"[7 of Spades], what is your request?"
"I need a quiet room."
"Reason?"
"Discovered a suspected Fusionist. Conducting a calamity level assessment experiment."
"Fusionist?" The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Is there a possibility of recruiting him?"
"The target can be ruled out as a member of the Fusionist faction, but shows a tendency to join the Enforcers. Whether he has recruitment value depends on the results of my assessment."
"Understood."
The woman pulled out a key from the bottom of the cabinet. "The quiet room is on the second basement floor."
Chu Muyun took the key, opened the basement door, and vanished in a flicker.
The woman stepped out from behind the counter, stood at the door to covertly observe the surroundings, then flipped the "Open for Business" sign and closed the shop.
Whoosh—
In the darkness, Chu Muyun lit a kerosene lamp and descended the narrow stairs.
The dim light sank gradually. At the bottom of the stairs was a space of about ten square meters. Chu Muyun bent down to place the kerosene lamp in the center of the floor, then took out the brown vial and poured its contents out.
He removed his glasses, and azure light welled up from his eyes. A tyrannical pressure transformed into a whirlwind, churning within the space!
"Diagnosis... begin."
Bingquan Street.
Chen Ling weaved through the shattered ruins, searching carefully.
He now felt grateful to be assigned here, tasked with finding clues... If Chen Yan had left any traces here, he would be the first to know—and the first to destroy them.
If he hadn't found that safety amulet fragment yesterday but another enforcer had, the consequences would be unthinkable.
But it turned out Chen Yan had left nothing else.
Chen Ling spent the entire morning rummaging through every inch of Bingquan Street's ruins. Apart from bloodied remains, there was nothing else—not even a trace of the "calamity domain" mentioned by Qian Fan.
Chen Ling couldn't help wondering: What ability did the calamity inside Chen Yan possess?
As he pondered, a figure approached from afar.
"Wu Youdong?" Chen Ling recognized the approaching person and froze slightly.
It wasn't surprising that Wu Youdong was on Bingquan Street, but the problem was that Wu Youdong now leaned on a metal crutch, one leg in a cast, covered in wounds and bandages, with a black eye, looking as dirty as if he'd just crawled out of a trench.
Hearing Chen Ling's voice, Wu Youdong, who had been staring at the ground, finally showed a flicker of light in his eyes.
"Chen Ling." Wu Youdong smiled bitterly. "I didn't think I'd live to see you..."
"What happened to you..."
"I don't want to be an enforcer anymore."
Wu Youdong looked up at the distant aurora, sorrow and loneliness flashing in his bruised eyes.
"What happened?" Chen Ling clearly remembered that when he left yesterday, the other man had eagerly gone to complete his mission. How had he ended up like this?
"Enforcers... Bingquan Street... none of it's good."
"Chen Ling, do you know who lives on this street?"
"They're debt collectors! Cultists! Wanted criminals! This place is crawling with illegal gun trafficking, drug deals, organ trades... I went to collect information from the street's survivors yesterday, and they just laughed at me and hurled insults!"
"They kicked me into the toilet! Made me scrub their toilets! When I refused, they broke my leg!"
Wu Youdong's voice trembled more and more. As if recalling painful memories, veins bulged on his neck.
"They did it on purpose!!
The Zone 2 enforcers know exactly what kind of place this street is! None of them want to come here, so they asked Zone 3 for manpower! I don't know what deal they made with Ma Zhong, but he assigned people from Zone 3's probationary enforcers!
He knows we're new recruits, from poor families with no power! Who else would he send?!!
They call it 'support,' but really, we're just sacrifices offered by enforcer high command! I swear on my life! The enforcer higher-ups must be connected to Bingquan Street's underground operations!
Why do they get to do this?!
My parents sold everything to put me through school! I earned my spot as an enforcer through hard work!
How dare they humiliate me like this?!!"
Wu Youdong roared with rage, his eyes bloodshot. But even now, he didn't dare raise his voice too much... because Zone 2 enforcers were standing not far away.
Under the gaze of lions, even the angriest ants can only seethe in silence.
Wu Youdong's chest heaved violently, as if he might charge at Bingquan Street or the enforcers at any moment. But at a new voice, he froze again.
"Wu Youdong, Chen Ling? What are you talking about?"
Qian Fan, in his black-and-red uniform, walked over with arms crossed, looking curious.
Wu Youdong's face paled instantly.
"Wu Youdong, didn't you say you're quitting as an enforcer?" Qian Fan pressed. "Voluntarily withdrawing from the enforcer exam means no second chances... For someone like you, this was supposed to be a chance to change your destiny. Are you sure?
Or... if you think the enforcers aren't doing something right, you can voice your concerns. We can discuss it..."
Wu Youdong's expression flickered several times, as if on the verge of speaking... but under Qian Fan's stare, he finally shook his head.
"No, nothing... I volunteer to withdraw."
"What a pity."
Chen Ling felt a pang of mixed emotions as he watched Wu Youdong...
Wu Youdong had poured out his grievances about the enforcers to Chen Ling, but in front of enforcers, he didn't dare utter a word.
But he couldn't blame Wu Youdong for cowardice. Even if Wu Youdong quit, he'd still have to live in Zone 3 or another district of the Aurora Realm—and enforcers were everywhere.
To everyone in the Aurora Realm, enforcers were absolute authority.
Wu Youdong stared deeply at Chen Ling, then lowered his head again... Leaning on his cheap crutches, he gritted his teeth and limped toward Zone 3.
His figure grew smaller as he walked away, until he was just a speck of sand blown to the end of the road.
Chen Ling knew that from now on... Wu Youdong might never hold his head high again.
"Sigh, I actually thought he was a good kid—hardworking, with potential." Qian Fan sighed as he watched Wu Youdong leave.
"Oh right, now that Wu Youdong's gone, his workload is empty... You'll take over his duties starting today."
Chen Ling froze and turned to look at Qian Fan.
Qian Fan smiled and met his gaze. In the sunlight, his smile was like that of a demon.