Walking down from the mooring tower, Chen Chuan crossed the plaza under the escort of his retinue and was finally ushered by reception staff into the luxurious hotel at the delegation's quarters.
Along this relatively short stretch of road, numerous eyes followed his every move. Beyond the security personnel within the compound, there were also inspectors stationed inside the hotel.
Outside the hotel, inside an ordinary-looking transport vehicle, several resonators were monitoring his movements through field information.
There were also men who clearly belonged to the intelligence apparatus, watching the blurred information field. Every one of them wore a grave expression, their eyes carrying a rare trace of tension.
The Federation's two largest intelligence agencies were the East Coast's Strategic Affairs Department and the West Coast's Covert Operations Directorate. The ones present here were operatives belonging to the West Coast's Covert Operations Directorate.
This time, they were tasked with keeping watch over the entire visiting delegation, including the several accompanying martial artists.
They were well aware that such surveillance was virtually transparent to martial artists, yet it remained an absolute necessity. Every martial artist possessed terrifying destructive potential, and four had arrived here all at once.
If given the choice, they would never have allowed so many martial artists across their borders; after all, the delegation dispatched by the Federation had only sent a single martial artist. However, this had been specially approved by the Executive Administration, which meant the visitors possessed legitimate clearance and transit rights. No matter how fiercely they clashed internally, they were still part of the same country.
Once Chen Chuan's figure disappeared from view, the intelligence team leader cautioned, "Remember, we must keep eyes on this man at all times. He is our primary focus. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, we need detailed intelligence."
Following the latest update on Chen Chuan's file, the West Coast Faction had raised his threat rating by several tiers. A martial artist like him possessed the ability to wipe out an entire city or an entire military base single-handedly; such scrutiny was utterly necessary.
Upon reaching the room arranged for him by the delegation, Chen Chuan cast a glance toward a certain spot. With a sweep of his spiritual force, the various monitoring bio-bugs planted throughout the room dropped dead in an instant.
After putting down his luggage, he logged into the independent field channel set up here by the delegation and first checked in with Gao Ming. Then he washed up, came out to enjoy a meal of delicacies provided by the hotel, and fed Chaoming along the way.
He glanced out past the curtains. Behind the glass curtain wall of the opposite building, a figure promptly ducked back. He knew he was being watched, which was only normal. Martial artists received such treatment no matter what nation they visited; even Prabhakar had faced similar restrictions in Great Shun, where harsher measures would have confined him strictly to designated locations.
Fortunately, this was an invited diplomatic visit rather than an unbidden arrival, so they were spared such constraints. Even so, heading out still required proper procedures; Delegation Leader Xie had to coordinate in advance with both the Center City authorities and the Federation government.
Meanwhile, on a lower floor of the same hotel, Wang Tongshan and Ka Zhijie were having drinks together, enjoying a song-and-dance performance on stage. The dance was impassioned and exuberant, driven by a strong rhythm, with audience members below clapping in time, creating a lively atmosphere.
Ka Zhijie found it thoroughly entertaining and swayed slightly to the music. When the piece came to an end, he lifted his glass for another sip. Furrowing his brows, he picked up the bottle to examine it and remarked, "The drinks here in the Federation are decent enough, but the taste is a bit strange."
Wang Tongshan said, "You'll get used to it. Besides, if you drink what you always drank at home while you're abroad, wouldn't this trip be in vain?"
He glanced over to the side. Gui Zihan sat alone, cradling his ancient sword in his arms. From the moment he walked in until now, neither his posture nor his expression had changed once.
He called out, "Hey, Brother Gui, won't you come over and have a drink with us?"
Gui Zihan looked at the two of them and shook his head.
Wang and Ka exchanged a glance and gave up. Fortunately, they knew Gui Zihan simply had that kind of disposition and was not being deliberately difficult. Ka Zhijie remarked over his boundary credential, "Brother Gui's temperament can easily offend people. Good thing it's us."
Wang Tongshan said, "He's already a martial artist. Can't he live a little more true to himself?"
"Fair enough."
Reflecting on himself, Ka Zhijie truly disliked conforming to all sorts of rules as well, but he couldn't bring himself to ignore others' opinions the way Gui Zihan did.
Once the dancers stepped off the stage, a pianist came up to perform. The piano piece was nimble, crisp, and bright, like a morning breeze sweeping past, leaving the listeners feeling wonderfully relaxed. After listening, both of them applauded gently. As the pianist bowed and exited, the door was pushed open, and four people entered.
In the lead was a man with a commanding presence—tall and thin, with a cold expression, around forty years old. He looked to be of mixed heritage, dressed in black formal attire, with obvious incision lines of implants etched across his neck and cheeks.
Behind him stood a man fully three meters tall, his body heavily cyberized with implants, none of which looked cheap.
The two trailing behind were trendily attired, their faces painted with blue makeup; one look was enough to tell they were resonators. Because implant integration across all strata of society was far higher in the Federation, resonators were far more numerous here than in Great Shun.
Wang and Ka took note of the hulking figure. He was a fighter, seemingly at the third limit. However, substituting nearly one's entire body with implants was an approach they could never embrace; moreover, it lowered the chances of ever becoming a martial artist, unless one possessed mutated tissue with an exceptionally high compatibility rate—a circumstance rare in the extreme.
After entering, the leading man scanned the room and came straight toward them.
Was he here for them?
Wang and Ka exchanged a glance, their interest suddenly piqued. They had been thoroughly bored since arriving; if someone was willing to offer them a diversion, they would gladly welcome it.
The man walked up and introduced himself in somewhat stiff Great Shun speech: "I am Ge Jixiong. May I treat the two of you to a drink?"
Ka Zhijie gestured toward the empty seat before them. Having received permission, Ge Jixiong's expression relaxed slightly. He pulled out a chair, sat down, and said, "Forgive me for intruding on your leisure, but I truly have no other options—"
Listening to him speak for a while, Wang and Ka learned that his father was from Great Shun and his mother was a Federation native. He currently ran a sizeable company, but recently had suffered repeated defeats in a business rivalry with a competitor.
The primary reason was that the high-ranking official backing them had lost an election and quietly retired from politics. Deprived of protection, many mercenary firms refused to accept their contracts. Relying solely on the company's internal security team made it difficult to withstand violent attacks from the rival firm, while state government officials he had deliberately cultivated in the past now refused to take his calls.
At this stage, ordinary logic dictated meekly handing over the company, which might leave a chance of preserving a bit of his personal wealth.
Yet he refused to accept that fate. When he saw news of the Great Shun delegation's arrival, an idea had suddenly struck him. At great cost, he gathered information on the delegation and bought entry into this venue, attempting to establish ties with the delegation's martial artists in hopes of leveraging their stature to avert disaster.
This idea, though seemingly impractical and somewhat fanciful, actually held a genuine chance of success.
More importantly, even if others could conceive such a plan, few possessed his drive to execute it.
For that reason alone, Wang Tongshan was willing to humor him with a bit more conversation. He asked, "Since your father is from Great Shun, why haven't you sought help from the Great Shun companies and chamber of commerce in the city? I'm sure they would lend a hand."
Ge Jixiong replied, "Back then, my father had a disagreement with an influential figure in the chamber. I am already grateful that they haven't kicked us while we're down."
Ka Zhijie asked, "How do you want us to help you?"
Ge Jixiong did not put forward any excessive demands; he merely hoped to invite them to his home and company as guests to intimidate his rivals. Furthermore, through whatever connections he had worked, he had secured an official invitation permit from the Federation state government. With this document in hand, he could theoretically invite anyone from the delegation to visit his company.
His expression turned grim as he said, "Everyone thinks I'm finished. No one is willing to accept my contracts, and I can't hire a capable mercenary team. But as long as I show them that I can still hold on, that my end hasn't come yet, they won't say no to money."
Looking at the two, he added earnestly, "My corporate headquarters is in the industrial district outside the city. I can issue an invitation to all of you in the company's name."
Ka Zhijie found the offer appealing. He was bored out of his mind anyway, and they weren't permitted to wander around freely. Since someone had a valid invitation and asked nothing of him, what harm was there in making a trip?
Wang Tongshan said, "Leave your contact information."
Ge Jixiong immediately produced a card and set it on the table. "This has my personal contact details."
He then gestured behind him. The hulking man retrieved two boxes and placed them before the two. "These are greeting gifts for both of you," Ge Jixiong said. "It has been a pleasure meeting you. I will not disturb you any longer, and shall take my leave now."
Wang Tongshan spoke up, "Mr. Ge, I forgot to ask—what line of business is your company in?"
Ge Jixiong replied, "Our company is devoted to the revival and replication of ancient flora, tracing back the primordial visage of nature. In addition, we handle ritual decipherment, antiquities recovery, and some auction business."
Having said his piece, he bowed to them once more and led his people away.
After he left, Ka Zhijie said, "Brother Wang, what do you think? Are we going? This is a legitimate corporate invitation, so we won't have to stay cooped up here."
Wang Tongshan was cautious and relatively wary. He replied, "I think we should consult Section Chief Chen first. And as for these things—" He glanced down at his feet. "Let's not open them yet. Just bring them along."
Although neither of them was Chen Chuan's subordinate, they had to admit that once the team temporarily split up, Chen Chuan was tacitly treated as the group leader.
"Then let's inform him," Ka Zhijie agreed.
After watching the performances a little while longer, the two stood up and headed over to Chen Chuan's quarters. They had originally intended to invite Gui Zihan along, but having apparently found the event dull, the latter had vanished long ago. And so, the two arrived outside Chen Chuan's door, and upon receiving permission, were invited in.
Chapter 1066