The group led by Sword Star was completely unaware of the final ti freeze in the dungeon’s collapse. They couldn’t tell if it was because the dungeon was specifically designed by the Painter to test Wu Chang, or if the gap in their power levels was just too vast.
Once operations resud, Director Gao imdiately rushed to the elevator, leading a few others to the sixth underground level.
This was Wu Chang’s first ti entering the sixth underground level, and contrary to his expectations of a cold, oppressive containnt area, it was elegantly arranged. The showcases had a strong sense of design, balancing security and aesthetics, resembling a ticulously curated museum.
The only drawback was that it felt sowhat empty, with several display cases containing only description plaques, devoid of any actual items.
As he gazed at the vast emptiness of the sixth underground level, Director Gao let out a wail very much like the Painter’s.
"No!"
The disappearance of the Gate of All Realms shattered Director Gao’s defenses. Under normal circumstances, such an event would have left him despondent for months since it was the Wanghai Branch’s most significant source of inco.
Yet now, he adjusted his mindset in just a few minutes.
Director Gao gave Wu Chang a aningful glance, patting his shoulder, then called everyone back above ground, sowhat gloatingly, to check for any other losses.
Wu Chang scratched his head, looking at Director Gao in confusion. Was Director Gao trying to comfort him? In what way?
The subsequent investigation was quite simple. The Painter didn’t care to cover his tracks at the Wanghai Branch, openly conducting his business right under the surveillance caras.
Due to the Painter’s "transparency", it took less than an hour for them to piece together the entire sequence of events.
By linking the surveillance footage of the wild Transcendents being manipulated by the Painter, they quickly concluded that the Painter had targeted the Gate of All Realms on the sixth underground level from the start.
Many of these wild Transcendents were under the Painter’s control, unsuspectingly implanted with his abilities.
The Painter manipulated them to cause disturbances, drawing the attention of the Wanghai Branch, using so unknown thods to bypass detection of the abilities he had planted within these wild Transcendents and get them underground.
Once enough energy was gathered, Yu Siyi, fully brainwashed and controlled, would trigger the prearranged power, breaking through the spatial barrier of the Bureau’s underground, and then the Painter would descend in the flesh.
With the event’s sequence clarified, the staff at the Wanghai Branch breathed a sigh of relief.
The Painter’s entry into the Bureau’s underground wasn’t due to their negligence. Instead, it was due to oversight in detection systems within the Bureau itself. Now that the root of the problem was found, it was clearly due to inadequate design by the central Bureau.
Not only did they manage to deflect bla, but Director Gao was also preparing to file a complaint, demanding compensation from the central Bureau for the losses suffered by the Wanghai Branch.
Even if they couldn’t be compensated with another Gate of All Realms, it should at least be of comparable value.
"What, you say the Wanghai Branch bears no responsibility at all?"
"What a joke, that’s the Painter we’re talking about, a monster that even the combined force of the Four Major Organizations couldn’t defeat. The Wanghai Branch not only defended Wanghai City’s safety against the Painter’s assault but also achieved the miracle of no casualties."
"Responsibility? Accomplishnt!"
They had to proudly claim their achievents.
After reviewing the surveillance, another issue arose.
Having confird those wild Transcendents’ actions stemd from the Painter’s guidance and control, it warranted leniency in their sentencing.
Like Xie Wei, who hadn’t caused any adverse effects, once his ntal state was confird to be normal, he could be released imdiately.
For those who faced severe penalties and were destined to be thrown into high-difficulty Projection Dungeons as cannon fodder for intelligence gathering, their charges could also be reduced, giving them a chance for redemption.
The only challenging case was Yu Siyi.
Yu Siyi’s actions were exceedingly egregious. Even if she had been deceived and enticed by the Painter, she theoretically only deserved one more chance for redemption. If she managed to accumulate enough rits during her explorations, she could choose to join the Bureau as special auxiliary personnel.
However, unexpected developnts occurred with Yu Siyi. Not only had she completely forgotten Lu Langfeng and everything she had done, she also awakened a powerful force within her.
This power’s uniqueness attracted Professor Shi Ning’s attention, who wished to transfer Yu Siyi to Yanjing to assist with his research.
While Director Gao and the others couldn’t discern Yu Siyi’s capability, Wu Chang saw clearly that after being discarded by the Painter, Yu Siyi, like Fang Hui, awakened the Power of Root.
Unlike Fang Hui’s desire-rooted power, Yu Siyi’s root was love.
A talent born with the Power of Root, this innate ability alone was enough to erase all her previous misdeeds.
Moreover, she’d been brainwashed and controlled by the malevolent Painter, now having forgotten everything.
After negotiation and exchanges of interest, Director Gao finally agreed to send Yu Siyi to Yanjing. That night, she was secretly airlifted away by helicopter without delay.
On the helicopter, Yu Siyi cowered in a corner, head hung, her deanor full of anxiety and helplessness.
Yet when she lowered her head, her eyes sparkled with pink heart shapes, brimming with love.
"Mr. Lu, you’re not that easy to forget after all—I will find you again. But first, I must beco stronger. The next ti we et, I won’t let you leave so easily."
The Painter tried to repair the Origami House, feeling a chill down his spine, sensing he was being watched by sothing sinister.
After a hectic night, the Wanghai Branch finally completed the cleanup.
Despite the heavy losses this ti, their opponent was the Painter after all—losing to him wasn’t shaful. Surviving was an accomplishnt in itself.
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