Light Fortress

"It's now—"

"Go!"

The moment Zhong Wei started moving, Chu Ling's voice rang out.

Gu Shen, having adjusted his breathing to the best state, had a sharp glint fleeting across his eyes.

He knew... the moment had come!

Pressing down the brim of his hat, Gu Shen, like a ghost, followed the original plan, bypassing surveillance, and swiftly made his way to the old building. It had to be said, Chu Ling's plan was flawless. The chaos not only led away the trickiest Transcendent but also completely distracted the security personnel!

Gu Shen's infiltration went exceptionally smoothly.

He reached the shadowy old building, advancing quickly. Following Chu Ling's hints, he turned and shifted, dodging the surveillance, and finally arrived at the rooftop corridor protected by a double layer of security lines.

Just one more step, and he would be at the crime scene.

Forty hours had passed.

The scene was well preserved, almost no objects had been moved.

"Because of the fire, the original surveillance on the rooftop was damaged," Chu Ling reminded, "See that pile of planks? The Truth Ruler is buried under them."

Gu Shen nodded, crossed the protective line, slowly squatted down, put on gloves, and lifted the not too thick planks.

A silver ruler lay in the dust.

Luckily, the Ruler hadn't been discovered...

The moment Gu Shen touched the Truth Ruler, he let out a long sigh of relief. He held the ruler, his previously tense nerves relaxing, as if a refreshing stream was flowing through his heart.

"Whew... Got it."

Gu Shen didn't immediately evacuate but instead turned around and looked at the corpse in close proximity, just silently staring... The Transcendent had already been burnt to charcoal by the flames, his clothes reduced to ash, leaving only a dry, charred skeleton.

"The item is secured, now we can evacuate,"

Chu Ling reminded him. Gu Shen didn't make a move but asked in a low voice, "What are the technical methods of the Judgement Institute?"

The girl paused.

"The common method is to extract DNA from blood, bones, and bodily fluids to search for the person in the Deep See database. However, lives destroyed by Extraordinary Power might have mutated genes, making these methods ineffective," she slowly said. "This time, the Judgement Institute might send a Spiritual Transcendent to profile the well-preserved crime scene. There are many methods. Why do you ask?"

"Finger bones."

Gu Shen suddenly spoke, "This person's finger bone is missing a piece."

Chu Ling was stunned. Due to the lack of surveillance, she couldn't use her authority to observe Gu Shen's current scene; she could only communicate with Gu Shen via voice.

But even if there were video, what could be done?

Who, in such a dark environment, would notice... that the charred corpse was missing a piece of a pinky bone?

The missing piece of finger bone meant that someone had already removed key evidence from the scene.

"It was Mr. Shu." Gu Shen said softly, "The protection on the rooftop was just a facade. The information that needed to be extracted had already been taken. He had laid the trap and waited for someone to fall into it."

If preparations had been made early... then why would the Transcendent guarding the old building leave so easily?

A thought appeared in Gu Shen's mind.

Play the long game to catch the big fish.

"Gu Shen, leave quickly."

Chu Ling's voice suddenly became tense, "A Transcendent has appeared, one... no, two! They are closing in on this place!"

"Heh."

Instead of being surprised, Gu Shen quickly stood up and went to the rooftop. At a glance, he could see the pristine white sheets drenched with splashes of blood, shocking to behold, even hard for him to believe he had done that himself.

No wonder the people from the Judgement Institute gave him an "S" rating.

Only a devil could commit such acts.

If he guessed right, Mr. Shu had taken a piece of the finger and the fresh blood from the rooftop. These two pieces of evidence were enough to trace the gene sequence... His own blackout and rescue details were secrets, as was Mr. Shu's arrival at the crime scene.

Those wanting to sabotage the scene and destroy evidence were completely unaware of this information and had no choice but to make a desperate move.

The knife was raised.

The fish could only await death.

"Splash—"

The sound of the wind was fierce on the rooftop.

Gu Shen grasped the ruler, leapt down, this time not using too much spiritual power to imagine a grand scene, but simply imagining wind unfolding into wings behind him.

The ruler let out a clear ring.

The fierce wind carried his body, gently pushing him a distance away.

The young man glided through the night wind, landing steadily on the shorter rooftop of the old building.

"Gu Shen... you're even smarter than I thought."

Once he left the cramped hallway space, Chu Ling's "vision" also broadened. She witnessed the scene of the young man riding the wind.

Using the Truth Ruler for only the second time, Gu Shen had already mastered the trick.

It was truly an astonishing learning ability.

After landing, Gu Shen crouched down on the spot, hiding in the darkness.

He grinned, his complexion obviously three shades paler than before.

The external noises became somewhat harsh at that moment, piercing straight through to his mind.

Gu Shen discovered that for a period of time after using the Ruler, he was unable to concentrate. His spirit was scattered, possibly a side effect of utilizing the Ruler, which might be related to his unfamiliarity and also to his insufficient spiritual power.

He took a few deep breaths to regain his composure.

For him, conjuring images was not difficult, and with the Ruler in hand, activation was not a problem.

However, the consumption of using the Truth Ruler was a significant hidden danger.

The usage of the "Truth Ruler," like flipping a switch, even just for a second... would consume a substantial amount of spirit.

Was he already struggling after just a few seconds?

This won't do!

He wondered whether Mr. Shu had any specialized methods for refining spiritual power... Gu Shen resolved that the Truth Ruler was now his greatest reliance, his life-saving ace!

After returning, he must enhance his spiritual power to better control it.

"Did you just say... you sensed a Transcendent approaching?"

Gu Shen sat crouched in a dark corner, taking several minutes to catch his breath.

"Yes," Chu Ling spoke with a hint of confusion, "but these two Transcendents... did not appear together."

"Of course not..."

Gu Shen chuckled softly, "It seems you are not omniscient after all."

Chu Ling became even more puzzled.

"The Transcendents stationed by the Judgement Institute were lured away by a deception, but this... is actually an invitation to catch them in the act," Gu Shen stated succinctly. "The watcher left, and that's when the real big fish shows up. That's our cue to close the net."

Chu Ling then understood, "Are you saying... one of the two Transcendents I detected is from the Judgement Institute?"

"Yes."

"The one who snuck into the old building ahead was trying to destroy the scene on the rooftop, little knowing they were already being targeted," Gu Shen found it somewhat amusing, "This operation, we simply call 'fishing law enforcement.'

As he spoke,

"Boom-boom-boom—"

At the entrance to the old building's rooftop, a noise blasted through the air.

Two figures, one after the other, burst out of the narrow exit of the rooftop.

Gu Shen, hidden in the shadows, looked up... He saw a familiar figure in a trench coat, striking gallantly with crossed swords, overwhelming the opponent completely.

["I have important matters tonight, so I won't accompany you."]

So, the "important matters" Nan Jin referred to... concerned this...

Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he had chosen the right moment and had disengaged just in time.

The battle was completely one-sided.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Thousands of flashes of sword light blossomed in the night.

Accompanied by a scream of anger and agony, the pitiful mantis was impaled through the shoulder by the oriole and hung high above the rooftop.

The trench coat fluttered noisily.

Nan Jin's arm strength was impressive; she held up the struggling man at a ninety-degree angle, her voice soft as she spoke, "Move again, and I'll kill you."

"Hiss…"

The opponent clenched his teeth, looking down at his suspended position.

This was the height of eleven floors... With his current injuries, if he were to break free from the sword tip and fall, death was certain.

And this insane woman's combat ability was too terrifying.

After some consideration, he decided to comply quietly, no longer struggling.

Nan Jin, expressionless, flicked her sword, and like a sack of sand, she tossed the now crippled Transcendent harshly onto the ground.

"...Hmm?"

She suddenly furrowed her brows, her gaze fixing on a certain point in the shadows of the adjacent old building.

Why did it feel like someone was watching her?

Nan Jin raised her sword again, the blade pointed in the direction she sensed, and a mighty Sword Force surged forth.

Gu Shen, who had ducked back and was hiding behind a large rooftop vat, felt his breathing suddenly become rigid... This woman's sense of perception was too strong, wasn't it?

From such a distance, she wouldn't really throw her sword, would she?

Gu Shen's back was soaked with cold sweat.

His instinct told him that if Nan Jin actually hurled her sword, he might be shredded into pieces.

Fortunately... after hovering for several seconds, the overwhelming Sword Force gradually dissipated.

"Didn't sense the presence of a Transcendent... was I overthinking?"

Nan Jin relaxed her brows, the priority was to take the man in front of her back.

She sheathed her silver sword, leapt back to the rooftop, and picked up the half-dead sack, murmuring, "Come with me."