Under One Person: The End of Technique, Company Building

Night fell like a heavy black brocade, slowly enveloping the entire Longhu Mountain.

The grand event at the front of Longhu Mountain came to an end with Zhang Chulan winning the Luotian Grand Ceremony. However, the oppressive heat and chill that permeated the mountains and rivers did not dissipate with the setting sun. Instead, it felt like an old fire that had been trapped in a steamer for years, making it even more stifling and suffocating.

Inside the temporary emergency command center of the Extraordinary Affairs Department of the Tianshi Mansion's guesthouse on the mountain in front, the incandescent lights were glaring and cold.

In the center of the room was a large makeshift control panel made up of several desks, piled high with walkie-talkies, high-magnification night vision monitors, topographic maps of various regions, and stacks of official documents stamped with red security seals.

Zhuge Qi took off the wool suit jacket he had worn during the day and put on a neat navy blue cadre uniform, rolling up the cuffs to his forearms to reveal his strong and well-proportioned muscles.

He held his iconic stainless steel thermos in one hand and a red and blue administrative pen in the other, circling several key points on the map.

Behind him stood a row of solemn-looking senior executives and elites of the company.

Dou Le, head of the East China branch, Xu San, deputy director of the North China branch, Xu Si, director of the North China branch, Ma Hong, leader of the action group of the Extraordinary Persons Affairs Section, Jiang Bai, deputy leader, Meng Xiaoxiao, team member, and even Liu Yanyan, who was wearing a uniform from Na Du Tong and looked a little reserved but had a firm look in her eyes, all held their breath and waited for the young section chief's instructions.

"Section Chief, the award ceremony on the front mountain has just ended. The Old Celestial Master took Zhang Chulan to a side hall on the back mountain alone, saying that he was going to prepare for the transmission of the 'Celestial Master's Crossing' technique."

Secretary Li, wearing high heels, quickly walked to Zhuge Qi's side and reported in a low voice: "In addition, the field teams in East China and North China have, as you instructed, deployed high-sensitivity infrared sensors and closed-element magic artifact arrays on the three main roads and seven small paths of the retreat route in the back mountain."

However… security patrol members at the foot of the mountain reported that half an hour ago, mobile communication base stations within a three-kilometer radius of Longhu Mountain were deliberately damaged, causing widespread abnormal signal disturbances.

Upon hearing the words "signal interference," Xu Si, who was standing to the side, angrily crushed the cigarette butt in his mouth and cursed, "Damn it, those mad dogs from Quanxing really made a move! They're trying to jam the entire frequency band and cut off our communication with the outside world!"

"Director Xu, please calm down."

Zhuge Qi slowly unscrewed the thermos, blew on the goji berries floating on the surface, and took a sip of hot tea. The rising steam reflected in his deep eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses, revealing an almost chilling calmness.

"In administrative management and emergency response plans, communication disruption falls under the category of Level 3 warning." Zhuge Qi put down his thermos cup, his voice calm yet penetrating. "These comrades from Quanxing have suffered a severe ideological decline and have completely degenerated into an unorganized and undisciplined criminal gang. They think that cutting off the base stations will make us blind and deaf. But they've forgotten that the network we've laid on Longhu Mountain isn't just an ordinary people's communication network; it's an inescapable net within the system."

Zhuge Qi turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone present.

The passive auras of [Dragon and Tiger Aura] and [Intimidation] spread out imperceptibly, instantly silencing all noise in the command center, which was already tense due to the approaching battle.

"Ma Hong."

"Here I am, Section Chief!" Ma Hong stood up abruptly, chest puffed out and head held high.

"You will lead a small team of the action group, working in coordination with the comrades from the East China branch, to keep a close watch on the main hall on the front mountain and the tourist evacuation route. The Quanxing gang likes to use diversionary tactics, and someone will inevitably set fire to the mountain before the New Year to create panic. Your mission is not to annihilate them, but to 'rescue and maintain order'."

Anyone involved in arson, assault, or damage to public property on the front mountain will be detained on-site under the charge of "serious endangerment of public safety," with video and photographic evidence recorded to ensure an airtight case.

"Understood! Mission accomplished!" Ma Hong replied loudly.

"Director Dou," Zhuge Qi turned to Dou Le, the head of the East China branch, "Where is your East China secret agent, Comrade Xiao Zizai?"

Dou Le gave a wry smile and lowered his voice, saying, "Old Xiao is hiding in the bamboo grove on the west side of the back mountain. He's been cooped up for days, and when he heard the noise from the mountain just now, his eyes were already starting to turn red. Section Chief Zhuge, what do you think of this…"

Zhuge Qi's lips curled into a meaningful smile: "Tell Comrade Xiao Zizai that tonight is his 'legal and compliant duty period' as designated by the company. Any Quanxing thugs who attack company employees or disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion with weapons in the back mountain area are considered to be 'committing violent crimes that seriously endanger personal safety.' According to the company's special handling regulations, he is permitted to engage in 'excessive self-defense.' Let him act freely and treat this as a routine psychological counseling activity."

Upon hearing this, Dou Le's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead: "Good heavens! Section Chief Zhuge, you've really given Old Xiao a get-out-of-jail-free card! With your words, the Houshan West Line is as safe as a mountain!"

"This isn't a get-out-of-jail-free card; it's performing our duties according to the law." Zhuge Qi adjusted his glasses and said seriously, "When we work within the system, procedural justice always comes first. As long as the procedures are compliant, no one can find fault with it."

After saying that, Zhuge Qi turned his gaze to Liu Yanyan.

At this moment, Liu Yanyan was wearing a well-fitting green field uniform from Nadutong, with her hair tied in a high ponytail. Although she still looked a bit naive, the confusion and inferiority she had felt in Tianjin had faded from her eyes, replaced by a sense of competence that came with being entrusted with important responsibilities.

"Yan Yan".

"Yes, Section Chief!" Liu Yanyan quickly straightened her back and answered crisply.

"You'll be working with Jiang Bai and Meng Xiaoxiao, responsible for patrolling the blind spots in the middle section of the back mountain. You're skilled in the corpse-driving and bone-shrinking techniques of the Liu family of Xiangxi, and you're most sensitive to those Quanxing thieves lurking in the shadows, disguised as disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion. Remember, you're currently an unofficial assistant manager for the company, representing the image of headquarters. Don't fight head-on if you encounter danger; use your abilities to point Jiang Bai in the right direction."

"Yes, Section Chief Zhuge! I promise I won't let you down!" Liu Yanyan's eyes were slightly red as she nodded heavily. She never imagined that she, a sinner who almost became cannon fodder for the Quanxing Sect, could now be wearing the company uniform and performing missions on such a crucial battlefield! All of this was thanks to the mature and steady young section chief in front of her, who had given her a new lease on life!

"Ding! Detected that the host has thoroughly consolidated the loyalty of subordinates and non-staff personnel through superb personnel management skills and institutional care."

"Liu Yanyan's admiration for the host has reached its peak, and Ma Hong and Dou Le are deeply impressed by the host's leadership."

"Reputation points +1500!"

Current reputation level: LV4 (42000/100000)

Hearing the notification in his mind, Zhuge Qi nodded slightly, casually closed the box of red and blue pens, put it back in his suit pocket, and picked up the thermos again.

"Gentlemen, with the Celestial Master alive, he is the anchor of all extraordinary beings in the world; we, the All-Knowing Ones, standing atop Mount Longhu, are the gates to hell for the Mad Dogs of the Quanxing Sect. Tonight's battle must not only be won, but won beautifully and brilliantly! We must show all the powerful families and the Ten Elders who truly are the rule-makers of this world of extraordinary beings!"

Zhuge Qi's voice was not loud, but it was like a heavy iron hammer, striking everyone's heart hard.

"action!"

"yes!!"

The crowd responded with a resounding roar, and like streaks of black lightning, they instantly tore through the night and rushed toward their designated defense zones.

……

8:30 PM.

"boom!!"

A muffled explosion suddenly rang out near the woodshed on the back of Longhu Mountain! Immediately afterward, a surge of flames shot into the sky, turning half of the night sky crimson!

"Set it on fire! The Quanxing Sect is attacking the mountain!"

"Protect the Celestial Master! Quickly, put out the fire!"

Sharp shouts, sounds of fighting, and the clang of metal on metal erupted instantly in every corner of Longhu Mountain!

Countless Quanxing demons dressed in bizarre costumes, like evil spirits crawling out of hell, swarmed out from every hidden corner, including cliffs, dense forests, and ancient roads.

They wantonly destroyed buildings and besieged the hastily responding disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion. The entire back mountain of Longhu Mountain was instantly turned into a blood-and-fire inferno!

On the west side of the mountain, deep in a dense bamboo forest.

"Hahaha! Kill! Slaughter all these arrogant, stinking Taoist priests from Longhu Mountain!"

Five ferocious-looking Quanxing fighters, wielding machetes and iron hooks, surrounded two injured young disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Two corpses of disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion lay on the ground, their blood staining the emerald green bamboo leaves.

"Senior brother, you go quickly! I'll hold them off!" A young Taoist priest cried out, his eyes bloodshot, gripping his sword tightly, his whole body trembling.

"Leave? None of you will leave today!" The leader of the Quanxing gang laughed cruelly, brandishing his blood-dripping cleaver and slashing forward!

However, just as the cleaver was three inches from the Taoist's throat—

"Clatter".

A crisp, almost imperceptible sound of footsteps on dry branches echoed deep within the bamboo forest.

Immediately afterwards, a refined-looking figure wearing gold-rimmed glasses slowly emerged from the shadows.

He was dressed in ordinary casual clothes and even carried a specially made explosion-proof plastic bag.

It was Xiao Zizai, a temporary worker at the East China branch.

At this moment, Xiao Zizai's eyes had turned a chilling blood red, and the air around him seemed to be violently distorted by some kind of suppressed, violent killing intent.

"Huh? Where did this bookworm come from? You're asking for death!" The burly man from Quanxing was stunned for a moment, then his evil intentions were aroused, and he swung his knife at Xiao Zizai's head!

Xiao Zizai didn't even lift his eyelids.

He simply raised his right hand slowly, and his five fingers, gloved in white plastic, closed together in the air with remarkable naturalness.

"Great Merciful Hands."

"Snap!"

There was no dramatic display, only the crisp sound of bones shattering.

The two-meter-tall, two-hundred-pound Quanxing strongman, upon touching Xiao Zizai's palm, felt as if he had been crushed by an invisible wheel. His bones were completely shattered in a fraction of a second, and he collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud without even letting out a scream.

The remaining four Quanxing thugs were dumbfounded, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets!

"What...what kind of monster is this?!"

Xiao Zizai pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, a gentle yet extremely bloodthirsty smile curving his lips.

He pulled out a "Temporary Law Enforcement Authorization Letter for Emergencies" issued by the headquarters of Nadutong from his pocket and waved it at the remaining four people.

"Comrades, according to the instructions issued by Section Chief Zhuge of the Extraordinary Persons Affairs Section of Na Du Tong, you are now suspected of serious endangerment of public safety and intentional homicide."

Xiao Zizai's voice was as gentle as a Chinese teacher giving a lesson, but the madness in his eyes was terrifying.

"By authorization, I can now... legally help you 'escape your misery.' Who wants to go first?"

"My God! It's a monster!"

The remaining four Quanxing thugs were completely terrified by this inhuman and terrifying killing intent. They dropped their weapons and ran away screaming!

However, in the face of Xiao Zizai, who has started his "legal new taste of meat" mode, escaping is just a luxurious delusion.

"Great Compassion... Dragon Claw Hand!"

"Pfft!" "Pfft!"

Bamboo leaves flew everywhere, and the screams were instantly drowned out by the smell of blood.

Two minutes later.

Xiao Zizai took out a wet wipe and elegantly wiped the bloodstains off his gloves. He then threw the wet wipe into the explosion-proof bag and sealed it properly.

He turned around, looked at the two young disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion who were paralyzed with fear on the ground, and smiled gently: "Two Daoist masters, please don't be afraid. I am a field agent from Na Du Tong. Please maintain order and proceed to the safe zone in front of the mountain. By the way... our Section Chief Zhuge is very particular about procedures when handling cases."

After saying that, Xiao Zizai leaped into the air and disappeared into the dark depths of the bamboo forest to find the next target for "legal diversion".

The same scene played out repeatedly on various defense lines in Longhu Mountain.

Xu San of the North China branch controlled dozens of throwing knives, forming an insurmountable steel defense line; Xu Si, smoking a cigarette, led dozens of company field agents in riot gear, using closed-loop guns and stun batons to knock down waves of Quanxing rabble like whack-a-mole; Feng Baobao, carrying a kitchen knife, moved like a nimble black cat in the night, accurately taking down every enemy executive who tried to ambush her.

Liu Yanyan, relying on her keen intuition about terrain and disguise, and with the help of Jiang Bai's wind signal, exposed seven Quanxing assassins disguised as Taoist priests of the Celestial Master's Mansion within ten minutes, making great contributions!

Throughout the Longhu Mountain battlefield, although flames soared into the sky and battle cries shook the heavens, Quanxing's attack on the mountain was effectively contained on the periphery due to the strict, systematic, and precise monitoring and strikes conducted by the All-Access Network. The main buildings could not be destroyed at all!

However, just as the front mountain and the outer perimeter were locked in fierce fighting.

Deep in the back of the mountain, in front of a small, inconspicuous, even somewhat dilapidated cement courtyard.

The air here is eerily quiet.

There was no firelight, no sounds of battle, only the intermittent chirping of insects in the night wind.

This is the residence of Tian Jinzhong (Old Tian), a renowned figure in the Celestial Master's Mansion, the junior brother of the Old Celestial Master, and a victim and witness of the Jia Shen Rebellion.

In the shadows of the courtyard, dozens of figures exuding an extremely dangerous aura gathered silently, like ghosts.

The leader was dressed in a faded blue Taoist novice's robe. He had a delicate and innocent face, but his eyes flashed with a sinister and fanatical glint that was completely out of character for his age.

It was none other than Gong Qing, the acting leader of Quanxing, who had been lurking by the side of the Old Celestial Master for three whole years!

Beside Gong Qing stood several top-tier thugs renowned throughout the world of supernatural beings.

The Corpse Demon Tu Junfang, who exudes a nauseating, filthy stench and manipulates the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance in people's hearts!

Yuan Tao, a notorious bully who was ranked among the most famous figures in the Quanxing Sect, was playing with several magical iron beads that shone with divine light in his hand.

And several core assassins from the Quanxing Sect with cold eyes and sharp weapons in hand!

"Acting Sect Leader, the company dogs on the front mountain and the outer perimeter are very close. Zhang Zhiwei has been surrounded by Lu Jin and people from various sects. He definitely won't be able to get back in a short time."

Yuan Tao gritted her teeth, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes: "But what's strange is that the company's reaction speed tonight was ridiculously fast! Several of our action teams were wiped out as soon as they showed up, accused of 'illegal enforcement'! It's as if they predicted our route in advance!"

Gong Qing sneered, his small face contorted in the moonlight: "Hmph, it must be that Zhuge Qi from the Administrative Department pulling the strings behind the scenes! That kid's young, but he's even more cunning than Zhao Fangxu. But… even if he's calculating everything, he'd never guess that our real target isn't Longhu Mountain, nor Zhang Chulan, but this Elder Tian, ​​who's been paralyzed in a wheelchair for decades!"

Gong Qing turned around, staring at the tightly closed wooden door before him, his eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty light:

"The ultimate secret of the Jia Shen Rebellion, the truth about the Thirty-Six Thieves and Thirty-Six Extraordinary Skills, the secret that Zhang Huaiyi refused to reveal until his death... it's all in this Old Tian's mind!"

"Once I obtain this memory, I, Gong Qing, will be the greatest contributor to the Quanxing Sect throughout history!"

Gong Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the surging joy in his chest, raised his hand, and waved to the crowd behind him:

"Elder Tu, Elder Yuan, have your men set up a bewildering array and a miasma outside the courtyard to block the Celestial Master's Mansion's rescue efforts. Remember, buy me ten minutes!"

"We'll retreat in ten minutes!"

"Don't worry, acting sect leader. These few insignificant Taoist priests are nothing special. Leave them to us." Tu Junfang sneered, and the black Yin Sha Three Corpse Qi around him suddenly erupted, completely sealing off the entire courtyard.

Gong Qing straightened his clothes, his face regaining its innocent and naive smile, and slowly walked to the wooden door. He raised his hand and gently knocked on the door.

"Slap, slap, slap."

"Uncle Tian, ​​Xiao Yu has brought you some calming tea..."

Inside the room, all was quiet.

The elderly Tian Jinzhong, slumped in a specially made wheelchair, slowly opened his cloudy yet bright, star-like eyes. Hearing the familiar voice outside the door, a cold, self-deprecating smile, as if he had seen through life and death, curled at the corner of his lips.

"Come in, acting leader of Quanxing... I've been waiting for you for a long time."

A hint of admiration flashed in Gong Qing's eyes as he reached out and pushed open the door.

However, just as Gong Qing had barely stepped over the threshold and Tu Junfang and Yuan Tao were outside the courtyard with cruel and sinister smiles, at the critical moment...

A bizarre thing happened.

The thick black "Three Corpse Miasma" outside the courtyard, which was so dense that it could even swallow the moonlight, suddenly began to tremble violently without warning!

"Sizzle—!"

A faint, yet extremely piercing, scorching sound of air burning drifted leisurely from the night sky above.

Immediately afterward, to the utter astonishment of Tu Junfang and Yuan Tao, the poisonous miasma, powerful enough to corrode the meridians of high-level superhumans, began to melt and evaporate at an incredible speed, as if encountering the blazing sun in the pure white snow of spring!

An indescribable aura of nobility, dominance, and terror, like a divine dragon emerging from the heavens, instantly enveloped the entire courtyard!

"What...what kind of Qi is this?! Oh no! There's a master here!" Tu Junfang exclaimed in shock, turning around abruptly!

There, on the winding bamboo path outside the courtyard, one could see...

A young man in a dark blue cadre uniform was walking steadily and slowly towards them.

He held a stainless steel thermos steadily in his left hand, his right hand in his pocket, and his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were as calm as a deep pool of water that had never changed.

Behind him, Ma Hong and Jiang Bai stood on either side, like two war gods, coldly watching the Quanxing members in the courtyard.

Zhuge Qi stopped at the entrance of the courtyard, unscrewed the thermos, blew on the billowing white steam, and then took a sip of hot tea with utter nonchalance.

The rising aroma of tea instantly washed away the nauseating smell of blood and the sinister aura in the courtyard.

Zhuge Qi raised his head, glanced at Tu Junfang and Yuan Tao whose expressions had changed drastically, and finally fixed his gaze on Gong Qing, who was frozen at the door. A warm, yet chilling, smile appeared on his face.

"Fellow comrades of the Quanxing faction, instead of watching the game on the front mountain in the middle of the night, you're gathering outside Senior Tian's bedroom. Are you holding an illegal assembly, or preparing to rob and steal?"

Zhuge Qi calmly put down his thermos, adjusted his glasses, and spoke in a calm tone, each word piercing to the heart:

"This is an investigation by the Extraordinary Persons Affairs Division. Sorry, you're surrounded."