Clues

In Weiguang District, within the Sifang Cloister Building, the Center City branch of Qingnang Jade Workshop for Jibei Circuit remained brightly lit throughout the entire fifty-second floor, despite the late hour. The company's countermeasure research team was busy collecting and analyzing feedback on new medicines pouring in from across the region. Every year, Qingnang Jade Workshop released a batch of new medicines into the market. Beyond the domestic market in Great Shun, the Jibei Circuit branch primarily catered to numerous island nations across the ocean. Thanks to geographical advantages combined with their long-standing partnership with Canglong Company, their rival, Tiancong Baicao, could not compete with them in this maritime region. However, Tiancong Baicao held a firm upper hand in medicines developed for fighters and was recently actively seeking cooperation with Canglong Company as well. This put tremendous pressure on the countermeasure research team. Starting the year before last, Qingnang Jade Workshop had developed a line of new drugs for the fighter sector. Yet so far, they had struggled to find trial subjects. In this domain, both Tiancong Baicao and the foreign megacorporation Taled Company possessed exceptionally well-established pharmaceuticals. For fighters, they would rather wait for the limited monthly quotas from those two megacorporations than risk taking unverified new drugs that might cause harm to their bodies. Most of the trial subjects the company managed to recruit were people who had little hope of advancing far along the path of a fighter anyway. They participated in drug trials merely in search of a glimmer of hope. Yet those capable of climbing to the heights were invariably individuals of exceptional talent. To exaggerate only slightly, such elites and these ordinary fighters were practically two different species. As a result, the clinical trial outcomes were far from ideal. Fan Qingshan, supervisor of the countermeasures department, was reviewing the incoming reports one after another on his boundary credential, all consisting of feedback regarding the new drugs. Currently, their primary source of trial subjects was Center City Prison. Another source was the external students participating in the Wuyi arena tournaments. Such students were by default treated as guinea pigs by the major corporations—as long as the compensation was sufficient, they would agree. However, these students were usually loaded with implants from various companies and had to regularly consume large quantities of anti-alienation drugs, drastically skewing any feedback on drug efficacy. Just then, a company staff member hurried over and handed him a file. "Supervisor, here is a new trial report. The subject has been rated Grade A. Please take a look." Fan Qingshan's expression grew serious. Grade A trial subjects were exceedingly rare; every single one warranted his personal attention. Taking the report, he found it remarkably detailed, with reactions across every entry meticulously filled out. One glance told him the subject had clearly practiced the breathing technique provided to participants. He could not help nodding. Regardless of the subject's personal qualifications, the attitude at least was exemplary. What he despised most were those who lacked talent yet refused to cooperate diligently. Hm? Consecutive doses? Reading further, he was genuinely surprised. Until now, even the most reckless test subjects had not dared to take three doses within ten days. After two consecutive doses, the vast majority reported intense physical reactions and abnormal overexcitement. For talented fighters, if the mutated tissue did not experience substantial growth after taking the drug and merely produced excitement, it amounted to an extreme overdraft of their vitality, potentially causing the indolent phase to set in ahead of schedule. That fear stopped them from pushing any further. Even fighters lacking talent would not casually gamble with their lives. They usually waited a while until the drug's effects subsided, avoiding continuous accumulation before taking the next dose. That was precisely why Qingnang Jade Workshop stipulated that subjects had three full months to finish all the pills. It was not that no one had ever attempted consecutive doses, but they were a tiny minority. Such people had little hope to begin with; their mutated tissue coverage was minimal, and most were frail and sickly. Consequently, their data held negligible reference value, proving at best that the drug was not lethal. Yet that alone was not enough. A drug with zero practical value remained a failure, no matter how low the risks. This record, however, was exceptionally thorough. More importantly, it provided the coherent, continuous reaction data they so sorely lacked. Utterly unlike those subjects who mixed various medications, this person was clearly no ordinary fighter, exhibiting steady, stable emotional composure from beginning to end. This was exceedingly rare. He immediately contacted the personnel manager through his boundary credential. "Send me this fighter's profile," he said, rattling off a string of serial numbers. For confidentiality, the trial reports and the fighters' personal files were kept separate. Only supervisor-level management possessed clearance to review them, and even then, only physical paper files were permitted. Five minutes later, Chen Chuan's public profile was brought to him by the manager. He glanced over the details, his astonishment deepening. *A student of Wuyi Academy? Probability of reaching the third limit over eighty percent? Why would someone like this participate in a drug trial?* He looked down at the track record, and realization dawned on him. This student had defeated a third-limit fighter while suspected of being under the influence of pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, after joining the Disposal Bureau, it was confirmed that he had slain a third-limit wanted criminal while enhanced by drugs. *A true talent!* Fan Qingshan marveled inwardly. This fighter undoubtedly possessed innate talent far beyond ordinary people. Some individuals simply extracted far greater efficacy from drugs than others, yet suffered remarkably low side effects. Such cases were extremely rare, and this student was evidently one of them. This was exactly the kind of person he needed. Excitement flared within his chest. "Inquire with him immediately to see if he can continue taking our medication consecutively," he ordered. Pausing, he added, "If he has any conditions, he is welcome to state them." It would be such a pity to stop now. If all ten pills could be taken in rapid succession with complete first-hand records, the value would be astronomical. He would finally have something monumental to present to headquarters. Unfortunately, the agreement stipulated that whether to proceed depended entirely on the trial subject's personal willingness. Had this been a nobody without backing, it would have been simple enough to push, but dealing with a Wuyi student and a Disposal Bureau candidate meant everything had to follow proper procedure. Back in his dormitory room, Chen Chuan was training with the aid of the drug's lingering effects when a message arrived from Qingnang Jade Workshop, asking whether he could continue taking the medication. He certainly could, but he did not agree immediately. He could not afford to appear overly eager, so he sent a reply saying he would consider it and get back to them in a few days. Two days later was his appointed time at the Haijing Grounds. Having applied the precious paste in advance, he headed there once again. Because his quota had been increased to over eight hours, he spent the entire daytime inside. By the time he drove back, night had fallen completely. Due to field interference, along this stretch of road in northern Jiyang District, hardly any lights could be seen apart from the red beacons and searchlights atop the watchtowers. Only his headlights cut through the darkness ahead. He switched on the car cassette player, and rhythmic music filled the cabin, invigorating him on the silent, desolate road. After driving a while longer and exiting the field interference zone, he received a bulletin on a fringe channel reporting that yet another fighter had been slain, suspected to be the work of the wanted fighter Wei Wusheng. Chen Chuan's gaze sharpened slightly. In the preceding period, he had been focused on dealing with Zhao Qian, and lately he had been cultivating with the drug trial. During this time, Wei Wusheng had been striking frequently; another three fighters who had appeared aboard the cruise ship had already died at his hands. Each kill had been executed in an extraordinarily short time. Moreover, Wei Wusheng seemed to have shifted his combat style, turning stealthy and sinister rather than ferocious and unyielding like before. One fighter had been riding a Ferris wheel with his family; when they got off, his skull was found split open. No one had noticed anything amiss beforehand. Had it not been for the analysis of the jin force and striking angle confirming Wei Wusheng's signature, people would have assumed it was someone else entirely. He recalled what Wei Wusheng had said that day: the heart's intent would grant a reward. Perhaps as the fighters who had revealed themselves back then were slain one by one, that reward was beginning to bear fruit. As he was musing, an incoming transmission arrived. Seeing it was Wu Bei, he promptly accepted the connection. Wu Bei's excited voice sounded, "Brother Chen, I found something over here that might be useful to you." Perking up, Chen Chuan asked, "Do you need me to come over?" "No need, I'll send it right over," Wu Bei said. "Regarding that matter you asked me to look into, I found some fragmented data in the recent passive recordings. I managed to reconstruct it and spotted someone who seems to match the details you mentioned. Hm, you should be able to see clearly enough..." A reconstructed visual recording appeared on Chen Chuan's boundary credential. The data was somewhat fragmented, with sizable missing patches, but the figures within were discernible. It appeared to be inside an office, beside a glass curtain wall, recorded from a first-person perspective—likely Zhao Qian's. The other person seemed to be a petite young girl holding a cup of drink. She knelt before Zhao Qian and offered the cup up to him. The moment she looked up, her face was relatively clear for a brief stretch. Chen Chuan looked at it, his eyes stirring slightly. The girl's facial contours bore a faint resemblance to Shen Zheng. *Could it be her?* He still remembered Zhao Qian telling him with utter certainty that he would never find Shen Zheng's sister. But if she were right by Zhao Qian's side, Zhao Qian wouldn't have said that so definitively. "Oh, right," Wu Bei's voice came through again. "There's one more thing I almost forgot. I found some things buried pretty deep. First are several secret accounts. I checked them, and only one isn't anchored by a biological field, so it definitely won't get frozen. I'm not sure of the exact balance yet, but I'm trying to breach it." Chen Chuan said, "Thank you for your trouble, Brother Wu." "Hey, it's nothing! I'm hanging up for now—there are still plenty of areas for me to dig into, and maybe I can turn up even more clues." Chen Chuan agreed. He took another look at the reconstructed scene, thought for a moment, and reached out to Lu Fang. "Senior Lu, do you have time to come out for a drink?"