Chen Chuan glanced at it but didn’t respond immediately. After a moment of consideration, he walked out of his office and took the elevator to the fifth floor of the building.
After the elevator doors parted, he walked directly toward the medical team’s rehabilitation area.
Following An Shield’s directions, he took the manager’s exclusive corridor and arrived in front of security room five-zero-nine.
The person in charge had already been notified. He dropped what he was doing, hurried over, and greeted him respectfully, “Manager Chen.”
Chen Chuan asked, “Can she be questioned?”
The person in charge replied, “She’s awake. Next is physical recovery and psychological therapy. As long as it’s not for too long, questioning won’t be a problem.”
Chen Chuan nodded and gestured. The person in charge immediately stepped forward, first performing a Biological Domain verification, then using a special key to open the door.
Chen Chuan walked in. Yang Ling was currently sitting up on the rehabilitation bed, which was separated by a glass partition. The areas where she had been adhered were now coated with a medicinal ointment. Her head and face were also covered by a regenerative biofilm, and several tubes delivering nutritional fluids were attached to her body.
Chen Chuan walked up to the glass partition, picked up the communication Realm Token on the side, and asked, “Miss Yang, do you remember what happened?”
Yang Ling took a breath and said with difficulty, “I remember.” But as she spoke, her face grew a little paler.
Her mind was in chaos. One moment, it was her own thoughts; the next, it was a flood of data and information from the active Consciousness Body. Whenever she tried to think about it in detail, she was struck by waves of a piercing headache.
Chen Chuan saw the root of her problem at a glance. It was a result of the spiritual intersection during the physical Fusion, followed by a forced separation.
‘In reality, although the separation caused damage, the trauma wasn’t severe because the fusion time was short. If it had gone on any longer, even if their bodies had been separated, her Consciousness Body would have likely suffered irreparable damage.’
After observing her for a moment, he said, “Focus on your breathing. Do as I say.” Then, he began to guide Yang Ling’s breathing rhythm.
Yang Ling adjusted her breathing according to his instructions. After a little while, her headache had clearly subsided, and she seemed more relaxed. The deer-like look in her eyes had also brightened slightly.
Chen Chuan said, “You possess Spiritual Talent. As long as your will is firm and your goal is clear, and you follow this Breathing Technique I’ve taught you, recovery won’t be difficult.”
Yang Ling hummed in acknowledgment and then said softly, “Thank you.”
Chen Chuan said, “Get some rest. I have some questions for you once you’ve recovered.”
Yang Ling nodded. “I’ll cooperate.” Seeing that Chen Chuan seemed about to leave, she sat up a little straighter and asked, “Manager Chen…” When Chen Chuan paused, she asked, “What… what will the Processing Bureau do with me…?”
Chen Chuan said, “I know a little about your relationship with Lianwei Zhongyu. Don’t overthink it for now. We can talk about these things after you’ve recovered.” After speaking, he put down the communication Realm Token and turned to leave.
Once outside, he didn’t return to his office but headed straight for the exit. On the way, he contacted Captain Gu, who had previously been assigned under him. “Captain Gu, what’s the situation on your end?”
Captain Gu reported, “Manager, per your orders, the lockdown has been in effect since yesterday. I can guarantee that no personnel have entered or exited, and not a single piece of information has been transmitted out.”
Chen Chuan grunted in acknowledgment. He had locked down Lianwei Zhongyu that same day, strictly prohibiting all entry and exit. Although the company headquarters could get some information through other channels, it would take them at least a few days to figure things out.
‘By then, I’ll have mostly sorted things out here. They won’t be able to turn this around this time.’
He asked a few more questions, and seeing no issues on Captain Gu’s end, he ended the call.
By this time, he had reached the ground floor and noticed that the bureau was sparsely populated. He had barely run into anyone on his way.
He had been focused on the matter at hand and hadn’t paid much attention to the bureau’s staffing. Now he asked, “An Shield, why are there so few people in the bureau today?”
An Shield replied, “Because Manager Wen and Manager Han have mission assignments, they have each requisitioned a large number of personnel. As a result, bureau staff have been sent to various districts to provide temporary support.”
Chen Chuan checked. Manager Wen had been overseeing the port district for the past few days and hadn’t returned in half a month. Manager Han, on the other hand, needed to attend a rather important meeting tonight.
It was a commercial negotiation between the Federation’s delegation and Central City officials. It seemed the Federation had also invited an important diplomat from the Lynx Federation.
Because a number of political dignitaries would be there, Manager Han, as the Processing Bureau’s head of security for the event, had to be present and had therefore requisitioned a large number of Processing Bureau personnel.
He tapped his Realm Token and immediately viewed a recorded video of the negotiation on the internal platform.
On one side of a long negotiating table sat a group of Central City dignitaries, including people from the Administrative Affairs Hall and the City Council. Across from them were the main members of the Federation’s delegation.
The entire conference hall was lit as bright as day, with the flashes of cameras periodically going off.
Numerous security personnel could be seen standing around, many of them from the Processing Bureau. As a manager of the Processing Bureau, Manager Han stood behind the few dignitaries leading the negotiations.
After a glance, Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow slightly. Although Manager Han looked the same as usual, he felt that something was off, something out of place.
But the scene on the platform only lasted a second or two before panning away. A significant amount of screen time, however, was given to the attendee from the Lynx Federation. The invitee was Admiral Archimo from the Lynx Federation’s foreign affairs team.
The man was around sixty years old, with a stern face and graying hair, but he was clearly of mixed heritage. He wore the national emblem of the Lynx Federation on his chest: two intersecting rings, one blue and one silver, with a prominent three-dimensional lightning bolt wedged through their center.
This man was a hawk within the foreign affairs delegation, a member of the Military.
He had been tangling with Central City’s administration ever since Haverford’s death, demanding that all personnel guilty of dereliction of duty pay the price.
However, Dashun was already fraught with conflict with the Lynx Federation. Even with the City Council’s news media fanning the flames from behind the scenes, no one in the Administrative Affairs Hall paid any mind to his words.
By the time he finished watching the short, minutes-long video clip, he had already walked out of the Processing Bureau’s main lobby. He exited the platform, pulled up his contact list while walking toward his private car, and contacted Assistant Ling.
“Assistant Ling, you contacted me earlier. What was it about?”
Assistant Ling’s somewhat deep voice came through, “Manager Chen, I believe I told you that I would show you the proof I spoke of. I feel now is the time. I wonder, do you have a moment, Manager Chen?”
A glint flashed in Chen Chuan’s eyes. “Oh? As it happens, I do have time.”
Assistant Ling chuckled. “In that case, please come to the academy. I’ll be waiting for you here.”
Chen Chuan said, “Alright, I’ll be over shortly.”
He glanced at the time. It was 11:40.
As he approached his private car, the guards waiting there saluted him. An attendant opened the car door for him. He got in and said, “To Wuyi Academy.”
The car started immediately and drove off, with the rest of the motorcade following behind.
「Meanwhile, in the parking lot.」
Sun Rao and Wei Yujie had just finished their daytime patrol and returned.
In two hours, they had another patrol for the latter half of the night, one that would likely last until dawn. So, instead of finding a place to eat, they chewed on a Nutrition Paste and stopped here to rest, listening to a program on their Realm Tokens to relax.
Just then, Sun Rao saw Chen Chuan emerge from the building and couldn’t help but stare, his gaze following the private car until it disappeared into the distance.
Seeing his expression, Wei Yujie said, “Senior, no need to keep staring. He’s gone. A man needs to face reality, not indulge in unrealistic fantasies.”
Sun Rao pulled out another Nutrition Paste and sullenly ate it. He said, “Junior Wei, after all this time, why are you still here on patrol with me? With your performance, you should be able to take on missions that better showcase your value.”
Wei Yujie said, “Senior, Central City is a dangerous place. I’m not ready to face that danger yet, so I think this patrol duty suits me just fine.”
“Dangerous?”
“Isn’t it? And it’s only getting more dangerous.”
Sun Rao fell silent. Wei Yujie was right. With everything that had happened over the past year, the situation in Central City did feel more complex and dangerous than before.
Wei Yujie said, “Actually, I’ve studied this Senior Brother Chen’s promotion path. It’s not that complicated. He got to where he is today by fighting his way up, step by step, with real results. There’s nothing inflated about it. But if he had failed even once, he would’ve been finished. I’m not willing to bet on those odds.”
Sun Rao said, “Junior Wei, aren’t you pretty brave? Last time at Mishiro Ara, you ignored all advice and confronted that person directly.”
Wei Yujie said, “That wasn’t bravery. It was me knowing my own limits and seeing others clearly. But you, Senior, even though you seem to follow the rules to the letter, I know…”
He tapped his temple and circled his finger. “What you’re thinking about is all just unrealistic stuff.”
Wei Yujie had hit a nerve. Sun Rao, unable to hide his embarrassment, raised his voice. “A man is allowed to have dreams!”
Wei Yujie said approvingly, “As long as you know they’re dreams. Senior, take my advice: some dreams are too detached from reality. Don’t try to achieve them. It’s better for you and for everyone else.”
At 12:10, the armored private car stopped in front of the Profound Palace Building.
Chen Chuan stepped out of the car. He glanced at the red figure standing high above, gave a nod, and gestured for everyone to wait there before walking into the building.
Carrying the Snow Monarch Blade, he crossed the lobby and took an elevator straight up to the ninetieth floor, to the Sky Garden where he had last met Assistant Ling.
The elevator doors slowly opened, and he stepped out.
Assistant Ling was standing in the center of the garden. He was wearing an imported casual suit of dark purple, and his white temples were very striking. He spread his arms and said with a smile, “Welcome, Manager Chen. I have been waiting for you for a long time.”