Chapter 54: The Feather-Transformation Cult

Ding~

A crisp system chime echoed through the Imperial Study.

Bai Yujing tapped open the internal affairs system, checked the message sent by Chen Zhiyuan, and then pulled up his real-time smartphone geolocation.

"Nangong."

Bai Yujing merely uttered the name.

Nangong Rin, standing quietly to one side, understood instantly.

She gently waved her right hand forward, and a stream of light darted forth from her wide sleeve, precisely hovering in mid-air.

The beam of light rendered and expanded rapidly, resembling high-end game CG, clearly projecting the real-time scene deep within the capital's sewers.

The thick darkness was diluted by magical intervention, transforming into a pale dark filter.

In the projection, Chen Zhiyuan was leading a squad of police officers, moving forward along a narrow concrete platform hugging the wall, right beside gurgling, oil-slicked, black and foul-smelling sewage.

The group moved quickly. Ira, who was responsible for sensory reconnaissance, suddenly spoke, her voice sounding exceptionally clear in the silent sewer: "The target is just ahead past the right turn. Apache, stay here. Senior Guo, please protect him."

"Mhm."

Guo Chen grunted a response, immediately stopping in his tracks and guarding the spot like an iron tower.

Apache hastily halted as well, watching anxiously ahead.

Chen Zhiyuan did not hesitate for a second, speeding up alone and making a sharp right turn.

The gloom deep within the sewer failed in the slightest to affect his exceptional vision as a Legendary-peak esper.

At a single glance, he spotted the target.

The figure was curled up in a corner, arms wrapped around his knees, looking exceptionally fragile.

Almost simultaneously, Jiro Watanabe abruptly turned his head in alert vigilance.

Catching sight of Chen Zhiyuan's crisp police uniform, he instantly realized he had been exposed.

Without a shred of hesitation!

Surging flames burst forth out of nowhere, and the blinding glare of fire instantly banished the surrounding darkness.

The next second, those violent flames rapidly constricted and shaped themselves into a ferocious, roaring flame tiger.

"Roar!"

Accompanied by a deafening roar, the tiger—composed entirely of fire—charged forward, carrying a terrifyingly high temperature.

Wherever it passed, the sewage on the ground was instantly vaporized, hissing audibly as an unpleasant white mist filled the air.

Chen Zhiyuan unleashed his ability at the exact same moment.

Gurgle, gurgle—a strange, surging sound rang out. His right shoulder rapidly bulged, and scorching, viscous magma radiating a dark red glow spewed forth, accompanied by thick black smoke carrying a pungent sulfur smell rising from the roiling surface of the lava.

"Dragon's Devouring!"

Chen Zhiyuan let out a furious roar, slamming his right fist violently forward.

That ball of searing magma expanded rapidly after leaving his body, causing the sewage ahead to vaporize instantly under the extreme heat.

The previously formless magma elongated and reshaped swiftly in mid-air, transforming into a ferocious, roaring lava dragon that violently collided with the flame tiger.

Boom!

Flame and magma crashed together.

Both men were fluid-type Legendary espers, and their attributes were intimately tied to extreme heat.

Who would win and who would lose could naturally not be judged purely from a naturalistic perspective of whether fire is hotter than magma.

Rather, it was a test of both parties' understanding and mastery of primal source energy.

The frequency of Chen Zhiyuan's magma source energy shifted and assimilated rapidly in an arcane fashion, actually beginning to frantically devour and convert the flames that originally belonged to Jiro Watanabe, turning them into a part of his own magma.

Rumble!

The lava dragon completely engulfed the flame tiger with crushing momentum.

"Ah—!"

Jiro Watanabe let out a shrill, miserable scream, his entire body sent flying backward like a torn rag doll before slamming heavily against the wall.

The bandages wrapped around his body and his dark gas mask were burned clean away, revealing the severely burned, charred skin underneath.

"It hurts so much... Damn it... Why... Why would you do something so cruel?!"

He collapsed to the ground, issuing a grievance-laden accusation laced with sobs.

The sewer was permeated with the stench of evaporated sewage, the high heat distorting the air and blurring vision.

Chen Zhiyuan turned a deaf ear to his reproaches.

This was a classic criminal mentality.

No matter what they themselves did, it was always excusable and forced upon them by circumstance, whereas any retaliation inflicted upon them by others was an unforgivable atrocity.

It was meaningless to reason with such a person; only thunderous methods could bring an end to evil.

He strode forward, preparing to thoroughly subdue the man.

Enduring the pain, Jiro Watanabe quickly got to his feet, attempting to resist.

In a daze, he caught sight of a finger.

A single index finger that had traversed space, crystal-clear like jade, radiating a faint glow.

His entire body instantly stiffened, his thoughts freezing over as he could only watch helplessly as that sacred yet terrifying finger gently touched the center of his brow.

This was Nangong Rin, acting across space from the Imperial Study within the Holy Palace.

With merely this remote touch, every single memory and secret in Jiro Watanabe's mind was laid bare like an opened scroll, instantly read and perceived by Nangong Rin.

She withdrew her right hand, turned her gaze toward Bai Yujing, and reported in an even tone: "There are currently a total of fourteen members in the Lesser Evil. The organization that directs and trains them behind the scenes is called the Feathering Cult. The supreme ruler of this cult is known as a True Man. Exactly how many True Men there are is something Jiro Watanabe's clearance is too low to know."

"He was abducted into an underground base when he was very young, where he lived and underwent brutal esper combat training. It wasn't until he advanced to the Transcendent tier that he was blindfolded and taken away from that base in a helicopter. When his blindfold was removed, he was at Blue Bay Port in the Eighteenth Administrative District."

"Since then, Jiro Watanabe has consistently obeyed orders from someone called the True Man Qinglan, executing a total of twenty-one missions. Only six of these were publicly exposed on the internet, while the rest were covert assassinations. He does not know the specific reasons for assassinating those people; he merely obeys orders mechanically."

Nangong paused slightly before offering a suggestion: "If we wish to find the lair of the Feathering Cult, I suggest beginning the search in the areas surrounding the Eighteenth Administrative District. The Eighteenth District is not large; if their underground base were located there, they would have had no need to blindfold him when transporting him."

"What you say makes sense."

Bai Yujing expressed his agreement, then floated an idea: "Can you turn Jiro Watanabe into our double agent?"

"Easily."

Nangong Rin's tone carried absolute confidence, "I can fundamentally rewrite his mental will, making him utterly and infinitely loyal to you from this moment on."

With that, her right hand gently poked the light screen in the air once more.

An imperceptible stream of light shot out from her fingertip, instantly plunging into the light screen.

Down in the sewer, just as Chen Zhiyuan reached out, intending to disable Jiro Watanabe, he watched in astonishment as a sliver of faint light pierced through the darkness and accurately sank into the center of Jiro Watanabe's brow.

Immediately following this, a soft female voice rang out directly inside his mind.

"I have converted him into a double agent. Abandon the arrest; announce publicly that the suspect was not captured."

The voice vanished abruptly.

Then, to his utter shock, Chen Zhiyuan watched as the horrifying burns covering Jiro Watanabe began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

What chilled him even more was that the man's gaze had completely changed; all prior fear, rage, and agony had vanished, replaced by a devotion bordering on fanatical steadfastness.

"Chief Commissioner Chen!"

Jiro Watanabe snapped straight to attention, his tone respectful. "I will strictly obey your orders to continue lurking and monitor all movements of the Feathering Cult!"

Witnessing this unbelievable scene, Chen Zhiyuan felt a chill creep up his spine.

To rewrite the will of a Legendary powerhouse without the subject being the slightest bit aware—that woman's strength was truly unfathomable.

Yet this terror lasted for only a split second before being instantly overwhelmed by an even more fervent pride.

So what if she possessed such terrifying power?

Was she not still bound to obey the Sage's commands?!

Loyalty!!

Chen Zhiyuan shouted silently in his heart, while the expression on his face reverted to its habitual sternness as he replied, "Very well. If you have any intelligence in the future, contact me using this method."

He began instructing the man in detail regarding the secret passcodes and methods for their rendezvous.