Chapter 44: The Celestial Prison Mirror

Amidst the towering ranges of jagged mountains, the winding highway slithered like a massive silver python, half-concealed in the chilling moonlight.

Military off-road vehicles and heavy transport trucks ascended the mountain road in an unbroken chain, their disciplined formation exuding a murderous aura reminiscent of a well-coordinated wolf pack.

Hovering above the convoy, dozens of armed helicopters maintained a neat triangular formation like escorting falcons, methodically trailing the vehicles below.

Half of these vehicles bore the emblem of a clover on their chassis, while the other half carried the insignia of a pale blue sphere.

The former belonged to the Special Abilities Bureau, and the latter to the Federal Legion stationed in City 11.

In a jeep near the middle of the convoy, three members of the 14th Operations Team of the Security Bureau occupied the back seats and the front passenger seat. The vehicle was being driven by Gong Ran, Director of the Special Abilities Bureau.

Ye You, the overall commander of the operation, leaned against the passenger-side window, repeatedly listening to a piece of audio on her smartphone—the very call for help that Li Chenqiu had previously placed to the dispatcher of the Special Abilities Bureau.

"You said the person who made this call is Li Chenqiu, who attended the Ability Assessment Day a few days ago. Are you certain?" Ye You turned off her phone screen and asked Gong Ran beside her.

"Eighty or ninety percent sure. I still have a quite vivid impression of his voice," Gong Ran said, a flicker of resentment crossing his eyes.

Ye You raised an eyebrow. "Why so vivid?"

Gong Ran's face darkened. Given how harshly the kid had cursed him out, how could he not remember?

"Nothing much. It's just that the boy is rather exceptional, so I paid him a bit more attention," Gong Ran laughed awkwardly.

"Ring-ring... Ring-ring..."

At that moment, the fixed-line console in the jeep rang. Ye You picked up the receiver and pressed the speakerphone button so the other three in the car could hear.

"Director, I am Xu Xuan, leader of the Second Operations Team. I have a situation to report," a male voice came from the other end of the line.

Ye You calmly replied, "Go ahead. Your Director is listening right here."

"Ah... Understood. Director, we followed your instructions to investigate the vehicles and personnel entering and leaving North Huang Mountain over the past week, and we found a large number of unidentified, suspicious individuals.

These people arrived at the City 11 railway station via the underground trains using temporary passes, and then headed up North Huang Mountain under various guises—security guards, tourists, members of a magic troupe, university clubs, and so on. They are suspected to be Awakened ones."

Gong Ran, who was driving, furrowed his brow and cast a sideways glance at Ye You. Seeing that she remained silent, he continued his inquiry, "How many ordinary citizens are currently at the summit?"

The other end of the line fell silent for a moment. "Many. Under normal circumstances, the number stays between 2,500 and 3,100, but today, due to a joint bonfire party hosted by multiple high schools, the estimated count is between 8,000 and 8,300."

Upon hearing this figure, Gong Ran felt his heart violently skip a beat, causing the entire jeep to shudder slightly.

After recovering his composure slightly, he feigned calmness and said, "I understand. Maintain high alert; execute suspicious individuals on sight without needing to verify their identities."

"Understood!"

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The line went dead.

Ye You tiredly massaged her temples. This situation was far bigger than she had anticipated, stretching well beyond the mere purging of a high-threat target.

"Xiao Ye, do we need to call for reinforcements?" asked an older man in the back seat in a deep voice.

Before Ye You could reply, Zheng Kang, another team member in the car, shook his head. "Uncle He, it's too late."

He Luo smiled bitterly. "That's true. We might have the time to wait, but the civilians on the mountain cannot..."

Bang!

At that very instant, the sound of a collision echoed from the front of the convoy, and Gong Ran slammed on the brakes, bringing the jeep to a steady halt.

Gong Ran pushed open his door, stepped out, and grabbed his walkie-talkie, shouting, "What's going on up ahead?"

A burst of static crackled through the transceiver before the voice returned to normal. "Director, there is an invisible barrier blocking the highway ahead. We cannot pass!"

"An invisible barrier?" Gong Ran blinked in bewilderment, looking toward Ye You for help.

Ye You pushed open her door, walked over to Gong Ran, and spoke into the walkie-talkie, "Does it feel like touching the surface of water, sending ripples outward in circles?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Just like the surface of water!" the person on the other end replied urgently.

Hearing this confirmation, Ye You's expression instantly turned grave. "It's a divine artifact from the New World—the Heaven-Imprisoning Mirror!"

Clang! Clang!

The other two occupants of the vehicle pushed open their doors and stepped out, their faces equally etched with shock.

As members of the Security Bureau, how could they not know the name "New World"? It was the supreme Awakened faction of the wasteland, a behemoth capable of going toe-to-toe with the Federation.

Noticing the somewhat oppressive atmosphere, Ye You spoke up to reassure them:

"Don't panic. Using a divine artifact like the Heaven-Imprisoning Mirror shows that the people behind it aren't overwhelmingly powerful; in fact, they might even be afraid of us. Otherwise, there would be no need for stealth. Let's go break the barrier of the Heaven-Imprisoning Mirror first, and then formulate a plan based on the situation inside."

"That's all we can do."

...

...

After eliminating the Awakened ones at the North Peak Hotel, Li Chenqiu and Wu Shan scoured the area for small groups of Awakened individuals to purge. He had become a savior in the eyes of countless survivors and a living nightmare to countless Awakened ones.

This disruption significantly delayed the time it took to open the seal-artifact boxes. Upon learning of this, Ma Mian from the Underworld and Shen Yuanguo from the New World repeatedly dispatched experts to hunt down and kill Li Chenqiu.

Yet, not only were these dispatched forces unable to kill him, but they couldn't even manage to find hide nor hair of Li Chenqiu.

This was entirely intentional on Li Chenqiu's part, designed to project an image of someone powerful yet hard to pin down. This strategy would facilitate his subsequent actions and allow these Awakened ones to comfortably leave the boxes unattended in the bonfire party plaza.

"Idiots! Can't you so-called experts find even a single Chosen One?" Ma Mian kicked the man before him to the ground.

Clutching his stomach, the man scrambled to his feet with a wronged expression. "My Lord, we want to find him too, but this kid's brain seems to be wired with a radar. Every time we're about to track him down, he disappears ahead of time!"

"Get lost and keep searching!" Ma Mian pointed toward the distance.

"Right away, right away!" The man nodded repeatedly and stumbled out of the plaza.

Seeing this, Shen Yuanguo chuckled lightly. "What's the use of absorbing so many Awakened ones if they're just a bunch of useless padding?"

"What are you laughing at? Did your people from the New World find him?" Ma Mian sneered tauntingly.

Shen Yuanguo spread his hands in a matter-of-fact gesture. "We didn't send many people in the first place. Isn't it normal that we can't find him?"

Ma Mian: "..."

Rumble—!!!

Suddenly, a sound resembling rolling thunder echoed from the southern side of North Huang Mountain, the exact route leading up and down the mountain.