Chapter 209 - 160: Inventorying the Spoils of War

Words : 2074 Updated : Oct 8th, 2025

Chapter 209: Chapter 160: Inventorying the Spoils of WarJi Xinghuo’s expression subtly changed, his eyes showing some confusion. He had not absorbed any Spiritual Origin Ability! "What’s going on?" Ever since he obtained the Wanxiang Star Pupil, any creature that died around him, whether he killed it or not, would grant him Spiritual Origin Ability without exception. Ji Xinghuo looked at the Spiritual Origin Ability value on the interface again, confirming there was no change. He quickly examined Shen Yucheng’s body, which was that of a living person, with no mechanical modifications, and everything before death was normal—conversation, demeanor, thinking, fighting—all indistinguishable from a real human, definitely not some robot. The only odd thing was Shen Yucheng’s behavior. He seemed to be deliberately seeking death! Moreover, many things Shen Yucheng said had hidden meanings, and he even took the initiative to hand over the storage device to himself, which was utterly confounding. Ji Xinghuo frowned, annoyed by this murky, flor-like feeling. He always felt it wasn’t anything good. Looking up at the sky, those three Sky Fighters were now very close, and he had entered the range of their machine guns. His forehead throbbed with a piercing pain, a warning of danger. "Time to go." Ji Xinghuo collected some of Shen Yucheng’s blood and took off his gloves, making sure he hadn’t missed anything important on the body, then turned and jumped into a hole in the roof. The building was right next to the street, each floor divided into many narrow, dim rooms, serving as venues for illegal transactions and housing many people. Due to the rooftop battle, the inside was in chaos, with everyone fleeing for their lives. Ji Xinghuo blended into the crowd and ran onto the street, following the swarming throng away from the scene of the incident. Almost simultaneously, the three Sky Fighters arrived. Potent searchlights illuminated the rooftop as if it were broad daylight, and over a hundred fully armed Mechanical Rebel Army troops parachuted down, surrounding the entire building. Three All-Purpose Battle Police flew out and landed on the rooftop. Before the streets were sealed off, Ji Xinghuo left the district, crossing half of Saint Feibo District to reach the outskirts, where he retrieved his Light Wheel Motorbike from an uninhabited corner and sped away. An hour later. After circling Immortal City twice on the Light Wheel Motorbike, confirming that he wasn’t being followed, Ji Xinghuo finally returned to the Sword Bureau’s secret base. It was now two-thirty in the morning. The underground base was brightly lit despite the hour, with hundreds of Sword Bureau members working through the night, providing logistics and information analysis for the dispatched Chi Xiao Knights in a bustling scene. The Chief of the South America branch, Liu Tiansi, presided over the base, commanding the whole operation. The Light Wheel Motorbike was parked in the neighboring garage, its engine noise drawing everyone’s attention, and heads turned as Ji Xinghuo walked in. He glanced around at the walls of the hall, divided into dozens of screens displaying various locations across Immortal City, some showing live footage of the Chi Xiao Knights. Not all the Chi Xiao Knights were out; two or three were still collecting information and devising action plans with analysts. Everyone looked at Ji Xinghuo, their expressions somewhat amused. This Chi Xiao Knight had hurriedly left on his own, probably circled Immortal City a few times to no avail, and now returned seeking more help. "Xintian?" Liu Tiansi looked at Ji Xinghuo and asked, "Did you make any gains?" Ji Xinghuo nodded, pulling a storage device from his coat pocket and placing it on the table in front of Liu Tiansi, "I’ve got the data." The hall fell silent. Liu Tiansi was stunned for a couple of seconds before snapping back to reality. Seeing the Star Realm Department’s insignia on the storage device, he was both shocked and delighted, "You found Shen Yucheng?" Seeing Ji Xinghuo nod, he quickly followed up with another question, "What about him?" "He’s dead," Ji Xinghuo replied. At that moment, the newscast on the big screen interrupted with a breaking news story, switching to the rooftop where Ji Xinghuo had killed Shen Yucheng. A digital female voice said, "At 1:15 am today, a Mutant battle occurred in the Saint Feibo District, resulting in one death and twenty-six injuries. The deceased was one of the two individuals involved in the altercation, named Shen Yucheng, identified as a citizen of the Asia-Pacific Community..." seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With the report, the screen displayed information on Shen Yucheng, along with photographs from the death scene. All eyes turned in unison to Ji Xinghuo, filled with disbelief. The mission was completed in just over two hours? Liu Tiansi was also incredulous, "How did you find Shen Yucheng?" As he said this, he looked around at the others and then motioned, "Come with me." Ji Xinghuo followed him to the office and briefly recounted his actions. After hearing the account, Liu Tiansi was rendered speechless for a long time. In just over two hours, Ji Xinghuo had fought non-stop three times: first annihilating the Dark Tide Gang, then interrogating Black Dream Ailuo Lin, and finally tracking down Shen Yucheng to retrieve the data. It sounded straightforward, but in reality, it was fraught with difficulty. The first challenge of getting the Dark Tide Gang leader Gonsaz to talk was a huge problem. Liu Tiansi wanted to ask Ji Xinghuo how he managed to deal with the hundreds of gang members and make Gonsaz confess honestly, but he ultimately didn’t ask. He handed the storage device over to a technician. It wasn’t long before the technician reported, "The password has been cracked, the data is genuine, with no signs of being copied." "Excellent!" Liu Tiansi’s face showed joy, as the most crucial part of the mission was to ensure that the Star Realm Department’s data did not leak, and Shen Yucheng’s life or death was secondary. The underlying causes of Shen Yucheng’s defection could only be further investigated. "Mission accomplished!" Liu Tiansi announced in the hall, giving orders, "Notify the Chi Xiao Knights to withdraw immediately." The returning Chi Xiao Knights quickly returned one after another, and it was not until they entered the secret base that they learned of the true situation, all with complex emotions. Even Ling Yufei, who was somewhat familiar with Ji Xinghuo, was taken aback. Ji Xinghuo’s methods far exceeded her understanding. "Congratulations." Ling Yufei walked into Ji Xinghuo’s resting room and said softly, "Everyone is shocked by you, but it’s good to have the mission accomplished." "No one’s upset with me, are they?" Ji Xinghuo laughed, "After all, I did take away everyone’s chance to make a mark." "That’s your ability, who dares gossip?" Ling Yufei was thoroughly convinced. "That’s good." The South America branch was only responsible for the pursuit of Shen Yucheng’s actions; the main responsibility for his case lay with the headquarters in Chang’an. After all ten Chi Xiao Knights had returned, they set off to return to the domestic base that very night. At four in the morning. Ji Xinghuo returned to Chang’an through the Star Gate, immediately entering Qinling Base to report to Zhou Yishang in person, bringing back the storage device. "Well done!" Zhou Yishang had already received the branch’s report. Seeing Ji Xinghuo, he said with satisfaction, "You did a great job on this mission, you’ve made me proud." Ji Xinghuo was someone Zhou Yishang had personally promoted to be a Chi Xiao Knight. There had been discordant voices within the Sword Bureau, but after this mission, there would be no more objections. "Director Zhou, that Shen Yucheng was very strange," Ji Xinghuo said, after much thought. Zhou Yishang’s gaze flickered, "What’s the problem?" "He willingly gave me the storage device, and, it seemed like he knew he was going to die." Ji Xinghuo roughly described Shen Yucheng’s last words, especially the sentence: "Be careful of Qianyuan Association," and asked, "Do you know about this Qianyuan Association, Director Zhou?" "Qianyuan Association?" Zhou Yishang shook his head, "I don’t recall it, I’ve never heard of it before." "Even Director Zhou doesn’t know..." Ji Xinghuo said softly. Shen Yucheng’s defection was caused by the Sword Bureau investigating him through Ji Zongbang, who had been reported by someone claiming to be involved with the high levels of the Asia-Pacific Community. Now it seemed that the informant’s words were true; Shen Yucheng was considered a high-level official domestically. And Shen Yucheng might just be the tip of the iceberg. Zhou Yishang also realized this and after a long deliberation with a serious expression, he said, "You mustn’t divulge anything about Shen Yucheng. I’ll arrange for someone to secretly investigate what Qianyuan Association is about. Go rest, I’ll inform you when there are results." "Okay," Ji Xinghuo nodded, but did not get up. Zhou Yishang immediately smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I will apply to the Star Realm Department on behalf of the Sword Bureau for the Titanium Cobalt Dragon Blood. There should be a result within three days." "Thank you, Director Zhou." Only then did Ji Xinghuo leave the office, letting someone remove his disguise and restore his own appearance and voice. Returning to Chang’an City, it was only five in the afternoon. From receiving Zhou Yishang’s call to the completion of the mission, it had only taken an afternoon to circle around the Earth. Once back home in Qishan District, Ji Xinghuo summoned from his Dimension Stomach the items he obtained from Immortal City: a Power Hammer, an Arm Guard that could activate a shield, a pair of boxing gloves, and perhaps the most valuable safe, which contained Gonsaz’s collection. There were also a few Electromagnetic Rifles, Laser Guns, and several dozens of magazines, all top-quality firearms pillaged from Dark Tide Gang. Ji Xinghuo inventoried his spoils of war. The Power Hammer was a technological weapon, about 1.5 meters long, with a handle as thick as an arm and a total weight of over 300 kilograms. The black hammerhead had an electric engine installed inside, releasing kinetic energy instantly upon striking a target and having several times the lethality of an ordinary hammer. It also came with "Angry Strike" and "Shock Wave" effects, making it quite powerful. This hammer was classified as a Superpower Two Star weapon, suitable for mutants with great strength. However, its power system was ineffective in the Star Realm, so its value was reduced; the selling price was about thirty million. Ji Xinghuo gripped the Power Hammer, finding it very handy. "I’ll keep it for use on Earth." As for the Arm Guard, Ji Xinghuo had to search the internet to find out it was called "Guardian’s Arm." It could generate a repulsion field to defend against physical attacks and energy damage. One major advantage of the Guardian’s Arm was that it could be activated by Star Power or connected to electric energy. This rare dual-energy source equipment, combining Ability and technology, was in high demand in Immortal City, where mechanical prosthetics were commonplace. Gonsaz had triggered the Arm Guard using the electrical power from his own body, reducing the consumption of Star Power. The Guardian’s Arm was also a Superpower Two Star, valued at over twenty million. The pair of gloves belonged to Shen Yucheng; after inspecting them, Ji Xinghuo found them to be only Superpower One Star, worth two to three million. They were not particularly special and could be used as ordinary gloves. Finally, he checked the safe. This meter-high safe was cast from alloy, and Ji Xinghuo used a magnetic field to sense what was inside, finding many items. The safe’s password lock came with a self-destruct mechanism, risking damage to the contents if forced open or if the wrong password was entered. But that was no problem for Ji Xinghuo. He held the Thunderbolt Battle Blade, with the blade’s electric light flickering, repeatedly striking the same spot over a dozen times, cutting off a corner of the safe perfectly allowing a hand to reach in. He transferred everything inside to his Dimension Stomach, and then took it all out again. A heap of items appeared on the table, and Ji Xinghuo only needed a quick glance before starting to laugh joyfully, "I’ve struck it rich!"

Chapter 209 - 160: Inventorying the Spoils of War

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