Chapter 134: Murder and Seizure of Power

Chief of Staff’s Office.

The room was opulent to the point of extravagance, filled with the sound of breathing that shifted from slow to rapid, and a group of tense figures standing in a row.

The room was vast, resembling the lobby of a high-end hotel. Numerous luxurious decorations were arranged with such impeccable taste that the space felt neither cluttered nor cramped. A C-shaped desk sat in the center, backed by a row of long sofas.

Ji Cheng sat in the office chair that had originally belonged to Wang Yi, looking at the high-ranking officials of South Harbor City with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.

This place was located deep beneath the command building, protected by high-security measures. However, in the face of a data ether-body, these cameras, monitors, patrol robots, and multi-layered defensive doors were rendered entirely useless.

"I know you are all confused, but forgive me for not being able to speak plainly."

He remained seated, offering no explanation. He neither clarified how he had bypassed the security to reach this underground bunker, nor did he immediately disclose the situation regarding the New City.

*One must always guard against others.* Ji Cheng remembered this principle well.

Wang Yi stepped forward cautiously, bowing his head. "This... sir, may I ask what we can do for you?"

He dared not look Ji Cheng in the eye, but his peripheral vision drifted toward the long sofa behind Ji Cheng, where six Awakened were seated.

Upon arriving at South Harbor City, the Zhang sisters, who preferred not to deal with outsiders, had remained on the "Hunter" individual flight vehicle. The injured Zhou Ze stayed on the "Osprey." While the situation remained unclear, the flight vehicles were the safest places to be.

The family members without combat capabilities also stayed behind on the vehicles, so only the remaining seven people had come here.

However, what truly made Wang Yi’s breathing tremble was the emblem on the chest of one of the seated Awakened—it was trimmed with gold, the symbol of a South Harbor Councilor.

A Tier 2 Awakened!

He did not have a precise concept of what a Tier 2 Awakened entailed, but he knew that the two Awakened in the city who usually acted so haughty were merely Tier 1.

And the gap between Tier 1 and Tier 2 was like a chasm.

If a Tier 2 Awakened was sitting in the back, then who exactly was the person sitting in front of him?

Wang Yi did not dare to continue guessing Ji Cheng’s identity; he was terrified of being scared to death.

"It is not helping us, but helping yourselves."

"You have ten minutes to summon Ma Anguo and Jiang Yan here."

"I am very dissatisfied with South Harbor City."

After saying this, Ji Cheng simply closed his eyes to rest.

He deliberately wanted to intimidate Wang Yi and the others to establish a strict hierarchy, which would facilitate management later. After all, these people had been in charge of South Harbor City’s affairs for a long time; they were familiar with the operations and possessed a complex web of connections. Replacing them at this juncture would not be a wise move.

After seizing power, he would still need to utilize them.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yi wished he had more legs, rushing out of the office to make calls in a blur.

Though Ji Cheng had not uttered a single threat, the very lack of one made Wang Yi even more terrified. The man didn't even deem them worthy of a threat!

Five minutes later, several more high-ranking officials arrived. Three minutes after that, the two Awakened of South Harbor City also hurried into the office.

Ma Anguo was an elderly man with a face full of wrinkles, while Jiang Yan was a woman with sunken eye sockets. Unlike the Awakened from the New City, their attire was more casual, not looking as though they were prepared for battle at any moment.

Ever since Zhang Sheng led people to establish the New City, and the old city suffered a catastrophic mining disaster that killed most of the Awakened, the situation in South Harbor City had been controlled by Zhang Sheng’s father along with these two.

Although Zhang Sheng’s father was also an Awakened, he had been severely injured in his youth and retired to the New City after two years, leaving only these two in charge of South Harbor City.

As soon as they stepped through the door, they began fawning over Huang Long with smiles plastered on their faces.

"Oh, Councilor Huang, you're back! Why didn't you let us know in advance so we could prepare?"

"Indeed, though we are curious—what is the situation this time?"

Ma Anguo and Jiang Yan knew Huang Long. Seeing him there and noting the absence of other councilors, they naturally assumed he was the leader.

Huang Long chuckled and gestured toward Ji Cheng, who was sitting at the desk.

"He is the one in charge now. Talk to him."

On the way from the New City, they had already reached an agreement.

With only ten people left, the decisions should naturally be made by one of the councilors.

Zhou Ze, who originally had the highest reputation and strongest combat power, was injured, and Huang Long had no desire to manage affairs. Since everyone else owed Ji Cheng a debt of gratitude, it was formally decided that Ji Cheng would take the lead.

*He is the one in charge?* The two turned around in shock.

"And you are?"

A hint of confusion flickered in Jiang Yan’s deeply sunken eyes.

She had never seen Ji Cheng before, nor had she even seen his file.

The promotion ceremony for Awakened, which should have been held long ago, had been delayed by various events. Consequently, even though he had now become a Tier 2 Awakened, Ji Cheng’s updated records had not yet been synchronized with South Harbor City.

However, even a lowly official serving a prime minister is a figure of importance; even without knowing Ji Cheng, Huang Long’s words were enough to make Jiang Yan exercise extreme caution.

"My name is Ji Cheng."

Ji Cheng smiled. His gaze did not linger on Jiang Yan, but instead shifted to Ma Anguo.

The original inhabitant of this body had lived in South Harbor City for eighteen years and knew well that this man’s name appeared in the news quite often.

"The situation in South Harbor City seems less than ideal."

"Well... this... there wasn't much we could do..." Ma Anguo eyed Ji Cheng’s combat suit and the emblem on his chest.

He couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

*When things are abnormal, there must be a demon at play.* The moment they were notified that such a large group of Awakened had arrived from the New City, they sensed something was wrong.

They decisively accessed the data parameters of the landing platform where the "Osprey" and "Hunter" were docked and reached a startling conclusion.

Even after so many Awakened had disembarked, the weight of these two flight vehicles remained at full capacity.

They were certainly loaded with high-grade energy crystals brought from the New City.

The New City must have been breached by mutated animals.

As Ma Anguo pondered this, he looked at the extensive damage on Ji Cheng’s combat suit, which only confirmed his theory.

Cities being breached was not rare; the Western Continent had nine city-states just over a decade ago.

Fortunately, just in case, he had spent two or three minutes making temporary arrangements before coming.

Now, all he had to do was stall for time.

Time ticked by.

Huang Long, Centipede, Liu Fangjian, and the others, along with the crestfallen South Harbor City officials, remained silent, listening to the trio engage in idle chatter.

In truth, Ji Cheng was also stalling for time; he needed to gather evidence.

His planetary local area network access terminal had been kept active, and Shana was helping him monitor the cameras inside the command building on the surface.

After about ten minutes, all three of them were growing impatient, and Ji Cheng finally received Shana’s report: the rapid response force was indeed assembling, and they had brought in laser weapons capable of threatening a Tier 2 Awakened.

*Just as I thought.* These two were cunning; they had likely guessed something from the details and certainly harbored ill intentions.

Ji Cheng ignored Ma Anguo and Jiang Yan, directly forwarding the video Shana sent back to the wrist-mounted computers of Huang Long and the others.

"See for yourselves. It’s pretty much what I expected, right?"

Ji Cheng smiled at Huang Long and the others, then made his move.