Full-Time Public Enemy

Chapter 826 -

In the unseen void, [Entanglement Control] emitted countless lines that existed or perhaps didn't exist, and Guo Daoqian's forceful punch only slightly hindered them, yet they continued to spread and entangle Guo Daoqian.As a member of the Fourth Energy Level [Ancient Clan of Slumber], Guo Daoqian could practically do whatever he pleased in a place like Empire River Star. This fostered his strong confidence. Even knowing his energy level was inferior to Chen Gu's, he still wanted to rebel and defeat the strong with his weakness.

The various professional skills of the [Ancient Clan of Slumber] were displayed by him one by one, yet Chen Gu, like a dark lord, stood there unmoved. Guo Daoqian's feeble power was absolutely incapable of shaking him.

Moreover, from start to finish, Chen Gu had only used one ability, which was [Entanglement Control]. No matter how Guo Daoqian resisted, that "entanglement" was like an inevitable fate, leaving Guo Daoqian no way to escape.

Guo Daoqian struggled for a full... half a minute or so, cycling through the professional skills available to the Fourth Energy Level [Ancient Clan of Slumber], before being firmly controlled by Chen Gu.

Still not having gotten up from the ground, Bardes was once again dumbfounded, watching Guo Daoqian being controlled by Chen Gu like a marionette from afar. He couldn't help but ask the question again: "What kind of power is this?"

Guo Daoqian's two sons charged forward with a howl, and Chen Gu glanced at Bardes: "What are you standing there for? Can't expect me to bully two kids, can you?"

Bardes quickly stood up to stop the two boys, feeling a bit frustrated: Do you mean I can bully kids?

Lost in thought, he didn't expect one of the boys to impulsively raise a kitchen knife and chop down towards Bardes' head.

Bardes had just grabbed the other boy's baseball bat and was entangled with him, unable to dodge. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy had quite a bit of strength.

As the kitchen knife came crashing down, Bardes felt an imminent threat of death, becoming incredibly tense all of a sudden, yet he inexplicably entered a special state at that moment:

Everything around him suddenly slowed down in his eyes.

The boy in front of him, entangled with him, holding a baseball bat, seemed to have weakened.

With ease and composure, Bardes pushed the baseball bat boy away. The boy's expression exaggeratedly slowed down, his body slowly flew away. Judging by the trajectory, he would fly at least a dozen meters away.

Then Bardes, timing it right, grabbed the hand holding the kitchen knife, giving a gentle twist. He felt something soften in his hand, like something had shattered.

"Ah——"

The screech of the kitchen knife boy snapped Bardes out of that state in an instant. The kitchen knife boy's wrist was completely shattered; he was clutching his wrist, howling in pain while retreating. Only at this moment did his brother crash into the wall some tens of meters away.

The surrounding noise suddenly returned.

Bardes coldly watched everything before him: Did I do all this?

With a gentle push, a young man weighing seventy or eighty kilograms flew out a dozen meters, and with a casual twist, another person's wrist was completely crushed?!

Bardes was dumbfounded, murmuring for the third time: "What kind of power is this?"

Chen Gu looked at Bardes with satisfaction. From the first meeting, he sensed signs of "awakening" in Bardes.

However, Bardes was still far from being considered a true professional and still needed to undergo a ceremony.

Chen Gu came over, patted his shoulder, and praised: "Well done, I'll explain these things to you later, for now, let's finish handling the case."

The operations team from the external division rushed in to detain Guo Daoqian's wife and children, handling follow-up matters.

Chen Gu, accompanied by Bardes, escorted Guo Daoqian away.

...

The arrest at the online consulting company went even smoother, as there wasn't a single professional in the entire company. After dealing with the situation there, Yang Gaoyong immediately rushed over to join Chen Gu.

"Your suspicions were spot on," Yang Gaoyong said. "During the operation, I discovered a special agent secretly destroying part of the documents."

"As per your instructions, I didn't alert the enemy, but I've secretly had reliable subordinates keep an eye on him. His personal account is also under the division's surveillance."

Chen Gu nodded and said, "I need an interrogation room."

"Everything has been prepared."

...

Guo Daoqian sat in the interrogation room calmly and indifferently, wearing secure shackles. He didn't exhibit the desperation of a prisoner but exuded a gentlemanly composure instead.

Even at this stage, he maintained strong confidence in the forces behind him.

He waited alone for a long time until Chen Gu finally pushed the door open and entered.

"Let's talk," Chen Gu said, knocking on the table.

Guo Daoqian raised an eyebrow with a smile, gently shaking his head: "Abandon your delusions. You won't get any intelligence from me.

If I don't speak, those behind me will eventually bail me out. But if I do talk, it's likely that not just I, but you who hear these secrets will also be destroyed alongside me."

Chen Gu scratched his head, somewhat helplessly: "You still think those people behind you are very powerful, huh? In this world, there are always some people who possess mysterious confidence. But you, you're different from those people. You're not confident in yourself; you're confident in those behind you.

You're a professional, how could you have been swayed into this state?"

Guo Daoqian merely gave a condescending smile, as if to sneer at the 'foolish mortals'.

Chen Gu asked again, "You've been captured for so long, and I haven't interrogated you. Aren't you curious about what I've been doing all this time?"

Guo Daoqian replied, "You've refused to see me because you clearly know it's hard to get me to talk. So you tried to find a breakthrough from someone else, but now it seems you've failed, left with no option but to grit your teeth and try to get me to confess. Ha, you're overthinking it."

Chen Gu held up a thumbs-up: "Impressive, you're really living in your own world, weaving a perfectly logical narrative for yourself."

Chen Gu didn't give Guo Daoqian a chance to speak, continuing, "I didn't come to make you talk, rather to tell you that you no longer have any value to us. We've already captured Wu Qiqiang and Wu Zhongtian and obtained the entire membership list of the [Spirit Ring Group]. We are now systematically capturing all members…"

Guo Daoqian's eyes widened in disbelief as he shouted, "Impossible!"

Chen Gu shrugged, casually pulling up a screen divided into sections, two of which displayed interrogation footage of Wu Qiqiang and Wu Zhongtian, while the others showed live footage of the Bureau of Mystic Security's special task force capturing other members.

Guo Daoqian was even more incredulous: "We are incredibly powerful. Anyone who opposes us will face utter destruction!"

Chen Gu couldn't help but shake his head, too lazy to bother with him any longer, and turned to leave. Guo Daoqian slumped into his chair, his beliefs utterly shattered, staring blankly and unable to utter a word.

They captured Wu Bao and obtained the messages he sent to "Master" Wu Qiqiang, tracing them back to him.

The [Spirit Ring Group] is indeed powerful. Their strength is formidable not just on Empire River Star, but throughout the entire Confederation.

On certain planets, if they wished, they could indeed be masters of all they surveyed.

If Chen Gu hadn't come this time, neither Bardes nor the local branch of the Bureau of Mystic Security could have possibly unraveled the case of the second prison in Wuzhaoyin City.

At most, they would have tossed out a scapegoat of little significance.

But Chen Gu came.

And Guo Daoqian, as a 'freelancer', had been rescued by this organization from the Bureau of Mystic Security's special task force back then, so he never understood the immense power of the Bureau of Mystic Security.

After being captured, Wu Qiqiang soon confessed everything, including the leader of the [Spirit Ring Group], Wu Zhongtian, and all its members.

Wu Zhongtian seemed like a reclusive old man, but the [Spirit Ring Group] was not an evil cult. They defined themselves as a "salvation military organization."

Their members were either extremely wealthy or held high positions. They shared a common belief in leaving humanity a "way out."

They were all pessimists, skeptical about humanity's future—not just because of the war with the Insect Race, even without such a war, they held little hope.

Some believed that humanity's reckless exploration of the universe was too "rash" and would inevitably lead to its destruction. The Alien Insect Race was merely the first danger encountered in this process.

Others believed that humanity could never truly unite and was destined to a path of self-destruction.

So the [Spirit Ring Group] had been collectively working to leave humanity a way out, undertaking various "Projects." The second prison in Wuzhaoyin City was just one of them, known as the [Soul Project].

Though Wu Qiqiang was revered as "Master" by followers, having lived in luxury for years, he couldn't withstand torture and was well aware of the Bureau of Mystic Security's power. As soon as they came for him, he was terrified, confessing without resistance.

This was truly ironic: the followers were steadfast and devout, yet the one they followed surrendered, without even a token of resistance…

Chen Gu was now perusing materials related to the [Soul Project], and the "rumors" Yu Maosheng heard in the second prison in Wuzhaoyin City were not unfounded. Guo Daoqian indeed operated covertly, sending out serious offenders to "work."

This was the [Spirit Ring Group]'s way of making money. They needed vast funds for their various large "Projects."

But what Chen Gu valued was not this part, but the fact that the [Soul Project] involved Soul Imprisonment!

This was related to Chen Gu himself!

Unfortunately, the information currently available only described the aim of the [Soul Project] as researching the possibility of human survival relying solely on the soul, abandoning the body.

The part related to Soul Imprisonment was in another set of confidential materials, possessed by Fanmier, the project's specific researcher, who had not yet been captured.

Chen Gu felt a faint unease in his heart. In the process of his body's Soul Imprisonment, he inexplicably died, which led to his arrival here.

In this era, their home planet was already completely destroyed…

And this extremely rare punishment of Soul Imprisonment, along with the lunatics' [Soul Project]!

Alongside, within Chen Gu's own sea of consciousness was "The Past of Four Hundred People."

It seemed that one by one, the mysteries were now interlinked, and finding the key clue could string everything together.

But when things came to a head, Chen Gu hesitated: Should he personally unravel the mysteries shrouding him, and what if the truth was unfavorable to him?