After returning to the company building, the moment Zhao Qian entered his office, he immediately summoned that resonator and a trusted implant doctor, ordering them to conduct a comprehensive inspection of his boundary credential.
After checking him over, the two concluded there was nothing wrong with him.
The resonator said, "Supervisor, the person who attacked you used synthetic projection technology. They didn't tamper directly with your boundary credential; your boundary credential merely served to observe and receive it.
"I checked it over: the other party concentrated the field resources of the entire street. But to pull off something like this in such a short window could only be done by a resonator equipped with a resonance nest or similar apparatus—capabilities typically held only by major corporations, organized factions, or the government."
Zhao Qian asked coldly, "With such a massive disturbance, he couldn't have avoided leaving traces. Can you track down his whereabouts?"
The resonator replied, "I ran a trace immediately afterward, but it might have been a bit too late. The other party routed it through numerous boundary points. If he wiped his traces promptly on the backend, finding him will be difficult. Judging by the technique, this wasn't the government's style, though we can't rule out a deliberate smokescreen."
Zhao Qian looked at him. "If I encounter something similar again, how do I prevent it?"
"You only need to add a command to reject simulated field information. There's no need for implant surgery, nor do you need to replace your boundary credential."
Zhao Qian immediately gave the order: "Add it for me right now!"
The next major transport mission was right around the corner; he couldn't afford any further anomalies. While today's scene hadn't amounted to much, some security personnel had surely recorded it and covertly passed it along to head office and his rivals. Moving forward, not a single misstep could be allowed.
The resonator immediately stepped up before Zhao Qian. One hand rested on his own boundary credential while his other hand pressed onto Zhao Qian's shoulder, blue flashes of bioelectric light flickering in his eyes.
Zhao Qian felt a tingling sensation like an electric current surge through him. This was necessary for transferring an enforced command. The same could be done at a boundary point, though the difference here was that it was temporary and could be canceled at any time.
About half a minute later, the resonator said, "Done." With that, he stepped back to where he had been standing.
Zhao Qian turned to his assistant and said, "If anyone asks about what happened today, your answer is that I gained an inspiration in martial arts and was seeking a breakthrough."
The assistant hurriedly agreed.
Zhao Qian knew the explanation sounded contrived, but ahead of the impending transport mission, he could never allow himself to be labeled hot-headed or unstable. Once he handled the matter at hand, the adverse fallout could be smoothed over gradually later on.
He waved his hand to dismiss the resonator and assistant. After the two stepped out of the office, he rose and paced about the room.
He hadn't been involved in any operations for nearly five months now. The department's recent day-to-day operations had bypassed him completely, as if his presence made no difference at all. If he didn't show his face this time, there really would be no point in keeping this seat.
Although he had declared his willingness to step down after this operation, that had merely been to pacify certain people in the company. If he could resolve both the internal and external problems in one fell stroke this time, returning was hardly out of the question.
As he was thinking, an incoming transmission suddenly chimed on his boundary credential. Seeing the contact, he hurriedly accepted it and spoke in a respectful tone: "Director Xing."
A voice sounded from the other end of the boundary credential: "The escort schedule has been set. Remember to handle it properly."
After just that one sentence, the caller ended the transmission.
Only then did Zhao Qian realize that the message had been a prerecorded snippet; the director hadn't even had the interest to exchange a single proper sentence with him. His gaze grew slightly chilly.
He worked to even out his breathing, checked the time on his boundary credential, and immediately contacted his assistant again. "The exact time is locked in. Arrange the convoy for me, and get in touch with the municipal authorities..."
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
On April 24, Wu Bei, who had been continuously monitoring the municipal traffic network, suddenly jolted alert. After scrutinizing it closely, he immediately contacted Chen Chuan. "Brother Chen, it popped up. Tomorrow—tomorrow municipal traffic will be adjusting several road sections as requested by Lianwei Heavy Control."
Chen Chuan said, "Understood. Thanks for the hard work, Brother Wu."
"No problem."
Inside the apartment, Chen Chuan ended the call and said to Gao Ming across from him, "Looks like Lianwei Heavy Control's transport is tomorrow."
Indeed, they hadn't previously been able to obtain Lianwei Heavy Control's precise departure time, but an armed convoy's departure inevitably required filing a report with the municipal authorities one or two days in advance.
The municipal authorities had no obligation nor reason to conceal such notices, and from this, the departure window could be deduced with accuracy, allowing them to make proper preparations.
Gao Ming said, "According to analysis of the intelligence recently disclosed by Antan Company, Lianwei Heavy Control's convoy was expected to set out either at the end of this month or the beginning of next month, so the timing lines up perfectly."
Chen Chuan asked, "Is there any chance they'll alter the time?"
Gao Ming said, "Even if adjusted, it wouldn't shift by more than two days either way. But there's no reason to; for this kind of transport mission, the moment the convoy rolls out, every major corporation learns of it. It can't be kept secret in the first place."
Chen Chuan said, "Then we wait until tomorrow."
On the early morning of April 25, a convoy comprised of twenty-five armed vehicles and three heavy transport trucks drove out of Lianwei Heavy Control Company.
A major corporation like Lianwei Heavy Control possessed temporary weapons permits granted by the government. In reality, once beyond Center City, no one was around to supervise such things anyway.
Zhao Qian sat inside an armored vehicle in the middle of the convoy. This vehicle was equipped with a miniature field organism, enabling the entire transport fleet to maintain basic signal transmission via boundary credentials even after leaving Center City.
Beside him sat a third-limit fighter named Chi Duan. He was someone nurtured with clan resources back when the Zhao family was in its heyday, usually assigned to handle delicate matters Zhao Qian couldn't deal with openly. Zhao Qian brought him along on every transport operation.
Meanwhile, the security captain in charge of the entire convoy, codenamed "Peregrine," had been dispatched directly by the head office.
Although nominally everyone—including Peregrine—was required to obey Zhao Qian's orders as supervisor, in practice, operational command over the security contingent belonged to Peregrine. If any trouble arose along the route, the man would contact head office by radio first rather than ask for Zhao Qian's opinion.
Watching the two-wheeled motor vehicles flanking the convoy, Zhao Qian felt an inexplicable premonition that this escort mission might not go so smoothly. Yet the formidable firepower of the fleet bolstered his confidence.
Facing the vehicle window, he watched the scenery continuously slide backward and smoothed his dyed gray-white hair upward. Even if a few minor hitches cropped up, he believed he could overcome them.
On the forty-ninth floor of the Xuan Palace Building, inside Dormitory No. 1, Chen Chuan stood before the window, watching the radiant morning sunlight. Right then, his boundary credential chimed, and Wu Bei's voice came through: "Brother Chen, they've rolled out."
"Good."
Chen Chuan turned away from the window, his back to the rays cast by the morning sun. He put on the protective suit prepared beforehand on the table, then donned one by one the trench coat, face mask, fedora, and scarf issued to him by the State Administration Bureau, and finally pulled on and tightened his protective gloves.
He reached out, lifted the Xuejun Saber from its rack, and drew the blade to inspect it. A moment later, he eased the glint of cold steel back into the scabbard. Leaving the dormitory, he took the elevator straight down to the underground parking garage. Stepping out of the elevator, he pressed his boundary credential and said to Wu Bei, "Brother Wu, I'm heading out now."
Wu Bei said, "I'm keeping an eye on them."
Chen Chuan walked over to the Jiade car, pulled open the door, and got in. With a low, muted roar from the engine, the car rolled out of the underground garage, entered the roadway, and sped off toward the western end of the city.
Though Lianwei Heavy Control's convoy had departed before him, he felt no rush. While triggering the urban legend did have distance constraints, remaining within an hour's drive posed no problem, and this time, he planned to wait until the armed group had traveled far enough from Center City before striking.
When formulating the plan with Gao Ming, he had initially wondered whether it would be better to ambush them on the return trip, since a team setting out fresh was undoubtedly at peak vigilance and condition.
Gao Ming, however, had told him based on his analysis that Zhao Qian possessed a decisive streak and was willing to cut his losses at critical junctures. Before Molan Company had even collapsed, Zhao Qian had severed ties with the Zhao clan; while he walked away with virtually none of the Zhao family wealth, it was precisely because of this that the clan's downfall never dragged him down with it.
Now that circumstances were unfavorable to him on all fronts, if Zhao Qian simply chose never to return, or settled down in another Center City, dealing with him would become immensely difficult.
Furthermore, once Zhao Qian arrived there, he could still hire assassins through some platform to target Chen Chuan, or even wait until the fallout blew over before returning. Striking right when he set off was therefore the best option, and it was something they would never anticipate.
Chen Chuan had ultimately agreed with this view. Although he had spoken somewhat conservatively in front of Gao Ming earlier, he actually possessed a fair degree of confidence in using the urban legend against Zhao Qian.
He had previously witnessed the scene where Youxing took on a contract and killed his target. That man had struck against mid-level company personnel on more than one occasion.
Every attempt had succeeded on the first try, proving that company managers at this level found it exceedingly hard to withstand an assault from this kind of urban legend.
Granted, after being modified by his pact, the urban legend might not be quite as lethal, but even inflicting severe injuries would suffice. The convoy's medical facilities couldn't match those in Center City, so their only option would be to send him back promptly for emergency treatment.
Yet once the convoy had set out, it was impossible to turn back just for one person. This would achieve the goal of splitting the convoy, creating the sole window of opportunity they could exploit.
However, because Zhao Qian was a Class B client of Municipal Security, the moment he returned within city limits, a security team would immediately dispatch to rendezvous and escort him.
At the same time, the man was also a Level 3 client of Parallel First Aid. No matter how grievous the injury, as long as he was found and in the hands of the emergency team, they might still be able to revive him. Hence, he could never be allowed to reach the city; he had to be cornered and finished outside.
Still, there remained one possible extreme contingency: the urban legend might fail completely, or Zhao Qian, even if grievously wounded, might simply hole up inside the convoy and refuse to leave.
Though the likelihood was slim, it wasn't impossible. If that happened, they would have no choice but to call off the operation for now, since mounting a frontal assault with their current resources was far from wise.
Chen Chuan drove on. Over an hour later, he pulled up outside a small cabin prepared in advance on the western outskirts of the city. Holding the Xuejun Saber, he stepped out of the vehicle. He had just received word that the transport convoy had left Center City over twenty minutes ago; in just a little while, he could launch the strike.
Chapter 304