220: Was it still underestimated?

Special Affairs Office, Interrogation Center.

Unlike the dark and damp image outsiders might have, this place was brightly lit and full of technology.

Zhou Zheng stood in a one-way observation room, with a large screen in front of him displaying real-time footage from the interrogation room.

"Boss, the surveillance footage is back."

His adjutant walked in quickly, holding a data storage box, his face etched with fatigue and confusion.

"But..."

He hesitated.

"But what?" Zhou Zheng didn't turn around, his attention still fixed on the screen.

"The footage... there's a problem." The adjutant connected the storage box to the main console. "See for yourself."

The screen quickly displayed the surveillance footage from the entrance of the barbecue restaurant, the scene of the incident.

Everything seemed normal.

Students walked out in twos and threes, and Wang Qingxuan appeared dramatically, stopping Lin Yao.

The screen started to become unstable, showing slight static and flickering.

This was normal, then Wang Qingxuan and Chen Ruiyu clashed, Chen Fu made a move... Ah!

The screen flickered even more violently.

Just as Chen Fu raised his hand, seemingly about to attack Wang Qingxuan.

"Zzzzt—"

The entire screen was instantly engulfed by white static, leaving only a harsh electrical noise.

"Is that all?" Zhou Zheng's voice was steady, betraying no emotion.

"Yes, that's all." The adjutant gave a wry smile. "All public surveillance in the store and surrounding area was damaged by high-intensity energy aftershocks at the same time. Completely irreparable."

This was within Zhou Zheng's expectations.

At that level of combat, ordinary electronic equipment simply couldn't survive.

"Initiate the 'Scene Recall' program." Zhou Zheng ordered.

"Yes!"

The adjutant immediately began operating the control panel.

Soon, another screen in the observation room lit up, displaying an enclosed pure white space.

In the center of the space stood a professional wearing a special induction suit, eyes tightly closed.

This was one of the Special Affairs Office's aces, an agent with the rare profession of [Temporal Echo], capable of simulating and reconstructing events to a certain extent through residual energy particles at the scene.

In the pure white space, light and shadow began to twist and condense.

The commercial street, students, Li Wen, Chen Xiong... blurry figures were constructed one by one, like a low-quality holographic projection.

Zhou Zheng and the adjutant both held their breath.

This was the key.

The screen played silently, reconstructing the scene after the surveillance was damaged.

Chen Fu and Lin Yao fought, with neither gaining a decisive advantage.

This Chen Fu is quite skilled, showing some military influence; it seems he wasn't an ordinary person before.

What surprised Zhou Zheng even more was Lin Yao; this Lin Yao, who had just awakened her profession, could actually be so formidable.

However, upon seeing her profile, a Red Mythic Rank profession, it was no wonder.

Being in his position, Zhou Zheng naturally knew what a Red Mythic Rank profession entailed, and quickly put away his surprise.

That Small Bat is also interesting, is it inherent to Lin Yao's profession?

He'll research it later.

The scene continued to flow.

Although Lin Yao was strong, she was still no match for Chen Fu. Just as Chen Fu became enraged, and Li Wen, Chen Xiong, and several Heavenly Aegis masters also appeared, Lin Yao gave Zhou Zheng another big surprise.

Facing the siege of these people, she showed no fear, which further raised Zhou Zheng's evaluation of her.

It wasn't until the mysterious visitor made his move that Zhou Zheng's expression instantly changed!

This aura, this power!

He could tell how terrifying it was!

How could she dodge this?

Lin Yao was certainly going to die!

Just as his hand was about to touch the girl.

Everything in the space froze.

It wasn't a screen freeze, but a genuine stagnation at the level of time and space.

The mysterious visitor remained in a pouncing posture, the sinister smile on his face frozen.

All the figures became motionless sculptures.

The only one who could move was the blurry figure standing in front of Lin Yao—Lin Yu.

In the simulated space, the [Temporal Echo] professional suddenly opened his eyes, blood oozing from all seven orifices simultaneously, his body trembling violently.

"Warning! Energy intensity exceeds simulation limit by ten times!"

"Warning! Simulation system is about to crash!"

Piercing alarms blared throughout the observation room.

The simulated image on the screen flickered violently, and finally, with a "bang," it completely turned into darkness.

"Pfft—"

In the image, the [Temporal Echo] agent spat out a mouthful of blood, falling straight backward, and was immediately carried away by the medical personnel waiting nearby.

The entire observation room fell into a deathly silence.

The adjutant's mouth hung open for a long time.

He looked at the dark screen, then at his captain, whose face was as calm as water, and felt a chill rush from his tailbone straight to his head.

Exceeding the simulation limit by ten times!

The simulation limit of [Temporal Echo] was set based on the energy standard for A-grade incidents.

This meant that Lin Yu's single act of freezing the entire scene had an energy intensity at least ten times that of an A-grade incident!

And this was just a minimum estimate!

What kind of concept was this?

"Captain..." The adjutant's voice was dry and trembling. "This... is this even human? How old is he?!"

Zhou Zheng didn't answer.

He just stared intently at the darkened screen, as if trying to see through it.

He thought deeper than the adjutant.

It wasn't just a matter of energy intensity.

What troubled and horrified him even more was that he couldn't understand the method behind Lin Yu's attack at all.

No incantation, no magic circle, no hand gestures.

Just a snap of his fingers.

The entire scene froze.

What kind of skill was this? Time- Department? Space- Department? Or some unheard-of mental law?

Even someone as knowledgeable as him found his mind blank at this moment.

"Also," Zhou Zheng suddenly spoke, breaking the silence, "retrieve the energy analysis report for the piles of ashes collected from the scene."

The adjutant jolted and quickly operated the controls.

A complex report, filled with various unknown symbols and error codes, appeared on the screen.

"Captain, even the best instruments can't analyze it." The adjutant's tone carried a hint of despair. "The data shows that the structural stability and strength of the residual energy composing those ashes exceed the scope of all known energy models in our database. It's as if... it doesn't belong to our world."

Zhou Zheng's fist, in an unnoticed corner, quietly clenched.

Abyss Domain.

Li Wen's testimony mentioned this term.

Although that good-for-nothing spoke incoherently and illogically, Zhou Zheng still caught this crucial information.

The contact between Abyss Domain and Blue Star has clearly become more frequent recently, but these matters are beyond his pay grade to handle... More importantly... if they really are people from Abyss Domain, then their strength is far greater, even much greater, than Zhou Zheng's original estimated upper limit.

In that case, how strong is Lin Yu, who was so at ease?

Could it be that even the outrageous assessment of him being the next Qin Zhan still underestimated him?

Zhou Zheng called up the recently simulated footage, playing it over and over, his mind in a state of turmoil.