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Chapter 336: Captured
When Chen Xuan returned to the Great Wilderness of Ten Thousand Mountains, Xiao Kanong had been beaten beyond recognition. His suit was covered in blood, his cheeks were swollen like watermelons, and he was missing almost half of his teeth. Hong Lian had tied him to a chair, while she leaned against it, panting.

Even so, Xiao Kanong didn't utter a sound; his swollen lips were still slightly upturned, as if he didn't care at all about what had happened to him.

Until Chen Xuan walked up to him.

Upon seeing who it was, he was visibly taken aback, a hint of surprise showing in his bloodshot eyes.

"Has the Northern Heavenly Courtyard held out?" Honglian asked with concern.

"Yes, they retreated." Chen Xuan nodded.

Unfortunately, his side couldn't further expand their gains. When he teleported back into the shop, the Thousand Machine Locking Moon Formation outside the gate dissipated, allowing all the ability users who hadn't entered the courtyard to escape. As for the casualties and results inside the courtyard, they haven't been tallied yet, and it's unknown how many prisoners will be captured.

However, Honglian was probably seething with anger and showed no mercy to her former boss.

"Are you very disappointed?" Chen Xuan walked up to Xiao Kanong, looked down at him, and said, "You thought you had caught a big fish, but it turned out to be all for naught."

“Indeed.” He actually admitted it, mumbling through his lisp, “I was just a pawn for the organization. Trading me for a powerful Wanderer would definitely be a worthwhile deal. But I still underestimated you… This time, the organization has completely lost.”

"How could the organization not lose?" Honglian interjected angrily. "From the moment you betrayed the original purpose of the Weixian Organization and wantonly persecuted those with abilities, you were digging the grave of this organization!"

“Heh…” Xiao Canon chuckled softly.

"How can you still laugh?" Honglian was furious and punched him again, causing him to spit out blood once more.

"Cough cough... I'm laughing... because the whole thing is ridiculous." He took a few breaths before saying, "Miss Honglian... may I ask, even if your entire team were here and participated in this operation with me, would we be guaranteed to win?"

Honglian paused slightly.

"You've noticed... the result makes no difference. The Wanderers win because they are stronger. You will be killed by this man not because you uphold justice, but because you are his enemy."

Xiao Kanong met Chen Xuan's gaze, hidden behind sunglasses, with bloodshot eyes, but spoke to Honglian, "...Would you surrender to the enemy without a fight and leave your fate to their mercy? If the answer is no, then what's wrong with our actions?"

“Don’t forget… from the very beginning, it was they who launched the proactive attack on the organization. They… treated the organization as the enemy. The show at the Shajiang Bridge manipulated public opinion, the demolition of the eroded area of ​​the botanical garden put the organization in the spotlight, and then they even planted spies in the organization to sabotage our development plans…” He paused, “So the organization had no choice but to fight back.”

This person is quite eloquent. From the other side's perspective, the war was indeed initiated by the "Wanderers." And their perception of the mechanisms as enemies stems from a warning from the future.

However, Honglian was unaware of Lin Qing's true identity.

Seeing her fall silent, Chen Xuan was about to retort when Honglian suddenly asked, "Is it acceptable to use any means necessary to deal with an enemy, even if it means harming completely innocent civilians?"

Xiao Kanong raised his eyelids slightly. "For example?"

“You should be well aware of the recent crimes committed by ability users in Jiangcheng… and the source of these crimes, the ability potion incident!” Honglian said in a deep voice. “After these things happened, I tried to contact Captain Wan, but he has changed all his contact information. The ability potion was made from dragon blood from another world. All the blood collected at the time was registered, and only Wan Chongshan had access to it privately.”

"So this isn't his problem?"

"He's not some nobody!" Honglian raised her voice. "He's the former branch captain, an official. Even after he leaves office, you'll be watching him for life. How could he possibly leak the dragon blood so easily? There can only be one answer: he did all this with the authorization of the organization, and he might even have been forced into it! And your power far exceeds his; there's no way you'd be completely unaware of this!"

"Although the process deviated somewhat... in terms of the conclusion, you're right." Xiao Kanong grinned. Honglian shuddered, disbelief flashing in her eyes. "You... admit it?"

"You dare to guess but not to confirm?" he said dismissively. "The existence of the Limitation Agency was forced to be made public, and many things were poorly prepared, including raising its reputation. Turning good-looking ability users into celebrities is a policy promoted by headquarters, and the quickest and most effective way to do this is to create conflict—where there is darkness, there will naturally be light."

"Unfortunately, its harm could have been contained to a very small area, but it was ruined by these wanderers."

Shocanon sighed.

Sabotage... Could it be referring to that terrorist activity at the TV station? Chen Xuan twitched his lips. It really wasn't aimed at the organization; he had simply received the tickets and wanted to take Lin Qing shopping to relax.

"Even if it's small, it still concerns the lives of hundreds of people!" Honglian said indignantly.

“Ask your friend…” Xiao Kanong replied sarcastically, “Does he care about the lives of a few hundred people? Helping that little angel change history affects far more than just the fate of a few million people. The number of people they kill is probably more than all the agencies combined.”

Sure enough, the mechanisms could also detect the shift in the course of that world. Chen Xuan said calmly, "Everything Elori did was to save her homeland. If she hadn't done so, billions of people would have died in the future."

“I believe you.” Shawcanon took a breath. “Sacrificing a few million to save billions is definitely a worthwhile trade—”

Honglian slapped him across the face!

"You are sophistry!"

Xiao Kanong licked his bleeding lips, completely unconcerned by her accusations. "Are those born in the future even considered human? In the end, the Limitation Agency also has its own set of rules. To prevent this world from collapsing, sacrifices are inevitable."

"The organization must be crazy to appoint you as the chief commander..." Honglian shook her head and said.

“You can’t see that far ahead, so naturally you don’t understand the price the organization is willing to pay for this.” He didn’t explain further, turning to Chen Xuan, “I would like to ask you… Mr. Wanderer, what are you fighting for?”

Chen Xuan remained silent. Save the world? He hadn't had that thought at all. After gaining the shopkeeper's ability, he only tried it out of curiosity and then became completely engrossed. The "still alive" mark on his ability constantly propelled him forward, and helping customers achieve their goals was one of the means... even though he had now come to enjoy this adventurous and exciting new life.

Does that mean he has absolutely no concern for the world and humanity?

Chen Xuan knew that he was not like that.

He could distinguish between good and bad... Just like the "future" after Lin Qing's disappearance, even though the ability shop believed it was the result of saving the world, he still couldn't accept it. From that moment on, a strong desire to change the future arose in his heart.

"I'm fighting for myself," Chen Xuan finally said briefly.

Shokanon seemed somewhat regretful. "It seems we are destined not to be together. You won this time, but the organization will not give up. For the sake of humanity's survival, the organization will do everything in its power."

"You talk as if you can represent all of humanity," Honglian scoffed.

"Whether you believe it or not, the agency can indeed predict the fate of humanity. Headquarters has verified this many times, and will verify it countless times in the future."

After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes, as if he had lost interest in the conversation. No matter how much Honglian questioned him, he did not speak again.

(End of this chapter)