After Tu Haisheng finished speaking, he paused briefly, seemingly waiting for Chen Chuan to digest his words.
Only then did he speak in an earnest, grave tone: "Section Chief Chen, I know martial artists like you are always in need of cultivation resources, but those who are desperate to bind you will inevitably use those resources as bargaining chips.
"Given your rank and position, we know it's impossible for us to sway your decision on this matter, but we sincerely hope that you will consider it carefully.
"As things stand, refusing to accept the restrictions of an agreement might cause you some personal loss, but taking the bigger picture into account, it benefits the nation."
Chen Chuan knew what to do. The delegation had strict discipline; cutting private backroom deals with other nations might seem inconsequential in the short term, but it would definitely catch up to him once he returned home.
He wouldn't give up his freedom for petty gains, nor did he have any desire to shackle himself with another layer of restraint.
Besides, given the delegation's consistent practice, any so-called losses suffered right now would likely be compensated manifold in the future.
He responded earnestly, "Deputy Delegation Leader Tu, thank you for the reminder. As a member of the delegation, I know what I must do."
Seeing that Chen Chuan understood his meaning, Tu Haisheng's expression relaxed slightly. "These international advocates are difficult to deal with. Section Chief Chen, do you need the delegation to assign you an advocate?"
Chen Chuan said, "Thank you, but I have a private advocate I can trust."
"That's good, then."
Tu Haisheng didn't press the matter. Dealing with advocates was secondary; what mattered most was whether the advocate would stand firmly on the client's side and safeguard their interests. In that regard, having a trusted private advocate was naturally the best option.
Right then, the motorcade suddenly slowed down. A convoy of armored vehicles drove past, prompting Delegation Leader Xie to ask, "What's going on?"
Tu Haisheng replied, "Rounding up resistance organizations. They've been organizing protests these past few days. My trip over here was delayed precisely because of the motorcade's arrest operations.
"Right now, delegations from nations across the world have gathered in the Federal Capital. Some resistance members have infiltrated their groups, using diplomatic credentials as cover to conduct various activities."
Delegation Leader Xie gave him a look.
Tu Haisheng knew what he meant—he was asking whether Great Shun had a hand in this. He shook his head.
"The resistance organizations don't have unified leadership; they come from diverse origins, and the situation here is even more intricate.
"There are even local factions from other Center Cities in the Federation involved, and a portion are definitively people from the West Coast."
Delegation Leader Xie said, "What is their objective? To destabilize the current East Coast administration?" Infighting between the Federation's East and West Coast parties was routine, but he suspected this matter wasn't quite that simple.
Tu Haisheng said, "That's part of it. According to reliable channels, some within the resistance want to find out the contents of our negotiations."
"Is that so?" Delegation Leader Xie nodded and said no more.
Chen Chuan had never known what the First Delegation had primarily come to the Federation to negotiate. Delegation Leader Xie seemed to know, but had never mentioned it.
On the surface, it appeared to concern the Federation's strategic pivot, which was why senior executives from various nations and corporations had converged here. Yet as far as he knew, such matters were likely secondary; what truly needed to be negotiated was probably far more critical.
Perhaps only a select few, including Delegation Leader Xie, knew the truth. Though Chen Chuan held sufficient rank, he was only an escorting delegate rather than an active negotiator, so it was only natural that he wasn't briefed on it.
At this moment, however, something occurred to him.
Ever since arriving in the Federation, Tao Huiya had operated as an independent scholar, leaving the group to conduct civil academic visits. She had now rejoined the delegation, though he didn't know whether she had obtained what she was after.
Still, she hadn't sent him any urgent messages recently, so things seemed to be progressing smoothly.
Tu Haisheng spoke up again: "Delegation Leader Xie, Section Chief Chen, your temporary quarters this time have been arranged at Red Rock Villa, located at the western edge of Aurelian Palace." He tapped his interface and transmitted data to both of them.
A map materialized on the light screens before Chen Chuan and Delegation Leader Xie, blinking with the villa's location.
Glancing at it, they saw it was only five kilometers in a straight line from the Federal Administrative Hall and less than two kilometers from the consulate—a convenient location well-suited for easy communication and travel.
Tu Haisheng said, "Delegation Leader Xie, thank you for your prior efforts. You've cleared away a lot of resistance for our negotiation affairs."
Delegation Leader Xie replied, "Deputy Delegation Leader Tu, you flatter us. These matters were our duty to begin with. We're just glad we didn't cause trouble for the First Delegation."
Splitting into two teams had been an unavoidable necessity. Such was the reality in the Federation, where two ruling parties rotated governance. The current federal administration was dominated by the East Coast Party, so primary negotiations had to be conducted with them.
Yet the West Coast could not be ignored either, and over the recent period, the Second Delegation's efforts had proven quite fruitful.
After driving for half an hour, the motorcade arrived at Red Rock Villa.
The villa was perched atop an expanse of crimson bedrock. Viewed through the boundary credential, within simulated scenery, ethereal, beautiful birds soared among the clouds. A rift cleft through the cloud bank, from which a cascading waterfall poured forth, tumbling in front of the villa and winding to the ground. Illuminated by beams of golden light, rainbow hues shimmered intermittently, making the entire vista look like the work of a master painter.
The motorcade brought them into the villa. After the estate's managers completed handovers with the delegation, the original security detail and service staff withdrew, leaving the grounds entirely to the security personnel brought by the delegation.
Chen Chuan's temporary residence was an expansive five-story manor in the southeast corner, complete with a training dojo and a meditation chamber tailored for martial artists.
Upon entering, he found several large chests resting on the polished floor of the hall. These held the cultivation medicine Delegation Leader Jiang had promised him, delivered with maximum haste.
He opened them to inspect the contents. The quality was even higher than last time, and the quantity was no less. Combined with his earlier gains, he could freely dive into cultivation during this period without having to deliberately ration his consumption as before.
According to intel he had gathered beforehand, the Federal Capital currently teemed with delegations from all nations, and reportedly multiple Throne martial artists were present. Though conflict between them wasn't inevitable, sharing a city with such figures compelled him to elevate his strength as swiftly as possible.
Even setting that aside, before long, he might have to face people from Progenitor Company.
He had to make every moment count.
Just then, Qin Qingque appeared at the entrance of the training hall, saluted him, and said, "Section Chief."
Chen Chuan asked, "What is it?"
Qin Qingque said, "An assistant to Deputy Delegation Leader Tu just asked me to deliver this to you, Chief. It has been scanned with our equipment; there are no issues with the letter itself." With that, she held up an envelope.
Chen Chuan walked over, took the letter from Qin Qingque's hands, and gestured for her to return to her duties. She saluted again and took her leave.
He opened the document and saw that it was from an external implant technology specialist currently on an exchange program in the Federation.
It began with pleasantries, then went on to explain that having learned Chen Chuan was utilizing an external implant, if he required maintenance nutrient solution, their team had ample reserves and could supply him.
External implants were effectively semi-biological organisms, requiring energy to maintain vitality and facilitate repair and growth; maintenance nutrient solution was one method of providing that energy.
Chen Chuan actually had no need for such things. While his external implant sustained unavoidable damage in combat, as his spirit and mutated tissue permeated deeper into it, it had become capable of absorbing energy from its surroundings to repair itself.
The contents of the letter were amiable enough up to this point, but what followed grew rather intriguing.
Further down, it noted that the Federation was a step ahead of Great Shun in external implant technology, possessing a mature method that bypassed the need for nutrient solutions altogether while dramatically enhancing the implant's capabilities.
The specialist team was currently attempting to acquire this technology, but lacked sufficient exchange data. Having heard that he was using an external implant, they inquired about his specific operational parameters and requested that he provide technical feedback and data if possible.
Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow.
On the surface, the request seemed benign, but operational data of this sort was of paramount significance. In someone else's hands, technicians could reverse-engineer specific details regarding his physical condition.
As a technical specialist, the sender could hardly be ignorant of that fact. Yet the letter glossed over it, heavily emphasizing how vital the technology was, painting a picture as if failing to secure it would cause Great Shun to miss a generational leap.
He tapped his boundary credential to search the records, confirming that such a team did exist. However, it wasn't purely government-organized; it comprised official personnel alongside privately recruited technical specialists.
Then again, that pretense might merely be a cover for an entirely different agenda. Regardless of their intentions, he didn't need to pay them any mind for now.
He tapped his boundary credential, synchronized his communication signal with Gao Ming, and relayed the information Tu Haisheng had shared. Once everything was settled, he washed up, returned to the training hall, and sat cross-legged on the floor.
With an abundance of resources now available, his subsequent cultivation would no longer follow the prior pacing. Furthermore, he decided to dedicate time to deeply explore two techniques: one was the swift-kill method he had pondered earlier, and the other was integrating his spirit visage into the rhythm of combat.
Regarding the first, having deliberated on it for quite some time, he already had a general outline in mind.
Opening his palm, a faint glimmer instantly began to flicker there.
Chapter 1175