Chapter 583: Jin Yi Wei

An office building in Jinling City.

Bai Chang pushed open the door and entered a seemingly ordinary office.

As he entered, the light sources around the room suddenly closed, the door was locked, and the windows were closed. Only a few sounds flowed in the air.

"Now that everyone is here, let’s start the meeting."

The leader was a forty-year-old man with a beard. He was a martial artist who had just passed the third-tier assessment. He worked in a small martial arts gym owned by his family and his relatives also ran a small restaurant near Confucius Street. He was an ordinary person who could easily be found out with a casual check.

In reality, his identity was a Jin Yi Wei.

He is also the leader of the Jin Yi Wei team.

The Knights of the Day and Night and the Knights of the Sacred Religion, as well as the Jin Yi Wei from the Ming Country, are the strongest combat forces in the world.

The real historical Jin Yi Wei was not as powerful, but the great Ming Country has been in power for over five hundred years and has undergone numerous reforms, including the creation of the spy system known as Jin Yi Wei. It is now a specialized agency under the direct control of the Ming Country’s security bureau, commonly referred to as the Nineteenth Bureau.

The actual name doesn’t matter, the identity of Jin Yi Wei is kept completely confidential, and they operate in a decentralized manner around the world. Similar to the Knights, they are specially trained individuals used for handling special events.

The Knights of the Seven Days and Nights and the Templar of the Allied Nations are fully recognized combatants, but there are still differences in their roles.

Many enthusiasts of electronic bug battles like to compare these aspects, but each has its own expertise. In reality, Jin Yi Wei doesn’t overly prioritize actual combat capabilities.

Taking Bai Chang’s team as an example, the team is numbered 321 and consists of eight individuals, but only four of them are directly involved in combat. The other four are responsible for logistics, communication support, external coordination, and preliminary reconnaissance.

Modern warfare has reached an artistic level and cannot be filled with manpower alone.

Modern warfare also has its fears, such as urban security battles. Unlike conflicts in open areas with large-scale firepower, when war enters urban areas, it becomes difficult to hit targets with artillery. Various mobile firepowers can hide inside buildings or streets. In fact, the bear suffered losses when fighting the octopus because even guided weapons cannot accurately hit targets within countless buildings, while the enemy can freely change positions.

Similarly, ensuring and governing the internal security of a country is a long-lasting battle for peace.

In the Ming Country, there are very few incidents of terrorist attacks. Most of the serious news reports are about traffic, natural disasters, or human-made disasters. Bank robberies are also rare. Naturally, people think these events are uncommon, but is it really the case?

Maintaining law and order in a martial country like the Ming Country is already difficult. It is often said that having weapons and a desire to kill lead to a lack of self-control in people. Furthermore, due to the profound history of the Ming Country, some people always manage to encounter various strange things. Whether it’s objects, abilities, or martial arts techniques, these encounters bring chaos to security and pose potential risks.

To some extent, the police can handle it. But when it reaches a certain level of risk, it must be dealt with by professionals from the 19th Bureau who specialize in neutralizing threats.

It’s great that most of the evil cultivators and demonic cultivators are concentrated in the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom. However, it doesn’t mean that these people have completely disappeared within the borders of the Ming Country.

On the contrary, the more you suppress, the more easily they breed, just like mold and dust. If you don’t clean them up, they will definitely grow.

A specific department within the 19th Bureau is dedicated to handling these matters.

They operate in teams and their goal is to eliminate various malignant risks within the country, preemptively neutralizing threats.

They don’t wait for any incidents to occur before getting involved. Instead, they take action before these incidents happen.

Bai Chang was one of the members of the team. He was enlisted at the age of seventeen, one year before he graduated from high school.

The reason was that he also had an amazing encounter.

While hiking alone, he saw a mountain kylin. The kylin gave him a ray of light, from which he understood a part of the kylin’s magic. After some modifications, it transformed into a unique kylin body strengthening technique.

Later, he was found by the Nineteen Bureau. After a three-year internship, he became a full-fledged member at the age of twenty. He worked in Yan City for a while, then applied for a transfer and returned to Jinling City. He was assigned to the local 321 team, commonly known as the Yuhua Team.

The captain’s name was Cang Jinglei, which is a quite impressive name. He was also a master martial artist. Of course, he also had his own remarkable experiences, but we’ll talk about that later.

There were eight people in this team. Two of them entered based on their natural talents, while the other six had each experienced one or two extraordinary things. They all had some hidden abilities.

Usually, tasks were directly assigned, and meetings were a rare occurrence.

Once Bai Chang settled down, Cang Jinglei began discussing the details of this mission.

"It’s really terrible."

His direct three words made everyone’s mood sink.

The last time I heard this sentence was five years ago, during a demon breaking event that caused dozens of brothers to be killed or injured, even with prior preparation.

"All places are on high alert this time. The news hasn’t been leaked yet, but I can tell you, the situation is very bad."

Cang Jinglei tapped the light screen used for projections, and a picture appeared.

"There was a mass prison break in cell number seven, and close to seventy percent of the criminals were killed, but thirty percent still managed to escape."

"Among this thirty percent are a group of wicked and evil scoundrels, totaling seventeen who made it out."

"We’re going to be busy in the next few years."

A well-dressed man wearing glasses asked, "Isn’t the prison supposed to be impenetrable? How did they manage to escape like that?"

An older woman holding a shopping bag nearby said, "Shouldn’t those people have been executed long ago instead of being left to celebrate the New Year?"

Cang Jinglei explained, "There were two coincidences: The earthquake and the people outside coordinated with the internal rebellion. It was not a random event."

He coughed and said, "Also, I’m not asking you to criticize the prison problem. The other side is also trying to make up for it. They managed to keep seventy percent of the criminals and the guards suffered heavy casualties. They are all compatriots, so let’s not speak ill of them."

Bai Chang asked, "There are seventeen of them. What should we do? Should we go catch them now?"

Cang Jinglei shook his head and said, "Even if they escaped, it doesn’t mean these people are free. They all have unique tracking devices implanted in their bodies, but they are unaware of it. There is a way to track their locations. A signal is sent every fifteen minutes. It has been two days and we have confirmed that four of them have entered Jinling City."

"Four?" Auntie was picking chives, her hands continuing to move, but her tone was serious, "Isn’t that a lot?"

Cang Jinglei said, "They are not fleeing in panic, but they have a purpose. They have clear targets."

Bai Chang crossed his arms and said with an unpleasant expression, "Who do they want to seek revenge on? Among these many criminals, half of them must be looking for the people who captured them or their past enemies."

"Can we confirm their identities?" the office worker asked. "It seems like this will take a long time. I need to take sick leave from home and inform my boss."

"The information is all there. Take a look for yourself. I won’t go through them one by one," Cang Jinglei emphasized and reminded them, "Also, I want to remind you that they might be in contact with each other and are likely familiar with one another. Out of the seventeen escapees, we have only tracked fifteen signals. The remaining two signals have disappeared, probably due to some unique ability to block the signals."

Bai Chang lowered his head and flipped through the documents in his hand. Every time he looked, his bitter smile increased.

There were a total of six people, without exception, they had all committed serious crimes. They came from all walks of life, and it must be said that Arkham had a wealth of talents.

There was someone who started as an ordinary peasant worker, had a miraculous encounter and learned the art of melting iron. In just half a year, he became a steel enthusiast who stole large amounts of iron to satisfy his own appetite, causing billions of dollars in losses in the steel plant.

There was once an ordinary martial artist who lived a mediocre life for most of his life. One day, he obtained incredible skills and could not control his inflated desires. He accidentally killed an opponent he regarded as a formidable enemy on the arena, then went into hiding and completely lost himself. He became a mad martial arts fanatic who was doomed to fight life and death battles.

There was also a prodigy from the Great Ming Academy Palace who obtained a mysterious sword. Killing increased his strength. Killing animals was no longer satisfying, so he turned to humans. At first, they targeted criminals who deserved to die, then escaped from punishment, and gradually evolved into criminals without clear charges. They eventually became thieves and even intentionally lured others into committing crimes in order to have a reason to kill. They gradually pushed their own boundaries and completely deviated from the right path.

Why weren’t all these people sentenced to death, considering their involvement in taking lives?

Because they still had some value, of course.

Ordinary people who enter the prison only end up doing simple sewing tasks. They may practice stitching a bit, but these individuals possess mysterious connections, which give them additional value. It doesn’t take much food to keep them alive, and moreover, the prison is tightly secured. In its five-hundred-year history, there have only been three escape incidents. This current situation is indeed very rare, with inside and outside cooperation, and even an earthquake as if it was orchestrated… To say it’s a coincidence would be too coincidental, approaching the realm of the extraordinary.

After reading the documents, Bai Chang felt a heavy responsibility. Except for two individuals whose signals couldn’t be traced, the other four criminals were incredibly dangerous. More importantly, all four of them were in Jinling City… They were definitely planning revenge or hiding. Either way, they were ticking time bombs that needed to be neutralized as soon as possible.

"Today’s goal is him, to catch this dangerous criminal first. In the prison, this person is also a loner. There shouldn’t be any shared intelligence with others." Cang Jinglei stuck the photo on the whiteboard and drew a circle. "His temporary residence has been determined, and it’s in a remote place, which is the best target. But there may also be deception, so we have to be careful and act when it gets dark!"

"Here you go!"

…

In the evening, Bai Wei returned to his residence and unexpectedly saw his long-lost aunt, Luo Shu.

"Your uncle is busy with work, so I had nothing to do these days and came over to take care of you all."

Aunt Luo Shu’s appearance was just as it was years ago, delicate like a young girl, with only a hint of maturity. She could be described as beautiful, with no laugh lines around her eyes.

But Bai Wei was no longer the same person he used to be. He glanced at the top of Aunt Luo Shu’s head and instantly understood why his uncle and aunt hadn’t had any children for so many years.

[A Fairy in the Painting]

It turned out that his uncle was an otaku who liked paper cutouts.