Chapter 198 - 198 180 The Storm Comes

Words : 1655 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

198: Chapter 180: The Storm Comes 198: Chapter 180: The Storm Comes “…What’s the situation outside?” “It’s terrible but also strange, meow. Everyone is working overtime, but they don’t seem to be in a hurry, meow.” Meow’s poor linguistic skills made it hard for her to explain clearly. However, combined with some text messages and announcements on her intelligence terminal, Lu Ping’an could somewhat understand the situation. Just as he had guessed before, the first batch of a dozen Secret Realms and pollution events were still mere smokescreens and bait. However, the Special Service Team, who served as the city’s defensive force, couldn’t just ignore it. No one could be sure if any of the “minor problems” would turn into a terminal illness that would spread to the whole body. Most of the special agents and requisitioned civilian combatants had no choice but to enter these bottomless pits. Just as Fang Wen casually spent tens of millions of dollars on the early reconstruction of the television tower and then discarded it, high-level professionals, especially those in the Life system, would have a terrifying foundation and accumulation when they had to give their all. “…Have about half of the secret realms been dealt with already?” Even while preparing for a breakthrough, Lu Ping’an never truly secluded himself for cultivation. He would come out from time to time to collect intelligence and learn about the latest developments. After all, he didn’t want to complete his upgrade only to find that everything had already ended, and the big shots were waiting for a feast at the door. At first, he relied heavily on Meow’s intelligence. Later, he found that it was not necessary to go through so much trouble. “People are discussing the turmoil in the city.” Because of the peculiar nature of the factory Secret Realm, many people came here to take refuge, but they couldn’t abandon their own homes. Wherever people gathered, they would discuss the current progress, and people constantly entered and exited. The description of the dozens of Secret Realms and cases, as well as the latest progress reports, was much clearer than those from the Special Service Teams. After all, special agents didn’t have the spare manpower resources to serve as war correspondents and write briefings. “But six new Secret Realms have appeared, meow. And several troublesome guys are killing people in the city. Those bastards! So outrageous, meow!” Clearing them was slower than destroying them, as both sides had entered a state of attrition. Lu Ping’an was already aware of these situations, but although it didn’t update as quickly as the outside world, Meow still provided inside and reliable information from “official channels” that he couldn’t find elsewhere. Lu Ping’an could only learn some things from her, such as the aftermath of that battle and the treatment of the Infiltrators he was most concerned about. “That battle, meow? The final battle report came out, but it only repelled the suspected Sixth-tier Beast Tamer, meow…” In the official internal report, this was a glorious victory that not only destroyed the High Tower creation but also saved more than 90% of the hostages. However, Lu Ping’an wanted to learn about more than just this. “… Fang Wen’s losses? I heard that there were six Decree-level or higher creations, with three destroyed, two missing, and only one escaped. Meow, I just heard that the two missing ones were particularly high-level and were taken by the scoundrels of the Church, one each!” This was undoubtedly a joyous answer for Lu Ping’an. Although they were now ostensibly trading partners, everyone knew that turning against each other was only a matter of time. It seemed that the Special Service Team had been swindled. It was easy to see that the two most valuable spoils of war were taken away by the Church big-shots. The special agents couldn’t compete. “The three Infiltrators, meow? Sister Xia Qin went straight to headquarters, bypassing the procedure and letting our team and the Church conduct a raid…” This act of bypassing “middle channels” was an undisguised abuse of power and, at the same time, distrust of the Abnormity Management Bureau and the internal members of the Special Service Team. However, at this point, no normal person would trust the purity of the organization’s internals anymore. “Wei Wu died on the spot, meow. A fourth-tier professional was killed by four fourth-tier professionals, and it was miserable, meow.” Meow, who had witnessed the incident from afar, recalled that it was strange. “He seemed completely unaware of it. Sister Xia Qin thought it was strange.” Information leaks usually had signs. This meant that even after Fang Wen’s successful escape, he didn’t contact this unlucky fellow, leaving him to die. Aside from the unfortunate Wei Wu, the escaped Fang Wen and the missing Sophist, there were still three Mother Goddess cult Infiltrators left: Jia Yi (Fishman), Wei Xianshi, and the Dragon Family siblings. Jia Yi’s characteristics are so unique that no one knows where he is, not even Fang Wen, who couldn’t find any traces of him with her mechanical sentinel. It’s very likely that he isn’t even in the city area… In fact, the infiltrators should not know each other’s hiding spots and identities, but Fang Wen obviously didn’t follow the unwritten rules. Her intelligence directly caused misfortune to some people. “Wei Xianshi and Long Qianlan are master and apprentice, meow, the Dragon Family brother is hiding in the Third Hospital. We didn’t find him when we raided it, we only issued a warrant for his hidden identity. Wei Xianshi was captured, and then died in the Watcher’s custody, meow, dying a miserable death.” Long Qianlan and Dragon Yuhe are siblings, with brother Long Qianlan being the most ruthless mastermind behind this incident. According to Fang Wen’s intelligence, the Dragon Family brother is a late Sixth-tier Healer (suspected to be Brother Tu’s Path) and the adoptive father and tutor of Wei Xianshi, who might also be the one who silenced him. “…I heard that during the interrogation, when he started to relent, he suddenly vomited blood, meow, then flesh buds grew on his body and transformed into pieces of flesh…” “Fang Wen, Sophist, Dragon Family siblings, and Jia Yi, five people…hmmm…” Lu Ping’an silently counted this hit-list, deep in thought. The one who hid the best among them was the amphibious Jia Yi. He was probably not going to appear until the end. Fang Wen should have been severely wounded, which in Lu Ping’an’s view was a good thing. This was not only because it was convenient for him to deal with her… ahem, a weakened her would need more external support to cooperate, naturally extending their relationship. The Dragon Family siblings were the most troublesome, not only because of the Sixth-tier Healer and ceremony leader brother but also their sister who was at least a fifth-tier Battle-profession. More lethally, the two were family, making them the only people who could truly cooperate… Wei Xianshi didn’t count, he was just a runner. “What about their inside person in the Special Service Team? Any news?” Capturing one person should at least reveal lots of information, is there not even a single clue? “No news, meow. We only injured the Dragon Family’s sister, the brother retreated early…Not many people know this internal news, and now the atmosphere in the team is even worse, meow.” Meow also looked a bit depressed. Xia Qin had already tried her best to bypass untrustworthy colleagues but still leaked information early. This dealt a severe blow to mutual trust between the parties. Although Meow only brought bad news, Lu Ping’an’s heart was already quite satisfied. It had to be said that trading with Fang Wen was a brilliant move, otherwise, the opponents’ momentum would have left them without any possibility of resistance. But without Sophist’s betrayal, Fang Wen wouldn’t have become the first target of attack. From another perspective, once Fang Wen’s “farming” strategy was developed, she could completely fight one against five in the latter stage, leading to her being destined to be betrayed first. “If they could cooperate, we wouldn’t have any hope…Nevermind, it’s impossible.” Without Sophist’s initial deception and deliberate exposure, and without the series of incidents’ adverse effects, the Special Service Team wouldn’t have invited those Church of Life combatants. They might have just blurred through to the end, and then the people would have disappeared. “What about the Sophist?” “I don’t know, meow, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard anything from him, meow.” Although Meow’s words seemed helpless, it was much better than the worst outcome Lu Ping’an had expected. Fang Wen had obviously achieved complete information blockade and even deception, with Dragon Yuhe, Wei Xianshi, and Wei Wu only reacting when they were attacked. In a sense, the Dragon Family siblings’ escape was a good thing, as they could restrain each other with Fang Wen and Jia Yi. Otherwise, Fang Wen would have come for Lu Ping’an already. “Alright, you did a good job, let me know immediately if there’s any news. Give me the card, and I’ll help you upgrade it. If you want to find me, use that new function.” After unlocking a few new features by upgrading with the Life Bank, one of them was to use the “Name Card” communication function. Although there were usage limits and the communication information was limited, compared with conventional electronic devices that cease functioning across the Secret Realm and without signal towers, this ability was particularly effective in the current environment. After sending Meow away, Lu Ping’an didn’t rush to start hunting. He still needed to wait for those bystanders to lose patience and step in, muddying the waters thoroughly. With each of his moves, he hoped to achieve results and obtain the lives of the Mother Goddess believers.

Chapter 198 - 198 180 The Storm Comes

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