Otherworldly Affairs Office

The screaming head was thrown high into the air by Pei Yan, drawing an arc as it collided with the dozens of figures under the aura of light. Just as it seemed about to crash into the crowd, it hit something invisible with a thud and bounced back onto the icy surface, spinning around before coming to a stop in the center of the standoff between the two groups.

Despite being thrown and collided, the head was relentless. The blood that should have long coagulated kept oozing out from the gouged-out eyes, flowing like pus, while the mouth opened and closed, continuing its soul-wrenching screams.

"Captain!" Pei Yan and Liang Qian looked at Shangxing, and after he nodded in approval, both raised their right hands simultaneously. One hand released a barrage of bullets, while the other finger launched attacks successively.

In an instant, the head was riddled by bullets and then exploded into a mist of blood, splattering onto the icy surface. The dense smell of blood was carried by the wind towards Pei Yan, who instinctively activated the toxin filtering system, a device he had Engineer Li add after a costly lesson from a competition with Zhao Xian from the Golden Eagle Team.

"Who exactly are they?" Pei Yan's muffled voice came through the helmet, and while speaking, he temporarily disabled the mechanical state of his right hand, gently rubbed his ring, and an earpiece appeared in his hand. He removed a segment of the helmet on the right side and placed it in his ear.

Doing the same, Wang Wenze, after adjusting the earpiece, spoke gravely, "They should be from the Daoist Skill Interface, but they've come with ill intentions!"

"Wasn't it said that such historical residual rifts have guardians on the other side of the plane too? Could these people be the supposed guardians violating the law?" Pei Yan shook his mechanical arms, preparing for battle. Under the analysis of the eyepiece, he instantly completed a headcount: thirty-seven individuals stood on the ice, varying in gender, height, and attire. Some wore daoist robes in the manner of cultivators, others in short sleeves with tight cuffs appearing brisk and competent, while others dressed as scholars with long-sleeved robes and sashes. To an outsider, it might look like a ghost's show or an ancient costume exhibition.

Zhao Yuanhu approached and, looking at the laptop suspended behind Pei Yan maintaining the communication state, turned his gaze to the center of the lake, speaking with concern, "Judging by their mixed attire, they don't seem like people from the Immortal Palace."

"Immortal Palace, Immortal Palace, Immortal Palace." Pei Yan muttered repeatedly. This wasn't the first time he had heard the name, initially from Hu Wenjun's mouth, and in later casual conversations with companions, it was also mentioned. For this mission, he had even asked Wang Wenze in advance. From Wang Wenze, he learned that the so-called Immortal Palace referred not to a specific place or sect but was an organization formed by the six most powerful sects in the Daoist Realm, collectively known as the Six Halls of the Immortal Palace.

However, the Six Halls of the Immortal Palace are not immutable. Every five hundred years, all sects in the Immortal Realm can compete for the positions of these six halls, except for the founding sect of the Immortal Palace. The winners will take office, while the losers step down.

The elected Six Halls of the Immortal Palace will hold the ultimate authority in the Daoist Realm, maintaining and controlling its rules and order, and repairing plane rifts is one of their responsibilities.

From the various descriptions, Pei Yan perceived that the Immortal Palace could be considered the investigation bureau of the Daoist Realm. However, while maintaining the realm's stability, they exuded a selfish, indifferent superiority that was universally detested, an impression held astonishingly consistently by everyone from Wang Wenze to former captain Hu Wenjun.

Yet, among the people present, Pei Yan did not sense that overbearing arrogance. Instead, he saw vigilance and slight fear when they glanced back at the aura of light. What were they afraid of?

As Pei Yan pondered this, the leader Shangxing stepped out of the crowd and stood at the edge of the pond. After taking a few deep breaths while looking at those emerging from the aura, he loudly warned, "Fellow Daoist Skill Interface compatriots, I am Shangxing, an agent of the Otherworld Investigation Bureau. This is the Fundamental Plane, and under the interplane peace agreement, no unauthorized entry is allowed. Please, all transgressors, return to prevent further escalation of the situation."

Pei Yan watched Shangxing's throat move as he spoke. Clearly seeing his lips match the Mandarin pronunciation, but the voice that emerged was entirely different. Shangxing's rough, deep voice, transformed by a phonetic translator, became soft and gentle, akin to the soft dialect of a Jiangnan woman—weighted with a significant tonal shift, the tongue rolling as if scalded, uttering sounds akin to a blend of Cantonese and Russian.

This strange tone, once transmitted into Pei Yan's right ear earpiece, was translated back into the familiar Mandarin voice by a mechanical translation tone. Hearing two distinctly different voices in his left and right ears at once, Pei Yan momentarily felt as if he were watching a dual-language film.

Upon hearing Shangxing's warning, the crowd stirred slightly. The leaders exchanged glances, nodded silently, and then with a commanding gesture, the scattered crowd slowly spread out along the ice.

Seeing this, Shangxing raised his right hand, opened and closed it, while the six others around him spread out in a fan formation around one side of the pond. He then repeated the warning with even more severe wording, signaling the dire consequences of any reckless actions by the other party.

Facing Shangxing's second warning, the crowd that had originally begun to disperse on the ice hesitated for a moment. But after a shout from someone, the people scattered like birds and beasts!

What is going on? Pei Yan, who was poised for battle and ready for a desperate fight, watched the fleeing crowd, straightened his posture, and froze in place. Luckily, the experienced Xia Yu reacted quickly, casually slapped Pei Yan on the shoulder, and instructed, "Follow me and rush in, don't let anyone escape!"

"Understood!" Pei Yan nodded and dashed out in a single leap, following Xia Yu.

"You take the left, we'll cover the right! Leave the rest to the captain!" Wang Wenze said, heading with Liang Qian toward the right side of the pond. In a flash, Liang Qian's fingers triggered several explosions, pushing back the group already approaching the pond's edge.

Pei Yan kept pace behind Xia Yu, moving toward the left of the pond, while on his right was Ye Jiumu, Zhao Yuanhu, and Shangxing, who was pulling out the Jiezhi Space to capture these people.

The sound of the modified, spike-protruding mechanical feet clattering on the ice made Pei Yan, initially skeptical about whether the pond's frozen surface was solid enough, realize that his worries were unfounded.

After stabilizing on the ice, having run dozens of steps, Pei Yan, seeing Liang Qian already engaged with non-stop explosions, hesitated no more. He drew two machine guns with both hands, unleashing a barrage on the edge of the pond, intending to prevent these people from escaping over it and buy time for Xia Yu's interception.

At that moment, another mutation occurred!