Book 4, Chapter 227: Getting Everything Sorted And Retracing Past Steps
Book 4, Chapter 227: Getting Everything Sorted And Retracing Past Steps
After Chen Chuan checked the matters at the Defense Bureau, he contacted a City Patrol lead investigator in charge of patrolling the lower city district. The man answered in an instant in a fawning voice, “How may I be of service, Director?”
The Defense Bureau was the direct superior of City Patrol. Even during the time when the Resolution Department had reduced the Defense Bureau’s strength and City Patrol had practically become the Resolution Department’s subordinate, this hadn’t changed.
“How are the three people I sent to you?” Chen Chuan asked.
“Them?”
The lead investigator perked up. The three had been recommended to City Patrol some time ago, but Chen Chuan hadn’t asked about them after that. However, now, it seemed like things had changed.
“The trio you recommended are really good. They’re strong and pick up things fast. I’m not trying to curry your favor here. Those three are decisive and are so efficient that they’re leagues ahead of the patrol guards who only joined to coast through life. You’re amazing, Director. You’re taking good care of us by sending such talented people to us. I’ll be frank with you, I’d welcome as many of such talents as you could offer.”
The lead investigator was really being honest. He had thought that the three had been sent to them to take up space and get a fixed salary. Even with such assumptions, he took them in, because it wasn’t as if he could just spit in Chen Chuan’s face. It was just not an option when he was a Resolution Department lead investigator. In any case, it wasn’t as if Chen Chuan was the only one doing such a thing. To the lead investigator’s surprise, though, the three were actually good and had become pillars of City Patrol.
“Alright. Got it. If that’s the case, I’ll let them stay with you,” Chen Chuan said.
The three were Geng Zheng, Tai Dongwei, and Deng Fu. After hearing what Wu Han said, he had Wei Changan approach them as his messenger and bring them into City Patrol.
Even though many people looked down on City Patrol, they were civil servants. Anyone who joined them would also get temporary citizenship. The three, naturally, had no disagreements with such an arrangement. They had been working in Central City for quite some time and knew what such benefits meant. Besides, Chen Chuan was the one who got them the job, so how could they possibly say no?
Chen Chuan intended to give all the people on his side citizenship. His team was the first batch, and if the trio showed a good performance, they were going to be the second batch. Every year, he got ten citizenship slots. It might not seem like much, but it was enough for him to get a considerable number of people official citizenship.
He was also going to bring them to his villa to train. There, he could make full use of the Fu-Mu Entity’s domain resources and help them get stronger.
Once he was done arranging everything, he started focusing on his tasks.
He had learned from Fang Zhuoying that his parents might have hired the He siblings to teach him. The two likely had their own troubles, though, and left the country to hide a long time ago.
Setting that aside for now, many people should be watching him right now. If he used the government to find them, he might leave traces.
Fortunately, there was a certain bureau that could help him without leaking any information.
He went to his phone and made a call.
Mr. Cao’s stern voice came through. “Do you have any instructions for me, Director Chen?”
“Mr. Cao, could you find two people for me?” Chen Chuan asked.
“Of course. Who are they?” Mr. Cao didn’t ask any further questions.
“They’re a pair of siblings by the names of He Ruihai and He Zhilan. They’re students of the seamless faction, who learned under Fang Zhuoying. More than a decade ago, they might have left the country,” Chen Chuan explained.
“I’ve written it down. Please wait for our notice.”
“Thank you, Mr. Cao,” Chen Chuan replied. He only set down the phone receiver after Mr. Cao hung up.
Strictly speaking, this was a private matter, but a martial arts master’s private matters were also business matters, because under certain situations, they would have a great impact on other people. Hence, if he gave the government a heads-up, he could lighten the load for certain departments and even reduce speculation.
All he had to do now was to wait for news.
He grabbed a pack full of ingredients and calorie-dense nutritional fluid before walking to the elevator. At the same time, he tapped his Realm Pass to call Gan Yanjun to prepare the ingredients.
He intended to try out the effects of the artifact.
When the elevator headed to the training hall, his Realm Pass chimed. Upon taking a look, he found that it was a call from Wansong Agency. They were contacting him again.
Before, Chen Chuan didn’t have time to reply, but now, he answered the call. Soon, he heard a middle-aged woman’s voice. It was the same one from the first voice message. “Hello, Mr. Chen. We’re from Wansong Agency. Thank you for answering our call. Since this is the first time you’ve established contact with our client, if you have any questions, we’ll do our best to give you a satisfactory answer.”
“I read in your company description that you’re focused on serving martial arts masters only,” Chen Chuan stated.
“Indeed. Our company’s founder is a martial arts master, so we understand the needs of martial arts masters very well. We can help them with information about the nutritional fluids they need or getting whatever they need. If you have items that other martial arts masters need but you don’t, we can arrange a trade of equivalent value with them, be it another item or money.
“We’re currently providing our services to multiple martial arts masters. We’re also not limited to the Great Shun Republic, so you don’t have to worry about our capabilities.”
“You mentioned before that someone hired you to contact me. Who is it?” Chen Chuan asked.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chen, but we can’t provide you with any information about our client. If you’d like to contact them, we can make the arrangements for you.”
Chen Chuan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he said, “I don’t have time right now. That’s about it. If I have a need for it, I’ll call you.”
“Alright. We’ll always be ready to answer your questions and serve you. We’ve sent a service package to you. It contains an explanation about all of our services. Please receive it when you have time.”
Chen Chuan touched his Realm Pass and ended the call.
Wansong Agency was no mere company. On the surface, it looked like it provided services for martial arts masters by helping them trade as well as circulate resources. They also offered to aid martial arts masters with various other matters.
However, if one took the time to think about it, the company could control certain martial arts masters’ movements and actions through the allocation of resources. If whoever was in control of the company made use of it properly, they could turn it into a powerful force.
It was also clear that whoever was behind the company was no ordinary organization. Hence, Chen Chuan had no intention of having too much contact with the company for the time being. He would consider it once he reached his training goal.
The elevator reached the bottom floor. The doors slid to the side, and he walked in with his pack.
***
The night passed.
When noon arrived, a tightly sealed package was sent to his villa. His name was listed as a recipient, but there was no return address.
Chen Chuan checked it and guessed that it was from the National General Affairs Bureau. They were very efficient. He had only called Mr. Cao yesterday, and today, the information was sent to him.
He opened the package and found a stack of documents and photos. All of them were about the He siblings. Everything was there, including all that they went through and the places they visited over the past decade.
The two were indeed not in the country. They spent most of the past decade in the Trokka Union. Later on, they went to some small countries. Two months ago, they went to the island nations and were currently staying in a place called the Red Crown Island. The place wasn’t too far from the Eastern Continent. It was only around two days away by airship.
This meant that when he went to the island nations for his mission, the siblings were already there, but he didn’t know.
It seemed like he would have to travel again.
There were ten days until the end of the year, so he had the time, but he had just returned, so it wouldn’t be right for him to leave right away. He could do it after the meeting with the security policy panel, though.
He sent a message to the Department of Administrative Affairs that he had time for the meeting. While talking to them, he received another message. “Director Chen, Mr. Gu Haiting of Azure Dragon’s PR department and Mr. Song Yuan of Ocean Development Corporation said that they would like to visit you. Do you have time to spare?”
Chen Chuan was quite surprised. Two companies were approaching him at the same time? Was it because of something important?
The two companies had cooperated with him multiple times before. If he had to leave for Red Crown Island later, he might need to communicate with them again, so Chen Chuan checked the time and said, “I’m free at around 3 p.m.. If they’re free at that time as well, please tell them to come over. I’ll wait for them.”
“Understood. I’ll inform them.”
A moment later, he got an answer.
“Mr. Gu and Mr. Song have replied that they will visit you at the stated time.”
Since they replied so quickly, Chen Chuan became certain that the two companies were approaching him because of something important.
At around 3 p.m., several limousines entered the villa’s parking lot. Once Gu Haiting and Song Yuan got out, Chen Chuan’s logistics officer brought them into the villa.
Chen Chuan waited for them in the living room. During the operation to take down Ferris Wheel, Gu Haiting had provided him with information and help.
Song Yuan was a familiar face too. When Chen Chuan headed to Fierce Wave School and Serene Radiance School, he was the one in charge of getting things ready for him. Since all of them knew each other, they could skip a lot of the cumbersome formalities. After some pleasantries, Chen Chuan asked them to sit down and had his logistics officer serve them tea.
The logistics division of the Department of Administrative Affairs was in charge of cleaning his villa and serving guests. He didn’t switch them out, because these people couldn’t possibly figure out any of his secrets. Besides, when he didn’t need their help, they wouldn’t show up within his living space.
After a brief chat, Gu Haiting stated the reason behind their visit. “We came here to discuss a matter that would be mutually beneficial for us.
“I’m sure that you’ve heard of the Skyline Project.”