Chapter 999: Chapter 999

Bright sunlight streamed through the window into the sparsely decorated ward, and He Ao slowly sat up on the bed, lifted the hospital gown off his body, and glanced at the bandages that almost entirely wrapped his body.

The medicines from Des were indeed very effective. Although the wounds on his body were still there, the pain and the feeling of physical overexertion had been greatly diminished.

He Ao looked at the bracelet on his hand, which had many unread messages. He quickly flipped through them.

The message at the bottom was from Tucker of the City Police Station, indicating that he and the City Defense Army had taken control of the headquarters buildings of the Two Great Consortiums and were currently collecting evidence.

Last night, after the North City Defense Forces surrounded the headquarters of the Two Great Consortiums, He Ao had the City Police Station also go to maintain order and conduct searches.

The City Defense Army specialized in combat and killing, while the City Police Station was more professional in searches and gathering evidence.

A little further up was a message from Corvey of South City, who, in addition to reporting to He Ao about the progress of the battlefield cleanup, also mentioned that food transported by the Nolanka Group was about to arrive in the morning.

At the top was a message from Mid of North City. He stated that the battlefield in North City had almost been cleaned up, most of the soldiers who surrendered from Scott’s forces had been dispersed and reorganized, and something had been found on the battlefield that He Ao might like; it had been packaged and sent over.

He Ao replied to each of these messages, indicating that he had seen them. He also sent a new message to the Mayor’s office, asking them to grant import clearance for the food supplied by the Nolanka Group.

Then he stretched his body slightly, picked up the brass cane leaning against the bed, and slowly got up and walked toward the door of the ward.

The automatic door sensed his approach and slid open, and standing outside was a yawning young man dressed in the Mayor’s Guard uniform.

When he saw He Ao emerge from behind the door, his hands stiffened.

He Ao lifted his cane and smiled at him.

"Good morning, Mr. Lin En!"

The young guard immediately straightened up, saluted He Ao, and then watched him walk away.

He then took a deep breath, scratched his head, and chuckled to himself.

By this time, He Ao had already entered a nearby changing room and raised his bracelet to dial Tucker, the chief of the City Police Station.

While waiting for the call to connect, He Ao also looked at the clothes in the closet.

Linen’s clothes were mostly of the same shade, and his suits were primarily gray for two reasons: one, Linen preferred this shade of clothing, and two, to maintain a consistent image in the eyes of the public.

He Ao casually picked up one of Linen’s favorite custom-made gray suits and quickly put it on.

At that moment, the call to Tucker was connected.

Tucker’s voice came through the handset, "You’re awake? How do you feel?"

"Not bad, I can move around normally,"

He Ao looked at himself in the mirror, adjusting his tie, "Has the situation with the Yiwis Space System and Kopace Mining been resolved?"

"The situation is currently under control,"

Tucker replied promptly, "We’ve connected all of their computers to the North City network, breached their encryption systems, and found a large amount of evidence of illegal activities by the Two Great Consortiums. We are currently quickly sealing and storing this evidence."

"Gather all the information and prepare for the roundup. If you don’t have enough manpower, you can borrow from the City Defense Army,"

He Ao, having adjusted his tie, spoke calmly.

Tucker quickly responded.

He Ao picked up his cane, and as he walked out, he said, "Arrange a car for me, I will be going to the City Council later."

"Right away! I will handle it,"

the voice on the other end of the phone swiftly replied.

He Ao hung up the phone and stepped out of the bedroom door, walking down the corridor toward the elevator.

The morning light, passing through the ancient stained-glass windows, traced patterns like leaves on the ground, casting them before the elder’s polished silver-grey boots.

"Victory!" "Victory!" "Long live!" "Long live Mr. Lin En"...

It was at that moment that the somewhat noisy sounds of revelry reached He Ao’s ears.

He Ao turned around, looking out of the corridor windows.

A dense crowd was currently gathering in front of the Jasmine Flower Sea, carrying banners with handwritten fonts, and various small signs, noisily and jubilantly celebrating.

"Is this what they call victory celebrations?"

A voice tinged with emotion came from behind him.

He Ao looked back at the golden-haired Chief of Staff who had come up behind him, his gaze returning to the window, "When did you arrive?"

"I came last night, but I didn’t want to disturb you, so I waited until this morning."

The golden-haired staff officer spoke slowly, "These people’s attire doesn’t resemble those from the Saint Ilan District; most of them must be from the South and North Cities. You can tell they’re truly grateful to you."

"I only did what I ought to have done,"

He Ao picked up his staff and turned to look at the golden-haired staff officer, "Did you come over so early for some reason?"

"The North City Defense Forces have hoisted a large item over here, said it’s for you, and told me it’s very dangerous and not to open it lightly,"

The golden-haired staff officer rubbed the temples of his forehead, "It’s piled up in the plaza at the back; my head is about to explode."

"What have they hoisted over here?"

He Ao was slightly startled, asking with some curiosity.

He vaguely realized what Mid must have sent.

"A large box; it looks quite heavy."

The golden-haired staff officer turned and walked towards the elevator, "Come on, I’ll take you to see it."

Soon, the two of them took the elevator to the first floor and followed the corridor to the small plaza garden behind the White Jasmine Palace.

A huge silver container about five meters in length appeared before He Ao.

The container’s craftsmanship looked very rough, as if it was made in a hurry, with many thin, silver sheets attached to it.

He Ao took one glance at the silver sheets and walked over, extending his hand to touch the surface of the container.

A cold chill seeped through his skin and penetrated his body.

He directly raised his hand, flipped the switch, and pulled open the container door.

A cold breeze swept across his face in an instant, and the first thing that entered his vision was a small mound of cement and rocks, atop of which a silver jade spear was firmly inserted.

Mid must have been afraid to touch the spear, so he had it excavated along with the debris and packed it up with machinery.

He Ao followed the mound upward to the front of the spear.

This was Scott’s weapon, a spear made from the strength of the Abyss.

Or rather, it was a gift from a Higher Being of the Abyss to Scott.

After He Ao had knocked it away, he had no idea where it went.

Because he was worried that Lunsar would notice something was off and flee, He Ao didn’t search for the spear after killing Scott; he immediately went after Lunsar. Still, he had explicitly instructed Mid to carefully check the area where he had fought Scott and seal all potentially Abyss-related items to prevent environmental contamination.

Having the army scan and handle it was more convenient than searching by himself.

However, He Ao hadn’t really thought the spear would necessarily remain; he had just asked Mid to keep an eye out.

Because in reality, the spear was a manifestation of Abyssal energy rather than a physical material substance. Theoretically, after Scott’s death, the Abyssal entity behind Scott should have attempted to recover this portion of its strength.

Clearly, there was a slight problem between the Abyssal entity and the spear, which resulted in the spear not being ’retrieved.’

He Ao had a good idea where this ’problem’ lay.

After Scott’s death, the Abyssal entity planned to use Scott’s soul to construct an anchor, but He Ao directly shattered the connection with his Soul Power, causing Scott’s soul to dissipate quickly.

The connection between the Abyssal entity and the spear was likely mediated through Scott, and now that the relay point was completely severed, the spear was disconnected as well.

He Ao stretched out his hand and grasped the jade spear.

Instantly, a cold chill spread up the shaft and into his body, as the entire world came to a standstill, numerous twisted lines emerging from the void.

He Ao looked up and behind him.

Beneath the stilled sky of his world, a giant figure stood, looking at him and the spear in his hand.

Compared to last night’s occurrence, this figure seemed a bit clearer.

And at that moment, the figure’s indifferent gaze watched over He Ao, an intangible look crossing time and space.

He Ao could distinctly sense the meaning behind that gaze.

An intangible oppression crossed time and space, bearing down on He Ao’s soul, while mad and chaotic ravings began to echo in his mind.

Then He Ao looked at the figure and, with a ’puff,’ pulled out the spear.

The originally silent world suddenly became colder, the distant giant figure pausing in movement, seemingly not anticipating He Ao’s ’defiance’ of its command.

An even more violent corruption tried to permeate He Ao through the surrounding invisible cold qi.

The wound that had been stitched up began to seep out a bit of fresh blood again.

He Ao merely brought the spear in his hand closer to the golden staff that lay beside him.

As the spear neared, a myriad of delicate jade patterns emerged within the staff, followed by a cold breath emanating from both the spear and the staff, converging into an invisible force field that hindered their approach to each other.

Seeing this scene, He Ao grasped the staff, morphed it into a longsword, and then immersed his Divine Sense into it, creating a Strengthening Magic Array.

Then, he took a deep breath and forcibly brought the jade spear closer to the strengthened longsword.

It seemed as though a faint sound resonated through the void, the invisible stance wrapped around the spear shattered with a boom, and then a cold breath emerged within the spear, passing through what seemed like frozen space, and merged into the golden longsword.

He Ao let out a slight sigh of relief.

That Abyss presence, though seemingly still able to locate the spear, was unable to control it after losing contact, and without control, the spear had essentially become a nearly ownerless energy.

Furthermore, the very nature of Abyss energy also seemed to possess a strong ’malleability’ and ’assimilation.’ When the spear, infused with Abyss energy, neared the longsword that was also endowed with Abyss energy, the energy within the former would likely be absorbed by the stronger and controlled longsword.

Simply put, once ownerless, the spear would be ’consumed’ by the longsword.

Hence, the spear itself initially resisted contact with the longsword.

Of course, He Ao was merely speculating and couldn’t be certain of his theory.

Fortunately, the verification of this guess was quite straightforward.

And as He Ao brought the spear closer to the staff, the cold power continuously left the spear and merged into the staff, the originally fine jade spear began to diminish like ice melting into water.

The giant figure in the distance watched as the spear in He Ao’s hand continued to ’dissolve,’ its icy gaze slowly shifting towards He Ao.

The intrusive murmurs in He Ao’s mind grew stronger and more explosive, and a cold wind surged in the sky, seemingly ready to devour everything around.

Yet He Ao appeared to notice none of it, continuing to draw the spear and sword together calmly.

Eventually, the jade spear completely collapsed, turning into pure energy that merged into the sword.

He Ao could clearly feel that the power and level of the golden longsword in his hand had leaped qualitatively.

The Abyss power within the jade spear seemed to be much more than he had anticipated at first.

After completing all this, He Ao transformed the golden longsword back into a staff, planted it on the ground, looked up at the distant giant figure, showed a smile, and slowly said, "Farewell."

The giant figure stirred, and the howling contamination swept towards He Ao like a storm, and then

All howling ceased at that moment; the still world broke apart with a roar, and the giant figure’s gaze, fixed on He Ao, slowly dissipated.

The giant figure’s time to project strength into the Copy World seemed not long, and it had now reached its limit.

However, it was much longer than the time projected last night.

At this time, the blonde chief of staff quickly came over, looking up at He Ao, "Were you just talking to someone?"

"With a somewhat anxious, ill-tempered fellow."

He Ao withdrew his gaze and responded in a calmer voice.

The blonde chief of staff blinked in surprise, then quickly realized that He Ao might be referring to matters concerning a higher-ranking Transcendent. She did not continue to inquire further but took out a book and handed it to He Ao, "This was also sent over by Mid."

He Ao glanced at the book; it was "The Lost City-States of the Era of the Great Cataclysm - An Archaeological Record of the Ruins in the Middle of the Federation," which he had taken from Scott’s library the night before.

After taking out the book, he had casually left it outside.

This book was also the only one among Scott’s entire collection that contained clues about the Abyss.

"Well, this saves me the trouble of having to go back and get the book myself."

He Ao put away the book and smiled.

Mid might seem reckless and rough around the edges, but he was meticulous in his actions.

"Mr. Lin En, the car is ready."

Just then, Sena, dressed in a police uniform, emerged from the back door, looking towards He Ao.

Then he hesitated for a moment and asked in a soft voice, "The front entrance is a bit crowded right now; shall we take the side door?"

He Ao shook his head, "Let’s go through the front door."

Sena nodded and turned to walk back into the White Jasmine Palace.

He Ao also turned his head toward the blond chief of staff, "I’m heading to the city council now, please handle everything here."

The blond chief of staff nodded slightly.

City Council Building

The cigar man looked at the man in the white shirt in front of him and extended a cut cigar.

"I haven’t felt this nervous and excited in many years,"

The man in the white shirt took the cigar, lit it, and took a deep puff, "The last time I felt something was during my first election for council member."

"After this time, we will never feel this way again, we can enjoy life to the fullest,"

The cigar man smiled as he looked at the entrance to the council building, tossing his cigar into the trash can, "Let’s go, everything is ready. In the words of Lin En—victory is ours."

The man in the white shirt also discarded his cigar and followed suit.

A black sedan slowly emerged from the Jasmine Flower Sea and drove toward the crowd-filled streets ahead.

And the moment the reveling crowd saw the sedan, they quieted down, followed by even more fervent shouts bursting from among the people.

"Mr. Lin En!" "Mr. Lin En!" "Long live Mr. Lin En!"

Members of the Mayor’s Guard immediately rushed forward, blocking the crowd.

"No need to stop them."

He Ao glanced at the members of the Mayor’s Guard and spoke softly.

"But what if there’s danger..."

Sena, the driver, hesitated.

He Ao shook his head and lowered the rear car window.

Sena hesitated for a moment, nodded slightly, then used the intercom to instruct the surrounding Mayor’s Guard to make way.

The Mayor’s Guard members who were blocking the crowd received the order and seemed a bit bewildered, but still retreated and cleared away.

The crowd, which had been restrained, rushed unhindered to the front of the sedan.

Then the whole crowd fell silent for a moment, and after losing the block, the crowd ironically lost direction, not knowing whether to rush forward or not.

At that moment, a woman holding a boy was pushed in front of He Ao’s car window by the crowd. The boy looked at He Ao sitting in the car and slowly lifted his hand.

At this instant, all the Mayor’s Guard behind, who were watching, clenched their guns tightly.

He Ao also watched the boy raise his hand, reached out his own, and slapped the boy’s palm.

A large and a small hand collided in the air, completing a high five.

The little boy excitedly drew back his hand.

But He Ao didn’t retract his hand; instead, he kept it raised, looking at the people outside the window.

The black sedan slowly moved forward, and as the first person cautiously extended a hand and high-fived the elderly man, more and more people stretched out their hands, colliding with that aged palm.

The crowd no longer pushed but deliberately cleared a path, pulling back those who attempted to break out of line.

Hands stretched out slowly along the streets, completing a high-five with the elderly man sitting in the sedan.

Soon, some members of the Mayor’s Guard joined the line within the crowd, extending their palms along with the people.

Those originally on the other side of the sedan quickly moved to the side where the elderly man was.

The morning light illuminated everyone’s clothes, with the splendor beneath revealing exquisite fur gowns, loose ill-fitting cheap suits, and ruggedly washed, rust-stained short jackets.

No one was there to maintain order, yet everything was so orderly.

That aged palm collided with every tender, rough, or withered hand without a word. Everything was so silent, yet it seemed as though under this morning sun, everyone had completed a covert conversation with the elder.

Sunlight reflected off the polished surface of the black sedan, illuminating the faces—some tense, some expectant, some excited.

People gazed at the elder as if looking at a respected and revered family elder, not as a politician Mayor secluded in deep palaces.