Chen Chuan took a look, but did not respond immediately. After a moment's consideration, he walked out of his office and took the elevator to the fifth floor.
When the elevator doors parted, he headed directly toward the medical team's recovery section.
Guided by Andun, he followed the passage reserved for commanding officers and arrived before Security Room 509.
The person in charge had already been notified. Putting aside his duties, he hurried over and greeted him respectfully: "Supervisor Chen."
Chen Chuan asked, "Can she be questioned?"
The supervisor replied, "She's awake. Next comes physical recovery and psychological therapy. As long as it isn't too long, questioning won't cause any harm."
Chen Chuan nodded and gestured. The man stepped forward at once, first passing biological field verification before unlocking the door with a dedicated key.
Chen Chuan stepped inside. Yang Ling was currently sitting propped up on a recovery bed, fronted by a glass partition. The areas where she had previously been fused were coated in a layer of medicinal ointment, and her head and face were likewise draped in a restorative bio-film. Several nutrient fluid tubes were still connected to her body.
Chen Chuan approached the glass partition, picked up the communication boundary credential beside it, and asked, "Miss Yang, do you remember what happened earlier?"
Yang Ling drew a breath and said with difficulty, "I remember." Yet as she spoke, her complexion turned a shade paler.
Her mind was in utter turmoil right now—one moment filled with her own thoughts, the next flooded with data and information transmitted by the active conscious entity. The moment she tried to think closely about it, waves of headaches assailed her.
Chen Chuan spotted the crux of her trouble at a glance. It was the result of a mental intersection during physical fusion followed by a forced severance.
In reality, while such severance caused damage, she was fortunate that the fusion had lasted only a brief time, leaving relatively shallow trauma. Had it gone any deeper, even if their bodies were parted, her conscious entity would likely have suffered irreversible trauma.
After taking a look at her, he said, "Pay attention to your breathing. Do as I tell you." With that, he began guiding Yang Ling's breathing rhythm.
Yang Ling adjusted her breathing along with his instructions. After a while, her headache eased considerably, and she visibly relaxed, her fawn-like eyes brightening slightly compared to before.
Chen Chuan said, "You possess spiritual talent. As long as your will is firm, your focus clear, and you follow this breathing technique, recovery won't be difficult."
Yang Ling gave a soft hum of acknowledgment and whispered, "Thank you."
Chen Chuan said, "Rest well. Once you've recovered, I have a few things to ask you."
Yang Ling nodded. "I will cooperate." Seeing that Chen Chuan seemed about to leave, she sat up a bit more and called out, "Supervisor Chen..." When Chen Chuan paused, she asked, "What will the... Disposal Bureau do with me?"
Chen Chuan said, "I know roughly how things stand between you and Lianwei Heavy Control. Don't overthink it for now. We can discuss these things after you recover." Having said this, he set down the boundary credential, turned, and left.
Once outside, he did not return to his office, but walked straight toward the exit. On the way, he contacted Captain Gu, who had previously been assigned under his command, and asked, "Captain Gu, how are things on your end?"
Captain Gu reported, "Supervisor, per your orders, from yesterday's lockdown until now, we guarantee that no one has entered or left, and not a single shred of information has leaked out."
Chen Chuan gave an affirmative hum. Lianwei Heavy Control's premises had been cordoned off by him that very day, with entry and exit strictly barred across all fronts. Although the corporate headquarters might catch wind of things through other channels, by the time they sorted out the details, several days would have passed at least.
By then, he would have basically cleared things up on his end. This time, there was no chance they could overturn it.
He asked a few more questions, and seeing no issues on Captain Gu's side, ended the call.
By now he had reached the ground floor and noticed that on his way through, bureau personnel were sparse; he had barely run into anyone.
Previously, he had been focused entirely on the matters at hand and had not paid much attention to the bureau. Now he asked, "Andun, why are there so few people in the bureau today?"
Andun replied, "Because Supervisors Wen and Han have operational assignments and each drew away large numbers of personnel. Bureau staff have all been dispatched to various sectors for temporary support."
Chen Chuan checked the records. Supervisor Wen had been keeping watch over the Port District these past few days and had not returned for half a month, whereas Supervisor Han needed to attend a rather important meeting tonight.
This was a commercial negotiation between the Syndicate delegation and the Center City, and the Syndicate had apparently also invited an important diplomat from the Linax Federation.
Because a host of government officials would attend, Supervisor Han, representing the Disposal Bureau's responsibility for specific security measures, had to be present, which was why he had mobilized a large number of bureau personnel.
Tapping his boundary credential, Chen Chuan immediately brought up a recorded video of earlier negotiations from the internal platform.
On one side of the long conference table sat various Center City dignitaries, including officials from the Government Affairs Hall and the Municipal Council, while facing them were the primary members of the Syndicate delegation.
The entire conference hall was illuminated as bright as day, camera flashes flashing from time to time.
Many security personnel could be seen standing around the perimeter, a good number belonging to the Disposal Bureau. As a supervisor of the bureau, Supervisor Han stood behind the dignitaries leading the negotiations.
Glancing at the footage, Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow slightly. Although at first glance Supervisor Han looked the same as usual, he felt something was subtly off.
However, the footage on the platform panned past him after only a second or two, instead focusing much of the camera's attention on the attendees from the Linax Federation. The invitee this time was Lieutenant General Achimo from the Federation's foreign affairs delegation.
The man was around sixty years old, with a cold, hardened face and graying hair, though clearly of mixed heritage. Pinned to his chest was the Federation's national emblem—two interlocking ring patterns, one blue and one silver, linked through the middle by a sharply rendered lightning bolt.
This man was a hawk within the foreign affairs delegation, hailing from the military.
Ever since Haverford's death, he had been pestering the Center City government, declaring that all responsible personnel guilty of dereliction of duty must pay the price.
However, Great Shun already had deep-seated friction with the Linax Federation; even with news outlets backed by the Municipal Council stirring up trouble, no one in the Government Affairs Hall paid any mind to his words.
By the time Chen Chuan finished watching the few minutes of footage, he had already walked out of the Disposal Bureau's main entrance hall. Exiting the platform, he pulled up his contact list as he walked toward his dedicated vehicle and contacted Assistant Ling.
"Assistant Ling, was there something you needed when you contacted me earlier?"
Assistant Ling's somewhat deep voice came through: "Supervisor Chen, I recall telling you that I would prove what I said to you. Now I believe the time has come. Do you happen to have some time, Supervisor Chen?"
Chen Chuan's eyes flickered slightly. "Oh? As it happens, I have time."
Assistant Ling chuckled softly. "Then please come over to the academy. I'll wait for you here."
Chen Chuan said, "Alright, I'll be there shortly."
He checked the time; it was currently 11:40.
As he walked up to his dedicated car, the guards waiting there in advance saluted him. An orderly opened the door for him, and he took a seat inside. "To Wuyi Academy."
The car started immediately, leading the way forward, followed closely by the escort vehicles.
At that moment in the parking lot, Sun Rao and Wei Yuji had just concluded their daytime patrol and returned.
Two hours later, they had another patrol during the latter half of the night, which could last until dawn. So instead of finding somewhere to eat, they chewed on a stick of nutritional paste and parked here to rest, listening to a broadcast over their boundary credentials to unwind.
Seeing Chen Chuan emerge from inside, Sun Rao couldn't help staring for a few moments, his gaze following the car as it drove away.
Observing his expression, Wei Yuji said, "Senior, no need to stare; he's already gone. A person needs to look at themselves honestly and not harbor unrealistic fantasies."
Sun Rao took out another stick of nutritional paste and chewed on it gloomily. He said, "Junior Wei, after all this time, why are you still on patrol duty with me? With your performance, you should be able to take on missions that better showcase your value."
Wei Yuji said, "Senior, the Center City is very dangerous. I'm not ready to embrace danger yet, so I think this patrol duty suits me quite well."
"Dangerous?"
"Isn't it? And it's only getting more dangerous by the day."
Sun Rao fell silent. Wei Yuji was right. With so much happening over the past year, the situation in the Center City truly felt more complex and perilous than before.
Wei Yuji said, "Actually, I've looked into Senior Chen's promotion path. It isn't complicated at all. To reach his current position, he fought his way up step by step through pure combat—not a shred of fluff. But had he failed even once, he would have collapsed along the way. I have no desire to gamble on those odds."
Sun Rao said, "Aren't you quite bold yourself, Junior? Last time with Sancheng Huang, you disregarded warnings and faced the man directly."
Wei Yuji said, "That wasn't boldness; it was knowing my own limits and reading others clearly. Meanwhile, Senior, though you appear strictly conventional on the outside, I know..."
He circled a finger around his temple. "...what's going on in your head is full of nothing but unrealistic nonsense."
Having his thoughts laid bare, Sun Rao felt a prickle of embarrassment, his voice suddenly rising: "A person's allowed to have dreams!"
Wei Yuji nodded in agreement. "It's good that you know it's a dream. Senior, take my advice: if something is too detached from reality, don't try to make it come true. It's better for you and better for everyone else."
At 12:10, the armored car came to a stop in front of Xuangong Building.
Chen Chuan stepped out of the vehicle. Glancing up at the red shadow standing above, he gave a nod, gestured for everyone to wait here, and then entered the building.
Carrying the Xuejun Saber, he crossed the lobby and took the elevator straight to the ninetieth floor, arriving at the sky garden where he had met Assistant Ling last time.
The elevator doors opened slowly, and he stepped inside.
Assistant Ling was right at the center of the garden, dressed in an imported dark purple lounge suit, his white temples particularly striking. Spreading his arms, he smiled and said, "Welcome, Supervisor Chen. I have been waiting for you for quite some time."
Chapter 703