Book 4, Chapter 184: Getting His Friends And Family To Central City
Book 4, Chapter 184: Getting His Friends And Family To Central City
Back in the Union’s base in White Bird District, the Union were sure that they had lost the race for the artifact, but they didn’t show any intention to leave. On the surface, it was because their negotiations with Jibei Road’s Central City hadn’t ended.
In truth, this was for their overall strategy. They needed to ensure the municipal government’s continued survival and support them during this crucial moment, so they couldn’t leave yet.
They also had to do their best to figure out the situation in the merged space. Even if they failed, they needed details and information so they could avoid the same situation again.
***
Mr. Chi was in a certain detached house, and he was holding Chen Chuan’s photo. It was a photo taken a few years ago when Chen Chuan had just enrolled into Martial Valor University. Compared to now, he looked younger, but his eyes were full of life, and there was a sharp, bold look in them.
After staring at the photo for a while, Mr. Chi looked up. The screen before him showed Chen Chuan’s fight against Long Xiang. Even though most of it was distorted, they were able to restore some of it through the use of technology and see parts of it. At the very least, they could now tell who was who.
He grabbed a document envelope and put Chen Chuan’s photo inside before calling his assistant over. “Send a report to the master and tell him that the situation has changed. I might be unable to complete his assigned task.”
Aside from representing Proto-Being, he had come with a mission related to the young man.
If Chen Chuan had been a regular martial artist, even if he was slightly above average, it would be possible to take him down. But now, Mr. Chi found himself facing a martial arts master, and that far surpassed what he could handle.
To his surprise, a little over two hours later, a telegram came back telling him that he could postpone the original plan. Someone else would follow up on the matter, but he was to gather as much information as he could about Chen Chuan.
After receiving the telegram, Mr. Chi found himself troubled. Chen Chuan was a lead investigator of the Resolution Department. The average person couldn’t read his file just because they wanted to. Besides, he was a martial arts master now. All his files had become confidential, and only the leaders of the country and certain covert departments had the right to read through them.
However, he remembered that Chen Chuan wasn’t originally a Central City citizen. He might be able to go to his hometown and find those who were familiar with him to get information about him. There was no telling how much he was going to learn, but at the very least, he would be able to answer to his boss.
With that thought, he called his assistant over and gave him some instructions. The man nodded and promised that he would immediately start making arrangements.
***
While Chen Chuan was sorting through his memories, he thought about his family.
Should he bring them to Central City now?
He hadn’t forgotten the fact that the refined training faction had gone to Yangzhi City to look for him. Anyone who put a little effort into asking around could easily figure out where his family lived.
In the past, his family was safe with the Constabulary and Wen Tong protecting them. Now, though, he was a martial arts master, and he needed to consider the fact that the only ones who were on par with him were other martial arts masters.
Even though the possibility of martial arts masters taking action themselves was low and the Great Shun Republic paid close attention to their whereabouts, martial arts masters weren’t solitary creatures. They usually had a whole interest group beside them, so Chen Chuan needed to think about how to protect his family.
There was also one more thing he had to do. His friends were all temporary officers in the Resolution Department from when he brought them in as a lead investigator. He had recruited all of them for his team. Once he left or went to work at another place, things would become different, so he had to get this settled as soon as possible.
With that thought in mind, he tapped on his Realm Pass, found Qiao Yang’s contact ID, and called him.
Qiao Yang soon answered and asked in a polite but friendly manner, “Lead Investigator Chen? I’m Qiao Yang. How can I help you?”
Qiao Yang had once represented Qi Weizhao before Chen Chuan. Back then, he had spoken like a superior commending and rewarding a subordinate. Not much time had passed since then, but Chen Chuan’s status had far surpassed his. He was adept at changing his attitude, though, and his words were not awkward.
“Sorry for bothering you, Mr. Yang. I’d like to ask you some questions,” Chen Chuan said.
“What is it?”
“How many slots can I get for citizenship? What sort of procedures do I need to go through?”
Qiao Yang laughed and said, “Oh, that? With your current qualifications, you can get five citizenship slots every year, but we apply special rules to special cases. Since you’ve been a Central City citizen from the moment you came here and are working in the Resolution Department, we can give you an additional five.
“But the ones with the extra slots will need to be observed for more than a year. Of course, if they’ve been living in Central City for longer than that and have no criminal record, this won’t be necessary.”
Regular people practically couldn’t get Central City citizenship through normal channels. Martial arts masters were an entirely different matter, though. The Department of Administrative Affairs was willing to give them lots of benefits.
They wanted to see martial arts masters’ friends and family living in Central City. After all, a martial arts master with no ties and restraints was a terrifying beast.
Chen Chuan nodded. If that were the case, he could get citizenship for his friends.
He thanked Qiao Yang and ended the call.
Then, he looked outside. It was a little past 9 a.m.. The sun in the morning of late October was bright and warm, so the weather was comfortable and gentle. After Wu Quan returned, Chen Chuan no longer had to deal with the Resolution Department’s matters, so he had time to get the ingredients and nutritional paste the municipal government had promised him as compensation.
After stepping out of his house, he got into his limousine and went to Majestic Light District to pick up Gao Yanjun so that they could go to Grand Prosperity Finance together.
Grand Prosperity Finance’s branch in Jibei Road was located in Majestic Light District. After a little over ten minutes, they arrived. Since Chen Chuan had made an appointment, they didn’t park in the parking lot outside. Instead, they took an exclusive channel inside and went to the plaza. There was a cluster of buildings positioned in the shape of a square around it.
His motorcade seemed to be the only one around today. Armed security guards stood around the area and on the carpet laid out for him.
Rui Shenggu, the general manager of Grand Prosperity Finance’s branch, was waiting for him. Once Chen Chuan and Gao Yanjun went over, he stepped forward to welcome them with a smile. Once they shook hands, he said respectfully, “Mr. Chen, we’ve safely stored the items from the municipal government. Would you like to retrieve them now?”
“Yes. Please lead the way,” Chen Chuan replied.
“Alright. Please follow me.” Rui Shenggu guided them through a corridor to the lobby. Then, they entered a spacious inner hall, and he stepped forward to push down a door handle. The metal gears behind the thick doors creaked as they slid to the sides and revealed another corridor.
Rui Shenggu beckoned them forward again. “This way, please.”
Chen Chuan and Gao Yanjun followed him to another empty hall. This place was almost an entirely enclosed space. There were two bas-relief sculptures of flat monsters on the wall directly across from them, but Chen Chuan could sense life from them.
Rui Shenggu clapped his hands in a unique rhythm. After a while, the two sculptures squirmed and crawled toward each other to press their heads together. Part of the wall melted away like a candle. Then, the two creatures crawled inside and became one with yet another long corridor.
Rui Shenggu explained with a smile, “This is a unique way we protect our most important goods. We use biotechnology to lock them up. The wall is made of the substance secreted by the creatures and is twelve meters thick. It forms one thick, solid block that can effectively protect from powerful explosives and even martial arts masters’ attacks.
“If you want to open the corridor, you need these creatures to secrete another substance to melt it.”
Chen Chuan took a look. The wall was indeed thick, but he didn’t think it was true that martial arts masters couldn’t destroy it. After all, martial arts masters weren’t static creatures, so they were more accurate and skillful in using their strength.
But he also didn’t think that Grand Prosperity Finance had designed this wall to be indestructible. It might have been designed to whittle away a martial arts master’s life force and energy. Then, even if a martial arts master could get what was inside, they might be unable to make up for the lost energy. This would make the endeavor pointless, and it would become a pretty good defense.
Rui Shenggu led the way in while Chen Chuan and Gao Yanjun followed. Compared to the area outside, this place wasn’t that big. It was only around ten square meters and had a moderately sized metal box at the center.
Rui Shenggu went over and smiled. “Lead Investigator Chen, Miss, the goods are here. The municipal government didn’t just send you the compensation for the energy you lost during the fight, but also provided you with the ingredients for a month.”
Chen Chuan gave Gao Yanjun a nod, and she set down the box she had been carrying. Once she opened it, he saw that it contained all sorts of testing equipment.
Gao Yanjun combed and tied her hair, fixed a thin, transparent mask over her face, and put on gloves. Then, she walked forward, fiddled with the box a bit before opening the lock with the password Chen Chuan gave her. With a light click, the lid flipped open, and cold air gushed out.
Inside were items separated with layers of biofilm made of living materials, which ensured long-term preservation of the ingredients and nutritional paste.
Gao Yanjun grabbed one packet and weighed it with her hand to figure out its exact weight. Then, she picked up probing needles resembling tendrils. After inserting them inside, she pulled them out and immersed them in chemicals she had prepared beforehand to observe and inspect them.
Rui Shenggu stood waiting with a smile. There wasn’t a trace of annoyance on his face.
After carefully verifying everything, Gao Yanjun set everything down and adjusted her glasses. “The ingredients are packed based on the standard requirements for martial arts masters, though they exceed the standard amount by around one-sixth.
“The ingredients have been stored for at least five months, so their effectiveness is only sixty percent. You’ll need to wait for the next batch and make sure that they’re about the same as this current batch to get the usual effects.”