That year

There were almost no ordinary citizens walking on the streets.

The fifty-thousand-square-meter Xilin Garden was cordoned off by all sorts of warning lines.

Thousands of investigators from the Inspection Bureau, who had rushed in from all over, were on standby.

The seventy-plus villas inside were as quiet as if they were in the countryside, where only the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs could be heard while walking along the edge of a rice paddy.

Inside the command post, discussions were heated.

Some advocated for an all-out assault at once, giving the cult no chance to react.

Others advocated for sending a team in first to scout the situation for further targeted arrangements.

There were also discussions on how to identify the cultists and evacuate the ordinary citizens inside; whether to detain everyone and interrogate them one by one after destroying the altar, or some other method.

Xilin Garden was located in the western part of White City, backed by a large bamboo forest, with a river dividing it in two.

Behind the bamboo forest was a range of low hills.

The river eventually flowed into the Xiang River.

If the encirclement was not properly set up, it would be easy for the cultists to take the opportunity to escape.

A man wearing gold-rimmed glasses suddenly spoke up, “They will not escape. If they want to activate the altar, their only option is to surround it and obstruct us from destroying it. Otherwise, everything they’ve done would be meaningless.”

Someone else said, “That makes sense, but even if ninety-nine out of a hundred cultists stay behind to stop us from destroying the altar, the one that escapes will still cause damage to White City in the future. Since we have such an opportunity today, we must uproot them completely, killing all flies and tigers!”

A person wearing a watch next to him glanced at the time and said quietly, “There are ten minutes left for discussion.”

“If we have enough personnel, I hope we can tackle it from two angles: launch a sudden attack to catch them off guard, and have enough manpower to watch for any grunts trying to escape.”

“But we only have these few thousand people…”

Just as everyone was getting anxious, a communications officer came in.

“Report, a call from the retired veterans’ representative, Zhang Heng!”

In the discussion room, everyone looked at each other.

To be honest, they didn’t want the retired veterans to get involved in this matter, because their combat strength no longer met the required standards.

However, at this critical moment, there was no room for so much hesitation; one more person meant one more bit of strength.

The bureau chief took the phone, his eyes slightly narrowed, and said a few words, “Good… yes… you will follow our arrangements when the time comes!”

Zhang Heng held his phone.

Behind him stood over three hundred burly men, dressed in black combat uniforms, with special-alloy military sabers hanging at their waists.

If Su Xuan were to see them, he would surely be astonished.

Among them were a few of the “hooligans” who had teased him before.

Their usual rascally demeanor was gone, replaced by solemn expressions and piercing eyes.

Zhang Heng, holding the phone, looked at the Inspection Bureau operative before him and smiled, “Don’t worry, everyone here has shed blood for humanity. You can trust them completely.”

The Inspection Bureau personnel looked nervously at the several hundred men.

If not for the call from his superior just now, he really wouldn’t know how to handle this.

He recognized many of the people there, but that didn’t mean he had the authority to let them proceed.

The Inspection Bureau personnel nodded.

The retired soldiers surely knew their own limits and likely wouldn’t let any cultists slip in among them.

“Alright… the vehicles are here.”

A dozen military-green vehicles approached with their bright lights on, illuminating Liberation Square and casting a radiant glow on the faces of the several hundred brave men.

Zhang Heng sat in a military vehicle once more and was suddenly lost in thought.

A middle-aged man with blood on his face squeezed himself into a door crack, looked at the young man outside, and shouted, “Zhang Heng, fall back! You are the hope of our squad, our only hope of advancing to the Second Form! If you advance to the Second Form, just kill more Dark Ones and avenge us!”

Another middle-aged man pushed at the door, trying to get out, “You’re a soldier, you know this! The combat value of a Second Form is far higher than that of an ordinary Initial Form warrior! Trading the twenty of us for one of you at the Second Form is a worthy exchange!”

“You’re only twenty-five, we’re almost at retirement age! Let us out!”

“No, I don’t want to see what you old geezers look like after you die. Besides, what retirement age~”

After speaking, Zhang Heng pulled with all his might, and the huge metal door slammed shut.

The middle-aged men cursed in anger, “Bastard! Break down this door!”

“Bang! Bang!”

“Stop hitting it. Even a Moon-tier Dark One would need ten minutes to break this door! Right?”

Zhang Heng looked at the five Moon-tier Dark Ones before him.

They were more robust and more oppressive than ordinary Star-tier Dark Ones.

A powerful surge of energy particles rippled through the air.

With his current strength, he could at most defeat one, and might not even be able to win against a single one.

So, this was the only way.

“I’m counting on you… Water God!”

Suddenly, a immense power, both familiar and strange, surged within his body.

A massive flow of energy particles rushed into his black saber.

The energy slowly passed through the black blade, dyeing it blue.

The body of the blade immediately softened, as if it were being forged, becoming bent, convex, and concave…

A blue halo enveloped the saber.

After a few seconds, its true form was finally revealed.

It was no longer an ordinary black saber, but one filled with a blue luster, like the war blade of a water god, exuding nobility and magnificence.

A unique, formless divine aura covered the blade.

“So this is the Second Form? Phew~ It’s truly amazing. Wouldn’t it be a waste not to take this chance to kill a few more!”

His figure moved, and the left arm of a Moon-tier Dark One was directly sliced off.

In the gap of the ruined house, under the falling sunlight, a cerulean watery light trailed through the air where the tip of the blade had passed.

“Awooo~~~”

The Dark One clutched its arm, letting out an indescribably tragic scream.

“Dong dong dong!!!”

The pounding on the door from behind grew heavier.

“That kid Zhang Heng… he’s really overdrawing his own future!”

“Damn it… what are the higher-ups doing? How could there be a sudden Moon-tier raid without any warning!”

“Hurry up and open this damn door…”

Faint voices came from inside the door.

Zhang Heng smiled faintly.

He couldn’t stop anymore.

This was his last battle with the Water God, and also his first.

A few minutes later, with the five corpses of the Moon-tier beings under his feet, he looked at them with satisfaction as weariness crept into his heart…

Zhang Heng felt that being a hero just once in a lifetime was enough.

Trading a future for the lives of dozens of people was a pretty good deal.

He had planned to live out the rest of his life peacefully, get married, have children, and teach students, which he considered a contribution to humanity.

For five years, he had called out to the Water God, but it was useless.

It seemed to have fallen into a permanent slumber.

Without the support of the Phantom Soul, let alone advancing to the Second Form, even his Initial Form combat power had begun to decline.

A cult.

Under normal circumstances, someone would come to solve it.

But this time, it was clearly too much for them to handle; they were short on people.

So Zhang Heng considered whether he should go and contribute one last bit of effort.

Then he heard that the cult had actually kidnapped his precious student!

Without a second thought, Zhang Heng immediately grabbed the blade he treasured in his attic—that cerulean, noble, and holy Blade of the Water God.

Inside the vehicle, the atmosphere was heavy.

It had been a long time since everyone had worn this uniform, a long time since they had picked up that blade, a long time since they had sat in a vehicle and listened to its unique engine roar.

Each had their own stories, and memories flooded their minds like a tide.

The lonely sound of the vehicle’s horn traveled far, far into the dark night~