In reality, they abducted them to use in an Esoteric Ritual."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. ’This method really wouldn’t arouse much suspicion; after all, the attrition rate for such assignments is already high. To make the assignment seem credible, the company even sent it to other firms, probably hoping to ensnare some of their people as well.’

’This matched what Min Lan had said before. No wonder the company’s own people failed their investigations repeatedly—the company itself was orchestrating it. How could they possibly let anyone find out the truth?’

’Min Lan must have uncovered some clues and realized there was something wrong with the company. That’s why she sent word to me.’

Director Lei said, "Since you take on paranormal assignments, you’ll likely run into things related to Esoteric Buddhism often. Outsiders can’t tell the two apart. I’ll send you a file to review when you get back, but remember to keep it confidential."

Chen Chuan was genuinely grateful. "Thank you, Director Lei."

He knew that for paranormal phenomena, you could still find people among the general public who knew how to handle them. But Esoteric Rituals were a different matter. They were highly specialized, and without access to official channels, it was nearly impossible to even begin to understand them.

After they had waited for half an hour, the captain returned. He reported to Director Lei that they had found the location and apprehended the person, who, knowing the jig was up, confessed without much interrogation.

The masterminds behind the operation were the company’s top executives. The informant also revealed the location where the victims were being held, a place less than five hundred meters away. A large contingent of Review Bureau personnel had already been dispatched to conduct the raid.

"We’ll know the outcome soon," Director Lei said.

Chen Chuan had observed the entire process from his seat. ’Director Lei only needed to glance at the file to accurately identify the school of Esoteric Buddhism and determine how to handle it. In less than three hours, the entire matter was nearly resolved.’

’Sure enough, it’s best to leave professional work to the professionals.’

’It wasn’t just Director Lei’s extensive experience with Esoteric Buddhism. He also had a powerful, professional team at his command, backed by the state, capable of coordinating actions across multiple departments.’

’If I had to solve this alone, I’d have to investigate first, slowly piece together the clues, and then decide on a course of action. And since the culprits are people of status, it would have been difficult to apprehend them immediately even after identifying them. The final outcome might not have been so satisfactory.’

’Until an individual becomes powerful enough, a team will always have the advantage.’

’The same was true for a Fighter’s training. Without a structured organization providing the necessary resources, it would be impossible to focus on cultivation.’

’It’s both a restraint and a form of support. Before I’m strong enough, these are things I can’t escape. In fact, I should actively integrate myself and use these resources to my advantage, turning them into a ladder to propel myself forward.’

"You’ve submitted your application for Central City, haven’t you?" Director Lei asked.

"Yes, I’ve submitted it," Chen Chuan replied.

Director Lei said, "You have a talent for dealing with matters of Esoteric Buddhism. It would be a shame to waste it. After you graduate, if you’re interested, you can join the Esoteric Review Bureau. I can act as your sponsor."

Chen Chuan’s interest was piqued. ’Director Lei is the director for the Yangzhi region. Can he influence things in Central City? Or is he about to get a promotion?’

’It was also possible that Director Lei had an extraordinary background. After all, to reach his position, ability was necessary, but connections were key. Sometimes, ability was actually less important.’

’For example, despite the past incidents involving him, no one had been able to remove him from his post. That spoke volumes.’

After waiting for another fifteen minutes or so, the captain returned, his steps rushed.

"Director, the location is guarded by a large number of the company’s security personnel. They’re illegally armed with numerous firearms and are likely core members of the Cult. When they saw us and the Patrol Bureau officers surrounding the building, they started to put up a desperate resistance, using the hostages inside to threaten us.

Based on employee records, there’s likely a Second Limit Fighter inside. The team we have on-site can’t breach their defenses. We’ll probably need to call for reinforcements from headquarters."

Hearing this, Chen Chuan thought for a moment before speaking up. "Director Lei, the longer this drags on, the greater the danger to the hostages. Why don’t you let me handle it?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Director Lei looked at him. "You’re still under national service, aren’t you?"

"I am," Chen Chuan confirmed.

"In that case," Director Lei said, "I’m also a member of this task force, so this can be considered a state-sanctioned assignment. Chen, in my capacity as a member of the operations committee, I am now requesting your assistance in dealing with the Cult members and rescuing the hostages."

Chen Chuan nodded. "Director Lei, leave it to me."

As they spoke, the car started up and drove to the scene—a five-story office building. Patrol Bureau officers had already arrived and cordoned off the area, evacuating all unauthorized personnel.

The car came to a stop and the door was pushed open. Chen Chuan stepped out. He hadn’t brought his Snow Monarch Blade with him to meet Director Lei this time, but it didn’t matter. As long as there wasn’t a Third Limit Fighter on the other side, a weapon was unnecessary.

’If they had an expert of that caliber, they wouldn’t be hiding inside and using hostages for leverage. They would have charged out long ago.’

The September sun was no longer scorching, but it was still bright. The glare reflecting off the windows was particularly harsh. He glanced up for a moment before lowering his gaze. Then, under the watchful eyes of the Patrol Bureau and Esoteric Bureau members, he began to walk slowly forward.

With one hand in his pocket, he slowly approached the building. When he was just over forty meters away, his Second Self merged with his body in an instant. Everything around him seemed to slow down dramatically.

In what seemed like a single step, he was in front of the building. Instead of entering through the door and taking the stairs, he planted his foot on the exterior wall.

From his perspective, it felt as though he were walking on level ground. He used his momentum to spring forward, and in the blink of an eye, he reached the level of the fifth-floor windows.

His control over his power was perfect. His upward momentum was completely spent just as he reached that height, allowing him to hang suspended in mid-air for a fraction of a second.

He could see a person inside the window looking at him with a mixture of shock and anger, raising a gun to fire. Chen Chuan watched calmly, leaned forward, and extended his arm, grabbing the man’s wrist. With a gentle tug, he used the man’s own momentum to pull himself inside, while the man himself was yanked out of the window and sent flying.

The two passed each other in mid-air. With a soft thud, Chen Chuan’s feet landed lightly but firmly on the floor inside. He stood up straight as a scream faded into the distance behind him.

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