CHAPTER 196: TRANQUIL FIELDS

The next day, Chen Chuan turned on the radio first thing in the morning. The news channel was still broadcasting the events from the day before and had even set up an anonymous reporting hotline to let the citizens of Yangzhi City call in to talk about all the evil deeds the rich and powerful families had done in the past.

That was a powerful move. It fired up a lot of citizens and made them stand on the side of righteousness.

Still, not many people had the courage to curse at these families, even if they could do so anonymously. That was why even if the radio kept receiving calls, most of them were staged. Even so, the events seemed to be true. Many of them provided a lot of details and could stand up to scrutiny.

Just then, the phone rang. Chen Chuan went over to answer it. As soon as he said hello, he pulled the phone receiver away from his ear, because Ding Jiao’s loud voice blasted through the speaker.

“You’re amazing, brother! You have no idea, but I tried to go to the tribunal court yesterday. When I arrived, though, I saw Martial Valor University students all over the place. It was insane! I’m not afraid to admit it, but they were so scary-looking that my knees were shaking.

“Then, I remembered that I have no reason to be afraid. You’re my best friend, and you’re the most amazing of them all. So, I straightened my back, and my legs stopped shaking. After that—”

“You went back home?”

“Exactly—No!” Ding Jiao quickly corrected himself. “I didn’t run away. You didn’t see me because one of my friends peed his pants. Look, he was too intimidated by how scary those students were, okay? I’m a loyal friend to you, but I’m also a loyal friend to that guy, so I sent him back to change his pants. After I came back, you were already gone.”

“Is that friend yourself?” Chen Chuan asked with a grin.

“No way!” Ding Jiao raised his voice, only for it to fade immediately after. “That friend is... I won’t do something so embarrassing. I can’t say his name.”

Chen Chuan smiled as he listened to Ding Jiao ramble. Then, he found a point where he could take over the conversation and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Sure I am. Why ask?” Ding Jiao was a little puzzled.

Things have been pretty chaotic lately,” Chen Chuan said.

“You’re right. It’s been pretty chaotic. The Chain Links Gang beat up the Blood Scars Gang into utter humiliation. I heard that many of them have run out of the city. The only major gang left now is the Chain Links Gang, but they don’t do any of the Blood Scars Gang’s businesses, and they don’t stay in the downtown area either, so we don’t have anything to worry about.”

“You should still be careful.”

“Sure. You’ve seen more of the world than I have now, so I’ll listen to whatever you say,” Ding Jiao agreed.

Chen Chuan chatted with him for a while before ending the call. The conversation left him much more relaxed.

He glanced out the window. He had no plans to leave the house over the next two days. Considering the current situation in the city, while Yangzhi City looked the same as before, tensions were high, and trouble might break out the moment one wrong move was made.

He did some simple training at home. Even though he couldn’t practice any saber techniques, he could practice Principal Sanshou and his breathing techniques. He might have only limited space to move around, but there were still ways for him to train.

After having lunch, Chen Chuan was reading through the information again in his bedroom when the phone rang. He went over, and once the person on the other end of the phone was sure that Chen Chuan was indeed the one speaking, he read out the summons number before saying, “Chen Chuan, please come to the alley entrance. We need you for a mission.”

“I’ll be there right away,” Chen Chuan said and put down the receiver.

He had thought that he would have to wait a little while longer and not receive his orders the very next day. Once he changed into a new set of clothes, he grabbed his well-maintained Frost King Saber and a box before walking out of the house.

When he arrived at the entrance of the alley, he found another familiar face.

“Mr. Feng?”

Standing across from him was the middle-aged man in his usual trench coat and top hat. He was Lao Feng, the special agent he had met at the edge of the wilderness.

Lao Feng grinned at him. “You’ll be working with us this time, Chen Chuan. I suppose we can count this as our second time working together.”

Feeling glad, Chen Chuan nodded. He was welcome to the idea of working with Lao Feng, because Mr. Cao had a higher status, and Chen Chuan couldn’t quite figure him out. He always felt like Mr. Cao was keeping too many things a secret.

He was much more willing to associate himself with Lao Feng, who gave him the feeling of a cordial, gentle senior and a mentor. He was also much friendlier.

Chen Chuan went over and shook Lao Feng’s hand. “It’s so hot, and yet you’re wearing a trench coat?”

“I’m used to it,” Lao Feng answered with a grin.

Chen Chuan didn’t ask any further questions. Lao Feng was a martial artist, so he shouldn’t be afraid of the heat. Besides, Lao Feng might be hiding some sort of weapon under his trench coat, so it had a special use.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lao Feng said, “Let’s go somewhere else to talk, Chen Chuan.”

“There’s a park nearby. While people go there at night to enjoy the cool weather, it’s pretty deserted during the day. We can talk there,” Chen Chuan said after giving it some thought.

“Sure,” Lao Feng said. They walked along the street for around ten minutes before arriving at the park. There was a pond filled with lotus leaves and a few lotuses. Sometimes, golden-red fish could be seen swimming around.

“The carp here are huge,” Lao Feng marveled after taking a look.

Chen Chuan looked down and saw that the carp was more than 1.5 meters long. It was the normal length for the carp in Yangzhi City, so he was used to the sight. “Yangzhi City’s carp are all about this size.”

“The water here really is special,” Lao Feng commented. Out of habit, he observed their surroundings for a bit before he schooled his expression and said, “Let’s talk about your mission details, Chen Chuan.”

Chen Chuan’s expression turned serious as well.

“The operation to take down Black Orchid is already underway, but the first thing on the list isn’t to attack Black Orchid; it’s to get rid of other forces of power.”

“The other forces of power, huh?” Chen Chuan fell into pensive silence.

“Most of them love exploiting chaos and profiting from disorder, but this is especially the case for the foreign ones we’re going to target. If we don’t get rid of them beforehand, it’s going to lead to a lot of accidents and losses. They don’t care about whether the citizens survive, only about creating more chaos, which is something we cannot tolerate,” Lao Feng said gravely.

“Is the resistance group among them?” Chen Chuan asked.

“They do need to be exterminated, but someone else will deal with them. We don’t need to worry about them. Instead, we’re going up against an elite group from Tranquil Fields.

“This company runs a wide range of businesses. They’re involved in selling firearms, drugs, medicine, and even implants. They also do mercenary work and smuggling. Their branch companies are all over the world, and wherever there is chaos, you can find this company.

“I’m sure you’ve read the information and know that Black Orchid ordered a large batch of combat praying mantises. They also ordered a large number of calorie-dense nutritional injections to feed them. Without these nutritional injections, those bio-weapons’ effectiveness will be limited.

“On the surface, we’ve cut off their channels to get nutritional injections. There are no more legal ways available, so Black Orchid can only turn to the black market and smuggling rings.

“I received news that an elite team from Tranquil Fields is on a mission to transport the nutritional injections to Black Orchid. They’ll be able to deliver the goods to Black Orchid at the latest by the day after tomorrow, and they would be meeting in the wilderness. What we need to do is intercept them and seize the goods, if possible.”

“How do I help, Mr. Feng?” Chen Chuan asked after a nod.

“I have a squad of my own. They’re experts in stealth, wiretapping, and communications. Lao Cao also assigned another group of men to me, so I should have enough to go up against this elite team, but I have a nagging feeling that other companies might stick their noses into this. That’s why I need more hands.

“Chen Chuan, you’re a local here. If you know any trustworthy people, bring them along. I’ll pay them and give them evaluation points, just like with any other mission.”

“I do have people who can help, and they should be able to meet your requirements,” Chen Chuan said after giving it some thought.

“That’s good. How much time will you need to mobilize them? The sooner, the better. Time doesn't wait for us. Once we’re done with this, we can focus on going up against Black Orchid,” Lao Feng said.

“I’ll make the calls right away,” Chen Chuan said.

He went to a phone booth by the road and called Ren Xiaotian, Wei Changan, and the other students who had worked with him before.

The team was put together in a few minutes. All of them had experience fighting against armed groups in the wilderness, and Chen Chuan trusted them with his life.

Besides, the operation was considered a mission, and it was even a national-level one, so it would add quite a bit of color to their resumes.

When he made the calls, everyone immediately agreed to join the operation.

Wei Changan had another mission, but after hearing about this, he rejected it right away.

Setting aside his friendship with Chen Chuan and the favor he owed him, the benefits from the operation were so great that his team had no objections to it. Even though they didn’t know the specifics, the fact that they were going to the wilderness again told them that this was yet another major mission, and they rubbed their hands in anticipation. They were all fired up.

As for Luo Kaiyuan, Feng Xiaoqi, Wu Han, and Wei Dong, they agreed without hesitation. It was the summer holidays, and they had nothing to do, so they hurried over right away.

Chen Chuan had emphasized the urgency of the mission in his phone calls, so everyone gathered in just one afternoon.

When Lao Feng saw that Chen Chuan had managed to gather a team made up mostly of Martial Valor University students, with the rest bringing other strengths, he was pleased.

He presented them with the plan he had already prepared.

Chen Chuan took a look. Aside from the finer details, it listed every member of Tranquil Fields’ elite team. All their information had been laid bare. Chen Chuan could only marvel at the National General Affairs Bureau’s resources.

If he had this sort of plan and this much information when he fought against the Rusty Bronze Gang, he could have gotten rid of the entire base by himself.

Lao Feng could see what he was thinking, and he said with a smile, “It’s not as complicated as you think it is. Do you know where we got the information? Tranquil Fields sold it to us.”

“They sold information about their own people?” Chen Chuan was quite surprised.

Lao Feng nodded and said matter-of-factly, “That’s how Tranquil Fields works. As long as you offer them enough, they’re willing to sell just about anything. The one who sold the information may even be within the team itself.

“But they usually sell their information in batches, and it’s different every time. This information is from last week, so it might be a little outdated. That’s why we need to be ready to adapt to the situation.”