NOVPUBAfter the man who fell on the car disappeared,
the gunfire in City 10 also stopped at some point.
There was no heavy firepower, just ordinary automatic rifles. However, it was unclear who the shooters were. The sporadic bursts from the automatic rifle had pinned down Qing’s family’s convoy, preventing them from raising their heads.
Qing Wen sat in the only bulletproof car with a livid face.
In his view, his own convoy was on its way home when a car accident blocked the way ahead, followed by someone suppressing them with gunfire.
It was clearly a premeditated ambush.
Qing Wen said coldly, "I don’t know which brother from the Qing Clan chose to strike at me in the capital territory of City 10, discarding the Qing’s family’s face. Qing Xing? No, this person only knows how to hide and play small tricks. Qing Yi? No, his supporters have left City 10. Qing Yuan, Qing Wu? Or could it be Qing Shi’s father? Possible."
At this moment, the middle-aged man in the passenger seat turned to look at Qing Wen: "Young master, shall I take action?"
Qing Wen hesitated for a moment: "Uncle Lin, before the fourth round of the Shadow struggles, it’s taboo for someone of your level to take action. It would be troublesome if Shadow himself doesn’t pursue it, but if he does, it will be very problematic. I suspect that someone staged this incident tonight to see if there are any experts with me."
Uncle Lin fell silent, as this decision was for Qing Wen to make.
After pondering for a moment, Qing Wen said, "Call my uncle and ask him to bring the Garrison Forces over for support. I think there’s something fishy about this."
Uncle Lin nodded: "I’ve already called. He should be on his way now."
"Then I shall wait in the car," said Qing Wen.
Without the sound of gunfire, the street suddenly became eerily quiet.
The pedestrians had long since fled, leaving the two convoys silently confronting each other on the long street.
Inside the vehicle of the Mechanicus, the Judge said solemnly, "There’s a problem."
"Huh?" the young man in the passenger seat was puzzled.
"If the convoy behind us was meant to flank and attack us, why don’t they get out and counterattack? And why did that shooter fire at them?" the Judge said, "I understand now, someone has created this coincidence, trying to provoke conflict between the Mechanicus and the Qing’s family! Liu Lin, go negotiate with the convoy behind us, and if it’s a misunderstanding, clear it up."
The young man in the passenger seat froze for a moment. Who the hell would get out now and ask for death? Who knows if the convoy behind is also here to attack them?
Even if they weren’t, what if the attackers hadn’t left yet?
Seeing Liu Lin reluctant to move, the Judge said coldly, "Get down there."
Reluctantly, Liu Lin got out of the car, raising his hands high as he approached the Qing’s family vehicles: "Don’t shoot..."
All eyes were drawn to him.
However, Liu Lin didn’t head towards the Qing’s convoy but instead abandoned the vehicle and turned around to run.
As he ran, he saw the person who had just fallen, now standing casually in the shadows on the side of the street, curiously watching him.
The feeling was too eerie.
The Judge sat in the car, watching Liu Lin flee and let out a cold laugh.
He then calmly opened the car door, stepped out, and walked towards the Qing’s vehicles, calling out loudly, "I am the Judge of the third Tribunal of the Mechanicus, requesting to speak with the person in charge of the convoy to resolve the misunderstanding between us."
But at that moment, a figure suddenly rushed out from the shadows.
As the figure moved, the Judge saw that beneath the hood was the appearance of a girl, delicate and refined.
But the Judge did not let down his guard, instinctively extending two mechanical arms to block, only to see the girl swing a hook punch that struck precisely at the intersection of his arms: "Rise!"
The Judge sneered, thinking that such an attack could not affect him and wouldn’t even destroy his mechanical arms.
But the next second he realized something was wrong.
At the moment the punch was delivered, the field of force in the world seemed to have changed; he could no longer stand firmly on the ground, and gravity seemed to have vanished.
With a booming sound, the Judge, who weighed hundreds of kilograms with mechanical limbs, was punched into the air hundreds of meters high as if he were a vector meteor.
Qing Wen sat in the car, silently watching this, and was shocked.
Uncle Lin was also shocked.
Even if a B-Class Expert took action and struck an ordinary person, sending them flying dozens of meters was already impressive, but now, the assassin’s punch seemed as if it was going to send the Judge into outer space.
This was the purest visual shock, defying comprehension.
What they didn’t know was that Qing Chen returned this time because he learned that the Mechanicus had sent yet another expert to City 10.
Shadow told him that a B-Class Judge had arrived, an existence that could not simply be overwhelmed in numbers by the Parent Association, and must be dealt with by an expert.
Otherwise, Luo Wanya, with his shallow roots in City 10, would not be able to escape the pursuit.
Qing Chen had to eliminate the biggest hidden threat that the Parent Association might face before he left, with everything else being only incidental.
And the reason he dared to come back was because of YangYang.
Just as when he escaped to the Taboo Land, number 002, with the elderly Li Xiurui, they encountered two war machines, the power of mechanics as fragile as a piece of paper in front of a Force Field Awakener.
If it were a real B-Class Expert, their Life Field would be so strong that YangYang could not affect it, and their abilities would repel each other.
But against mechanical mass-produced experts, when facing a Force Field Awakener, it was like encountering a natural enemy.
In front of the Force Field Awakener, they were merely a bunch of metal weighing hundreds of kilograms.
In the past, Qing Chen wouldn’t have let Yanyan take action, but now that the Parent Association’s activities overlapped with her goals, it was right for her to act.
The Judge howled as he flew into the night sky, but he wasn’t entirely resigned to his fate.
The clothes on his back tore apart suddenly, revealing eight jet boosters that stabilized his figure in the air.
At that moment, the Judge realized whom he was up against and tried to flee toward the north, abandoning the ground convoy.
But before he got far, Yanyan shot up into the sky.
No matter how agile the jet boosters were, they couldn’t compare to Force Field Awakeners, the true kings of the sky. Yanyan tore off the Judge’s boosters one by one and cast them downward in just a few moves.
She then took control, flying the Judge off into the distance.
Qing Wen and the others were left speechless on the ground.
With a thud, a lone booster fell onto the hood of their engine.
Qing Wen: "..."
...
...
In the secret prison of the Mechanicus headquarters.
Screams of agony were unending.
Someone was relentlessly lashing a prisoner with a saltwater-soaked whip, each strike leaving a deep gash.
In the interrogation room, the thick scent of blood hung in the air.
A Red clergy personally wielding the whip looked at the prisoner hung on the cross and sneered: "A month ago, you were a devout follower of the Mechanicus. Now, just one month after defecting to the Parent Association, have you grown such a stubborn backbone? Speak, who are the Parent Association Members in City 18?"
With that, another lash struck the prisoner.
The prisoner was already at death’s door, unable to answer the question, let alone speak.
The Red clergy chuckled derisively and said to his assistant: "Electrocute him awake. He should be at his limit."
The assistant placed two electrodes on the prisoner’s chest, causing them to shudder.
Eyes fluttering open.
Standing merely ten centimeters in front of the prisoner, the Red clergy demanded with an oppressive tone: "Who are the main figures of the Parent Association in City 18? Name a member of the Golden Family, and I’ll allow you to return to the Mechanicus."
However, the next moment, the prisoner laughed miserably and said: "…Humans shouldn’t fear struggle, everything we do is for a better tomorrow. There shouldn’t be religions that hold families hostage, nor consortiums that kidnap society. That better day will come."
"May the youth of the Federation not fear the cold… to have a bit of warmth, to emit a bit of light, just like fireflies can emit a bit of light in the darkness, not awaiting a torch."
"Friends, we cannot respond to darkness with gentleness, we must use fire."
The Red clergy felt a chill hearing this, and he lashed the prisoner across the face with his whip.
At a certain moment, he couldn’t understand why he felt a wave of fear—after all, just a month ago, the man was an ordinary Mechanicus follower, and now he had become this frightening.
Right then.
The security personnel at the Mechanicus headquarters suddenly felt something was amiss. The flow of people at the gate was unusual, and unfamiliar glances were cast in their direction.
Among the crowd, two youths wearing masks stepped forward and walked step by step toward the Mechanicus.
"Stop," the security personnel demanded coldly.
Yet the two youths did not halt.
One of them even quickened their pace. Before the security could raise their gun, the youth was already upon them, grabbing their neck and lifting them high.
In the next instant, fierce flames burst from his palm, sending the security personnel skyrocketing into a fireworks display.
The youth turned back to the crowd: "They’ve captured our brothers and sisters, torturing, insulting, beating them. They openly slander, mock, and laugh at us on the media. After tonight, there will be no Mechanicus in City 18."
The other youth said: "Remember, don’t disturb the civilians, don’t expand the scope of attack, maintain discipline."
Having said that, the two youths entered the Mechanicus headquarters first.
None of those they encountered were a match for them.
Today’s Mechanicus headquarters was far from empty; all their defensive forces had been recalled here.
Yet the youths were fearless and undaunted.
Because the boss said, it was time to finish them all off in one go.
As the two youths made their way into the Mechanicus, the hundreds on the street exchanged glances, their cheeks flushed by the glow of fire above.
Their gazes grew firmer and, together, they charged toward the Mechanicus headquarters.
Qing Shuli hesitated for a moment but then joined the rush in.
If he were too slow, the chance to ascend to the Purple Family might be snatched away by others.
