Compensation

Chen Chuan returned to his car and drove toward the bureau. Around one o'clock in the afternoon, he reached his destination. After parking out front, he entered the Disposal Bureau's office building amid salutes from the security personnel flanking the entrance. He found Ni Xixi in her office. She handed him a document, saying, "The Ferris Wheel Company originally laid down a condition, stating that if they paid you compensation, you'd have to personally guarantee that you won't take any hostile action against the Ferris Wheel Company in the future. We threw that right back in their faces, of course." Ni Xixi crossed her arms and let out a cold sneer. "As the injured party, you're actually expected to accept restrictions from your attackers? What an absolute joke! If they think they're so tough, let them keep stonewalling and fight it out with Lianwei Heavy Control to see who ends up losing more." Chen Chuan looked over the document, which mainly outlined terms and conditions regarding the payout, then looked up. "So what are they planning to do now?" "After some wrangling, they ended up proposing paying in installments. That's probably their real motive. As for why installments..." Ni Xixi scoffed. "The Ferris Wheel Company probably thinks that as long as you want to collect the remaining payouts, you won't make a move against them." Chen Chuan placed the document back on the desk. "Setting aside the compensation for now, I want to hear the Ferris Wheel Company's explanation. Did they give any specific reason why they attacked me?" Ni Xixi said, "According to their version of events, that woman named Sister Huan you killed while escorting Meng Shu back to the center city area happened to be the trusted partner and assistant of one of their senior executives. The two had a close personal relationship behind closed doors, so after she died, he harbored a fierce desire for revenge against you. Ignoring the company's warnings, he allegedly used private channels to hire fighters from overseas to come after you." The moment Chen Chuan heard this, he knew it was merely a perfunctory excuse. First and foremost, it failed to explain why Bureau Director Lei had also been targeted at the same time. The real reason was likely significant enough that they refused to disclose it. Viewed this way, Ferris Wheel had probably not abandoned its original intent; they had merely made a temporary compromise under outside pressure. He thought for a moment, then added, "There's another question. The person who attacked me claimed to be a fighter from the overseas Langtao Arena. What does the bureau plan to do about this Langtao Arena?" Ni Xixi said, "We sent people to make inquiries. Langtao Arena claimed they are only responsible for instructing disciples in martial arts cultivation and never interfere in their disciples' personal affairs." She shook her head, her expression solemn. "Regarding Langtao Arena, although we can apply pressure, getting them to bow their heads is exceedingly difficult. Langtao Arena is no ordinary fighting arena. The fighters emerging from there are spread across the outer oceans and the Ying Continent, and many of them are first-rate combatants. The arena itself holds a lofty status in the hearts of many overseas fighters. After entering the new era, Langtao actively adopted new technologies to forge an elite armed force loyal to itself. If we want to pressure them, the administrative resources we'd have to deploy would be immense. Setting aside how effective it would even be, even if we forced them to yield temporarily, some fighters who revere Langtao Arena as a spiritual faith might resort to extreme actions. That is not something we wish to see." Chen Chuan understood. Langtao Arena was effectively the Wuyi Academy of the outer oceans, and one equipped with its own independent armed force. Against an armed violent organization like that, unless one resolved to exterminate them with military force, one could only apply pressure through indirect political means—which was bound to be nothing more than an itch on the surface. That didn't matter. Since the opponent had fought him in the capacity of a fighter back then, he could pay them a visit in the capacity of a fighter in the future as well. Ni Xixi tapped her boundary credential, sending over an agreement. "Here is the first installment of two hundred thousand Jianzhi dollars transferred to you from Ferris Wheel. The bureau's legal counselors have already reviewed it for you; there are no issues. If you aren't at ease, you can also have your personal legal counselor look it over. There are two more installments to follow after this." Chen Chuan pondered for a moment, signed it, and then looked up. "Sister Ni, please submit this sum to the bureau on my behalf." The three installments totaled only six hundred thousand—roughly equivalent to a single bonus from Convergence Boundary. It was obvious Ferris Wheel was merely going through the motions, or rather, had no desire to give him much at all. Therefore, he had no intention of keeping this money—or rather, not right now. When the time came, he would find a way to collect the debt owed by Ferris Wheel himself, principal and interest included. Moreover, he was not short on living expenses. The special medicine he primarily used for cultivation nowadays was provided by Convergence Boundary Company. Apart from buying medicine and gas for the car, he had few expenses. If he accepted it outright, there was no telling how many people in the bureau might grow strangely envious of him. He might as well hand it over and use Ferris Wheel's money to curry favor. Ni Xixi asked, "Brother Chen, are you sure?" Chen Chuan said, "I'm sure." Ni Xixi joked, "Ai, if it were your Sister Ni, I could never part with such a large sum. I could have bought myself a brand-new car!" Then her tone grew serious. "Brother Chen, I know you don't intend to let this matter drop just like that. In truth, the bureau won't let it go either. Don't be impulsive on your own; an opportunity will come." Chen Chuan replied, "I understand." Then he asked, "Sister Ni, do you have time? I mentioned treating you to a meal last time, and today happens to be a rest day." Ni Xixi rubbed her temples. "Next time. I'm an internal affairs officer, and with the new semester just having started not long ago, I have to coordinate with that newly sponsored employee these few days. It's giving me quite a headache." Chen Chuan said, "Speaking of which, I haven't met that student yet." Ni Xixi curled her lip. "He's still in his evaluation period, but from what I've seen, he falls far short of you, Brother Chen. I don't mean potential or combat prowess—those are just things on paper without concrete proof yet, so it's too early to tell. Even though his evaluation score was slightly higher than your first one, the impression that student gives is far too arrogant. He acts as if the financial support we give him is a matter of course, and that his coming to the Disposal Bureau is doing us a favor. Still, the higher-ups treat him like a treasure, truly thinking they can find another person like you, Brother Chen. In all my years at the Disposal Bureau, I've coordinated with quite a few students, and I've never seen another one like you." Hearing the resentment in Ni Xixi's voice, Chen Chuan knew the newcomer had made a poor impression on her. He shook his head and said, "It seems this junior doesn't know how to tell jokes." Hearing that, Ni Xixi couldn't help giggling. It took her quite a while to stop. Waving her hand, she said, "All right, all right, Brother Chen. Today is a rest day, so don't linger here. Go back and get some proper rest." Chen Chuan nodded and took his leave of Ni Xixi. As he walked out of the office, a message arrived on his boundary credential notifying him that the saber sent in earlier had been repaired and asking him to pick it up from logistics. That worked out perfectly. He headed over to the logistics department and retrieved the repaired long saber. This time, logistics had even crafted an exquisite scabbard case for it. After thanking them, he left the Disposal Bureau and drove back to his courtyard residence in Wuding District. He placed the saber on a pre-prepared rack in the collection room, admired it for quite some time, and only then stepped outside. Upon returning to the academy, he resumed his earlier cultivation, striving to master the tempering method as soon as possible so that he could ask Teacher Xue for guidance on the next step. In the blink of an eye, the rest day in late February arrived. On this day, Chen Chuan had agreed to go with Tan Zhi to the theater to watch a musical drama in the afternoon, having arranged to meet at Tan Zhi's home. Because there was a possibility of running into Chen Bitong this time, he had changed into formal attire and set out early in the morning, driving toward Tan Zhi's residence. Since the musical drama was in Weiguang District, he didn't drive the Jiade car, taking the Silver Lightning instead. Ever since acquiring that car, he had never driven it out. Aside from the troublesome follow-up maintenance, the main issue was that once he drove it around, it might not remain his for long. However, in Weiguang District, there was no need to worry about that for the time being. When he arrived at the courtyard residence Tan Zhi rented, Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin had already arrived. Upon meeting the three, Pan Xiaode didn't act like a stranger at all, stepping forward to shake his hand. "Student Chen, we haven't seen you in quite a while!" Tan Zhi remarked, "With greater capability comes greater responsibility, after all." Pan Xiaode said with some regret, "I should have sparred with Student Chen sooner. Now that you're a third limit fighter, I can't even exchange moves with you anymore." Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Sparring a bit is fine. I can make an adjustment and suppress my strength and speed to roughly match your level." Pan Xiaode's eyes instantly lit up, and he looked eager to try. "Really?" Chen Chuan said, "Of course. You and Student Qi can come at me together." "Great!" Pan Xiaode turned to Qi Huixin and said, "Huixin, let's take him on together." Qi Huixin gave an affirmative nod and stepped up beside him with a serious expression. Getting a chance to spar with a third limit fighter was a rare opportunity. Their families had hired fighters of that level before, but given such people's status, they would never bother to engage with juniors. As for the instructors they hired, at most they provided pointers; they would not trade blows directly, as too vast a gap made sparring meaningless. In the past, they had thought so too. Only now did they realize that those instructors simply lacked the ability to suppress themselves the way Chen Chuan could. Pan Xiaode then glanced at Tan Zhi. "Student Tan, what about you?" Tan Zhi waved his hand. "Count me out." If it were a dancing competition, he was confident he could be the most dazzling presence on the floor. But when it came to fighting, he was nowhere near as fanatical as the two of them. If not for the evaluation score requirement hanging over him, he would just coast by whenever possible. Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin were extremely solemn. Offering an apology first, they began warming up to the side and then consumed several tubes of nutritional paste. Chen Chuan was willing to practice with them, and they did not take it for granted; they truly cherished this opportunity. Once their warm-up was complete, each grabbed their weapon of choice and approached Chen Chuan. With a simultaneous shout, they launched their attacks at him from two different directions. ... ...