96: Are you teaching me how to do things?

The night wind was very cold.

It blew on Chen Mo's bare feet, feeling like countless icy needles.

He did not care.

Bureau Chief Zhou stood opposite him, backed by dozens of black-clad men armed with live ammunition.

Their presence was like a wall forged from steel and discipline.

“Comrade Chen Mo.”

Bureau Chief Zhou spoke, his voice completely devoid of emotion.

“I need an explanation.”

“You do not need one.”

Chen Mo's voice was flat.

“You only need to know that the threat has not been neutralized.”

Bureau Chief Zhou's brows furrowed into a tight knot.

“This is no longer just a problem for Jiang City, nor is it one that our country alone can handle.”

“This is a global security crisis.”

“We need meetings, assessments, and the creation of comprehensive plans.”

“It is too late.”

Chen Mo interrupted him.

“In every minute you spend in a meeting, he is growing stronger.”

“In every hour you spend assessing, he is setting up a new gambit.”

“By the time your plan is formulated, he will have already turned this world into his chessboard.”

Bureau Chief Zhou's expression became incredibly grim.

“So, you intend to go alone?”

“One person, to challenge a... new god, hiding in the shadows and possessing unknown power?”

“This is not courage; this is suicide!”

“This is not suicide.”

Chen Mo shook his head.

“This is... a reckoning.”

He did not want to waste any more time.

He turned and walked toward the black command vehicle.

“Stop!”

Bureau Chief Zhou let out a low roar!

The black-clad men behind him uniformly raised their guns!

The dark muzzles were aimed squarely at Chen Mo's back!

“Damn it! What are you trying to do?!”

Zhao Dahai, like an enraged lion, stepped in front of Chen Mo!

“Put the guns down! All of you, damn well put them down!”

Su Qingxue also drew her gun, and cold flames ignited in her clear eyes.

The air instantly dropped to freezing point.

Chen Mo stopped walking.

He did not turn around.

He simply looked calmly at the reflection in the vehicle before him.

Watching the reflection of the old man who, though facing a formidable enemy, was outwardly fierce but inwardly weak.

“Director Zhou.”

He spoke, his voice utterly devoid of fluctuation.

“Are you teaching me how to do my job?”

Bureau Chief Zhou's body suddenly stiffened!

He felt as if he were being stared down relentlessly by a prehistoric behemoth with its cold eyes!

“I am not negotiating with you.”

Chen Mo's voice was like a decree from the highest heavens.

“I am... informing you.”

“You!”

Bureau Chief Zhou's face flushed a humiliating purplish-red!

Never in his life had he been so utterly disregarded!

“The power of the nation is not something you can imagine!”

He gritted his teeth, speaking word by word.

“We have the most advanced weapons, the most elite agents, and the most powerful intelligence network!”

“Do you think that without you, we cannot find him, cannot kill him?!”

“Is that so?”

Chen Mo smiled.

The smile was cold and mocking.

“Your most elite agent, codenamed ‘Falcon,’ is currently in Berlin, executing an S-class deep cover mission, correct?”

Bureau Chief Zhou's pupils suddenly contracted!

This was the nation's highest secret!

How could he possibly know?!

“In 72 minutes, he will have his identity exposed because a cleaner spills a cup of coffee.”

“Then, he will be gunned down by three assassins from the remnants of ‘Tartarus’, who have long been lying in ambush beneath the fountain in Alexanderplatz.”

“Why don't you make a call right now and ask him if there is a cleaner nearby who should not be there?”

Bureau Chief Zhou's body began to tremble violently!

He was not angry; he was... terrified!

He stared intently at Chen Mo's back, as if looking at an omniscient, omnipotent devil!

“Who... who exactly are you?”

His voice carried an unconcealable tremor.

“Someone you cannot afford to provoke.”

Chen Mo's voice, like a cold knife, severed his last thread of illusion.

“Now, am I qualified to teach you how to do your job?”

Bureau Chief Zhou did not answer.

His face instantly turned deathly pale.

He slowly lowered his raised hand.

The black-clad men, as if receiving an order, silently lowered their guns.

“Prepare the aircraft.”

Chen Mo's voice sounded again.

“Top specifications, maximum speed.”

“I do not want to waste any time traveling.”

Bureau Chief Zhou looked at him; all struggle and unwillingness vanished from his weather-beaten eyes.

He knew he had no choice.

He slowly nodded.

“What do you need?”

“Personnel, equipment, intelligence...”

“I need nothing.”

Chen Mo shook his head.

His gaze fell upon the woman standing in the shadows of the corner, like a black statue.

“Are you coming?”

He asked.

Nightingale raised her head, and a faint light rekindled in her empty eyes.

She did not speak.

She simply walked forward and stood behind him.

Answering his question with action.

“Good.”

Chen Mo nodded.

He pulled open the car door and got in.

Su Qingxue and Zhao Dahai also followed without hesitation.

“To the airport.”

Chen Mo's voice sounded calmly.

The black command vehicle, like a silent steel behemoth, turned around under everyone's gaze and sped toward the airport...

One hour later.

Beijing western suburbs, secret military base.

A supersonic strategic transport aircraft, completely black and without any markings, was already waiting on the runway.

The boarding ramp was lowered.

Chen Mo stepped out of the vehicle.

He had already changed into a pair of clean combat boots.

“Chen Mo.”

Bureau Chief Zhou's voice came from behind him.

He did not know when he had followed them.

On his face, there was no longer the confrontation or unwillingness from before.

Only a solemnity remained, akin to entrusting a great burden.

“Be careful.”

He only said four words.

Chen Mo did not turn around.

He simply waved his hand, and then, step by step, walked up the boarding ramp.

Su Qingxue, Zhao Dahai, and Nightingale followed closely behind.

The hatch slowly closed.

The massive engines emitted a deafening roar.

The black warplane, like a blade tearing the night sky, shot into the heavens and disappeared into the clouds...

Ten thousand meters high.

Inside the cabin, the lights were bright.

Zhao Dahai was like a curious baby, touching this and looking at that.

“Damn it... this thing is faster than every plane I have ever been on...”

Nightingale sat in the corner, eyes closed, like a statue in meditation.

Su Qingxue sat beside Chen Mo.

She looked at the deep starry sky outside the window, a hint of worry in her clear eyes.

“He...”

She began softly.

“The person hiding behind the scenes...”

“Who exactly is he?”

Chen Mo did not look at her.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of clouds, landing on that distant, snow-covered continent.

An expression appeared on his face that was complex, mixing nostalgia with icy killing intent.

“His name is Arthur.”

“In the previous life.”

“He was the... best man at my wedding.”