71: Chapter 71: A Calm Plan, The Hunt Begins!

"Calm! I must stay calm!" he chanted silently in his heart. "Rage won't solve the problem; it will only put Sister Wei in greater danger!"

He took a deep breath, his icy gaze sweeping over Chen Ye and Song Yunle: "Old Song, Ye Zi, listen to my arrangements!"

His voice was steady and powerful,

carrying an unquestionable decisiveness that instantly calmed the somewhat flustered Song Yunle and the bone-chillingly cold Chen Ye.

"Old Song, you need to do three things immediately!"

Zhou Heng spoke extremely fast. "First, use all your family authority to request the highest level of assistance from the Yuancheng Supervision Department. Initiate a city-wide lockdown immediately!

Seal all exits, activate the highest-level energy monitoring network, focusing on monitoring abnormal stellar energy and high-intensity life energy fluctuations!

Tell them there are at least four second-stage Cang Yao Clan members in hiding, one of whom is second-stage peak, extremely dangerous!"

"Second, immediately report the situation we encountered and the enemy's strength assessment to the Demon Slaying Division!

Request reinforcements! Preferably high-level Yun Shen Realm or Transcendent Realm experts! Be quick!"

"Third, immediately investigate all possible hiding places in Yuancheng!

Focus on places with underground structures, recent abnormal elemental energy consumption, or where security has suddenly become tight!

Especially... abandoned factories, warehouses, even private estates related to mining or energy! Use the entire intelligence network!"

"Yes!" Song Yunle didn't hesitate in the slightest, immediately pulling out his communicator and contacting various parties with unprecedented seriousness.

The influence of the Song family's direct descendant was on full display at this moment.

Zhou Heng looked at Chen Ye. "Ye Zi, you and I will follow that trace of residual stellar aura!

Your Frozen Prison Perception is more sensitive to energy residues! But remember,

our primary task is tracking and confirmation, not charging in recklessly! Mark any traces you find immediately and wait for reinforcements!"

Chen Ye nodded heavily, a cold light condensing in his eyes. "Understood."

Zhou Heng himself closed his eyes. His [Omniscient Eye] operated at an unprecedented intensity, not looking outward, but beginning to... Retrospect!

He reconstructed and analyzed every detail of that brief confrontation moments ago in his mind.

The moment the Cang Yao Clan leader attacked, his energy characteristics, operational methods, even that almost imperceptible spatial fluctuation... all information was frantically reconstructed and analyzed!

[Retrospective Analysis: Cang Yao Clan - Cang Yu (Second-stage Peak)]

[Energy Characteristics: Stellar energy is pure and condensed, leaning towards concealment and speed, explosive power slightly inferior]

[Skill Deduction: High-level Stellar Concealment Art, Stellar Escape Technique, Stellar Confinement Art...]

[Weakness Deduction: Sustained explosive power may be insufficient, fears extremely condensed destructive energy, precise energy manipulation may interfere with stellar energy circulation...]

[Combat Power Assessment: In a head-on fight, me 40%, him 60%. Using Blood Ignition Art makes it 50-50, but difficult to keep him from escaping.]

[Retrospective Analysis: Cang Yao Clan Warriors x3 (Second-stage Upper Tier)]

[Energy Characteristics: Stellar energy leans towards violence and strength, defense is strong, coordination is excellent]

[Skill Deduction: Stellar Fist Aura, Combined Battle Formation...]

[Weakness Deduction: Relatively lacking in flexibility, fears extreme ice sealing and control, fears area-of-effect thunderstorm interference...]

[Combat Power Assessment: Chen Ye can restrain one. I can quickly kill one, but must prevent them from forming a formation and escaping.]

[Environmental Analysis: The enemy chose this place for an ambush, so they must have preset escape routes and a hideout. Their escape direction... north of the city... combined with elemental energy flow... Most likely areas: Northern District Abandoned Mine Pits, Stellar Source Processing Plant Ruins, and... the Yuancheng Old Energy Hub Station!]

Analysis results flowed through his mind like water, rapidly clarifying the enemy's strength, weaknesses, and possible destinations!

Simultaneously, he divided his attention, rapidly transmitting part of the analysis results to Song Yunle, allowing him to conduct targeted investigations and request reinforcements.

In just a few dozen seconds, Zhou Heng had completed a tactical simulation and intelligence integration!

A reply came from Song Yunle's side: "The Supervision Department has initiated a city-wide lockdown! The energy monitoring network is active!

The Demon Slaying Division has received the distress call and is deploying the nearest experts. Estimated arrival time is within half an hour at the fastest! The family intelligence network is investigating suspicious locations at full capacity!"

"Half an hour..."

Zhou Heng's eyes narrowed. "That's too long! They won't give us half an hour! We must take the initiative, at least find their exact location, to buy time for reinforcements!"

He looked at Chen Ye. "Ye Zi, how is it?"

Chen Ye crouched on the ground, his palm pressed against the surface, extreme cold energy seeping down, sensing the faintest trace of stellar residue.

"Direction, north of the city. The aura... was deliberately erased, very clean." Chen Ye said coldly. "But Ice Trace Tracking shows an almost imperceptible energy leakage... highest probability points towards... the Old Energy Hub Station direction."

"Old Energy Hub Station?" A sharp light flashed in Zhou Heng's eyes, matching his analysis result! "The underground structure there is complex, abandoned for years, but the core energy well might still have residual energy, perfect for masking their fluctuations! Let's go!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the two instantly transformed into two afterimages, speeding towards the northern part of the city!

Zhou Heng crackled with lightning, Chen Ye left trails of ice, their speeds reaching the extreme!

En route, Zhou Heng used his tactical watch to send the Old Energy Hub Station as the highest priority target to Song Yunle and the Supervision Department.

"Old Song, have the Supervision Department secretly surround the perimeter of the Old Energy Hub Station! Set up isolation barriers! Prevent them from harming civilians in desperation! But don't launch a forceful assault yet! Wait for us to confirm Sister Wei's location and the situation inside!"

"Understood!"

Soon, the two arrived at the outskirts of the Old Energy Hub Station.

It was an extremely vast abandoned industrial complex.

Giant cooling towers and pipelines stood like the carcasses of steel behemoths in the night, exuding an aura of desolation and oppression.

Zhou Heng's [Omniscient Eye] operated at full power, scanning carefully.

[Environmental Scan: Surface elemental energy inert, no life signs... Weak energy shielding deep underground, cannot directly penetrate!]

[Weakness Analysis: The underground energy shielding has weak fluctuation nodes, possibly ventilation shafts or maintenance tunnel entrances...]

[Energy Residue: Found extremely faint, deliberately concealed stellar energy residue! Confirmed targets have entered!]

"It's here!" Zhou Heng whispered, his gaze sharp as an eagle's. "The shielding is strong. Forcing entry would alert them. Find an entrance!"

Chen Ye nodded. The two moved like ghosts through the massive complex, searching for a possible entrance.

Soon, Zhou Heng stopped at a concealed ventilation shaft opening.

[Entrance Found: Underground ventilation duct, one of the weakest points in the shielding array]

[Status: Signs of recent use, minor flaw in the array]

"Here!" Zhou Heng made a hand signal.

He carefully used his [Omniscient Eye] to analyze the array structure, looking for the least noticeable way to bypass it.

"Damn, this array is quite exquisite... Do the Cang Yao Clan have skill in arrays too?" he muttered to himself, but his hands moved swiftly. Lightning condensed at his fingertips into hair-thin probes, silently piercing the array nodes.

*Hum...*

The array's light barrier fluctuated slightly, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person, then instantly returned to normal.

"Go!" The two flashed inside instantly.

The duct was pitch black, filled with the smell of rust and dust. They suppressed all their auras, descending like shadows.

The deeper they went, the stronger that faint stellar fluctuation and sense of energy shielding became.

Finally, a faint light and the indistinct sound of voices appeared ahead!

They immediately stopped, holding their breath, using the shadow of a duct bend to hide.

Zhou Heng's [Omniscient Eye] penetrated the limited obstacles, feeding back a blurry image of the scene below.

Below was a massive abandoned main control room, converted into a temporary base.

A few crystals emitting starlight were embedded in the walls, providing illumination and energy.

All four Cang Yao Clan members were inside! They had returned to their true forms, about 2.5 meters tall, with pale silver skin covered in fine stellar patterns, muscles bulging with a sense of power.

Three second-stage mid-tier Cang Yao Clan warriors sat around an energy furnace, seemingly meditating.

The second-stage peak leader stood to the side, facing a confinement cage formed of stellar energy!

Inside the cage was none other than the unconscious Chu Weiwei! Her face was pale, but her life signs were stable; she seemed to only have her powers sealed.

Zhou Heng's heart tightened, murderous intent instantly soaring, only to be forcibly suppressed again.

He heard the leader speaking in a language with a strange rhythm (automatically translated by [Omniscient Eye]): "...The humans reacted quickly, locking down the city. But we are safe for now. This Forest Speaker's value is great. Her life energy can help us refine the ore core faster."

One warrior looked up. "Leader, why not just..." He made a throat-slitting gesture.

Cang Yu said coldly, "Fool! Her abilities are special. Alive, she's more useful than dead. Once we finish refining this batch of ore cores and recover our strength, using her as a hostage, breaking out will be easy. The humans will hesitate to attack forcefully."

Another warrior voiced concern. "But... the Demon Slaying Division's reinforcements will probably arrive soon..."

The leader snorted coldly. "Relax. This hideout is extremely well-hidden, the energy shielding is perfect. They won't find it here. Even if they do, breaking the shielding will take time, enough for us to relocate. Focus on refining!"

Zhou Heng instantly shared the information he heard with Chen Ye, while also silently transmitting it via his tactical watch to the outside Song Yunle and the Supervision Department.

"Targets confirmed! Yuancheng Old Energy Hub Station underground main control room! Hostage is safe! All four targets present! Refining elemental ore cores! Request reinforcements! Prepare for assault!"

After sending the message, lightning flashed in Zhou Heng's eyes as his dragon spine spear quietly appeared in his hand.

"Ye Zi," he lowered his voice, speaking coldly. "Our mission has changed. Before reinforcements arrive, keep them under surveillance! If they show signs of moving... or intend to harm Sister Wei..."

He paused, his voice as cold and sharp as ice. "Then... we send them on their way early!"

Chen Ye nodded heavily, his blade-like aura locking onto the scene below.

The hunt had begun.