Chapter 150: Abandoned Pawn

A biting cold wind swept across the icy land. A figure in a black trench coat stumbled forward step by step. In the distant mist, a tall city wall vaguely appeared.

“Aurora City... that’s Aurora City.”

Xi Renjie’s eyelashes were already encrusted with ice. The moment the city wall came into view, his vacant pupils finally regained a sliver of lucidity.

His chapped lips parted slightly, exhaling a puff of white mist. At this moment, he felt as if his bones were freezing stiff, and the two wounds previously pierced by a steel sword had long gone numb.

He didn’t know how he had managed to walk this far. In this vast expanse of ice and snow, his very existence seemed to have been erased. If not for the lingering motivation Aurora City had given him, he would likely have collapsed from exhaustion long ago... And now, the city he had longed for was right before his eyes.

As he drew closer, the surrounding mist grew thinner. He could see the shimmering aurora flowing across the sky behind the city wall, like a brilliant gem suspended in the air.

Beneath that gem, countless iridescent birds seemed to be flying.

Xi Renjie gazed at the scene in a daze, seemingly entranced. He reached out, wanting to grasp the flying birds, but ultimately clutched only icy wind and snow.

“Aurora City... I’m here.”

Xi Renjie took a deep breath. The cold air stung his lungs, fully waking him as he quickened his pace toward the city wall.

He stumbled to the base of Aurora City's wall. A dazzling beam of light projected from the top, sweeping across the white snowy ground and locking onto Xi Renjie, who frowned and instinctively shielded his eyes with his hand.

“This is Aurora City,” a low voice boomed from a loudspeaker at the edge of the wall. “Please present your entry documents.”

Xi Renjie took a deep breath, and shouted towards the city wall, which was partly obscured by wind and snow:

“I am Law Enforcer Xi Renjie from District Three, reporting for duty at Aurora City!”

The voice from the loudspeaker paused for a moment, seemingly verifying something.

After a brief wait, the massive city gate slowly opened under Xi Renjie’s gaze. A gust of wind brushed his cheek, followed by several calm figures emerging from behind the gate.

These figures were uniformly clad in black trench coats. Unlike Xi Renjie, the hems of their coats bore at least four shimmering emblems, and the one leading them had five.

Seeing such a grand display, bewilderment appeared in Xi Renjie’s eyes. He just wanted to enter the city; why were so many high-ranking Law Enforcers dispatched?

“You are Xi Renjie,” the man leading them asked.

“Yes.”

“Why did you come alone? Where are the other Law Enforcers you were supposed to bring?”

Xi Renjie opened his mouth and finally spoke in a hoarse voice, “They’re all dead... They all died in the catastrophe riot in District Three.”

“Thirty people, all dead?” The man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Yes.”

“What about Chen Ling? Did you kill him?”

“...Yes, I killed him.”

The man nodded slightly and said nothing more.

“Officer, may I enter Aurora City now?” Xi Renjie asked tentatively.

“Of course.”

The man drew his gun and aimed it at Xi Renjie’s knees, pulling the trigger without hesitation.

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots rang out, followed by two blossoming splatters of blood. Xi Renjie had not expected them to shoot him, and unable to activate his Iron Armor, he cried out in agony as he fell to his knees.

Immediately, the other Law Enforcers standing behind the man swiftly advanced, securing Xi Renjie’s hands with dark shackles. Blades, glinting with menacing cold light, were pressed against his neck; a slight push would be enough to sever his head.

Xi Renjie knelt in the snow, blood seeping from his knees and staining the ground beneath him red. His eyes were filled with pain and bewilderment.

“Why?? Is there some misunderstanding...? I came here after receiving a message from Aurora City! I have proof!”

The man sneered, slowly stepping forward. The cold muzzle of his gun pressed against Xi Renjie's forehead.

He spoke indifferently:

“Should I call you Xi Renjie... or Chen Ling?”

Xi Renjie froze.

“...What do you mean? I’m Xi Renjie! You can just check my file, my face can’t be faked!” Xi Renjie replied furiously.

“Can’t your face be faked?” the man said unhurriedly. “Not necessarily...”

“Not necessarily??”

“The heretic Chen Ling possesses a special face-changing ability, which cannot be confirmed even by cutting his face... Tell me, how can you prove you are Xi Renjie?”

Deep confusion appeared in Xi Renjie’s eyes. He looked at the man, whose face held an air of calm confidence, as if victory was already assured.

“Chen Ling was able to slaughter all other participants in the Ancient Military Repository by himself, meaning his strength is certainly above Tier Two... Tell me, how did you, a Two-Emblem Law Enforcer with no special talent, manage to kill him?”

“I...” Xi Renjie’s face was completely drained of color.

“No, that’s not right... You knew I couldn’t defeat him, so why did you give me that order?”

Xi Renjie froze. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind...

“You did this on purpose? You used me as bait?!”

“No need to keep up the act, Chen Ling,” the man said slowly. “Let me remind you what happened... Law Enforcer Xi Renjie received orders and set a trap to kill you, but with his strength, how could he possibly be your match...? You easily defeated Xi Renjie, and from him, you learned that Aurora City had discovered your identity. So you turned the tables, killed Xi Renjie, took his face, and planned to infiltrate Aurora City this way...

This way, you could not only enter the city, but also continue to lie low within the Law Enforcer system under Xi Renjie’s identity... For you, this was the simplest and most efficient method.

Commander Tan Xin sent Xi Renjie to you precisely to make you take the bait... We were worried you might kill Xi Renjie and disappear, but it seems you've taken the bait.”

The man's words crashed into Xi Renjie’s ears like rolling thunder.

Only then did Xi Renjie understand why the message from Aurora City hadn’t mentioned any background information about Chen Ling, nor explained why he was a heretic... Because if Aurora City had explained that Chen Ling was responsible for everything in the Ancient Military Repository, he would have surely realized the vast power gap between them and chosen to abandon the mission.

From the very beginning, when Aurora City sent that message, they never intended for him to kill Chen Ling. Instead, they used his life as bait to set a trap for Chen Ling, a death trap into which Chen Ling would willingly walk.

“...No, I didn’t kill him!” Xi Renjie immediately explained. “Considering he saved District Three, I only knocked him out; I truly didn’t kill him... I, I just wanted to...”

Xi Renjie stopped mid-sentence... because he knew that any further explanation now would be futile.

From the moment Aurora City sent him that brief message,

He had already become a disposable pawn.