External Students

Inside Jinwei Beverage Shop, a soothing melody drifted through the air, bathed in gentle light. For a moment, the dazzling neon glow and restless bustle beyond the glass walls seemed worlds away. Chen Chuan and Lu Fang sat opposite each other. Once the server who had brought their drinks departed, Senior Lu asked with a hint of anticipation, "Junior Chen, did you ask me out today because you found some lead on the matter?" "I have some clues, but nothing is certain yet," Chen Chuan replied. "We may still need to dig deeper step-by-step. If you want a definitive answer, you might have to wait a little longer." Lu Fang understood completely. He sighed and said, "Junior Chen, thank you for your trouble. I never expected results right away. Center City is treacherous at every turn, and you must have plenty of difficulties of your own. Besides, with Zhao Qian standing in the way, I know how hard it is..." Chen Chuan said at that moment, "Zhao Qian isn't a problem anymore. He's dead." Zhao Qian... What? Lu Fang did not register it at first. Then he snapped his head up to look at Chen Chuan, his expression wavering with disbelief. "Junior Chen, did you just say..." Chen Chuan replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Zhao Qian accompanied a transport convoy out, but midway through, he fell acutely ill and had to leave the convoy to head back to Center City. On the return trip, however, he was attacked by an unknown faction. His death has now been confirmed." Lu Fang sat frozen. Only after a good while did he come to his senses. Gripping his cup tightly, he exclaimed with emotion, "Good riddance! Good riddance to him!" His eyes reddened slightly. Picking up the hot drink from the table, he gulped it all down in one breath, set the cup down heavily, and let out a long exhale. Looking at Chen Chuan, he nodded with deep conviction. What unknown faction? There were no such coincidences in this world. Chen Chuan must have been the driving force behind this. Back then, this junior had overthrown the Mutual Aid Society; taking down Zhao Qian now was no different! With a mix of sentimentality and gratitude, he said, "Junior, I've known all along that the things we couldn't achieve could only be done by you. Just like back in Yangzhi City, you were the one who showed us hope!" He poured another cup of the hot drink and raised it in a toast to Chen Chuan. Chen Chuan raised his cup as well, clinked it against Lu Fang's, and took a slow sip. Having calmed down, Lu Fang asked with renewed hope, "Junior, when you said earlier that you had some clues, what did you mean?" Through his boundary credential, Chen Chuan transmitted the reconstructed scene Wu Bei had provided to Lu Fang's boundary credential. "From the limited information gathered so far, a young girl appeared by Zhao Qian's side. She looks somewhat like the person we're looking for, but the evidence is insufficient, so it can't be confirmed yet." Lu Fang studied the images. He didn't get overly emotional just because the girl resembled Shen Zheng, though his brows knitted when he saw her kneeling before Zhao Qian. He looked much calmer than before. "Junior, can we find her?" he asked. Chen Chuan said, "Although this scene took place inside Lianwei Heavy Control, she only appeared once. She's likely not an employee of the company, but rather someone personally attached to Zhao Qian. That allows us to narrow down the scope." He then sent Lu Fang a location—something Wu Bei had also passed along to him earlier. "Xunfeng Garden Residential Area. Zhao Qian owns a private residence there. Records show he visited once every two months. Since it isn't listed under his official residences—and the title isn't even in his name—if he was hiding any secrets, they would definitely be stashed there. We might want to look into it." After looking over the details, Lu Fang said solemnly, "Junior, you've already gone to too much trouble for me. Let me handle this part myself." "A place like that usually has a specialized field signal," Chen Chuan said. "Barging in blindly will alert the city patrol team. So let me know when you plan to go, Senior, and I'll arrange for a technician to deal with the field signal issue for you." "All right, I'll follow your lead, Junior." Chen Chuan felt at ease about this. Lu Fang was, after all, a second-limit fighter and an alumnus of Wuyi Academy. Outside of third-limit fighters, few people could pose a genuine threat to him. As long as the technical hurdles were solved, the rest shouldn't be much of a problem. "Junior, time is of the essence. I'll head back and get ready," Lu Fang said. Chen Chuan gave his assent. "Junior, I'll take my leave first." Lu Fang stood up and added, "It's my treat today." With that, he went to the front counter to settle the bill, then departed with swift, light footsteps. Looking out through the glass window, Chen Chuan noticed that Lu Fang's retreating figure seemed far less burdened than before. Chen Chuan leaned back against the plush armchair and listened quietly to the soothing music. Half an hour later, he finally left the shop, crossed the plaza, and returned to Xuan Palace Building. But the moment he stepped through the entrance, he saw students gathered in small clusters in the lobby, all dressed in Wuyi uniforms. He couldn't help feeling a bit surprised. Lower-year students at the Main Academy spent most of their time training under their respective instructors, while upper-year students had mostly joined corporations or government offices and rarely stayed at the school. It was unusual to see them gathering like this; they usually crossed paths only on their boundary credentials. Most peers of his intake, aside from a handful like Tan Zhi, were people he only knew through communication on his boundary credential. He had never seen such a gathering before. However, once he took a closer look and realized that all of these students possessed implants, he immediately understood: they must be the external students. A few days ago, he had seen an announcement on the academy platform stating that this year's fighting arena tournament was about to begin. Even external students were recognized as Wuyi students. Their presence here was likely for intensive pre-tournament training; after all, the Main Academy possessed the finest facilities, venues, and instructors. These students had been engaged in animated discussions, but the moment he walked in, their voices quieted down slightly. As he passed by, their eyes tracked him all the way. The external students harbored complex feelings toward regular students. The arena fights they participated in were often battles to the death, as that was the only way to draw large crowds. Living on the edge of life and death every single day, they yearned for the privileged environment of the regular students, yet at the same time sneered at them, viewing regular students as people who merely hid in offices, sipping hot drinks and barking orders. After Chen Chuan stepped into the elevator, he turned around and watched the two doors slowly slide shut. Just before they fully met, a hand suddenly caught the edge. Two external students, each standing about two meters tall, walked in and took positions on either side. Fortunately, the elevator was spacious enough not to feel cramped. Once the doors closed, however, one of them kept sizing Chen Chuan up. After a moment, as the elevator began to ascend, a provocative glint entered his eyes. "Regular student, I've always wanted to know the gap between us. How about giving me a chance?" Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "We're all classmates. No need to be so polite." The student instantly perked up. He rotated his wrist, and then a fist shot out toward Chen Chuan. His eyes were locked onto Chen Chuan, while his other hand remained tucked low by his abdomen. By deliberately stepping close earlier, he had found the optimal angle for his strike. Both were second-limit fighters. In such an enclosed space, under such a swift and sudden ambush, it would be almost impossible for Chen Chuan to exert power properly. Should Chen Chuan attempt to dodge or parry, he would immediately adjust his follow-up. He was confident that Chen Chuan would have no clean way to neutralize the blow. He wanted to prove that external students were in no way inferior to regular students. Just as this thought crossed his mind, he realized Chen Chuan made no attempt to parry, counter, or dodge. Instead, he unexpectedly took a step forward. That forward step was accompanied by a slight turn of the torso, leading directly with the shoulder. Before the punch could fully extend, it collided with Chen Chuan's shoulder and was smothered and jammed backward. What was more, the force carried behind it was monstrous, lifting the student off his feet and slamming his back against the elevator doors with a loud thud. Seeing this, the other student whipped up a kick toward Chen Chuan's back. It wasn't that he deliberately intended to gang up on him; it was pure instinct. The two were teammates in the arena, so when one met with disadvantage, he subconsciously struck out to suppress and harass. Almost the exact instant the kick was launched, Chen Chuan stepped sideways. At the same time, he grabbed the arm of the student in front of him and lightly pivoted. Dodging the kick from behind, he reeled the pinned student in and whipped him backward along the momentum of his turn. The student behind struck empty air. Lunging forward, he was desperately trying to arrest his momentum when a silhouette expanded rapidly before his eyes. He scrambled to catch his companion, only to be struck by an irresistible surge of power. The two tumbled to the floor together in a tangled heap, only stopping when they collided with the back wall of the elevator. Chen Chuan watched the two scramble back to their feet and instinctively fall into defensive stances. Looking at the one who had thrown the punch first, he remarked, "Classmate, your punch was fast, but you were overthinking just now. It would be better if you were more decisive." Turning to the other student, he added, "Classmate, your kick was well-timed, but you overcommitted. It would be better if you left yourself some leeway." Both students were stunned by his words. Right then, with a pleasant chime, the elevator doors slid open to either side. Chen Chuan glanced at the floor indicator—the twenty-eighth floor—and stepped aside slightly to clear the way. The two students exchanged glances and stepped out. Once outside, one of them suddenly turned back and said, "Cao Rui!" Chen Chuan gave a nod. "Chen Chuan." The elevator doors slowly closed between them. As the elevator ascended, the other student said involuntarily, "Cao Rui, he's strong." He had noticed that Chen Chuan had used only one hand throughout the brief clash; his other hand, resting on his saber, hadn't moved an inch from beginning to end. A mix of defiance and reluctance colored Cao Rui's voice. "Are all regular students this formidable?" He had secured top placements and impressive results in the arena tournaments, leading him to believe the gap between himself and regular students wouldn't be large. Having fought through life-or-death bouts time and time again, he had thought he could easily overpower a regular student of a similar limit. Yet the exchange just now had struck him like a blow to the head, dealing a heavy blow to his confidence. The other student sighed. "Regular students have access to far more resources." Cao Rui suddenly walked toward another elevator and pressed the call button. Surprised, the other student asked, "Where are you going?" "Go on to the activities without me," Cao Rui replied. "I'm going to do extra training."