61. The Crisis Approaches (Please Follow and Read~)

Suburbs of East New Province.

The black sedan slowly came to a halt in the open space.

Looking through the front passenger window, Maine gazed at the three-story detached house a few dozen meters away. Outside the building, a fenced-off plot of land was dense with lush vegetation of various colors. Two large, powerfully built dogs lay at the doorstep with their ears drooping, and several cats lounged lazily on custom-built shelves, basking in the sun.

Living here was a retired demon worshipper of many years. According to Qin Lan's introduction, his understanding of demons surpassed that of many so-called cult leaders, and their mission was to find a way to extract what those worshippers were planning this time.

After the questioning, Maine's task was to erase that portion of the memory to prevent other cultists from using magic to track this retired believer. This had been the man's greatest concern when the meeting was arranged.

Had it not been for the knowledge that Maine possessed the ability to delete memories, this meeting might never have been organized at all.

However, this was not Maine's true purpose for coming here.

Facts had already proven that the people who understood angels best among those he could find were these hell worshippers. In the secret society where Yu Di belonged, descriptions of this race did not even count as forbidden knowledge.

Your opponent is always the one who knows you best.

Hu Weifeng locked the car, and the two pushed open the doors, stepped out, and walked toward the old believer's residence.

"This is your first field assignment, right?" Hu Weifeng initiated the conversation, "Have you ever had similar experiences before?"

Maine replied:

"Going out to question someone? At least I don't recall doing so."

The young man smiled:

"Don't be nervous. I've done this kind of thing dozens of times. If any unexpected situation really arises, you just need to stay right where you are. Even though my usual job involves interrogating prisoners, I'm actually very confident if it comes to a real fight.

"But this meeting was arranged by those guys from the Oversight Department, so I guess there won't be any chance for me to show off."

Maine asked casually:

"What's the deal with the Oversight Department? It seems like neither you nor Qin Lan particularly likes them."

Hu Weifeng shook his head helplessly:

"They're people sent from above to supervise us. They're always worried that we might harbor ambitions and secretly form factions unfavorable to them. Can you imagine how ridiculous that is?

"I can understand their perspective, though. Over my years in the Coordination Bureau, I've seen plenty of truly inhumane beasts, and the degree of danger they pose is indeed concerning, but the problem is...

"As long as Qin Luan is still around, such problems are impossible to arise in the Coordination Bureau. The only function of the Oversight Department is to trip us up. If Qin Luan were the one wanting to do what they're worried about...

"Saying this might sound arrogant, but from my perspective, there is simply no possibility of anyone stopping her."

He looked quite proud of his affiliation as he spoke.

While wondering how to extract the information he needed a moment later, Maine asked casually:

"Is Qin Luan that strong?"

Hu Weifeng gave him a surprised look, as if wondering how he could ask such a question.

"She has achieved a full thirty-seven victories at Tier V. At most, she fought four opponents at once and still held the upper hand. She has killed a total of seven Tier V ability users, including one instance where she slew two peers of the same rank within ten minutes.

"Most importantly, she has never been defeated.

"You must understand, Tier V is different from us; it is far harder for them to kill fellow tier users than it is for us.

"A single victory could perhaps be attributed to luck, or perhaps she just happened to counter her enemy, but these combat records are enough to prove that she has no rivals among Tier V. That is why we are qualified to manage other organizations."

Just as they were speaking,

on the upper floor of the building, four hell worshippers stood with their faces covered in mysterious symbols and magical tattoos. Two of them belonged to the Ranu Dust Secret Cult, while the other two belonged to another devil worship church.

Ren Shizhi stood before them and asked:

"Have you prepared the trap?"

Blood Hand, hailing from Ranu Dust, said:

"It's done, but this was completely unnecessary and wasted a lot of our resources. You need to compensate us, though we wouldn't mind if you left their corpses behind for us.

"They are both prime materials."

Ren Shizhi refused coldly:

"Don't push your luck. Killing him is your reward. Without the opportunity we created, it would be almost impossible for you to smoothly eliminate these two mental-type ability users.

"Remember, Maine must be taken alive, and Hu Weifeng's body must be left where it is. We need to handle it a bit to prevent the Coordination Bureau from tracing our transaction."

Blood Hand looked at Ren Shizhi with amused interest:

"How interesting. Aren't you all on the same side? I remember you're also a member of the Coordination Bureau, and your superiors often have dealings with us. Since that's the case, why can't you just turn a blind eye to what we're doing?

"What's wrong with killing a few hundred people? We can trade with you using something far more valuable."

Ren Shizhi shrugged and said:

"The Coordination Bureau isn't something we can control; it's Qin Luan who cannot accept civilian casualties.

"If you really want to reach a consensus with us, why don't you go ahead and eliminate her first? You can name your price then. As long as it doesn't harm the Federation's interests, it won't matter if you want a few thousand more."

Blood Hand was left speechless by this remark. They had all heard of Qin Luan's reputation.

The Heaven-Shattering Traveler was synonymous with invincibility.

However, despite saying this, Ren Shizhi did not truly feel that way. In his eyes, maintaining ties with these hell worshippers was a crucial link, but the existence of Qin Luan and the Coordination Bureau was equally indispensable to the Federation.

Not only because differing approaches and disputes allowed him opportunities to climb higher,

but also because the Coordination Bureau and the Oversight Department had reached a delicate balance. Their simultaneous existence ensured the Federation would endure forever. In private, he had once listened to Qin Luan's lecture on the Great Collapse, and while listening, he could faintly sense the existence of certain things.

After all, he was an ability user himself.

Ren Shizhi did not believe any Great Collapse was coming—that was merely Qin Luan's exaggerated rhetoric—but they were indeed stopping something.

He could imagine that if the federal government lost the Coordination Bureau and Qin Luan, it would once again face countless dilemmas—problems that had only been temporarily kept under control due to their existence.

"Are you certain everything is completely ready?" he confirmed finally.

Blood Hand nodded:

"Even if Qin Lan were to come here personally, we are confident we can handle her, but she won't come, will she?"

Ren Shizhi said:

"She's already tied up and cannot leave, but don't underestimate them. Regardless of whether it's Hu Weifeng or Maine, especially the latter."

Blood Hand said impatiently:

"I think you're the one underestimating us. We're not comparable to those pampered fellows in your bureau, let alone two intelligence operatives whose specific abilities have already been exposed.

"Rest assured, though. Even a lion uses all its strength to hunt a rabbit."

He nodded with satisfaction:

"Then we'll meet at the handover point."