CHAPTER 182: TO THE MEETING

Wei Jun set down the phone receiver after finishing the call. “Zhao Qian has agreed to it. He’ll call the others and coordinate things to provide us support.”

He then looked Jiang Wei and Shao Xiaobie in the eye. “Zhao Qian led the plan for killing Shen Zheng in the past. Now, we’ll do the same thing to kill Chen Chuan.”

“We shouldn’t be the only ones involved in this,” Jiang Wei said.

Wei Jun nodded. The elites of the Mutual Aid Group had to participate as well, because while they would be the ones carrying out the plan, the others would share the benefits. Even if they didn’t do anything, they should stick together through thick and thin and share all the risks.

Wei Jun and the other two were certain that Chen Chuan had some organization supporting him, so they had to work together to quell this possible storm and maintain the current political and economic situation in Yangzhi City.

Just like three years ago.

“Once you go back, call the others.”

Jiang Wei immediately stood up from the sofa and left.

Shao Xiaobie gave Wei Jun a nod and left as well.

Over the next few hours, as Wei Jun made calls to various people, a storm quietly brewed in Yangzhi City.

***

Chen Chuan stood on the balcony of the martial arts training center and wiped the Frost King Saber carefully. Below him was the ever-flowing river. After the downpour, the sky had become much brighter, though some clouds still remained.

The blood line on the back of the Frost King Saber became much clearer. When Chen Chuan held it in his hands, he could feel his breathing resonating with the blade. The saber also hummed with the tiniest wave of refined force.

Chen Chuan slid it slowly back into its sheath. Once most of it was in the sheath, he pushed the rest of it inside with a snap. Then, he stood up, returned to the living room, and placed the saber on its stand.

Upon returning to his seat, he grabbed the bag Tan Wang had brought with him and pulled out the contents inside. Gao Ming had already read through them, but found nothing of value. They detailed Tan Wang’s personal training progress.

Chen Chuan read through the notes. The most noteworthy thing he found was the savage, black picture of a snake. The picture showed the front and side profiles of the snake’s head, though all of them were connected creatively to the snake’s body, making it seem as if the snake had three heads.

There were three concentric circles on the snake. Each circle had different reference lines leading to different parts of the snake’s body.

At first glance, Chen Chuan thought that this was some sort of secret technique, but after taking a closer look, he realized that it was actually a shopping list. It listed more than twenty options related to implant modification surgeries: implants within the body, outside the body, on the skin, on the mutated tissue, and everywhere else.

The three circles symbolized the First to Third Limits, and some of the options in the largest circle had been ticked off. They were the modifications that Tan Wang chose. Some of them he had already undergone, while others he had yet to receive.

For example, Tan Wang had already received the high-density muscle implant, while the multijoint modification only partway. Its description stated that it could give something resembling a snake’s joints. Tan Wang’s neck should have already gone through this modification, but the rest of his body remained like a normal person’s.

The list also provided upgrades and tiered options, such as implants built upon the foundation of the mutated bones created during the First Limit in order to increase the number of muscle fibers. At the same time, the implant would also change the shape and structure of the muscles, allowing the limbs to possess abnormal extension and retraction abilities.

The reinforced scale implant, subcutaneous gland implant, and fang implant were all modifications to be done in a specific order.

Among them, the fang implant was the most brutal weapon. Once the martial artist got it installed, they could force out tightly packed or long, jagged teeth between their scales through the contractions of their muscles. Then, with the techniques of the Secret Python Cult, they could pierce the enemy. Tan Wang seemed to have taken the first step, but not gone through to the end.

By the looks of it, Tan Wang had fought in an incomplete form. If he had received all of the implants he had picked, his fighting strength would have been much greater.

But since Chen Chuan had his second self and could overlap with him for eight hours, he could fight Tan Wang for an entire night.

Also, the list did not provide implants that could increase speed. He wondered whether they didn’t have them or simply did not bother listing them.

Based on this, even if Tan Wang received all the implants he wanted, he still would have lost, because being slow meant death. The results wouldn’t have been all that different.

Just then, Chen Chuan looked down and noticed that there was a Cultists Only List. This meant that the Secret Python Cult didn’t modify just its members. It also sold its unique implants to the public.

But considering how much Tan Wang cared about his suit, the implants open only to the cultists had to be really expensive.

Just then, he heard a car getting closer to the training center. After a moment, a security guard came up and said, “Chen Chuan, Mr. Song said that he came here as a lawyer at his client’s behest to talk to you.”

Gao Ming heard it too and walked out of the lounge beside the living room. “You don’t have to meet him. Let me do the talking, cuz.”

Chen Chuan nodded.

Gao Ming went downstairs with the security guard and saw a lawyer in his forties with slicked-back hair. He introduced himself as Mr. Song. Gao Ming went up and shook his hand with a smile. “I’m Gao Ming, Mr. Chen Chuan’s lawyer, fully authorized to act on his behalf. If you need to negotiate with him, you can talk to me.”

“Mr. Gao, then. Which law firm do you belong to?”

“Mi Law Firm.”

“Mi Law Firm?” Mr. Song’s expression became more serious. “Alright. Let’s talk about this in detail.”

Once they sat down, Gao Ming put up a hand to motion for him to wait. Then, he dragged out a box from under the table and placed it on the surface. Upon opening it, he revealed a pre-tuned, steel-wire recorder. He pushed down on the record button and motioned for Mr. Song to start. “We can start talking, Mr. Song.”

Two hours later, Mr. Song left.

Gao Ming returned upstairs. “They’d like to talk to you, cuz, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”

“Do they think that I’ll go?” Chen Chuan asked.

At that, Gao Ming smiled, teeth and all. “Mr. Song mentioned your elementary school and high school. He even named a few of your close friends. I suppose that counts as a threat.”

Chen Chuan grunted. He did have a lot of friends he was close with, but if they thought that they could use them to threaten him, they were reading too much into it. He wouldn’t change his mind because of anyone. All he would do was think of ways to get rid of the perpetrators.

Sometimes, the more someone cared about something, the more arrogant their enemies would become, while the more unbothered someone was, the more wary their enemies would be.

“I told Mr. Song that you need time to think, and you’ll give him an answer before midnight tonight. I think you should go, cuz. You’ll be able to take care of this problem earlier that way, and there’s only a bit of time left before the deadline, so the preparations they can make are limited. This almost guarantees flaws in their plan,” Gao Ming said.

“Tomorrow, then.” Chen Chuan nodded.

“But they haven’t decided on the time and venue.”

“That’s fine. It’s not as if I’m going to sit by and do nothing,” Chen Chuan declared.

He mulled over it before going to the phone and calling Cheng Zitong. “Mr. Cheng, the Mutual Aid Group sent a lawyer to ask me to meet them. I intend to go.”

“Do you need me to do anything for you?” Cheng Zitong asked solemnly.

Chen Chuan told him his plan.

“Xiao Chuan, while you know what you’re doing, I would still like to remind you to be careful. I’ll do my best to coordinate with you from my side,” Cheng Zitong said.

“Thank you, Mr. Cheng.”

Immediately after he hung up, Chen Chuan called Lei Guangcheng. He had to wait for a while before it went through. “Mr. Lei, I’m going to meet some people tomorrow, but things might go out of control, so I need your help.”

“I told you before that you can come to me and He Nan if you ever need anything,” Lei Guangcheng reassured him.

Chen Chuan told him about his request, and Lei Guangcheng agreed to it without hesitation. Then, Chen Chuan made his final call.

“Hello, is this the Constabulary? I’m Chen Chuan. Yes. I’m Constable Brigade Commander Nian’s nephew. I need to speak to him.”

The moment Nian Fuli was on the line, Chen Chuan said, “Uncle, I need to tell you something.”

With all the calls made, he slowly lowered the receiver back on the phone and turned to Gao Ming. “You can give them a reply now.”

Gao Ming nodded and left.

***

In the office on the highest floor of Martial Valor University’s administrative office building, an old man was practicing calligraphy with a two-meter-long brush. A young lecturer hurried into his office. “Sir...”

The old man didn’t look at him and just wrote on the paper hanging from the wall. He asked, “What is it? Why are you so agitated?”

The young lecturer walked over and whispered into his ear.

“Oh?” The old man turned around. A cunning spark flashed in his eyes. Then, he threw away the brush and took a few steps forward.

“This is good. Three years ago, we were unable to react in time, but this time, things will be different. Not only is he a good weapon, but he’s even in control of himself. This is very good. Since he has decided to show his edge, we can’t let him come back empty-handed. Let’s help him.

“Hmm... Have those students see some action too.”

“Will they be useful, Sir?” the young lecturer was puzzled.

“Having a lot of people on your side might not be useful, but it’ll certainly make you look imposing, and when you have that many people gathered together, it’ll create a tidal wave. It all depends on whether this tidal wave can destroy that thick dam now.”

***

Gao Ming walked back into the training center. “We’ve set the time, cuz. It’s 4 a.m. tomorrow at Li’an Machinery in the east of the city.”

Chen Chuan found the name familiar and wondered where he had heard it before his eyes flickered upon recognition. “That place?”

“I looked into it. It’s that place, alright,” Gao Ming answered.

Chen Chuan nodded. “Tell them that I’ll be there on time.”

“Sure,” Gao Ming replied and left.

Chen Chuan looked outside. The sun was already setting, and fiery red clouds were floating across the sky. It looked like they would have good weather tomorrow.

Slowly, he sat down on a cushion and started guiding his mutated tissue’s growth using both internal and external breathing. As he meditated, the scenery changed and turned dark.

At some point, he opened his eyes and cast a glance at the mantel clock nearby before standing up. He went to wash up, changed into formal wear, grabbed the Frost King Saber from its stand, hoisted up a box from the floor, and walked out of the training center.

Gao Ming was already waiting for him. The driver and car He Nan had sent had arrived as well. The door was open for him.

Chen Chuan looked up. The summer night sky was covered in brightly shining stars that were sometimes hidden by the clouds. He got into the car, and Gao Ming shut the door for him, then rapped his knuckles gently against the car. The driver turned on the headlights and lit up the entire road before driving away.