Book 4, Chapter 233: Get Ready To Go Back

Chen Chuan stayed on Red Crown Island for two days and learned more things from the He siblings. The name of the company targeting the siblings was among the information they shared.

It was Tranquil Fields.

This company was present whenever there was war and conflict. It was no wonder why the He siblings could move around safely but couldn’t shake free of their pursuers, even after being on the run for so many years. This company had so many internal factions that it would even sell their own information to their enemies.

Tranquil Fields was also quite active in the Great Shun Republic, because they dabbled in many fields. They sold information, firearms, mercenaries, smuggled goods, medicine, implants, and did practically every other illegal trade. Many of the organizations in the Great Shun Republic had ties with them. The He siblings knew this, so they stayed away.

Once Chen Chuan got the general gist of the situation, he didn’t say anything else and simply stored the information away. They might not have told him the name of the executive going after them, but he wouldn’t have any difficulty finding him.

Since it was the end of the year, aside from work, he also needed to go back home to settle some things. After two days, he packed up and said goodbye to the He siblings.

Before he left, many students, along with the He siblings, came to see him off. They gave him plenty of local specialties.

While the island didn’t have many beautiful sceneries, the villagers were honest and friendly. He could understand why the He siblings didn’t want to leave.

They walked to the tree he leaned against on the day he came. He stopped there and said, “This is enough. You don’t have to walk me down all the way.”

“Take care of yourself, Xiao Chuan. We were best friends with Senior Sister Zhen, and she took great care of us while we studied under Miss Fang. Besides, we didn’t suffer much hardship out there, but you’re different. You can only rely on yourself,” He Zhilan cautioned.

“I will. Goodbye, Mr. He, Miss He. After I go back to Central City, I’ll write to you two often,” Chen Chuan said and gave them a fist-and-palm salute. Then, he picked up his backpack and walked down. Dawncall circled above him once before swiftly following him down the mountain.

The He siblings watched him from the slope, and He Zhilan sighed. “I would have never expected Senior Sister Zhen’s son to be able to reach his current state on his own.”

Then, she looked worried. “He might be a martial arts master, but Proto-Being is a mega corporation. Can he really go up against them on his own?”

“Xiao Chuan is strong, and I’m sure that he has his own plans. Also, didn’t you hear him? He knows plenty of martial arts masters. Fish swim in lakes, while dragons belong in the seas. Different people belong in different arenas. He’s part of the world of martial arts masters. He might be unable to win against the mega corporation alone, but with a friend or two, they would have an unimaginable power. We don’t need to worry about him. I’m sure that he can do what he has set out to achieve,” He Ruihai comforted her.

As He Zhilan stared at Chen Chuan’s retreating back, she said with melancholy evident in her voice, “You’re right. Do you remember the moment Senior Sister Zhen parted ways with us all those years ago? It was so similar to this moment. We never got to see her again after that. I wonder if she’s really...”

He Ruihai stayed silent for a while. “The truth will eventually come to light.”

***

Once Chen Chuan left the mountain, he went straight to the harbor and boarded the airship. When it took flight, he spoke to one of the airship crew members from Ocean Development Corporation. “I wandered about the island over the past few days and found that there’s a noticeable lack of a courier service. It’s quite inconvenient.”

The crew member immediately said that he would make arrangements. It was just a courier service. All they needed to do was bump it up the priority list. It wasn’t anything difficult.

The person knew that what Chen Chuan said to him wasn’t the main point. He had most likely come here because someone related to him was staying here, but he couldn’t tell others who they were, so he was using this method to ask Ocean Development Corporation to protect them.

They had collaborated with each other multiple times, and they always had a pleasant experience, so they were naturally willing to help him with something so minor. It was good for them to do Chen Chuan a favor.

After leaving Red Crown Island, Chen Chuan took a day to return to Central City.

The municipal government paid close attention to his movements and immediately learned that he came back, but this time, they didn’t react as strongly. It was mainly because he had been leaving frequently, as if he was out carrying some sort of national-level mission. Who knew? Perhaps he would leave again in a few days.

If that were the case, they didn’t have to be so nervous.

***

Once Chen Chuan came back, the first place he went to was the Defense Bureau.

Before he left, he had assigned tasks to the members based on the things they discussed during the safety policy panel’s meeting. Now, it was time for him to check on everyone’s progress.

After the last few days’ covert mobilization and preparation, the Resolution Department had decided to send an elite squad made entirely of martial artists and led by two squad captains to launch an ambush in the lower city district with the Cult Investigation Bureau.

This was a pretty strong team. Even though the two squad captains couldn’t compare to Xu Chan, they had mastered Heartborn Force, which put them at the level of company directors. With them being sent out, the operation was practically a success already.

Chen Chuan had also made arrangements for City Patrol to cooperate with the Resolution Department and Cult Investigation Bureau for the operation. They were to lock down every important exit and make sure that no cultist escaped.

After reading through the plan, Chen Chuan found that there was no need for him to add anything, so he signed his name and told his subordinates to act according to it once it was time.

He picked up another report. The newly formed combat airship units had all been incorporated into the Defense Bureau and assigned to their positions by the two new deputy directors.

He went to the third report.

Lu Gao’s position was still empty, because they were waiting for him to decide who to pick. They had given him three candidates. Chen Chuan checked them. The first was from the Defense Bureau and was in charge of handling administrative work in the merged space, but he had some military experience. He was in his forties and was quite a suitable candidate.

The second was an administrative affairs officer. He was the secretary of the former chief secretary and was in his fifties. Qiao Yang was the one who made the recommendation.

The third was a person from another Central City. He was from the Internal Audit Department, where he was in charge of internal discipline, and was a martial artist from Martial Valor University. His persona was rather tough at work, and he didn’t care about showing anyone respect.

Chen Chuan thought through his options. If he considered things from the point of view of the Defense Bureau, the first candidate was the absolute best. The second one also had his own benefits. With him around, communicating with the Department of Administrative Affairs would become easier.

But Chen Chuan could provide the offensive power for the Defense Bureau, and the other two deputy directors were enough to carry out daily operations. What he needed now was to prevent internal problems. If they got another Lu Gao, then no matter how strong the third deputy director was, it would be pointless.

Chen Chuan settled on his candidate.

He checked them again. The man’s name was Yu Zhiran. Chen Chuan put a tick above his name before sending the document to the Department of Administrative Affairs.

With this done, he checked the date. It was the twenty-seventh. In just a few days, it would be the New Year. He intended to leave for Yangzhi City the day after tomorrow.

Even though he needed to start getting ready for the fight against Proto-Being, he needed to think it through. He had to get everything settled first so that he wouldn’t have any worries during the fight.

Chen Chuan tapped on his Realm Pass to contact Gao Ming. Once the call went through, he said, “I’m going to submit a new ingredients request to the municipal government in two days. Please hand it to them and tell them that this is what they promised, so I hope that they can honor their promise.”

Gao Ming laughed. “Sure thing, cuz.”

“Also, I’m going back to Yangzhi City in a few days. Are you going back this time?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Yeah. I’m thinking about going home this year,” Gao Ming replied.

“Okay. I’ll have someone pick you up. Let’s go back together.”

After the call, Chen Chuan sent a message asking Wei Changan, Wu Han, Feng Xiaoqi and the rest of his friend group about whether they wanted to go back to Yangzhi City. They could hitch a ride with him if they did.

Soon, he received their replies. Aside from Wei Dong who wanted to spend the holidays training with the resources available to him in Martial Valor University, Wei Changan, Wu Han, Feng Xiaoqi, Luo Kaiyuan, and most of the others were going back.

Since there were going to be so many of them, a car wasn’t going to be enough. They might as well take the airship. It could bring all of them home.

As a martial arts master, Chen Chuan had a personal airship given to him by the Department of Administrative Affairs. The National Martial Arts Council and Ocean Development Corporation usually provided him with their airships, so he hadn’t used his own. Now, he could finally put it to use.

At that moment, he heard a chime. Lu Fang was calling, so he answered.

“Chen Chuan, I won’t be going back this year.”

After a brief pause, he said, “I think I’m at the edge of a breakthrough. The chance I have been waiting for might just be around the corner.”

Slight excitement flickered on Chen Chuan’s face. He had told Lu Fang the methods to reach the Third Limit. In the new era, martial artists usually had a predecessor guide them into the Third Limit, used medicine, or other methods. But Lu Fang had decided to do it through the old era’s method—by having his mind and body become united in order to seek personal perfection.

“I’ve made arrangements with a friend who also has hopes of reaching a breakthrough, so we’re going to fight in the hopes of reaching the Third Limit together. For that to happen, I will need around thirty days of meditation to reach my best state. That’s why I’m going to stay in Central City and get ready.”

Chen Chuan nodded. He knew that Lu Fang had goals he refused to let go of. When Chen Chuan had offered to guide him because it was safer that way, Lu Fang had refused it. He said that he would much rather reach the Third Limit through a fight.

Chen Chuan respected his decision. To certain martial artists, their plans on how to reach a breakthrough and insistence on fulfilling those plans were vitally important. If they bypassed those plans, they might lose their way even if they reached a breakthrough. Clearly, Lu Fang had great aspirations. Regardless of whether he was going to succeed or not, such drive was commendable.

“I wish you success, Senior Lu,” he said.

“Thanks, Chen Chuan,” Lu Fang replied earnestly.

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