Handling

On February 20, a rest day, Chen Chuan and his companions who had taken part in the operation gathered for a banquet at the Douyi Hotel. In truth, quite a few team members had joined simply as a personal favor to him. Even so, he knew what everyone truly cared about. Before the meal began, he balanced the accounts and distributed the payout according to each person's contribution. He also explained that there hadn't been time to handle the implant and gold drafts yet, and that he would get back to everyone after a while. This approach proved to be entirely correct. Once the money was in their hands, the mood visibly brightened, and everyone enjoyed the meal far more. Wei Chang'an raised his glass in a toast to Chen Chuan. "Junior Brother, now that you've learned to drive, why not go get your license and buy a car of your own?" Chen Chuan considered it for a moment, then decided to hold off. A car was genuinely expensive, and there were many practical factors to consider. Although he had made a handsome sum, the expenses required for his martial arts cultivation were undoubtedly far greater. Besides, whenever he took on commissions, the company provided vehicles anyway, sparing him the trouble. If he went out with a team, renting a vehicle was just as convenient and hassle-free. He said, "Let's leave that for later. But Brother Wei, due to certain circumstances, this commission won't have commissioner attribution for now. It probably won't be made public until a year from now, so your promotion to senior commissioner might have to wait a little." Wei Chang'an leaned back against his chair, looking thoroughly relaxed. He chuckled and said, "Why bring that up? Your Brother Wei still owes you a favor anyway. Even without that, helping out a brother is only right. As for making senior commissioner, that's no big deal at all." Lin Xiaodi sat beside Ren Xiaotian. Although she hadn't participated in the raid on the camp, she had guarded the radio and relayed messages, which was also a real contribution. As such, she had received a share as well, and was now happily tallying up how many snacks, hair accessories, and new dresses she could buy. On the other side of the table, Wei Dong was shoveling food into his mouth the moment the meal began, paying no heed to anything else. If asked how he felt about the operation, he would certainly say it hadn't been satisfying enough. Aside from the infiltration stage, almost the entire engagement had been a gunfight. Although he had learned how to shoot, he emptied his magazine almost immediately without hitting a single person. Instead, he had knocked out several crossbow-wielding bandits with his bare hands, though not one of them had stood toe-to-toe with him in direct combat. Wu Han sat beside him, looking upon Wei Dong with clear admiration. The two of them had teamed up during the raid; whatever target this junior brother was told to strike, he struck without asking questions, fighting with breathtaking decisiveness. Wu Han thought to himself that if he landed any commissions in the future, he would definitely bring this junior brother along. At that moment, Ding Liao, the gunman, took the initiative to toast Chen Chuan. "Little Brother Chen, if there's ever another operation like this in the future, please be sure to take me along." Chen Chuan raised his glass to clink it against his, smiling. "An expert of your caliber isn't someone one can easily hire under normal circumstances, Brother Ding. If you're willing to lend a hand, of course you're always welcome." Ding Liao let out a hearty laugh. "Then it's a deal!" With that, he drained the drink in his glass. Most present were fighters, so none of them drank alcohol. Ding Liao didn't like drinking either, believing that only a clear head could keep his aim sharp. The meal lasted for over two hours. When it concluded, the group walked out together. Stepping out of the main entrance of the Douyi Hotel, Chen Chuan looked back up at the building. He remembered gathering here before his enrollment last year. In the blink of an eye, he had already experienced so much. Back then, his mind had been focused entirely on passing Wuyi Academy's re-examination, whereas now, he was already planning how to make his way to Center City. He drew back his gaze and looked forward, his stride growing even firmer. A car horn honked. Wei Chang'an pulled up in his vehicle and waved to Chen Chuan and the others from inside. "Junior Brother, and you classmates—can I give you a ride back?" Chen Chuan didn't stand on ceremony. "Thanks for the trouble, Brother Wei." Taking the car back to the academy, he returned to his dorm, washed up, and sat down in the living room. He brought out the string of bone beads. Over the past few days, he had observed that the stimulation a single bead provided to mutated tissue could last about four to five days. There were still thirteen beads left; if used continuously, they would last for nearly two months. While that felt a bit short, it was essentially free loot, so there was nothing to regret. Commissions still had to be pursued, but now that he had a pool of funds to back him, there was no need to rush headlong. Over the subsequent period, while waiting for Gao Ming's reply, he began taking on urban legend commissions through the company. The company had extended him a great deal of convenience, so he decided to return the courtesy by raising the volume of completed commissions to bolster its standing with the Municipal Administration. To that end, he selected assignments that were relatively easy to handle. The first was the "Inexhaustible Corn," discovered in a village outside Yangzhi City. It began when a villager ate half an ear of corn and left on urgent business. Upon returning, he discovered that the gnawed-off portion had grown back entirely. At first, he thought someone was playing a prank on him, but after several attempts, he discovered to his delight that no matter how much of the corn was eaten, it would always grow back. Since there were only around thirty jin of this corn, the quantity wasn't particularly large, nor could it fetch a high price. Furthermore, he feared someone would rob him if he took it outside, so he simply ate it every day as his staple food. He not only ate it himself but also shared it with familiar villagers. A few had suspected something might be wrong, but he paid their worries no mind. However, the villagers who ate the corn soon discovered that they couldn't stomach any other food. A few days later, their bodies became exceptionally weak and fatigued, and they grew thinner and thinner. Yet these people never felt anything was amiss, completely brushing off warnings from bystanders. It wasn't until these villagers began starving to death one after another that the village realized the danger, concluded that the corn was responsible, and burned all of it to ash. Yet that failed to solve the trouble. After an interval, the corn reappeared, and similar incidents occurred once more. After several repetitions, the villagers realized they couldn't resolve the matter themselves and reported it up the chain. The township management station posted a commission, but no one ever attended to it. By now, more than two years had passed. When Chen Chuan arrived at the village, the place had long since been deserted. A warning sign stood planted at the entrance, and the management station personnel who accompanied him dared not step foot inside. Chen Chuan walked into the village alone. Approaching one of the houses, he pushed open the half-ajar wooden door, stepped inside, and made his way to the kitchen. At a glance, he spotted several ears of fresh corn sitting on the stove, each kernel golden and plump, giving off an appetizing aroma as though they had just been boiled and lifted straight from the pot. Merely looking at them stirred an appetite. After observing them for a moment, he stepped back outside. Touring the entire village, he discovered similar items in other dwellings; nearly every household had them. He had read through the case files before coming. Ordinary people were not incapable of handling this phenomenon; they simply couldn't get rid of it by burning, which only caused it to proliferate. In reality, if someone ate the entire cob down to the core upon the initial discovery, nothing would happen. Had there been someone to provide proper guidance early on, perhaps the subsequent tragedy could have been averted. By this stage, resolving it had become somewhat more troublesome: livestock had to be made to consume the corn, and then within a single day, those animals had to be butchered and shared among people to be eaten. Having assessed the situation, Chen Chuan knew what to do. Returning to the company, he explained the matter to Ren Shu and told him to arrange personnel to carry it out. Upon hearing that they could personally take part in resolving an urban legend, Ren Shu was thrilled. The young partners were equally excited when they heard, immediately paying to hire hands and purchase livestock. In just one day, they resolved the matter thoroughly, returning with a deep sense of accomplishment. Chen Chuan, however, shook his head. While settling such matters was gratifying, he believed that offering consultation services for urban legends might prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the first place. He brought this up with Ren Shu. Any other company would certainly have rejected the idea—after all, wouldn't that cause their own business to dwindle? Yet Ren Shu and his team didn't see it that way. The orders on hand were already more than they could finish, and even if they ran out, they could always seek more from the Municipal Administration. Furthermore, urban legends that ordinary people could handle on their own were clearly a tiny minority, posing no real obstacle to their business while serving to enhance the company's reputation. Most importantly, the suggestion came from Chen Chuan, their key partner, which meant it demanded serious consideration. Ren Shu agreed without the slightest hesitation. Since that commission took little effort, Chen Chuan proceeded to handle several other minor assignments. Perhaps because too much time had elapsed, however, not only had the commissioning parties disappeared in those cases, but even the urban legends themselves had vanished without a trace. Regardless, as long as it was confirmed that an urban legend no longer existed, the case could naturally be classified as resolved. This was very beneficial to the company's evaluation, and the company still paid him his fee, so the trips weren't in vain. Soon, the end of the month arrived. One morning, just as Chen Chuan got out of bed, the telephone rang. He picked up the receiver, and a familiar voice came through: "Hello, Cousin? It's me, Gao Ming." Chen Chuan's spirits lifted slightly. He hadn't pressed Gao Ming before, knowing that Gao Ming was always meticulous and responsible in his work. If he hadn't called, it meant he hadn't uncovered the full truth yet; calling now meant there were results. Once Chen Chuan acknowledged him, Gao Ming continued, "Cousin, I've thoroughly investigated that case. But some things aren't convenient to discuss over the phone. How about this: I'll make a trip back on the rest day in the first ten days of next month, and we can talk in person." Chen Chuan knew the matter was significant and that speaking over the academy telephone was indeed inconvenient. After a moment of thought, he said, "All right, let's meet and discuss it next month." After hanging up, he hadn't taken more than two steps before the telephone rang once again. He picked it up once more, and this time Ren Shu's voice came through: "Mr. Chen, are you free today?" Chen Chuan asked, "Regarding a commission?" "Yes, exactly. It's like this: people from the neighboring Jia County Government Administration came to the company, asking us to resolve an urban legend. Would it be convenient for you, Mr. Chen?" The County Government Administration... Chen Chuan considered it. Even a county-level administration was still a government body. Although he had already secured the essential evaluations he needed, that didn't mean further evaluations were useless. If he could handle this type of commission well and accumulate more credentials, it would greatly benefit him when obtaining his armor certification later on. After thinking it through, he said, "All right. I'll head over right away."