Chapter 658: Inspection
Chapter 658: Inspection
At the entrance of the Liangwei HeavyDrive Corporation Building, a fleet of vehicles from the Self-Handling Bureau arrived and parked in the plaza, disembarking over a hundred bureau members.
These were all armed personnel with monitoring and combat implants, and they were no ordinary fighters. Led by an executive from the bureau, they carried a variety of light and heavy weapons and assumed combat-ready stances.
Without prior notice of the inspection, one might have mistaken their arrival as the start of an offensive.
As the company's fleet arrived, a female assistant, accompanied by several security guards, came out to meet the processing bureau members. This demonstrated the Central City's unfriendly attitude towards the company.
However, the company had anticipated this situation and was well-prepared. Instead of resisting, they calmly approached the leader of the processing bureau team for a conversation.
After a brief exchange, the processing bureau leader, Captain Bao, a Third Tier Fighter and the Investigation Task Force leader, presented his inspection order. The female assistant assured them of their cooperation but also requested that the company's legal team accompany them throughout the inspection to ensure legal compliance.
Captain Bao was experienced and trusted by the previous investigation director. He had been responsible for investigating the Liangwei HeavyDrive Corporation under the previous director and was considered his right-hand man. Even after Chen Chuan took over, Captain Bao's position remained unchanged, and he continued to lead the team.
Upon entering the company's premises, Captain Bao surveyed the area and used his World Credential to send a message according to the established procedure, "Director, we have entered the building and will commence the inspection."
He then made a gesture, and the team members behind him immediately dispersed into combat groups.
The Liangwei HeavyDrive Corporation building had been inspected several times, and they were very familiar with it. Previously, they had confiscated many items, but after the company paid the fines, the less important items were gradually returned.
This time, their primary focus was on inspecting the domain equipment and the items brought by the company's fleet.
After checking the other items, the team headed to the basement, where they saw a ceramic crate over a meter tall.
Captain Bao asked, "What's this?"
The female assistant calmly replied, "It's an Active Consciousness Embryo."
She had no intention of hiding anything. Bringing the Active Consciousness Entity into Central City had been approved by the Municipal Council, and they had promised to procure all high-energy nutrients through the channels provided by the council.
Moreover, the existence of the Active Consciousness Entity itself served as a deterrent, so they were not concerned about the processing bureau knowing about it.
Captain Bao's expression turned serious as he ordered the use of domain detection equipment for inspection. Although the Municipal Council had approved the entity, the Government Hall still had the authority to access information and conduct oversight.
Chen Chuan observed from behind, connected to the An Dun domain information and aware of the on-site personnel. He could see the entire inspection process.
However, he noticed that Captain Bao only instructed his team to inspect with their equipment and did not ask the Liangwei HeavyDrive Corporation to open the ceramic crate. This action, in itself, was not problematic.
This inspection was not only meant to pressure the Liangwei HeavyDrive Corporation but also to serve as a warning and deterrence through action. If the company could understand his intentions, they should have been more aggressive in their response instead of following a standard procedure, which would not exert any pressure on a well-prepared company.
Chen Chuan was already considering adjusting Captain Bao's position after the task force returned.
After inspecting all the items, the task force began to cross-reference the personnel information.
During the inspection, they found that most of the personnel matched the records, but when they checked a certain third-tier security captain, they discovered that he was not listed. They immediately questioned him.
"According to the agreements between various governments and corporations, every Third Tier Fighter operating outside must have detailed itinerary records. Why are your itinerary records for the past three days blank?"
The security captain explained, "I was hired midway, and I just arrived in Central City today, so I haven't had time to report to the Government Hall yet."
The processing bureau inspector sternly replied, "You've been in Central City for three hours. You should have reported to the Government Hall immediately."
The security captain defended himself, "As a mercenary, I prioritize my employer's safety."
Captain Bao signaled, and several processing bureau members with guns immediately surrounded him, pushing other personnel out of a certain range.
He spoke to the security captain sternly, "Put down all your weapons. You are under arrest."
"What?"
The security captain instinctively reached for his sword at his waist but was immediately pointed at by several guns. He quickly turned to look at his employer.
The female assistant, standing outside, said, "Captain Bao, I apologize. This is our oversight." She then turned to the security captain and said seriously, "Please put down your weapon and leave with the processing bureau members. Since this is not entirely your fault, we will pay your commission as agreed and provide appropriate compensation."
The security captain raised his hand, allowing the members of the Processing Bureau to take his weapons and place him in specially designed restraints before escorting him out of the building.
Chen Chuan witnessed the entire scene through the World Credential, observing every detail.
While it seemed like a breach in Unifying Heavy Control's security had been exposed, serving as a deterrent warning, Chen Chuan could tell that this was an intentional loophole left by Unifying Heavy Control. They were well aware that if this operation yielded no findings, the Processing Bureau would have no substantial results, which might prompt them to create trouble elsewhere.
This was a form of "appeasement" for the Processing Bureau.
The inspection continued, and Chen Chuan noticed two private security personnel with special security clearances among the team, a man and a woman, codenamed "Raptor" and "Eel" respectively.
These were two security personnel with Black Steel-grade certifications.
The Black Steel grade was a common evaluation in the security employment field, indicating that these two individuals were warriors with experience in combat against the Convergence Zone's dedicated samurai.
If compared to the Processing Bureau's standards, they would be equivalent to first to third-grade executors, but their actual capabilities could not be directly assessed. Unifying Heavy Control had never deployed such warriors to Jinbei Province Central City before, and from their appearances, these two were responsible for protecting the overall leader of Unifying Heavy Control's team.
After verifying the information of all armed personnel, Captain Bao turned to the female assistant and said, "If Unifying Heavy Control makes any adjustments to weapons or biological entities, they must promptly report the information. The same goes for armed personnel."
The female assistant replied, "Of course, we will abide by the laws of Central City." She glanced to the side, "We have a top-notch legal team."
Captain Bao looked at the team of lawyers standing nearby and walked over to the World Credential, saying, "Report, all items have been inspected, and no prohibited items were found. All armed personnel have been verified. Requesting to stand down."
At this moment, Chen Chuan spoke up, "Captain Bao, may I ask to confirm the information of their leader? I need to verify the leader's details."
A hint of hesitation flashed in Captain Bao's eyes, but he still nodded and said, "We need to meet your leader. There are some matters that require confirmation with her."
In the 1619 version of the book, there was no mistake in this scene!
The female assistant spoke up, "The young lady is not an armed personnel member and carries no weapons. She possesses a special pass issued by the municipal council and is under no obligation to cooperate with your inspection."
Captain Bao replied, "I hope you can cooperate."
The female assistant spoke sternly, "This does not conform to the procedure. If you insist, I will have no choice but to initiate legal action against you."
As she spoke, the legal team behind her remained silent, but they had already started recording and sending messages.
Captain Bao furrowed his brows.
Just then, a squad leader approached from a distance, speaking sternly, "This is a special period, and all departments can enforce emergency regulations from the Government Hall. If you wish to file a complaint, you may do so at the Government Hall later, but for now, please cooperate with our requests, or we will consider you as failing to fulfill your obligations."
Captain Bao glanced at him, a hint of displeasure in his eyes, but he said nothing.
At this moment, the female assistant reached out and touched the World Credential, as if she had heard something. After a while, she raised her head and said, "Please follow me." Then she added, "Captain Bao, just you."
Captain Bao nodded and said in a low voice, "Without my orders, no one is allowed to act on their own." After saying this, he followed the female assistant into the elevator, heading towards the top-floor office.
The other members of the Processing Bureau waited below. Approximately twenty minutes later, Captain Bao returned and said to the World Credential, "Supervisor Chen, there is a field interference organism upstairs, so I couldn't send messages. But I have met the person, and I will report the details to you in person after I return."
A voice came from the World Credential, "Come back."
"Yes!"
Captain Bao shouted to the other team members, "Stand down!" Subsequently, all personnel immediately withdrew from the company building in an orderly manner, boarded their vehicles, and headed back to the Processing Bureau.
Chen Chuan turned off the display on the domain screen. From this operation, he observed that most of the cooperating personnel acted as he had judged, merely completing their tasks according to regulations. If there were no additional instructions, they wouldn't cause any trouble and lacked initiative.
This was understandable. As long as the subordinates followed the rules, they wouldn't make mistakes. However, Captain Bao's performance was unsatisfactory. As an experienced captain, he was well aware of certain matters and didn't need his subordinates to speak on his behalf. Such behavior indicated that he didn't want to create unnecessary trouble.
The squad leader, on the other hand, caught Chen Chuan's attention. He glanced at the name.
Xu Changfeng.
Although he was only a second-limitation fighter, this was the norm. Most of the numerous clerks below hadn't even reached the limit yet, so being a second-limitation fighter was already considered good.
This person could be useful, and he had earned this opportunity himself.
Chen Chuan was willing to give him a chance.
...
...
(End of Chapter)
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