Book 4, Chapter 217: Peel Off The Layers And Find The Cause

A little over an hour later, Xu Chan brought the man back to the Defense Bureau and used the exclusive passage to bring him to Chen Chuan’s office.

It was only after he used special equipment to secure the man that Xu Chan truly relaxed.

Catching the man wasn’t hard. The difficult part was in making sure that the man couldn’t off himself. If he died, they would lose their trail, and everything would be for nothing.

That was why Xu Chan had used his biofield and refined force to suppress all physiological activity in the man’s body. He only let the man maintain the most basic of bodily functions. Because of it, no accidents happened.

In order to make sure no hidden problems occurred, Chen Chuan had a group of technicians examine the man from head to toe and remove all implants that could cause his death.

Once the man woke up, Chen Chuan immediately called the Resolution Department for a group of interrogators. Through drugs and various interrogation methods, they delivered an investigation report to him a few hours later.

Chen Chuan read it. The person was originally a high-level security guard of a small company in the Western Continent. Ten years ago, he accepted an offer and went to an island to be trained. He also received all sorts of implant modifications while he was there. Two years ago, he was sent to the Western Continent to steal technical information, then was transferred back last month for another operation.

However, the man knew nothing about his organization’s background and the person behind it.

Chen Chuan wasn’t disappointed, though. If the mastermind could be revealed so easily, the man wouldn’t have been captured this fast.

Still, even though this man didn’t know any details, he was a clue. Based on the report from the technicians, he had a lot of cutting-edge implants. More than 60% of them were from the Linacrox Union, while the rest were from Norland.

Some of them were even high-end implants that the Linacrox Union never sold to other countries. At present, only the Union, the Linacrox Union, and a few other big companies had the technology and resources to build a training camp on an island.

Coincidentally, there was one company that fit this status in Jibei Road.

Proto-Being.

Its headquarters were in the Linacrox Union, and it was part of the Union. Based on the clues left behind by his parents, this might really be connected to the company.

But the truth was likely more complicated.

Gray Shell Office was from the refined training faction, and the one who asked them to attack Chen Chuan should be a martial arts master from there. During his conversation with Zhuan Liang, he had learned that the faction that wanted him to stay in Jibei Road the least was the fusion faction. Hence, there was a possibility that it wasn’t Proto-Being, but one of these factions behind this.

It was also possible that all three were working together.

Based on the incident itself, Proto-Being was Chen Chuan’s main suspect. They were likely part of it, but he didn’t have any proof or a specific target. Without either of those, he couldn’t pinpoint a target to attack. It wasn’t as if Chen Chuan could just waltz up to the branch company and destroy it. This wouldn’t get rid of the enemies hiding in the shadows. Such actions would likely just make his enemies cheer and dance.

Hence, his first order of business was to figure out the reason behind their actions before attacking them.

As for the Union working together with the municipal government to chase him out? That wasn’t possible. The Union wasn’t strong enough to influence the decisions of the Great Shun Republic’s top leaders. Besides, they wouldn’t make use of such political resources just to protect the municipal government.

Hence, Chen Chuan’s theory was that this was related to his parents or his death. After all, a Gao family member had appeared in his mother’s memories. Perhaps there was something there.

It seemed like he really needed to find time to figure it out. The key to solving this mystery would be to find the person his parents had asked to be his teacher.

Before this, he wasn’t strong enough and didn’t have the time to investigate this, but now, he could.

However, he needed to settle everything at hand before throwing himself into it.

Chen Chuan checked the time. It was evening already. He tapped his Realm Pass and contacted Xu Chan. “Lao Xu, are you free later?”

“I’ve already settled things at the Resolution Department. How can I help you?” Xu Chan asked.

“You’ve joined the purity faction, but you haven’t met any of our branch members. I’d like to introduce you to them,” Chen Chuan said.

Xu Chan perked up. “I’ve been wanting to meet them for a long time, Director.”

Since Xu Chan had no problems with it, Chen Chuan asked Safe Shield to block his tracks later.

Even though martial arts masters needed to report their tracks, Chen Chuan had a government position. As long as he didn’t leave Central City, no one could tell him where he could or couldn’t go.

He met up with Xu Chan, and they left the Department of Administrative Affairs’ office building together. This time, he didn’t take his limousine, but drove his car to Roaring Victory District.

On the way there, Chen Chuan asked, “Do you need help with any of your missions? If I can help, I will.”

Xu Chan laughed. “Since you offered, I’d be crazy not to cash in on the favor.”

After the joke, Xu Chan’s expression turned stern. “I’m investigating GreenSource Eco-Tech. Based on the information I have, this company is working on a major plan in the lower city district. We’ve gotten our hands on some clues, but the situation there is quite complicated. It’s also difficult for the Resolution Department to send officers down there, so progress has been slow.”

Chen Chuan considered it before saying, “It’s not that you can’t use administrative measures there, but that it can easily lead to the residents fighting back. I have some friends in the lower city district. Maybe they can help you.”

He touched his Realm Pass and sent Xu Chan some contact IDs.

“These are my friends. You can ask them for help.”

Xu Chan took a look before saying earnestly, “Thank you for the support. I’ll make sure to get this done properly.”

Chen Chuan nodded. If this were anyone else, they might not care about the lives of the lower city districts’ residents. Their sole concern would be getting their job done, but Chen Chuan didn’t have to worry about Xu Chan. He would take good care of everyone to the best of his abilities, regardless of their status.

He wasn’t some kind of misguided altruist who tried to play nice even though he wasn’t strong enough for it. Xu Chan was actually capable of protecting people. It was precisely because of this that his subordinates supported him so much.

Once they reached Roaring Victory District, Xu Chan asked, “Is our branch here?”

“Yes, it’s right here,” Chen Chuan answered. He didn’t mention the warehouse in the industrial area in the southern part of the city, because that was where Zhuan Liang lived. Zhuan Liang was Chen Chuan’s guide, not a branch member. Besides, Zhuan Liang didn’t like talking to other people, so he wasn’t coming to the meeting.

“I heard that Proto-Being wants to build their new branch in Roaring Victory District and are going to get a few more companies to build a biotech industrial center here,” Xu Chan commented.

“That’s fine. Our branch is located in an area previously developed by Black Orchid before they abandoned the project. Even now, the problem with the place isn’t resolved, so the place isn’t suited for anyone staying there long-term. You don’t have to worry, though. It causes no harm to martial artists,” Chen Chuan said.

After another half an hour or so, when the sky was almost entirely dark, their cars entered the spacious plains belonging to their branch.

The place had changed a lot. Multiple buildings had been set up. The hill where Wu Ruo’s house had been had towers under construction. Even though they were only partially built and were surrounded by scaffolding, the industrial lights made them stand out, and they could be seen from a distance.

Chen Chuan and Xu Chan drove over and went inside. Chang Dong and Gao Yanjun had received news about their arrival and were already waiting. Behind them were three new external members.

They were all young people. The two men and one woman were about the same age as Chen Chuan and had just graduated from universities. They also had some foundation in martial arts.

The purity faction was a martial arts faction, so even though the members didn’t necessarily have to be martial artists, they were going to consider those who had some degree of martial arts knowledge first. The girl was currently Gao Yanjun’s assistant, while the other two were in charge of running errands for Chang Dong.

When the three youngsters saw Chen Chuan and Xu Chan come in wearing uniforms, their eyes flew wide open. They had joined the purity faction because they were drawn in by its beliefs and excited by the idea of joining a mysterious faction. It filled them with a sense of adventure.

They had thought that they had merely joined a mysterious martial arts faction, but who would have known that it would have two government officials in it.

Chen Chuan didn’t seem that much older than they were, but they couldn’t treat him as their peer. Not only was he the tallest among them, but there was also an imposing, invisible aura about him that made them nervous.

But they weren’t too affected, because their mutated tissue wasn’t strong enough. They weren’t capable of sensing biofields all that well.

Chen Chuan brought Xu Chan to the group and introduced him. Chang Dong came forward and shook Xu Chan’s hand while grinning broadly. “Lead Investigator Xu, the branch leader has often spoken about you. Welcome aboard.”

Once they got to know each other, Chang Dong asked the three youngsters to rest and brought Chen Chuan and Xu Chan to a temporary office. He then took out a telegram and handed it to Chen Chuan. “This just came from the headquarters. It’s about Lead Investigator Xu. Please take a look.”

Chen Chuan read it. He had asked Gao Yanjun to tell the headquarters that Xu Chan had joined the purity faction and to apply for pure essence for him. The headquarters replied that they had received his application, but just like before when Chen Chuan wanted it, they wished to test Xu Chan.

He handed the telegram to Xu Chan, “If you’re okay with it, I’ll tell the headquarters to prepare your test.”

“I’m fine with it,” Xu Chan said seriously.

Chen Chuan had already told him about it during dinner on the lake. In the past, he didn’t want pure essence because he didn’t want to choose between the government and the companies, but now, since he had a direction and a chance to reach the Fourth Limit, he wasn’t going to give up on it.

Chen Chuan nodded. “Big Sis Gao, please tell the headquarters about this.”

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