Fluorite Valley Investigation Bureau.
Strategic Meeting Room.
The overhead lights poured down, illuminating a series of solemn and uneasy faces on both sides of the conference table.
The atmosphere was slightly heavy.
Su Qingqian sat at the head of the table, her gaze slowly sweeping over the forty-plus transcendents present.
They were the elites mobilized for this operation, tasked with surrounding and suppressing an S-rank wanted criminal.
From the moment she set out from headquarters, a sliver of unease had welled up in Su Qingqian's heart.
Looking at these people now, that sense of unease resurfaced.
It was too fast.
Everything was too fast.
The report she had written requesting the mobilization to hunt the wanted criminal had been submitted for less than half an hour before it received the personal signature of the Minister of the Action Department. It was green-lit all the way.
Immediately after, the Action Department quickly assembled this team with startling efficiency and sent them to Fluorite Valley at top speed.
This was highly uncharacteristic of the headquarters' usual bureaucratic process, making it impossible for Su Qingqian not to sense that something was off.
When she finally saw the roster of this team and the members themselves, her heart's unease finally settled into a grim realization.
A significant portion of the faces sitting below her were people Su Qingqian had seen at various Su family gatherings.
They all hailed from transcendent families and had been placed in headquarters—some to pad their resumes, others to hold actual power.
Others, though seemingly possessing clean backgrounds, were in fact hidden pieces who had been infiltrated or bought off by the great families.
Only a very few had no connection to the transcendent families at all. Likely, they had offended someone and were stuffed into this team as a result.
What was the Minister of the Action Department's intention behind such personnel arrangements?
Su Qingqian thought of many possibilities in an instant, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
This was a very dangerous political signal.
However, the arrow was on the string; it had to be fired.
The Su family's dignity had already been trampled into the dirt. Shrinking back now would not only mean all previous efforts were in vain but would also make the Su family an even bigger laughingstock.
Fortunately, they held a trump card that was sufficient to turn the tide of battle.
Su Qingqian took a deep breath and addressed the crowd below. "Everyone, I know that tonight's target is no small matter. You may all have some reservations in your hearts."
Yue Shi's cruelty and tyranny were plain for all to see.
A portion of this team was purely there to pad their resumes and lacked combat experience; right now, they were only feeling a sense of trepidation.
Su Qingqian took in everyone's reactions and then changed her tone, her voice rising with a decisive confidence:
"But! I guarantee you that our operation this time will be absolutely smooth and safe. Our enemy will have no path of life!"
She paused deliberately, her gaze sweeping the room as she announced word by word, "Because one of the nine captains of the headquarters, The Executioner, will personally take action and execute this mission with us!"
"What!"
"The Executioner?"
"He's actually coming?"
The moment Su Qingqian's words fell, the meeting room erupted into an uproar.
The originally oppressive and serious atmosphere was shattered. Panic and reservations vanished, replaced by shock, excitement, and even fanaticism.
Su Qingqian did not stop the commotion; this effect was exactly what she needed.
Yue Shi's reputation was too fearsome, and this motley crew of a team would inevitably be timid.
Invoking the name of The Executioner was enough to dispel the gloom and fear, greatly boosting morale.
The effect was immediate.
The crowd swept away their previous dejection and unease, their faces lighting up as they whispered to one another.
It was clear they had absolute confidence in The Executioner.
"Everyone," Su Qingqian spoke again, her voice carrying a hint of victory already in hand.
"With His Excellency The Executioner overseeing us, I am certain that we will achieve a total victory in this operation!"
Upon hearing this, many people's lips curled into relaxed smiles, as if the mission were already complete and they were just waiting to divvy up the credit.
In the crowd, a young investigator named Li Hua sitting in the corner also smiled.
That was right—Li Hua was also part of this suppression team.
Although Li Hua was only a grassroots investigator from the Fluorite Valley Investigation Bureau and did not report directly to headquarters...
When an S-rank wanted criminal appeared in Fluorite Valley, the local bureau was expected to cooperate with the headquarters' work.
However, Li Hua's other colleagues were currently busy with other urgent official business and couldn't spare the time.
Therefore, the leaders of the Fluorite Valley Bureau had only arranged for Li Hua alone to be in the team sent by headquarters to assist in the work.
Li Hua felt no sense of honor; he only felt he had been maliciously targeted.
Why did his direct superior and those senior colleagues get to avoid this mess!
The frustration of being marginalized had been stuck in his chest.
He had many grievances and worries in his heart, and the prospect of facing an S-rank wanted criminal had finally brought a belated sense of fear.
But after hearing the title of The Executioner, all his concerns were washed away.
That was The Executioner!
Among the nine captains of the headquarters, he was the most unconventional and controversial one.
The controversy surrounding him wasn't because of anything else, but rather because he had a certain special masochistic quirk.
The Executioner loved to apply torture to himself and even enjoyed inflicting it on himself in public; the more people there were, the more excited he became.
Such eccentricities had brought much criticism to The Executioner.
Some felt his conduct affected the image of the headquarters and suggested he be stripped of his captaincy.
However, to this day, The Executioner remained a captain.
No one could deny his terrifying strength. Without absolute power, how could one sit firmly in the position of a headquarters captain?
With The Executioner taking action, any S-rank wanted criminal would be nothing but dead!
Li Hua could almost see himself being commended for heroically assisting the headquarters' operation.
After the wanted criminal was brought to justice, the headquarters would surely hold the derelict leaders of the Fluorite Valley Bureau accountable.
Thinking of such a beautiful future, the corners of Li Hua's mouth couldn't help but turn up.
As expected, evil could not suppress justice!
Seeing that morale had been fully mobilized, Su Qingqian coughed twice to pull everyone's attention back.
"Currently, we have confirmed the specific hiding place of the target."
She pointed to the projection screen lighting up behind her, which displayed a map of the central district of Fluorite Valley. A conspicuous red dot was marked at the location of a certain hotel.
"The evacuation of the public in the surrounding area is proceeding in an orderly manner and is expected to be completed soon."
"Once the evacuation is finished, we will strike immediately with a thunderous blow, giving the target no chance to react!"
At this point, someone raised their hand and asked cautiously, "Commander Su, intelligence indicates that the target is suspected of possessing spatial-type supernatural powers and has extreme mobility."
"What specific measures will we take to prevent the target from using spatial abilities to escape?"
Su Qingqian was well-prepared and answered calmly, "There is no need to worry about that. We will set up a special lockdown domain around the target building in advance."
"This lockdown domain can effectively isolate the internal and external space. No matter how powerful a spatial ability is, it can only be used within the domain and cannot move to the outside world."
"You can also use your full strength within the domain without worrying that unleashing supernatural powers will cause large-scale destruction to the surrounding city. The lockdown will only be lifted after the target is confirmed killed."
Finally, Su Qingqian emphasized, "Remember, the main force of this operation is His Excellency The Executioner. Our task is to assist, to support, and to ensure that nothing goes wrong! Do you understand?"
"Understood!" the crowd responded in unison.
Even with The Executioner there, they were unwilling to face an S-rank wanted criminal head-on.
Now that Su Qingqian had stopped just short of saying 'you can just slack off and coast,' it was undoubtedly the arrangement they most hoped to hear.
Su Qingqian nodded with satisfaction, her gaze falling on the miniature terminal on her wrist. The time displayed on the screen was ticking second by second toward the hunting hour.
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