The group first conducted a careful search of the camp to see if any bandits were still hiding. In the end, they confirmed that every bandit inside had been killed, though there was a Maka student with a severed arm lying outside who hadn't died.
Although he had lost a substantial amount of blood, thanks to a fighter's tenacious vitality, he was still stubbornly clinging to life despite having slipped into a coma. They bandaged his wounds and saved him, intending to take him back with them shortly.
As for how the Yangzhi City Municipal Administration would handle and treat him, that was truly hard to say.
During the search, they also found a relatively large basement. Judging by the handcuffs and shackles discarded there, as well as certain other signs, it had likely held quite a few captives until recently. Nearly every crew out on the wasteland engaged in human trafficking, though the Copper Rust Gang had probably disposed of their prisoners in advance because they were preparing to return to Maka.
Once they confirmed there was no further danger, everyone felt safe enough to clear out and inspect the camp's contents. In the largest tent, they first found a sizable amount of small-denomination cash, all packed into a bag.
The bag wasn't large, light enough to carry in one hand, but the sum inside was respectable. Mitai hadn't even taken it when he fled, leading them to guess this was money meant for paying out the gang members—likely prepared ahead of time because the bandits planned to return home with the Maka exchange delegation.
Furthermore, since Mitai hadn't bothered with this cash, he was bound to have had something far more valuable on him. A closer search of his corpse revealed, sure enough, two numbered gold drafts from Wansheng Financial Firm on him and You'an.
Anyone could cash these gold drafts. While the exact amounts were not yet clear, they would certainly not be small, making it quite a windfall for the group.
After some discussion, they agreed to withdraw the money once they returned to the city before deciding how to split it.
Aside from that, stacks of Mount Jiao trade scrip were found in the corner of the tent. While only useful in Mount Jiao, they still held some value, so they collected them as well.
Just then, Feng Xiaoqi called out loudly from over by the side, "Come look at this!"
Everyone walked over and saw a powered freezer containing packaged human organs. Frowning at the sight, they were left with very grim associations.
Chen Chuan glanced over them. A few of the organs looked somewhat like mutated tissue. The Copper Rust Gang shouldn't have had the means to procure such things on their own; they were either stolen or being transported on someone else's behalf.
"Destroy them," he said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"There's also this." Feng Xiaoqi pointed to the side, where they saw a case secured with a combination lock, its contents unknown.
They didn't know the code, and forcing it open risked damaging whatever was inside, yet they couldn't simply load it onto their vehicles without knowing what it was.
Wei Chang'an turned his head and called out, "Lao Si, go fetch Lao Fan."
Cai Si nodded and left. A moment later, the team member responsible for technical work walked over, inspected the lock, went back to fetch some tools, and began carefully tinkering with it.
Since picking the lock would take some time, the others continued searching elsewhere.
Wei Chang'an had one of his men take a photograph of every dead bandit and capture the general layout of the camp, collecting personal tokens and identifying marks as well. These could later be used to claim bounties on the wanted criminals.
Although the sums weren't huge—and some bandits had no bounty on their heads at all—it would help offset their expenses for this operation.
When this was finished, one of Wei Chang'an's men walked over. "Brother Wei, we've inspected all the vehicles in the camp and changed the tires. They should all be drivable back."
The Copper Rust Gang had nine vehicles in total. Aside from the severely damaged one that had flipped outside, the rest could be driven back. However, the two armed combat vehicles could never be driven into the city. They could, on the other hand, be sold to fencing operations dealing in illicit vehicles, which would recover another sum of money.
Ren Xiaotian stated that he had connections in that area and could take charge of getting rid of them.
Wei Chang'an had connections as well, but as an active Wuyi student and a registered commissioner, he preferred not to dabble in such matters.
The bandits had left behind plenty of firearms and ammunition. They turned up their noses at the homemade and Maka firearms and decided to destroy them on the spot. Several Great Shun-manufactured guns were worth keeping, however, and the ammunition could be saved as well, since it might come in handy next time.
After working for a while longer, a call came from that direction saying the combination lock was open.
The group gathered around once more. When the technician opened the case, they saw a bizarre object sealed inside. It was about thirty centimeters long, resembling an enlarged silkworm chrysalis, yet seemingly possessing several splayed limbs.
Feng Xiaoqi asked curiously, "What's this? A bug?"
"A biological implant," Ren Xiaotian said in a low voice.
Most of those present knew what biological implants were, but none had ever seen one in such an eccentric shape.
Ren Xiaotian stepped forward. Without touching it with his hands, he examined it closely and said, "There are no obvious corporate markings on it. It's likely experimental."
Chen Chuan said, "Maka people revere nature and never use biological implants. The crew probably acquired it to trade for cash. We just don't know what kind of implant it is."
Feng Xiaoqi's eyes lit up. "So you mean this thing is worth a fortune?"
"It's valuable, all right," the technician said, "but it might bring trouble with it."
Feng Xiaoqi instantly shook his head. "Forget it, then."
Chen Chuan considered for a moment. "Since we found it, let's take it. I'll figure out a way to deal with it once we're back."
There was no need to worry excessively. Experimental items like this were intentionally leaked onto the market by certain domestic or foreign corporations in the first place to observe their performance. They didn't care whose hands the items passed through. Later, he could ask Cheng Zitong how to handle it, or if all else failed, hand it over to Bureau Director Lei or the constabulary.
By the time they had sorted through everything of value in the camp, it was already past nine in the morning, and the group prepared to head back.
Because all the vehicles needed to be driven back, practically everyone had to take the wheel. However, Chen Chuan, Feng Xiaoqi, and Wu Han didn't know how to drive yet, so the others gave them a quick lesson on the spot.
On the open wilderness, there were no traffic rules to follow, no stop-and-go driving, and no need to worry about fuel consumption; all they had to do was get the vehicles moving. It wasn't particularly difficult, and after Wei Chang'an and a few others showed them the basics, the three had roughly grasped the controls.
On the way back, they received a radio transmission from Lin Xiaodi reporting signs that the Maka exchange delegation was preparing to depart. Everyone felt fortunate. It was a good thing they had intercepted this group today and that the item was in their hands; otherwise, the commission would have been far harder, leaving them with no choice but to strike at the checkpoint.
As the convoy approached Yangzhi City's perimeter, the contacts previously notified by radio had already arrived, waiting there to take over the vehicles.
Ren Xiaotian stepped out to handle the handover with them. Evidently, these people were no amateurs. Once the deal was concluded, the group parted ways with him there and drove their original vehicles toward the city, returning smoothly to Wuyi Academy.
Chen Chuan parted ways with Wei Chang'an and his team here, leaving the latter to take the injured, unconscious Maka student and deliver him to the constabulary along with the photographs of the wanted criminals.
Next, he called the car rental company to come retrieve the rented vehicles, stating that they could send him the bill for any damages later.
After dealing with all of this, he walked toward the dormitories with Luo Kaiyuan, Feng Xiaoqi, Wei Dong, and Wu Han.
Having just returned from a fierce battle, and with Chen Chuan and Wu Han both carrying weapons in hand, the group radiated a faint, dangerous aura as they walked along the path. Some sharper students subconsciously steered clear of them, while experienced upperclassmen couldn't help casting sideways glances as they passed.
It happened to be lunchtime, so they ate a meal first before returning to their dorm rooms.
The next task was to count the cash in the bag and the Mount Jiao trade scrip, an assignment Feng Xiaoqi took upon himself.
As for the two gold drafts, since they had no expiration date, Chen Chuan planned to cash them only after the commission was officially concluded and then decide how to divide the funds.
Seeing that there was little else to attend to, Chen Chuan gave a few simple instructions and sent everyone back to rest.
Once they had left, Chen Chuan took out the case containing the oak leaf. Opening it, he retrieved the leaf and examined it closely.
The veins of the leaf were distinct and sharp, its body an emerald green, exuding a faint fragrance that felt pleasant and soothing to breathe in. Beyond that, however, there was nothing visibly extraordinary; the item required a Maka ritual to take effect. The Maka had never shared the specifics with Great Shun to this day, and Great Shun had never cared, though what the future held was hard to say.
Yet whether this object was useful or not had nothing to do with him. On his own, there was no way he could unravel its secrets, nor did he need to. His goal this time was solely to secure an evaluation from the government bureau to qualify for Center City. That was his primary objective; everything else was secondary.
After looking at it for a while, he put it away, walked over to the telephone, picked up the receiver, and dialed a number. Once connected, he said, "Bureau Director Lei, I've recovered the item."
"You recovered it?"
Bureau Director Lei was quite surprised. According to the news he had received earlier, the Maka exchange delegation had been preparing to depart today, which was why he had specifically warned Chen Chuan in advance. He hadn't expected Chen Chuan to retrieve the item before the delegation even made a move.
He said, "Walk me through what happened. Let me see if anything was overlooked."
Chen Chuan recounted the key points of the event.
After listening, Bureau Director Lei nodded. "So you got word ahead of time. That's for the best—no need to clash directly with the exchange delegation. In that case, if it's convenient for you, bring the item over to my place right now. I'll go with you to deliver it to the Foreign Affairs Bureau and wrap this up as soon as possible, before any further complications arise."
Chen Chuan said, "Understood. Bureau Director Lei, I'll head over immediately."
Bureau Director Lei thought for a moment and added, "Don't take any other car. You're at school, right? Just wait there. I'll have He Nan's driver pick you up."
Chen Chuan agreed. He rinsed off first, changed into fresh clothes, and walked from the dormitory to the school entrance. The Yifulan sedan arrived right on cue. After greeting the driver, he got into the car. Forty minutes later, he arrived at Bureau Director Lei's home. After a brief conversation, he accompanied him to the Foreign Affairs Bureau.
Upon arriving safely at the Foreign Affairs Bureau, accompanied by Bureau Director Lei, he handed the item over to Director Liu Zhan. Liu Zhan was ecstatic. Losing this item had brought blame onto the Foreign Affairs Bureau and cost him great face, but recovering it changed everything. In fact, it might even bring favorable notice from above. This turnaround from loss to gain was a wonderful development!
He shook Chen Chuan's hand, offering endless thanks, and asked warmly, "Student Chen, is there anything our Foreign Affairs Bureau can help you with? Please, by all means, speak up. I, Liu Zhan, will certainly repay you."
Chen Chuan thought for a moment and said earnestly, "There actually is something I would like to ask your bureau's help with."
Chapter 134