When Lin Yue woke from his unconsciousness, he immediately found himself in an unfamiliar room. The walls were white, with no extra furniture except for a bed and a chair. The door was a large iron gate. Beside the bed, there was a hanging pole with a blood bag, and it turned out he was receiving a blood transfusion.
Seeing this scene, Lin Yue couldn't help but smile wryly. He murmured, "So, I was caught after all? What an inauspicious start. I never expected my first mission outside to fail, and to be lured by a woman's charm. I'm truly pathetic."
Lin Yue knew he had been captured. Even though someone was giving him a blood transfusion, it was merely the treatment for a prisoner. The people from the Heavenly Dragon Bureau only wanted to keep him alive to gain more favorable negotiation conditions.
Thinking of this, Lin Yue could only sigh helplessly. If he could do it all over again, Lin Yue would guarantee he wouldn't be captured so miserably.
Suddenly, Lin Yue remembered something and quickly lifted his clothes. He saw a faint mark on his abdomen. The stab wound from before had, for some unknown reason, already healed. Seeing this, Lin Yue couldn't believe his own eyes.
However, at that very moment, the iron gate was suddenly opened, and two people walked in. One of them was Gong Changfa, and the other was Cao Fuli!
Seeing Cao Fuli appear here, Lin Yue couldn't help but ask, "Cao Fuli, were you caught too?"
Lin Yue wasn't surprised to see Gong Changfa here, but Cao Fuli's presence now could only mean one thing: Cao Fuli had also been captured. If that were the case, then he and Cao Fuli were truly in the same boat!
Cao Fuli quickly said, "Don't talk nonsense. I wasn't caught. With Miss Li's help, how could I have been captured? I came to discuss our next course of action with you."
Lin Yue was immediately confused. If Cao Fuli hadn't been captured, then why was Gong Changfa here?
"What exactly is going on? And what about him?" Lin Yue couldn't help but ask, pointing to Gong Changfa beside him as he spoke.
Gong Changfa smiled and said, "Mr. Lin Yue, please don't worry. You'll be staying with me for now. When the opportunity arises, I'll let you escape. You've lost too much blood and need to rest for a while. As for the payment, it doesn't need to be too much; just pay with ability potions."
It turned out Gong Changfa had also intended to exchange for ability potions by saving Lin Yue. As for where the ability potions would come from, he didn't concern himself with that. If Shen Feng of Yuzhou chose to pay the price, that would be best. If not, he would continue to keep Lin Yue imprisoned.
Cao Fuli quickly said, "There's no need to rush this matter. Let's quickly plan how to rescue Yue Hengyi. I heard that Yue Hengyi is going to be tried in a few days, and he definitely won't survive."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yue couldn't help but frown and ask, "Mr. Yue has been captured?"
Cao Fuli didn't intend to hide anything and directly explained what had happened yesterday. Lin Yue had been unconscious for a day and a night. During this time, Li Keyi had contacted Gong Changfa and brought Cao Fuli over to discuss the situation.
Cao Fuli explained everything that Lin Yue was unaware of. When Lin Yue learned that the Heavenly Dragon Bureau could monitor him through insects, he immediately remembered the bees he had seen during the day yesterday. These bees, instead of collecting nectar, had been following him. It was clear that these bees were the eyes and ears of the Heavenly Dragon Bureau.
"It seems we were too careless. If we had known more about the enemy, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation," Lin Yue said with some regret.
Suddenly, a female voice echoed through the air, "You really should reflect. Your plan was not thorough at all, and you didn't consider the worst-case scenario. It's only fitting that you've ended up like this."
The appearance of this voice startled Lin Yue. There should only have been three men in the room, so why was there a female voice? Lin Yue quickly used his abilities and indeed heard a fourth heartbeat in the room.
"Be careful, someone else is hidden here. She's invisible!" Lin Yue, concerned that Cao Fuli and Gong Changfa might not know, quickly warned them.
Cao Fuli said impatiently, "Alright, alright. This is Miss Li Keyi. Didn't you meet her in Yuzhou before? Don't make such a fuss. Miss Li is worried about being discovered by the Heavenly Dragon Bureau, so she's maintaining her invisibility. Besides, this is the Chosen Bureau. Who can just casually enter?"
Lin Yue asked curiously, "The Chosen Bureau? Wasn't the Chosen Bureau disbanded long ago? Why has it reappeared now?"
Gong Changfa smiled, pulled over a chair to sit down, and then said, "Starting yesterday, the Chosen Bureau has been re-established. We have two people to thank for this. You two, come in."
As he spoke, two people walked in from outside: Yun Laizhe and Ke Yiming. Both of them were powerful ability users, and Ke Yiming was an old acquaintance of Lin Yue.
"What's going on? Weren't you dead? Your deaths were posted online for more than half a year. How are you still alive?" Lin Yue was greatly surprised. He had received too many shocking pieces of news today.
Ke Yiming shrugged, leaned against the wall, and said to Lin Yue, "If your city lord can return safely, why can't I? Let me tell you, A Zhe and I were also swallowed by giant sea beasts. It was a giant sea turtle that did it. Fortunately, A Zhe can control copper elements, which protected both of us. Afterward, we killed the sea turtle, obtained the sea beast crystal, drifted to a deserted island, and only returned to China after a near-death experience, bringing back twenty ability users!"
"This is too bizarre! You guys also managed to survive the sea. It's truly incredible," Lin Yue exclaimed, surprised that besides the city lord and Yue Hengyi, there were others who could survive the mouths of sea beasts.
Gong Changfa said indifferently, "Your city lord already heard about this, but we instructed him not to speak of it. Now that our Chosen Bureau has been re-established, I believe he can talk about it."
At this point, Ke Yiming slowly said, "What you did this time was truly excessive. If it were just ordinary bad deeds, we might have covered for you. However, the three of you killed over seven thousand people in Yanjing. Although Yue Hengyi did most of it, you've incurred the wrath of the public, and we can no longer protect you."
Speaking of this, Ke Yiming was very helpless. He was also a member of the Ability User Management Bureau, and by rights, he should have helped Yue Hengyi escape. However, Yue Hengyi had killed too many people. If he were easily released, it would be impossible to explain to the people below.
Therefore, at this moment, Ke Yiming had no other recourse. Yue Hengyi was imprisoned by the Heavenly Dragon Bureau and would be tried soon. Even immortals couldn't save him.
Hearing this, Lin Yue felt wronged and quickly defended himself, "It wasn't us indiscriminately killing innocents. We were framed, and I didn't kill any civilians. I killed a bunch of hooligans and thugs. As for Yue Hengyi, he was framed by a conspiracy and was led step by step into a trap."
Among the three people with Yue Hengyi, besides Lin Yue killing a dozen or so thugs, Cao Fuli did not kill any civilians. The driver in the exploding car did not die by Cao Fuli's hand either. Both of them had justifiable reasons. However, Yue Hengyi was truly unforgivable. Under his full ability, the ground began to sink, killing seven thousand people. He had now become a demon king in the eyes of Yanjing's residents. Countless people supported the death penalty. The hero of the past was ruined.
Li Keyi continued, "Actually, it's not entirely Yue Hengyi's fault that he was captured. I discovered afterward that the leader of the Thirteen Guardians of Mount Lüliang, a guy named Chen Xintie, had been using illusions all along. I'm afraid everything Yue Hengyi saw at the time was an illusion. This guy is truly terrifying, specializing in exploiting human weaknesses."
Lin Yue felt helpless. At this moment, neither he nor Cao Fuli could rescue Yue Hengyi. No one knew how tightly guarded the Heavenly Dragon Bureau's prison was. If they were caught trying to break in, it would be a case of stealing a chicken only to lose the rice.
Lin Yue hesitated and thought, "Could it be that we need to ask the city lord for help? But the city lord probably won't make it in time, right? Yuzhou to Yanjing is thousands of miles away, and Yue Hengyi is to be tried in a few days. There isn't enough time. Also, communication is a problem. Even if I send a telegram to Yuzhou, I don't know if it will be received."
As Lin Yue and Cao Fuli were in a dilemma, Gong Changfa smiled and said, "I can help you, but as I said, you need to pay a price. Otherwise, we won't discuss anything."
Gong Changfa now saw that Lin Yue needed help, so he immediately started to set his price. If there was anything they needed help with, it was no problem, they could do it! However, one thing needed to be clarified: they needed to pay with ability potions.
The Chosen Bureau now had over twenty people, barely re-established, but their strength was still insufficient. The number of people capable of fighting was only a few, and they needed to develop. Thus, ability potions were very precious.
Lin Yue frowned and said, "We are not authorized to make such a transaction. Why don't you contact our city lord? Ability potions are all controlled by the city lord. Whoever can use ability potions needs the approval of the city lord or the vice-city lord. I am not authorized to make transactions."
Lin Yue was very sensible, knowing that he couldn't make private deals with others. This was equivalent to disregarding the city lord's authority.
Gong Changfa was not discouraged and directly said, "You don't have ability potions, but I heard that Yue Hengyi has ability potions. How about this: I'll help you rescue Yue Hengyi, and after the matter is done, let Yue Hengyi give us the ability potions! Will that work?"
Lin Yue hesitated, unsure if this news was true.
Yun Laizhe explained, "Our side and Shen Feng were stranded in Japan one after another. Later, we burned down the Yasukuni Shrine in Japan and inquired about Shen Feng's whereabouts, preparing to rendezvous. Unexpectedly, we were a step late, but we also heard that Shen Feng picked up meteorites on his way back, which contained a lot of extraterrestrial elements that could cultivate ability users!"
Lin Yue said hesitantly, "I can't make decisions for Yue Hengyi. Extraterrestrial elements are his property, and I don't know where he hid them, so I can't promise you this."
Gong Changfa shrugged and looked towards the air beside him, in Li Keyi's direction, although she was currently invisible.
"Miss Li, I heard you have a sea beast crystal that Shen Feng gave you. Is that correct?" Gong Changfa asked with a smile.
"What do you want?" Li Keyi's tone immediately became unfriendly. Although her expression couldn't be seen, it could be imagined that Li Keyi was very angry at this moment, as someone had started to covet her possessions.
Gong Changfa explained, "Actually, these ability users that A Zhe and Ke Yiming brought back were cultivated using sea beast crystals. Sea beast crystals actually contain many extraterrestrial elements and are also a type of ability potion. If it's convenient..."
At this point, Gong Changfa's intention was very clear: he hoped Li Keyi would give him the sea beast crystal that Shen Feng had given her, and then the Chosen Bureau would fully assist Cao Fuli and Lin Yue.
"Absolutely not! This is something Shen Feng gave me, and it's priceless! Even if you want it, I won't give it to you. Only if Shen Feng asks for it might I return it to him. Don't even think about it!" Li Keyi was furious. This was the only gift Shen Feng had given her, and now others had taken a liking to it. Even if they did, she would never give it to them.