Book 3, Chapter 219: Getting Involved

Chen Chuan turned around and saw a person behind him.

The man seemed to have walked out of the shadows. He wasn’t exactly tall and wore a military overcoat. By his waist was a short sword with a silvery-white sheath. He had a square face, tanned skin, thick, messy hair, and ruthless eyes.

Chen Chuan compared the man to the photos of the people in Fort 285 and identified him as Fei Tong, the Third Limit martial artist serving as Fort 285’s sentry.

“I knew from the beginning that you were behind this, not some anomaly.”

Fei Tong narrowed his eyes at Chen Chuan. “Is that so? How did you know?”

“When I was in the office yesterday, I found this torn-up page.” Chen Chuan produced the fixed page and showed it to Fei Tong.

“This is from your personal journal. The lines here are really jumbled, and the words make no sense. You seem to want us to think you lost your mind.”

Fei Tong took a look at the page before asking, “Was I not convincing enough?”

“You were convincing, alright, but that’s all there was to it. While those jumbled lines looked like they were the ramblings of a madman, they lacked a true feeling of madness. The greatest flaw in your act was that despite writing so much, you didn’t tear a single page. That’s why I was convinced you did not actually lose your mind.

“Also, you tore out the pages and threw them into the dustbin, but that’s all, which made it clear that you wanted someone to find them. That’s far too logical and deliberate.”

Fei Tong stayed silent for a while before asking, “And you were sure it was me based on this alone?”

“I wasn’t, not from this alone. But at the very least, I knew that someone was trying to throw us off track. After all, an anomaly wouldn’t have made it in, not when the fortifications and defenses here are in perfect condition. Unless, of course, there was a traitor.

“Since you’re the owner of the journal and someone with the ability to do that, you became my main suspect.”

Fei Tong sneered. “So, you didn’t have any concrete proof and suspected me based on your ‘feelings.’”

“Not really. I knew it was you since last night,” Chen Chuan answered sincerely.

“Last night?” Fei Tong’s expression froze for a moment.

“Indeed. Yesterday. You haven’t learned or practiced any biofield techniques, have you? When you were standing outside the hall, I sensed your biofield. It was a biofield unique to Third Limit martial artists. Once I combined that with all the evidence from before, it was clear that it was you. One more thing, when I came in just now, you followed me inside with a biofield so obvious that you were practically screaming at me that you were around. It was impossible for me not to notice you,” Chen Chuan said while watching him.

Then, he smiled. “If you don’t have certain techniques and know-how, you can’t even put up a proper lie.”

Fei Tong’s expression turned dark. “Those aren’t pleasant words. I don’t like them.”

Killing intent spilled out of his body, but Chen Chuan was unaffected and continued speaking. “Yesterday, when I began suspecting you, I started wondering why you would do this.

“Based on what happened at the rest area, my guess was that all of your brains went through vitalization. If a Third Limit martial artist’s brain vitalized, they could indeed do something like this.

“But I then had an idea that you probably didn’t go through sudden vitalization, nor were you forced to go through it. You’ve been preparing for it for a long time and went through it willingly.”

“You managed to deduce this too?” Fei Tong sneered.

Chen Chuan answered honestly. “Yes. The biofield I sensed yesterday was cold but also contained something hidden. It was similar to that of the Iron Monster. I didn’t think it was a coincidence but that it was something similar.

“I heard that this is a vitalization technique reserved for royally appointed warriors.

“Based on that, you must have received some benefits from the royal family and intend to serve them.”

Fei Tong kept his gaze trained on Chen Chuan.

“I was thinking. Even though there’s a time gap between what happened here and the Iron Monster’s attack, the two might be connected. So, I did some digging and found that if the Iron Monster’s plan didn’t work and both of his retreats were blocked, he could travel through some remote areas to Fort 285. Then, after taking a huge detour, he could go back.

“While he would suffer some losses by doing that, it’d be much better than escaping via other places. From that alone, it was easy to guess that Fort 285 might be a backup plan set up a long time ago, and you might be a mole.

“But after the Iron Monster died, the original plan failed. Still, you had already staked everything on this and couldn’t turn back anymore, which led to the series of events later.

“I just didn’t understand one thing. Since you’ve already done it, why are you still here?

“This led to another theory: The Iron Monster was your referrer. Since he died, you’re worried that if you go to the royal family, they’re going to cause you trouble. That’s why you did everything here in hopes of gathering more spoils. You’re hoping to satisfy them like that. Am I right?”

Fei Tong’s expression turned darker.

Upon seeing his reaction, Chen Chuan nodded and said, “Looks like I’m right, or at least partially correct.”

Fei Tong sucked in a deep breath and put his hand on the short sword’s sheath. With killing intent burning in his eyes, he said, “You’re right. I have nowhere else to go after doing this. I can only join the other side, but I have to bring some gifts to do that.

“I wasn’t expecting you to come here, though.

“I heard that you killed the Iron Monster. If that’s the case, I’m sure they’ll love your head. They might actually make me a real aristocrat for it.”

“You seem confident you’ll win,” Chen Chuan pointed out.

Fei Tong scoffed at that and pulled out his short sword with a whistle. This weapon was perfect for a somewhat narrow space. At the same time, a tentacle shot out of his exposed neck and wrapped around it. It was pretty similar to what had happened with the Iron Monster.

With a sneer, Fei Tong said, “Vitalization brought me great strength and let me realize many things. My mind and body have evolved. I’m currently at least twice as strong as I was in the past.

“Why do you think I bothered showing my face? It’s because of what you said before you came here. I heard you sending those two Third Limit martial artists outside. They won’t be coming back any time soon. You also didn’t bring your saber with you, so how could you possibly win against me?”

Chen Chuan stared at him calmly. They were originally some distance away from each other, but the next moment, he suddenly appeared in front of Fei Tong and punched him in the gut.

When Fei Tong realized that something was wrong, he tried to step back and use his mutated tissue to negate the power, but Chen Chuan’s punch was too strong, and refined power was already rampaging in his body. He couldn’t negate it completely. After retreating several meters back, he fell to one knee and started dry heaving.

“Did you not consider why I may not have brought my saber?”

Chen Chuan’s calm voice came from right next to him. Shocked, Fei Tong looked up and found Chen Chuan standing beside him while looking down at him.

“That’s because I don’t need it against you.”

He brought his leg up in one quick motion to kick him. This time, Fei Tong managed to react in time and turned his waist. At the same time, he tried to stab Chen Chuan.

Halfway through, Chen Chuan’s foot slammed against the sword, and it sent his sword and arm reeling back until they slammed against his body. He crashed into the wall, and a huge hole formed behind him. Bricks fell with loud clatters.

Chen Chuan strolled over to him. It was true that he didn’t bring any weapons, but that was because he had figured out Fei Tong’s strength through his biofield and knew that he could take him down barehanded.

Besides, if he hadn’t done that, Fei Tong wouldn’t have shown his face.

Fei Tong coughed a few times while lying among the debris. He had been attacked twice with such strength that his bones would have shattered if he was still in his pre-vitalized state. He wouldn’t have been able to fight anymore, but now, he could still struggle to his feet.

Yet before he could regain his footing, Chen Chuan’s fist came straight for his face. He brought his arm up to block it, but the fist pushed against his hand and slammed into his face.

Bam!

He staggered backward.

The refined force not only made his arm go numb, but also shot straight into his brain and attacked it repeatedly, causing his vision to turn dark.

Fortunately, he was no longer a normal human. His brain tissue clung tightly to his skull, allowing him to avoid a major concussion and remain conscious.

Finally realizing that he had underestimated Chen Chuan, he was surprised but also furious. He growled, and his aura increased. Waves of tentacles shot out of his body before suddenly turning red. At the same time, his body turned pale, as if the tentacles fed on his blood.

Chen Chuan could sense the tentacles growing stronger, and the biofield representing them did the same. Meanwhile, the biofield of Fei Tong’s body swiftly waned.

He was draining his life force and potential to increase the strength of his mutated tissue. He likely poured all his blood essence into it as well. By doing so, he could boost his fighting strength for a short time.

Short was the keyword in that sentence.

If he stayed in this condition for long, he would die from draining his own life force without Chen Chuan having to lift a finger to attack him.

Hence, Chen Chuan didn’t have anything to worry about. All he needed to do was to maintain his distance and wait for Fei Tong to lose on his own.

But his team members were outside, so he couldn’t do this. He would have to put a little effort into the fight.

As Fei Tong’s body changed, Chen Chuan arrived in front of him again and shoved him. Fei Tong tried to stop him, only to feel an unstoppable wave of energy charging into him. His feet left the floor, and he was sent flying out through the hole in the office.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep