CHAPTER 188: HUGE SHOCK

On the public road to the east of Yangzhi City was a limousine with a caved-in hood. Mr. Chi had crashed into it. His luxurious clothes were tattered, and his forehead was covered in blood. Half of his face was swollen, and the eye on that side was reduced to a mere slit. He gasped for breath as he tried to get up.

The well-built man in front of him looked like he wanted to attack again, so he quickly put his arms up and cried out, “Wait! Stop!”

The movements aggravated his wounds, and he hissed before wincing. “I’m just trying to earn a living here. There’s no need for you to do this.”

He looked around for his broken watch. After checking it, he threw it away. “It’s almost 6 a.m. Even if I go now, I won’t make it.”

The man turned around and walked away with a steady gait.

Mr. Chi exhaled and looked at the sky. Then, he shouted, “Hey, if anyone is alive, give me a drink! I hate being under the sun in summer!”

***

The incident in the factory spread like wildfire. In just a few hours, all of Yangzhi City was in an uproar.

After all, such a thing had never happened before. The ones who died weren’t some random nobodies, but the children of Yangzhi City’s upper-class. It wasn’t just one or two who died either, but thirty-seven of them. If they counted the security guards as well, almost one hundred people had lost their lives.

It had been years since something this big happened in Yangzhi City.

It was late August, and the new semester hadn’t begun at Martial Valor University, but once the news spread, a huge commotion stirred among the students.

Who did not know the Mutual Aid Group?

It was the strongest student group in the university formed by recommended students. For decades, it had secured its place above all students.

Yet the news stated that thirty-seven top members of the Mutual Aid Group had died. Aside from those who didn’t care about the group’s affairs and were just members in name, all the prominent figures were gone. The group’s top management was uprooted.

The students weren’t idiots. When they saw the place where everyone died, they had an idea about what had happened.

Shen Zheng had died in that very place three years ago. Clearly, the Mutual Aid Group wanted a repeat of the incident, but they weren’t expecting to go up against an opponent far exceeding their expectations.

Quite a number of students had gone through a lot of grief and rage during the aftermath of Shen Zheng’s death, so after learning about this, they could hardly contain their excitement. They cried out that Chen Chuan did good by killing all those students.

Even though they didn’t know the details, they could imagine it. The night before, Chen Chuan had to have faced off more than one hundred people alone. Despite the threats and oppression from the Mutual Aid Group, he did not cave in, but fought back. With his saber, he killed the entire top management of the Mutual Aid Group.

Everyone’s blood sang with fervor just by thinking about it.

There were a few days left before the start of the semester, but a lot of the students could not sit still after hearing the news. They came back to the university ahead of time.

They weren’t the only ones. Some of the students who had graduated years ago also showed up. For years, the Mutual Aid Group had used all sorts of methods to crush the outstanding students. From the moment they stepped into the university, they got blackmailed and tempted by them.

After the students who were forced to join the Mutual Aid Group graduated, they found their freedom restricted by all the clauses in the contract. Many of them seethed in anger about it but couldn’t fight back.

Yet now, such a thing happened. It made them excited and gleeful. At the same time, they were impressed with Chen Chuan for being able to do this.

Quite a number of freshmen had come to the campus as well. They didn’t quite understand what was going on, but after their upperclassmen told them about what the Mutual Aid Group had done and what had happened to Shen Zheng, they got a clear understanding of the situation. Then, they finally realized just how grand Chen Chuan’s actions were.

Even though they hadn’t become official students yet, they longed to meet Chen Chuan and turn the clock back to last night so that they could fight by his side.

Despite the excitement, everyone was also worried for Chen Chuan.

“I heard that the Constabulary took him away, but he didn’t do anything wrong!” one student exclaimed.

The others agreed to it. It was obvious that the Mutual Aid Group had set the stage and mobilized more than a hundred people to kill Chen Chuan, while he had met them alone. Anyone with eyes could see just who was the persecutor, and who was the victim.

“We need to submit a petition to the upper management of the university and the Department of Administrative Affairs and demand Chen Chuan to be released!”

“That’s right! That’s exactly what we should do!”

“Count me in!”

“Me too!”

***

While the students were fervently discussing the events, Bian Feng sat in Gao Ping’s office in the Admission Department. “Lu Fang came to me. He wants us to step forward and protect Chen Chuan. I, too, think that we can’t just stand aside and do nothing about this.”

“You’re all lecturers here. I won’t say whether he’s right or not, but we have to keep our heads on our shoulders first. Don’t get affected by the students’ excitement,” Gao Ping said gravely.

“But Mr. Gao, setting aside everything else, Chen Chuan is our student. He hasn’t been declared guilty of any charges yet, and we don’t know what the situation is. We can’t just leave him to fend for himself!” Yue Hong declared.

“Why are you two so worked up? The vice chancellor has already brought this case up to the Resolution Department,” Gao Ping said languidly.

“The Resolution Department?”

The two lecturers exchanged glances. Even though the Resolution Department usually dealt with cases related to adult martial artists, strictly speaking, the students in the university were under their jurisdiction too. They could get involved in this case and ensure that Chen Chuan wouldn’t fall into those organizations’ hands.

“Don’t be too happy. This case isn’t as simple as it seems. You know full well just who is supporting those students from the Mutual Aid Group,” Gao Ping said gravely.

All the recommended students were from powerful families in Yangzhi City. Quite a number of their family members worked in the Department of Administrative Affairs or were straight up part of the Consultative Council.

Some of them even had ties to financial conglomerates and companies in Central City or Black Orchid Co. itself.

The ones working in the government were not that much of a threat, but Black Orchid Co. was a major company in Central City. It was unimaginably powerful and could influence most of the members of the Consultative Council, thereby influencing the decisions of the Department of Administrative Affairs. If Black Orchid Co. decided to stick its nose into this, could the Resolution Department withstand the pressure? There was no way to tell.

Just then, a voice came from outside. “I’m here on orders from the university board to see Mr. Gao. Please step aside.”

A commotion broke out outside, then Mr. Jiang walked in. “Mr. Gao,” he greeted.

“Hello, Mr. Jiang. How can I help you?” Gao Ping stared at him.

Mr. Jiang straightened his suit and put a form on the table. “The university board and the sponsors have sent me here to request for Chen Chuan to be expelled.”

“For?” Gao Ping asked.

“Are you sure you don’t know the reason, Mr. Gao?” Mr. Jiang sneered.

“If you’re talking about what happened yesterday, then I can’t make any decisions yet, since the event is still under investigation,” Gao Ping said sternly.

Mr. Jiang slammed a fist on the table. Feeling extremely worked up, he said, “Under investigation? Isn’t it obvious what happened? Chen Chuan brutally slaughtered thirty-seven outstanding students and dozens of loyal security guards. How can you let such a vicious student remain in the university?

“The university board must act in consideration of the students’ safety and the university’s reputation. Right now, many of the university’s sponsors are wondering whether the university management is really taking good care of the university and its students.”

Gao Ping took the form and gave it a quick glance before putting it down. “I see that only some of the university board members have signed this. It does not represent the entire university board.

“Also, if we were to expel him, we have to be sure that the student has really done what you accused him of doing. The university board needs to discuss this before they can come to a decision. We can’t make a decision based on just a few signatures.”

Mr. Jiang’s expression turned dark. “Mr. Gao, this incident has a great negative impact. Neither you nor the people supporting you can keep this under control. The university board is giving you a chance to make things right. You’d better think about this carefully.”

“Who wants to expel my mentee?” Cheng Zitong’s voice cut through the air, and he sauntered in with sunglasses perched on his nose. “You want to expel him? Go ahead and try it! I want to see just who will dare to expel my mentee!”

Mr. Jiang turned to Cheng Zitong and sneered. “Mr. Cheng, you’re Chen Chuan’s mentor, aren’t you? He killed so many outstanding students. As his mentor, you will need to be held responsible too. I suggest you start thinking about how to get out of this mess yourself first.”

Cheng Zitong didn’t buy it. “Cut that crap, Jiang Qing. You can threaten others, but not me. As for the university board, if my mentee doesn’t agree to his expulsion, then no one can expel him!”

“Mr. Cheng, Martial Valor University doesn’t belong to you. You have no right to say that,” Jiang Qing said coldly.

Cheng Zitong scoffed and removed his sunglasses before saying slowly, “Don’t I, now? My grandfather is Cheng Yunbai, the first chancellor of Martial Valor University. My uncle, Cheng Shang, is the second chancellor. My martial uncle, Fan Shoulu, is the current chancellor. If I don’t have the right to say that, no one has!”

***

Feng Xiaoqi ran into the dorm and said to the students gathered there, “The university board sent Jiang Qing to Mr. Gao and said that they want to expel Chen Chuan!”

“Expel him? I haven’t been expelled yet. Why are they trying to expel him?” Wei Dong exclaimed.

“Damn it! Jiang Qing is always up to no good! That bastard! This won’t do. We have to think of something,” Wu Han hissed.

“Yeah. We do.”

Luo Kaiyuan listened to their conversation but didn’t join in, then left in silence.

***

Half an hour later, Jiang Qing left the office with a stormy expression. He wanted to report what had happened to the university board members who signed the form, but when he arrived at the parking lot, he found that his tires had been slashed. Cursing under his breath, he said to the driver, “Call a cab.”

The driver rushed to the office to borrow a phone while Jiang Qing waited outside. When he looked down to check his watch, someone suddenly approached him. Before he could react, his world spun, and a fist landed squarely on his face. A few teeth fell out. Then, he was punched in the face again. His vision turned black. The third punch came for his head, and he fell into a dead faint.

His attacker then got up, looked around, and left in no hurry.

When the driver came back, he found Jiang Qing lying unconscious on the ground with his face covered in blood. Panicked, he ran over to help him up and shook him while shouting, “Mr. Jiang! Mr. Jiang!”

***

Back in the dorm, Feng Xiaoqi and the others were still thinking about possible ways to help Chen Chuan when Luo Kaiyuan came back.

“Where did you go? I couldn’t find you just now,” Feng Xiaoqi said.

“It’s nothing. Just a bathroom break,” Luo Kaiyuan replied.