Swordbearers Binhai Branch.
Top floor conference room.
Chu You sat upright in the chair diagonally behind Lin Mo, expressionless, but in reality, she was a bundle of nerves inside.
To be honest… although she hadn’t been labeled a wanted criminal like Jinghu, sitting here so openly at an internal Swordbearer meeting was truly nerve-racking.
Come to think of it, she really had Wu Yang to thank—
If he hadn’t sliced the municipal building in half with a single sword, severely damaging the third-generation communications module and making remote real-time video impossible with current technology, Chu You would never have dared show up here today.
“Qin Lao is paying close attention to this matter…”
The voice over the speaker was serious, nearly devoid of emotion.
“According to your hypothesis, if the Second Synthesis Brigade is truly trapped inside the Death Realm, then the situation is likely even more complicated than we imagined.”
“Frankly, with Binhai’s current personnel configuration, I fear we can’t properly handle this sudden incident.”–
As soon as the words landed, most people in the conference room showed a faint change of expression.
The old saying was true—blunt words can hit the mark—but wasn’t that a bit too blunt?
What do you mean Binhai’s current personnel can’t handle this emergency?
However, Lin Mo, Gu Qiancheng, and even Chu You barely reacted, as if they had already expected the headquarters representative to say such things.
“Knock knock…”
Gu Qiancheng rapped his knuckles on the table, then straightened up, looking utterly composed as he said, “What’s the point in all this fuss? If it really is a Death Realm, forget Binhai—even if the provincial branch pitched in, we’d still be shorthanded.”
He paused, his tone laced with mockery.
“A Death Realm that’s swallowed up thousands of people and equipment—does Secretary-General Wang have any brilliant ideas? Why not share them for us to hear?”
…
North Headquarters, Communications Room.
Wearing the Swordbearer uniform, pressed crisp at every edge, not a crease in sight, the middle-aged man—Wang Keji—sat firmly in the seat of honor.
His hair was slicked neatly back, his posture as straight as a pine tree.
Hearing Gu Qiancheng’s mocking words, he showed no change in expression, only lifted his eyes slightly and adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
The gaze behind the lenses was calm as ever, and he spoke slowly:
“I am not an Oracle myself, so I cannot objectively assess from a professional perspective the scale of such a Death Realm, or estimate precisely how much manpower would be required. My earlier words were based purely on the current situation… If Team Leader Gu is dissatisfied, there’s no need for sarcasm—just state it plainly. I will apologize for any inappropriate remarks to you and to the Binhai Branch.”
His tone remained steady, without a trace of emotion, but then his words turned sharp and stern: “However—this incident happened suddenly, and time is of the essence. Every second may be a matter of life and death for thousands of our fighters. Team Leader Gu, please do not waste precious time on meaningless bickering.”
Wang Keji paused, then delivered actual news: “Lastly, I am here to report that Qin Lao has already decided to dispatch reinforcements to Binhai.”
“Headquarters will mobilize two elite action squads to fly by military aircraft for emergency support, expected to arrive at Binhai airport within twelve hours.”
Binhai, conference room.
Upon hearing news of the reinforcements, Lin Mo looked up, his gaze meeting Gu Qiancheng’s.
Their eyes met briefly, silently exchanging some unspoken message.
Then, Lin Mo cleared his throat and broke the short silence, asking, his tone unreadable: “Secretary-General Wang, has headquarters decided which two squads will be sent as reinforcements?”
From the speaker, Wang Keji’s voice sounded without a hint of hesitation: “The specifics have not yet been determined. We need to wait for Qin Lao to personally confirm before I can inform you.”
“Understood.”
Lin Mo replied blandly, then gave his instructions: “Next, the Binhai Branch will proceed as planned, organizing personnel to begin the search and rescue. Once the headquarters’ support squads arrive, they may liaise with our Security Division Chief Zhao Dongyuan at any time.”
“Understood.”
Wang Keji did not interfere with the Binhai Branch’s arrangements.
His response was simple and direct: “I will compile your proposed action plan into a formal document for Qin Lao to review. Are there any other issues that need discussion?”
In other words, if nothing else needed to be raised, this emergency call could be ended.
Lin Mo was about to say there was nothing more.
Unexpectedly, Gu Qiancheng, sitting beside him, suddenly arched his brows, a flash of mischief and trouble gleaming in his eyes.
He interrupted Lin Mo, dragging out his words: “Wait, wait, no need to rush off yet—there’s one more thing—”
His gaze slid with interest past Lin Mo and landed directly on Chu You, who was trying to play invisible.
His lips curled into a teasing smile as he drawled: “Our Binhai Branch Chief Lin Mo’s personal assistant has some alternative opinions on the operation plan just discussed. Secretary-General Wang, aren’t you interested in hearing them? There might be unexpected insights~”
As soon as he finished!
Lin Mo snapped his head around, his eyes sharp as knives shooting toward Gu Qiancheng’s grinning face, full of warning.
Behind him, Chu You—who had been staring at her toes, trying her best to act invisible—was first a little stunned, as if not realizing she’d been named.
Then she jerked her head up, face full of shock and “are you kidding me” disbelief.
Her beautiful eyes glared incredulously at the smirking Gu Qiancheng, as if roaring silently: —You bastard! You betrayed me?!
“Personal assistant?”
From the speaker, Wang Keji’s tone carried a faint trace of doubt.
In his understanding, and according to headquarters’ protocols, only branch chiefs and above typically had officially assigned secretaries to help with daily affairs.
But after pausing just a second, he seemed to find a reasonable explanation himself… Lin Mo, as branch chief, had a heavy workload and had simply appointed an internal assistant to help out temporarily.
Not too uncommon among the various branches.
Having worked it out, Wang Keji’s style remained as direct as ever.
He acknowledged the assistant’s identity without question: “Then let this assistant comrade share their thoughts. Time is limited. Is five minutes enough?”
As the words fell, Lin Mo’s glare at Gu Qiancheng looked ready to ignite, the danger level going up another notch.
He sighed quietly, resigned, and finally turned to look at Chu You behind him, signaling with his eyes.
Seeing this, Chu You knew there was no escape.
She silently cursed Gu Qiancheng eight hundred times in her heart, then drew a quiet breath, forcing down her emotions.
In a deliberately low, slightly androgynous and raspy voice, she quickly said: “It’s true that standard communications equipment can’t be used inside the Death Realm—this is common knowledge.”
“But… to my knowledge, in the North Headquarters’ Law Enforcement Directorate’s Inspection Squad, there’s a pair of twin sisters whose Oracle abilities are rather unique. They might be able to establish a channel for information transmission across the Death Realm barrier.”
“If things are urgent, it’s worth contacting the Law Enforcement Directorate to see if the sisters can be temporarily seconded here to assist.”
Chu You paused, her tone growing more grave: “After all, a Death Realm capable of holding thousands of people and heavy equipment is unprecedented—what’s inside is a complete unknown.”
“If we can establish real-time inside-outside communication, getting firsthand intel, it would greatly help formulating solutions, assessing risk, and… ensuring the safety of any possible survivors.”
At these words, Wang Keji, sitting in the headquarters conference room, showed a flicker of doubt behind his gold-rimmed glasses.
How did a low-level Binhai operative know so much about the internal staffing of the faraway Law Enforcement Directorate—right down to the Oracle abilities of certain squad members?
Even he, the headquarters secretary-general, knew little about the Law Enforcement Directorate. And for some reason…
Wang Keji adjusted his glasses again, the doubt in his eyes only growing.
Why did he feel… Lin Mo’s assistant’s voice, though deliberately lowered, sounded strangely familiar?
As if he’d heard it somewhere before, though he couldn’t quite place it.
“Secretary-General Wang?”
Just then, Lin Mo’s steady, powerful voice interrupted Wang Keji’s thoughts at exactly the right moment.
“What’s your view on this suggestion?”
At that, the hint of doubt in Wang Keji’s eyes quickly faded, replaced by professionalism and efficiency.
He was silent for a moment, weighing the options, before speaking: “…Received. That’s an excellent suggestion. I’ll immediately contact the Law Enforcement Directorate to request a secondment, and assign a specialist to coordinate with Binhai’s Zhao Dongyuan.”
“Very well, that covers all the points we need to report and discuss…”
Lin Mo cut in the moment Wang Keji finished, his tone calm but unmistakably final.
He gave no chance for the ever-eager Gu Qiancheng to stir up more trouble, and continued, “This concludes today’s call. Any further developments in the rescue effort will be reported through Security Chief Zhao Dongyuan as per procedure.”
“Very well, meeting adjourned.”
Wang Keji’s reply was as terse as ever.
“Beep—”
As soon as he finished, the call cut off immediately.
On the top floor of Binhai Branch, Lin Mo rose slowly, sweeping his gaze around at the remaining attendees, his voice steady as he summed up: “Let’s move ahead with preparations as per the framework discussed in the meeting. Everyone get to work—meeting adjourned.”
At his words, the heads of each department stood up, quietly chatting as they filtered out of the room.
Gu Qiancheng also stood up, inching toward the exit, trying to slip away in the crowd.
But the moment he rose, a slender, strong hand slammed heavily onto his shoulder, pinning him firmly in place.
Gu Qiancheng stiffened, slowly turning to face Lin Mo’s impassive face. He forced out a fawning smile: “Junior, is…is there something else? Ahem, Senior here has a pile of work—Zhao Dongyuan’s waiting for me…”
“There’s something.”
Lin Mo’s hand pressed harder on Gu Qiancheng’s shoulder, his tone brooking no refusal.
“Sit. We need to talk.”
At this, Gu Qiancheng’s smile froze.
He glanced at Lin Mo’s dangerous eyes, then at Chu You—who had risen, flexing her knuckles with a wicked glint in her eye—and sweat broke out on his forehead. He chuckled weakly: “Uh…junior, junior sister, is this really necessary?…”
“We’re all on the same side. Senior was just having a little fun…”
“Click.”
As the last to leave, Zhao Dongyuan thoughtfully closed the heavy conference room door behind him and checked to make sure it was locked.
Gu Qiancheng’s expression stiffened again.
He turned mechanically to look at the door.
The tightly sealed conference room seemed to extinguish his last ray of hope.
Now, only Lin Mo, Chu You, and Gu Qiancheng—still pinned in his seat by Lin Mo’s hand—remained in the spacious conference room.
Chu You slowly stood up, cracking her knuckles with a crisp snap as she approached the shrinking-into-his-chair Gu Qiancheng, a cold, chilling smile on her face.
“…Now that I think about it, it really has been years since I’ve had a chance to learn from Senior~”
Her voice was sickeningly sweet, but laced with icy menace.
Gu Qiancheng tried to scoot back, but Lin Mo’s iron grip kept him rooted.
“No, no! Junior sister! Calm down! Don’t be impulsive!”
“Ahem, senior was just messing around, why so serious?”
“Junior sister, my dear junior sister… let’s talk this out!”
“Chu Qingqian! Chu You! You can kill me but not humiliate me, I’m telling you!”
“Hey hey hey! You’re serious? Don’t hit the face!”
“Ah—! My handsome face! Lin Mo, do something! Ah!!”
“Help, help—!!!”