Book 3, Chapter 184: Defense Agreement

Border Fusion’s motorcade went up a gentle slope and down a series of complicated tunnels filled with intertwining vines before returning to the upper city district.

Chen Chuan took a look at the bright sky.

Even though the lower city district had its own source of light, only the sun could provide its unique warmth and only the clear sky could give an unobstructed view above.

Chen Chuan asked Tang Zhang to send him back to Burning Bottle Pub so that he could retrieve his car. When he was about to open his car door, he stopped for a moment before casting a glance in a certain direction. He sensed someone watching him.

***

A person hiding in a tall building swiftly drew the curtains closed and even put down his binoculars as he asked in shock, “Did he see us just now?”

“I told you before that people like him have really keen senses, so you shouldn’t stare at them all the time. You may have even made the target wary of us now. Forget it. We should report this to the higher-ups,” his companion grumbled.

***

Chen Chuan watched for a while. There were only tall buildings in that direction, so he couldn’t see anything specific and looked away. After some thinking, he contacted Wu Bei and said, “Wu Bei, I’m back. Could you check an area for me and see whether anyone suspicious went there?”

He marked an area with his Realm Pass. Once Wu Bei told him that he got it, he entered his car, started the engine, and left.

When he returned to his room, he wrote a report about Border Fusion’s decision, the situation in the lower city district, and some of the strange things he had observed. Then, he sent it to the Resolution Department.

The things he mentioned might not catch the Resolution Department’s eye, since they had to pay attention to far too many things. Unless it was an extremely difficult or unique situation, the department would choose to just observe the people involved instead of taking action immediately and nipping the problem in the bud. After all, they could nip as many buds as they wanted, and it still wouldn’t be enough.

Since Chen Chuan was still on holiday, he rested for a while in his room and took the special medicine once every three days in order to get stronger.

If he ignored the damage brought by the special medicine, it was actually very useful in helping him get stronger.

But he also needed to integrate the strength he gained through real combat. That was why he sparred with Hongfu every day.

At the same time, he watched videos of the lecturers and upperclassmen. Of course, he needed to pay for them, but it was worth it.

At present, it seemed like there wasn’t an accurate classification for Third Limit martial artists.

After all, a person’s strength couldn’t be measured in absolute terms. It could change at any moment depending on the environment, the conditions, and the mental state of the martial artist.

Hence, there were plenty of martial artists who appeared weak on paper, but managed to win against much stronger opponents. How the martial artists performed during battle decided who would win in the end.

Among the videos, Han Zheng was a stereotypical example. This lecturer had come to teach at Martial Valor University more than twenty years ago and had since been transferred to a government department.

While he was still a student, his chance of reaching the Third Limit had been 50%. He was only barely able to make it to the Third Limit.

He practiced Sanshou’s refined forces—the most normal of refined forces—and used the common short and long spears. Even so, whenever he ran into opponents stronger than he was, he was always able to win.

Chen Chuan found all of his fights hair-rising. Han Zheng looked like he was going to lose the next moment, but in the end, he always found a way to win.

Han Zheng never gave off the feeling that he was strong, but his winning percentage was ridiculously high.

By observing him, Chen Chuan found that Han Zheng chose to counterattack whenever his opponent was about to win, and most of the time, he succeeded.

Chen Chuan admired his ability to seize opportunities. While it seemed easy, Han Zheng was able to bring out the full power of his strength and specialty.

It was an inspiring sight, but Chen Chuan didn’t intend to fight like Han Zheng.

At the end of the day, martial arts fights were a competition of strength. Han Zheng had only chosen to fight this way because he had no other choice. He had to improve upon his technique so much that he could make up for his other weaknesses.

If Chen Chuan could defeat his opponents with just a punch, why should he bother drawing out the fight?

He still remembered the goal he had set for himself—reaching the peak of what a nearly perfect human could reach and surpassing it.

While at the Third Limit, he had the chance to make up for all that he couldn’t do before.

By the looks of it, he wasn’t too far away from his goal now.

The medicine Border Fusion provided was enough for the time being. He had enough for dozens of martial artists, but they were all given to him and turned into nutrients to strengthen his foundation.

Aside from this, he had something else important to do: Finding a lecturer who could guide him to greater heights.

It hadn’t been a long time since he reached the Third Limit, so he was still at the stage where he had to strengthen his foundation. He could train on his own for the moment, but he was going to need someone to guide him to reach the other limits.

He had searched around for such guidance in the university and learned that they provided channels for such learning, but based on certain government rules, only those who had participated in the World Ring defense could apply for it.

That had always been part of Chen Chuan’s plan, so he took a look at the things the Resolution Department had sent to him in regards to what he needed to pay attention to for the defense.

At the end of the month, he contacted the World Ring Defense system with the signal they gave him. After a while, he heard a pleasant feminine voice.

“Hello, Officer Chen. How may I help you?”

Chen Chuan recognized the woman who had brought him to meet Liang Guanghai, the special officer from the World Ring Defense System. “Hello, I’ve made up my mind and will be participating in the World Ring defense.”

“One moment, please,” the woman said.

A short while later, he heard a stern, deep voice in his ears. “Officer Chen, I’m Liang Guanghai. Since you’ve contacted us, does that mean that you have your answer?”

“Yes, I’ve thought it through. I want to join the World Ring defense,” Chen Chuan reiterated.

“Welcome aboard. If you have time, come to the Resolution Department. We need to tell you some things,” Liang Guanghai said.

“Alright. I’ll go over now,” Chen Chuan said and hung up. Then, he left Martial Valor University and drove to the Resolution Department. After meeting with the woman who received him last time, she led him to the reception room.

The woman handed him a set of documents and said, “This is the Defense Agreement. It’s different from the NDA. Please take a look.”

Chen Chuan read through it line by line and found that it contained his rights and duties.

For example, those participating in the defense had to answer to the World Ring Defense System’s summons when there was an emergency. By doing so, they could offset a summons from the country.

Those participating in the defense would also get an increase in salary.

Those with outstanding achievements would be given priority when it came to the distribution of special medicine. They would also be given priority when it came to promotions.

The rank the Resolution Department gave him wasn’t actually useless. It was held everywhere within the Great Shun Republic. The positions of power for a number of combat forces in the government had been taken over by martial artists who went through the national education system, after all.

Chen Chuan saw another thing of note. Once a Third Limit martial artist had served for more than three years, they could help their families get citizenship in Central City and come over. Unless, of course, certain unique situations occurred.

If the martial artist didn’t have any family left, based on their achievements, they could recommend one or several people to get citizenship in Central City.

Getting citizenship was a really difficult feat for people from peripheral cities.

Chen Chuan couldn’t help but think about the possibility of Nian Lu and Nian Mo studying in Central City. The opportunities for growth and educational resources here were far greater than in Yangzhi City’s Martial Valor University. If they wanted to become martial artists, they wouldn’t need to take the exam in a branch campus either.

That was what they should get. Chen Chuan would be risking his neck out there, after all. If they didn’t give him such benefits, how could they possibly make him continue fighting for them?

There was also something else. Even though the Central Cities were at the forefront of the two worlds clashing, their defenses were also the strongest.

The resources in the peripheral cities could never compare to those in the Central Cities. Besides, Chen Chuan had a feeling that even if the Great Crash arrived, the Central Cities would be far safer than the peripheral cities.

Still, even without these benefits, Chen Chuan would have signed the agreement.

As the two worlds got closer before the Great Crash, the existences from the other world would keep coming over, and he was going to have to fight them sooner or later.

Instead of waiting for them passively, it was better to get ready and gain experience fighting against them. Besides, this was his key to finding a lecturer to help him reach the next limit.

So, after reading through the entire thing, Chen Chuan picked up his pen and signed his name on the agreement.

The woman picked up the agreement and checked it before saying with a smile, “Please wait here for a moment, Officer Chen. Special Officer Liang said that he’s going to come see you. I’d say that he’s putting a lot of value in you.”

After around eight minutes, Liang Guanghai arrived in the reception room and said, “Sorry for the wait, Officer Chen.”

With a wave, he motioned for the woman to leave.

Liang Guanghai went to the table and took a look at the agreement on the table before looking at Chen Chuan and saying sternly, “Since you’re joining as a law enforcer from the Resolution Department and you’ve answered the summons from the country before, you already have a lot of evaluation points within the government and have proven yourself trustworthy. We have a mission for you. This isn’t an order. We just need you to pay attention to this mission while you’re carrying out the defense operation.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep