Chapter 426: The Reason
Chapter 426: The Reason
The man signaled to his companions to stop, and he approached the bar alone. He sat next to Chen Chuan and glanced at the ice water in Chen's hand, then apologized, "Old Huang is a bit naive. I'm sorry."
He instructed the bartender, "Get him a hot drink." The bartender promptly brought over a hot beverage.
The man introduced himself, "I'm the owner here, Mr. Ai. The person you're looking for..." He hesitated, "Is he a friend of yours?"
Chen Chuan replied, "You could say that."
Mr. Ai looked at him and said, "Since you've found him here, we'll give you this favor. But I should tell you that we have no personal grudge with your friend. We're just following someone's instructions, and we have to make a living. We don't have a choice."
Chen Chuan turned to him, "Mr. Ai, you seem very sincere."
Mr. Ai shrugged, "What can we do? I know who you are, and we still need to run our business here. We don't want to be your enemy." He gestured behind him." He gestured behind him, "Bring the person out."
Two henchmen immediately walked into the bar. A few minutes later, they brought a man by his arm and stood before the two of them. The man kept his head low, exuding a bloody aura and other unpleasant smells. His body showed multiple injuries.
As the henchman lifted his face, it was evident that it was bruised and swollen, with dried blood at the corners of his mouth and eyes. He seemed to have been fed some kind of drug, and he was dazed, instinctively avoiding the bright light.
Chen Chuan looked at him and, despite the swollen face, could roughly recognize him from the photo Lao Qi had given him.
Mr. Ai said to the man, "Hao Zhuo, your friend is here."
Hao Zhuo, the man they referred to, forced his eyes open. He looked at the person in front of him and mumbled, not recognizing Chen Chuan. This seemed to contradict Chen Chuan's claim that they were friends, but Mr. Ai showed no signs of suspicion and spoke politely, "Since you've brought him here, we'll give you this favor. Hao Zhuo has suffered some hardships, but they're just flesh wounds. We'll cover his medical expenses."
As he spoke, he used his Boundary Curtain to transfer some money to Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan didn't accept it and said, "In that case, I'll take him away. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Ai."
He stood up, unbothered by the dirt on Hao Zhuo, and took him gently from the henchman, easily leading him toward the door.
"Wait a moment," Mr. Ai called from behind. "You can take him, but... can you give us an explanation?"
Chen Chuan turned to look at him.
Mr. Ai quickly raised his hands, "No misunderstanding. It's just that... since we're letting you take him, we should at least do something, right?"
Chen Chuan glanced at him, seemingly ignoring his words. But as he passed by the middle decorative wall, he stretched out his hand and punched it. The wall instantly shattered, and the decorative objects on the broken bricks fell to the ground.
Mr. Ai and the henchmen paled, swallowing hard.
But soon they saw that inside the decorative wall was a statue of an unknown creature, about a meter tall, with a pair of horns on its head, a hideous face, and a smile that reached the corners of its eyes. It was a smile, but it felt eerie.
Upon seeing the statue, Mr. Ai's expression changed, and the henchmen, noticing his reaction, tensed up, gripping their weapons tightly.
Chen Chuan paid them no mind and lightly patted the statue, which immediately shattered, leaving only the head intact. It fell from above and rolled to the middle of the bar, among the flickering blood-red light.
He glanced away and said, "Your explanation is right here." Continuing to support Hao Zhuo, he headed for the door, and the gang members at the entrance quickly opened the door for him.
As they watched him leave, one henchman asked Mr. Ai, "Boss, are you just letting him take the man?"
Mr. Ai sighed, "What else can we do? He's an executor from the Processing Bureau. Do you want to die? I still want to live a few more years."
"But why do you need an explanation?" Mr. Ai asked, removing the statue's head. "And... when was this thing put here? Who put it here?"
The henchmen looked at each other and shook their heads.
They were hired by Mr. Ai, and they didn't know either; the bar was already open when they arrived.
Mr. Ai suddenly felt uncomfortable, unsure if it was just a feeling. He instructed, "Take this thing to the back," then added, "Farther back."
Chen Chuan led Hao Zhuo out, the man still dazed, and placed him in the back seat of the car, where he fell asleep.
Chen Chuan used his Boundary Curtain to verify, asking, "Lao Qi, is this him?"
Old Qi exclaimed, "It's him!"
Chen Chuan said, "I'll bring him back and get to the bottom of this."
After bringing him back, they arrived at the residence Old Qi had arranged for Hao Zhuo. Old Qi examined his injuries and sighed in relief, "He's been beaten badly, but thankfully, nothing is broken. He was just given some hallucinogens."
Old Qi took a syringe and injected it into Hao Zhuo's neck. After a while, Hao Zhuo started coughing and then cried out, "Water, give me some water."
Old Qi poured him a cup of water, which he gulped down. After a moment of relief, he began to moan in pain again. Old Qi tossed him a painkiller, and only then did he quiet down.
After a while, Hao Zhuo regained his composure and looked at Old Qi, "Old Qi, did you send someone to rescue me?"
Old Qi, slightly annoyed, said, "Do you think I wanted to save you? Those people came looking for me. What did you do?"
Hao Zhuo coughed and said, "Old Qi, this time I've dragged you into trouble. I'm sorry, but I didn't want this either. I told them it had nothing to do with you, but they didn't believe me."
"Tell me what you did. Explain it to me today."
Hao Zhuo hesitated and glanced at Chen Chuan, who was sitting on the sofa beside him.
Old Qi said, "He's one of us. Otherwise, how could you have gotten out of there?"
Hao Zhuo said, "He's a big shot. Old Qi, you're quite capable. When did you get to know him...?"
Old Qi grew impatient, "Are you going to talk or not? If not, I'll leave you here to figure it out yourself."
"Alright, alright, I'll talk. What's the problem with talking...?"
Hao Zhuo explained that the situation wasn't complicated. He was a warehouse manager for a gang in the Lower City, primarily handling secret sect materials. Sometimes, he would try to sell some "miscellaneous" items on the side for extra income, which was how he obtained the materials he sold to Old Qi.
However, he had no idea who bought them or what they were used for.
The problem arose when the gang's boss came looking for him. During the inventory check, they discovered a significant shortage and demanded an investigation. Sensing trouble, he fled to the Upper City.
Hao Zhuo complained, "I don't understand why they're making such a fuss over such a small amount. They even pursued me to the Upper City. There are plenty of people who rely on warehouses for a living. I only took some scraps, not even worth mentioning. Why are they targeting me specifically?"
Old Qi muttered, "Something's not right here. These materials aren't worth much, and they think they can still trace them after all this time?"
"Exactly. I can't figure it out either. Is this batch of materials enough for them to hire people and afford the trip to the Upper City?"
Old Qi said, "Damn, it's not just about losing something and making you take the fall, is it?"
"Fuck, that's a possibility."
At this moment, Chen Chuan spoke up, "That bar might be under the Plague Gang's influence. Could this batch of goods be related to them?"
"Is Lao Ai from the Plague Gang?"
Hao Zhuo was stunned, and his face changed. He said anxiously, "Now I can't stay in the Lower City. Old Qi, you have to help me find another place to stay. Don't worry, I won't shortchange you on the money."
Old Qi became slightly agitated. "It's not about the money!"
Chen Chuan thought for a moment and said, "The Plague Gang has their own biotechnology. They might not be framing you. It's likely that the batch of materials you sold had issues, so they want to retrieve them."
Hao Zhuo pondered, "That makes sense. But I've sold so much, and apart from a few regular customers, I don't know where the other materials went."
Chen Chuan said, "Old Qi, you should move to a different place first. The Plague Gang is keeping a close eye on the Upper City. It's not something they can handle casually, which is why they hired help instead of doing it themselves. Don't worry about this. I have some matters to attend to. You should hide for now, and we'll deal with it when I return."
At this point, Wu Bei spoke up, "Leave this to me. I'll find them a place, Chen Ge."
Old Qi hesitated and said, "It's not a problem for me, but I'm concerned about Xiao Qi's studies..."
Chen Chuan asked, "Isn't Qiqi in junior high school?"
"Yes, it's her first year at a private school."
Chen Chuan thought for a moment. The Fusion Boundary Corporation also had investments in various private schools, so he contacted Yan Yi.
After confirmation, he said to Old Qi, "I'll arrange for your daughter to transfer schools. The new place shouldn't be worse than her current school. Someone will help you handle it discreetly, and your destination won't be revealed."
Old Qi was delighted, "That's great!" He expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Chen Ge."
Hao Zhuo looked at Old Qi with admiration, thinking that Old Qi had a powerful connection. He wondered if he could get in on this opportunity.
After making the arrangements, Chen Chuan exchanged a few words with Old Qi and left, knowing that Hao Zhuo might still be hiding something. However, the situation was already messy, and he had no desire to investigate further. For now, he wanted both men to lay low. If issues arose later, he would deal with them after completing his defense mission.
...
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(End of Chapter)
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