Time moved into mid-October. Because Chen Chuan was staying at the Mount Motie Estate, he did not telephone home for safety's sake, instead having Gao Ming send a telegram to his family.
During this period, he took two more doses. His vital essence and changeless mind accumulated day by day, and with no interference from outside enemies, it was virtually equivalent to a period of secluded cultivation.
Apart from necessary defensive duties, he could devote most of his time solely to his cultivation. In particular, he could clearly feel the progress he made after each dose, and he thoroughly enjoyed the process.
Meanwhile, the Meng family and the company had made frequent moves over the past several days. Yan Yi scoffed at them, believing that the other side was merely trying to pile pressure onto Meng Shu to throw her into disarray. The more anxious Meng Huang's side became, the less they themselves could afford to rush.
Chen Chuan maintained his own sources of intelligence from the Disposal Bureau as well, and it was evident the opposition was being very cautious. The Disposal Bureau had recently uncovered many new movements by the Ferris Wheel Company, which had diverted a great deal of their attention. From this, it was possible to deduce that the other side was likely close to making their move, meaning they had to be exceptionally vigilant over the coming days.
Right then, an alarm suddenly blared outside. Hurried footsteps sounded as security personnel throughout the estate rushed to their positions.
Lately, the estate had been conducting repeated drills according to the defensive plan provided by the Disposal Bureau. Occasionally, when he took a break to move about, he would go down to coordinate with them, allowing the security personnel to get a direct feel for things.
However, with a third of their defensive personnel gone, there was no way to fully cover every corner of such a vast estate. Those areas could only be ceded to the biological weapons. The primary personnel were concentrated solely around the perimeter of the main residence; they didn't expect to eliminate many enemies, only to protect themselves in time and delay any intruders.
While the drill was underway, a truck suddenly drove up the highway at the foot of the mountain. Because the estate housed a large number of people, a shipment of food and daily consumables was purchased every month. For security reasons, these were all procured through the Mount Motie Agency Company.
At the same time, a small airship flew over from the distance. Whenever foreign vehicles or vehicles not registered in advance passed through the Mount Motie area, these airships would draw close. Meng Shu's estate, having raised its alert level, drew even more of their attention.
The truck pulled up in front of the estate and stopped. The delivery crew stepped out and began unloading cargo. In the front passenger seat, the tall man, dressed in a worker's uniform, was peering through the one-way glass to survey the situation inside the estate.
However, he found that looking out from here, visual barriers had been set up in every direction across the estate, with trees screening the view further back. From inside the vehicle, he couldn't see much at all.
Once the unloading was complete, the truck doors were shut, and it backed away under the watchful eyes of the security guards.
As the driver turned back onto the road, he kept his eyes on the route ahead and said, "Word came in. They've been running frequent drills inside the estate lately, and security is tight. Also, there was a strange move last month—they brought a wanted criminal inside. We don't know the purpose, but by all appearances, he was likely handed over to that fighter."
"A wanted criminal?"
The tall man found it somewhat bizarre. Why bring a wanted criminal in at a time like this? A certain possibility crossed his mind, but he felt he might be overthinking it. If the man had been handed to that fighter, then it was likely meant to satisfy martial cultivation or serve as an outlet to vent frustration.
This deduction was quite reasonable, since anyone...
Meanwhile, inside the estate, dedicated staff inspected the foodstuffs and daily provisions. Finding no issues, they called workers over to carry them inside.
Chen Chuan stepped out from within just then. After taking a look, he said, "Put the goods down first. Open them up and let me see."
Upon hearing this, most of the security team immediately fell back to find cover, sending two men forward who, alongside the pale-faced delivery workers, began opening the containers one by one.
Noticing the commotion, Yan Yi promptly came down from the upper estate in an internal vehicle. She boldly approached, took a few looks, and asked, "Mr. Chen, is there a problem?"
"I'm not certain yet," Chen Chuan said. "However, I advise against consuming or using anything from this shipment."
He had a lingering feeling that something was wrong with these supplies, though he couldn't put his finger on what. Even so, he was willing to trust his instincts this time.
Yan Yi trusted his judgment implicitly. Without hesitation, she used her boundary credential to instruct the Mount Motie Agency Company to send another batch over immediately. Then she asked, "Mr. Chen, how should we dispose of this batch?"
"Wait a moment," Chen Chuan said.
He turned and walked to a secluded spot, first contacting Wu Bei. Once the call connected, he asked, "Brother Wu, can you set up a private platform for one person?"
Wu Bei replied, "Aside from a resonance nest, that requires some unique field organisms. I do have spares, but it can only stay up for five minutes at most."
"Five minutes is enough," Chen Chuan said.
Wu Bei immediately said, "Give me a moment." A short while later, a message came through from him. "All set. Who does Brother Chen want to contact?"
Chen Chuan immediately sent over a contact and an address. "This person. Can you set up a dedicated line for me?"
Wu Bei took a look and said, "No problem."
It sounded like he was tinkering with something. After a moment, he sent a temporary login code for the platform and said, "All ready, Brother Chen. You can reach out to the other side now."
Chen Chuan logged in and connected with the contact. The other party answered quickly. After standard greetings, he stated his purpose: "I'd like to find out about a few things... Here's the situation..."
He asked what he needed to know. The other side did not disappoint, providing an immediate response. After listening, he said, "I might need to follow up on a few more matters. If there's any supplementary information, please contact me via radio."
The other side agreed, and after confirming the radio frequency, they ended the call.
Right then, another message came from Wu Bei: "Brother Chen, I didn't get a chance to mention it earlier, but around the time the truck entered and left, I intercepted a transmission. The exact same frequency appeared during last month's delivery, too. Even though I can't decrypt the specific contents, I can confirm it originated from inside the estate."
"Understood," Chen Chuan said.
He walked back and said to Yan Yi, "Just bury these items right here on the grounds." After he gave the instruction, before Yan Yi could even speak, the staff and security guards moved in unison, hauling the crates to the side.
Yan Yi could sense Chen Chuan's authority among these people, but she was pleased to see it. Only a leader of such commanding presence could make everyone fall into line when danger struck.
Meanwhile, after the truck left the Mount Motie area, the tall man learned through his boundary credential that the estate had ordered another identical batch of supplies. He couldn't help feeling surprised. "Are they really that cautious...?"
They had indeed tampered with that shipment, though the supplies themselves were harmless on their own; they were meant to be triggered by something else once they launched their attack.
What was more, given the conditions and equipment currently available on the mountain, it was impossible to detect.
An operative on the other end inquired, "Boss Sheng, should we make arrangements on that end again?"
"Forget it," the tall man said.
Those supplies cost quite a bit of money. If they could spot something once, who was to say they couldn't spot it again?
Having handled that, he contacted his team. Once the line connected after a moment, he said, "Boss, that fighter is no simple opponent. I suspect he might possess exceptionally high sensory perception, which aligns with his having certain field techniques. He's extraordinarily keen at sensing anomalies and out-of-place elements from the outside.
"With someone like that keeping watch, it's virtually impossible for us to tamper with food and daily provisions. I suggest we stop wasting time on tricks like this...
"Boss, the employer is already pressing us, and the preparatory work I needed to do is basically complete. I say we might as well—alright, I'll head over right away..."
Back at the estate, while waiting for security to dispose of the supplies, Chen Chuan said to Yan Yi, "Among your three resonators, at least one is a mole."
Yan Yi didn't appear particularly surprised, merely saying with a trace of regret, "Skilled resonators like them are hard to recruit. Losing even one is a blow."
"Assistant Yan, I assume you have a way to ferret them out?" Chen Chuan asked.
"Leave it to me," Yan Yi said. "Oh, and I should inform you, Mr. Chen—the items you asked someone to send, as well as the person you needed for this month, have both arrived. They've already been delivered to the entrance of your villa."
Although she didn't know what Chen Chuan wanted with a wanted criminal every month, since he hadn't said, she wouldn't pry.
After the provisions had all been buried, Chen Chuan returned to his living quarters. A person lay sprawled before his door, with a bundle resting beside him.
He scanned the person with his boundary credential. Seeing a dozen criminal offenses pop up and confirming his identity as a wanted criminal, he hauled the man inside.
The man had been injected with a sedative and had yet to regain consciousness. Chen Chuan had no need for him to wake up either. Bringing the man and the bundle into the living room, he set him down, retrieved the civet stone plaque from his pocket, and tossed it onto the man's body.
Within moments, the wanted criminal began violently convulsing. After about ten minutes of waiting, the twitching finally ceased, but by now he had turned into an empty husk of skin.
Chen Chuan bent down and retrieved the stone plaque. Although he was confident in his abilities, one had to remain prudent when dealing with enemies; any supplementary resource that could be exploited should naturally be put to use.
When the enemy struck, there would surely be more than one person. With the civet aberration ready, he could at least neutralize one combatant right off the bat; even if it didn't kill them, it would inflict severe injuries from which quick recovery would be out of the question.
As for that bundle...
He walked over to open it. It was packed to the brim with esoteric ritual materials that Old Qi had purchased for him.
Chapter 379