Chapter 298: Investigation
Chapter 298: Investigation
"So, Senior Lu, how do you plan to proceed?"
Chen Chuan wanted to hear Lu Fang's thoughts.
Lu Fang replied, "I want to find Zhao Qian's whereabouts first and then investigate from there. Since he took Senior Shen's sister away, there must be some purpose. It hasn't been too long since then, so I think there should be some traces left."
He leaned forward slightly, resting his hand on the cup of hot drink, "Zhao Qian graduated from Wu Yi Academy, so I was thinking, could I find a junior like you and ask about his possible whereabouts? I didn't expect to arrive here today and run into you."
Chen Chuan nodded and said, "I know where Zhao Qian is."
Lu Fang raised his head to look at him.
Chen Chuan said, "But Senior Lu, even if you find him, how will you investigate for clues about Senior Shen's sister? Will you go and ask him directly?"
Lu Fang quickly responded, "Although I came alone, I do have acquaintances in the Central City. I found a few seniors I knew before, and with their help, I was able to settle down. I believe that once I confirm Zhao Qian's location, I can investigate slowly, and there will definitely be results."
Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "But Senior, you may not be aware that Zhao Qian, as a company executive, has a security team and resonators protecting him at all times. If you repeatedly appear near the company, you'll attract their attention.
If my guess is correct, Senior Lu, you probably don't have an official citizen identity yet. Even if the security organization uses violent means against you, no matter how severe the consequences, no one will pay you any extra attention. In the end, you might be dealt with secretly, and Zhao Qian may not even know you were ever there."
Lu Fang listened to these words with great seriousness. "Thank you for telling me this, Junior. Although this matter is challenging, I can't ignore it. Senior Shen helped me and many other classmates a lot back then. I owe him, so I should be the one to repay him."
He looked at Chen Chuan with sincerity in his eyes, "Junior, can you tell me where Zhao Qian is? I just need to know this, and I'll be as careful as possible."
Chen Chuan pondered for a moment. Senior Lu was indeed very persistent, but he was also the kind of person who valued brotherhood. He had supported the Vanguard Society several times before without asking for any reward in return. This was the debt of gratitude he carried.
"Senior Lu, if you truly want to know the answer from that time, it's best to do nothing during this phase and wait for a while. Perhaps there will be results."
Lu Fang was a little uncertain about his idea. He hesitated, "Junior, you don't have to get involved in this..."
Chen Chuan shook his head, "Senior Lu, don't overthink it. It's unrelated to what you told me today. You care about Senior Shen's affairs, but doesn't Zhao Qian care about the Zhao family's downfall?"
Lu Fang was taken aback, his heart understanding Chen Chuan's words. He glanced at him with some concern, "Junior, so you..."
Chen Chuan smiled slightly, "Alright, Senior, it's rare that we meet. Let's not talk about this for now and just chat about other things. You mentioned that some seniors who came to the Central City helped you. What are they doing now?"
In the Deep Unreached Zone, within an underground martial arts arena, two young men in their twenties were instructing more than twenty teenagers in their combat training. They were strict; whenever someone's moves were off, they would immediately shout at them or kick them. The fallen teenagers would quickly get up and continue practicing without a word.
Only after correcting their postures would they shift their gaze to the next person. After a long time, the sound of a clock chimed. One of the short-haired young men said, "Take a break."
The teenagers bowed respectfully and then scattered with a cheer, their faces finally showing their youthful smiles.
The short-haired young man returned to the side, grabbed a bottle, and took a sip. "The Skyforgive Gang has sent people again, adding some conditions. They said that as long as we join, they'll help us with our identity issues."
The other, taller young man, spoke in a deep voice, "It's not that simple. They just want to use us. Identity? They'll only use that to make us fight for them. We shouldn't pay them any mind; things are fine as they are."
The short-haired young man hummed in response.
After a while, he continued, "Senior Lu said he's going to find a junior who entered the Academy this year to ask for information."
"I never expected that someone from Yang Zhi could enter the Academy as a civilian. It's truly remarkable. But once you go there, your identity will be different, and I don't know if there will be any results."
The other young man said, "Whether there are results or not, it's the same. If the person he's looking for has already become a company executive, then it's destined to be fruitless. We can't compete with the company."
"Yes, but he's too persistent. We can't persuade him to give up." The short-haired young man sighed, "I hope he listens to our warnings."
Half an hour later, Chen Chuan and Lu Fang exchanged contact information and left the beverage shop.
Chen Chuan had initially planned to pay for the meal himself, but Lu Fang insisted on splitting the bill, and he didn't refuse.
The two parted ways at the street corner, and as Chen Chuan watched Lu Fang leave, he returned to his dorm. He picked up the Xuejun Blade and began to reinforce and digest the techniques he had learned from Teacher Zheng earlier that day.
Just as he was immersed in his practice, a notification sounded from his Boundary Token. Seeing that it was Gao Ming, a slight stir went through his heart. He put down the blade and stepped out of the training room to accept the incoming call.
Gao Ming's voice came through, "Cousin, I've made some progress here. Do you have time now? Let's meet and talk."
"I'm available," Chen Chuan replied. "I'll come right over."
After a quick tidy-up, he left the dorm, headed to the underground garage to retrieve his car, and drove straight to Gao Ming's apartment.
After exchanging greetings upon meeting, Gao Ming removed his Boundary Token, which he wore, and said with a smile, "Cousin, the content of our discussion is a bit sensitive, so it's best to temporarily remove this device."
Chen Chuan nodded in agreement. While the Boundary Token was convenient for communication, it didn't entirely eliminate the possibility of being monitored by technical surveillance. As a litigator, Gao Ming was extremely cautious about this, and Chen Chuan understood this well, so he also removed his own Boundary Token.
Gao Ming placed both Boundary Tokens into a box, closed it, and turned back to Chen Chuan, offering him a glass of water. He sat down and said, "Cousin, after arriving at the firm, I've been reviewing a lot of information these past few days, including some firm platform data and paper documents."
Due to the unique nature of their profession, the most valuable information in a litigator's firm was often stored in paper archives and independent bio-storage units not connected to the firm's network. Only internal staff had access to these resources. As an invited partner, Gao Ming was granted access to review a portion of the less confidential documents.
"Cousin, if you're targeting Zhao Qian, I currently have two ideas," Gao Ming said as he handed over a handwritten document. "First, we can use official channels.
I've looked into the specific functions of various government departments in Central City, and I found that one of the roles of your Processing Bureau is to suppress and restrict the expansion of various companies.
Hmm, it's a bit like the role of the Patrol Bureau in Yangzhi City. There, the Patrol Bureau keeps an eye on the Ink Orchid Corporation, but in Central City, the city patrol teams hardly have any chance to confront companies. The Processing Bureau takes on this responsibility.
Almost every company hires fighters, and security personnel are especially indispensable. Some exceptional fighters even rise to high-level management positions. The Processing Bureau indirectly influences these companies by controlling and regulating the fighters.
Speaking of Zhao Qian's employer, United Heavy Control Corporation, they've received 'special attention' from the Processing Bureau at least four times in the past year, and the last two instances were almost entirely related to Zhao Qian personally."
Chen Chuan asked, "Is it because of the involvement of the Ink Orchid Corporation and the Zhao Family Enterprises?"
"Yes," Gao Ming replied. "I've looked into some of Zhao Qian's public information, and he's quite clever. After arriving in Central City, he realized that the Ink Orchid Corporation was on a downward trend, so he gradually severed business ties with them and withdrew from the family business. Somehow, he managed to join United Heavy Control.
But he's enjoyed the benefits of the Zhao Family, and it's impossible to say that he's completely cut ties with them. The relevant government departments and the Processing Bureau have seized on this point and audited him several times, but they haven't pushed him too hard.
I personally suspect that these departments may want him to remain within United Heavy Control."
Chen Chuan understood. While striking Zhao Qian was an option, he was just one person. But keeping Zhao Qian around could allow them to extend their influence into United Heavy Control.
Gao Ming gently pushed his glasses up a bit and said, "Cousin, I'm thinking that perhaps we can use the power of the Processing Bureau without getting personally involved. If we play our cards right, we might be able to force United Heavy Control to let go of Zhao Qian.
Without the company management position, he's just an ordinary fighter, and dealing with him would be much easier.
The competition among companies in Central City is intense, and after so many years there, who knows how many people he's offended. Maybe we won't even need you to take action; someone might willingly step up to deal with him.
The drawback of this plan is that operating all of this requires time, and we can't rule out special circumstances, like the possibility that Zhao Qian might possess some unique value.
If that's the case, we have to consider this possibility in advance.
Even if Zhao Qian has concrete evidence of his assassination attempt on you, some higher-ups in the Processing Bureau might not agree to target him. Instead, they might use this incident to make Zhao Qian an even easier target to manipulate.
If we choose this method, we might not need to confront him directly. But before things reach that point, we can't control or predict the final outcome."
Chen Chuan nodded. "What about the other method?"
...
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(End of Chapter)
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