Position

After coming up from the underground area of the Disposal Bureau, Chen Chuan thanked Deputy Director Guo and walked over to his office alone. His office was located on the southern corner of the Disposal Bureau's thirtieth floor, offering a direct view of the parking lot as well as the surrounding streets and buildings. The office was furnished to the standard specifications for his rank, equipped with an independent informational field organism, a personal storage room, a confidential records room, a large conference room, and a lounge with a shower. He had little intention of remodeling it. As an operations-focused Investigation Supervisor, his responsibilities almost always required him to handle matters in the field, leaving him little time to remain stationed at the bureau. He walked over to his desk and picked up a document lying upon it to read. It was a letter of commendation from the Defense Department for him and the members of his team. The material rewards would be disbursed later. He tapped his boundary credential. Now linked to Andun, it allowed him to directly query specific information on all internal personnel within the Disposal Bureau and browse past cases or active investigations at any time. One ongoing operation was directly pertinent to him, falling squarely under his remit. Since it was a long-term undertaking, it would likely have to wait until he returned from his leave to resume. Scanning the details, he saw that the primary target was Lianwei Heavy Control Company. During the Fumu's reproduction and division, this company had repeatedly provided escort and mercenary services to other corporations, even transporting split sub-bodies of the Fumu. A corporation like this had to be dealt heavy blows, or its operations purged from the city altogether. Yet this was a protracted process. Unlike the Ferris Wheel Company, its headquarters was not situated here, and it conducted business across various cities, making it difficult to strike at its foundation. Extremely dissatisfied with the company, the Government Affairs Hall intended to seize this opportunity to establish an air transport company anchored by Air Shark Company, siphoning away its business. Going forward, the Disposal Bureau would intensify supervision and crackdowns on its mercenary operations. However, owing to Jibei Dao's unique geographic position and significant influence over the island nations of the Outer Ocean, the collapse of Ferris Wheel had left behind a massive slice of the pie. The company was unlikely to give up its operations here, which meant a confrontation and power struggle were virtually inevitable. After reading through, he heard a notification chime from below: several Disposal Bureau personnel had submitted applications to join his investigation team. Reviewing their qualifications and past records, he found none of them particularly outstanding. They were likely merely jumping at the chance to align themselves with him early after seeing his rapid rise within the bureau. After all, he was still young—not even twenty years old. Even if he remained stagnant in rank, he could outlast the superiors above him through sheer time. He considered this. While carrying out missions, many tasks concerning investigation, logistics, and technical support were indeed impossible for him to handle alone; he would certainly require plenty of hands. Yet there was no need to rush, and he did not trust certain people within the bureau—it was hard to say whether someone had deliberately planted operatives among them. He felt he could make good use of the recruitment quota. He already had a few ideas in mind, but there was no urgency; it could wait until he returned from his leave. He understood clearly that improving himself came first; only with strength did one possess a voice. After dismissing the applications, he saw below them a catalog of weapons, gear, and equipment available for internal purchase. There was even a resonance nest listed, and at a relatively cheap price. Thoughtful, he realized he could purchase some necessary equipment to fortify his residence. In future confrontations with corporations, it would inevitably come in handy. Beyond that, several state-developed high-tech implants were also accessible to him. Though he had no personal need for them, they were undeniably an option for arming non-fighter combatants, civilian staff, or injured fighters unable to recover. For instance, Deputy Director Luo Xiucheng, who oversaw internal affairs, clearly had a full suite of high-grade implants. He did not look down on such technology. With technological advancements, the utility of these devices would undoubtedly become increasingly prominent, particularly in granting ordinary people combat capability. In the future period when the two worlds merged, they might well play a role in repelling otherworldly organisms, making this a broader trend. After spending over half an hour attending to various trivial matters, he picked up the case containing his uniforms and stepped out. The orderly on duty at the door gave him a salute, then eagerly reached out. "Supervisor Chen, let me carry that for you." Chen Chuan did not decline, handing him the case. The two rode the elevator downstairs. Along the way, Disposal Bureau personnel who saw him pass came to a halt, greeted him with "Supervisor," and only resumed walking after he had gone by. Every person he encountered, familiar or unfamiliar, took the initiative to greet him, and he nodded in acknowledgment. The orderly following behind held his chest just a bit higher. When they reached the lobby entrance, he saw that rain had begun outside. The pale gray sky was slightly overcast, and raindrops swept in along with a brisk wind, feeling exceptionally refreshing. The orderly immediately dashed to the side, grabbed an umbrella, and held it open over him, extending his arm toward Chen Chuan as far as possible while paying no heed to his own body being left in the rain. Chen Chuan walked down the wide flight of steps. As he reached the parking lot, a squad marched up, saluted, and their leader said, "Supervisor Chen, I am Yu Xiao. My squad and I are tasked with escorting your travels. Where would you like to go?" Chen Chuan looked over. There were four armored vehicles in total. Aside from his dedicated vehicle, the other three were purely for combat, each mounted with a machine gun. Though his strength rendered protection unnecessary, this was standard protocol for an Investigation Supervisor at the Disposal Bureau. Since this was their first meeting, there was no reason to refuse, and it was good to familiarize himself with the personnel anyway. After a brief thought, he looked up and said, "Yinglu District, the former site of Ferris Wheel Company." The squad leader's expression turned stern. "Understood!" Someone promptly held open the door of the dedicated vehicle. Once Chen Chuan stepped into the stretched armored car, the armed personnel boarded their vehicles, and the convoy drove out. Sentries posted in front of the plaza snapped into salutes as the motorcade swept past. Meanwhile, on the other side, Sun Rao was returning to the bureau in a patrol car. Having been on duty all night with Wei Yuji, he was just heading back from outside. Seeing the four armored vehicles driving out from the grounds, their car naturally pulled over to wait. Sun Rao had been with the Disposal Bureau for a long time. One glance at the motorcade's configuration told him it was the deployment of either a supervisor or a deputy director, and he wondered if some incident had cropped up again. Wei Yuji sat in the backseat, his elbow propped on the windowsill, staring outside out of boredom. Being naturally sharp, however, the moment he saw the motorcade, he checked the bureau's internal communication channel on his boundary credential to see if any special situation had arisen. Browsing through, he raised his eyebrows and glanced at Sun Rao. "Senior, take a look at today's internal announcements. Check if this newly appointed Investigation Supervisor is the one you know." "Investigation Supervisor?" Sun Rao looked at the departing motorcade. As if remembering something, his slouched posture straightened, and he opened his boundary credential to look. Before long, shock and disbelief washed over his face. After reading it once, he read it again, and then once more. Finally, he murmured, "I truly didn't expect this... He entered the Disposal Bureau much later than I did." Wei Yuji gave a light laugh and said, "Senior Sun, that's only natural. There's simply a gap between people; admitting you're not as good as someone else isn't shameful. Senior, you've always worked hard, and I've seen it all, but talent isn't something hard work alone can buy. Recognizing your limits early has no downsides." Sun Rao remained silent. Once the patrol car started up again, drove inside, and parked in the plaza, he said, "Go on in first. I'm going to the restroom." Once Wei Yuji had walked away, he tapped his boundary credential and contacted another sponsored student, An Cheng. The boundary credential connected shortly. An Cheng's voice came through: "Sun Rao? What are you calling me for at this hour? Make it quick—I need to squeeze in some training after I hand over my shift." Sun Rao said, "Don't push yourself so hard." An Cheng's voice immediately rose, tinged with impatience. "How can I not push myself? If I don't, I'll be stuck doing patrol duty every single day. I refuse to settle for that. Are you satisfied with it? Enough, why did you contact me? Speak up." Sun Rao said, "The bureau just promoted someone to Investigation Supervisor." An Cheng sounded puzzled. "Why bring that up? What does that have to do with us?" Sun Rao said nothing. Before long, An Cheng realized, his voice trembling slightly: "It's him?" Sun Rao nodded and said, "Yes. It happened this morning. Look up the bureau's notices and you'll see." Silence fell on the other end, evidently as he checked. After a moment, An Cheng's voice came back, thick with incredulity: "This... How is this possible? Isn't this way too fast?" Sun Rao said in a subdued tone, "If it's truly as the internal reports say, it's actually not that fast. He's a third-limit fighter. As long as he racks up merits, why would he ever struggle to climb the ranks?" An Cheng seemed utterly crushed, rendered speechless for a time. Sun Rao said solemnly, "An Cheng, there's simply a gap between people. Admitting you're not as good as someone else isn't shameful. You've always worked hard, and I've seen it all, but talent isn't something hard work alone can buy. Give it up. Recognizing your limits early has no downsides." Meanwhile, on a street outside the Disposal Bureau, as Chen Chuan's vehicle departed, two men at a street-facing bar were discussing him. A man wearing sunglasses asked, "Was that the one who cut Ferris Wheel apart just now?" "That's him. Though slicing Ferris Wheel apart probably wasn't purely his own power. From the intel we gathered afterward, he must have received help from Wuyi Academy's active conscious entity." The man in sunglasses said, "That sounds more plausible. Still, only someone with sufficient strength of their own could wield an active conscious entity's power. Someone like that qualifies to join us." "Then should we recruit him?" The man in sunglasses replied, "No rush. Let's observe him a bit more. We in the Refinement School don't just take in anyone."