Free Web NovelChapter 420: Chapter 150: Hidden Hand
It was now mid-October. Since Chen Chuan was at the Motie Mountain Manor, he didn’t call home for security reasons. Instead, he had Gao Ming send a telegram to his family.
During this time, he consumed the concoction twice more. His Essence Blood and Divine Constant accumulated daily. With no external enemies to interfere, it was equivalent to a period of secluded cultivation.
Aside from some mandatory defensive duties, he spent most of his time focused on his own training. He especially enjoyed the process, as he could clearly feel himself improve after each dose.
Over the past few days, the Meng Clan and the company had been making frequent moves. Yan Yi was dismissive, believing they were just trying to pressure Meng Shu and make her panic. ’The more anxious Meng Huang’s side becomes,’ she thought, ’the calmer we must remain.’
Chen Chuan also had a source of information from the Processing Bureau, and it was clear the enemy was being very cautious. The Bureau had recently discovered several new movements by the Ferris Wheel Company, which had drawn a great deal of their attention. This led to the conclusion that the enemy was likely about to make their move. They would have to be especially vigilant over the next few days.
Just then, an alarm suddenly blared outside. The sound of hurried footsteps followed as the manor’s security guards scrambled to their posts.
For some time now, the manor had been running repeated drills based on a defense plan provided by the Processing Bureau. Occasionally, Chen Chuan would join in to give the security personnel a direct sense of the threat posed by a Third Limit Fighter.
However, with a third of their security staff gone, it was impossible to cover every corner of the vast manor. Those areas had to be left to the biological weapons. The main force was concentrated on defending the perimeter around the main residence. They didn’t expect to eliminate many enemies, only to protect themselves and delay the attackers.
In the middle of the drill, a truck suddenly appeared on the road at the foot of the mountain. Due to the large number of residents, the manor purchased a large batch of food and daily supplies every month. For security, all procurement was handled through the Motie Mountain proxy company.
Just then, a small Airship flew in from the distance. These Airships would approach any external or unregistered vehicles passing through the Motie Mountain area. Meng Shu’s manor, with its heightened security level, drew their particular attention.
The truck pulled up in front of the manor and stopped. The accompanying crew got out and began to unload the cargo. Inside the front passenger seat, Gao Changge, dressed in a staff uniform, observed the manor’s interior through the one-way glass.
He discovered, however, that from his vantage point, the manor was partially obscured from every direction, with trees providing further cover in the distance. He couldn’t see much at all from inside the truck.
Once the unloading was complete, the truck closed its doors and reversed away under the watchful eyes of the security team.
As the driver headed back, Gao Changge stared at the road ahead and said, "Got the intel. The manor is running frequent drills; their defenses are tight. And there was a strange development last month. They brought in a wanted criminal. No idea why, but the assessment is that he was probably handed over to that Fighter."
"A wanted criminal?"
Gao Changge found the situation odd. ’Why bring in a wanted criminal now?’ he wondered. A certain possibility occurred to him, but he dismissed it as overthinking. ’If he was handed over to the Fighter, it must have been for combat training or as an outlet for aggression.’
The deduction was reasonable. Any Third Limit Fighter who reached this stage, especially those who used special drugs for their training, tended to have some degree of psychological issues. Many developed strange predilections. His own team members were a prime example, so it stood to reason this Fighter would be no different.
Back inside the manor, a dedicated team inspected the food and supplies. Finding no issues, they called people over to begin moving everything indoors.
Just then, Chen Chuan walked out. He glanced at the supplies and said, "Put those down. Open them up so I can take a look."
Hearing this, most of the security guards immediately stepped back and took cover. Two guards were dispatched to join the pale-faced movers in opening up the items one by one.
Yan Yi noticed the situation and immediately took an internal vehicle down the hill. She walked right up to the supplies, gave them a few glances, and then asked, "Mr. Chen, is something wrong?"
Chen Chuan replied, "I’m not certain yet, but I wouldn’t recommend you consume or use anything from this batch."
He had a gut feeling something was wrong with the supplies, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. He decided to trust his intuition.
Yan Yi, however, had complete faith in his judgment. Without a moment’s hesitation, she used her Realm Token to request another delivery from the Motie Mountain proxy company. Then she asked, "Mr. Chen, how should we dispose of this shipment?"
"One moment," Chen Chuan said.
He turned, walked to a secluded spot, and contacted Wubei. Once the line connected, he asked, "Brother Wu, can you set up a private platform for one person?"
Wubei replied, "For that, I’ll need some unique Domain Creatures in addition to the Resonance Nest. I have some spares, but it will only last for five minutes, max."
"Five minutes is enough," Chen Chuan said.
"Give me a moment," Wubei said immediately. A short while later, a message came through from him. "Alright, who do you want to contact, Brother Chen?"
Chen Chuan immediately sent a contact name and address. "This person. Can you set up a dedicated channel for me?"
Wubei glanced at the information. "No problem."
There was a sound like he was tinkering with something. After a moment, he sent over a temporary login password for the platform. "Done, Brother Chen. You can contact them now."
Chen Chuan logged in and called the contact. The other party answered quickly. After the standard greetings, he stated his purpose, "I need some information... Here’s the situation..."
He explained what he needed to know, and the contact, not disappointing him, gave an immediate response. After listening to the whole thing, Chen Chuan said, "I may have more questions later. If there are any updates, please contact me by radio."
The contact agreed. They confirmed the radio frequency, and the call ended.
Just then, another message came from Wubei. "Brother Chen, I didn’t get a chance to tell you, but I intercepted a signal just before and after the truck’s arrival and departure. The same frequency also appeared during last month’s delivery. I can’t analyze the content, but I’m certain it was broadcast from inside the manor."
"Understood," Chen Chuan said.
He walked back to Yan Yi. "Just bury this stuff on-site," he said. Before Yan Yi could even respond to the order, the staff and security guards were already working together to move the supplies aside.
Yan Yi sensed the authority Chen Chuan commanded among these people and was pleased to see it. Only such a strong leader could ensure absolute obedience when danger arrived.
Meanwhile, after the truck had left the Motie Mountain region, Gao Changge learned through the Realm Token Manor that a second, identical order for supplies had been placed. He was a bit surprised. ’They’re that cautious...?’
They had indeed tampered with that shipment. The items themselves were harmless, but they were meant to be activated by something else when the attack began.
Furthermore, it was something that couldn’t be detected with the equipment available at the manor.
A colleague on the other end of the line asked, "Boss Sheng, should we make new arrangements for them?"
"Forget it," Gao Changge said.
’That stuff costs a lot of money,’ he thought. ’If they spotted it once, they can probably spot it a second time. It would be a complete waste.’ So, he canceled the plan outright.
After relaying his orders, he contacted his team. Once the call connected, he said, "Boss, that Fighter is no simpleton. I suspect he has an extremely high level of perception, which would be consistent with him possessing Domain techniques. He’s exceptionally sensitive to foreign objects and anything out of the ordinary."
"With someone like that on watch, it’s practically impossible for us to tamper with daily necessities like food. I suggest we stop wasting time on it..."
"Boss, the client is getting impatient. We’ve more or less finished all the prep work. I think we should just... All right, I’m on my way over now..."
Back at the manor, while the security team was disposing of the supplies, Chen Chuan said to Yan Yi, "At least one of your three Resonators is a mole."
Yan Yi didn’t seem surprised, only regretful. "Highly skilled Resonators are incredibly difficult to recruit," she said. "Losing even one is a major blow."
"Assistant Yan," Chen Chuan said, "surely you have a way to identify them?"
"I’ll take care of it," Yan Yi replied. "Oh, and one more thing, Mr. Chen. The items you had someone send over, as well as the person you requested for this month, have arrived. We’ve delivered them to the door of your villa."
She had no idea why Chen Chuan needed a wanted criminal every month, but since he didn’t volunteer the information, she didn’t ask.
Once all the supplies were buried, Chen Chuan returned to his residential quarters. A person was lying on the ground in front of his door, with a package next to them.
He scanned the body with his Realm Token, and a dozen criminal offenses instantly populated the screen. After confirming the man was a wanted criminal, he picked him up and carried him inside.
The man had been injected with a powerful sedative and was still unconscious. Chen Chuan didn’t need him to wake up. He carried the man and the package into the living room, laid him on the floor, then took the Raccoon Cat Stone Token from his pocket and tossed it onto the man’s body.
After only a moment, the wanted criminal began to convulse violently. About ten minutes later, the shaking finally stopped. But by then, he had been reduced to nothing more than an empty husk of skin.
Chen Chuan bent down to retrieve the Stone Token. Although he was confident in his own abilities, he still believed in being cautious when facing his enemies. Any advantage he could gain, he would use.
His opponents were unlikely to come alone. With the Raccoon Cat aberration, he could take at least one of them out of the fight from the start. Even if it didn’t kill them, it would inflict grievous injuries. They could forget about recovering anytime soon.
As for the package...
He walked over to it and opened it. It was packed to the brim with the Esoteric Ritual Materials that Old Qi had procured for him.
...
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