The Buyer

Chen Chuan walked over to the desk and picked up the booklet. Hu Xian took out a cigarette and gestured toward him. "Mind if I smoke?" Chen Chuan shook his head. Hu Xian flicked open a lighter with a sharp click, lit the cigarette, took a satisfying drag, and said, "This is a crew of wanted criminals who fled from Center City. Don't ask about their backgrounds, and don't ask how much injustice they suffered in the past. Bottom line is, they rob, murder, and commit every evil imaginable now, not even sparing children. Fucking scumbags, every last one." Chen Chuan flipped through the booklet. Hu Xian continued, "This guy's street name is 'Fist Lion.' Nobody remembers his real name, so call him whatever you like. Mixed blood, Tayana and Great Shun. He's the leader of this gang. Fought in underground rings, worked as a mercenary, did dirty work for big shots. He just loves to rip off fellow crooks and never plays by the rules—otherwise, after pulling this stunt, someone would have stepped up to smooth things over for him." Chen Chuan looked at the man's thick arms and the abnormal bulges across his body. "Does he have implants?" "Is that supposed to be surprising?" Hu Xian said. "Coming from Center City, it'd be stranger if he didn't. I know what you're wondering: how does he maintain them without meds?" Cigarette between her lips, she pointed a slender finger toward the window. "Look out there. Twenty steps out the door, there's a shop selling contraband drugs. Like I told you, you can buy anything in this place." Chen Chuan nodded. "Understood." Hu Xian raised an eyebrow. "Not bad. I thought you'd follow up like the other students and ask why nobody's doing anything about it, then blabber on and on at me." Chen Chuan smiled faintly and said, "Regardless of good or evil, as long as something exists, it naturally has a reason for existing." Hu Xian looked slightly surprised and gave him a few scrutinizing glances. "Doesn't sound like something someone your age would say." Chen Chuan asked, "What implants does Fist Lion have?" "Biomesh armor, reinforced skeletal structure, and modified heart and lungs—the old trifecta, all obsolete military models. Watch out for his full humic gland graft. He can spit an intensely corrosive liquid. Catch an unexpected mouthful during a fight, and it'll melt your face clean off—the kind plastic surgery can't fix unless they give you an entire head transplant." Chen Chuan nodded and turned the page. Hu Xian said, "This one's original name is Song Zhi, Great Shun native. His skin underwent modification, allowing limited control over surface pigmentation. Plus, he can apply body paint to himself, making him a skilled assassin who blends into the environment every time." Chen Chuan looked over it, then turned to the next page— "This is Ran Xiaoli, codename Bee Woman. She underwent sensory modifications at Bolun Company, drastically enhancing her sense of smell, sight, hearing, and taste. She's the hardest to deal with—she can usually scent you from one or two hundred meters away, and even farther if she's paying special attention. With someone like that on their team, an assassination is basically out of the question." Seeing what Chen Chuan turned to next— Chen Chuan looked at the photos. The subject was a tall, thin foreigner with deep-set eyes and a prominent nose. His skin was deathly pale, and all his body hair seemed to have been shaved off. Bizarre tattoo patterns covered his arms, chest, and legs. There were two photos, front and back, but Chen Chuan caught the subtle differences between the two at a single glance. He looked up and said, "These are two different people?" A flicker of surprise crossed Hu Xian's face. "Sharp eye, little brother. It really is two brothers. But they underwent conjoined surgery. One photo shows the front, and the other shows the back. Their minds are connected and they think as one, so they coordinate seamlessly, and they're particularly skilled at combining firearms and blades. "Aside from these four core members, there are several others who joined their crew halfway through. I haven't gathered intelligence on them yet, but anyone who makes it to the Chaotic Lands has a trick or two up their sleeve. Even if their martial skills aren't great, they can at least handle a gun." After reading through the dossiers of these individuals, Chen Chuan remarked, "Quite formidable." Hu Xian flicked her ash into an ashtray and said, "Right? Not one of them is easy to deal with. I think it's pretty excessive too, sending a student like you against them. And you're far too young—what are you, seventeen? Eighteen? If you don't feel confident, giving up early is always an option. Better than throwing your life away." Chen Chuan said, "Thank you, Ms. Hu, but I'm not considering that for now." "Got some guts. Forget I mentioned it." Hu Xian took another drag, crossed her legs, and studied him for a moment. "Young Brother Chen, I like your style, so I'll give you a free tip. The hardest part isn't actually these people. Apparently, these guys got their hands on a 'Tayana combat spider'—a bioengineered weapon that can wipe out an entire squad in under a minute in tight spaces. "Fist Lion came to the Chaotic Lands this time specifically to find a buyer for it. But he's also afraid of being double-crossed, so he's been trying to reach his fellow countrymen. "This bunch has already been waiting here for over a month. Hard to say whether you're lucky or not—if you'd arrived a bit later, the thing might already have been sold, and you wouldn't have had to worry about it. "Then again, by then they would definitely have found a way into the strongholds inside the Chaotic Lands instead of lingering here. If you wanted to find them, you'd have to go into the Chaotic Lands yourself. Once you enter that place, people turn into ghosts; leaving behind an intact corpse is considered dying with dignity. "The last time I went to recover a student, I was a step too late. All I brought back was a skullcap, and that was only because some sick pervert liked using young people's skulls as wine goblets." Chen Chuan had mentally prepared himself for the chaos of this place long before coming. This was simply another cesspool where human cruelty converged; nothing that happened here was surprising. "Thank you for the warning, Ms. Hu," he said. "Could you also tell me where these people are staying right now?" Hu Xian gave him another look, stood up, walked to a cabinet, and pulled out a map. Smoothing it out on the table, she drew a circle around a spot with a red pen. "Right here." She tapped another spot. "And we're here." Chen Chuan checked the map against the scale and found that this group was only about three to four hundred meters away from where he was right now in a straight line. "Pretty close, right? Don't even think about scouting them out. Once Ran Xiaoli catches your scent, she'll remember it. If she smells it again within a short time—" Chen Chuan thought it over and said, "Then if I want to learn more about their situation, it seems I can only rely on you, Ms. Hu." Hu Xian had lived here all along and arrived before that gang. She also owned established property and a business here, so her movements would arouse no suspicion. "Smart. But why should I help you? I've given you all the intel I'm supposed to give. Anything else is beyond my responsibility." Hu Xian held out a hand, palm up. Chen Chuan asked earnestly, "What are your terms, Ms. Hu?" Hu Xian hopped down from the desk. "Haven't thought of any yet. I'll let you know when I do. Oh, right—if you're short on weapons, you can tell me. Can't get high-end gear, and forget about protective suits, but getting you a couple of guns and some ammo won't be an issue. Remember, you have to pay for it all." With that, she walked out. She walked down to the base of the stairs, pushed open a door, and stepped into a small room. A middle-aged man wearing a trench coat and a fedora stood inside. Seeing her enter, he said, "You told him too much just now. Considering he's just a young student still in school, it might be too much for him to take in all at once." Hu Xian scoffed. "Did he run off scared? Besides, is anything I said not the truth? Better to know ahead of time than find out when you run into them." The middle-aged man said in a low voice, "Even so, you should ease him into it." Hu Xian snorted. "Just step outside and you're in the Chaotic Lands, not your cozy office where you warm yourself by the stove, read newspapers, and sip tea all day! This is a goddamn wasteland where you have to sleep with one eye open, where someone will harvest your kidneys while you take a piss, and where getting skinned and deboned takes just one slip-up!" The middle-aged man fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What do you think he'll do?" "How should I know?" Irritated, Hu Xian ruffled her hair. "The higher-ups keep throwing these promising young kids over here and telling me to watch out for them. I'm not a fucking babysitter!" She let out a helpless sigh. "Still, this kid looks reliable enough. He probably won't make a move over the next couple of days. In a few days, I'll figure out a way to give him some pointers. Whether he takes them or not is up to him." Upstairs in his room, Chen Chuan washed up first, then returned to the desk and studied the map in contemplation. He felt he couldn't afford to drag this out. Once these people found a buyer, they would very likely leave. Furthermore, with Ran Xiaoli around, infiltration was out of the question. A stranger like him would be detected the instant he stepped within range. No wonder those recommended students were unwilling to test for Grade B certificates; it truly was difficult. Yet as he considered the situation, aside from Fist Lion, who was suspected of having reached— And the more complicated a plan was, the harder it was to execute. The simplest and most suitable approach for him was not to overthink it: simply walk right up to their doorstep and cut them down swiftly. To accomplish this, he first had to confirm whether all of them were present. If even one got away, it would hurt his evaluation score, so he still needed Hu Xian's help to scout out the specifics. He also needed to bring along some extra weapons—make things as easy as possible whenever possible. That afternoon, Hu Xian came back to find him. "I checked on them while doing a supply run," she told him. "Their food orders are the same as the past few days. The core members are all there, just missing a few lackeys—probably sent out to make contact with potential buyers. What are you planning to do?" Chen Chuan looked at her and said, "Ms. Hu, since they're looking for a buyer, what do you think if I play that buyer?" Hu Xian raised an eyebrow. "You want to get close to them? Interesting idea. But do you have the money?" Chen Chuan reached into his pocket, pulled out a Wansheng Financial Group gold draft he hadn't yet had time to redeem, and set it on the table. "As a deposit to show good faith, this should be enough, right?" "Well, well, a Wansheng gold draft. You're quite well-off, aren't you, little brother?" Hu Xian reached over, picked it up, and tapped it twice against her palm. "Aren't you afraid of throwing it down the drain, though? Fist Lion has never been one to follow rules." Chen Chuan said calmly, "Then tell them I have more of these drafts. It just depends on whether their appetite is big enough."