Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 346 - 77: Interception

The assistant argued vehemently, "Those are Manager Zhao’s security personnel, assigned to him by the company! Why can’t we take them? If something happens to Manager Zhao, can you bear that responsibility?"

Peregrine Falcon was unmoved, his tone cold and merciless. "That may be true in Central City, but during a transport mission, every individual is part of the convoy’s defensive force—including Manager Zhao himself. However, considering he is unwell, I will personally approve his return.

If Manager Zhao finds this arrangement unsuitable, he can file an appeal with headquarters via telegram. As long as headquarters approves, I have no personal objections."

Zhao Qian raised a hand to stop his assistant from arguing further. Exchanging telegrams would take too much time, and as his condition worsened, he could no longer afford to delay. He had to return immediately. Besides, with Chi Duan as an escort, he should be able to handle most situations.

The assistant immediately understood. Swallowing his dissatisfaction with Peregrine Falcon, he had their private car pull out of the convoy and stop. He then had Chi Duan get in with them for better protection.

The rest of the transport convoy drove on in a cloud of churning dust, while they turned the car around and headed back toward Central City.

Barely twenty minutes later, while they were still a good distance from Central City, a figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the National Path ahead.

Chi Duan straightened up instinctively, his eyes fixed on the person. The scene felt eerily familiar: the same National Path, the same formidable figure, and himself, sitting in the same luxury car. For a moment, it felt as if time itself had become jumbled.

Zhao Qian, who was lying across the seats, keenly sensed something was amiss. "What’s going on?" he asked weakly.

Chi Duan sighed. "Someone’s blocking the road. Mr. Zhao, do you remember when you sent me to get the Yangzhi? This is the man who stopped me."

The moment Zhao Qian heard this, his expression changed drastically. He knew exactly who Chi Duan was talking about. If it was him, even at full strength, the two of them combined might not be his match.

Chi Duan considered for a moment. "I can try to hold him off for a while," he said, "but Mr. Zhao, you’ll have to cover the rest of the distance on your own."

"That’s the best decision," Zhao Qian said decisively.

A Fighter could outrun a car over short distances, and disrupting a vehicle’s balance and mechanics was no difficult feat for them. If no one went out to face their opponent, he could easily flip the car. Hiding inside to avoid a fight was not a good idea.

Someone had to get out and intercept him.

Chi Duan turned to the assistant. "Take care of Mr. Zhao." Then, he pushed the door open and stepped out.

Zhao Qian waited until he heard Chi Duan’s footsteps move forward, then ordered in a low voice, "Drive!"

The driver complied, yanking the steering wheel to the side and accelerating.

Zhao Qian couldn’t see what was happening outside, but he could hear the sound of colliding fists and feet. As they passed a certain point, the car jolted violently, as if it had been launched into the air. A moment later, it crashed back down and stabilized. Both the driver’s and the assistant’s breathing became ragged in an instant.

But soon, the car sped away from the sounds of the fight.

Just then, Zhao Qian felt the strange affliction in his body recede. He had regained some of his strength. He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to the assistant. "Send this telegram," he instructed.

This was his contingency plan, but he didn’t know if it would be in time.

While the assistant went to send the telegram, Zhao Qian drank some water and forced himself to sleep. He needed to rest to accelerate his recovery.

However, it seemed he had only just closed his eyes when he felt the car slow down again. Highly sensitive to such changes, Zhao Qian’s eyes snapped open. He noticed his assistant was tense, trembling slightly. Realizing what this meant, he said in a deep voice, "Help me up."

The assistant quickly helped him sit up. Zhao Qian looked ahead and saw a car parked on the side of the road. A figure stood beside it, holding a Long Blade. A reddish-brown scarf concealed the lower half of his face, whipping about in the wind.

The assistant, drenched in a cold sweat, stammered in a panic, "Manager, that’s a General Affairs Bureau uniform! What... what do we do?"

Zhao Qian watched the figure, his eyes narrowing. "Send another telegram," he said calmly. "Transmit our current location."

The assistant hurried to put on the headset.

Zhao Qian stared ahead. He had never met Chen Chuan in person, but he had seen his photograph. The moment he laid eyes on the figure, he knew instinctively that it was Chen Chuan. After a moment’s thought, he ordered the driver, "Ram him!"

"Yes, sir."

The driver immediately slammed on the accelerator, speeding straight toward the man. ’He should have done this with the last Fighter,’ the driver thought. ’Why even bother getting out of the car?’

Chen Chuan stood quietly, holding the Snow Monarch Blade. Though he wasn’t in the city and couldn’t witness the "freak" tear into its target as You Xing had, he could sense from the feedback it sent him that the damage inflicted this time was substantial.

The return of this private car only confirmed it: Zhao Qian had been severely injured and was forced to retreat to Central City.

Everything was going according to plan.

Now, it was time to end this.

As the car accelerated toward him, he didn’t dodge. Instead, he walked forward, breaking into a run. At the last second before impact, he took a sharp step to the left, spun, and swung the Long Blade in a horizontal slash against the side of the speeding vehicle.

Zhao Qian’s pupils contracted. He threw himself backward.

The blade sliced through the top half of the car. A shower of sparks erupted as the edge cut through the armored plating, trailing from the front of the vehicle to the back. The entire roof was nearly sheared off!

As the car sped past, Chen Chuan came to a stop and glanced back. The vehicle swerved wildly down the road. He had intentionally spared the driver, but the severed pillar and shattered windows made it impossible for the man to control the car.

He took another step forward, and the world around him seemed to slow. His figure shot forward, weaving through the glass fragments still hanging in the air. In an instant, he was behind the car. He rammed it with his shoulder. The vehicle immediately lost its balance and spun out, sliding sideways until it slammed into the guardrail with a deafening CRUNCH and stopped.

Chen Chuan adjusted his fedora and, blade in hand, slowly walked toward the wreck.

Inside the car, the driver sat frozen, not daring to move. He watched in the side-view mirror as the man approached, his face a mask of terror. Now he understood why you stopped the car for people like that.

Zhao Qian lay inside. His assistant, not wearing a seatbelt, had been knocked unconscious in the crash. But despite his existing critical injuries, Zhao Qian’s physique as a Fighter had protected him from any new harm.

He quickly fumbled under the seat and pulled out a small cooler. A cloud of cold air puffed out as he opened it. He took out a syringe, jabbed it into his neck, and injected the entire vial of scarlet liquid.

In an instant, a surge of Power flooded his body. He felt his vitality return. Taking a deep breath, he pulled a latch on the car’s ceiling, and a two-handed Long Sword dropped into his grasp.

He snatched it out of the air, kicked open the car door, and climbed out. He still looked weak at first, but once he was outside, he slowly straightened his back and began walking toward Chen Chuan.

He stared at the bright, dark eyes above Chen Chuan’s scarf. After a few steps, his figure vanished, reappearing an instant later in front of Chen Chuan, throwing a punch.

But his fist was caught in mid-air. At the same time, the Sword Scabbard whipped across his cheek, sending him flying.

He tried to right himself in mid-air, but his Mutated Organization and internal organs were too severely damaged; he had no control over his own body. He crashed heavily to the ground and rolled several times before pushing himself up. Staring at Chen Chuan, he thought, ’He took the drug, too...?’

He had intended to use the speed of the Third Limit to overwhelm Chen Chuan in a single move, but Chen Chuan had kept up with him. That must mean he’d taken a stimulant beforehand.

He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and spat out a few broken teeth. He raised his sword and, with a slight shake, the blade slid free from its side-opening scabbard. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he held it beside his head, the blade pointed straight at Chen Chuan.

As Chen Chuan advanced, he raised the Snow Monarch Blade. With a light touch from his other hand, the Sword Scabbard flew off. He continued walking toward Zhao Qian with a steady pace.

Zhao Qian waited until he was close, then pushed off the ground and shot forward. Halfway there, he ducked low, switched to a one-handed grip, and thrust at Chen Chuan’s face with a flash of his blade.

Chen Chuan raised his blade with both hands in a probing block. Zhao Qian, however, instantly retracted his sword to avoid the parry, then followed up with another incredibly swift thrust. But Chen Chuan’s Sword Stance was fluid; his blade was already descending in a downward chop. If Zhao Qian didn’t alter his attack, he would be struck mid-thrust.

Zhao Qian changed his move again. He jerked the hilt upward with both hands while twisting at the waist, attempting to use the force to parry the downward Sword Stance. He planned to follow the momentum with a reverse upward slash from the other side. If it landed, the blow would cleave Chen Chuan in two.

The moment their Weapons met, however, a surge of Power traveled up his blade. Every technique and stance required strength to support it. Without the full support of his Mutated Organization, he was simply not strong enough to block this force. Not only did his planned Sword Stance fail, but his Long Sword was knocked from his hands.

The next moment, he saw a flash of the blade and a cold sensation pierced his chest. All strength left him; the Power he had gained from the drug was rapidly draining away. But before he could collapse, he felt his vision begin to rise.

After running Zhao Qian through, Chen Chuan held the blade’s hilt with one hand, his arm steady as he slowly lifted the man’s entire body into the air. He looked at him calmly. "You were the one who took Senior Brother Shen’s sister, weren’t you? Where is she now?"

Blood trickled from the corners of Zhao Qian’s mouth. He forced his lips into a malicious grin. "So that’s what this is about. I’m not telling you anything. You’ll never find her."

Just then, Chen Chuan sensed something. He glanced back and saw someone crouching atop the nearby guardrail. The person wore protective goggles and a motorcycle helmet. Two long, narrow blades extended from their forearms, seemingly attached by Implants.

Chen Chuan turned his head. The figure grinned, pulling his goggles down to hang around his neck. He stood up straight and looked at Zhao Qian. "You must be the client, right? So, am I late, or right on time?"

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