Resurrection

"Someone handles them exclusively?" Chen Chuan was slightly surprised to hear Old Qi's claim. Ordinary people could never withstand the influence of an urban legend, especially through prolonged contact, which made it far more dangerous. Still, it was hard to say for certain. This was Center City, after all; there might be countermeasures available here. He asked, "Are they from the government?" "No, not at all," Old Qi replied. "These anomalous commissions always involve strange and bizarre things. We commissioners know to steer clear of them. But there's a certain bunch who take on only these kinds of jobs. "Their track record doesn't seem all that great, though. I know of one place they visited where they failed to resolve the matter, yet the commission ticket was marked as resolved." At this point, a hint of disgust and revulsion crept into his voice. "And in a few other places they went, the people vanished entirely. In the end, no one held them accountable, and they just carried on taking these commissions." Chen Chuan considered this. From that alone, these people clearly held significant influence and likely operated with complete disregard for rules. The anomalous commissions he had seen earlier that suddenly vanished had probably been claimed by them. Old Qi asked with a touch of hope, "Brother Chen, can you really handle these anomalous commissions?" Chen Chuan said, "Urban legends stem from complex circumstances. I can't resolve all of them, but back in Yangzhi City, whenever incidents like this needed handling, people always came to me first." "Then that's all right." Old Qi thought about it, then said, "There are plenty of anomalous commissions out there. We can find a way to pick up the scraps. Don't worry about all the trivial footwork before and after, Brother Chen. I'll take care of all of it for you. You just focus on handling the anomalies." Chen Chuan looked at him, noticing how excited he seemed, and cautioned, "Old Qi, I didn't know anyone was cornering this market before. From what you've described, this group isn't simple. You should think it over carefully." Old Qi understood well enough. Those people had staked out anomalous commissions as their own private racket, barring anyone else from interfering. Snatching a couple of jobs under the radar probably wouldn't cause trouble, but if they did too many, someone might come looking for him. When that happened, Chen Chuan might come out unscathed, but Old Qi would likely be targeted. Yet he was saddled with debts, his daughter's school tuition was still unpaid, and Chen Chuan had just covered his fine. Besides, this incident would leave a mark on his company record. Once clients checked, they would steer clear of him, meaning he certainly wouldn't have any work in the near future. In that case, he might as well follow Chen Chuan and earn a few quick scores to weather the immediate crisis. He put on an easygoing front and said, "Brother Chen, I've already thought it through. If we only take on a handful, they won't notice." Chen Chuan said, "Old Qi, you know Center City better than I do. Just look out for yourself." Old Qi chuckled. "I've been in this line of work for nearly twenty years. I know what I'm doing." He pressed the side of his neck, an orange glow flaring in his eyes. "Brother Chen, let me treat you to a meal while I'm at it. I'll search for these commissions on my end and have news for you shortly." Chen Chuan did not refuse. He simply agreed. Old Qi's pockets were light, so he couldn't afford anything fancy. He ordered several street snacks from a roadside mobile food cart. Chen Chuan did not mind in the slightest; he could stomach even tasteless nutritional paste, so anything with even a little flavor tasted delicious to him. Old Qi had initially felt a bit embarrassed, worried Chen Chuan might look down on it. But seeing Chen Chuan eat bite after bite, his own appetite flared, and he began wolfing down the food as well. After a bowl of fried noodles settled in his stomach, he felt restored to life. Looking for conversation, he asked, "How old are you, Brother Chen?" Chen Chuan replied, "Seventeen." Counting nominal age, he was actually eighteen, but he didn't care about a year or two, and people who interacted with him often overlooked his youth anyway. "Seventeen... so young. I have a daughter who's thirteen and already in middle school. Her grades are excellent." Speaking of his daughter, the downcast middle-aged man broke into a smile, his eyes brightening with light. As they were talking, he saw a contact icon pulsing on his boundary credential. His spirits lifted. "Here it comes." He answered immediately, and a voice sounded by his ear. "Old Qi, why are you looking for these anomalous commissions?" Old Qi said, "I'm looking on behalf of a client. He's curious about these things and wants to satisfy his interest. If you have confirmed ones, send over a few more." "Is that so? Let me warn you, Old Qi—don't touch those commissions. Golden Shrimp's crowd isn't to be trifled with. They have the Moss Gang behind them, and ties higher up as well." Old Qi replied breezily, "I know. I'm just satisfying a client's curiosity." The voice on the other end softened, adopting an earnest tone. "Old Qi, you're not on your own anymore. Think of Xiaoqi before you do anything." "Yeah." Once the call ended, Old Qi received several anomalous commissions. After looking through them, he forwarded them to Chen Chuan's boundary credential. "Brother Chen, take a look. These are all anomalous commissions. I had someone verify them; they're genuine." Chen Chuan said, "Let me review them first." Old Qi looked at him and smiled. "Brother Chen, I know what you're worried about. Rest assured, anomalies are anomalies, and esoteric cults are esoteric cults. I can tell the difference." Chen Chuan was somewhat surprised. "You know about that too, Old Qi?" Ordinary people rarely drew that distinction. "Heh, everyone has their youth, don't they? Back then, I chased trends and hung around esoteric cult circles for a while. I even picked up a few tricks, but later it gave me a bad feeling, so I pulled out." A trace of wistful reflection touched Old Qi's voice as he spoke. Chen Chuan examined the files. Each commission listed an exact location and a description of events from start to finish, far more detailed than what he had found on his own earlier. From the details alone, it was ten to one that these were linked to urban legends. His target was clear now. He said, "Old Qi, thank you." "No need to stand on ceremony, Brother Chen," Old Qi said. "You did me such a huge favor and pointed me toward a way to make money. I ought to be thanking you." Now that he had made up his mind, he wouldn't second-guess himself. Besides, based on Chen Chuan's willingness to front the cash to bail him out, he felt Chen Chuan was dependable. What was more, he had seen Chen Chuan pull out an unlimited defense license that day, giving him the courage to take the gamble. Chen Chuan said, "Let's check out one of the locations first. If we confirm it, we'll take the commission and try to resolve it." Old Qi was brisk and stood up. "All right. I have a car, I'll drive you." He dashed out, and before long he brought his car around from the checkpoint parking lot. He picked up Chen Chuan and drove toward the location Chen Chuan sent him. Chen Chuan checked the map. They were currently in Weiguang District, while the commission's site lay right at the border between Weiguang District and Wuding District. If things went smoothly, it would be right on his way back to Wuyi. Forty-five minutes later, the car drew close to the destination. It was a shantytown nestled in a low-lying basin, crowded with crude sheet-metal dwellings built without permits. Looking through the boundary credential, most of the residents here lacked civic identity. As they drove down a descending road, Chen Chuan glanced to the side and spotted a blatant esoteric cult symbol painted on a wall. Old Qi noticed it too and explained, "Those things are everywhere in the city. Up here is relatively mild; down below, it's long been rampant..." He let out a scoffing chuckle. "Can't blame them, really. People down there see no way out. If they don't latch onto something like this for spiritual comfort, they can't go on living." Chen Chuan knew that the "down below" he referred to was the massive underground slums. No one knew how many people lived there, and Center City's governance could not reach that depth at all, making it completely unsurprising that esoteric cults flourished there. After driving a bit further, the car could go no deeper. The two stepped out and walked along an uneven path of mud patched over with various planks and gravel. Following the boundary credential's directions, they walked three to four hundred meters until they reached an enclave of makeshift shacks. Chen Chuan paused slightly, noticing a faint blurring shimmer appearing across his Second Self. While esoteric cults could also induce signs of blurring, it never looked like this. He tapped beside his ear, turning off his boundary credential. What followed could not be recorded. After all, taking commissions off-platform was best done with as little trouble as possible. Although his earlier conversation with Old Qi might have been logged, he was familiar with the regulations: talk was merely talk and could not serve as evidence. Without proof of execution, no violation had occurred. Of course, this was merely a precaution. In truth, no one investigated such matters except the vested interest groups involved. Even when he had encountered those organ traffickers earlier, no one had moved to arrest them. Old Qi zeroed in on one of the shacks. "Right here. The commission came from the people living inside. Brother Chen, I'm a commissioner; this kind of thing is my specialty. I'll go talk to them. You wait outside." Chen Chuan said, "All right, I'll wait here." Old Qi flashed him a reassuring gesture, smoothed his clothes, and walked inside. Roughly ten minutes later, he emerged. Returning to Chen Chuan's side, he said, "Brother Chen, I've got the full story. It matches the description on the platform." Chen Chuan nodded. Put simply, the commission concerned two brothers whose parents had died early. The older brother dropped out of school to join a gang, supporting his younger brother's education. The younger brother's academic performance was quite good, and it seemed they were about to pull through their hardships, but the older brother was killed during a gang conflict. This was a devastating blow to the younger brother. Yet a few days later, the younger brother discovered that his dead brother had come back to life. Although he could neither speak nor move, he stood there every day, just staring at him. The younger brother knew it was deeply bizarre and initially tried to hide it. Soon, however, the neighbors discovered the truth. They noticed plants in the surrounding area withering en masse, and pet cats and dogs dying, so they came to urge him to bury the body. Reluctant though he was, the younger brother also knew something was wrong. Together with the neighbors, he buried the body. Yet the matter did not end there; the strange signs persisted. At this point, the shantytown residents refused to let it stand and demanded he burn the corpse. The younger brother adamantly refused, picking up his brother's gun to stand guard over the site. Unable to resolve the standoff, the neighbors sought out someone who had once moved out of the slums and held civic identity to post a commission on the public platform. Chen Chuan had not encountered this specific urban legend before, but he had read about similar cases in the archives. As long as he identified the crux of the issue, he would have a way to resolve it. Old Qi hesitated, then said, "Brother Chen, that kid Xiaoman is pitiful. He's only fourteen and had to face something like this. Will it really affect the people outside?" Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "Not only will it affect them, but the impact will also be severe. It might seem manageable in the short term, but prolonged exposure will inevitably cause problems." "What kind of problems?" Old Qi asked instinctively. Chen Chuan did not answer, though Old Qi had already guessed. He let out a soft sigh. "All right, then. I'll go up and tell them we're taking the job."