Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo' Chapter 1394 635: When Did It Happen

A Magnetic Storm Weapon that can destroy large numbers of communication devices in a short time.

If this weapon is really put into use, the combat capability of the Outside Provinces will drop by a whole tier.

Shen Jingye wanted to call someone in to take a statement, but in the next instant he dismissed the idea.

As soon as someone came to take the statement, Geng Shunxi would probably clam up again.

And there might be a traitor in the Bureau right now; once a written record was made, the matter would leak.

Shen Jingye asked Geng Shunxi: "Where is the base for the Magnetic Storm Weapon?"

"It's on the seabed to the southeast of Jiahe Island. I have the coordinates, and there are a few ships that frequently go to the base. I have their registration numbers. I'll give you everything, as long as you can keep me safe."

Geng Shunxi gave the coordinates and registration numbers. Shen Jingye picked up a notebook, had just written them down, and the lights in the interrogation room suddenly went out.

Power outage?

Impossible!

The Dark Star Bureau has three separate power systems: two from the grid, one from its own generators. Even if the grid suffered a major failure, the Bureau shouldn't be able to lose power.

The electrician was about to go to the distribution room to check, but Shen Jingye had someone stop him.

Someone had infiltrated the Dark Star Bureau.

Shen Jingye went back to the interrogation room and said to Geng Shunxi: "I'll ask you one more time: is Du Wenming one of your people?"

He'd asked this question many times. Geng Shunxi didn't dare make a sound, didn't even dare show any unusual expression.

That in itself confirmed it: Du Wenming was with Hundred Demons Workshop. Just like the Hundred Demon Master and several other senior members, his name was protected by a Curse Technique.

Du Wenming had taken part in several rounds of renovation work on the Dark Star Bureau Building; his knowledge of the building was no less than Shen Jingye's. If he was the one who had infiltrated the Bureau, then sending the electrician to check the power system now would be sending him to his death.

Shen Jingye took out his phone and found it had absolutely no signal.

He told the Communications Division to contact their superiors immediately. The head of Communications reported back that all communication equipment was dead.

The Magnetic Storm Weapon was already operational?

Shen Jingye ordered all personnel in the Dark Star Bureau to assemble and prepare for combat.

They had to move fast. Shen Jingye didn't know how many people Du Wenming had brought, nor could he be sure of his current combat strength—only that Du Wenming could show up at any moment.

Prepare for combat...

Can they even fight?

Over at the farm, their protective measures were at least a full level higher than the Bureau's, and they still couldn't stop Du Wenming.

Over ninety percent of the Bureau's manpower, carriers, and equipment had been sent out on assignment. Most of those left behind were archivists, lab technicians, and logistics staff—non-combat personnel.

Du Wenming had participated in the renovation and design of over ninety percent of the building's defensive installations.

They couldn't fight.

No one here could stop Du Wenming; he couldn't take them to their deaths—he had to get them out of the Dark Star Bureau.

Shen Jingye wanted to issue an evacuation order, but quickly realized the chances of a successful full evacuation were extremely slim.

There would definitely be an ambush around the Bureau. A full-scale evacuation would create too much noise; Du Wenming would be able to set up an interception. The non-combat personnel might die before they even got through the front doors.

He needed to send out a special messenger and choose someone with the highest combat strength.

In the Bureau, anyone with respectable combat strength—including Chen Changrui—was out on assignment. With communications down, Shen Jingye couldn't reach them.

It seemed only one person with notable combat strength was left...

Everyone was waiting for Shen Jingye's orders. He glanced at the Boundary switch on the table.

The Boundary was their last hope.

Shen Jingye gathered all personnel into the interrogation room, preparing to activate the Boundary.

Shen Jingye swept his gaze over every person present—some of the remaining agents, lab technicians, archivists, plumbers and electricians, cleaners, the doorman from the message room...

Keep all these people in the interrogation room?

No. Du Wenming's target was the interrogation room.

There was also the Carrier Division's storeroom; it had a Boundary as well.

Keep their own people in the Carrier Division storeroom, and keep the Hundred Demons Workshop members in the interrogation room.

That was one option. But the key problem was that there might be a traitor among their own people. If the traitor and Du Wenming coordinated from inside and out, how were they supposed to respond?

After watching for a moment, Shen Jingye called out three people: his secretary Liu Ning, the Investigation Division Chief Song Qingping, and the Communications Division Chief Gu Hao.

Among the people still at the Bureau, these were the three Shen Jingye trusted the most.

He took them to his office one by one and assigned each of them a separate task, then handed the Boundary switch to his secretary Liu Ning.

The Boundaries in both the interrogation room and the Carrier Division storeroom were activated.

Shen Jingye informed the storeroom side that he was heading to the interrogation room, and told the interrogation room side that he was heading to the storeroom.

But he went to neither the storeroom nor the interrogation room.

He went alone down the stairs to the underground parking lot.

Given the current situation, the person with the highest combat strength in the Dark Star Bureau was Shen Jingye himself.

Based on his assessment, Du Wenming would head straight for the interrogation room to kill all of Hundred Demons Workshop's core members.

If Du Wenming had no way to pass through the Boundary, the Hundred Demons core members could still be saved. If he did have a way to break through the Boundary, then the only option was to get the message out while doing everything possible to protect their own people.

The Carrier Division storeroom was heavily defended and well equipped; Du Wenming probably wouldn't try to force his way in.

Shen Jingye intended to seize this opportunity to leave the Dark Star Bureau Building immediately, bring in reinforcements from outside, and then report the situation to his superiors.

This wasn't a casual decision. It came from Shen Jingye's understanding of Du Wenming, combined with an Arithmetic Cultivator's assessment of the probabilities.