Atlas of Heaven and Man

After entering the room, Chen Chuan glanced around. It was a large, sparsely furnished space. Where desks should have been, there were rows of steel-framed bunk beds, each occupied by a person in a coma.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in bizarre patterns. There were four people inside, and upon his sudden intrusion, their faces showed no fear, only an indescribable madness.

One of them immediately turned the gun in his hand, aiming at the people lying on the beds. But before he could fire, a pebble struck his wrist with precision. His wrist exploded, bone fragments protruding from the skin. As the gun fell to the ground, he screamed in agony.

As Chen Chuan flicked his wrist to throw, he also moved forward. He lightly brushed the head of one person rushing toward him, then used an upward thrust against the abdomen of another. By the time he passed them and charged toward the last person still standing, the other two were already flying through the air.

One of them, as if shoved violently, flew toward the opposite wall with a whoosh. A muffled thud echoed, and then there was silence. The other flew toward the ceiling, a ring of cracks appearing where his back impacted. He then crashed down with the overhead light, landing motionless on the floor.

Only then did the last person realize what was happening. Despite his panic, he seemed supported by some belief. His expression turned to madness, and with clenched fists, he tried to engage Chen Chuan in hand-to-hand combat. However, before he could charge forward, a hand pressed against his forehead.

With a thud, the back of his head slammed against the wall behind him, and his eyes rolled back as he collapsed.

The man with the broken wrist, despite the cold sweat streaming down his forehead, endured the pain and bent down to pick up the gun, his eyes filled with viciousness. But as his hand touched it, a foot stomped down, crushing his hand and the gun into a bloody mess.

Without waiting for him to scream, Chen Chuan gently tapped the top of his head. The man immediately fell silent, collapsing limply to the ground.

Chen Chuan turned and scanned the room, confirming that no one was pretending to be unconscious. Only then did he relax slightly. He then found Min Lan among the people lying there. Her face was pale, and her cheeks were sunken. Her eyes were tightly closed, but she was still breathing, and her body was mostly intact.

If there were no other problems, a fighter's body should be able to recover quickly.

He then walked to the door, took hold of the handle, and gently turned it. As the door opened, the members of the Patrol Bureau and the Secret Sect Investigation Bureau guarding the corridor immediately raised their guns, but upon seeing him, they immediately lowered them.

He slowly stepped out, nodded to the people outside, and then moved aside. The patrol officers and Investigation Bureau members immediately rushed inside. Then, shouts rang out from within: "Medics, come quickly!"

Seeing that the situation was under control, Chen Chuan walked downstairs. From the time he entered the building to the time he came out, only three or four minutes had passed. He had subdued everyone inside, and most of the time was spent walking downstairs.

He returned to Director Lei's car and got back in.

Director Lei said, "It seems it's been resolved."

Chen Chuan nodded.

Director Lei said, "Then, your commission is complete. I will report this to the Operations Team, and it will be entered into your file."

Chen Chuan said, "Thank you, Director Lei."

Director Lei waved his hand. "This matter falls within my responsibilities, so there's no need to thank me."

The two waited for a while, and a team member came down and reported to Director Lei: "Director, all the people have been captured. All the scenes have been photographed and filed, and they have been sealed off. The people have also been sent to the aid station, but some of them have had some of their internal organs sold off."

Director Lei explained to Chen Chuan: "These secret sects view people as resources to be exploited. Besides transferring vital energy, the organs of the dying can also be sold off."

He then asked the team leader, "What are the identities of these people?"

The team leader said, "Just ordinary logistics personnel. According to the confessions just now, the organs of the three fighters inside had already found buyers, but due to recent changes in the situation, they haven't been sold yet."

Director Lei calmly assessed: "The extracted mutated tissue from fighters requires professional equipment to preserve. That may be why they haven't taken action yet."

He then asked, "Has the Patrol Bureau been notified?"

The team leader said, "They've been notified, and everything that needs to be handled has been handled."

Director Lei said, "Arrange for a team to guard the scene, and the rest can return."

"Yes!"

The car window rolled up, and the car slowly started, heading back the way it came.

Director Lei said, "Your classmate should be fine."

Chen Chuan said, "I hope the others are too."

Director Lei's voice was slightly heavy: "As long as those secret sects still exist, this kind of thing will never be avoided. We can only try to discover them in time and do everything we can to reverse it."

Chen Chuan turned his thoughts and asked, "Director Lei just said that this 'Cult of Life' is for transferring people's vital energy. I wonder who those who receive the vital energy are?"

Director Lei said in a deep voice, "It should be the upper echelons of this cult. Judging from the number of people involved in the ritual, there should only be one person. This person is likely still hiding in Yangzhi."

Chen Chuan said earnestly, "Director Lei, if you need students' help in the upcoming arrests, just call us."

Director Lei nodded, then raised his hand. "Let's not talk about this. Did you know that Liu Zhan has been transferred from his original position, and a new person has been hired."

Chen Chuan couldn't help but ask, "Where did he go?"

Director Lei looked at him and said slowly, "To the Foreign Affairs Bureau, still as its director."

Chen Chuan said, "Perhaps it's because Senior Sister cares too much."

Director Lei looked at him, "That's not like something someone your age would say, but you're right…" He looked ahead, "Sometimes, when you care too much, it's often difficult to make a decision."

The car drove all the way back to the school gate. After Chen Chuan said goodbye to Director Lei, he returned to the school.

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In the blink of an eye, another twenty days passed. After late September, the disturbances in Yangzhi City finally gradually subsided, and the radio began to broadcast some normal news.

On September 27th, Chen Chuan received a call from Old Feng. On the other end of the phone, the latter said in a relaxed tone, "Cadet Chen Chuan, come out for a bit, and bring your conscription order with you."

Chen Chuan said okay. He took the order, came out of the school, and arrived outside the gate. He saw Old Feng's car parked there, and Old Feng was waiting in the back passenger seat. He walked over, greeted him, and got into the car.

After the car started, Old Feng said, "Have you thought about the application form that Commissioner Cao asked you to write?"

Chen Chuan said, "I've thought about it."

"Let me see it."

Chen Chuan took out the application form from his pocket and handed it over. What he wanted were mainly medicines. He had consulted Cheng Zitong about some of the things in it. They were all medicines that only the Da Shun government could provide, and they were very helpful for the upcoming martial arts practice.

In addition to the medicines, there was also a relatively high-level protective suit. When he got the Armor Certificate, he could just put it on.

Old Feng looked at it and said, "You're asking for too little. Don't save money for Old Cao. He's making a lot of money this time. That knife of yours was made using ancient methods, right?"

Chen Chuan said, "Yes, it was a gift from a senior who is good at making knives."

Old Feng took out a pen and wrote several kinds of medicine on it, saying, "People use medicines to cultivate, and these 'forbidden weapons' of the past can also be nourished with medicines. The ones I added for you are medicines specifically used to nourish and strengthen weapons, and they are only available in the Da Shun government."

Then he added a model number after the protective suit before returning it to him, instructing, "Give this to Old Cao when you see him."

Chen Chuan smiled, took it, folded it, and put it back in his chest pocket.

The vehicle drove all the way, and when it entered the Patrol Headquarters, the patrol officers on both sides saluted in unison. Chen Chuan glanced around and saw that the surroundings were much more orderly than before. It was no longer the hurried scene of people coming and going.

After the car stopped, the two walked inside and arrived at the previous war room. Commissioner Cao was standing there alone, as if waiting specifically for them.

Chen Chuan stepped forward and placed the conscription order on the table. Commissioner Cao glanced at it and asked, "Did you bring the application form?"

Chen Chuan took out the application form from his chest pocket and placed it on the table as well.

Commissioner Cao picked it up and looked at it. Seeing the familiar handwriting on it, he looked up at Old Feng. Old Feng also looked back at him. He didn't say anything, took out a fountain pen, wrote the word "Approved" on it, and signed his name on the conscription order.

Then he took out a seal, stamped it on the two documents, pushed them forward, "I have a copy of the conscription order here for archiving. You can keep this one for yourself."

After Chen Chuan took it, he looked at Chen Chuan and said sternly, "Cadet Chen, this national conscription has ended. You are now free to act. Remember that non-participants are not allowed to talk about the specific details of this event. If the country needs it, we will conscript you again. Please be prepared."

Old Feng added beside him, "The usual interval is one year, but emergency situations are an exception. In that case, we will also have compensation. Okay, Cadet Chen, the conscription is over, so don't stay here. I'll take you to the warehouse to get your things."

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