Roadmap to the Boundless Sky

Book 4, Chapter 238: Talking About Something Unusual

After the SUV left the downtown area, the constables patrolling the area dwindled in number. The sky had started turning bright as the morning sun rose. It cast its gentle rays on the ground.

Nian Fuli sat at the back and recalled what he saw on their way. His nephew wasn’t even twenty years old yet and still had plenty of room to grow. He simply could not imagine just how far Chen Chuan could go in the future.

As he stared at his nephew focused on driving, he sighed. “Xiao Chuan, you really change every year.”

“I change in some ways, but I stay the same in others, Uncle,” Chen Chuan answered with a smile.

Patrol cars drove toward them from a distance. They were covered in dust, which made it clear that they had just come back to the city. It was likely they had gone to the wilderness.

“Has the Constabulary increased the patrol of the wilderness?” he asked.

“Yeah. We didn’t just stop at one raid. After restoring peace to the city and the wilderness, Director Guan mobilized men to go to the wilderness to capture bandits. We’ve gotten rid of quite a lot of them, but this also means that we’ve ruined quite a number of people’s ways to earn a living. Over the past two years, there have been waves of people who want to take Director Guan down. Fortunately, Mr. Zhu’s refusal isn’t limiting our actions, but he’s also supporting us. That means that no one can stop us no matter what we want to do,” Nian Fuli said.

Chen Chuan nodded. The National Constabulary was the Constabulary’s direct superior. This system was rather self-contained, and plenty of places required their Constabularies to keep the companies and armed forces in line. As long as the Department of Administrative Affairs cooperated and the cities didn’t have companies like Black Orchid Co. causing trouble, no one could stop the Constabulary.

Armed bandits were involved in all sorts of smuggling and violent activities. Some of them even had ties with the companies and powerful people in Yangzhi City and county towns or were foreign forces who had snuck in and had support from their motherlands. Over the years, the government has been trying to suppress and clear out these forces.

As the chief of civil affairs in Yangzhi City, Zhu Xian definitely wanted to carry out the will of his superiors and supported this plan. In this area, his stance was the same as that of the Constabulary.

“How’s Enclosed Shore?” Chen Chuan asked.

“They don’t interfere in the city’s affairs and only care about getting the railway connected to Frozen Valley City. Most of their armed forces are gathered there. Speaking of which, I recently heard a rumor from that place, though I don’t know whether it’s real or not,” Nian Fuli said.

“What is it?”

Nian Fuli got up and went to the seat right behind the front passenger seat. “Apparently, they uncovered some people in the snowy plains in the north.”

Chen Chuan felt a stir in his heart. This might seem like nothing, but he had a nagging feeling that there was something strange about this.

Nian Fuli continued, “They found those people while laying out an additional railway. It should be the usual secret route. I’ve taken a few while serving in the army. According to the grapevine, they found those people there, and they were all pretty big.”

In the past, Nian Fuli would have been skeptical about such news, but after hearing about the Great Crash and merged space, then linking it with his own experiences, he thought that it might actually be true.

Chen Chuan considered it. Huge, huh? This reminded him of some similar situations.

Also, Nian Fuli said that they found “people,” not corpses. Were they dead, or...

He should pay some attention to this.

As the director of Central City’s Defense Bureau, he could legally look into all matters related to safety in Jibei Road.

However, Enclosed Shore was working with the army on a railway operation in the north, which was part of Haixi Road’s territory. This was why no information about it had reached him. However, if Chen Chuan asked for it, no one would refuse him unless it was a national secret. Besides, considering his position, his request was logical.

While they talked, Nian Mo and Nian Lu stuck their faces to the window and looked outside with curiosity. They had never gone to the suburbs before, but once they got on the public road, the area around them became deserted. Only the outline of Smoked Hills could be seen in the distance.

Chen Chuan cast a glance at the hills. That place was pretty abnormal. However, in the past, he didn’t have the clearance to get the relevant information about it. Now, it was just that he had only recently gotten promoted and hadn’t had the time to look into it. Once he did, he should read up on it.

The SUV reached the checkpoint. The guards there were notified ahead of time and came forward to stand in a row. The SUV came to a slow stop, and Chen Chuan got out. The captain ordered the guards to pay their respects, and all of them saluted him.

The guards at the checkpoints on the public road belonged to Jibei Road’s Defense Bureau, so they could be said to be his subordinates.

Chen Chuan saluted them as well and asked them to disperse.

Since they were in the wilderness, the wind was strong, and it carried a lot of sand. It was also winter, so the guards asked his family to go inside. They served them with warm tea and gave them some newspapers and magazines to read.

Nian Fuli didn’t want to wait inside. Instead, he stayed outside and looked down the road. Chen Chuan kept him company while telling him about Central City.

The family waited for a little over an hour before they saw a bus heading down the straight road.

***

The bus had two floors and carried passengers from Farsight Harbor. Nian Qian sat at the back of the second floor while reading a newspaper.

He kept his hair short. His shoulders were wide, and his chest and back muscles were thick, so he looked like a strong young man. His face was basically a younger version of Nian Fuli, though there was a barely noticeable line by his ear that signalled he had an implant.

He was a lieutenant colonel now, despite being only twenty-three years old. At his age, aside from martial artists, only military officers who graduated from military school could get promoted so quickly.

Of course, aside from outstanding results in all areas, the fact that he was highly compatible with implants helped with his swift promotion.

The implants used by the military were advanced and practically didn’t change the original organs. They were mostly mutated tissue, which would give the implantees considerable fighting power and information processing abilities. However, only a handful of people were compatible with high-end implants, and Nian Qian was one of them. He also happened to be really good at conducting himself, so his superiors placed a lot of importance on him. He was part of the mid-rank officers the military provided targeted training to.

After reading through the recent newspapers, he picked up today’s newspaper. It had an additional news article talking about Chen Chuan, the director of Central City’s Defense Bureau, coming home to visit his family, and how Yangzhi City’s government and citizens welcomed him with open arms.

Nian Qian was quite surprised. The Defense Bureau’s director had the same name as his cousin, Chen Chuan.

He laughed at the coincidence.

Despite being in the military, he was a technical officer, so he had some understanding of the government positions in Central City.

The director of the Defense Bureau was indeed a high rank. Aside from the era of the Great Expansion, that was the highest rank anyone from Yangzhi City had reached over the past few decades. He was the pride of Yangzhi City, so it was no wonder why the entire city was excited.

Usually, those who managed to make it to that position were at least fifty years old. This meant that the man would have left more than twenty years ago when they were fighting against the rebels in the physical world. It was likely that this Chen Chuan had gotten promoted through military achievements before transferring to an administrative department.

The bus approached the checkpoint, but it stopped before reaching it. The passengers grabbed their bags and walked out. Regardless of whether they were heading back to Yangzhi City or to Central City, they needed to take other forms of transportation from here onward.

Nian Qian grabbed a large suitcase and slung a military backpack on his back before getting off. Even if he didn’t wear his uniform today, his upright posture made it clear that he was a soldier.

Just then, he heard a familiar, friendly voice. “Qian’er!”

It was followed by, “Qian Qian! Qian Qian!”

He widened his eyes and looked over the top of the other passengers’ heads. Immediately, he saw Yu Wan and Nian Fuli standing side-by-side. His younger siblings were jumping about while waving at him. The sight of his family excited him as well.

Behind his family was a tall young man, and he, too, was smiling at him. Nian Qian instantly recognized Chen Chuan, his cousin. Nian Qian grinned and hurried over.

Since he was too excited, he set down his suitcase and saluted Nian Fuli. “Dad!”

Then, he turned to Yu Wan and saluted her too. “Mom!”

Yu Wan had been teary-eyed when she saw the son she had not seen for years, but when he did this, she snickered and replied, “Hey!”

Nian Fuli, meanwhile, was a veteran, so he didn’t think that this was inappropriate. Instead, he found it satisfying, and he gave a perfect salute right back. Then, he stared at his eldest son for a bit before nodding. “That’s a good soldier. You’re about as good as I was in the past.”

“You fought in wars, Dad. You crawled through trenches and climbed over barbed wire. I’ve only carried a rifle for a few years. I can’t compare to you.” Nian Qian smiled.

Nian Fuli grinned widely, though he still shook his head and said, “It’s not the same. The guns I carried in the past couldn’t compare to the ones you have now.”

Nian Qian turned to his younger siblings and grinned at them before ruffling their hair. Once he was done, he turned to Chen Chuan. “I heard from Mom and Dad that you made it into Martial Valor University and have a high position in Central City’s Resolution Department now. That’s amazing! I’m really impressed. You must have brought our family here? Thanks!”

“We’re family. There’s no need for thanks,” Chen Chuan said with a smile.

“You’re right. We’re family. But during the years I wasn’t around, you’re still the one who took care of them, so I need to thank you,” Nian Qian said seriously.

Chen Chuan just continued smiling at that. “The wind is really strong here. It’s not a good place to talk. Why don’t we get into the SUV?”

“Sure!”