The next day, Chen Chuan decided to look into the situation at Mount Jie first.
Because more complicated circumstances might lie behind the matter, he did not want to make a big stir right from the start.
Moreover, Mount Jie might pose a danger to ordinary people, so he did not bring along the resonators and security personnel Ren Xinshan had assigned him. Instead, he simply sought out Zhan Jiyue, brought along a driver familiar with the Mount Jie area, and took Chaoming with him as well.
Mount Ru was located at the southern edge of Zhongjing, and together with over a dozen culturally celebrated mountains around it, formed an expansive mountainous region. In the past, it had served as Zhongjing's southern barrier, with only a few established mountain paths and passes leading to the outside.
When the old dynasty was overthrown, Xuanji martial artists from both sides fought a battle here, destroying many of the mountain massifs. Consequently, the passes were abandoned, and several wide roads were blasted through, so these famous mountains were no longer connected to one another.
At the same time, a center city was established south of Mount Wen to serve as a southern defense and to help shoulder the pressure from the immortality fissure in Chiqiu whenever necessary.
After the trouble arose, this main transportation corridor through Mount Jie was blockaded, so anyone traveling back and forth by land had to find a detour.
The driver focused intently on driving up front. As a dedicated chauffeur for the department, given the sensitive nature of his duties, he had received special implants. During travel, unless his superiors addressed or questioned him, he maintained a constant sensory filter that blocked out their conversation.
Once the vehicle exited the center city, sprawling natural scenery appeared outside. Zhongjing's industrial and primary agricultural zones were concentrated on the east and west, while the main military garrisons were stationed in the north.
The south still retained the scenery of the pre-Old Era, not much different from how it had looked over a century ago.
Along the way, Chen Chuan and Zhan Jiyue had been chatting about the Purist Faction headquarters. Seeing that they were now outside the city, he brought up a rather sensitive question.
"Mr. Zhan, does our Purist Faction have our own intelligence division in Zhongjing?"
Mr. Zhan replied, "Technically yes, but it is hardly developed. It relies entirely on a few members gathering information, so it is nothing to boast of. If we ever need intelligence, we usually obtain it through the clandestine department."
Chen Chuan shook his head.
When executing external missions, the clandestine department could cooperate with them. But the current situation was primarily internal; going forward, they would inevitably clash with the other major factions. Lacking firsthand information would delay their response by half a beat, leaving them completely on the defensive.
Still, he understood. The Purist Faction's core focus was martial might, and resources were poured there first, making other areas inevitably weak.
To deal with the potentially complicated situations ahead, he would look for a chance to propose increasing investment in this area later, or at least recruit more personnel. If all else failed, he would find people to put together a team himself.
"Commissioner—"
Zhan Jiyue glanced toward the driver and used his spiritual force to isolate the surrounding field coverage.
"Last night, after I returned to headquarters, I intended to report your situation to the president. But he has been swamped lately, constantly tied up in meetings, so I could not see him. I ended up reporting to Vice President Zhu instead. Vice President Zhu asked me to pass along a message to you."
Chen Chuan showed an attentive expression.
Zhan Jiyue said solemnly, "Regarding the ongoing debates over the Skyline Project, we are currently trying to secure more votes in the Privy Council. However, aside from the Zhongjing councilors, the Privy Council is mostly made up of regional representatives. In comparison, our influence is weak and the situation is not optimistic, so it is highly likely the Privy Council will veto the proposal for comprehensive expansion."
Chen Chuan was well aware of this. If the Privy Council rejected a bill, the Executive Government could technically bypass them and force it through, but they rarely did so.
Because the various center cities operated under decentralized governance, local authorities could simply refuse to comply with decrees that had not passed the Privy Council. Doing so would only cause political fractures and tarnish the reputations of several key figures in the Executive Government.
"If the Executive Government still wishes to push it forward then, they will have to await the opinion of the Supreme Security Advisory Council. The advisory council's stance is crucial; if they agree, we can still proceed. After the New Year, there will be an alternate vacancy on the advisory council, and all the major factions are currently vying for it. Our faction has one nomination quota."
Zhan Jiyue looked at Chen Chuan. "The faction's plan is to support you, Commissioner Chen, in entering the advisory council. In fact, the faction originally had another candidate in mind, but leadership decided you were the most suitable, so that individual has already voluntarily stepped aside."
Chen Chuan's expression did not change. Zhao Qilan had said something similar to him before, so he had anticipated this.
The Supreme Security Advisory Council generally did not interfere in everyday administrative affairs, stepping in only when disputes arose over major political decisions.
By the same token, however, once the advisory council reached a decision and gained the Executive Government's endorsement, barring exceptional circumstances, that policy would not be overturned for ten or even twenty years.
Yet never mind ten or twenty years—in just another year, the Great Impact might already arrive. If they missed this window of opportunity, there might never be another chance.
Zhan Jiyue continued, "On the Implant Faction's side, we have already reached out to persuade them to withdraw and give you their full backing. Negotiations are still ongoing. In addition, we are also negotiating with the Nature faction, trying to win their support in exchange."
Chen Chuan was slightly surprised. "Is there really a chance of success with the Nature faction?"
"There is a reasonable chance. Believe it or not, it actually has to do with that pinball game of yours, Commissioner Chen. We have already contacted several key members of the Nature faction. They are all very interested in the game, and one of them is a die-hard enthusiast. It is possible they might drop their faction's original choice and throw their weight behind us instead. If that happens, we will have secured the backing of two factions, vastly increasing our odds."
Chen Chuan considered this. In any other context, such an arrangement might seem absurd, but for the Nature faction, it fit their style perfectly.
As long as it brought them personal amusement and satisfaction, anything was up for negotiation; they held no rigid stances.
Yet if they could do this, so could the other factions, meaning nothing was certain until the very end.
At that moment, the sky outside suddenly darkened into gloom, followed by a torrential downpour.
"Huh? Why is it raining?" The driver sounded surprised. "The weather forecast said no rain today."
Chen Chuan looked out the window. In just moments, the landscape outside had turned into a sheet of white.
He checked his boundary credential and found that the field signal had abruptly grown extremely weak. He asked the driver, "Assistant Lai, have we entered the Mount Jie area?"
Hearing the cue, the driver deactivated his sensory filter and answered immediately, "Not yet."
He peered outside, seemingly checking the road markers, and added, "At least half an hour's drive away, no mistake."
With the filter off, the driver's talkativeness seemed unlocked as well. "Commissioner, this rain is coming down too hard and visibility is poor—it's not a good time to head up the mountain. If I remember right, around here..."
He looked out again. "Yes, right here! If we take this fork to the west, there's a Hai Family Restaurant. Their braised chicken is fantastic, the homemade sausages are great, and their signature dish is their spicy pepper soup. Having a hot bowl of that in this rain is just pure comfort. It's almost mealtime anyway, Commissioner. Why don't we pull over there for a bit and wait for the rain to let up before moving on?"
Zhan Jiyue asked, "What do you think, Commissioner?"
Chen Chuan glanced outside, studied the rain for a moment, and nodded. "Alright."
"Great," the driver said. The vehicle drove forward for about three or four minutes before veering onto a fork in the road. Minutes later, a two-story building came into view. A middle-aged man and woman were bustling about inside—evidently a mom-and-pop shop—along with a dark-skinned young man handling odd jobs.
A strip of concrete was laid in front of the shop, alongside an open dirt lot serving as a makeshift parking area.
The three got out of the car. When they stepped inside, the middle-aged woman near the door wiped her hands on her apron and came forward to greet them. "How many in your party?"
"Three," the driver replied, walking up to speak with her and ordering several of the restaurant's specialties.
Chen Chuan glanced outside and asked the middle-aged man, "Boss, is rain like this common around here?"
"Not at all. Haven't seen one like this in years. Ah, if it keeps pouring like this for a day or two, my vegetable plot will be completely flooded."
"How has business been?"
"Used to be pretty slow. But then they closed the road ahead, didn't they? A lot of travelers pass through our way now, so business has been quite a bit better than before."
Chen Chuan nodded and asked, "Hai Village is the closest place to here. Are you from Hai Village, Boss?"
"You know about our village, sir?" The boss looked surprised. "You must be from out of town, right? That's right, my wife and I are both from Hai Village. The whole family's named Hai."
Chen Chuan glanced at the photos hanging on the wall and saw a boy who looked like a middle-schooler, so he asked, "Your child goes to school in the city?"
"He does! He came back over the summer break to help out, and now he's back at school. The boy's done well for himself—studying at Zhongjing Agricultural Technical Academy. Won't have to worry about farming in the future!"
Chen Chuan's gaze swept over the photos again. Noticing one showing cable cars leading into the mountains, he asked, "Boss, that's the mountain behind your restaurant, isn't it? Where do those cable cars lead?"
"Up there? Two—no, three, yeah, three years ago, they built some hot spring amusement park up there. But it was abandoned in less than two years. What a waste of money."
Chen Chuan gave an affirmative murmur and asked again, "Boss, do you know anything about what's going on over at Mount Jie?"
Hearing this, the boss's expression shifted slightly. He hesitated. "I've heard bits and pieces. But we just mind our own business. Mount Ru is far from us anyway, so it's none of our concern, right?"
"Exactly. As long as it doesn't spill over to plague us, we're fine," the middle-aged woman slicing sausages chimed in.
Chen Chuan nodded and did not press further. Before long, their dishes were served. He tasted them; they were indeed quite good.
Once they finished eating, the owner brewed them three cups of digestive tea.
The driver looked outside and grumbled, "Who knows when this rain will stop. The weather forecast can't even get things right."
Chen Chuan stepped outside to take a look and said, "This rain won't be letting up anytime soon. Let's not wait. Time to go."
Zhan Jiyue nodded. A bit of rain was nothing to them; at worst, they would just hike up the mountain through the storm. And so, the three returned to the car, turned back onto the main road, and continued heading toward Mount Jie.
Ten or so minutes later, the driver frowned, puzzled. "Strange. There's nobody on the road. Usually, the patrol team enforcing the blockade is posted right here. Maybe they pulled back because of the heavy rain?"
Chen Chuan suddenly looked up and said, "Stop the car!"
The driver had sharp reflexes and slammed on the brakes immediately, bringing the car to a halt with a forward jolt.
He looked ahead and went pale in an instant. Just ahead lay a split chasm, and beyond it, a sheer, precipitous drop.
Chen Chuan and Zhan Jiyue stepped out of the vehicle. Zhan Jiyue merely frowned at the sight; as martial artists, even if the car had plunged off the edge, they would not have been hurt.
Yet he found it thoroughly bizarre: this road appeared extremely remote. They had clearly turned onto the main road earlier—how had they wound up diverted here?
Chapter 1364