Book 4, Chapter 71: Intimidate
Book 4, Chapter 71: Intimidate
Chen Chuan stood at the entrance of the street. If he walked another two hundred meters or so, he would reach the Heavenly Pardon Gang’s gate. For the moment, the stretch of road and the parking lot separated them.
The Heavenly Pardon Gang’s building was in the style of the old era. Its eaves were upturned, it had black tiles for its roof, and a crimson door. Above the six-pillar archway at the very front was a cloud-and-lightning patterned bronze plaque with the words Heavenly Pardon carved into it.
Standing guard near the door were armed combatants, and there were patrols everywhere. Even though it was a gang, the Heavenly Pardon Gang had its own agent and private security companies, which were in charge of protecting important people.
Behind the gate was a training ground that could fit ten thousand people. At that moment, there were a lot of visitors inside. Some of them were young teenagers who wanted to learn martial arts.
The Heavenly Pardon Gang didn’t stop any visitors from entering their territory; they allowed anyone to visit the area at the base of their hill. The gang’s main business was training martial artists. They didn’t care about their background or talent, much less whether the students would be able to become real martial artists. They didn’t even set a time limit for their students. As long as they paid, the gang was willing to teach them all sorts of martial arts, so there was always an endless stream of people who came to visit the place.
Only the really outstanding ones were taken in by the leaders of the gang. Then, they might one day become the core fighting force of the gang, which was made entirely of its disciples.
Chen Chuan looked ahead. Behind the training ground was a straight stone mountain path leading all the way up to the main building at the top of the hill—Longevity Hall. The hill was around four hundred meters tall. With Chen Chuan’s vision, he could see the words Longevity Hall carved on its plaque.
He took out a polished pebble from his pocket.
He stared at the peak before turning to the side and shifting one foot slightly behind him. Then, his mutated tissue twisted and stretched, and he threw the pebble at the peak.
A sonic boom exploded in the air, accompanied by a long whistle. The pebble shot down the road, past the parking lot, through the gate, across the training ground, and went all the way up to the peak.
The people on the training ground and the road covered their ears instinctively, while the guards were shocked, then swiftly went into alert.
Before they could realize what had happened, the pebble flew up the hill with a force that dragged the shrubs, stones, and dust into the air because of the powerful air flow. Wherever it passed, it looked like an invisible tunnel had been torn through the air.
Once the tunnel shot through the first building on the hill, its windows shuddered, and a few of them shattered. Glass shards fell on the ground.
The servants inside were shocked and covered their ears as they looked around in a panic. They didn’t know what had happened.
Some of the martial artists who were training stopped and searched for the source in shock, but all they saw were tons of shredded, burnt tree leaves spinning around in the halls and pavilions. They formed an invisible trail leading up.
The stone reached Longevity Hall and brushed past the tiles above the plaque. A gully spreading upward formed on them. As debris shot outward, the gully reached the open main room.
Snap.
Yu Hongming reached out and grabbed the pebble with a raised eyebrow. Then, he cast a glance at the screen. Chen Chuan was looking over, as if he was staring straight at Yu Hongming.
Yue Hongtao saw this through the screen and said coolly, “He’s greeting us.”
“And it’s working,” Yu Hongming said with a nod.
Yue Hongtao didn’t think that it was anything impressive. “Is that all?”
It wasn’t hard to throw a pebble up the hill. Chen Chuan wasn’t the only one who could do it. Any Third Limit martial artist worth their salt could do it.
“He let me catch it.” Yu Hongming shook his head and spread his palm. An unblemished pebble lay quietly on his hand.
Yue Hongtao was overcome with shock for a moment before his expression changed.
Throwing a pebble alone wasn’t anything hard, nor was causing destruction, but making one’s refined force disappear at the final moment to have the pebble arrive completely undamaged wasn’t just the work of refined force alone. A certain degree of mental energy was required for it.
To do that, the martial artist needed to have learned the Heartborn Force and even gained a certain degree of mastery over it.
Yu Hongming stared at the pebble. It was just an ordinary, polished pebble without any chips on it. It was cold to the touch, without a hint of warmth from any sort of friction from traveling. This showed precise control of the thrower’s strength. Chen Chuan had shown off his power and given them warning to stay in their own lane. A word of praise left his lips. “He’s good.”
Yue Hongtao stared at the pebble for a while longer but said nothing else.
“To think that another powerful person would appear after Xu Chan. I remember that he’s not even twenty yet. The world is getting more interesting,” he lamented with a shake of his head.
“What’s so confusing about it? As long as we follow those in power, we won’t stray and fall,” Yue Hongtao stated coldly.
“But those in power might not reach the end of the road,” Yu Hongming said mildly.
Yue Hongtao didn’t choose to argue with Yu Hongming on this. They had always been at odds in this regard, and he didn’t want for there to be a falling out in the gang. “What do you intend to do?”
“I don’t mind making a concession for now. Is there even a need for us to fight back? What would we gain if we do?” Yu Hongming asked rhetorically.
Yue Hongtao scoffed.
Yu Hongming took a look outside. They were both old now. If he were the same as before, he would have stepped forward to fight for their rights, and Yue Hongtao even more so, but now, dignity, pride, honor, and humiliation had become meaningless.
Over the past one hundred years, he had witnessed the collapse of the old era and the arrival of the new era. He had seen far too much turmoil and witnessed too many people and organizations rising to power and then falling. It would be better to impart his experience and knowledge to the younger generation, since he no longer had the energy or mood to fight.
***
Chen Chuan waited for a long time but never saw anyone step out of the Heavenly Pardon Gang. There was no reaction at all, so he looked away and returned to Xu Chan. “Let’s go, Captain Xu.”
“That’s a good method,” Xu Chan marveled.
Chen Chuan had practically struck them across the face, but he did so discreetly. Those who hadn’t reached a certain degree of strength wouldn’t be able to understand it, but the two elders should have understood what he was trying to say. They had chosen not to invite them inside, but they had also not reacted in any manner, which meant that they agreed not to make a fuss. It was a way for them to take a softer stance in this matter.
They returned to their cars, and Chen Chuan received a voice message from Xu Chan.
“I know another good place. Once I come back from the merged space, I’ll treat you to another meal.”
“Okay,” Chen Chuan replied. He then started his car and went back. On the way, he looked into Yao Kang. There was indeed a Third Limit martial artist with a team protecting him 24/7.
He should be safe while staying in the legal division, but he had to leave it from time to time. If someone decided to target him then, it would be much easier to create trouble, and such situations were often unpredictable.
“Safe Shield, place this person under my protection. I want to know his status at all times. If anything suspicious happens, tell me immediately,” he said after some consideration.
“Understood.”
Unlike Xu Chan, Chen Chuan had more resources, so he could ask Safe Shield to pay attention to Yao Kang. That was much more useful than protecting him personally. Safe Shield wouldn’t be using a lot of resources paying attention to a single person, anyway.
After returning to Martial Order District, Chen Chuan went to visit Chen Xiaojin, gave him some guidance, and received a report from the intelligence division at around 3 p.m..
According to the underground tunnels and the Tunneling Queen’s tracks, they had found several places that were highly likely to store nutrient and calorie-dense nutritional fluid. The intelligence captain also circled several spots where he believed that the queen was likely to be.
Chen Chuan knew that it would be best to deal with this matter as soon as possible, so he immediately notified his team and had City Patrol secure the suspicious areas and evacuate the residents.
Within forty-five minutes, he arrived on-site. His teammates also arrived around the same time. They spread out and started searching according to the action plan provided by Safe Shield.
Chen Chuan stood in a wide space while Dawncall flew above him.
This time, their goal was clear: Find the Tunneling Queen and destroy it. If it were just the bioweapon alone, Yuan Qiuyuan, Qin Qingque, and Su Wei would have been enough to take it out, but there was a chance that the United Might’s captain might show up.
The captain should be stronger than the trio, so Chen Chuan had to be here.
It started drizzling, and soon, the streets became wet. In just a short while, the pits became muddy, which interfered with the search, but once bioweapons entered the pits and joined the search, they soon heard noises from within.
Newly born larvae were located and swiftly taken out by the experienced team. The larvae’s presence meant that they were searching in the right direction and that the Tunneling Queen might be nearby.
Chen Chuan watched every part of the operation through his Realm Pass. Just then, Yuan Qiuyuan exclaimed in excitement, “I found a warehouse, Captain!”
He sent several photos over.
The exterior of the building looked like a simple house. There was nothing special about it, and inside it also had regular furniture.
The only abnormal thing was that behind the PVC curtain was a cubicle with nutrient and calorie-dense cans that filled an entire wall. There had been even more of them in the past, since many opened cans littered the floor. There was also a huge pit on the floor.
Chen Chuan immediately ordered, “Safe Shield, send the bioweapons inside to search. Also, check the owner’s identity and the source of the nutrition cans.”