Influence

After ending his call with Wu Han, Chen Chuan glanced over the contact details for Geng Zheng and the other two, deciding to find an opportunity to reach out to them. Gao Ming had advised him early on to build his own core team, and he largely agreed with that perspective. Until his personal martial might grew so overwhelming that he no longer needed to concern himself with anything, he could not handle every matter entirely on his own. Setting aside the impending Great Impact he would face in the future, as an Investigation Supervisor right now, he could not possibly oversee every subordinate affair in person. The bureau could allocate a certain amount of personnel to him, but he was unfamiliar with them and would not necessarily find them smooth to work with. Moreover, it was extremely likely that they were entangled with other figures within the bureau. Such people could be utilized under normal circumstances, but at critical junctures, the slightest laxity or covert nudge from someone behind the scenes could bring about unpredictable consequences. Therefore, he had to have people he could truly trust. Perhaps for this very reason, the bureau had granted him a number of discretionary quota spots he could freely allocate. His intention was to recruit his two former classmates as well as Wei Chang'an and the others. They had worked together before, possessed exceptional ability, and had great potential. They could serve as his first core team. As for Geng Zheng and his two companions, Chen Chuan was well aware of their capabilities. All three were standout talents. The Mutual Aid Society's willingness to take them in and later sponsor them to test for the Unlimited Defense Certificate was proof enough of their skill. Their character held no major flaws, and hailing from Yangzhi as well, they would naturally align with his circle. Right now, they were likely working under some client only because they lacked formal citizen status. He could try recruiting them. He then checked his second self again and noticed its blurriness was still ongoing, showing no sign of how long it would last. His gaze narrowed slightly. Given this condition and the sound that had emanated from the tape recorder earlier, he had good reason to suspect that the person whose voice had been recorded was very likely a martial artist. Had he not possessed the second self, it was hard to say whether he could have fended off such a psychic assault. Yet whether Ji Xinmin and his companions had merely utilized this figure's spiritual power or whether the owner of that power had authorized it remained unclear for now. These three knew full well that he had joined the Purist Faction, yet they had still sought him out and even resorted to such methods. This could not have been without reason. He pondered it, considering several possibilities in an instant, but none could be confirmed. Still, this matter warranted caution. According to what Mr. Zhuan had said earlier, once the faction's internal procedures were concluded, someone would deliver the pure substance to him. Previously, he had been out in the Outer Ocean, but now that he had returned, the Purist Faction would surely dispatch someone to contact him soon. He could bring up the matter then. He continued looking through his previous unread messages, replying to them one by one. Toward the end, he came across several messages sent from Boundary of Convergence. The first of these was from Yan Yi, informing him that Sancheng Huang, whom he had introduced to the company, had proven exceptionally reliable, turning back several potential incursions in succession. Upon seeing this, Chen Chuan immediately logged onto Boundary of Convergence's security management platform and pulled up some archived surveillance footage, discovering that there had indeed been a few attempted attacks. However, it was clear that most of these moves were mere probing efforts. These parties had likely acted after learning he was on leave and away from Center City, but upon discovering that Boundary of Convergence still had formidable personnel guarding it even in his absence, they had ceased further action. This was par for the course in corporate rivalries. He logged off the platform and moved on to the second message. It was also from Yan Yi, stating that negotiations for the business venture the company favored had gone quite well. However, to ensure smooth expansion, Meng Shu would personally travel to the Outer Ocean for an inspection and to sign the contract, and her itinerary was currently being arranged. Aside from bringing Sancheng Huang along, the company had also engaged a reputable agency to hire additional capable security personnel. Yan Yi asked whether there were any points he felt needed caution or reinforcement. Chen Chuan gave it some thought. With Sancheng Huang there, things should be fine. After all, Sancheng Huang was an Outer Ocean native himself and was very familiar with the local landscape. Furthermore, the three grand dojos were all currently diminished in strength, closely watched by the two corporations and the Great Shun government behind them. General safety was reasonably assured. Instead, it was the contractors hired through the agency that warranted closer scrutiny. Having thought it over, he sent a reply to the company saying he was back and would make time in the near future to visit and discuss the matter. By the time he had replied to all his messages, the convoy had returned to Wuding District. He had them drive straight to the Disposal Bureau. Upon arrival, he briefed Director Wu on the situation and handed over Ji Xinmin and the other two captives to the bureau. Yet he knew well that this affair touched upon two opposing factions, and the Disposal Bureau might not reach any definitive resolution. Consequently, the Purist Faction would likely need to step in and handle it later. With matters sorted out there, he headed back to his residence. Once home, he washed up, brought the short blade seized in this confrontation to his collection room, and placed it on one of the weapon stands. He stepped back a few paces and nodded in satisfaction. His biggest single haul here had come from the days of Fumu's reproduction. Among them, the Defender General's saber, the blades of Nagahide Miyahide and the others, Chang Kuanghai's long-handled battleaxe, and Astrid's armor and weapons had all been obtained during that incident. Still, he was far from filling this collection room, and expanding it was a prospect lost in some distant, unknown future. He reminded himself that he needed to keep striving. After admiring it for a moment, he left the room and returned to begin his daily cultivation. Roughly an hour after Ji Xinmin and the others were handed over to the bureau, a legal team from the Grey Shell Affairs Agency arrived at the Disposal Bureau. Citing that the three men held no warrants or criminal records, they demanded their release upon payment of a fine. The Disposal Bureau rejected the demand. The trio was suspected of assaulting a high-ranking Disposal Bureau official, and the charge had been brought personally by Chen Chuan, who had captured them himself, accompanied by records of their prior interception. Most importantly, the three had interfered with Andun's field data processing and discernment. Taken to its furthest legal conclusion, this was an egregious act of obstructing law enforcement. Coming so soon after the conclusion of Fumu's division, with the city's state of alert not yet fully lifted, special security regulations could be invoked to hold them in custody. The legal team lingered in the Disposal Bureau for a long time without getting their way, eventually departing with grim faces. Merely a night later, on August 29th, Chen Chuan received a barrage of messages from unfamiliar contacts, all requesting a conversation with him. However, he had Andun block every one of them. Yet no sooner had the morning passed than he began receiving messages and calls from classmates he knew well, including Tan Zhi. "Classmate Chen, Instructor Wei approached me today. She said someone who knows we keep in close contact asked her to have me ask if you could do a favor and release those people you detained. Of course, I know I don't have that kind of sway, so I only promised to pass along the question." Chen Chuan said, "I understand. You can tell her that this matter will be handled strictly by the book." Tan Zhi said, "All right, I'll reply to her like that." Chen Chuan reflected on this. He could sense that Instructor Wei's move was not genuinely aimed at pleading for the three men's release, but rather served as an indirect way to inform and caution him about the opposing side's influence. The call with Tan Zhi had just ended when Pan Xiaode reached out, also regarding the exact same matter. "Classmate Chen, I didn't want to bring this up with you, but my old man insisted that I speak to you about it. Anyway, do whatever you need to do—don't mind me at all." Chen Chuan smiled and agreed. Besides these two, other Wuyi instructors he knew or had met sent messages as well, all touching upon the issue and subtly cautioning him to ease tensions with those parties if possible, warning that digging his heels in could work against him. Reading through these messages, his eyes flickered. He could feel the sheer scale of the other side's background and influence; nearly everyone familiar around him had been compelled, willingly or unwillingly, to speak on their behalf. Beyond attempting to get him to relent, the other party was likely trying to exert pressure on him through this demonstration. Against anyone else, this pressure might have truly forced a capitulation. Yet he also recognized that while these people could sway individuals in his social circle, they could not exert influence over the Disposal Bureau. Otherwise, they would have had no need to seek him out in the first place—a realization that bolstered his confidence even further. Even so, there were aspects he had to consider. Having people plead on their behalf was merely an overt maneuver; the tactics they might employ went far beyond this, and he had to stay on guard. After careful deliberation, he sent messages to several acquaintances, cautioning them to stay alert. Right then, a voice suddenly resonated through his boundary credential: "Hello, is this Supervisor Chen?" Chen Chuan's eyes shifted. When the voice arrived, Andun had registered no reaction at all. But he quickly realized this had not originated from within the boundary credential itself; someone was using biological field and psychic power to transmit directly into the credential, which served merely as a transmission medium. The sender had to be close by. He rose and walked onto the balcony. Looking outside, he spotted an off-road vehicle parked across the street. The person inside seemed to notice him emerge, as the voice continued: "Greetings, comrade. I have been ordered to deliver what you require. Could you come over to receive it?" Hearing the word "comrade," Chen Chuan understood immediately. He nodded, promptly headed downstairs, walked out of his residence, and approached the off-road vehicle. As he drew near, the car door opened from the inside, and a middle-aged man in a white button-down shirt, visibly out of shape, squeezed his way out. His features were thoroughly ordinary, the kind that would blend seamlessly into any crowd, resembling an office clerk from some corporate firm. Yet most corporate employees nowadays possessed implants, whereas this man had none at all, appearing exceptionally clean. The middle-aged man offered a smile and extended his hand. "Hello, Supervisor Chen. I am Chang Dong, the newly appointed head of the Purist Faction in Center City, Jibei Circuit."