Book 3, Chapter 72: Arrangement

Once they decided on the general direction of how they were going to take down Zhao Qian, they delved into the details.

Gao Ming took out his notebook and a stack of papers. “I told you before that Zhao Qian goes on an escort mission on average once every two months.

“The last time he went on an escort mission was last year. Back then, due to Black Orchid and the Zhao family’s collapse, he came under investigation, and it led to him not participating in the company’s operations for a long time. He has only recently been able to break free of all the negative effects from those two entities’ collapse.

“Since he’s allowed to participate in the company’s operations again, I’m sure he’ll throw himself into work. He’s the head of a department, so he has to prove his abilities to his superiors and subordinates that he still deserves his position. That’s why he’ll definitely choose to participate in an escort mission within two months.”

Chen Chuan pondered over this before asking, “If the Resolution Department continues breathing down his neck, will it force him to stay in Central City?”

“The impact has to be great enough that United Might decides to switch him out. Otherwise, he’ll just be even more eager to prove his worth,” Gao Ming stated.

Chen Chuan nodded at that and said, “So, am I correct to assume that if he’s unable to participate in the company’s operations after this, United Might intends to give up on him?”

“Exactly,” Gao Ming declared with a nudge of his glasses.

Chen Chuan thought about it. That would be the ideal situation, but they couldn’t place all their hopes on that. So, he asked, “How soon do you think he’s going to start participating in the company’s operations?”

“Every three months, United Might does a business performance assessment and review. It’s April now. Since Zhao Qian was under investigation, he didn’t participate last season. If he skips another round and waits until after June, half a year would have gone by. If Zhao Qian wants to get rid of all the negative effects that came from him being investigated and prove his worth, he has to do something before June,” Gao Ming answered.

“That’s why you said that he’s going to go on an escort mission either this or next month,” Chen Chuan said with a nod.

“That’s also why we have to be fully prepared within half a month.”

Chen Chuan thought about it before declaring, “Half a month is enough.”

Gao Ming picked up the papers on the table and took out a few pieces before handing them to Chen Chuan. “This is the public information about United Might’s transport team.

“Aside from Zhao Qian, they have a security head in charge of how the escort mission goes. I don’t know his real name, but his code name is Peregrine Falcon. He should be a Third Limit martial artist.”

Chen Chuan took the first piece of paper. At the top left corner was a blurry photo. Since the person was wearing a protective helmet, there was practically nothing unique about his appearance. The paper didn’t even have any specific data, only a simple introduction and the success rate of his past missions.

“Based on other companies’ analysis, Zhao Qian has an important person working with him, and he’s a Third Limit martial artist as well. I can’t find any information about him from United Might, so he should be working for Zhao Qian.”

Gao Ming pushed another piece of paper over. “This is Tranquil Fields and other companies’ analyses. They should be reliable.”

Chen Chuan checked them and found they were about the person working for Zhao Qian. This made it clear that there was indeed such a person working for Zhao Qian.

As expected, attacking the escort group wasn’t a good idea. Even if he ignored the group’s overall strength, the presence of three Third Limit martial artists alone made ambushing them practically impossible.

Using the raccoon to kill Zhao Qian was definitely the correct choice.

But even after changing the contract, the raccoon could only attack after the target attacked Chen Chuan. It would also be best if the target harbored a certain degree of hostility when he attacked. This meant that he had to make Zhao Qian attack him once, but how should he get that done? That was the question.

It seemed like he would have to talk to Wu Bei to work out a plan for this.

Since it was already past midnight and Gao Ming wasn’t a martial artist, Chen Chuan didn’t stay for long. He said his goodbyes and contacted Wu Bei with his Realm Pass. As a resonator, he was most active at such a time.

Once the call went through, Chen Chuan asked, “Is it safe for us to talk right now, Wu Bei?”

“Don’t worry. With the resonator nest, I’m strong enough to intercept all information transmissions. Even if someone tries to eavesdrop on us, I’ll be able to notice them,” Wu Bei answered confidently.

“Good. Do you remember how Phantom Form attacked me last time?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Sure. How could I not? He’s really skilled.”

“If I wanted to attack someone who happens to be in the middle management of a big company using the same method, could you do it?” Chen Chuan asked.

Upon hearing that, Wu Bei’s breathing grew labored. His heart thrummed with nervousness but also excitement. After some thinking, he said, “I won’t have any problems in terms of skill, but when and where. If the target is in the company protected by a biosentient entity, then it’ll be difficult.”

“Which means that you could do it if he were outside the company?”

“Yes. People from middle management of big companies usually have a resonator supporting them at all times. Once they leave the company, though, they won’t be able to bring a resonator nest along. If that’s the case, I’ll have a good chance of succeeding,” Wu Bei declared.

This shouldn’t be a problem. Once they launched their plan, the Resolution Department was bound to summon Zhao Qian. Then, they would have their chance.

“The target will be out of the company when I’ll need you to attack him,” he promised.

“If that’s the case, only one last problem remains. Phantom Form used biofields, abnormalities, and technology to make his targets attack him in order to set up his assassinations.

“What sort of image should I project to force the target to attack you? I can’t use your image, right? That’ll bring our plan to light. We can’t choose any random person either. Is there any person or object that the target is deeply afraid of?”

Chen Chuan thought about it. “I have one in mind, but I need some time to get it ready. I’ll contact you again.”

***

Lu Fang was teaching a group of teenagers in an underground martial arts school in Deep End District. Compared to his two seniors, he didn’t hit or yell at the teenagers. If they made any mistakes, he would patiently teach them and go into deep detail about the mistakes.

The short-haired young man leaned against the wall as he watched. A long while passed before they heard the bell ring, signaling the end of the lesson. The teenagers cheered and ran away while Lu Fang walked back.

The short-haired young man threw a bottle of water at him. “You don’t have to treat them so politely. Your good nature will just make the people in Central City think you’re an easy target. Did you see that? Those kids aren’t scared of you at all.”

Lu Fang opened the bottle and took a sip before saying, “I don’t need them to be scared of me. I just want them to be able to learn how to fight.”

“Learn how to fight, you say? You’re teaching them according to how the lecturers at Martial Valor University teach their students, but they don’t need that. They’re training to fight other people and earn a living. They need guns to win and resources to survive, like the adults,” the short-haired young man said.

Lu Fang shook his head at that, but he didn’t say that the short-haired young man was wrong. Ever since the incident with Chen Chuan, he had learned plenty of things, and one of them was this: If he had never been in another person’s position and experienced what they had been through, he had no right to lecture them.

Besides, when he was at his darkest hour, the two seniors had accepted him and helped him.

When the short-haired young man saw that he wasn’t saying anything else, he changed the topic. “Didn’t you say that you were going to meet a junior of yours? Did he say he’s going to help you?”

“He said that he would,” Lu Fang said.

With a shake of his head, the short-haired young man said, “He would? It’s been days, but I haven’t heard anything. I say, once a person gets into the main campus, you should forget what they were like before. He’s no longer in the same world as we are.”

“The people around him are all recommended students from other cities, and he’s now mingling with them all the time.

“I’ve seen plenty of people like him. Heh. Once they come to Central City and become successful, they cut ties with all the people they knew before, as if they’d die if they didn’t. Honestly, I was surprised when you said you met him.”

“I don’t know about other people, but Chen Chuan isn’t like that,” Lu Fang defended.

“Then what sort of person is he? I’m quite curious about him. How did he get into the main campus? He’s not a recommended student. That’s seriously rare.”

Lu Fang didn’t answer directly. Instead, he went to the side and came back with a newspaper. “I brought this with me from home. Take a look, Senior Yu.”

Out of curiosity, Senior Yu took it and was flabbergasted after reading the article. “What’s this? Is this a joke?”

The article spoke about how Chen Chuan had killed thirty-seven Mutual Aid Group students all by himself.

“No. That’s indeed what he did, and the article doesn’t even mention the Mutual Aid Group members’ security guards,” Lu Fang answered calmly.

“That’s impossible. Has the Mutual Aid Group become so useless? And Chen Chuan was just a sophomore? Is this article fake?” Senior Yu asked skeptically.

“If you go back to Yangzhi City, you’ll know whether it’s telling the truth or not,” Lu Fang answered calmly.

Senior Yu shook his head at that. “I’m not going back. I finally found my footing here. Why should I go back? What’s so nice about Yangzhi City? It’s closed off, in a remote place, and is just a corner of the world. Central City, though, is the whole world. You can find things that don’t exist outside here.

“Once we become citizens, we can open our martial arts school or become security team captains or consultants. Once we get some money, we can train hard and reach the Third Limit. If we get there, our lives will change completely.”

Lu Fang didn’t think that he was just dreaming. After all, he had sparred against the two seniors, and they were pretty strong. They were also less than twenty-five years old. All they were lacking were training resources. If they worked hard, they might have a chance of reaching the Third Limit.

Senior Yu turned back to the newspaper. No matter how he looked at it, he found himself in disbelief. The key wasn’t even in Chen Chuan killing so many Mutual Aid Group members. It was that he was completely fine after that. Someone was definitely supporting him, and that someone was no average person.

“I’m beginning to believe in what you said, Lu Fang,” he said as he looked him in the eye.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep