Chapter 609: Those Who Follow Me Prosper

Li Banfeng sat in his office, listening to Luo Zhengnan recount his observations at Desongya.

The situation at Desongya was highly unusual. The battle for local deity control had escalated into a localized war. According to Luo Zhengnan's observations, several gangs from Luozhou participated in the fighting, including members of the Three Heroes Gate and the White Crane Gang.

Li Banfeng found it hard to understand: "Why did they go to Desongya? What were Shen Jinzhong and Bai Wuchuan thinking? Would Desongya's territory even allow them a share?"

"Seventh Master, you can't blame the two gang leaders for this. I asked a few friends; some hall masters from the Three Heroes Gate and the White Crane Gang had a connection with Song Demei, the village chief of Deyuan Village. When Song Demei called, these hall masters brought their men."

"Do hall masters bring people without consulting the gang leaders?"

"Seventh Master, these two gangs are too large; the leaders can't manage everything. Besides, even if they had asked, the leaders wouldn't have been able to stop them. Gangs operate in the jianghu based on various connections. If they hadn't gone, these two gangs might lose their influence in Desongya in the future!"

"Did anyone from the Qingyun Association go?"

Luo Zhengnan had arranged for inquiries: "No one from the Qingyun Association went. They are currently under He Jiaqing's command, and He Jiaqing might not be very familiar with gang operations yet. He issued an order: anyone who dares to get involved in the Desongya incident will be dealt with according to gang rules, without leniency."

He Jiaqing wasn't unfamiliar with gang rules; he saw that the situation was problematic. "Has the fighting at Desongya been intense these past two days?"

"Since Doctor Cui went there, the fighting has died down, but it's hard to say how long it will last." What was Cui Tike's purpose in going to Desongya? What benefits did the peddler Xu promise him?

As Li Banfeng was contemplating, Tangyuan suddenly entered the office: "Seventh Master, Lightbulb found Gourd Village."

"He didn't go in, did he?" Li Banfeng didn't take it too seriously. Finding Gourd Village was no big deal, and Lightbulb wasn't facing any insurmountable obstacle. Even if he went in, he'd be out in half a month at most.

"He didn't go in. He used a concealed space tracking device to pinpoint Gourd Village!" A concealed space tracking device?

The Dark Star Bureau had such good stuff?

Li Banfeng hadn't even discovered these valuable items. "Xiao Shen, perhaps you should stay in Gourd Village a few more days?"

Since the Dark Star Bureau had a concealed space tracking device, why didn't they deploy it sooner? With this device, they should have found Gourd Village much earlier!

If Lightbulb really pinpointed Gourd Village, the situation would be serious. If the entire Dark Star Bureau entered Gourd Village in a line, it wouldn't be as simple as staying for half a month; Ayi would probably keep them confined for life.

"Let them be confined for life then. Is the Dark Star Bureau's business that important?"

Li Banfeng rushed to the scene and saw Guan Zhengyang's car had already arrived. Li Banfeng had a bad feeling. Guan Zhengyang, with over a hundred people in camouflage uniforms and protective masks, was conducting a pre-battle briefing.

Li Banfeng asked Tangyuan: "Who are these people?"

Tangyuan whispered: "This is the Dark Star Special Operations Team, a specialized unit personally managed by Director Guan. Their weapons, equipment, and combat skills are highly advanced." Guan Zhengyang was originally in charge of the Dark Energy Research Lab; after it was disbanded, this special operations team emerged. He was a very restless person.

Lightbulb stood in front of an RV. Seeing Li Banfeng, he quickly stepped forward to report, with Star following closely, occasionally interjecting.

"Director Li, during my patrol, I noticed something unusual at No. 21 Wenyu Road, this particular hair salon. I was driving tracking device number six at the time. Faced with the anomaly, I immediately activated the device and pinpointed the entrance to Gourd Village..."

Star added: "Tracking device number six is the bureau's most advanced sixth-generation concealed space equipment. Today, we two were assigned to escort it."

Lightbulb glared at Star, then pulled out a notebook and handed it to Li Banfeng: "I've recorded all the details of the incident—the time, location, and specific circumstances. Please review it." Star supplemented: "At the first sign of the incident, we immediately evacuated nearby residents and sealed off Wenyu Road."

Lightbulb, unable to bear it anymore, looked at Star and said: "What are you trying to do?"

Star was surprised: "I'm just stating the situation."

"Can you stop trying to take credit all the time? Don't you get sick of using this cheap trick?" Star shrugged: "I don't know what you mean."

"I discovered the entrance to Gourd Village by myself. You weren't even in the car then. Why are you trying to claim credit?" Star fell silent. Everyone in the team secretly snickered.

When there was credit to be taken, he would try to attach himself to it. By confusing key information, he would make it hard for leaders to discern whose credit it truly was. After some maneuvering, Star would at least be seen as a participant, and if lucky, a main participant. This was Star's usual tactic, well-known among the Public Order Team.

Li Banfeng looked at Lightbulb's notes. In fact, Lightbulb's achievement was also a stroke of luck. This so-called concealed space tracking device couldn't actively track concealed spaces. Its working principle was that upon discovering a concealed space, it could lock onto the space entrance and establish a passage into it.

Gourd Village appeared and disappeared mysteriously, so discovering its entrance was purely coincidental. By the time the tracking device was brought over after an entrance was found, the entrance would have already disappeared, and the tracking device wouldn't be able to locate Gourd Village.

The tracking device could only function if it happened to be in the vicinity when Gourd Village was discovered, but the chances of this were extremely low. Yet, Lightbulb had hit upon precisely such a low probability.

Lightbulb and Star's mission was to deliver the tracking device to Candied Fruit, who would then direct its use. Unexpectedly, during transit, Star went to buy drinks, and Lightbulb opened the car window to smoke. He leaned out and saw two young women standing at the entrance of a hair salon.

Lightbulb described the process in detail to Li Banfeng: "Those two ladies had gourd-shaped figures and were exceptionally beautiful. They waved at me, calling out, 'Dong Xiaoning, come play!'"

"How could I go to such a place? I was on a mission. I originally didn't want to bother with it, but unexpectedly, those two ladies suddenly vanished!"

"I realized something was wrong. This was very similar to the signs of Gourd Village appearing. I immediately activated the tracking device. The new equipment only takes sixteen seconds to start. As soon as it started, it showed 'lock successful.'"

Star added: "I was back in less than a minute."

Lightbulb waved his hand: "If you didn't make it, you didn't make it. There's no point in trying to cling to credit. Director Li, Gourd Village is now locked by us. As long as we open the tracking device's entrance, we can directly enter Gourd Village."

Li Banfeng hadn't even seen what the tracking device looked like when Guan Zhengyang stepped forward with his men and took over the device. "Director Guan, what's the meaning of this?"

"Director Li, I've already reported to my superiors. This mission will be handled by the Special Operations Team. The Dark Star Bureau should not interfere anymore. I've listened to the reports of these two young men. Although it was a fluke, it's still credit for your bureau, and you will certainly receive the due commendations." "Director Guan, I didn't quite hear you!" Li Banfeng touched the projector.

"I'm taking over this operation! Did you understand?" Guan Zhengyang repeated. Li Banfeng ordered all Dark Star Bureau personnel to withdraw. At Guan Zhengyang's command, over a hundred special operations team members boarded the vehicle.

How big was the RV to fit over a hundred people?

In fact, each person who boarded the RV didn't linger inside. They directly entered the locked concealed space via a vector channel.

Lightbulb, worried Li Banfeng might be angry, whispered: "Director Li, let's not bother with him. Not getting involved in fighting might not be a bad thing for us." Li Banfeng wasn't angry; he was pondering something: Was what Lightbulb saw truly Gourd Village?

People coming out of Gourd Village to greet guests usually didn't know the guests' names. The only reason they knew Li Qi's name was because Chisel had revealed it to them. "Dong Xiaoning, come play!" This phrase didn't conform to Gourd Village's rules.

While he was thinking, over a hundred special operations team members had already entered the concealed space. Li Banfeng asked Tangyuan: "Who called Guan Zhengyang?"

"Who else could it be?" Tangyuan looked at Deputy Director Wang, gritting his teeth: "That flatterer is the most shameless!"

Guan Zhengyang, wearing headphones and watching the surveillance footage, assumed the air of a commander. Now, the operatives communicated only with him and followed only his orders. Fifteen minutes later, communication with the special operations team was interrupted.

Guan Zhengyang's expression was slightly awkward, but he could still offer a reasonable explanation.

If Gourd Village was a dark dimension, wireless communication would certainly be blocked upon entering it. But Li Banfeng was pondering something else: Was Gourd Village truly a dark dimension?

Even if it was a dark dimension, the Special Operations Team's approach was flawed. They should have kept some members stationed near the vector channel's exit to maintain communication. After about fifteen minutes, communication finally resumed, but the video signal did not.

Guan Zhengyang personally answered the call, his expression shifting from anticipation to solemnity, then to high tension. It was clear that the outcome of this operation was not optimistic. If they had encountered Gourd Village, it might have been better; Li Banfeng speculated they might have encountered something else entirely.

"Reinforcements! Quick, reinforcements!" Guan Zhengyang shouted to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng and the Public Order Team had already retreated. Now, Guan Zhengyang, without explaining anything, suddenly called for reinforcements. Li Banfeng certainly couldn't lead his team forward. Deputy Director Wang was frantic: "Director Li, did you hear Director Guan asking for reinforcements? Public Order Team, listen to my command, now immediately..."

Li Banfeng picked up Deputy Director Wang and brought him to Guan Zhengyang's side, asking: "What happened?"

Before Guan Zhengyang could speak, several special operatives rushed out of the RV. The team captain was among them. He told Guan Zhengyang: "Director, please close the vector channel's entrance immediately."

"Close immediately..." Guan Zhengyang froze for a moment. "Only a few of you left?" Whoosh!

A grayish-white spherical object, over fifty centimeters in diameter, shot out of the RV and directly slammed into Guan Zhengyang. Guan Zhengyang was knocked to the ground, and the spherical object opened its huge mouth, engulfing Guan Zhengyang's head.

The team captain, acting on Guan Zhengyang's behalf, ordered the immediate closing of the vector channel.

Other team members rushed forward and struggled with the spherical object, trying to make it release Guan Zhengyang.

They dared not use weapons, nor dark energy conduits, nor even easily use dark abilities. Everyone was afraid of harming Guan Zhengyang. Deputy Director Wang was anxious: "Director Li, think of something..."

Li Banfeng picked up Deputy Director Wang, preparing to bring him closer to Guan Zhengyang. Deputy Director Wang trembled into a ball, not daring to say another word. Under the successive attacks of the special operatives, the spherical object spat out Guan Zhengyang and began to retaliate against the team members.

Its method of counterattack was very monotonous: simply biting with its open mouth. Perhaps due to poor adaptation to the environment, the spherical object's movements were very sluggish.

The team members were well-adapted to the street environment and quickly found their combat rhythm. Two Striders, using their speed advantage, positioned themselves at the eight o'clock and four o'clock directions of the spherical object and opened fire. The bullets they used were extremely powerful, capable of penetrating the spherical object's thick outer shell.

The spherical object's thought process was also simple: if attacked, retaliate. It lunged at the attacker at the four o'clock position. The other team members seized the attack trajectory and exploded the spherical object with a rocket launcher.

Throughout the entire process, Li Banfeng watched from the side; no Dark Star Bureau members intervened. Emergency personnel arrived at the scene and transported Guan Zhengyang to the ambulance.

It had to be admitted, Director Guan was truly fortunate. The last time he was held captive by the Birch Hermitage Society, he didn't die, only losing an ear. This time, his head was gnawed by an unknown creature, and he still didn't die.

But this time, the situation was much more severe than before. Both of Guan Zhengyang's ears were gone, as was his nose. Most of the skin on his face was gone, though a single lock of hair remained, dangling on the right side of his scalp.

Deputy Director Wang teared up: "Director Guan, please say something..."

Seeing Deputy Director Wang's genuine emotion, Li Banfeng arranged for him alone to care for Guan Zhengyang.

Only him. No other Dark Star Bureau members were allowed to go.

The Special Operations Team now had no one in charge, and the captain didn't know who to report to. He wanted to call his direct superior but feared he might overstep or say something inappropriate.

However, if he kept silent, he couldn't bear the responsibility. Hesitantly, Li Banfeng approached, a smile on his face: "Tell me the specific situation inside." The captain looked around: "Our team isn't under the jurisdiction of the Dark Star Bureau..."

"You don't want to talk?" A hint of coldness entered Li Banfeng's smile. The aura of a Cloud-level cultivator made the captain shiver.

Having just experienced a fierce battle, with most of his team members sacrificed and the special operations team leader severely injured, the captain's psychological defenses collapsed under immense pressure. He reported the combat situation to Li Banfeng.

"After entering the vector channel, the Special Operations Team strictly followed the operational plan. Fifteen team members conducted an initial reconnaissance of the concealed space's interior, confirming no abnormalities within the space. Then, other team members were successively arranged to enter the concealed space."

"What do you mean by 'no abnormalities'?"

"There was nothing in the space. Within our visible and detectable range, no life forms were discovered." Clearly, they had not entered Gourd Village.

Li Banfeng asked: "So you let all team members enter the concealed space?"

"I didn't. I left fifteen team members to guard the vector channel exit to maintain communication, but they were attacked first."

According to the captain's description, the spherical life forms appeared in the vector channel, not the concealed space. Since the communication team members were attacked first, communication was interrupted at that time. Li Banfeng believed the captain was likely not lying, but his account had serious issues.

"The vector channel was established by our tracking device. How could there be spherical creatures there?" The captain couldn't provide a reasonable explanation. Li Banfeng told him to continue describing the battle.

The attack on the channel meant cutting off the team's retreat. The captain could only lead his team to fight their way back from the concealed space, contending with the spherical creatures for control of the vector channel.

According to the captain's estimate, the number of spherical creatures was between thirty and fifty. In the narrow channel, they had a strong combat advantage. Because combat was unidirectional, the team members had to directly face their biting attacks, which caused numerous casualties.

Li Banfeng imagined the vector channel as an ordinary tunnel, but he still couldn't understand the process: "When you entered, you didn't encounter any spherical creatures. So why did these spherical creatures suddenly appear in the channel later?"

The captain also couldn't explain this point. When the spherical creatures appeared, the captain had already entered the concealed space; he wasn't on site. One of the communication team members survived and described the process.

"Those monsters emerged from the walls. They could enter the walls, move within them, and attack. Our communication equipment was attacked first..." The team member tried to describe the entire battle process through writing and drawing.

A group of monsters that could hide, move, and attack within walls, with such excellent adaptability to a tunnel environment—Li Banfeng really wanted to see the actual battle scene. "Didn't you bring any unmanned equipment?"

"We had a few drones, but none of them made it out. These drones played an important role in the final stages of the blocking action." There were things the captain couldn't say, because many team members had been sacrificed.

But purely in terms of performance in this battle, the drones were superior to the team members. Their speed in automatically locking onto targets was much faster than the team members', and their chances of being hit by spherical objects were much lower.

"What about the video information transmitted by the drones?"

Several team members who didn't enter the tunnel were responsible for assisting Guan Zhengyang's command work: "Director Li, all on-site video is stored in a special device, and only Director Guan has the access password."

Li Banfeng was speechless. From beginning to end, Guan Zhengyang's best work had been secrecy. He couldn't see the video, but there was no need to rush, because this matter would eventually fall to the Dark Star Bureau anyway.

In the afternoon, the superiors convened an emergency meeting and asked Li Banfeng to attend. Li Banfeng wasn't in the mood and sent the recorded video from his projector to his superiors. In the video, Guan Zhengyang had made it very clear that they had taken over the operation and told Li Banfeng to withdraw his people.

This concealed space had nothing to do with Gourd Village, and this case had nothing to do with the Dark Star Bureau. The responsibilities of both parties were clearly delineated.

Shifting blame was impossible. Moreover, Li Banfeng was from Luozhou; if he didn't want to be reasonable, he could simply walk away. The superiors could only hope Li Banfeng would take a higher stance and accept responsibility.

Li Banfeng felt his stance was already high, and his demands were also clear: if he could investigate this dark dimension thoroughly, he wanted the Three-Headed One, and the Dark Star Bureau wanted the harmonizer.

The superiors agreed to Li Qi's request and specifically issued a document. Li Banfeng was not in a hurry to begin the investigation. He wouldn't test the waters with the lives of public order team members like Guan Zhengyang did.

He wanted to first understand the principle of this tracking device, and also clarify the true origin of these spherical creatures and the concealed space. If the spherical creatures were originally parasitic within the tracking device, then the equipment manufacturer would be under serious suspicion.

According to Li Qi's order, all evidence was to be managed by the Dark Star Bureau, with no interference from outsiders. The tracking device was sealed in place, to be personally inspected by Li Qi, and no one else was allowed near it. Late at night, Li Qi entered the RV and examined the shape of the tracking device.

The tracking device's structure was simpler than Li Banfeng had imagined: a cabinet, a display screen, a power distribution system, and a door with a metal frame. It truly was a door, not just a frame but also a door panel.

The door panel was connected to the cabinet at the back, and locked from the front. The lock couldn't be opened. According to the equipment manual, this door could only be opened after the tracking device was activated.

Li Banfeng entered his portable residence and brought out his wife. His wife had previously read the equipment manual and, after a general inspection of the components, had a good understanding of the tracking device's operating procedure. "My dear wife, shall we try activating the device?"

"Husband, don't rush. As you said, this thing has locked onto an unspeakable place. If we open it now, it's hard to say what might be released. Please allow your little servant to study it carefully first."

It took Jukebox an entire night to figure out the tracking device's working principle: "This is excellent! I'll make a list for you later, Husband. If you help me buy some things, I can modify the Dark Bridge Cannon. If the modification is successful, one shot can bring over a hundred people without a problem."

The technology for breaking through boundaries was becoming increasingly mature, and Li Banfeng was in a great mood. Was it time to return to Luozhou?

Should he still manage the Dark Star Bureau's affairs?

Li Banfeng sat in his office, contemplating his next steps. Tangyuan entered, reporting the latest progress: "Director Li, we've made a significant discovery in the remains of the spherical creature. This fragment has the symbol of the Steam Restoration Sect."

"What does the Steam Restoration Sect do?" Li Banfeng was completely baffled.

"It's an organization of steam engine enthusiasts. They like to re-create modern equipment using steam age technology."

"Are you saying the spherical creature was created by a civilian organization?" Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly. He couldn't believe a civilian organization could possess that level of technical capability.

But Tangyuan was very certain: "Director Li, we investigated the Steam Restoration Sect three years ago. This civilian organization's capabilities might greatly surprise you."

Li Banfeng frowned: "Then stop investigating; just arrest them!"

"Can't catch them!" Tangyuan shook his head. "Three years ago, the Dark Star Bureau used all its resources but failed to apprehend any personnel related to the Steam Restoration Sect."

Li Banfeng felt Tangyuan had a problem with his expression: "If you said you couldn't find a specific person, that's understandable. But to say you can't find a single person from an organization in Huan Kingdom, that's a bit far-fetched."

"Seventh Master, how dare I lie to you?" Tangyuan said earnestly. "This organization is too powerful. Since the Dark Star Bureau's establishment, we've never encountered such an opponent."

"I'd really like to see that myself." Li Banfeng looked at the photo Tangyuan brought. On the fragment of the spherical object's remains was a square with an exhaust valve, which was the symbol of the Steam Restoration Sect.

This civilian organization certainly couldn't have created that spherical body, but if this civilian organization had dealings with Neizhou, that would be a different matter. Was this incident related to the war Neizhou was about to launch?

The Desongya situation hadn't settled either. If Neizhou really intended to act, would they choose Waizhou or Luozhou? After Tangyuan left, Li Banfeng contacted Luo Zhengnan to inquire about the situation at Desongya.

"Seventh Master, Desongya is doing well. There's no fighting recently. Whoever fights gets sick—first their hands rot, then their feet rot. If they still want to fight, their whole body will rot." Only Cui Tike could devise such a method.

The key was, how did he do it? How could he accurately target every person who wanted to fight?

In the cave, Cui Tike was rolling out noodles: "This is a traditional Luozhou food. It should suit your taste better than my baked bread." The child gnawed on a piece of bread. He actually liked bread very much.

Cui Tike put the sliced noodles into the pot and said to the child: "I've made new food. Out of respect for me, don't eat so much bread." The child nodded, then took another bite of bread.

Cui Tike was very angry: "I'm warning you one more time, you need to quickly come up with some valuable information for me. My patience with you is truly running out!" The child nodded and continued eating bread.

The noodles were cooked, and Cui Tike specially made zhajiang (fried sauce).

The child ate a bite of noodles, a bite of bread, and then a bite of zhajiang.

Cui Tike helplessly shook his head: "I've taught you for so long, you should at least understand basic table manners. Today we're eating zhajiangmian (noodles with fried sauce)." The child dipped the bread in the zhajiang, then took a bite and said: "Delicious!"

Cui Tike sighed, eating his noodles, and said to the child: "I've expanded the scope of the rule. Not only will those who actively attack me fall ill, but also those who made promises to me and then broke them will fall ill. I've thought about it carefully, and actually, this already goes beyond the scope of a rule; it should be considered a technique. What do you think would be a good name for this technique?" The child looked up and said: "The noodles are delicious."

"I'm talking about a technique, do you understand technique? The name I want to give this technique is, 'Prosper those who follow me!' What do you think of this name? Is it a bit too ostentatious?"

The child nodded and said: "Give me noodle soup, the noodles are delicious!"

Cui Tike sighed: "Can't you focus a little more? My patience with you is truly running out." "Here's your noodle soup!" The child scooped a bowl of noodle soup and brought it to the cave entrance.

A Daolao ghost stood at the cave entrance. The child offered the noodle soup to him.

The Daolao ghost refused the child; he was standing guard at the cave entrance, which was his job. "Noodle soup, delicious!" The child kept holding the noodle soup.

"Eat it while it's hot." Cui Tike ordered. The Daolao ghost took the noodle soup and devoured it. After eating, the Daolao ghost made an effort to smile at the child and returned the bowl.

This Daolao ghost was a 'seed' Cui Tike had planted at the cave entrance. He had reminded the child many times not to water the 'seeds,' but the child still did.

To Cui Tike's surprise, the Daolao ghost did not harm the child. Although it roared and snarled at the child, frightening him, the child was indeed unharmed.

"'Prosper those who follow me,' a very good technique," Cui Tike nodded slightly, with a touch of pride. "If I truly master this technique, perhaps I won't have to kill everyone."