Chapter 00049: Startle
# Startle
Chapter 49
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 49: Startle
The nightlife of Cliff City had always been loud and bustling, with street food stalls, barbecue, KTV, and an endless variety of entertainment.
Amidst the colorful evenings shared by many, some showed a strange calmness mixed with restlessness.
It wasn’t until the early dawn that the booming noises within the underground training grounds of the Security Bureau finally ceased.
Then, with an impassive expression, Yu Hanguang pushed open the door and left without even offering his usual mock greetings to the staff coming to clean up.
After Yu Hanguang departed, the chill in the air seemed to slowly dissipate.
“Wow, did he eat gunpowder?”
The manager, holding a mop and broom, stared blankly in the direction Yu Hanguang had gone like a deer caught in headlights.
Upon entering the training grounds, he froze in place.
The scene was chaos.
The vast training ground, with its alloy steel-covered floor, walls, and ceiling, was littered with burn marks, the scorching heat still lingering.
The targets, once intact, had melted away into pools of iron, leaving no remains!
It looked just like a natural disaster had swept through!
The entire training ground could no longer be used; it had turned into a wasteland…
“Clean everything up! If anyone’s foolish enough to linger, throw them out quickly! It’s not a time for trouble!”
Only after returning to his office did a hint of gloom finally appear on Yu Hanguang’s face.
He abruptly hung up the phone and sank back into his chair.
His previous rage had finally subsided into something more controlled, leaving only a cold detachment in his gaze.
After Wen Wen had ruthlessly embarrassed him, he was forced to sever all ties with every business related to Jiang Jin, that old dog.
The losses were immeasurable.
Everything he had earned over the years had vanished in an instant, and more on top of that.
If she dared to take advantage of this again, he wondered how much more trouble would find him.
What troubled him even more wasn’t Wen Wen.
Even if Minerva was involved, so what? That transcendent from Zhongdu hadn’t killed her; she was still alive.
As long as Minerva held power within the tangled hierarchy of the Federation, Wen Wen could only stir up trouble within the small bounds of Cliff City, never causing a grand disaster.
No matter how strong she was, the world wasn’t just made up of her strength; even the strongest had to abide by rules.
Otherwise, they’d simply be pushed out of the game by everyone else.
He had never feared Wen Wen, no matter how much she made him uncomfortable.
But the key issue was... the relationship between Wen Wen and Ji Jue.
The chosen summoner indeed had a bright future ahead, but so what? If need be, getting rid of her would be no more troublesome than squashing an ant.
However, if those two joined forces...
With a simple thought, he realized that everything that happened last night couldn’t possibly have been orchestrated solely by Wen Wen, that person whose mind was set only on killing.
The true puppeteer pulling the strings, apart from Ji Jue, was someone else.
It was unfathomable how much she had come to trust others.
She had effectively become a military adviser, wise beyond measure.
Regardless of whether Ji Jue, having matured, would become a strong ally for Wen Wen, one with an outside brain like Wen Wen’s was already a thousand times more unruly than before.
If he wasn’t careful, he might just end up losing a piece of himself…
In the instant he realized all of this, it was clear to him—only Ji Jue posed the real threat.
A cold glint flashed in Yu Hanguang’s eyes.
—He must act swiftly, to eliminate her threat!
As for Wen Wen’s protection, indeed, it posed a bit of a challenge.
But why should he dirty his hands?
He didn’t need to do anything directly.
To deal with a rootless wanderer like Ji Jue, he only needed to perform his duties, write a report based on the intelligence provided by his informants, and that would be sufficient!
In a place as leaky as the Security Bureau, that would naturally spark endless turmoil, each wave capable of drowning Ji Jue completely.
Even without concrete evidence, that didn’t matter.
Sometimes, all it took to crush someone was mere suspicion.
And who didn’t have weaknesses?
Classmates, friends, family...
There were countless ways to make an attack, each method too numerous to count.
It didn’t even require bloodshed; a slight push would be enough to lead someone to ruin.
At that point, even a chosen summoner wouldn’t be able to act brazenly for long.
Yu Hanguang chuckled coldly, reaching for his phone, just as he was about to dial a number when suddenly, his palm trembled.
An unknown number had bypassed his block and rang through to his phone.
A golden display appeared, indicating the caller’s exceptional status and authority.
He blinked in surprise and answered the call.
“Who is this?”
“Ye Xian.”
A calm voice came through the line, unwavering, and straight to the point: “Group Leader Yu, I understand you have certain thoughts about my apprentice?”
“...”
In a moment of blankness, Yu Hanguang’s mind raced, his brows knitting together.
Ye Xian? Who was that?
He rummaged through his memory and finally recalled a mention in earlier documents about an alchemist who had arrived in Cliff City years ago...
A craftsman?
He almost burst into laughter from anger; was everyone now daring to step on his toes?
“The Security Bureau is doing its job; I believe there’s no need to explain myself to anyone else,” he said coldly. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.”
“Is that so?”
On the other end, a resigned sigh could be heard: “Group Leader Yu, perhaps you are aware that in alchemy, there’s a saying… bad emotions can interfere with the mind; a disturbed mind affects the body.”
She continued: “Those with ill health should rest more.”
It was baffling!
He completely didn’t understand what she was getting at!
Yu Hanguang scoffed, wanting to dismiss the call when he realized… his fingers suddenly wouldn’t move.
A cold, numbing sensation, sharp as a blade, crept from his fingertips, spreading quickly, engulfing his entire body, stripping away his control over his own flesh, and then it expanded violently.
Like a torrents of icy waves, it consumed everything.
In an instant of convulsions, Yu Hanguang found himself unable to stifle a violent cough, only to sputter out vivid red blood.
Amongst it, distinct grains of iron sand and shards of metal!
The iron debris fell onto the table, sizzling and emitting bright sparks!
Yu Hanguang’s eyes widened, staring in disbelief.
That was his… matrix?
But at that moment, his matrix had gone completely out of control!
It was as if it had suffered from catastrophic contamination, violently swaying, twisting, losing control, like a violent internal explosion as abilities clashed within him, triggering a sort of internal destruction!
It wasn’t serious; with a few days of rest, he could fully recover.
But… what if it becomes serious?
What if it could become a lot worse?!
He had always prided himself on his absolute control over his abilities, yet now, they had betrayed him!
In an instant, a chilling fear enveloped him, causing uncontrollable shivers, as he felt a kind of terror he had never experienced before!
“You are exhausted; you might be suffering from overwork. Perhaps it’s time to rest for a few months starting today.”
On the other end of the line, that calm voice concluded, “I have a short temper and dislike impolite conversation, so I hope the Security Bureau also pays attention…”
She said, “Don’t be ungrateful.”
With that, the call ended.
In the silent office, only the repetitive busy tone echoed, along with Yu Hanguang’s heavy breathing.
For a long, long time, he couldn’t rise from his chair, drenched in cold sweat.
He did not even have the strength to speak.
It felt like a hyena whose tail had been crushed by a Tyrannosaurus!
“You sure stirred up quite a ruckus last night.”
In the morning, Ji Jue finally met with the busy Ye Xian in the workshop.
Professor Ye still held her cup of tea, sipping slowly from the bitter brew, speaking calmly.
“Since this morning, the Security Bureau has been sending their inquiries my way, enough to make a helpless craftsman like me feel a bit overwhelmed.”
“It’s my fault, Professor, I’m sorry.”
Ji Jue was dumbfounded, remaining silent for a long while, unable to hide his embarrassment.
On one hand, the urgent situation yesterday had left him no room to think, but on the other, he still had a weak understanding of his current identity.
He truly hadn’t anticipated that his actions would implicate the professor… getting involved with the Security Bureau, and even with the Master of the Taiyi Circle, how troublesome could that get?
Damn it, Yu Hanguang, that dog!
After mentally marking that down, Ji Jue said solemnly, “I promise it won’t happen again.”
If there were to be a next time, he’d wear a mask, clear his identity, and then go get that dog’s life...
“Enough. I had my preparations ready the day you were brought in. There’s no need for such unnecessary words and promises. Capable people can shine in anything they do; those without qualifications will only be seen as clowns. If you can truly become a master in the future, who can say my choice today was wrong?”
Professor Ye cast him a glance and said calmly, “Don’t let me down.”
“Understood.” Ji Jue nodded madly, eager to write a guarantee.
What puzzled him more was that there were no anticipated reprimands or scoldings; yesterday’s events were brushed aside like they were nothing.
No questions were even asked about it!
Ji Jue internally breathed a sigh of relief, then mentally noted again that dog Yu Hanguang: once you develop, you’ll be waiting for your demise, you stupid idiot!
Just as he was checking Ji Jue’s progress and work from the past few days, Professor Ye waved her hand without interest: “Mediocre stuff; using the scraps hardly does it justice.”
In comparison, the technical skill involved didn’t even match that of the portable probes you used for repairs on that gun’s emblem.
Did you not bring it?
“Uh, that was something I borrowed from someone else, and I returned it on my way here,” Ji Jue stammered, feeling embarrassed as he fidgeted with his toes, not expecting his impulsive actions to have caught Professor Ye’s eye.
“What about the others?”
Professor Ye didn’t hide her curiosity: “What about that activated motorcycle capable of countering the chosen summoners? I saw you riding it today, didn’t I?”
She adjusted her glasses, the fiery gaze of a craftsman appearing, “Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like this in all these years…”
To think her newly initiated student, no, a student before initiation, could come up with something so extravagant?
It was truly surprising!
No, it should be called a startle...
(End of Chapter)