Book 4, Chapter 265: Following The Tracks And Entering A Valley

Mr. Chi was in Central City’s White Bird District. “Please tell the master that we received news that the target has entered the merged space, but we aren’t ready yet.”

“The master predicted this and said not to act in haste. If the target only stays in the merged space for a while before coming out, we will have another chance in the future. If he’s going to stay there for a long time, we will have plenty of time to prepare,” the person said.

“It’s a pity that the operation failed last time, and we missed the chance to track him at all times,” Mr. Chi lamented.

“That’s fine. Even if he’s going to be active in the merged space, it doesn’t mean that he will be cutting off human contact entirely. He will leave tracks as he moves around. All we need to do is pay attention.”

“Understood. Please tell the master that we will use our channels in the merged space to try and get information about the target,” Mr. Chi stated.

“Thank you. I’ll pass your message to him.”

***

The airship Chen Chuan took flew for around two hours before descending in a fort located on higher ground in the military base.

This place was in the location of Wei Guochan’s camp. The Great Shun Republic’s army had occupied it and built forts around it.

Chen Chuan got out of the airship and heard the military band playing songs in the fort. The exciting and fast-paced tune from the drums and horns made him feel motivated just by listening to it.

Yao Zhiyi was already waiting. Once Chen Chuan got down from the mooring tower, he said, “Welcome, Director Chen.”

They shook hands, and he brought him inside to sit down in his place of residence. “Things here are pretty basic. I hope you won’t mind.”

In order to prevent any possible counterattacks from the imperial army, the military had been spending its time frantically building forts and defensive structures. Yao Zhiyi was also patrolling the area often instead of staying in one place all the time, so his place only had basic furniture. The room had a few of his personal belongings and a simple table with chairs.

Chen Chuan didn’t mind. When he went to the depths of the merged space, he wouldn’t even have these things. “This is fine. But you seem really busy.”

Yao Zhiyi took a sip of his drink. “The state-owned enterprises have been taking over the estates and factories of the imperial army, so the army needs to work with them. Those things give value to the places we conquered and become resources and military power.

“The more of them we have, the less we’ll have to rely on the rear. Once everything stabilizes, we can even provide some of the produce and meat from the estates and factories to Central City. Take the ingredients and nutritional fluid we need. We can get some of them as well.”

“Is it difficult?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Not really. The imperial army has been using our technology, after all. By that, I mean that they’re using Central City’s technology, so it’s not hard for us to take over. I suppose you can say that some people in Central City did a few good things for us, in this regard.” There was a mocking tone in Yao Zhiyi’s voice.

Chen Chuan understood what he meant. The imperial army’s former territory could be considered an independent production zone. The royal family did not provide them with any help, and they even needed to submit some of their goods as tribute. It was hard for them to produce all that they needed on their own, so through private channels with Central City, they would do trade and use it as an alternative way to get their resources. This had lasted for decades, so it wasn’t strange for their production standards and technology to become similar to that of Central City.

While the central government didn’t want this to happen, it gave them an easier time taking over their enemy’s territory.

“By the way, this is for you.” Yao Zhiyi stood up, went to a shelf, looked around, grabbed a stack of papers, and handed them to Chen Chuan.

“I had an agent company verify it. It’s formed by a group of veterans who specialize in providing information. They’re very reliable. Their contact information is right here too. If you need their help in the future, just ask them to look into it. It’ll save you the effort of doing everything yourself.”

Chen Chuan flipped through the papers. He had asked for information about the Tree of True Forms Ling Jianxing had mentioned to him.

When they fought, Ling Jianxing had made Hongfu create a simulation of the tree. Chen Chuan had killed the man, but the tree should still be around.

He didn’t know where it was, but without a doubt, it should be within the merged space. That was why he had asked Yao Zhiyi to help him look into it. After all, the man was the chancellor of Martial Valor University.

Based on the information he found, the Tree of True Forms might be in a local village.

This was highly likely, because the locals played a major role in fighting against the imperial army. The Great Shun Republic’s military provided them with support in terms of resources, so Ling Jianxing and his group wouldn’t have to worry about being exposed if they put the Tree of True Forms among them. The locals might even be involved with it.

After reading through everything, Chen Chuan said, “Thank you, Mr. Yao.”

Yao Zhiyi shook his head and said grimly, “This is the university’s problem, and I was the one who didn’t deal with it properly. I feel bad that you’re the one solving it instead of me, so I should be the one thanking you.”

He then gave a signal to the aide-de-camp outside, and the man walked away. After a while, he came back with a heavy suitcase.

“Director Chen, I prepared this for you. Please take it,” he said sternly.

“Okay. I’ll take it, Mr. Yao,” Chen Chuan said after taking a look.

“That’s my boy. You might need to travel a bit to reach the village. It’s already nighttime. Why don’t you rest for the night here and set out tomorrow?” Yao Zhiyi asked.

Since Chen Chuan wasn’t in a hurry to get this problem solved, he agreed to it.

Yao Zhiyi stood up and put on his hat. “I still need to patrol the fort. We can’t afford to be careless.”

Just as he was about to leave, he stopped. “By the way, you’re going to that undeveloped area, aren’t you?”

Chen Chuan nodded.

“Then, you must be careful. I heard that the place isn’t safe. Wei Guochan and his group went there once, but never again. There might be something inside,” Yao Zhiyi said grimly.

Interest sparked in Chen Chuan’s heart. “Thanks for the warning, Mr. Yao.”

***

The next day, he took an airship out, but if he went to the village straight away, he would likely alarm the locals.

He decided to stop near a merged space city and stay there for two days before heading to the village.

***

Two days later, he arrived in the airspace of the merged space city. It was known as Deep Valley City, and it was built by the Department of Administrative Affairs, the state-owned enterprises, the municipal government, and the other companies. There were farms and biotech factories of various sizes around the city.

Further away were small cities and more than one thousand villages that depended on Deep Valley City to survive. More than half of their residents were locals.

Deep Valley City itself was filled with veterans, children born between the Great Shun Republic citizens and locals, and laborers who had signed permanent employment contracts with companies.

Chen Chuan looked down and found that Deep Valley City also had skyscrapers and all sorts of neon lights. It was basically a copy of Jibei Road’s Central City, just with lower population and more chaos.

The system of law and order was lacking here. Many of the veterans chose to install implants and become mercenaries to either continue serving the military or to take on private jobs. Su Wei’s former group was one of such mercenary groups.

When the airship descended into the city, a fleet of cars came into the city as well.

The people inside had hoodies pulled over their heads. Their cars were obviously modified, and Chen Chuan could see a lot of bullet holes on their protective plates.

A man with a gun looked up and spat on the ground before flipping the middle finger at it. “Another airship from the military! Can’t these guys just go and die?!”

His words were met with loud agreement. All the men and women in the cars gave the airship the middle finger and spat in its direction.

When the imperial army retreated, a new problem arose: Many of the mercenaries who relied on the war to survive suddenly had no more battles to join. Even the non-war related gigs fell in number. Mercenaries weren’t content with staying put and putting down their weapons, so they started snatching the businesses from the imperial army. Soon, the Great Shun Republic army’s merciless purge came breaking down their doors, and the conflict between the two sides became even worse.

An old man in the group glared at the airship. “Let’s go. We need to hurry up and reach a town before night falls.”

Clearly, he had a lot of prestige, because everyone stopped talking and continued driving.

The old man cast a glance at the cars in the back. They were full of dirty children that were around ten years old. He turned to the built man beside him. “Make sure to watch them closely. We spent a lot of money getting them, so we can’t let a single one go missing. The mercenaries’ lives, though, aren’t worth any money. If they die, so be it. You don’t have to care about them.”

The built man nodded.

***

Once the airship reached Deep Valley City, it started slowly descending toward a row of buildings made of cement with many lit windows. Then, it stopped at a mooring tower.

Chen Chuan walked out with his suitcase. The guard at the checkpoint inspected his ID before saluting him. “Good day, sir!”

He let Chen Chuan in.

He didn’t have to submit reports of his movements in the merged space, but he couldn’t do anything out of line, since he remained bound by the contract.

Also, since his goal was to check whether the Tree of True Forms was really in that one village, he couldn’t create too much of a commotion. That was why Yao Zhiyi had made a false ID for him. He was now a lieutenant colonel. Such a position wouldn’t catch too much attention and wouldn’t attract trouble.

Chen Chuan walked along the steel bridge connecting the mooring tower and the buildings across from it. There were neon lights everywhere below him. Further away were the skyscrapers. The wind made the red scarf around his neck flutter, and he pushed his hat down before walking into the city.

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