Book 4, Chapter 62: Diplomatic Delegation

Fang Zhixin had sensed that there were a large number of mercenaries, so he had been ready to fight to the death. No matter what, he wasn’t going to let them capture him alive.

What he wasn’t expecting was that before they could surround him, more than ninety percent of them would lose their ability to fight due to Chen Chuan’s mental attack.

He didn’t see Chen Chuan’s fight with the others, but based on the sounds, all the fights ended in a round or two

The entire skirmish lasted for only around four minutes.

What shocked him the most was the astonishing power Chen Chuan displayed when he attacked the mercenaries. He seemed to have improved by a much greater degree compared to the time he fought against Chen Bitong.

While he was busy being amazed, he also became more certain of his decision. “Captain Chen, I was trying to tell you that the map they want exists, and it’s very detailed,” he said earnestly.

“I learned from indirect sources that those who were involved in Instructor Chen’s plans also wanted the map, but Instructor Chen never gave it to them.”

Chen Chuan knew that some people had supported Chen Bitong’s plans, but he hadn’t managed to figure out who those people were. “Do you happen to know who helped Instructor Chen?”

A complicated expression appeared on Fang Zhixin’s face as he said, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but that Instructor Chen never told me about them. I think it’s because he didn’t want me to have anything to do with them.”

Chen Chuan’s gaze turned profound. There were plenty of organizations in Jibei Road’s Central City, and the factions were one of them, but Chen Bitong had clearly not joined any of them. Besides, his actions and the principles he stood by didn’t fit with the fusion faction or the refined training faction’s principles, so there was practically no possibility of them working together.

However, there was one organization that might have helped him, and if that were the case, he could understand why Chen Bitong didn’t want Fang Zhixin to have anything to do with them.

Of course, this was just a guess. For the moment, he didn’t have any concrete proof, but he could find ways to prove his theory right later.

“Has Instructor Chen never submitted the information to the government?” Chen Chuan asked instead.

“He did, once, but that was a long time ago, when he was still in the development squad. But Jibei Road’s merged space is huge, and it experiences large changes every few years.

“Based on the information and reports from subsequent development squad members, Instructor Chen came to a realization that a lot of their information is wrong or has discrepancies. He told me that this was a result of misjudgment due to a lack of mental energy while resisting unseen damage. That’s why he organized all the reports and thought of ways to verify the information again.

“In the past, he would submit some of the information he verified every year, but he stopped a few years ago.”

Chen Chuan thought about it. Chen Bitong might have started preparing for his plan back then.

“I just thought of something. These foreigners might not be the ones who want the information. The ones who rescued me might have also done so for this,” Fang Zhixin continued.

“Do you know who they are?” Chen Chuan asked.

“I can’t say. In the beginning, I thought that they were the people in contact with Instructor Chen and that he had arranged this for me. Later on, though, I realized that this was unlikely, so I started wondering whether this was an act by the National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee. However, that also didn’t add up.”

Fang Zhixin shook his head. “No matter who they are, I won’t let them get what they want. You’re the only one I can trust with the information, Captain Chen. I believe that if Instructor Chen were still around, he wouldn't let the Union get the artifact.”

He drew a little closer and said a few things to Chen Chuan using his refined force.

Chen Chuan nodded after hearing it before asking, “Where do you intend to go next, Mr. Fang?”

While Fang Zhixin was no longer a wanted man, the National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee would pounce on him the moment he showed his face in public. Besides, the Union wasn’t going to stop targeting him. There was also the problem with the unknown organization. They, too, might do something if they heard that Fang Zhixin was walking around in broad daylight.

“I was thinking about it just now. I intend to go to the merged space. I’m going to try and find my comrades,” Fang Zhixin replied.

While the retired snipers who fought with Chen Bitong that day weren’t punished, they were sent back to the front lines in the merged space. If Fang Zhixin hadn’t found out where they were, he might have actually tried to leave Central City after running away the first time.

“Do you have ways to get there?” Chen Chuan asked.

“I have. I do have some connections, Captain Chen,” Fang Zhixin answered with a grin.

Chen Chuan hummed at that. While control over entry from the merged space to Central City was strict, it wasn’t the same the other way around. If some criminals were willing to escape to the merged space, whoever was on patrol might just let them do it, because once they were there, they would inevitably run into the military bases.

Almost no person could stay out in the merged space for even one night, and if they went to a military base, they would either get captured or be sent to the front lines to serve as cannon fodder.

“If you run into any problems, contact me. You know that many things operate on another set of rules in the merged space,” he said while watching Fang Zhixin.

With a solemn nod, Fang Zhixin took a step back and saluted Chen Chuan. “Thank you, Captain Chen. I won’t cause you any trouble. I’m going to leave now. Also, please take good care of Xiaojin.”

“I will, and one second, Mr. Fang,” Chen Chuan said.

He left and came back with a first aid kit he got from the Resolution Department. “You’re hurt. Take this with you. I’ve ordered the officers outside to not stop you.”

Fang Zhixin didn’t reject the expression of good will. He gave Chen Chuan a nod and saluted him again, then left with the first aid kit. Soon, he disappeared into the darkness.

Chen Chuan stepped out of the abandoned shop. Yuan Qiuyuan was waiting outside and saluted him, “We’ve captured all of them, Captain. None escaped.”

Chen Chuan nodded and went to his limousine. His security team had driven over, and the logistician opened the door for him. After getting in, he tapped on his Realm Pass and ordered, “Retreat.”

The limousine left slowly. The Resolution Department officers and City Patrol also started leaving. Meanwhile, with the help of domain entities, the bioweapons were led back to their original areas.

Chen Chuan took a look at the sky. The airship had already left. It was quite big, so he was going to let the Resolution Department deal with it. As for the information, he had no intention of getting it immediately.

Those people already knew that he had come into contact with Fang Zhixin and were bound to watch him. He would only consider going to get it after a few days.

The limousine went back to the Resolution Department. The officers put all the arrested mercenaries into detention cells before moving to interrogate and identify them.

Chen Chuan went back to his office to wait for results and read through some documents. Around half an hour later, he received a report from the person in charge of the Interrogation Division.

“Based on our investigation, all of them were hired by an agent company called Terran Star. They’re all foreigners.”

“An agent company, huh?”

“Yes. It’s been less than three years since this agent company was set up, and they have a lot of untraceable movements of funds. Only one of the company’s executives is in Central City. Should we issue a special summons to bring him in for interrogation?”

“No need. Just act according to the usual procedure,” Chen Chuan ordered.

He knew very well that the Union was behind this agent company. As long as they remained cautious and did not step forward on their own while Terran Star did their dirty work for them, though, no investigation would lead to them.

Chen Chuan checked the report. It matched the information provided by Safe Shield. The martial artists were all from the Trokka Union. Since this place was far away from the Great Shun Republic, the mercenaries wouldn’t have been able to reach the country immediately. Hence, the Union must have gotten everything ready within three months after the Fu-Mu Entity’s propagation.

Suddenly, he got a chime in his Realm Pass, and Safe Shield said, “Lead Investigator Chen, the Linacrox Union’s diplomatic delegation is at our harbor. The department needs to allocate more domain resources to monitor them, so I won’t be able to monitor United Might for you for the time being. I’m truly sorry.”

Chen Chuan’s gaze sharpened. The Linacrox Union was finally here?

He tapped on the screen in his office. After a while, light shone down. The screen blinked and showed only blurry images for a while before clearing up.

It displayed the harbor at Oceanway District. Chen Chuan could see a few warships anchored there.

The Linacrox Union was different from the Union and chose to travel by sea. Based on what Chen Chuan had heard before, the diplomatic delegation’s ship was escorted by six warships. Three of them would be anchored at the harbor, along with the flagship. The other three would be anchored at other harbors.

Since this was a proper diplomatic delegation, the Department of Administrative Affairs and municipal government sent representatives to welcome them. Among them was Lead Investigator Wen. This explained the large number of security guards and armed soldiers at the harbor, along with armored cars locking down main roads.

The diplomatic delegation was supposed to arrive in the afternoon, but they were a little late. It was already a little past 10 p.m., but the harbor was brightly lit.

Just then, a large boarding ramp was lowered from the transport boat that came together with the flagship. Armored trucks from the Linacrox Union’s Mega Creatures drove down to form a protective lane. They resembled two steel walls.

Heavy footsteps came from the ship. As the silhouettes grew clearer, Chen Chuan saw people who were more than four meters tall walk out.

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