As Chen Chuan walked across the train station square, he stopped by a phone booth to call Cheng Zitong, dialing three times before hanging up.
The call didn't need to be answered; Cheng Zitong would understand what it meant.
Even counting the travel time back and forth, the defense license assessment had only taken about six days from start to finish. The timing should be... just about right?
His teacher should be able to accept it.
Just as he had on the trip here, he bought a few newspapers and story collections in the station square. Having timed his arrival well, he didn't have to wait long before the announcement broadcast that the train had arrived at the platform. Passing smoothly through the ticket gate, he boarded directly.
His return ticket was for a seat as usual. He placed his belongings on the luggage rack, but as he arranged his suitcase, a faint rustling sound reached his ears from inside.
That was because the combat spider was packed inside as well.
To use the device, the owner had to feed it their own blood to pass a blood recognition test.
During his three days at the hostel, he had already fed it according to Old Feng's instructions. Going forward, if he wished to deploy it smoothly, he would only need to awaken it using a specific technique.
Furthermore, to prevent such a combat weapon from slaughtering friend and foe alike indiscriminately—sparing only its master—there was a system of hand gestures paired with vocal commands. Once demonstrated, the spider would commit them to memory and act according to instructions. Fist Lion's crew, however, had clearly lacked the patience for that and never bothered to train it.
Chen Chuan, however, believed that an uncontrollable weapon was no weapon at all. Thus, once his ownership was established, he spent those three days ensuring the combat spider grasped the requisite gestures and commands, feeding it a can of high-energy nutrients afterward.
Yet with no enemies around, there was no opportunity to have the spider demonstrate its combat functions. As a result, its ingested energy remained unspent, leaving it prone to occasional stirrings even in dormancy.
He tapped the suitcase lightly, and the stirring ceased.
He then sat down and pondered his next steps.
Securing the unlimited defense license had been exceptionally swift this time—taking less than ten days in total. Once he returned, no one would suspect a thing anytime soon.
By all conventional logic, he simply hadn't had the time to sit for an examination. A Grade C license took at least a month, and a Grade B certificate easily took several. In this case, had he arrived even slightly later and Fist Lion's gang ventured deep into the Chaotic Lands, he would have had no choice but to follow them in, which would have meant endless trouble.
Tracking down a target there alone would take immense effort, to say nothing of dealing with the local factions. Even after eliminating the marks, finding a way out would be another hurdle; the whole ordeal would have taken months.
The present outcome undoubtedly provided him with excellent cover.
Although the departmental evaluation would remain concealed for at most a year, even if someone managed to see it, no one would learn about it for now as long as he didn't actively publicize it. After all, the influence of Yangzhi City's local elites was limited; none possessed enough clout to pry into the records of the National Evaluation Panel.
Even if someone later caught wind of the departmental evaluation and became wary of him, whatever suppression they devised would still treat him as someone without a defense license, giving him ample room to maneuver.
He reflected for a moment. He had only just enrolled, and already it was nearly June, with only a month left until the break. Once summer vacation passed, next year's fresh intake would arrive. By his second year, his strength should reach greater heights, and with the capability demonstrated by earning a Grade B defense license in his first year, he could vie for a spot to Center City.
He had always kept in mind what Cheng Zitong, He Xiaoxing, and Bureau Director Lei had told him: only in Center City could one truly understand the full scope of this world.
He gazed out the window at the scenery streaming past.
He was determined to go there.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled two sticks of nutritional paste from his pocket, ate them, and slowly began guiding his breathing.
As the train rolled on and time slipped away, the sky outside steadily darkened. Lulled by the rhythmic clatter of wheels against rails, he closed his eyes and rested.
Much later, it seemed, he opened his eyes. Ahead along the train's course, the sun was rising above the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow across him.
He looked ahead. On his way out, the sunlight had escorted him from behind; on his return, he was chasing the sun forward.
Near noon, the train pulled into Shangbu Station. Stepping out into the city, Chen Chuan finally had the leisure to take it in, having had no time to linger on his way to the assessment.
Located at a confluence of waterways and land routes, the city was said to have fine local cuisine. He took a brief detour into town to sample the food and picked up some local specialties to bring back for Cheng Zitong. After looking around, he boarded a long-distance bus to head back to Yangzhi.
Over five hours later, around eight-thirty in the evening, he finally returned to Yangzhi City.
Stepping down from the bus and onto solid ground, he felt the reassuring warmth of coming home, even though he had only been away for a few days.
However, when he arrived at their prearranged meeting spot, Cheng Zitong was nowhere to be seen. He figured his teacher was probably still on his way back.
It was likely because he had completed his assessment too quickly.
Weighing his options, he realized returning to school right now might lead to discrepancies since he hadn't yet coordinated his story with Cheng Zitong. Going home at this hour wasn't ideal either, so he decided to find somewhere to wait.
This was the southern district, relatively close to Ren Shu's company, so he decided to head over there first.
Besides, Ren Shu had mentioned last time that thanks to the company's upgraded rating, certain archival records from the Municipal Administration had been opened to them, with a sizable portion already filed at the office. He hadn't had a chance to look through them yet, and this was an ideal opportunity.
After completing the Flying Head Cult commission, the company had moved out of their original venue into a dedicated building.
It was a five-story building, recently constructed. Supposedly, one of the company members had received it from his family to start a business of his own, but had simply offered it up for their collective use.
When Chen Chuan arrived, scattered lights still glowed inside.
Around this hour, however, gangs were beginning to stir. Motorcyclists roared down the streets from time to time, occasionally dragging flaming cans and fireworks behind them while yelling and shrieking at the top of their lungs, making an immense racket. Some were drunk or doped up, visibly wired.
The southern district was the territory of the Blood Mark Gang, so these riders were all Blood Mark members. Spotting Chen Chuan walking alone along the street, several looked inclined to pick a fight. As they whistled and called out, more and more gathered around him, in no hurry to strike just yet, eager to toy with him first.
Chen Chuan continued walking with an impassive expression, paying no heed to the commotion around him.
Just then, a squad of security guards in matching uniforms rushed out of the company building, raising crossbows and light shields against the gangsters.
These guards paid tribute to the constabulary and were granted temporary licenses to bear arms. Regardless of who would come out on top in a brawl, once violence erupted, the constabulary would intervene immediately, blowing the situation wide open.
Even if the low-level thugs were not thinking straight, their chieftains knew better. Someone quickly stepped in to call them off, and after spitting a few curses at the company guards, the gang sped off into the night.
The security captain led his men over to Chen Chuan and asked with concern, "Expert Chen, are you alright?"
Beside him was the duty manager, who chimed in, "Who do you think Expert Chen is? He handles urban legends and is an Upper Hall student of Wuyi! It's only because Expert Chen didn't deign to bother with gang scum like them—otherwise, every single one of them would be lying on the pavement right now."
The security captain nodded in quick agreement.
Chen Chuan glanced in the direction of the departing gangsters. "Is it like this every day?"
"Not usually," the captain replied. "It's only been like this for the past week or so. Word is that one of the Blood Mark Gang's chieftains got taken out—and not just one, either. They still haven't found the killer, so how could they not lose their minds? They're itching to pick a fight with anyone they see."
Chen Chuan nodded. "Thank you for your hard work, everyone." Turning to the manager, he added, "Get some late-night supper for the crew. Put it on my tab."
"Right away, Expert Chen."
"Thank you, Expert Chen!"
As Chen Chuan walked into the company building guided by the manager, two security guards whispered among themselves behind him:
"Expert Chen is always with the boss whenever he comes and goes. I thought he'd be full of himself, but he's actually pretty easy to talk to."
"Heh, shows what you know. True capability speaks for itself; it's the useless ones who put on airs."
"A man like that is living life right."
"Nothing to be jealous of. He's a Wuyi student and already a company expert at such a young age. How can we compare? What were you doing twenty years ago?"
"I might be a lost cause, but my boy isn't! Once I save up enough money, I'll send him to try for Wuyi. Then he'll marry your daughter, they'll give you a big chubby grandson, and life'll be perfect."
"What did you just say?"
"...I'll go check if supper's here yet..."
Inside the building, Chen Chuan headed straight to the archive room. Ren Shu and the others weren't around at this hour, but he had a key and let himself in.
After he had been leafing through the files for a while, the manager came in and placed a hot drink on the desk. "Expert Chen, hot water and your room are ready."
"Thank you for the trouble," Chen Chuan said.
The manager hastily replied that it was no trouble at all. Seeing Chen Chuan return his focus to the records, he quietly stepped outside, keeping his footsteps as light as possible, and closed the door carefully behind him.
While browsing the past archives, Chen Chuan also casually flipped through the recent commissions delivered to the company. A pending, unconfirmed commission letter caught his eye, requesting that someone retrieve a designated item from a certain cult.
He thought for a moment. Wasn't this the very matter Senior Min Lan had mentioned earlier?
Had this commission been sent to their company as well? It seemed the client hadn't approached just a single agency.
Their company primarily dealt with urban legends rather than cults, but clients rarely drew a distinction between the two. In fact, judging by Min Lan's experience, most commission companies couldn't tell the difference either.
He scanned it briefly before setting it aside. But the next commission caught his attention—for this one truly involved an urban legend, and a very famous one in Yangzhi City at that: the Skull-Splitting Demon.
The Skull-Splitting Demon was widely spoken of across Yangzhi City. Because its victims were chosen without regard to status, and even the wealthy and powerful could not defend against it, ordinary folk loved to talk about it.
As for the victims who had died by the Skull-Splitting Demon's hand this time, he had actually learned about them earlier: several chieftains of the Blood Mark Gang. Not two, but three.
To lose three prominent chieftains within a mere ten days looked very much like a deliberate vendetta. No wonder the Blood Mark gang members were behaving so frantically.
After reading through it, he gave it some thought, set the letter aside, and continued browsing the remaining commissions.
Chapter 152