The air instantly froze.
Mu Shuang's expression slightly changed, quickly turning cold as her peripheral vision constantly swept the surrounding situation.
Cheng Ye looked on with interest, twisting his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the cooperation level in the upper right corner of the panel.
How curious.
The woman before him, clearly not yet affected by the Calamity Heart Worm, actually had a cooperation level of 37%.
"Can you really stop me?" Mu Shuang sneered coldly, her feet shifting slightly as she prepared to turn and rush toward the fire escape on the other side.
However, the next second.
A Buffalo combat pistol gleaming with cold light suddenly appeared in Cheng Ye's hand, his finger on the trigger, "I advise you not to move rashly, otherwise... it will hurt badly."
"I want to know, how did you discover me?" Mu Shuang immediately stopped moving, slowly raising both hands, her tone carrying some unwillingness.
"Surrender quietly, and I'll tell you." Cheng Ye's voice had no fluctuation, yet carried a hint of amusement."Alright."
Mu Shuang suddenly smiled and straightforwardly crouched down, her hands making a gesture to hold her head.
However, just as the movement was about to complete, the wig on her head suddenly shot out like it was spring-loaded.
Whoosh.
All the hair strands exploded open, like a large patch of seaweed spreading before his eyes.
At the same time, a pungent thick smoke gushed out, as if high-concentration pepper essence had been ignited, choking enough to make breathing stop.
Especially on the face and eyes, an instant burning pain made one instinctively want to close their eyes and rub them.
However, he was no longer the weak ordinary person he once was. Cheng Ye forced himself to endure and pulled the trigger at the first opportunity.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four shots rang out consecutively, but all hit empty air.
Compared to his dramatically improved close combat abilities now, his marksmanship relied entirely on Mobile Shooting for support.
The enhancement brought by one Lv2 rare skill was sufficient against ordinary people, but when facing this kind of expert who had mixed in the wasteland, it immediately showed its inadequacy.
Buzz.
A blinding white light exploded in the smoke. Without thinking, Cheng Ye rolled on the ground.
At the same time, his mind raced wildly, opening the panel, unequipping Snake Force which he had just equipped, and switching to Iron Body.
Instantly, all stinging pain disappeared, and the suffocating feeling brought by the smoke also vanished completely.
At his previous standing position, Mu Shuang's figure had already sprung up, her fingertips wrapped with a circle of thin wire, carrying cold light as it swept past.
If he had been half a second slower, he would have been hit.
"I can't see anymore, you better not break the rules!"
On the rooftop, Jiang Chuan held up his telescope and shouted anxiously, "You can only knock out and capture Cheng Ye..."
Before his words finished, sounds came from behind him.
Jiang Chuan turned his head and saw a middle-aged bald man carrying several quilts walking onto the rooftop.
"Sir, you go about your business, I'm here to air the quilts."
The bald man grinned and quickly quickened his pace, carrying the quilts toward the other side of the rooftop.
Jiang Chuan paid no attention, raised his telescope again, stared at the smoke-shrouded stairwell entrance, and reported at rapid speed, "Their people are flanking from Unit 3 and Unit 1, you have at most half a minute. The left gate of the community has been blocked, there are four militia guarding the right side, hurry, turn left, this is the best evacuation..."
Before his words finished, Jiang Chuan turned his head again and saw that the big bald man had already placed the quilts on the rooftop and was walking back.
"Sir, continue what you're doing, I'm going to get a broom. There's too much dust on the rooftop."
"Oh, okay, don't disturb me." Jiang Chuan glared at the bald man and continued rapidly reporting surrounding information.
When footsteps came from behind again, even getting closer.
He frowned but didn't turn around again, still hanging the telescope and watching the battle situation in the complex, commanding Mu Shuang to dodge and weave through the alleys, escaping the militia's route blockade.
But the next second, a moist feeling suddenly covered his mouth and nose.
A dizzy feeling instantly struck. The bald man smiled and suddenly pulled his neck backward with the other hand.
Jiang Chuan's whole body shook, and he instinctively tried to activate his transcendent power.
"Sir, don't struggle. You should sleep for a while."
Smack.
A sharp pain came from the back of his neck. Jiang Chuan's vision went black and he completely lost consciousness.
Before falling, only one thought remained in his mind: that damned big bald head...
And damn it, how was he caught by an ordinary person again?!
In the narrow alley.
"Hey, anyone there?"
Mu Shuang called into her earpiece several times, but only static came through.
She didn't know what had happened, the signal was cut off, with no sound coming through.
Although she no longer had the annoying rule reminders, without Jiang Chuan's command, her difficulty in slipping out of the community without causing casualties instantly skyrocketed!
Turning another corner, she saw flickering figures in the distance.
With no retreat left, she could only stop and turn to face Cheng Ye who was pursuing relentlessly behind her.
Due to the vast difference in their strength levels, she didn't dare attack Cheng Ye directly.
If she didn't control her force properly, or if the opponent caught her off guard with a shot, that would be a big problem.
Therefore, after her first surprise attack was dodged by Cheng Ye, she turned and fled without hesitation.
What shocked her was that Cheng Ye could actually barely keep up with her speed.
You must know that at this moment, while fleeing for her life, she was no longer suppressing her realm and was at the complete Unity of Heaven and Man level.
Even without using transcendent power, her movements were still swift, shuttling through the buffer zone's alleys like a ghost, theoretically unmatched by anyone.
"Looks like I won't be able to leave without knocking you out."
Mu Shuang's fingers moved slightly.
If Cheng Ye kept trailing her like this, once the militia assembled, it would be a dead end.
The powerful flashlight lit up again, the flash disc in her palm reflecting blinding white light directly at Cheng Ye's eyes.
"Again?"
Cheng Ye slightly lowered his head, avoiding the strong light while his body charged forward like a bull.
He had already discovered that this woman had no gun, only small gadgets for interference and escape.
Continuing to shoot, with his current marksmanship it would be difficult to hit. Better to use brute force to slow her rhythm and wait for Big Dragon to bring militia for support.
"Mindless guy."
Seeing this, Mu Shuang not only didn't retreat but took a deep breath and suddenly stepped forward.
Cheng Ye felt his vision blur as the nearly four-meter distance between them was instantly closed, too fast to react to.
Before he could raise his fist, Mu Shuang's forearm was already like a viper emerging from its den, cunningly coiling toward his throat, the wire wrapped around her fingertips carrying fierce wind.
She's an expert!
Cheng Ye's heart tightened.
Even veteran soldiers like Miao Yang didn't have such cunning attack angles and speed.
He had no time to think carefully and could only barely raise his left arm to block.
Bang!
The heavy striking sound echoed in the narrow alley, the sharp part of the wire sliding across his arm, bringing out a splash of blood.
Cheng Ye's body couldn't help but retreat half a step, but his face broke into a cruel smile.
Under Mu Shuang's astonished gaze, as if nothing had happened, his right hand suddenly reached forward, gripping her shoulder like an iron clamp, his entire body's strength bursting out without reservation!
Boom!
The indescribable tremendous force made Mu Shuang instantly lose weight, her entire body lifted off the ground and slammed hard against the red brick low wall of the alley.
With a crisp crash, half the wall was directly collapsed, and among the flying bricks and stones, she fell into the garbage pile behind the wall like a broken rag doll.
Unfortunately, before Cheng Ye could rush up to continue his attack, the figure in the garbage pile suddenly bounced up and rolled on the ground to open some distance.
The two pulled apart about four steps again, facing each other once more.
Mu Shuang had a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth, and the "black mole" that had been stuck at the corner of her mouth also fell off in the impact, revealing the original skin color underneath.
"Disguise?"
Cheng Ye twitched the corner of his mouth.
Looking down at the spot where he had just been hit, it had already developed obvious purple bruising.
But the flesh torn by the wire had stopped bleeding outward.
Such terrifying vitality!
And under Iron Body's enhancement, he felt nothing at all, completely unaffecting his combat power.
"Again!"
He roared and charged forward like a bull once more.
"Monster..."
Mu Shuang let out a muffled groan from her throat, her toes touching the base of the wall as her curled knee, carrying the force of her turning body, crashed directly toward Cheng Ye's ribs.
The earlier probing had made her completely understand that the person before her was not some beginner who hadn't completed the four powers, but clearly an Dao Embryo Realm expert with physical qualities comparable to someone who had opened twelve top-tier tendon gates!
What was even more troublesome was that he seemed to feel no pain.
Just like now, Cheng Ye seemed to not see the incoming knee, his left arm taking the hit directly, his bones making tooth-aching "creaking" sounds.
But his right fist was already clenched, carrying tremendous force as it smashed toward her abdomen.
Mu Shuang's pupils contracted sharply. She hurriedly withdrew and retreated, but was still half a beat too slow. The punch wind brushed past her waist, already making her vital energy surge as she staggered against the brick wall.
"Hey, pretty quick moves!" Cheng Ye bared his teeth in a cold smile, not even frowning.
He charged forward again, letting Mu Shuang's elbow hit his chest while smoothly wrapping around her neck, his knee hammering toward her abdomen like a heavy weight.
Mu Shuang groaned and curled up, her elbow futilely pounding Cheng Ye's back, but it was like hitting an iron plate.
Clearly every strike hit accurately, clearly she could feel the opponent's force lines being disrupted, yet she couldn't stop that brutal offensive.
This wasn't sparring at all, but two death warriors trading injury for injury!
"Sir!"
Big Dragon and Second Dragon, who had rushed over, watched with mouths agape, and the surrounding militia were also stunned.
The woman caught by Cheng Ye's hair was already in complete disarray. After being knocked to the ground, Cheng Ye directly straddled her, his fists falling like raindrops.
Every punch carried whistling wind-breaking sounds, hammering so hard that the ground trembled slightly.
This momentum...
"I surrender, I surrender!"
Mu Shuang finally couldn't help but cry out, her voice hoarse.
At this moment, unless she unleashed combat power exceeding the Dao Embryo Realm, she had absolutely no chance of winning.
And restricted to this Dao Embryo level, to defeat the monster before her, she would need cold weapons and pursue maximum damage as her goal to have even a slim possibility.
But she also knew clearly that if she pulled out cold weapons, Cheng Ye wouldn't engage in close combat at all, but would pull back and harass with firearms.
A dead end!
While shouting, Cheng Ye didn't stop immediately but landed six more consecutive punches until he confirmed she had completely lost her ability to resist, then suddenly kicked off and retreated violently, standing three steps away gasping heavily.
So satisfying!
Every full-power punch had that exhilarating feeling of completely releasing all his strength.
Indeed, in real life-and-death combat, moves and techniques were illusory. Just now he had long forgotten any fighting methods, leaving only the most savage, most primitive punching, using the most direct force to crush.
All those techniques had been integrated into these punches!
And this was exactly the "monster route" he had crafted for himself.
As long as the opponent didn't know he could use Iron Body to ignore pain, as long as the information gap remained, this fighting style would always maintain a huge advantage.
"Tie her up!"
Pointed at by dozens of guns, Mu Shuang completely gave up resistance.
Well, at least she wasn't defeated by ordinary people, and it was all Jiang Chuan's fault... this observer was too unreliable!
She groaned and spat out another mouthful of bloody phlegm, her chest and arms burning with pain.
Without thinking, she knew it was serious bruising, probably several broken ribs.
But fortunately, although Cheng Ye's force was brutal, he didn't aim for vital spots, obviously wanting to keep her alive for interrogation.
"Sir, are you injured?" Big Dragon stepped forward, looking at the dust and faint bruises on Cheng Ye's body with some concern.
"No, I'm fine." Cheng Ye gasped heavily and shook his head lightly.
Only after confirming that Big Dragon had securely bound Mu Shuang with those familiar iron chains did he unequip the Iron Body skill.
Holy shit.
It really fucking hurt.
His whole body felt like it had been disassembled and reassembled, muscle fibers torn under high-intensity activity, making him grimace in pain.
On the contrary, the places where Mu Shuang had hit him first felt numb and itchy, and only when touched did they transmit deep pain, but hadn't injured muscles or bones.
Including the parts scratched by the wire, although painful, they had all avoided arteries, only targeting areas where human nerves were concentrated and pain sensitivity was highest.
"Hmm?" Cheng Ye furrowed his brow, somewhat surprised.
In life-and-death combat, he had held back from striking vital points because he wanted to keep her alive as search material.
But the opponent also hadn't aimed for vital spots, even deliberately controlling force and targeting.
Looking again at the cooperation level in the upper right corner of the panel, the woman's cooperation level had actually exceeded 60%.
Cheng Ye walked over and crouched down.
The woman was already bound tightly, but for some reason, the moment their eyes met, he suddenly had a familiar feeling.
It couldn't be, could it?
"Go get a basin of water, she has disguise on her face, and go search her residence."
Cheng Ye couldn't help but squeeze out a slight smile, "She's on the fourth floor, corner unit position."
"How do you know I was on the fourth floor?" Mu Shuang suddenly raised her head, her eyes full of shock, then realized, "Could it be that you heard my footsteps from the very beginning? And not because my answers had flaws?"
"You're more curious than the previous four."
Cheng Ye nodded slightly but didn't answer.
This attitude, falling in Mu Shuang's eyes, made her heart sink and she forced out a bitter smile.
So she had been exposed from the very beginning. The crushing brought by the information gap had made her practically throw herself into the trap.
A moment later.
The militia brought a basin of water. The waxy yellow foundation and false mole on Mu Shuang's face were gradually wiped away, revealing her original appearance.
Cheng Ye raised his eyebrows slightly. She really was a woman, and looked younger than imagined, with a rebellious heroic spirit in her eyes.
Another golden legend drawn?
Big Dragon also returned from the fourth floor, holding an empty backpack in his hands, "Sir, no badge found. Besides some miscellaneous items, there was nothing in the room."
"No..."
Cheng Ye's thoughts raced, that familiar feeling growing stronger.
He simply took out his defense communicator, opened the verification function, and while Mu Shuang was looking elsewhere, quickly captured a blurry photo.
Walking to a corner, he dialed the phone number Lee Matteo had left.
"Hello?" A crisp female voice came from the other end.
"I was introduced by Inspector Lee Matteo..."
"I know you, you're Cheng Ye. What's the matter?"
"I'd like you to help check someone, compare the face and see if there are any records."
"Send it over."
Cheng Ye selected and sent the photo. Four or five seconds later, the voice from the other end rang again, carrying some confusion, "Isn't this the clerk from your inspection station? Mu Shuang, Director Liu's clerk. What's wrong?"
"..." Cheng Ye leaned against the wall, momentarily speechless and somewhat amused.
Director Liu's clerk?
What the hell, could it be she's learning from Jiang Chuan?
Did everyone need to be captured by him once before they would truly submit from the bottom of their hearts?
"Please send me her information."
"Alright, wait a moment to receive it."
The call ended.
The defense communicator soon received a file. Cheng Ye opened it, and lines of information came into view.
[Mu Shuang (Ten-year Resident)]
[Personal Strength]: Locked (Inspection station data blocked, please apply for permission to view)
[Stability]: S+ (No adverse records, Guarantor: Inspection Station/Security Bureau)
[Threat Level]: None (Stability above S level, threat level cleared)
[Basic Information]: Birth date (New Era Year 7, April); Birthplace (Happiness City); Current position (Security Bureau/Director's Clerk; Inspection Station/Fifth-term Clerk)
Lines of information continued.
At the resume section, it showed locked, with the same notation 'Inspection Station Data Blocked' above.
Cheng Ye tried clicking the prompt, and a small box immediately popped up on the screen asking whether to apply for inspection station permission unlock, which he canceled.
"Fifth-term clerk, so she's at the same level as Jiang Chuan?"
Corresponding to inspector positions, clerks also had the same trainee to phase five levels.
However, advancement was much less difficult than for inspectors. As long as one could smoothly complete assigned tasks, even someone as young as 28-year-old Mu Shuang could become the highest-level fifth-term clerk.
"Hmm..."
Cheng Ye pondered, suddenly his eyes flashed with brilliance.
This was a good opportunity!
He hadn't expected that search materials really were either nonexistent or came in waves, giving him another good chance.
From the results of their recent fight, although Mu Shuang appeared disheveled, she was obviously holding back.
She might be another Unity of Heaven and Man expert, even half-step transcendent like Jiang Chuan.
Now with cooperation level already over 60%, not taking this chance to get it to 100% and search for some skills would be a complete waste.
Moreover, given their respective identities, once her identity was exposed, getting cooperation level to 100% in the future would be harder than climbing to heaven.
Jiang Chuan was the best example. Even though their relationship could be considered very familiar now, cooperation level was still stuck at 50%-60%, unable to advance further.
Glancing at the 56% charge value on his panel, Cheng Ye pondered for a while and gave instructions, "Take her back to the inspection station and lock her up first. I'll personally interrogate her later."
"Yes, sir!" Big Dragon responded without finding it strange at all.
But just as Cheng Ye returned to the transport vehicle and was about to drive to the Works Department to recharge.
His defense communicator suddenly rang.
The caller ID showed... Master Tian?
"Hey, Inspector Cheng." Master Tian's slightly odd voice came through the phone.
"Master Tian, go ahead."
"I found a strange man on the rooftop terrace, holding binoculars and looking toward your area, muttering some incomprehensible things..." Master Tian paused, imitating Jiang Chuan's tone.
Jiang Chuan's voice had been really loud, and with him working the night shift today, sitting in his living room at home, it was hard not to hear.
If he hadn't heard Jiang Chuan repeatedly emphasizing not to hurt anyone, he would have gone up to take out that guy long ago.
"Oh?" Cheng Ye's heart jumped, "Can you describe his appearance?"
"Just... square face, very thick eyebrows, cheekbones slightly protruding..."
Fuck.
It's Jiang Chuan!
Cheng Ye was instantly dumbfounded. How had he captured Mu Shuang first, then Jiang Chuan second?
No, wait.
It should be that Jiang Chuan was taken down by Master Tian first, Mu Shuang lost her "eyes," and was forced into direct confrontation?
His thoughts raced rapidly, the cause and effect gradually becoming clear.
The Pinghai Tower mission had sent people over, could the inspection station have detected this in advance and also sent people to protect him?
Then discovering he had captured all four people, they wanted to test his capabilities?
Connecting to Mu Shuang's series of abnormal behaviors, clearly having disappeared and left, yet suddenly appearing again, provocative, and disguised while trying to break through the defense line.
Cheng Ye suddenly grinned, "Then Master Tian, please send him to Tianyuan Community. Oh, do you have a black hood there? Put it over his head so no one can see him."
"Yes!" Master Tian agreed readily, "This guy's physical condition is pretty good. I added a little extra for him, he'll probably sleep for two to three hours before waking up."
"Mm, good, thank you very much!"
After hanging up, Cheng Ye immediately called Big Dragon, "Master Tian will send someone over shortly. Place him in a cell, keep him in solitary confinement, don't let him contact that woman, and don't remove the hood for now."
"Yes!"
After arranging all this, Cheng Ye leaned back in the driver's seat, reached over to grab the backpack from the passenger seat, and pulled out several bags of yellow nutrition paste.
He held the steering wheel with one hand while driving toward the Works Department, gulping down nutrition paste along the way.
Something magical happened.
As the nutrition paste went down, the warm current in his chest was activated again, and warmth began slowly circulating through his body.
By the time he parked, the muscle tearing sensation had completely disappeared.
Looking down, the purple bruises from Mu Shuang's strikes were fading at a visible rate, gradually turning into streaks of pale red.
The torn flesh had healed directly, leaving only shallow traces.
"I really am no longer human!"
Cheng Ye couldn't help but exclaim joyfully, then immediately corrected himself after speaking unconsciously, "Bah, I'm transcendent now!"
During the pursuit, the hovering ability provided by the symbiotic Fire Sprout had allowed him to jump directly from the second floor and land steadily on the ground.
After the battle ended, the enhancement from Green Field Physique let him ignore flesh wounds, with dramatically increased recovery speed.
The talents were still ordinary talents.
But the life level improvement brought by transcendence had resulted in additional combat power leaps and... qualitative changes at the survival level!
And these were precisely the most solid trump cards for leaving the buffer zone and entering the wilderness. Even when directly facing those terrifying infection sources, he could still obtain survival chances dozens or hundreds of times greater than ordinary people.
"Huh..."
Cheng Ye let out a long breath, feeling his heart suddenly open up.
It truly embodied that saying: with one thought, heaven and earth become vast; all matters become light as feathers!
With his strength dramatically increasing, those vague worries in his heart instantly vanished like smoke.
Instead, those thoughts he had previously shelved due to insufficient strength, forbearance, waiting, emerged one by one.
Wang Kang was right, he really couldn't wait passively anymore. The second batch of inspector contracts was something he was determined to get.
Taking advantage of the charging break, Cheng Ye thought it over and simply picked up his defense communicator, found Ding Yishan's number and dialed.
"Hello, Station Chief Ding?"
"Jiang Chuan was playing cat and mouse with me along with a girl, and I caught them both. What do you think... send someone to take them back?"