Follow-Up and Clean-Up

The moment the urban security defense team pulled away, Wu Bei saw it on his end. He said in surprise, "Brother Chen, they're gone! They went back!" He let out a sigh of relief and added with lingering dread, "Good thing this guy chose Class C service. If it were Class B, they wouldn't have just left." Chen Chuan didn't know the specifics of those contract terms, but with his unlimited defense license, he had no reason to fear the urban security forces anyway. Still, their departure spared him some trouble. Even so, it seemed he would need to pay closer attention to these service tiers in the future. Seeing that no one was left standing in the area, he returned inside the building, retrieved the scabbard of the Xuejun Saber, and collected some hair and blood samples from the bodies of Lang Teng and Bo Chen before heading back down. Wu Bei spoke up over the line. "Brother Chen, are you leaving already? Wait a moment. I'm breaching their information hub to wipe today's records. Plus, their boundary point stores a ton of data, including a lot on abnormal commissions. I can bundle all of it up and take it." Chen Chuan nodded. "Take your time. No rush." Now that the urban security team had retreated, no one would be showing up here anytime soon. Someone from the city sanitation department might come by to collect the bodies eventually, but that wouldn't be right away. Old Qi had also received word. He drove the car over. With no one in control of the local boundary point and all biological field signals masked by Wu Bei, he no longer had to worry about exposing himself. As he pulled up, Wu Bei casually patched him into their communication channel as well. After parking, Old Qi walked over. Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, he couldn't help but click his tongue in awe. Only now did he truly grasp the destructive power of a fighter like Chen Chuan. How long had it been? An entire elite commission team, security personnel included, had been completely annihilated. Over the channel, Wu Bei suddenly let out a soft exclamation, his voice rising slightly. "I found something. According to the entry logs and surveillance, they seem to have brought a stash of cash into the company yesterday." "Cash?" Old Qi said immediately. "We have to take that!" He quickly added, "I'm not being greedy, mind you. Think about it: if we just leave it here, whoever comes to clean up the mess afterward will pocket it all the same, and then they'll pin the missing cash on us. If that's the case, we might as well take it right now. Once it's gone, they won't find a single trace." Wu Bei agreed. "There are no official records tracking this cash. If it's on company grounds, taking it won't cause any trouble." Old Qi asked, "Brother Chen, what do you say?" Chen Chuan's answer was brief and decisive. "Take it." He still needed to deal with that urban legend. If he couldn't resolve it in one go, purchasing the binding materials for the esoteric ritual would cost a fortune. Using the Golden Shrimp team's money for it was only fitting. With his approval, Old Qi hurried inside in high spirits. Guided by Wu Bei, he found a bag of cash in one of the rooms that looked like it hadn't even been processed yet. Carrying the bag downstairs, he couldn't help sighing. "Cash is the only thing we can take. Who knows which bastard will end up getting the funds in the Golden Shrimp team's accounts." Wu Bei checked through the boundary point and said, "There isn't much in the corporate account anyway—only a little over two thousand. It was probably just an emergency reserve." Old Qi thought about it and found that quite normal. The new year had just passed, so the Golden Shrimp team's earnings from the previous year had likely been distributed long ago. The lion's share was definitely in private accounts, not the company's. Yet even if one could find records of personal accounts or crack their passcodes, it would be useless. Most such accounts were tied to the owner's biological field. The moment a person died or fell outside safe parameters, the account was frozen instantly. No one could touch the funds except the individual or their designated heirs. The two waited for about ten more minutes before Wu Bei announced excitedly, "Done! All data has been packaged!" Chen Chuan said, "Then let's go." He got into the car with Old Qi. As the engine started, Old Qi glanced back at the flamboyant, luminous projection of the giant golden shrimp atop the headquarters roof. "Brother Chen, there might be someone backing Golden Shrimp. We'll need to be careful moving forward." Chen Chuan gave an affirmative hum. Still, it would depend on the situation. If Golden Shrimp's upper brass were still around, they might have been able to mobilize considerable connections. But according to the company's records, every single one of those figures had stayed behind here today. Who would actually step up to avenge them? Wu Bei piped up, "Don't worry. I've wiped all of Brother Chen's records, and I've altered his travel data for today as well. Without a specific target to chase, they'll never trace anything to him." Old Qi asked, "What about the urban security defense team? Don't they have records?" "They might, but security team logs generally aren't open to the public unless you purchase their services. Only Class A service contracts grant partial information sharing." Old Qi genuinely breathed a sigh of relief at that. Class A was one of the highest service tiers offered by urban security, reserved exclusively for Center City's top-tier figures. Even selling off the entire Golden Shrimp commission team wouldn't be enough to pay for it; nobody would bother going to such lengths on their behalf. Just then, Old Qi received a signal from Wu Bei. He pondered for a moment, then turned to Chen Chuan. "Brother Chen, I think Brother Wu fits our team really well. Why don't we... bring him on board? What do you think?" Back in his apartment, Wu Bei waited with a mix of nervous tension and anticipation. He had asked Old Qi to speak on his behalf. He had never seen a fighter as formidable as Chen Chuan. The thought of tackling those abnormal commissions in the future, confronting the filth and foes lurking in dark corners, thrilled him. Chen Chuan had already realized that having a resonator on the team was practically essential for operating in Center City. He said, "Brother Wu is very capable. As long as he's willing..." "I'm willing, more than willing!" Chen Chuan gave a faint smile. "Alright. In that case, Brother Wu, welcome to the team." "Yahoo!" In his apartment, Wu Bei thrust both hands high into the air with excitement. After all the commotion, midday had arrived. As the car drove along, Chen Chuan watched the footage Wu Bei transmitted to him. It was a recording of his battle against the Golden Shrimp team. Because his own data had been scrambled and erased from the very start, the operatives all appeared to be fighting a blurry silhouette of light. Yet every single motion of the others could be seen with utmost clarity. It occurred to him that in Center City, reviewing one's combat footage must be remarkably simple—and immensely useful for post-battle analysis and self-improvement. However, when he noticed the enemy's neatly synchronized, virtually identical maneuvers, his instincts told him that this had something to do with biological field technology. He clipped a segment of the video, sent it over to Wu Bei, and asked, "Brother Wu, do you know what this is?" Wu Bei took a look and said, "Oh, that! I know. By linking to active or non-active conscious entities, tactical adjustments and optimal coordination can be made based on stored records and data. Sometimes the fighters don't even need to think for themselves—the conscious entity handles the adjustments for them. The catch is that they must possess designated implants." Chen Chuan understood. This technology was not to be underestimated. The Golden Shrimp team had merely lacked slightly in individual strength and gear; had their level been a tier higher, dealing with them wouldn't have been so easy. It stood to reason that the urban security defense team definitely possessed such technology, and their operatives' individual capabilities were bound to be even higher. Facing enemies like that, there was only one answer: achieve greater strength. He drew a breath. He needed to push himself to advance as quickly as possible. Not long after they departed, over a dozen vehicles pulled up. A crowd of people spilled out, looking like gang members. Most wore their hair styled like moss, shimmering in multicolored iridescent hues. A gang leader among them surveyed the carnage across the square, then walked over to the corpse of Jing Li lying sprawled against the car. Slipping off his polarized glasses, he scoffed, "Looks like they ran into a real hard nail." A henchman beside him asked, "Boss, should we look for the ones who did this?" "Look for what?" The leader glared sideways at him. "Is Jing Li your dad or your mom?" The henchman blinked blankly. "Neither, boss. My dad is your cousin, you know that." "Fuck, so you do know! Since you know, why the hell are you fretting over these bastards?" The henchman mumbled timidly, "Boss, I just figured we were partners with them..." The leader tapped the frame of his polarized glasses against the henchman's skull, making the boy wince and recoil. Cursing under his breath, the leader snapped, "Use your brain! We partnered with them so it'd be convenient for them to take goods off our hands. If this outfit is gone, we'll just find another. You've got too much time on your hands if you want to stick your neck out for them. What, do you run a charity?" "Boss, stop tapping, stop tapping! I was wrong, I was wrong..." The leader snorted, then glanced around. "Still, the gear and implants on these guys aren't bad. Stripping them could fetch a good price. We'll haul them off shortly." With a wave of his hand, the underlings swarmed into the building. Before long, one came hurrying back. "Boss, we found the stuff." He lifted a wrapped package in his hand. The leader said, "Since the goods are here, let's not linger. Tell the boys to leave the junk behind—just strip the valuable models and let's go." "Got it!" After the gang members bustled about for half an hour, a notification popped up on the leader's boundary credential. "Boss, the city sanitation team is on their way." The leader barked at once, "Everyone done? If you're done, move out!" The subordinates shouted in acknowledgment, piled into their vehicles carrying the implants they had crudely ripped from the corpses, and the convoy of over a dozen cars quickly drove away. Meanwhile, Old Qi's car arrived once more near the shantytown. Before getting out, Chen Chuan asked, "Old Qi, I didn't get a chance to ask earlier—did you run into any trouble when you went to buy the esoteric materials?" Old Qi said, "No trouble, exactly. It's just..." He hesitated briefly. "It's nothing. I can handle it." Chen Chuan looked at him. "If there's any problem, just say so. We're a team now; your business is the team's business." Old Qi replied earnestly, "Brother Chen, I really can handle it." Chen Chuan nodded. Stepping out of the car, he stood at the intersection and looked deep into the shantytown. The rest could wait. Now, it was time to put an end to this urban legend.