Volume Three: The Breeze of the Ancient City Chapter Twenty-Nine: Bringing Light to the Mortal World

After bidding farewell to the gentle breeze of the ancient city, Chen Chen embarked on a new journey. This time, his mission was to eradicate the remnants of rebellious traitors.

Throughout the vast land of Huaxia, numerous factions spread across the territory. Some originated locally, while others maintained close ties with civilizations or nations beyond Huaxia’s borders. Beyond lawful trade and cultural exchange, there existed illicit organizations operating in the shadows, outside the bounds of law—some employed by foreign enterprises, harming the interests and well-being of their compatriots. Others masqueraded under false pretenses, colluding with dark foreign forces to eke out a survival.

This was an awkward and troublesome faction, recruiting many discontented with the nation—those living unsatisfactory lives, struggling to make ends meet, or trapped indefinitely in a state of unfreedom. Some harbored imperial dreams, conspiring with numerous threatening forces to overthrow the government and establish a new regime. They all seemed caught in a misconception: even as puppet factions, they viewed this as a more glamorous existence than their current reality.

There were also film and novel enthusiasts, influenced by highly praised works, oblivious to the truth, who worshiped false gods and fabricated tales, forming cults.

The civilization of Huaxia held many hidden secrets; even ordinary people could be suffering spiritual torment, sinking into misery in their daily lives and work.

Chen Chen roamed the mortal world, bringing hope and light—a task entrusted to him as an official agent of DD Strike. Kindness embodied justice; evil and sin were ceaseless targets of their crackdown.

In this vast Huaxia, Chen Chen had heard of a faction known for employing “dark temptation.” This dark temptation was a force born from novel stories—originally a dark power mentioned in fiction, yet somehow exploited by enthusiasts or schemers, it manifested in reality on Huaxia’s soil.

It was a dark and alluring force, originating from books, from another realm. Their deceitful method was to excavate the deepest desires within people’s hearts, exploiting or deceiving them to satisfy their bestial cravings and achieve profit.

Their emergence was so sinister that whenever they struck, one could feel the pervasive darkness, decay, corruption, and impurity emanating from their mechanism of dark temptation.

Chen Chen was a member of DD Strike, dispatched by its official command. Departing from the ancient city of Qingfeng, he passed through several provinces and cities, journeying southward to the town where the dark faction was based, commencing his new mission.

The past of ancient Qingfeng was long behind him; now he arrived at the ancient city of Guanhai.

The dark faction hidden within Guanhai was composed of many: laid-off workers, unemployed individuals, cult missionaries, operatives serving unknown foreign forces, gangsters from the underworld, sex addicts, and drug addicts. There were also professionals—hackers skilled in network programming, tomb raiders, actors, assassins—their influence extending into every facet of life.

Such factions hid deeply within Huaxia’s lands—not numerous in form but with tentacles reaching far and wide.

Entering Guanhai, Chen Chen immediately sensed its unique aura of abundance. Guanhai thrived as a land of fish and rice. Its native inhabitants seldom worried about food or drink. As long as they toiled, they could harvest abundance, satiate hunger, labor with strength, and enjoy a higher quality of life.

The faction Chen Chen sought lurked within Guanhai.

Their presence often marked by skull emblems—red, white, or black—signaling their influence.

Their lure operated through networks covering certain areas, broadly marking and hunting prey to achieve profit and survival.

Red skulls were most common, projected as signs of their temptation of living beings into illicit deeds, humiliating sexual transactions, and human trafficking.

White skulls symbolized life—either extreme vitality or the granting or deprivation of life.

Black skulls were the darkest, representing death, decay, and degradation.

Where these skulls appeared, corresponding illicit activities typically unfolded. They targeted specific individuals or families, closely monitoring them, enveloping their aura with the skull’s essence, directing their keyboard operatives to act accordingly.

This connected somewhat to the “host civilization” Chen Chen once investigated in ancient Qingfeng.

Such factions committed crimes via computers, aided by underworld henchmen. The keyboard operators first launched psychological assaults on their chosen prey. Once the victim’s mental defenses were broken and enough useful information extracted, they would surround and coerce the prey, invading their spiritual world through threats and temptations. The ultimate capture was executed by gangsters who arrived to seize the victims, completing the criminal act.

Chen Chen’s intelligence indicated this faction had spread across many towns in Guanhai. Their red skulls often lurked not far behind their targets, tracking via IP location.

Those followed often could neither see nor touch their pursuers—only those with extraordinary sight, such as the “law eye” or “heaven eye,” could detect these dark manipulations.

Especially young and beautiful women and handsome men frequently suffered from these dark forces’ spying and interference.

Many young women, outnumbered and vulnerable, often faced temptation and harassment, with some forcibly abducted for illegal trafficking.

From Chen Chen’s perspective, raising women’s awareness of deception and self-protection was crucial.

Of course, most Huaxia men were exceptionally clever and, when facing such petty dark temptations, generally capable of handling themselves. Some outstanding young talents regarded the dark temptation faction as mere trash.

In truth, men had to accept the harsh realities of society: success depended on one’s strength and resilience. To fail was merely a sign that one’s potential had yet to be fully realized. A man could not simply admit defeat.

The white skull’s presence often heralded extreme vitality. Through various means, they exploited and empowered human labor to pursue their own immortality. It was a delicate phase—those exploited often lived erratic lives, indulging heavily in cigarettes, drugs, and stimulants to combat fatigue.

Those blessed with life maintained their resources and balanced the relationship between life and death, engaging in further activities.

Some lived through the night with eyes wide open, only to face the relentless cycle of waking and toiling.

Then there were the black skulls.

The appearance of a black skull often signified the victim’s life was being drained or moving toward death. If the afflicted were strong-willed, they might endure. Otherwise, when life hung in the balance, fate’s cruel judgment fell—weak or strong.

Whether to submit to domination or rise in defiance, a desperate struggle might unfold.

Some succumbed to the criminals’ intimidation and coercion, broken and subdued. These spineless individuals remain a laughingstock among humanity to this day.

Survival did not hinge on wealth but on maintaining one’s principles, bottom lines, dignity, and wisdom—conquering criminals and living well.

Unyielding spirit was invaluable, and Chen Chen was determined not to lose such qualities.

Chen Chen lay low in Guanhai, alongside his comrades. DD Strike agents operated in other ancient cities as well.

Their current goal was to identify and eliminate all criminal groups employing dark temptation.

Huaxia’s civilization had evolved with sound laws and excellent welfare. Society was well divided and staffed.

Yet surplus labor, idle and struggling at society’s lower rungs with little or no income, were highly susceptible to joining illegal organizations.

Chen Chen held universal currency exchanged from gold as he walked Guanhai’s streets.

The beginner’s village and ancient Qingfeng seemed to have closed their curtains as Chen Chen arrived in Guanhai, becoming mere memories fading with time.

His focus was once again centered on Guanhai.

Daily necessities in Guanhai were replenished regularly.

Those lurking at society’s bottom, hidden among the bustling cities in poverty, sighed daily but lacked ambition and diligence.

The fertile land was walked upon by those with considerable spiritual cultivation—not through flashy swordplay or summoning spirits, but by integrating their worldly skills.

Adaptability, offensive and defensive capabilities, critical thinking, survival skills, and life skills—these combined gave one the confidence and qualification to stand firmly in this world.

Alongside these abilities came intelligence, emotional intelligence, financial acumen, and deep understanding and application of life, the world, and values—forming the foundation of a person’s standing in the human realm.

Cruel competition unfolded daily.

Chen Chen was determined to eradicate the circles of dark temptation that gathered the lower class.

Huaxia produced countless talents; reducing the proportion of impoverished lower-class families and cultivating them to adapt and survive in society was at a critical point.

The tricks of dark temptation were steeped in evil. No one could claim a lifetime of peace and calm, untroubled by storms.

Darkness sometimes surged; yet when shadow fell, one must rely on their own cultivation to endure the trial.

Darkness would ultimately fade; light would surely dawn.

This time, Chen Chen played the role of bearer of that light—bringing brightness to the human world and leaving no refuge for darkness.