Around noon, Chen Chuan erased the fissure with a slash of his blade. Over this period of time, in addition to absorbing a certain amount of spiritual energy, he had encountered things crossing over from the opposite side on three occasions.
None were of a particularly high caliber, however, and he had dispatched them with ease. Unlike the first creature he had run into, they left nothing of value behind. In retrospect, the creature from that first encounter must have been a rare breed.
Yet that made sense. After all, he had only opened a negligible aperture here; only near the Ring of the World were such things likely to gather in sufficient numbers.
He packed all the leftover remains into his travel bag, opened the cabin door, and said to the old captain who had waited through the night, "Thank you for your hard work."
Even after standing watch all night, the old skipper remained full of vigor. "Not at all, Mr. Chen! Word reached me from the company—those folks from the Linakes Federation had it coming. Someone needed to take the wind out of their sails!"
Chen Chuan pondered briefly, catching his drift. Did the captain assume he had come here deliberately to target the martial artist from the Linakes Federation?
Still, to someone unaware of the actual details, such an assumption was hardly surprising.
Before long, the airship returned to the port, and signal connectivity was restored to his boundary credential. As he stepped off the vessel, he noticed an incoming transmission. The caller was Huang Weiyi, the proxy agent.
This man had proven useful during the investigation into Lianwei Heavy Control, handled matters satisfactorily, and knew his place. For him to reach out at a time like this...
Tapping his boundary credential, Chen Chuan accepted the call.
"Mr. Huang, is something the matter?"
A voice filled with obsequious gratitude came from the other end. "Supervisor Chen, you actually remember little Huang! Ah, well, it's like this. Because I'm an agent who has had the honor of working with you before, someone commissioned me to pass along a message to you.
"Ai, I'm just a messenger. I know I'm not really qualified to speak with you directly, so if anything causes offense, please be magnanimous, sir, and don't hold it against a nobody like me!"
"Get to the point," Chen Chuan said.
"Yes, yes!" Huang Weiyi replied hurriedly. "It's like this: an important figure—a prominent personage just like yourself—asked me to pass a word along, saying they'd like to arrange a meeting with you."
As he spoke, a message arrived immediately.
Chen Chuan checked it. The other party introduced himself as a member of the Refinement School and proposed a meeting at the rest area of Whitehall Checkpoint on the west side of the city.
At the end of the message was a seal. He recognized it as the exclusive seal of a martial artist; every martial artist had a unique one. The name attached to it was... Long Xiang.
A martial artist from the Refinement School?
It seemed this was someone the Municipal Council had brought in.
Yet the wording was exceedingly polite, without the slightest hostility or belligerence. Going out of his way to reach out through Huang Weiyi rather than official channels, and deliberately suggesting a venue outside the city, was likely an implicit cue that he wasn't approaching as a representative of the Municipal Council, but meeting Chen Chuan strictly as an independent third party.
After a brief consideration, Chen Chuan instructed Huang Weiyi, "Understood, Mr. Huang. You have no further involvement in what follows."
As if granted a royal pardon, Huang Weiyi hastily voiced his assent and humbly terminated the transmission.
After getting into his vehicle, Chen Chuan dialed the provided contact channel. Once connected, he asked, "Mr. Long?"
A hearty burst of laughter erupted from the other end, followed immediately by a remarkably calm, deep voice. "That's me, Long Xiang. Greetings, Supervisor Chen."
The boisterous laugh paired with such a subdued voice would make anyone suspect the speaker was mentally unhinged. Chen Chuan, however, remained thoroughly composed. Some who reached the Fourth Limit had to discard certain things or embrace others; the more pronounced the manifestation, the greater the return of power they derived. He understood this well.
Mr. Long continued in a relaxed tone, devoid of any tension or hostility. "My arrival this time is at the invitation of the Municipal Council. I imagine you can already guess what they have in mind, Supervisor Chen.
"Frankly speaking, I don't consider their approach a sound solution, and I fully support you holding to account those who have crossed you.
"However, as a member of the Refinement School, I must uphold my faction's interests. That is why I'd like to meet with you, Supervisor Chen, to share my perspective. If you find my thoughts agreeable, all the better; if not, no harm done, and things will simply take their course. How does that sound to you, Supervisor Chen?"
Chen Chuan weighed the proposal briefly. "I'm free now. I'll be there shortly."
"Haha... Excellent! Then I shall await your arrival, Supervisor Chen."
Ending the call, Chen Chuan turned the Jiade car at the upcoming intersection and headed toward National Boulevard in the western district.
Though their conversation had been fairly casual, nearly every faction in Center City was watching this impending meeting with bated breath.
In the Municipal Council chambers, several councilors kept their eyes glued to the field projection screens. Seeing his car steer west, indicating he had agreed to the rendezvous, they breathed a slight sigh of relief.
One councilor couldn't help lamenting, "If only we had our own martial artist."
Yet no one in the room picked up on his remark. Cultivate their own martial artist? How could that ever be possible? Once a fighter became a martial artist, would there still be any room left for councilors like them?
That was a power beyond control, and power beyond control was no power at all. They would much rather spend money and technology to nurture obedient, convenient active conscious entities. Furthermore, it was precisely because they had no martial artists of their own that they could secure the Consortium's support so readily.
Another councilor said, "Bear with it a little longer. The active conscious entity that the Consortium promised to support us with is already being cultivated. Let's yield a step for now. Once we weather this interval, we can return to the negotiating table."
As Chen Chuan drove along, he noticed the traffic thinning out dramatically. Eventually, hardly another car was in sight, leaving the road ahead strikingly deserted.
Evidently, the Government Affairs Hall knew he was heading to meet Long Xiang and had enacted traffic diversions and controls.
Looking at the road stretching toward the horizon and the soaring skyscrapers flanking both sides, he felt for a moment as if he were the only person left in the entire city, detached from all its clamor.
In a sense, that was indeed the case.
Stepping on the accelerator, he picked up speed, though he couldn't help wondering whether driving that Silver Lightning right now would have offered an even better thrill.
Escorted by green lights all the way, it took him just over an hour to cross two districts and reach National Boulevard in the west.
After another ten minutes or so of driving, he arrived at Whitehall Checkpoint on the western fringe of Center City.
A vehicle was already parked there. A stern-faced, middle-aged man wearing sunglasses waited with evident patience.
The Jiade car pulled to a stop about a hundred meters away. Chen Chuan stepped out, straightened the brim of his hat, and walked forward.
The patrol cars and guards near the checkpoint had withdrawn at some unknown point, leaving the two of them seemingly alone on the vast, empty boulevard.
As Chen Chuan drew near, Mr. Long removed his sunglasses, revealing pitch-black eyes and fine black scales around his eye sockets. Actively drawing back his field, he extended a hand. First letting out a boisterous laugh, he swiftly shifted to a warm smile. "Supervisor Chen, greetings. I am Long Xiang, a member of the Refinement School."
Chen Chuan similarly reined in his biological field and shook his hand. "Purist Faction, Chen Chuan."
Long Xiang smiled and said, "Supervisor Chen, my presence here is solely to serve as a bridge of communication. Since they crossed you, your retaliation was entirely reasonable. The Municipal Council has realized their mistake and hopes you will grant them a chance to make amends.
"I won't beat around the bush; let me lay out the compensation they are willing to offer. To make restitution for the damage caused to the Disposal Bureau and your personal reputation, Supervisor Chen, they are willing to unconditionally provide the cultivation resources you require for a period of time."
Chen Chuan studied him. In truth, as long as the Municipal Council did not stand in his way, he had no interest in paying them much heed. Even if he were to take action against them, it wouldn't be now; it would require waiting for the right opportunity.
In fact, if the Government Affairs Hall truly intended to ask him to step forward against the Municipal Council, they would also need to supply him with resources to offset the energy expenditure that would occur in the process.
Since the Government Affairs Hall had no such intention at present, he was in no hurry to overstep his bounds, and if the Municipal Council was volunteering to make amends, he certainly wouldn't refuse.
Principal Yao had told him to maintain his composure and secure whatever benefits he could get his hands on first—this was precisely what he had meant.
He asked, "How long is 'a period of time'?"
Long Xiang chuckled. "That actually depends on the level of threat you pose, Mr. Chen. If the threat is not as great as they anticipated, they might be reluctant to offer much. But if your threat far exceeds their expectations, I imagine they will be forced to lower their bottom line even further.
"Are you wondering why I'm telling you all this, Supervisor Chen?
"It's quite simple: although there are quite a few of our people in the Municipal Council, doing more or less won't affect my rightful share. On the contrary, you and I might deal with each other frequently in the future, Supervisor Chen. I believe candor makes communication far easier and saves us a great deal of unnecessary trouble and conflict."
Chen Chuan looked at him and asked, "May I ask how you intend to measure this so-called threat?"
Long Xiang laughed out loud, then let out a sigh. "Now we come to the part I dislike. But this is an assignment given to me by my school, and I have no choice but to carry it out. I believe we can settle this matter through a duel. Don't worry—all resource expenditures between us will be footed by the Municipal Council.
"If you win, Mr. Chen, the Municipal Council will cover your cultivation resources for the next three years.
"If you lose, the Municipal Council is still willing to compensate you with one year's worth of cultivation supplies, provided that during this period, you no longer intervene in any affairs concerning the council. Naturally, that is on the condition that they do not infringe upon your personal interests first. Supervisor Chen, what do you think of these terms?"
Chapter 785