Wang Haiyang felt his body constantly changing in the bumpy van. Blue light stirred beneath his skin, like an uncontrollable force preparing to burst forth. He gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his eyes open and stay conscious. The vehicle's swaying made him dizzy as he wondered: Where the hell is this damned Taoist Master taking us?
Suddenly, the van screeched to a halt. The sound of urgent gunfire and police sirens pierced the air. Uncle Hu cursed, quickly shifting gears to try breaking through the blockade. At that moment, a massive explosion echoed from the distance, followed by tremors that shook both the vehicle and ground like a minor earthquake.
Before anyone could recover, gunfire erupted again. Through the window, Haiyang could now clearly see the special police uniforms—the Central Special Investigation Unit had finally caught up with them.
While Uncle Hu, the Taoist Master, and his guards focused on dealing with the assault, Haiyang realized this was his chance to escape. He took a deep breath and concentrated. The blue light within him grew brighter. He began to feel the nanobots responding to his will, and with sudden strength, he broke free of his restraints and yanked open the car door, jumping out.
He hit the roadside hard, the impact jolting through his body. It felt like his bones were about to shatter, but the pain lasted less than a minute before rapidly subsiding. He immediately stood up, feeling the nanobots swimming rapidly through his system. Looking up, he saw several Investigation Unit vehicles approaching, igniting a spark of hope within him.
As he staggered toward the investigation team, a blinding light shot out from behind him, followed by the Taoist Master's furious roar: "Wang Haiyang, you can't escape!"
The Taoist Master stepped out of the van holding a strange device that emitted an intense red light. The light was so dazzling that it temporarily blinded Haiyang, leaving him unable to see anything.
"Don't you understand yet? You're no longer ordinary—why run back to those mortals? You're the perfect test subject for Project Wandering Dust," the Taoist Master's voice drew closer.
At that moment, several Investigation Unit vehicles converged on the scene. Doors flew open as fully armed special operatives poured out. The Taoist Master coldly surveyed these men, making no effort to hide his contempt. He stood there as if they posed no threat at all.
"Master, we're surrounded!" Uncle Hu's voice was filled with anxiety as he jumped out from the other side of the van and quickly retreated to the Taoist Master's side.
"Useless fools who don't know their place. Who dares to move?" the Taoist Master sneered.
"Yang Jinming, order your group to surrender immediately. This is a search warrant for the Longevity Chamber," announced one of the team leaders.
"Hah! A search warrant? Go ahead and search then. Why try to stop us? Do you have an arrest warrant?" The Taoist Master's expression remained arrogant.
"Don't try any tricks. You won't escape today. Your men just bombed the research institute—you're finished," the team leader continued.
"Which eye of yours saw my men bombing anything? Don't act so tough. Wait while I make a call." The Taoist Master remained unconcerned as he pulled out his phone to call someone important.
His conversation was too quiet for others to hear. A few minutes later, he hung up.
"Now, withdraw your men unless you want to lose your job," the Taoist Master said to the team leader with a smile.
"What? Withdraw? Me, lose my job? Are you dreaming? Where do you think you can go in this situation?" The team leader clearly didn't believe him.
Just then, the leader's satellite phone rang, flashing red—indicating a direct call from senior leadership.
The team leader glanced at his operatives, then at the Taoist Master, answering the phone in disbelief: "Hello... yes, speaking. Yes, sir. Correct, we're on scene and have them surrounded. What? But Director Yu's orders were... Hello, Director Yu. Let them go? I... what about Wang Haiyang? Yes, sir. I understand."
"Not so tough now, are you? Wouldn't withdraw when I told you to," the Taoist Master immediately began taunting him.
"You've got some powerful connections, I'll give you that. You know what you've done—you can't run forever. Your people can go, but Wang Haiyang stays with us," the team leader said.
"Impossible! He's coming with me!" the Taoist Master roared.
At the team leader's signal, all the operatives chambered their weapons, directly confronting the Taoist Master's men.
"You dare?" the Taoist Master prepared to resist.
Uncle Hu whispered to him: "Master, we should leave. I just saw the updated internal orders—they're to retrieve Wang Haiyang, with authorization to kill if necessary."
The Taoist Master furrowed his brow, cursed loudly, and said, "You'll regret this." Then he left with his remaining men and vehicles.
By now, Haiyang had collapsed on the ground.
The team leader walked over and helped him up: "How are you holding up? Come with us for now. You can call me Captain Zhang. It looks like we'll be working together for quite a while."
Haiyang could barely speak, managing only a weak nod.
The special operatives helped Haiyang into their vehicle. During the bumpy ride, his condition fluctuated between normal and exhausted, likely due to the nanobots in his body.
About two hours later, they arrived at what appeared to be a base. When Haiyang opened the car door, his legs nearly gave out—he had strength in his upper body but none in his legs.
Captain Zhang immediately moved to support him: "Get some rest first. We'll talk once you've recovered. Don't worry, you're safe here at the Ruins Operation Command Center."
"Ruins Operation?" Haiyang asked weakly.
"The special task force targeting the Ethereal Refinement Project."
"Wasn't that project established by the top leadership? Why are you trying to shut it down?" Haiyang thought it seemed pointlessly complicated.
"I'll explain that later—it's not that simple. By the way, we've notified your father. He should arrive tomorrow morning. Go rest now," Captain Zhang said before leaving.
An operative helped Haiyang into the building and to a room. He collapsed onto the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.