At 5:30 a.m., the slums of District F in Azurewave Base City remained shrouded in a thin, gray mist.
Su Wu sat at a worn wooden table, a bowl of thin porridge, a plate of pickled vegetables, and a few eggs before him. Su Yu, his head bowed, mechanically shoveled food into his mouth. The swelling on his cheek from the previous night had subsided somewhat, but the bruises stood out starkly in the morning light.
"Don't worry about the martial arts department registration," Su Wu said, his voice calm but carrying an undeniable weight of authority. "Focus on your training at school. Leave the rest to me."
Su Yu paused, his chopsticks still, and looked up at his father.
He sensed something different about his father today. Those eyes, usually clouded from sleepless nights, now seemed as deep and unfathomable as an ancient well.
Dismissing it as mere paternal reassurance, he murmured a soft "Mm-hmm," a flicker of resigned determination in his eyes.
"I'm leaving now."
Su Wu rose, casually grabbing his faded gray work jacket.
As he stepped across the threshold, his back straightened, no longer hunched as usual. Though he consciously suppressed his Grandmaster aura, every muscle and bone radiated a mountain-like stability and rhythmic power.
He now had two goals: to create a safe haven for his son, allowing him to pursue the martial dao, and to reclaim his wife and daughter with this newfound strength.
The 6:00 AM commuter train rumbled through the steel forest, its dull roar echoing through the gaps between skyscrapers.
As Su Wu stepped through the gates of the F District City Defense Administration, his keen senses immediately detected an unusual atmosphere.
A palpable tension hung in the air, tinged with anxiety and the faint scent of burning.
Normally at this hour, personnel would be busy with shift changes or grumbling about the cafeteria food. But today, small groups huddled in the shadows, whispering urgently, their eyes wide with fear.
"Old Su! You're finally here!"
A figure darted from the crowd—Old Zhang, Su Wu's longtime comrade in the City Defense Army. His weathered face, etched by years of wind and sand, was now etched with panic. He grabbed Su Wu by the arm and dragged him to a deserted corner, lowering his voice to a frantic whisper: "Old Su, something terrible has happened! Have you heard?"
Su Wu remained calm. "What is it?"
Old Zhang stamped his foot in frustration, spittle flying. "Last night, near our section of the wall, a Shadow Cat Beast slipped into the base city! The damn thing got into the wealthy district and killed the only son of some noble family! They say he was a relative of some big shot in the inner city. Now the higher-ups are furious and want to tear the City Defense Army responsible for that section apart!"
"Last night, you and I were on duty, and not a single brick fell from that wall," Su Wu replied calmly. "This has nothing to do with us."
"My dear brother! Don't you understand?" Old Zhang slapped his thigh, his voice trembling. "Liang Qi had you cover his shift, but officially, his team was still on duty. Now that a noble has died, Liang Qi's uncle, Liang Jianmin, will definitely protect his nephew. If they pin the blame on us—the ones without connections—accusing us of dereliction of duty and concealing military intelligence, that's a death sentence!"
Before Old Zhang could finish, a cold, mechanical voice boomed over the City Defense Hall's intercom:
"All personnel on duty with the third battalion, report immediately to the interrogation room for investigation! Failure to comply will result in punishment under military law!"
Old Zhang was terrified out of his wits. He grabbed Su Wu's arm, urging him to move. "Quick, Old Su! We need to get our stories straight..."
Su Wu gently shook off Old Zhang's hand and gazed up at the upper floors of the administrative building.
"You go ahead. I have my own business to attend to."
"Hey! Old Su, where are you going? That's the captain's office!" Old Zhang hissed urgently from behind, but Su Wu didn't even turn his head.
Now that the world had changed, he was done being a punching bag.
The captain's office door was tightly shut, but Su Wu's keen hearing easily picked up the conversation inside. Without knocking, he pushed the door open and strode in.
Creak—
The two occupants of the office whirled around.
Liang Jianmin, a middle-aged man with a grim expression, was flipping through the duty roster. Liang Qi, his son, was slumped in a chair, his face pale. He hadn't even removed his expensive nano combat suit, the collar still reeking of alcohol from his night of debauchery at "Paradise Heaven."
Seeing Su Wu's sudden intrusion, Liang Jianmin's face darkened instantly. He slammed his fist on the desk. "Su Wu! Who authorized you to enter? Get back to your post!"
"I'm here to resign," Su Wu declared bluntly, his tone devoid of subservience, instead carrying a level gaze that made Liang Jianmin uneasy.
"Resign?" Liang Jianmin stared in disbelief, then let out a harsh, mocking laugh, a venomous glint flashing in his eyes. "Su Wu, do you think this is a marketplace? You can't just come and go as you please! Last night, there was a major incident on the city wall defense line—a beast infiltrated and nobles were killed! And you were the duty officer on shift!"
Hearing the word "resign," Liang Qi initially panicked, then seized upon it like a lifeline. He leaped up, pointed a finger at Su Wu's nose, and began to shout:
"Exactly! Uncle! I had Old Su cover for me last night because I trusted him. It must have been him! He deliberately let the ferocious beasts in to frame me, to get revenge for my strict demands! Su Wu, you're ruthless! You'd endanger the entire city just to get me!"
Liang Qi grew increasingly agitated, even convincing himself of his own lies. A twisted sense of satisfaction twisted his face.
"You fucking lowly peasant! You want me dead, don't you?" Liang Qi lunged at Su Wu, raising his hand to strike. "I'll cripple you first!"
Su Wu stood motionless, not even blinking.
In the eyes of a Grandmaster, Liang Qi's movements—typical of the early Qi Blood Realm—were as slow as a snail's crawl.
Just as Liang Qi's palm was about to make contact, a faint, almost imperceptible surge of qi radiated from Su Wu's body.
Bang!
Before Liang Qi could comprehend what had happened, he felt himself slam into an invisible wall of reinforced concrete. He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the office's filing cabinets, sending documents scattering across the floor.
"You... you dare to retaliate?" Liang Qi clutched his chest, staring at Su Wu in terror.
Liang Jianmin stood up, a hint of surprise and suspicion in his eyes. As a master of the Innate Realm, he hadn't even seen Su Wu move.
"Su Wu, are you resisting investigation?" Liang Jianmin's voice was low and carried the weight of authority. "Resigning? You're not going anywhere until last night's case is closed. If you confess now—admit it was your negligence that allowed the beast to infiltrate—I might be able to spare your life out of respect for your years of service. Otherwise..."
Su Wu chuckled softly.
"Otherwise what?"
"Otherwise, your son Su Yu, who attends First High School, might not be able to take the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination smoothly," Liang Jianmin said slowly, his tone dripping with menace. "After all, the son of a suspect wouldn't pass the background check."
Su Wu's eyes turned glacial in an instant.
He could ignore the slander of these ants, but he would not tolerate anyone using his son's future as leverage.
"Captain Liang, I advise you to swallow those words."
Su Wu took a step forward. The once-calm office suddenly erupted in a violent gale, the windowpanes groaning under the strain.
Liang Jianmin felt as if he were being targeted by an ancient behemoth. His true qi, which had been flowing smoothly moments before, suddenly stagnated.
"Who... who are you?" Liang Jianmin stammered, cold sweat pouring down his face. He tried to steady himself, but his legs trembled uncontrollably.
Just then, the office intercom buzzed, shattering the deathly silence of their standoff.
Liang Jianmin answered the call with trembling hands. A frantic voice crackled through the speaker: "Captain Liang! It's bad! The inner city investigation team is at the gate! They're here to take away all those directly responsible for last night's District F patrol, especially Liang Qi, the team leader!"
Liang Jianmin's hand jerked, and the phone clattered to the desk.
He glanced at his nephew, now a pathetic mess, then back at the unfathomable Su Wu standing before him.
As long as Su Wu is still with the City Defense Army, as long as I can get him to "confess" or take full responsibility before that, my nephew can walk away clean.
"Su Wu," Liang Jianmin said through gritted teeth, a desperate glint in his eyes, "since you want to resign, I'll sign the papers. But before that, you need to do one last thing for me." He spoke with the crazed determination of a cornered beast. "Go to the investigation team and take the fall for this. I'll give you more money than you'll ever earn in your life—enough to send your son to the Martial Academy at the main base city. What do you say?"
Su Wu stared at him as if he were mentally deficient.
"It seems twenty years of living at the bottom has truly given you a distorted sense of reality."
Su Wu slowly turned and walked toward the main door.
"This utterly rotten City Defense Bureau is indeed not worth staying in. As for your so-called internal investigation and scapegoats..."
"Anyone who dares to stop me will die."
"And you." Su Wu glanced sideways at Liang Jianmin. "If you dare to do this, I hope your commanding officer can protect your dog's head."
Boom!
As Su Wu stepped out the door, the two heavy alloy doors of the team office, unable to withstand the residual force of his aura, collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Liang Jianmin slumped in his chair, drenched in sweat. Only after Su Wu's presence had completely vanished did he finally catch his breath, his eyes burning with venomous resentment. "Arrogant! So what if you're a hidden expert? Azurewave City belongs to the Wang family, not the Su family! You want to resign? Fine, I'll let you leave—but I'll make sure you leave without a trace!"
Trembling, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, Commander?"