Atlas of Heaven and Man

Fei Tong felt something was wrong. While in mid-air, he tried his best to twist and adjust his body, but before he could fully regain control, a figure flashed in front of him, and another punch came crashing down.

With a boom, he flew backward even faster, crashing into the wall of the open passage behind him, creating a huge dent. Wall plaster and brick fragments rained down.

Relying on his body, which was now strengthened by the tendrils, he straightened up and roared, wanting to counterattack, but Chen Chuan's next kick had already landed on his cheek.

This kick was still full of power and still carried an upward force, causing his body to involuntarily fly up.

At this moment, he saw Chen Chuan below looking up at him, his eyes filled with a deep calmness. Then, his figure suddenly magnified in front of him. Every hair on his body stood on end, and he hurriedly folded his arms in front of him to block.

A fist then slammed down, and with two cracking sounds, both of his arms fractured. Then, his entire body was blasted into the ceiling behind him by this force.

After Chen Chuan released all his power, his figure fell from above, his feet finally touching the ground. His center of gravity pressed down, and after a moment, he leaped up again, a knee strike slamming into Fei Tong's chest and abdomen, causing the latter's eyes to bulge and a mixture of liquid and blood to spurt from his mouth.

While in the air, he grabbed the tendrils on Fei Tong's body and slammed his face hard as he landed. As Fei Tong hit the ground, he followed up with a punch.

With a thunderous roar, a large hole was directly blasted open in Fei Tong's chest. The outer tendrils and the inner bones and organs exploded together, and the blood that the tendrils had absorbed but not yet fully digested splattered everywhere.

This punch directly created a hole in his body. Although the injury was slowly being repaired under the action of the wriggling tendrils, he was temporarily unable to move.

Chen Chuan watched as his eyes rolled back, and he withdrew his fist, which was emitting white mist. He went from crouching to standing straight, then tapped his Realm Badge, notifying Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque, "Come back, I've already found the culprit."

At this moment, his gaze swept around, and seeming to discover something, he squatted down again and groped around Fei Tong's ear. Then, he pulled something out from the Realm Badge.

It was a worm with two slender antennae, which seemed to be able to deform at will when held in the hand.

He immediately recognized it as a Mimicry Worm, a unique creature from the Convergence Lands. As long as you make mental contact with this worm, you can imitate any sound that the worm has come into contact with.

It seemed that the sounds that appeared yesterday were created by this worm. No wonder the second me never showed any signs of fading from beginning to end. At this moment, his gaze shifted, and he reached out to grab the short sword that Fei Tong held, but when he picked it up, the latter seemed reluctant to let go, and he had to tug it to get it free.

Then, he took off the silver-white scabbard, stood up, sheathed the sword, and hung it on his waist.

Five or six minutes later, Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque appeared in the passage. They were both shocked when they saw Fei Tong on the ground, because this person's skin and the tendrils on his body were very similar to the corpse of the Iron Demon at that time.

Chen Chuan said, "This is Fei Tong, the garrison of Fortress 285. He's the one who caused the trouble."

Yuan Qiuyuan stared at Fei Tong with wide eyes. "So it was this guy causing trouble? I knew it, it's hard to guard against an inside job."

Chen Chuan asked, "Did you find anything outside just now?"

Qin Qingque saluted and said, "Reporting, Captain, nothing was found."

Chen Chuan nodded. He had previously asked the two to check outside to prevent this person from having accomplices. Now it seemed that he was alone.

Although there were still some questions about this matter, now that the culprit had been caught, the rest could be figured out.

He said, "Send a message to the garrison."

Two days later, a transport airship arrived over the fortress. More than a hundred soldiers disembarked and quickly took control of the entire fortress.

The leading officer shook hands with Chen Chuan and said, "Captain Chen, Director Qiao received your telegram. He heard that you captured Fei Tong alive. He attaches great importance to this matter and hopes that you will escort him back as soon as possible. So, this time, we'll have you return on the airship."

Chen Chuan acknowledged. He turned around and called out, and half an hour later, he led all the team members onto the airship.

Soon, under the airship pilot's manipulation, the airship lifted off the ground and gradually rose into the sky.

It was Yuan Qiuyuan's first time riding this thing, and he found it quite novel. He was always on the ground before, but now looking down from the air, everything had become another perspective. This was an unprecedented experience.

Many team members, like him, were gathered by the sloping portholes, looking down and discussing.

They were all very happy at this time, because they originally thought they would be spending the New Year outside, but the captain was strong enough to solve the matter quickly. This way, they would no longer have to perform tasks after returning, and they would not only have a period of vacation, but after signing a confidentiality agreement, there was also a high probability that they could go home for the New Year.

After watching for a while, Chen Chuan came to the cabin where Fei Tong was being held. Although he had beaten him into serious injuries, he had also interrupted the process of him being swallowed and absorbed by the alien organization. Now, his essence and blood were exhausted, and he was almost unable to recover. However, the powerful vitality of the Third Threshold still allowed him to live tenaciously.

When he walked in, the man's eyes were looking upwards, wondering what he was thinking.

He told the guards to leave. Two soldiers saluted him and retreated, closing the hatch behind them before leaving.

Chen Chuan went to the side, sat down, and asked, "Why did you do this?"

After a long while, Fei Tong finally turned his gaze over and said, "Because I have no choice."

"No choice?"

Fei Tong scoffed. "I'm thirty-nine years old this year, but like Captain Chen, I reached the Third Limit at this age. Back then, I was a highly anticipated young talent, and many people fawned over me. I had only been here for half a year before I was promoted to a Level Two Executive Officer, becoming a garrison commander of a fortress.

But as you can see, I'm still a garrison commander.

Heh heh, twenty years.

Leaving aside the rank, I still haven't been able to find a path to advancement. There's really no chance at all.

Do you want to know why?

Back then, I was young and vigorous, full of pride, thinking that strength alone was enough, and that I didn't need to care about anything else. It was at that time that I inadvertently offended someone.

I only learned later that this person had a very deep background in the Defense Department. Since then, I have been constantly suppressed and ostracized by this person.

Every time I carry out a mission, it takes a long time for them to issue me special drugs, and then every time I'm about to prepare for cultivation, I have to go on a mission again, which lasts for a long time. For two years, I was dragged down like this."

Speaking of this, he gritted his teeth, "These two years were originally the time when I could grow the most. My strength should have advanced by leaps and bounds at this time, but they dragged me down. Moreover, this person used his influence from above, and I couldn't even retreat.

Endless hatred erupted in his eyes. "I hate those who participated in suppressing me, so I want to retaliate against them, but I am powerless alone. Moreover, twenty years have passed, and this person's position has risen higher and higher. I have no connections, no relationships, and there is no way I can do anything to him."

He chuckled twice, "What they didn't expect is that I have been on the front line of pioneering, often dealing with people from the former Imperial Family. After I repeatedly conveyed my willingness to contact them, I finally got in touch with the Iron Fiend, who was willing to point out a clear path for me."

Chen Chuan said, "It seems that my guess was correct."

Fei Tong snorted and said in a mocking tone, "Seeing you, I think of myself back then, just as high-spirited, just as promising, but so what?

The path to advancement is controlled by certain people. If they value you, then you may still have a chance, but once you don't follow their wishes and offend them, then you simply can't go on."

Chen Chuan could hear the resentment and hatred in his voice. He looked at Fei Tong and said calmly, "You say they're sorry to you, that they don't value you, but what about the more than one hundred colleagues you killed? Did you ever value them?

When you mentioned this matter, you didn't even think of them, as if they were just weeds by the roadside, destined to be trampled under your feet, because in your heart, they were all people who could be sacrificed and abandoned at will. In that case, what difference is there between you and those you hate?"

Fei Tong's expression changed slightly, and then his face became ferocious. "What do you know, what do you know? How can they compare to me? I am a person with innate talent, a fighter! I should have gone further! And them?

They are just a group of mediocre people. There are countless people like that, but me, Fei Tong, can they compare to the achievements I have made in the past twenty years? Can they compare?!"

Chen Chuan said, "You take it for granted that your colleagues are useless and can be abandoned at will. But in the eyes of those who suppressed you, suppressing you is also a matter of course, because in their eyes, you are also worthless.

You all treat those weaker than you with an aloof attitude. In fact, you are the same as those you hate. It's just that you don't like being the one who is suppressed, but prefer to be the oppressor."

Fei Tong seemed to be stung by his words, his whole body trembling, his face flushed red, and he roared, "What do you know, what do you know?!"

Chen Chuan didn't argue with him, but stared at him calmly and said, "If you went to deal with those who you say persecuted you, then I would have a higher opinion of you, but you chose to draw your knife and swing it at the weaker, in the end, you are just a failure."

After saying these words, he had no interest in staying here any longer. He got up directly and walked out of here amidst Fei Tong's unwilling and venting roars.

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