Chen Gu, having nothing pressing to attend to, began to seriously study his profession. After advancing to the Second Energy Level, he could at least exert the power of the Third Energy Level by using the memories from "The Past of 400 People."

This was a huge upgrade. The Third Energy Level was a watershed; the number of professionals below it was relatively higher, and those above were much rarer. Moreover, the power of their skills became greatly magnified, to the extent that some professionals could accomplish feats such as "fighting hundreds with one" and "becoming an army of one."

Chen Gu had once asked Qing Ruyan if those beings in the "Divine Realm" truly considered themselves "gods." In fact, high-Energy Level professionals, like Queen of Freedom Mi Xiaoli, could truly reach a level of devastating might when unleashing their trump skills at full power. Most of the deities from ancient legends, aside from the Creator God, might not even compare to professionals at the Ninth Power Level.

During this advancement, due to the use of numerous rare materials, Chen Gu also obtained two additional gains.

The first was a special skill, "Nuclear Fusion Ray Eyes," likely derived from the energy-concentrating internal organs of "Nucleara." When used, his eyes could emit intensely powerful thermal rays, hot enough to effortlessly melt steel and pierce through the armor of Mechas, tanks, and even battleships!

Qing Ruyan's information was accurate. The "Nucleara" hunted by the Queen of Freedom was extraordinary.

The second gain was the mutation of the "Radiation Scouring" skill, evolving into the more powerful "Radiation Field."

This skill limited Chen Gu's radiation range to fifty meters at the Second Energy Level. However, within this area, all his professional abilities were greatly enhanced, approaching the strength of the Third Energy Level.

But this wasn't the most significant effect of the "Radiation Field." Within its range, Chen Gu could even sense everything through "Mind Belief"! This meant that as long as Chen Gu activated his "Radiation Field," he had a complete grasp of everything occurring within fifty meters. Consequently, in battle, there were hardly any tactics that could elude Chen Gu—true control of the entire field.

Of course, if the opponent's Energy Level was much higher than Chen Gu's, they could suppress this ability with their grade advantage. But no matter what, this skill was still extremely heaven-defying.

After thinking for a while, apart from using numerous precious materials, the mutation of "Radiation Scouring" might also be due to his battle with Juglans in the underworld. Under the ability "Electrolight Operator," he had been too passive. This was an "evolution" of his own.

With such remarkable gains, Chen Gu was eager to return to Empire River Star to achieve great success and earn a substantial amount of merit points to offset his advancement costs.

However, it wasn't until half a month later that Gong Shuxu, a Sixth Energy Level powerhouse, personally removed the "Safety Shackle" for him, saying apologetically, "You've been inconvenienced during this time. You should understand this wasn't directed at you personally."

Chen Gu nodded. "Of course, I understand."

He moved his body a bit as he asked, "So now, am I free?"

Gong Shuxu smiled. "Of course, you can return to Empire River Star whenever you like."

Chen Gu left the branch office and returned to his hotel. He found that all the snacks he had brought for Qing Ruyan had gone bad—he would have to go buy a fresh batch.

When Chen Gu set off for the snack street, Chen Jixian could no longer hold back. He had always been hiding behind the scenes, using various hints and guidance to get Mei Lixue and Qing Ruyan to inquire for information from the Director-General. But after more than half a month with no progress, his patience had completely run out.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he paced back and forth in his office, his expression grave, unconsciously quickening his steps. Then, with a sudden upward flick of his eyelids, BEEP, he initiated a video call to Director-General Aviloya.

Before the call connected, however, he received another video call request. He paused, surprised—it was Chen Gu! He quickly canceled the call to Aviloya, deliberately waited a moment, and then accepted Chen Gu's call.

His eyes widened with surprise to see it was really Chen Gu and not someone using Chen Gu's account to deliver bad news. He lowered his eyelids slightly and said, "Hmm?"

Behind Chen Gu was the snack street. He was holding a bamboo skewer pierced with a row of fish balls. "There's a lot of delicious food here," he said. "I'm planning to buy some for my granddaughter... Oh, oh, oh, and I also have a grandson. I want to bring some back for them. They should be in class right now, so I can only call you to ask what they like to eat."

Chen Gu deliberately emphasized "can only." I'm not calling you just to report I'm safe, you know.

Chen Jixian responded indifferently, "They... like to eat everything."

Chen Gu imagined little Chen Qingyu with her cheeks puffed out like a hamster, chewing blissfully, and couldn't help but smile.

As for Chen Zili... not important.

"Alright then, I'll look around and buy something..." Chen Gu was ready to hang up, but Chen Jixian saw a stall selling egg rolls in the background, and his mouth started to water.

When he was a child, he was very fond of these kinds of street foods. Back then on Empire River Star, these "unhealthy" handmade snacks were still available. Whenever his eyes lingered on them for even a moment, his grandfather would notice and buy him a whole bunch. Later, those kinds of snack stalls disappeared, and later still, his grandfather was gone too.

He coughed and said, "I just remembered, Qing Yu really likes egg rolls."

Chen Gu turned to look. "Okay, I'll buy some more."

KLICK. The video call ended. Chen Jixian was still reminiscing about the crispy, sweet, and aromatic taste of the egg rolls from his childhood when suddenly the BEEP BEEP BEEP of an incoming call interrupted his thoughts—it was Aviloya's video call. Chen Jixian felt a headache coming on. How am I going to explain this to the Director-General?

He took a quiet breath and answered the call, "Director-General, I am preparing to apply for the Sixth Energy Level advancement ceremony!"

Aviloya revealed a relieved smile. "You've finally come around."

I haven't come around at all. It's just that I couldn't think of any other excuse.

If Chen Gu had heard, he would have criticized this child for being dishonest, because Chen Jixian had initially told him he was only at the Second Energy Level.

Chen Gu packed up a large load of snacks and then contacted the local branch office to confirm his return flight for the next day. The branch director connected him to an assistant, who promised to book the flight for him and send him the details.

"I'm finally going back," Chen Gu said, stretching languidly in his hotel room. After being away for more than half a month, he was starting to miss everything on Empire River Star.

Suddenly, a strange communication number came through—it was an internal account from the Bureau of Mystic Security.

Chen Gu was a bit puzzled as he answered the call. The person on the other end got straight to the point, "Chen Gu, this is Gong Shuxu."

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