World's No. 1 Swordsman
Chapter 54: An Astounding Operation

Chapter 54: An Astounding Operation

Half an hour later, in the hallway of the eleventh floor of a hotel outside the campus.

Wang Sheng stood with his arms crossed outside a room door.

A saying from a popular Daoist master in his past life came to his mind.

"If one lacks the resolve to forego procreation, what right do they have to pursue immortality?"

Ahem.

Naturally, that sentiment depended on who it applied to. For instance, his master.

Hurried footsteps echoed from the nearby corridor. Bulldozer approached, leading a few men in police uniforms. They rushed over from the elevator, panting as Bulldozer waved at Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng gestured at them to be quiet. He then pointed his index finger toward the room and then stepped aside. Bulldozer solemnly nodded in understanding.

Knock, knock!

Bulldozer pounded on the door forcefully. The voices inside immediately quieted down, and the television grew louder.

"Who's there?"

"Did you order delivery, sir?"

"No! Get lost!" someone shouted irritatedly from inside.

Bulldozer's nostrils flared slightly, his anger clearly rising.

The burly investigator stood firm before the door, drawing his firearm from his waist. He then crouched into a defensive stance, channeling his breath to his dantian. A faint flow of inner energy could be seen moving through his legs.

Bulldozer was clearly a trained martial artist.

"Open the door!" Bulldozer loudly commanded, then fiercely kicked the door.

Bang!

The reinforced wooden door swung open and nearly flew off its hinges.

The front desk clerk who had hurried over with a spare room card in her hand paled at the scene. She clearly wanted to complain but dared not speak.

Bulldozer and his team of officers barged into the room at perfect timing. The first sight that greeted the cultivators was a group of men in police uniforms charging in with stern expressions...

At that moment, the so-called Protector realized his fate.

"Freeze! This is the police! Show me your IDs!"

"Ah—"

"We won't move! We won't move! We're just students!"

The girl's scream and the boy's panicked cries made Wang Sheng's mouth twitch slightly.

Now they remember they're students? What about earlier?

"We're just dating! College sweethearts!"

One of the officers responded calmly, "So you say. Got any student IDs? The ID used to book this room—it's yours, isn't it? We've checked, and it's linked to a prior record. How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"What? I don't have any prior record! I've never been involved in anything illegal..."

"Come with us to the station!"

Without giving the Protector a chance to protest, several officers efficiently subdued him, tossing some clothes at him as they did. The girl, meanwhile, hurriedly wrapped herself in a blanket and ran to the bathroom to change.

Minutes later, the police escorted the disheveled Protector out of the hotel entrance, his face filled with dejection.

The girl, eyes red and swollen, followed behind and was led into another police car.

In the hotel lobby, Wang Sheng sat casually with his legs crossed, flipping through a magazine to pass the time. He wrapped a trace of spiritual consciousness around the Protector, monitoring his every move.

Bulldozer gave a few instructions to the front desk. He then approached Wang Sheng, who rose from his seat as if nothing had happened, and headed to the back of an SUV together.

Once inside the car, Bulldozer grinned at Wang Sheng.

"Ha! We've already caught their leader. Looks like we can round up the rest by tomorrow."

Wang Sheng merely smiled in response. Soon after, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to his senior sister, asking her to keep an eye on Chi Wen. He also instructed her to notify him immediately if anything happened.

"Got any background on him?"

"We've already checked with the school. His name is Ge Tianlin, originally from Northwest Lu. He's a junior majoring in electronic information engineering. Based on his campus network activity and login frequency, he seems to be a homebody who rarely stirs up trouble. Skips classes often to play games—your typical college guy.

"We've also confirmed his cultivation level earlier. He's at the late stage of the Breath Condensation Realm, which makes him relatively dangerous. Lucky for us, he didn't recognize us and thought he was being arrested by mistake."

"I see. Did you bring my sword?"

Bulldozer nodded as well. "It's in the trunk. Why? Are you planning to fight?"

"Just in case," Wang Sheng replied. "Their Supernatural Revelation Club must be coordinating online, so grab his phone for now. Once we've gone through it, we'll know if interrogation is necessary."

"Got it. I'll take care of it."

Bulldozer immediately got to work.

They drove for about two kilometers before arriving at the police station. After parking in a secluded corner and ensuring all arrangements were in place, Wang Sheng and Bulldozer exited the vehicle.

Accompanied by a few on-duty officers, they made their way to the surveillance room outside the interrogation chamber. From behind a one-way mirror, they observed Ge Tianlin.

Despite his disheveled appearance, Ge Tianlin remained surprisingly cooperative. He didn't resist or attack the police. He just sat looking all miserable in his shorts and jacket. Dejected, he also constantly rubbed his forehead and complained about how unlucky he was today.

He hadn't even realized what was about to happen and still thought he'd been mistakenly arrested, waiting for the police to verify the situation and release him.

Bulldozer leaned over. "Daoist Master Wang, his phone has already been sent for cracking. It'll only take a few minutes. What should we do next?"

"Call over two experienced officers," Wang Sheng replied. "Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary measures. Let's bluff him a little and see if we can reel in a bigger fish."

"Alright," Bulldozer grunted in agreement. He quickly headed off to find some skilled interrogators.

Not long after, two middle-aged officers were brought to Wang Sheng. After Wang Sheng gave them a brief explanation, the two officers looked a little uneasy but still nodded in agreement.

It was just a matter of intimidating someone. They had done this plenty of times before.

The two officers walked into the interrogation room with serious expressions. Their conversation could be heard clearly from outside.

"Officer, I really wasn't soliciting. That was my girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend? What's her birthday? When did you two get together? Let me tell you, she's already confessed everything."

"I... I..."

"What's the matter? Can't answer? That's exactly what I thought! Rich kids like you think you can do whatever you want just because your parents have money! Not this time! Give me your parents' number!"

"My family's out of town... Officer, I really wasn't soliciting. I was..."

Ge Tianlin suddenly stopped talking. Looking conflicted, he glanced at the two officers before burying his head in his hands and sighing repeatedly. Admit to solicitation or confess to blackmail and expose the organization behind him—he knew the stakes.

"I really wasn't soliciting."

"Stop wasting time! Call your parents!"

"My family's out of town. I..."

"Then call your school counselor!"

"It's the middle of the night, Officer. I'll take the punishment, alright? But please, don't call anyone. I really wasn't soliciting. If word of this gets out, I won't be able to stay at school..."

The interrogation reached a bit of a stalemate.

An officer brought over two chairs. Wang Sheng casually took a seat, waiting for the outcome of the interrogation.

Ten minutes later, Bulldozer returned with Ge Tianlin's phone. With a serious expression, he whispered a few words to Wang Sheng, making the latter's expression shift slightly.

"Ge Tianlin's phone had been cracked without leaving a trace, revealing four YouChat groups. We also found past chat logs that contain evidence linking them to several robbery cases from recent months."

As Bulldozer's voice lowered further, Wang Sheng's expression grew more somber.

Seeing Bulldozer hesitate to speak, Wang Sheng asked, "What else? If it's something inconvenient for you to say, then you don't have to say it."

"We cross-referenced the YouChat accounts in their elite core group, and it seems Chi Wen might be one of them." Bulldozer sighed. "Worse, she's one of their leaders."

A leader? My junior sister?

For a moment, Wang Sheng felt a headache coming on.

If Chi Wen wanted to cultivate immortality, couldn't she just go to Mount Wudang and find her biological father? Qing Yanzi would undoubtedly cherish her like a treasure and help her open all her meridians in no time.

Then again, perhaps she was never told anything about her father.

With the resurgence of primal qi, cultivators proficient in Daoist arts could easily charm ordinary people with just a few minor tricks.

"Give the phone back to him. Have him call someone to bail him out. Let's see who shows up."

If Chi Wen was really involved, Wang Sheng had to protect her first and deal with everything else once their master had come out of seclusion.

Bulldozer called over an officer and had him pass the phone to the two officers in the interrogation room.

After another half an hour, Ge Tianlin finally broke down and called someone. At the end of the day, he was just a student who hadn't graduated yet.

It was already 4:30 AM. Wang Sheng carefully observed Ge Tianlin's respectful yet nervous behavior during the call, feeling like he had hooked a big fish this time.

"Give me the car keys," Wang Sheng told Bulldozer.

"What's the matter, Daoist master? Where are you going? I'll drive."

"No need," Wang Sheng replied as he took the keys from Bulldozer. "I'm just going to reclaim my other half."

He stepped out, making a dozen or so police officers exchange confused looks.