Biochemical Martial Arts: Supreme Heavenly Venerate

The next morning, Xue Lingxue dealt with her official duties at the fastest speed and then made her way to the parking lot.

According to the plan Xue Lingxue had formulated, they were to begin their operation tonight. Xue Lingxue needed to head to the secret base to make some preparations.

She would next take a car out, pretending to run errands at Mingde University, and then return to the secret base through the clandestine passage they had carved out beneath the university's internal pipeline.

Once she got into her magnetic levitation official vehicle, she almost unconsciously turned on the car's network television and used her thoughts to search for news related to Lin Rui.

"This station reports that at noon yesterday, the up-and-coming martial arts star Lin Rui attended a charity event held by the 'Patriotic Veterans Foundation', where he exchanged martial arts techniques with retired armed police veterans and promised to invest ten billion Federation dollars over the next ten years to support veterans suffering from 'Cybernetic Syndrome', helping them improve their lives."

"This station reports that at 14:00 yesterday, the infamous 'Kid's Song Killer' made another appearance, slaughtering a stronghold of the Tiger Tooth Gang at B34211 underpass, with 73 casualties. This is the fifth attack by the 'Kid's Song Killer' this month. Let's go to the live report."

While driving, Xue Lingxue listened to the news on the car's projection TV, occasionally glancing at it.

Just as Xue Lingxue drove up to the entrance of the garage, a disheveled woman suddenly rushed in front of her vehicle, violently colliding with it.

Xue Lingxue was slightly startled; concerned about the woman's injuries, she quickly stopped the car and got out to check on her.

At that moment, a group of people rushed over. Some wore white lab coats – they were nurses and doctors summoned from Mingde University's 'Cybernetic Psychiatry Department.'

Because patients from the 'Cybernetic Psychiatry Department' generally possess formidable martial prowess, the nurses and doctors from this department are, without exception, powerful cybernetic martial artists, predominantly male.

Then, a squad of armed security personnel rushed over. These security guards employed by the Third Special Operations Division were mostly retired veterans from the armed police force, each formidable in combat.

They joined hands in pinning down the woman who had been knocked flying, keeping her firmly under control.

The security team leader, while restraining the woman's hands, apologized to Xue Lingxue with an embarrassed smile, "Sorry, Assistant Xue. Not only does this woman test positive for Cybernetic Syndrome, but she also has a deep dependency on 'Lingyun' drugs. She refused to accept the test results, and since her power is still decent, there was a bit of an incident."

The woman continued to struggle violently, "Let go of me! I want to see your supervisor. My Cybernetic Syndrome can't possibly be this severe. I'm in good condition, and I haven't used 'Lingyun' in the past few days—"

Xue Lingxue frowned upon hearing this.

The Third Special Operations Division, by order of the Homeland Security Committee, was responsible for investigating all personnel within the Security Department for their finances, social relationships, and 'Lingyun' usage.

Particularly with 'Lingyun', all members of the Security Department diagnosed with 'Cybernetic Syndrome', had to proactively submit to specialized testing by the Third Special Operations Division within a month.

Thus, their division had been quite busy for the past month.

This woman in front of Xue Lingxue was a cybernetic colonel who had used 'Lingyun'. What struck Xue Lingxue was that the voice sounded familiar.

Xue Lingxue suddenly thought of someone – Zhang Ruoying, the old classmate who had bragged to her via message the day Xue Lingxue was promoted to assistant of the Third Special Operations Division.

"Assistant Xue? You are their supervisor. I need to talk to you."

Zhang Ruoying was still struggling fiercely, unwilling to let the doctor next to her administer a sedative.

At that moment, she suddenly froze, staring at Xue Lingxue through her disheveled hair, "Are you, Xiaoxue?"

Zhang Ruoying did not expect to see Xue Lingxue here.

The question was why Xue Lingxue was here at all, and what was she doing as an assistant of the Third Special Operations Division?

She looked at Xue Lingxue's crisp colonel uniform and felt a piercing discomfort.

It was not that Zhang Ruoying was envious, but rather, she was mortified by the messages she had boastfully sent to Xue Lingxue before, and at that moment wanted nothing more than to die. Continue your journey on My Virtual Library Empire

However, Xue Lingxue immediately reacted, swiftly shutting down Zhang Ruoying's smart terminal bracelet.

Meanwhile, she rubbed her temples with a headache and sent a message to Lin Rui.

Xue Lingxue: BOSS, I've run into a little trouble and might be late to the secret base. I encountered a classmate who works at the Ninth Base's Extraterrestrial Agent Division. She knows about my Cybernetic Syndrome and might have obtained some of my personal information from my former colleagues.

Xue Lingxue knew that the Director of the Special Service Center likely hadn't approached Zhang Ruoying, but she couldn't take any risks.

Lin Rui responded to the message right away.

Lin Rui: Isn't this a minor issue? Since she's from the Extraterrestrial Agent Division, let's have your classmate take a trip to the Forbidden Zone.

Xue Lingxue: No other way, she suffers from a very severe form of mental Cybernetic Syndrome. According to the rules of the Security Department, her cybernetic enhancements would be instantly sealed. But don't worry, BOSS, I'll handle her.

Lin Rui was silent for a while before replying: The problem isn't big, but we can't keep on defending. Before the people at the Special Service Center find you, we need to take them down first, starting with this mission.

He also sent back a grinning emoji, showing a mouthful of white teeth.

Xue Lingxue's eyes narrowed slightly when she saw the reply, sensing the fierce and predatory aura emanating from Lin Rui through the message.

※※※※

At 10:00 AM, Luo Tao, the director of the Special Service Center, arrived punctually with his team at the underground warehouse provided by Jin San of the Zhongyi Gang.

This was the B32 district of the lower levels, an area famous for its bustle and considered a prime financial hub in the entire underworld; it was also the core territory of Jin San.

Jin San's underground warehouse was located in the central region of this district, right below the 'Zhongyi Martial Arts Fitness Center' of the Zhongyi Gang, which was heavily guarded.

Luo Tao had previously received intelligence from the dark web, claiming that the "Children's Song Killer" would likely strike today between 8:00 AM and 10:00 PM, targeting Jin San's underground warehouse. Thus, he brought with him three 6A combat teams and six 5A combat teams from the Special Service Center, as well as two cyber surveillance teams equipped with S-rank hackers.

The reliability of this intelligence was questionable; no credible reports about the "Children's Song Killer" had surfaced on the dark web—nothing but absurd and unsubstantiated false information.

However, earlier that morning, two super-large air purifiers near the 'Zhongyi Martial Arts Fitness Center' had been sabotaged.

Luo Tao dared not take it lightly and decided to lead the team to check on the situation.

He was also driven to distraction by pressure from above; almost every day, You Ming would urge him, and with each crime by the "Children's Song Killer," the National Security Committee would send questioning communications.

Clutching at straws, Luo Tao thought, what if that bastard decides to walk into the trap?

Currently idle with no leads to pursue and the previously infallible big data analysis now rendered ineffective, the projected suspects just didn't match up.

A few days ago, an outdated, government-database-lacking model had even suggested that the martial arts star Lin Rui and his head coach Fei Yunlai were suspects.

Luo Tao was initially excited; given Lin Rui's past, the man had grievances with the Blood Lizard Gang and had the motive to commit the crimes.

But upon closer inspection, it turned out that for two of the crimes committed by the "Children's Song Killer," Lin Rui was either live-streaming or attending events.

So now, Luo Tao was desperate to seize onto any thread of possibility, however slight.

Yet, the elite team from the Special Service Center, led by him, had been in ambush for a full 10 hours without a glimpse of the "Children's Song Killer."

To stay covert, they were forced to hide in the cramped passages of the sewage and ventilation system.

The air quality was still fair, as to defend against the "Children's Song Killer," they were all clad in exoskeleton armor equipped with internal recirculation systems, and they also had a completely silent air purifier at their disposal.

But the environment was too cramped, causing a feeling of oppression and discomfort.

They couldn't even use their smart terminals to avoid detection by the "Children's Song Killer," as the teams had to minimize electromagnetic signal emission to stay hidden.

After an entire 10 hours in the confined tunnel, more and more people were growing restless.

They were either shifting their bodies back and forth or whispering to each other; some of the more defiant ones ignored Luo Tao's orders and started watching TV shows on their smart devices.

At first, Luo Tao was able to maintain control, but as time passed, the situation gradually spiraled out of control, and even his trusted subordinates began advising him.

"Director Luo, I think this intelligence is mostly false. The 'Children's Song Killer' probably won't appear."

"Sir, I think we can withdraw now. The men are in a bad mood; they're getting restless. Why don't we move somewhere else? Jin San's privately dug escape tunnel seems like a better spot. At least it's more bearable for everyone there."

"Yeah, Director, we're stewing in here like in a pressure cooker, guarding the damn pups of the Zhongyi Gang—it's inevitable that people will be upset."

"Shut up!" Luo Tao reprimanded, his expression ugly as he glanced around at everyone.

The matter of Jin San's escape tunnel was a secret negotiation handled personally by Vice Minister You Ming and Jin San, classified within the Special Service Center. How dare these men speak of it?

Besides, that tunnel was Jin San's lifeline; unless the "Children's Song Killer" truly made an appearance, Jin San would never reveal the tunnel to let security bureau personnel in, nor would he expose his three battalions of private armed forces.

Luo Tao realized that this was a consequence of his waning authority.

It was the impact of the continuous pressure and scolding from the National Security Committee and the gradual disadvantage of You Ming in the internal power struggles within the security bureau.

Just then, Luo Tao's silent-mode smart device received a private message: "Luo Tao, I've found out about that Xue Lingxue. She has a classmate in your Ninth Branch, and she might know Xue Lingxue's detailed information (delete after reading)."

It was a self-destruct message, and upon reading it, Luo Tao felt a surge of hope.

It was from an old connection in the Third Branch, someone Luo Tao had asked to help him investigate Xue Lingxue's background.

Luo Tao thought if he couldn't find the "Children's Song Killer," uncovering the identity of that 'Thunder' General would be a significant achievement.

He was about to reply to find out who this person was when he heard a cry of alarm, "It's the 'Children's Song Killer', they've made their move! Damn, this time they're going straight into the fitness center?"