Chapter 48 The Swarm of Rats Approaches

After dealing with the few officials from the Stick Nation, Li Yanming finally turned his gaze to Zhao Zhiren beside him.

The intelligence indicating Zhao Zhiren was Equator had struck Li Yanming as utterly unbelievable. Yet, if Equator intended to use the police to activate the super bomb and thereby disguise his identity, everything would make perfect sense.

Just moments ago, the Stick Nation representatives had insisted that to verify the authenticity of the bomb, it had to be connected to the internet. And once connected, the bomb would officially be armed.

No matter the outcome, Li Yanming knew he could not make any hasty decisions now. At present, the most important thing was to apprehend Zhao Zhiren for interrogation and investigation.

Shortly after, the helicopter carrying Li Yanming and Zhao Zhiren landed atop the police headquarters building.

As soon as they disembarked, Li Yanming spoke abruptly.

“Equator!”

Zhao Zhiren, hearing the word, felt a surge of suspicion, but maintained his composure outwardly.

“What Equator? Officer Li, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just pondering—what kind of person is Equator, really? What are his hobbies?”

“Professor Zhao, do you think Equator, given his fondness for such dangerous weaponry, might also be very well-versed in nuclear physics? Is it possible that Equator is actually a physics professor?” Li Yanming narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

Zhao Zhiren, upon hearing this, smiled and replied in a serious, analytical tone, “That’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

“Let’s not pretend any longer, Professor Zhao Zhiren. I’ve just received a tip-off: you are Equator.” Li Yanming spoke decisively, drawing his gun and aiming it at Zhao Zhiren.

Nearby officers, witnessing this, immediately raised their weapons and stood at the ready, covering Zhao Zhiren.

“Officer Li, I don’t know where you got such information, but my identity can be verified by any means. Perhaps Equator is trying to sow discord within the emergency task force by such a scheme. I urge you to be cautious,” Zhao Zhiren said calmly and unhurriedly.

He was confident in his official identity, which he had maintained for over a decade. He had always been careful to keep his true identity concealed; all his criminal activities had been conducted in the shadows. His identity had never been exposed, so he didn’t believe the police could uncover who he really was. Even if they suspected, without evidence, under Hong Kong’s laws, the police could do nothing.

But Li Yanming paid no heed to his denial, for just now, he had received another message: the witness was present at police headquarters, along with evidence of Equator’s crimes.

Moments later, several officers, acting on the tip-off, cautiously opened the trunk of a car parked outside the headquarters. Inside, curled up and covered in blood, was a man—the number one henchman of Equator.

“Chief Li, we found a man severely injured in the car, along with a black bag containing a mobile phone and other items.”

With the evidence in hand, Li Yanming reviewed the contents of the phone, including videos and emails, and confirmed Equator’s true identity.

“Equator, let’s see how you explain yourself now,” Li Yanming said triumphantly.

After years at the helm of an international crime syndicate, Equator had never been unmasked. Now that Li Yanming had caught him, it was a monumental achievement.

In the police interrogation room, the moment Equator saw the evidence of his crimes, he knew he had been betrayed—by his most trusted subordinate.

Meanwhile, at the dock where the DC8 super bomb was being held under heavy police guard, the bomb suddenly soared towards the rooftop of a distant building.

The Stick Nation officials, witnessing the bomb’s sudden flight, were utterly incredulous.

“What’s happening? Are we dreaming?”

The building where the bomb landed was over a thousand meters away; how could the bomb simply fly off like that?

Of course, it was Wang Kun’s doing. Seeing his newly recruited female assassin had completed her task, Wang Kun knew that leaving the super bomb in Hong Kong would only invite further complications. To settle matters once and for all, he decided to take the bomb himself—it was safest in his possession.

With solid evidence now in hand, Equator was soon subjected to the arduous process of legal investigation.

As for Wang Kun, he acquired a villa in Hong Kong, occasionally immersing himself in the city’s unique culture and environment.

His first loyal subordinate, Xia Tian, took on the role of instructor, teaching her teammate Zhang Yijun to cultivate genetic origin energy, gradually boosting their strength.

Time passed quickly. A year later, Wang Kun’s second loyal subordinate, Zhang Yijun, successfully advanced to the rank of junior War God.

Of course, besides Zhang Yijun’s innate talent, Wang Kun’s continued provision of the Spirit of Flora was crucial in enhancing her physical attributes.

Wang Kun could only remain in this world for one year. When the time was up, he packed his things, communicated with the system, and departed.

Back in the Swallowed Star universe, in the villa’s third-floor study in the Mingyue Community, Wang Kun reviewed his gains from this mission. They were much the same as last time—just 200 attribute points.

Without hesitation, he allocated all 200 points to his Talent attribute.

His system interface immediately reflected the change:

Myriad Heavens Deep Blue Add-Points System [Invincible Edition]
Host: Wang Kun
Talent: One Star (Standard Human Talent) 1000/400
Comprehension: One Star (Standard Human Comprehension) 1000/0
Bloodline: One Star (Standard Human Bloodline) 1000/0
Power Level: Planetary Level, Stage 1
Fist Power: 2.4 million kilograms (+1000/0)
Speed: 1231 m/s (+10 m/0)
Psychic Power: 2.9 million kilograms (+1000/0)
Attribute Points: 0
Time-Space Travel: (Cooldown—30 days)
Special Location Check-In: (Activated)
Funds: 15 billion (Chinese yuan)

“My Talent attribute is now at 400. With this, my daily cultivation rate should improve significantly.”

In his previous adventures, Wang Kun had devoted the majority of his time to cultivation, and his strength had grown modestly but steadily—far more so than before he started allocating points. Now, with an additional 200 points invested in Talent, he felt even more confident about his future progress.

“My talent can’t compare to Luo Feng’s, but I can allocate points and enter parallel worlds for training.”

“If I can stay at least one year in each parallel world, for every year Luo Feng spends cultivating, I can effectively train for twelve.”

“And if I encounter worlds where I can stay several years, I could accomplish decades’ worth of cultivation in a single year.”

“As my talent continually improves, my cultivation speed will soar.”

“I don’t need to improve much—just enough to reliably complete special location check-ins.”

Wang Kun’s goal was clear: to maximize his strength so he could check in at the three deadly lands and the depths of Mist Island in the Swallowed Star world.

Based on his past experiences with special check-ins, he was certain these key story locations would yield tremendous rewards—perhaps treasures or advanced technology that could instantly boost his power.

For example, a bio-pod capable of elevating a Stage 1 planetary warrior to Stage 9. On Earth, such a device would be a rare treasure, but in the universe, planetary-level bio-pods were commonplace. Only star-level and cosmic-level pods were considered valuable, accessible only to the most powerful factions.

After returning to the Swallowed Star world, Wang Kun let Zhang Yijun acclimate for a few days, then took Xia Tian and Zhang Yijun to the Australian continent.

There, Xia Tian was tasked with guiding Zhang Yijun through practical combat training. Xia Tian was already at the pinnacle of the War God level, just a step away from breaking through to the planetary rank. With her experience, she could mentor the newcomer Zhang Yijun, and even if they encountered king-level monsters they couldn’t defeat, they would have no trouble surviving.

Besides, should they ever face a truly insurmountable threat, Wang Kun could instantly teleport to Australia to assist.

November 29th, 2056, in the wilderness near Jiangnan Base City.

“Run! It’s a rat tide!”

Among the ruins of the city, martial artists hunting monsters grew pale and panicked as they spotted the tidal wave of mutant rats surging towards them.

At the same time, the nearby military base sounded the alarm, and troops scrambled to battle stations.

“Alert the War God martial artists to provide support.”

“Yes, sir!”

Soon, the base received a response.

“Sir, War God Lu Gang has replied—he’s near the outbreak and heading to the epicenter.”

Moments later, the intelligence officer reported excitedly, “Sir, good news! Councilor Wang from Jiangnan Base City’s Ultimate Martial Hall has set out for the outbreak point!”

“Excellent! With Councilor Wang’s intervention, this rat tide crisis can be resolved perfectly.”

The base commander knew well the vast power gap between War God martial artists and councilor-level experts. This was only a third-level rat tide—nothing a councilor couldn’t easily handle.

Moreover, Jiangnan Base City’s newly promoted young councilor was a renowned spiritual master.

Wilderness area, County 0231, epicenter of the rat tide.

A battle blade-wielding warrior was surrounded by an endless horde of mutant rats. Just as he was about to be overwhelmed, golden beams of light flashed, obliterating the swarms in an instant.

“It’s a spiritual master! Councilor Wang is here!” The embattled warrior, realizing his peril had passed, immediately understood that the golden beams had been the handiwork of a spiritual master.

Not long before, he had received a military transmission: Councilor Wang was on his way to support him.

Though he had yet to see Wang Kun in person, he knew with certainty that this display could only be Wang Kun’s doing.

...