Chapter 41

“Who knows? I heard it’s because some felon escaped. But the authorities had also mentioned last month that they were in the midst of a secret military exercise, and the entire city might be placed under martial law for a period of five or six years. Do you know something? Even our local forums are going crazy! There are armed policemen patrolling every corner of the city. It’s practically a lockdown.”

After exchanging a few more words, the young man left their car.

Wang Chenghao blinked vacantly at Qin Ye. Qin Ye lit a cigarette, took a long drag and muttered, “Things might be a little less optimistic than I had thought.”

“I’ve just discovered something. It seems like Westriver was the last province to have begun broadcasting those public announcements. It was also the last province to have implemented a curfew. They’re located at the base of Daofather Zhang’s foothold after all…”

Qin Ye squinted his eyes and gazed at the City of Salvation, “If the City of Salvation had already been placed under a curfew since four months ago, this must mean that the supernatural incidents are already a proliferate occurrence. I think it is safe to say that the magnitude of the gathering of ghosts and governmental agents in the city is going to be of a whole different scale than the one seen in Clear Creek County.”

After all, he could see that there was a large cloud of ominous Yin energy hovering over the heart of the city, just like a lid over a cauldron!

Even he couldn’t fathom what had become of the city on the inside.

How much resources and manpower did the government have to invest in order to keep things sufficiently under wraps so that their citizens would remain oblivious and could continue leading a normal life?

The thought of these things filled Qin Ye with pride at the might of his nation for a moment.

“Hmm? Why do you look so puzzled?”

Wang Chenghao’s lips twitched slightly, “Nothing much… I was just thinking, didn’t I give you RMB 300,000 earlier? Why did you still take money from my wallet earlier - and so naturally at that…”

The traffic was finally flowing once more. Thirty minutes later, the tollbooth was finally in sight. Just then, Qin Ye’s eyes shifted and he muttered in a low voice, “Later, I want you to remain calm. Let me do the talking.”

“What?” Wang Chenghao’s body tensed up slightly, and Qin Ye slapped his back, “Steady yourself. If you want to achieve great things in life, you’ll have to present yourself with an unwavering spirit even if Mount Tai collapses right in front of your eyes. Even if unexpected, this is nothing more than a routine inspection. Don’t give anything away.”

Wang Chenghao gasped, “Is it... triggered by the people from Westriver?”

They had travelled a long distance from Westriver, and their disappearance should already have been discovered by the authorities. Thus, they prepared several countermeasures to deal with any possible exigencies that might occur. Yet, they were never stopped a single time along the road earlier. This left them somewhat puzzled.

“I don’t know.” Qin Ye leaned back in his seat, “If anything comes up later, be ready to run at any moment.”

“... Didn’t you just say to present yourself with an unwavering spirit even if Mount Tai collapses right in front of your eyes?!”

Qin Ye rolled his eyes, “What’s the link between having an unwavering spirit and making a tactical retreat?”

Wang Chenghao felt incredibly exasperated. His expression looked as ugly as a person who had just eaten shit.

Are you telling me to maintain an unwavering appearance while running as fast as I can?

Or are you saying that you’ll remain calm, while I run for my life?

Bloody hell… even though everything sounds logical and prim and proper, I still can’t help but feel as though something’s wrong with this suggestion… Is this just an illusion of the mind?

As they drew closer and closer to the entrance, Wang Chenghao suddenly did a double take at it. He gasped and instantly tightened his grip around the steering wheel.

The military.

This was merely an entrance to a small prefecture-level city, yet it was presently guarded by nearly a hundred armed policemen fully equipped with guns and live rounds. There were nearly ten police cars with their blue-and-red warning lights spinning incessantly. Apart from the toll booth, there was also a massive tent located just behind the toll booth which had been erected across the entire national highway leading into the city!

It looked just like the mouth of a giant beast that swallowed up vehicle after vehicle. The huge toll booth appeared incredibly gloomy and still. The black barrels of guns encampments were followed by three sets of barriers. Nobody passing through the toll booth dared to make a scene at all.

It was soon their turn to pass through the toll booth. They first passed through the electronic toll booth. Heavily armed soldiers wearing their camouflage uniforms and helmets stood guard in rows on both sides of the booths, causing the otherwise ordinary looking drive-through booths to feel absolutely somber and desolate.

Additionally, the toll booths which used to be largely manned by female employees were now instead replaced by men in black suits wearing stern expressions on their faces. They even wore on their chests a triangle badge with the design of an eye in the center. That said, Qin Ye refrained from letting his gaze linger on these badges for too long.

They cleared the electronic toll booths, yet the barrier didn’t lift for them.

“Uncle, what’s going on?” Wang Chenghao wound down his window and asked the man in the booth.

Looking at his computer, the man in the suit responded, “A vehicle from Westriver?”

“Yes. What’s the matter?”

The man in the suit hit a button, “First lane on the right.”

Wang Chenghao shrank back to his seat in frustration and made his way to the right. It was only then that he realized all the cars in the first lane were cars from other provinces!

Furthermore, things were different on this lane.

Those who passed by the dark, gloomy tent were all surrounded by armed policemen. However, there wasn’t a single policeman manning this lane at all.

Instead, this lane was simply equipped with several infrared sensors, each of which were located three paces apart from the other. These cameras were everywhere, both above and under, and all around the vehicles. They were designed to scan and capture every single detail, including the underside of the vehicle!

“Haa…” Qin Ye drew a deep breath. The country was truly mobilizing its resources… As long as a sovereign nation put its mind to it, there was simply nothing that was out of its reach.

Every lane in this part of the toll booths led into a closed tent. As soon as a vehicle drew close to the tent, its entrance would open up, revealing a dazzling bright light from within.

Garrisoned units were stationed every three to five paces apart within the tents, and each time the tent opened up, only one car would be allowed to pass!

“Dear drivers and passengers.” A pleasant female voice cut through the silence as the announcement continued to play, “Welcome to the City of Salvation. The City of Salvation is located at the southeastern border of the Insignia Province…”

After several seconds of introductions, the female voice continued, “... In light of the large-scale military exercise taking place in the City of Salvation, the City of Salvation has raised its security alert level to ‘orange’. All incoming and outgoing vehicles and personnel must be thoroughly inspected. All who refuse to cooperate shall be turned away. All who violate the rules shall suffer the consequences of their actions. Thank you once again for your cooperation…”

Wang Chenghao and Qin Ye looked at each other, before turning their gaze to the large steel barrier that had just descended right in front of them. They sensibly alighted from their car.

A man in a black suit was already waiting for them outside of their car. He nodded at them, and walked towards a small makeshift tent nearby.

The tent was simple and plain. An old man with white hair and a chiseled face sat behind an office desk. Two chairs were located on the other side of his desk. Apart from the computer, the only other thing that sat on his desk was a small object that looked just like a crystal ball. As soon as they walked in, the old man lifted his chin and directed them to take a seat in front of him.

The old man stared straight into their eyes, almost as though his gaze were staring straight through their souls. Seconds later, he began his routine line of questions, “What business do you have in the City of Salvation?”

He didn’t even ask for their name, address, or other vital information for verification purposes. The first question that he immediately got to pertained to their purpose of visit.

Concise and straightforward.

There was hardly any room for consideration, nor was there a need for him to conceal his intentions.

As soon as the man spoke, Qin Ye’s fists immediately tightened underneath the table.

It was the breath of a cultivator.

The officer conducting routine investigations is actually a cultivator!

And the fluctuations in his breath tells me that he’s ready to strike at a moment’s notice!

His abilities weren’t even at the level of an Operative-class Emissary of Hell. Yet, the fact that a cultivator was deployed in such a routine investigation spoke volumes about the depths of the military might deployed within the City of Salvation.

Wang Chenghao’s body had been incredibly tense and stiff as soon as he entered the tent. After all, a single breath of true energy from a cultivator