Channels

Chen Chuan listened to the tone signaling the end of the call. He pondered for a moment, unsure where this person had come from. Poison Ant Express? The Moss Gang? Or perhaps... Green Origin Ecological Company? The underlying threat in that person's words was subtle, yet that was precisely what proved their strength was limited and that they had reservations. Otherwise, there would have been no need to say any of this; they would have just made a move directly. Still, this proved that the matter with Lutong Logistics was likely not as simple as an ordinary business clash on the surface; it had to involve something deeper. Furthermore, if the other party was capable of uncovering his identity, they would know he wouldn't stay here long. There was no need at all to rush to contact him like this—they could have easily waited until he left. Or was it that, precisely because they knew who he was, they were terrified the Disposal Bureau might get involved? *Hmm, now that is interesting.* Perhaps he could draft a report later. After all, while the Disposal Bureau rarely involved itself in the Lower District's affairs, this place was still part of Center City and naturally fell within the bureau's jurisdiction. As he was thinking, Lan Xinnan contacted him. "Brother Chen, is there anything else you need taken care of? If not, we'll head back." Chen Chuan said, "Head back. By the way, do you have resonators here?" Lan Xinnan replied, "Yes, we have a team. Do you need something, Mr. Chen?" Chen Chuan said, "It's nothing major. When it's convenient later, please have them help me look into a signal." Field signals between here and the Upper District could not connect directly, so he had no way of asking Wu Bei for help. But if there were resonators here as well, he could have someone assist in checking it out. "All right, I'll arrange someone as soon as I get back." After hanging up, the entire convoy set off, heading back toward the camp. Meanwhile, as they were departing, someone among the Poison Ant Express crew who had recorded the entire fight between the two stepped into a corner alone and spoke into his boundary credential: "Per your instructions, I used what you gave me to record the scene. But you didn't mention beforehand that it would be this dangerous. You need to add more to the pay." "Pleasure doing business with you, Boss!" "Right, same old exchange location. I'm on my way." In another location, Old Bian came to his senses from the footage transmitted through his boundary credential. He felt immensely fortunate that he hadn't clashed with Chen Chuan earlier. Otherwise, the one whose head was crushed underfoot today might not have been Gai Er, but himself. However, many third-limit fighters in the Lower District had their own social circles. The moment Gai Er died, word spread through the grapevine immediately. And because Gai Er dealt with him frequently, someone contacted him right away. "Old Bian, I heard the guy who beat Gai Er to death was someone hired by your Lutong Logistics. Weren't you holding down the fort over there? Why the change in personnel? Did you retire?" Old Bian knew these people were only pretending to ask for information; in reality, they were taking sly digs at him. A third-limit fighter retained combat effectiveness well into old age. Furthermore, someone like him only needed to show his face at critical moments and usually did nothing at all. What kind of retirement was there? It was plain as day that he had been kicked out. Anger flared inside him, yet he had to keep up appearances. He brushed the man off with a few noncommittal words. Yet barely had that one ended when another call came in: "Old Bian, that newcomer is pretty fierce. Is he your apprentice? How come I never heard you mention him before?" Holding back his anger, Old Bian said, "He's not my apprentice." "Not your apprentice?" The caller feigned astonishment. "If he's not your apprentice, you just gave up your spot like that? I guess that just shows how highly respected and noble you are, Old Bian—stepping aside for the younger generation. Truly remarkable! We're too worldly, after all; we could never bear to give up our seats." No sooner had he finished with that person than another call arrived after a brief wait. Clearly, the previous news had already circulated. This caller spoke in a seemingly consoling tone: "Old Bian, I saw what happened to Gai Er. I understand your choice. Young folks these days are so hot-tempered and have no martial ethics. We're all getting up there in years, so there's no point in competing with them. Knowing when you can't cut it and stepping down is a good thing. After fighting all your life, who says you aren't allowed to kick back and enjoy yourself?" By the time he had finished dealing with multiple calls, Old Bian's face was as dark as the bottom of a wok. To make matters worse, his apprentice still couldn't read the room and said excitedly, "Master, now that Gai Er is dead, is it our turn to take the stage?" "Take what stage?!" Old Bian roared. That final scene had terrified him to the core. A person like that was best left for Poison Ant Express and the Moss Gang to deal with. His apprentice shrank back at the rebuke and muttered hesitantly, "Then... are we just going to let it go?" Old Bian snorted. "Do you think Poison Ant Express will just back down now that Gai Er is dead? Will the Moss Gang just let it end like this? How could it be that simple? Just wait. There's another good show to watch." Enlightenment dawned on the apprentice. Just then, someone seemed to contact him. After taking the call and exchanging a few words, he looked up and said, "Master, it's Poison Ant Express. They're asking if we knew that guy's background all along and why we didn't tell them earlier." Old Bian sneered. "Tell them that guy only arrived yesterday, and we hadn't even had time to look into him. Besides, they were the ones dueling him. Shouldn't they have looked into him beforehand instead of expecting us to provide intel?" "Oh." The apprentice then added, "Master, Poison Ant Express says this isn't over." Old Bian snorted, feeling a surge of irritation himself. Was it because they couldn't handle the other side that they came to talk tough to him? Did those bastards think he was an easy target to push around? *** After Lutong Logistics' convoy returned to the camp, Chen Chuan stepped down from the vehicle. The resonator Lan Xinnan had arranged for him had also arrived—a serious, earnest man in his thirties surnamed Chi. After running a few checks, he said, "Mr. Chen, this should only be a boundary point signal. To avoid tracking in the Lower District, people usually use relay hopping—meaning an uninvolved party receives the signal and forwards it outward, sometimes bouncing it several times in between. "In the end, even they don't know where it ultimately goes. "It's a very simple method, but highly effective. Even if we can locate this boundary point, it might only be some person hired off an online platform, not the actual caller. Of course, if you insist on tracking it, Mr. Chen, we can follow it through." Chen Chuan said, "Is that so? Thank you." In that case, even bringing in someone more technically proficient wouldn't make a difference, so there was no need to pursue it further. He pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you have a way to connect to the Upper District from here?" Old Chi said, "The Upper District enforces field shielding on the Lower District, but technical measures can bypass it through certain loopholes. However, those loopholes are currently in the hands of various gangs and factions. We used to have a signal channel, but after Lutong Express ran into trouble, that channel was lost as well. "Right now, if we want to establish stable contact with the upper levels, we have to purchase signal access from other gangs and groups. Aside from paying a hefty sum, there's no guarantee the contents of the conversation won't be leaked. "If you have any urgent or confidential matters requiring contact with the upper levels, Brother Chen, we can try to set up an amplified signal. However, since it would be an unauthorized private signal, it might draw targeted interference and jamming, so the call can't last very long. If it's kept under three minutes, it should be fine." Chen Chuan nodded. "Thank you. In that case, please prepare it, Mr. Chi. I might need it later." Old Chi said, "No problem. Captain Lan said to fully cooperate with you. I'll go get it ready right away." After he left, Lan Xinnan walked over and handed Chen Chuan a gold card. "Brother Chen, this is the compensation we promised you." Chen Chuan took it and looked at it. It was a gold card from Wansheng Financial Firm. It seemed this financial firm had service locations in the Lower District as well. Upon asking, he learned that this money was originally meant as tribute for Old Bian. According to their agreement, Lutong Logistics was supposed to pay once a month. However, the company's situation had been terrible over the past few months, so payments had lapsed for recent months. Now, the entire sum had been transferred to him. The money totaled two hundred thousand, which was nearly an entire quarter's profits for the team after deducting essential operating expenses. Seen this way, Old Bian really had it comfortable—raking in so much money every month while doing practically nothing. And even so, that man still hadn't seemed satisfied. Chen Chuan pondered for a moment, then handed the card back. Seeing this, Lan Xinnan looked puzzled. Then, as if realizing something, she hastily said, "Brother Chen, I know this might be a bit little to you. That's because we couldn't take on big business before, so we can't offer you more. But now that we've taken our territory back, I'm sure we can earn more. When the time comes, we will make up the difference." Chen Chuan shook his head. "That's not what I mean, Captain Lan. I heard from Little Brother Lu that you've been privately spending your own money searching for implants for Teacher Yu? "Teacher Yu was my first teacher. Now that he's fallen on hard times, I feel that if I have the ability, I should help out. Take this money back and use it to get Teacher Yu a good set of implants." Lan Xinnan stared at him blankly. After a moment, she took the gold card back. "Brother Chen, Master truly does need them." She lifted the card and said with utmost earnestness, "I'm borrowing this from you, Brother Chen. I will pay it back." Chen Chuan said, "There's no rush on that. Captain Lan, what channel did you use to obtain implants previously?" Lan Xinnan replied, "I asked clients who have business dealings with the Upper District to place orders for me. But they said they could only order from small companies; they couldn't get in touch with the major ones." Chen Chuan hummed in acknowledgment. He could have guessed that those clients would definitely take a cut in between. That was equivalent to being gouged twice. Not only was a lot of money wasted, but more importantly, the implants obtained might not even be particularly good. He asked, "Then do you have a suitable implant doctor?" Lan Xinnan said, "We do have that. Quite a few of our security personnel use implants. We originally had three implant doctors, but now only one remains. "However, her skills are excellent, and her character is trustworthy. She was the one who performed Master's previous implant surgery. We also have a medical pod left behind from the original Lutong Logistics—one of the few things we managed to keep from the former organization." Chen Chuan nodded slightly and said, "In that case, leave contacting a channel to me."