On April 17th, Chen Chuan left the Profound Palace Building early in the morning. He drove out of Central City, headed north along the National Path, and eventually arrived at a highway checkpoint far from the Fumu.
Here, the Biological Domain no longer had any effect, and his Realm Token had gone completely silent.
He didn’t pass through the checkpoint. Instead, he parked his car and walked over to a roadside public phone booth.
After stepping inside, he picked up the receiver, inserted more than ten coins one after another, and dialed a number. After a short wait, a voice ca from the other end. "Who are you looking for?"
Chen Chuan said, "Is this Chang’s Inn? I’m looking for Brother Xiaochang." He paused, then added, "This is Chen Chuan."
"Oh, is that Brother Chen? I rember you." The person on the other end seed to be a waitress who had t Chen Chuan before. She said, "Brother Chen, hold on, I’ll go get the owner."
Before long, it sounded like soone was shouting on the other end of the line. Then, the sound of light, rapid footsteps approached the phone, and the instant the receiver was picked up, Chang Ba’s voice bood through.
"Brother Chen, is that you? Haha, what made you think to call ? I rember you wrote last year that you were going to Central City. You must be in Central City now, right? How are things?"
Chen Chuan smiled. "Brother Xiaochang, I’m in Central City. Everything is fine now."
"That’s great." Chang Ba’s sigh held a trace of envy. "Central City... that’s amazing. I’ve never had the chance to go. I hear it’s different from the outside. What do you think?"
Chen Chuan said, "How should I put it... If you want my honest opinion, in Central City, it’s like everyone’s neighbor is a sleeping devil. Sotis, people turn into devils, and sotis, devils turn back into people."
Chang Ba’s eyes widened involuntarily. He clicked his tongue. "Is it that dramatic? But then again, I feel like you’re not exaggerating. Sigh... if Central City is like you say, then why does everyone want to go there?"
Chen Chuan said, "Perhaps it’s because this is also where you find the ladder to the sun."
Chang Ba thought for a mont, then said with a straight face, "I get it."
"But not everyone wants to go. You don’t want to go, do you, Brother Xiaochang?"
"Of course! Of course I don’t want to go! Hahaha..."
Chang Ba laughed for a while, then cleared his throat and asked curiously, "Brother Chen, is there sothing you called about?"
Chen Chuan said, "Is Teacher He around?"
"Uncle He? Yeah, he’s here. You’re looking for him? I’ll go get him. Hold on."
Chen Chuan waited patiently. More than ten minutes later, the receiver was picked up, and He Xiaoxing’s deep, heavy voice ca through. "Chen?"
Hearing the voice, Chen Chuan could picture the tall, imposing figure with disheveled hair on the other end of the line. He said, "Teacher He, it’s . I am preparing to make a move against Zhao Qian soon."
He Xiaoxing didn’t ask why. He just asked in a low voice, "What’s your plan?"
Chen Chuan explained his thoughts and the general outline of his plan, elaborating on so of the more complex parts. Finally, he said, "I’m just missing one key piece, Teacher He. I need a photo of Senior Brother Shen."
He Xiaoxing said in a low voice, "I’ll mail it to you in the next two days. Once you’ve confird everything, rember to send the exact date and ti of the operation by telegram."
Chen Chuan’s heart stirred. He agreed, ended the call, and hung up the receiver. He understood He Xiaoxing’s implication: he seed to want to get involved in this matter.
Of all the people involved in Shen Zheng’s death, Zhao Qian was indeed the only direct participant who was still out and about. It was ti to bring this matter to a close once and for all.
Leaving the phone booth, he returned to his Gard Car, started the engine, and headed back to Central City. A quarter of an hour later, as Central City beca more distinct through the sea fog ahead, his Realm Token began to reactivate. He contacted Gao Ming, who was waiting for his call. "Gao Ming, you can begin."
「April 20th. Lianwei Zhongyu Company Building.」
Zhao Qian was on a call with a business client. Suddenly, an urgent communication ca through from his assistant. Highly displeased, he apologized to the client and then asked, "What is it?"
His assistant’s tense, rushed voice ca over the line. "Manager, people from the Internal Work Review Team are here. They’re heading to your office now."
Zhao Qian’s expression tightened. ’What are they doing here?’
The Internal Work Review Team was an inspection group dispatched by the head office to Jibei Dao Central City. They were responsible for recording, reporting, and monitoring. When necessary, they would convey and execute decisions from the head office. But they usually kept a low profile and would never show up in front of him, unless...
His female assistant’s urgent attempts to stop them could be heard from outside, followed by footsteps. The office door was pushed open directly, and three people in dark company uniforms walked in. The group consisted of two n and one woman, all with distinct suture lines on their cheeks and completely emotionless faces.
One of the n walked up to him, planted his feet slightly apart in front of the desk, and waited for him to stand. Then, in a strictly businesslike tone, he said:
"Manager Zhao, this morning, the company received a letter of inquiry from the Processing Bureau concerning you. It alleges your involvent in the murder of a Processing Bureau candidate. On behalf of the head office, we are here to question you. Please provide a reasonable explanation for this matter."
Zhao Qian’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression showed nothing unusual. He said in a low voice, "I apologize for troubling the head office, but this is a complete fabrication."
The woman at the back imdiately wrote down his answer with a pen while pressing a hand to her Realm Token, seemingly communicating with soone. This created an invisible pressure.
The man looked at him and continued his questioning, his face still a mask. "The Processing Bureau has demanded that you respond to their summons and submit to questioning within two days. Do you have anything to say to the company?"
Zhao Qian said solemnly, "Please convey to the board of directors that I will handle this matter promptly and ensure it does not affect the company’s business."
The man said, "Manager Zhao, we will relay your words verbatim. The company will assess your professional competence and decide on how to handle your case. The evaluation form will be mailed to you within two days."
Zhao Qian said, "I will comply with the company’s arrangents."
The man said, "The questioning is complete. Manager Zhao, Director Xing has a matter to discuss with you. Please be sure to contact him shortly. We’ll take our leave." After speaking, the three of them left without a backward glance.
After they left, Zhao Qian’s expression imdiately darkened. ’Where did things go wrong? How was I exposed? How much does the Processing Bureau actually know?’
Logically, his request had been made through a platform; there was no way it should have exposed him.
But thinking about this now was useless. He had to figure out how to handle this.
He imdiately contacted Director Xing. This director was, in na, the highest-ranking manager of the Central City branch, but in reality, he was rarely there, preferring to stay at the head office.
When the call connected, an impatient recorded ssage played: "Zhao Qian, I don’t care if you did this or not, just make it go away. The company’s escort mission for this month is right around the corner. I don’t want to hear any more news like this before or after it."
After the ssage, the call imdiately disconnected.
Zhao Qian thought for a mont with a cold expression. He walked to the window and contacted soone. When the call connected, he asked, "How’s the investigation going?"
"Boss, we haven’t found anything yet. His routine is very regular, and he hasn’t been seen eting with anyone special. The only thing of note, hmm, is that he makes a trip to Motie Mountain once a month."
I looked into it. It should be a teacher assigned to him by the Processing Bureau. But security inside Motie Mountain is tight, so we haven’t been able to identify the person’s specific identity yet."
Zhao Qian said in a low voice, "Since there are no results yet, suspend the investigation for now. Wait for my word."
"Sounds like you’ve got sothing going on over there, Boss. You got it, I’ll stop for now."
Zhao Qian took a deep breath. For the ti being, he couldn’t make another move against Chen Chuan. Now that the Processing Bureau had made this public, they would definitely be watching him. Even the slightest action could lead to bigger trouble.
He had just resolved his previous troubles, and now the Processing Bureau had its eyes on him. This was enough to make the people in the company who coveted his position start getting restless again.
He had to handle all of this promptly.
He pondered this carefully for a long ti before using his Realm Token to contact soone else. The connection went through after a mont, but no sound ca from the other side. He knew they were listening, though. He said, "Help one more ti."
After a short pause, a delicate girlish voice replied, "What do you want to do?"
Zhao Qian said calmly, "The company’s evaluation season is almost here. I need to successfully complete this season’s final escort mission. After that, I will apply for a transfer out of Jibei Dao and give up this position."
When the other side remained silent, he added, "I know you hate , but I’m important to you. Right now, you don’t have a single trustworthy person on the outside. No matter how much you hate , I can still be your eyes, ears, and right hand out here."
After a long silence, the girl’s voice sounded again. "Fine."
After ending the call, Zhao Qian stared ahead with a cold gaze. ’This isn’t over yet.’
「Two days later, on April 22nd.」 Zhao Qian left the Lianwei Zhongyu Company, taking his private Litigation Master with him by car to the Processing Bureau to undergo their investigation.
He had been here several tis since the fall of the Molan Company. This ti, the Processing Bureau was just as unwelcoming, even demanding he hand over his Realm Token for inspection during the questioning.
However, his private Litigation Master refused on the grounds that it risked leaking company secrets, and demanded the Processing Bureau produce real evidence for their accusation instead of intimidating his client.
The Processing Bureau agents only presented so inconclusive evidence, but they heavily implied that if he cooperated to a certain degree, they would stop bothering him, both now and in the future.
Zhao Qian understood what the Processing Bureau wanted from him, but agreeing would be a terrible choice. Without his status as a company manager, he would be worthless to them and an even easier target. If he held his ground, however, he could protect himself. So, he gave no response whatsoever.
The Processing Bureau clearly hadn’t expected him to yield on the first try. They kept him there for a full twelve hours before finally letting him go, demanding he return for more questioning the next day.
At that very mont, Chen Chuan had already received the results from Ni Qianqian. He said to Gao Ming, "Just as expected, the Processing Bureau has no intention of dealing with Zhao Qian."
Gao Ming said, "That’s to be expected. A mid-level manager in charge of major affairs is very valuable; the Processing Bureau won’t give him up that easily. If they dealt with Zhao Qian, they would lose a valuable line. But the good thing is, he’s been brought out into the open now, so he won’t be able to make a move on you anyti soon, Cousin.
Even if he needed to, he’d wait until he’s out of town. If soone attacked you while he was away, he could clear himself of suspicion and ensure that Jibei Dao Central City couldn’t pin it on him for the ti being."
Chen Chuan said calmly, "He won’t get that chance." Just then, Wubei’s excited and tense voice ca from the Realm Token. "Brother Chen, he’s out of the Processing Bureau!"
Chen Chuan said, "Good. Brother Wu, I’ll leave the rest to you."
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