The vehicles came to a halt in front of the Gaocheng Hotel. Chen Chuan handed a card to Baomi and said, "Captain Baomi, the payment promised to you has already been transferred to an account at Wansheng Financial Firm. You may withdraw it at any time."
Baomi rubbed his hands together. "Well then, Mr. Chen, I won't stand on ceremony." Martial artist or not, money was still money, and so many members of his crew depended on him to put food on the table.
Taking the card with both hands, he said with humble sincerity, "Thank you, Mr. Chen, for giving us this opportunity. Bringing us along this time allowed us to reap quite a few benefits. If you ever need anything in the future, Mr. Chen, just give us a call. Our crew might be insignificant to someone like you, but at the very least we can run errands, pass along messages, and the like."
Chen Chuan said, "Captain Baomi, your team was recommended to me by the old principal, and I am quite satisfied with this operation. I will keep you all in mind."
Baomi's spirits lifted. He caught the subtext in Chen Chuan's words—Chen Chuan had a favorable impression of them. Even if Chen Chuan didn't work with them directly again, he might introduce them to acquaintances.
What was this? This was connections! High-level connections, no less!
If they made a name for themselves in such high-level circles, commissions would pour in endlessly. The big shots in the city would view them with greater respect and wouldn't dare push their crew around. In the future, he might even be able to realize his dream of restructuring into a formal agency. Wasn't that vastly better than merely pocketing a one-time payout?
Chen Chuan stepped out of the vehicle and walked toward the Gaocheng Hotel under the awe-filled, reverent gazes of the crowd. Just then, a flutter of wings sounded above as Chaoming swooped down from the high sky. Chirping twice, it followed him into the hotel.
Throughout the entire operation, Chaoming had followed from high above, serving as his eyes in the sky to observe the surroundings.
He had not been worried that anything in that small town could threaten him. Rather, it was to guard against certain people or factions. Ever since discovering the truth behind the disappearance of this body's parents and realizing the forces he might have to confront, he had maintained constant vigilance.
Arriving in the Melded Lands meant far fewer constraints for him, but the same held true for certain other factions.
Taking the elevator up, he sensed that the surrounding security had been tightened considerably. Aside from him, all guests originally staying on his floor as well as the floors above and below had been evacuated, barring anyone from approaching. The only people remaining now were service and security personnel.
Evidently, news traveled swiftly through the city's information channels; the upper echelons already knew his identity.
Arriving at the door to his suite, he saw a row of invitation envelopes left hanging there by hotel staff.
He glanced at them, took them down as he passed, and flipped through them after entering the room. They invited him to watch martial arts matches, attend high-stakes gambling gatherings, and join banquets. Naturally, all expenses were to be covered by the hosts, who also indicated they would present generous, valuable gifts.
This was only natural. Successfully inviting a martial artist was an enormous promotional draw in itself, bringing these figures prestige and profit.
Yet he could tell their intentions went beyond just that.
Shengu City was filled with entertainment and commercial establishments large and small. Certain exclusive areas were barred to commoners—pleasure dens reserved for wealthy magnates, high officials, and senior gang leaders.
According to the intelligence he had gathered, the city had emulated Center City by establishing a Lower City beneath it. That was a truly shadowy realm where all sorts of activities strictly forbidden on the surface openly thrived—an open secret by now. In fact, one of the primary trade routes with the former imperial house was located down there.
Aside from that, there were supposed to be nominal resistance groups here, mostly funded and kept by corporations to handle dirty work behind the scenes.
These invitations were essentially a way to test the waters. They were terrified that his presence was not merely about a small town, but an investigation into their affairs—after all, he carried the title of Chief of the Security Defense Department.
From their standpoint, such thinking was entirely logical. Now that the former imperial house's army had routed and external threats were cleared, wouldn't attention naturally turn inward? Those people were likely living in constant dread right now.
He casually tossed the invitations aside. He had no interest in entangling himself with such people. Did they truly not understand? If the Government Affairs Department genuinely wanted to deal with them, all they had to do was close the Melded Lands passage and deploy the Melded Lands military forces. The only reason they hadn't been touched was that it wasn't necessary yet.
After all, the top priority right now was integrating the resources of the Melded Lands to face coming crises. Under that premise, everything else could take a back seat. Of course, anyone blind to the situation who dared stand in the way would unquestionably be eliminated.
He freshened up first, then took out the fruit-shaped relic. He hadn't had the time to inspect it earlier and didn't know its exact function, but now he could examine it.
Those below a certain level might not be able to decipher a relic's true purpose, but he was troubled by no such limitation. As his mental power permeated inward, the object began to vibrate. Through this simple, direct communication, its function became immediately clear to him.
This relic had the effect of stimulating the growth of mutated tissue in living organisms.
No wonder the True Form Tree had grown so rapidly once it had this.
However, it was merely a fourth-tier relic. It held little value for him, having only a negligible impact—not even matching the amount of mutated tissue gained from a single session of his own training.
On second thought, while he had no use for it, it should be beneficial to Chaoming.
If mishandled, however, it might deplete an organism's lifespan, as it stimulated potential while overdrawing vitality to some degree. Fortunately, this could be counteracted with proper nutritional supplements, preventing adverse effects and ensuring the growth of mutated tissue yielded purely positive gains.
With him present, this was no problem at all; he could guide Chaoming using his mental power.
He inspected the fruit again. There happened to be a hole at the stem, so he found a sturdy elastic cord, threaded it through, and hung it beneath Chaoming's neck.
Chaoming seemed to like it quite a bit. Once it was hung around its neck, it chirped a few times. Soon after, a faint red glow emanated from the relic, and the bird felt a wave of drowsiness wash over it. The relic was taking effect, and having flown back and forth all day, it obediently trotted off to sleep in a corner once Chen Chuan gave his nod.
Chen Chuan checked on it and saw that under the relic's influence, the mutated tissue within Chaoming was growing in a gentle, steady manner.
This was because Chaoming had previously consumed plenty of high-energy nutritional foods that were originally meant for martial artists. Even though their nutritional value had degraded considerably over time, they were still exceptionally beneficial for Chaoming. The bird hadn't been able to absorb all those nutrients, leaving them stored within its body; now, the relic was catalyzing their release.
Seeing that Chaoming was fine, Chen Chuan reached out and picked up the Xuejun Saber before him. If anything had gained the most from this excursion, it was undoubtedly this blade.
The Xuejun Saber had undergone a metamorphosis back on Erwen Island and had continued growing ever since. This time, it had clearly reaped substantial benefits once more, having absorbed the True Form Tree's life energy blended with mental intent.
He could sense the mutated tissue within the blade expanding rapidly under the influx of this abundant energy. Over recent days, in addition to the blade itself undergoing metamorphosis, mutated tissue had begun to grow along the hilt as well. This was likely a beneficial adaptation, spontaneously adjusting to make the grip more suited to his hand as the blade's weight shifted.
Once the process was fully complete, the length and thickness of the blade might adjust slightly, and the hilt might alter from before. But this was a good thing—the saber would become even more harmoniously attuned to him.
He wiped down the blade, returned it to its scabbard, and set it aside. Then he brought out the files Yao Zhiyi had given him before his departure.
This was intelligence regarding the unknown territory he was slated to visit next. Because that territory lay behind the lines of the former imperial house's army, no one from Great Shun had ever set foot there, so the records had essentially been compiled and summarized from captured imperial archives.
Judging by the airship flight logs and personnel transfers recorded within, both Wei Guochan and Gai Shuhe had traveled there in the past. Yet neither of them had remained for more than ten days; one after the other, both had pulled out and never returned.
Evidently, something was wrong with that place, or they never would have abandoned a territory of such immense value.
The simplest deduction was that something inside—creature or phenomenon—could pose a threat to the two of them, making an extended stay untenable and forcing their retreat.
As for what it specifically was, neither man had ever mentioned it, and naturally there was no record of it in the files. He would have to go and see for himself.
Looking at it from another angle, the more dangerous a place, the greater the potential rewards.
He did not intend to linger in Shengu City; he planned to stay for just one night and depart tomorrow.
Meanwhile, news of his presence here had passed through multiple channels and finally reached Bainiao District in Center City.
After receiving the intelligence, Mr. Chi spent considerable effort piecing things together, and it wasn't until near dawn the next day that he gained a general picture of the situation.
He then tapped into the Consortium's channels to gather intel on the True Form Tree. It appeared that this project had been concocted by certain individuals within the government. However, having run into direct action by a martial artist, they would likely have no choice but to swallow their grievances for now.
He quietly committed this matter to memory, waiting to see if it might be exploited in the future.
And next...
He checked the map of the Melded Lands. If that man was not returning to Center City, his next step would be to embark on a hunting cultivation journey—a requisite practice for any martial artist. That suited them perfectly; it gave them ample time to make their arrangements.
All he needed to do right now was pass along the intelligence he had gathered. As for the concrete operational plans, that was a matter for those above him.
Chapter 878