Chapter 104: Influence
Chapter 104: Influence
"A theater troupe?"
Manager Huang replied, "Yes, the Orchid Fragrance Cinema used to be called the Feng Hua Theater, and they performed traditional plays. That was more than sixty years ago, before the Great Expansion. Is Mr. Chen looking for someone from that time?"
Chen Chuan nodded, "Yes, thank you, Manager Huang."
"Mr. Chen, you're being too polite. Solving this matter makes you a benefactor to me."
Chen Chuan said, "With the matter resolved, I should be heading back, Manager Huang."
"Okay, okay, Mr. Chen, take your time on the way back. Be sure to come and play, and I'll personally entertain you."
Manager Huang enthusiastically sent Chen Chuan off to his car and returned to the upper floor. He couldn't help but wonder why Chen Chuan was looking for a woman from so many years ago.
Suddenly, his face turned pale, and he began to tremble as he took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. He steadied himself and said, "It's solved, it's solved. I just need some sleep, some sleep will do the trick."
Meanwhile, Chen Chuan returned to the Wu Yi Academy by car. When he arrived at the dormitory, he exerted some force and tore open a hole under his armpit.
As expected, his clothes had become old and brittle. He grabbed the collar of his shirt, and with a slight tug, the entire garment ripped open.
Before leaving, he had actually brought a change of clothes, which was fortunate as the situation wasn't as bad as he had imagined.
He cleaned up the torn fabric and went to the bathroom to take a shower before going back to bed.
When he woke up from this sleep, it was exactly 8 a.m. He glanced at his second self, which was still showing signs of continuous transformation, but this time it seemed to be a very fruitful transformation.
Using the Qi Point Breathing Technique, he examined himself. After being stimulated by the urban legend, his transformed organs had grown as if a month had passed, indirectly making them stronger. However, if he hadn't filled the gap beforehand, the result would have been far from pleasant, and it might have led to another terrible outcome.
The continuous presence of transformation signs indicated that there were additional negative influences. But now, his recovery time was much faster than before, and he believed he could eliminate these effects earlier than before.
He went to have breakfast first and then called Cheng Zitong to inform him that the matter had been resolved. Cheng Zitong asked him to come to the administrative building.
Chen Chuan agreed and left the dormitory building. He walked towards the school's administrative building and went straight to the Logistics Office on the sixth floor.
The office door was wide open, and when he arrived, Cheng Zitong was on the phone. Seeing Chen Chuan, he gestured for him to come in and sit down. Then, he said, "The tea leaves are in the cabinet."
Chen Chuan noticed that the water in Cheng Zitong's teacup was almost gone, so he went over, picked up the thermos, and filled the cup. Then, he sat down.
After finishing the call, Cheng Zitong signed a few documents and walked to the door. He called someone over, gave them some instructions, and then returned to look Chen Chuan up and down. With a smile, he said, "It seems like everything went smoothly."
"Your method was very effective, Teacher," Chen Chuan said sincerely.
As he spoke, he took out the antique mirror, but to his surprise, the once rust-stained mirror surface was now as bright as new.
Cheng Zitong didn't seem surprised at all. He took the mirror from Chen Chuan's hand, walked to the desk, opened a drawer, and placed it inside. Then, he said, "Tell me the details."
Chen Chuan recounted the entire process and took out the photo from his pocket, "I found this photo in the urban legend, and after asking around, I learned that it's over sixty years old. It might be related to the legend."
Cheng Zitong walked over, took the photo, examined it, and then handed it back to Chen Chuan. In a relaxed tone, he said, "You can keep this photo. We can't trace the past, but sometimes, after dealing with urban legends, they leave behind some things. As you've seen, these things undergo changes. You can collect them, and some of them might be useful in the future, just like my antique mirror."
"Okay, Teacher," Chen Chuan replied.
He couldn't help but ask again, "Teacher, what exactly are these urban legends or myths?" Cheng Zitong hadn't given a direct answer last time, so he took the opportunity to inquire once more.
Cheng Zitong said, "After experiencing this, you must have some guesses, but I want to tell you that what you saw is only a part of the whole.
On this path, I'm just a student and explorer like you, but I've walked it a little earlier and encountered more. Still, I can't give you the real answer, and my words might even mislead you.
So my suggestion is to not rush to conclusions. Let's wait and see, and as you encounter more, you might develop your own judgments."
"Yes, Teacher," Chen Chuan replied. After a pause, he continued, "Teacher, may I ask for guidance? If I plan to obtain the Infinite Defense License, what steps should I take?"
Hearing this, Cheng Zitong's expression turned serious. He walked to the door, checked the surroundings, and closed it. "Let's not rush this. In a few days, the winter break will start. Before then, I'll find time to discuss this in detail."
"Okay, Teacher," Chen Chuan agreed.
He didn't want to disturb Cheng Zitong further and left the office. As he stepped into the corridor and glanced outside, he noticed snowflakes gently falling.
Unbeknownst to them, a snowfall had begun.
A day later, in the southern part of the city, on Guang Mo Street...
In a simply decorated hall, a man in his late twenties, wearing a white shirt, was flipping through a stack of papers, his face looking somewhat pale.
Seated next to him were several young men and women, all dressed in exquisite and well-fitted clothes, but they all looked listless.
Above them hung a large chandelier, and in front of them was a solid wood table with a map of Yangzhi City and its surrounding towns and villages. The map was marked with various annotations made by different colored pens.
At that moment, the door was flung open with a bang, and the wind and snow outside rushed in with a person, causing everyone in the hall to shiver involuntarily.
"Ouch, it's freezing!"
"Quick, close the door!"
"Xiao Jiang, are you crazy? Close the door!"
Xiao Jiang didn't mind the scolding and hurriedly pushed the door shut. He then ran over to the man and said, "Brother Ren, did you know that the Urban Legend at Orchid Fragrance Cinema has been resolved?"
"Resolved?"
Brother Ren was taken aback for a moment, but his eyes lit up immediately. He grabbed Xiao Jiang and asked eagerly, "Resolved?"
Xiao Jiang nodded vigorously.
Upon hearing this, several young people also looked up.
Brother Ren asked urgently, "Who resolved it? Did you find out?"
"I asked, I asked," Xiao Jiang said, "Manager Huang said he couldn't reveal the client's information, but I found out that every time the person comes, it's his driver who picks them up. So, I gave the driver's assistant some money, and he privately told me that it's a Wu Yi Academy student. He couldn't say the name, but he always comes with a weapon. Manager Huang got him through personal connections."
"A Wu Yi student? And they always come with a weapon? They must have a firearms license. No wonder!" Brother Ren exclaimed excitedly, "This is exactly the person we need!"
However, a young man sitting nearby poured cold water on his enthusiasm, "Brother Ren, don't get too excited too soon. It's not easy to invite a Wu Yi Academy student. They usually work for big commission companies. Why would they come to our newly established small company?"
But Brother Ren was confident, "How do we know if we don't try? Have we forgotten our dream? We want to make our company the biggest commission company in Yangzhi City, and even in the entire prefecture. We'll find a way to overcome this minor obstacle."
He encouraged the young people, "We may not be able to compete with the big companies right now, so starting with these urban legends is the best breakthrough. The expert who can resolve these issues is the client we're looking for. We must find a way to convince him to join us."
"Okay, Brother Ren, you're right. But we can't even get into Wu Yi Academy, let alone know their name. How can we meet them?"
Someone said, "Doesn't Manager Huang know him?"
"Impossible. Manager Huang wouldn't leak client information. If he did, no one would hire him in the future. Plus, he got the job through connections, so he won't help us."
"Then give more money to the assistant. He might reveal something, at least a description of their appearance. There can't be many people with firearms licenses, so we should be able to find them."
Listening to the young people's arguments, Brother Ren thought for a moment, and then a light bulb went off in his head. He snapped his fingers and said, "That's right, the martial arts tournament!"
"What?" The young people turned to look at him.
Brother Ren clenched his fist and said excitedly, "Wu Yi Academy holds tournaments at the end and beginning of the year, and citizens can watch the matches. If we get tickets, we can enter the academy! We might find him there!"
"Great!"
The young people were excited at the prospect. They enjoyed watching tournaments, and now they could search for the person while enjoying the matches—a two-for-one deal.
At that moment, a girl with a bun hairstyle raised her hand and said in a crisp voice, "Leave the tickets to me. I haven't had a chance to help everyone yet."
"Okay, Xiaowan, it's up to you."
Brother Ren readily agreed.
For others, getting these tickets might be challenging, but for these young heirs gathered together, it was no problem. Within half a day, they had acquired enough tickets.
However, it was already the 27th, and in two days, the winter break would begin. The tournament the next day was the last one of the year, so if they didn't search now, they might have to wait until next year.
The young people were initially relaxed, but Brother Ren disagreed and provided a compelling reason:
"An expert like this won't go unnoticed by other commission companies. If we don't find him quickly, another company might beat us to it."
With this reason, the young people, upon receiving the tickets, immediately drove to Wu Yi Academy.
It was almost six o'clock when Chen Chuan walked out of the training room. He had just heard the dormitory staff knocking on the door, asking him to clean out the internal mail box.
So, he went out, opened the box, and was surprised to find it stuffed with letters.
He took the letters back to his dormitory and read them one by one. Most were from senior students who wanted to have a meal with him and get to know this junior student. The words were all enthusiastic and polite.
Chen Chuan checked the dates on the letters and realized they had all arrived in the past few days. He thought about it and understood that this was probably related to the resolution of the Urban Legend at Orchid Fragrance Cinema.
Many graduates and senior students were interning or working at various commission companies. They likely found out about this incident, so they reached out. With the power of these companies, it wasn't difficult to know that Chen Chuan was the one who resolved it.
He organized the letters and was about to head out for dinner when he saw a female senior student standing there, wearing a foreign-style uniform and looking spirited. She seemed to be waiting for someone.
Chen Chuan glanced at her and continued walking, but at that moment, footsteps approached from behind, and a voice called out, "Chen, is that you? Please wait a moment."
Chen Chuan stopped and turned to ask, "Senior, is there something I can help with?"
The female senior extended her fair hand and smiled, saying, "Chen, it's nice to meet you. I'm Min Lan, a graduate of Wu Yi Academy, now working as a client at a commission company. You should have received a name card from one of our classmates before."
...
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(End of Chapter)
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