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The Jiade car drove along the road toward Mount Motie. Sitting in the driver's seat, Chen Chuan reflected that the students of Wuyi Academy truly possessed immense potential for growth. After all, they were elites who had undergone multiple rounds of screening. As long as they were given a platform and sufficient resources, they could make great achievements. In Gao Ming's words, this was a natural foundation of support. And indeed, compared to the people in the bureau, those who hailed from Yangzhi trusted him more and naturally aligned themselves with him. Beyond those old friends and former classmates, he had also previously considered recruiting Geng Zheng and his two companions. However, he was not particularly close with those three, so he could hardly offer them generous terms right off the bat. He planned to wait until his old friends and classmates had made some progress before extending an offer. He would consider it again after some time had passed. By now, the Jiade car had reached the hillside leading to the Cao family estate. With the arrival of October, the maples covering the ridge were gradually turning red. Whenever a gust of wind swept past, half-gold, half-red maple leaves drifted on the breeze, scattering across the ground. At the estate entrance, Uncle Ding was already waiting. As Chen Chuan got out of the car, Uncle Ding stepped forward to offer a respectful greeting, leading him into the estate as he said, "The young master is in the garden." Chen Chuan followed him inside. Before they even reached the spot, the sound of a clay xun drifted over. The melody was soft and melancholy, with a lingering resonance that evoked the bleak stillness of autumn. He stood to one side and listened for a while, only walking over once the music ended. "Please sit, Junior." Cao Guixi was dressed in crimson robes, wearing a jade-inlaid headband. He sat within an exquisite stone pavilion, the white clay xun resting on the table before him. Not far ahead, in the shallows along the lake shore, several cranes gracefully spread their wings, teasing one another as if dancing. Once Chen Chuan sat down, Uncle Ding immediately stepped forward, picked up the black-lacquered, gold-traced purple-clay teapot from the table, and poured him a cup of tea. Chen Chuan nodded in thanks. He raised the cup, took a sip, and then said, "Senior, I have to go out on an assignment soon, and it might be quite a while before I return. So I came to pay my respects and say goodbye." Cao Guixi pondered for a moment, then asked, "The convergence zone?" Chen Chuan did not conceal it. "Yes." Uncle Ding could not help glancing up at him. "I have heard some of what has been happening in Center City lately," Cao Guixi said. He did not ask what Chen Chuan was going to do specifically, but he could deduce the general picture. With the struggle between the government and the corporations, as Chen Chuan rose in status, he was bound to be drawn into it. It was unavoidable; being in a high position inevitably meant one could not always act on personal whim. He turned his head and said, "Uncle Ding, bring me that medallion." Uncle Ding bowed slightly and stepped outside. Uncle Ding returned shortly, placing a medallion on the table. "Young Master, what you asked for." Chen Chuan glanced at it. It was a medallion bearing a distinct style of the former imperial house, edged with intricate cloud-and-thunder patterns and engraved with the characters for "Transit." Cao Guixi said, "Someone gave me this medallion when they visited. They hoped I would do certain things, but I will never use such an object. It is a new era now, yet some people still cling to the delusions of the old." His tone held little regard for those people. "Junior, if you are going to the convergence zone, you might as well take this medallion along. It might have some use. Of course, it would be even better if you never need it." Chen Chuan did not refuse politely. He could tell Senior Cao genuinely did not care about the object and even wished to keep his distance from it. In that case, taking it along would conveniently dispose of it on his behalf. Cao Guixi picked up the clay xun once more and began to play. At the sound, the cranes ahead danced, alternately spreading their wings and leaping into the air, displaying an aura of effortless elegance and vitality. Chen Chuan sat quietly and listened. He did not stay long. After sitting for a little over an hour, he took his leave. This time, he went straight back to his residence and tended to nothing else, merely performing the final checks and preparations before setting out. October 11, 4:00 a.m. Chen Chuan concluded his breathing meditation early. After washing up, he stood before the full-length mirror and dressed neatly in his Investigation Supervisor uniform. In addition to this supervisor uniform, he had prepared several sets of everyday civilian clothes for changes, including multiple dust coats. Traversing the convergence zone caused severe wear and tear on clothing, making it necessary to bring extra. Adjusting his peaked cap straight in the mirror, he looked at his reflection, then reached out to take the Xuejun Saber. Picking up the luggage crate, he stepped out of the room. Since the designated intersection was not far from the station—only about a ten-minute walk—he did not drive, heading there directly on foot. Before long, he entered the station and took the elevator down through the underground passage to the lowest level. It was right around 4:20 a.m. Stepping out of the elevator and arriving at the platform, he saw that Counselor Pei had already arrived ahead of time, and stepped forward to shake his hand. Counselor Pei glanced at Chaoming. He knew Chen Chuan had this pet, but right now the creature looked far from ordinary. Figuring Chen Chuan had his own reasons for bringing it, he did not pry. After waiting only a few minutes, a train pulled into the station right on time at 4:30, and the two boarded together. Once seated, Counselor Pei took out a deck of cards and said with a smile, "This ride will take another whole day. Interested in a couple of rounds, Supervisor Chen?" Chen Chuan said, "Just the two of us?" Counselor Pei waved his hand. An assistant waiting nearby walked over and sat on the other side. Counselor Pei handed the deck to him to shuffle. As the assistant dealt the cards, Pei picked his up and said, "The former imperial house, the Combine, and the Linax Federation—plus the Government Affairs Hall—it makes for a three-way contest." He looked at the cards in his hand, which happened to include the highest card, the Great Sun. He could not help chuckling. "Looks like I have a winning hand this time." Although several cards had already been dealt before Chen Chuan, he did not reach for them. Instead, he said, "Who wins does not depend on who holds the biggest cards, but on who possesses the power to flip the table." Counselor Pei's hand paused slightly as he held his cards, and then he nodded. The train entered the convergence zone at 5:00 a.m. and continued along the tracks. By three or four in the afternoon, it reached the vicinity of a military fortress. Chen Chuan looked out the train window. A noticeable difference was evident compared to Fort No. 4, which he had visited previously. This fortress was at least two or three times larger, with a substantial garrison stationed around it. Beyond the fortress were permanent encampments and numerous sentry posts. Barricades and barbed wire were everywhere. The acrid smell of gunpowder hung in the air, and on the ground, remnants of uncleaned carcasses of convergence zone creatures could still be seen. Counselor Pei said, "This is Fort No. 3, the nearest large garrison post leading into the depths of the convergence zone. Further out, there are only small outposts with no direct connecting paths. We will stay here for the night. "Tomorrow, I'll have someone take Supervisor Chen by airship to an indigenous settlement we have had contact with. Setting off from there should save a lot of travel." Chen Chuan nodded. In truth, he did not need the rest, but he did need to learn more about the conditions within the convergence zone. A fortress garrison was the greatest hub for intelligence, and he could also acquire the transport he needed here. The train gradually decelerated after entering the station. Once it came to a complete halt, Counselor Pei picked up his hat, put it on, and said, "Supervisor Chen, let's disembark." Chen Chuan rose and stepped out of the VIP compartment. Behind him, an orderly went to help carry his crate. The orderly smiled at Chaoming, who stood perched atop the crate, and then took hold of it with both hands to lift it. To his shock, the crate was extraordinarily heavy and did not budge in the slightest. Chaoming looked down, tilted its head thoughtfully, gave a chirping jiu, and hopped off the crate. The orderly let out a breath and tried again, but once more failed to shift it in the least. Feeling Chaoming watching him from the side, his face flushed bright red. Chen Chuan had already walked back over by then. "Allow me," he said. He reached down and took the crate's strap, lifting it lightly; the entire crate rose cleanly off the floor. Giving a nod to the embarrassed orderly, he stepped down from the train. Once his feet touched solid ground, he kicked out the wheels beneath the crate before setting it down. Looking up at the sky, he noted that after over a year away, re-entering the convergence zone felt much the same. Above, the sky remained as gloomy and overcast as ever. With a flurry of wingbeats, Chaoming flew out from inside the car and immediately circled overhead. It seemed quite well-adapted to the place, letting out a crisp jiu. Chen Chuan had wrapped an activity thread around it from the start. Glancing at Chaoming's activity index now, he saw it had initially read 1, but in an instant it jumped to 3, then leaped to 5. However, as Chaoming began employing the breathing technique he had taught it, the reading quickly dropped back down, staying consistently between 3 and 5. He nodded to himself. It seemed the breathing technique was working. Counselor Pei stepped down carrying his suitcase as well. Looking into the distance, he said, "The vehicle sent to pick us up has arrived." An open-top off-road vehicle drove up from afar and stopped near the two. A second lieutenant stood up inside and saluted them. "Reporting! Second Lieutenant Dai Hu of Fort No. 3, ordered to receive both commanders. Please board the vehicle, Sirs!" Counselor Pei and Chen Chuan returned the salute, then boarded the off-road vehicle. After taking his seat, Chen Chuan noticed that the boundary credential was already functional here. He pulled up the map previously sent to him by the Defense Department for comparison. According to the directions on the map, Fort No. 3 sat squarely at the northern front, surrounded by a dense cluster of small encampments, with at least several thousand garrison troops stationed here. The destination he needed to reach lay even further north. There was only a single airship route, and even that merely touched the fringes of that region. As he was studying the map, a signal flare suddenly rose from one of the sentry posts, accompanied by the chatter of machine gun fire. At the same moment, Chaoming transmitted a sharp warning jiu through his boundary credential. Glancing back, he saw a creature with an enormous wingspan rapidly swooping across the sky behind them. ... ...