Chapter 704: The Meeting
Chapter 704: The Meeting
Chen Chuan glanced around and, without immediately paying attention, considered the situation before stepping out of the office and taking the elevator to the fifth floor of the building.
As the elevator doors parted, he headed straight for the medical group's recovery area.
Following An Shield's guidance, he walked along the main officer's dedicated passage and arrived at the security room marked with the number five-zero-nine.
The person in charge, having received the notification, put down their work and hurried over, greeting respectfully, "Manager Chen."
Chen Chuan asked, "Can I question her?"
The person in charge replied, "She's awake. Next is physical rehabilitation and psychological treatment. As long as it's not too long, questioning won't be an issue."
Chen Chuan nodded and gestured. The person in charge immediately complied, first performing a biological field verification, then using a dedicated key to unlock the door.
Chen Chuan entered. Yang Ling was currently half-seated on the recovery bed, with a glass partition in front of her. The area where she had been previously adhered to was now covered with a layer of medicinal ointment. Her face was also covered by a layer of restorative biological membrane, and her body had tubes for nutrient fluid infusion.
Chen Chuan approached the glass partition, picked up the communication token, and asked, "Miss Yang, do you remember what happened before?"
Yang Ling took a breath and struggled to say, "I remember." But as she spoke, her face turned a little pale.
Currently, her mind was in chaos. At times, it was her own thoughts, and at other times, it was various data and information transmitted by the active consciousness body. Whenever she tried to think carefully, she would experience a throbbing headache.
Chen Chuan quickly understood her predicament—a mental entanglement during the physical fusion, followed by a forced separation, had caused this.
In reality, although the separation caused some damage, fortunately, because the fusion time was short, the trauma wasn't deep. If it had gone deeper, even if their physical bodies were separated, the consciousness body might have suffered more severe injuries.
After observing her, Chen Chuan said, "Pay attention to your breathing. Do as I say." As he spoke, he began to guide Yang Ling's breathing rhythm.
Following his instructions, Yang Ling adjusted her breathing. After a while, her headache subsided significantly, and she became more relaxed. Her eyes, like a little deer's, also appeared slightly brighter than before.
Chen Chuan said, "You possess a spiritual talent. As long as your will is firm and your goal is clear, following this breathing technique will make your recovery easier."
Yang Ling responded with a soft "Mhm."
Chen Chuan said, "Rest well. After you recover, I have something to discuss with you."
Yang Ling nodded and said, "I'll cooperate. Manager Chen..." As Chen Chuan paused, she asked, "The Handling Bureau... what will they do to me...?"
Chen Chuan said, "I have a rough understanding of your relationship with Univeral Heavy Drive. Focus on your recovery first, and we'll talk about these matters later." After saying this, he put down the communication token and turned to leave.
Once outside, he didn't return to the office but continued walking out. On the way, he contacted Gu Duanzhang, "Captain Gu, how's it going over there?"
Captain Gu reported, "Manager, according to your instructions, from yesterday's blockade until now, we've ensured that no personnel have entered or exited, and no information has been transmitted out."
Chen Chuan acknowledged. The Univeral Heavy Drive Corporation had been blocked since the day before, with strict restrictions on all forms of entry and exit. Even if the company headquarters could send information through other channels, it would take at least a few days to clarify the situation.
But by then, he would have mostly figured things out here, and they wouldn't be able to turn the tables this time.
He asked a few more questions, and seeing that Captain Gu had everything under control, he ended the call.
By now, he had reached the ground floor and noticed that there were very few people in the bureau along the way.
He had been focusing on his own matters and hadn't paid much attention to the bureau. He asked, "An Shield, why are there so few people in the bureau today?"
An Shield replied, "Manager Wen and Manager Han have task assignments, and they've both mobilized a large number of personnel."
Manager Wen had been overseeing the port area for the past half a month, while Manager Han was attending an important meeting that evening.
This was a business negotiation meeting between the Union delegation and the Central City authorities, and the Union seemed to have invited an important diplomatic official from the Linaksis Federation.
As many politicians would be present, Manager Han, as the Handling Bureau's manager responsible for specific security guarantees, had to be there, hence the mobilization of many Handling Bureau personnel.
Chen Chuan tapped his token and immediately accessed the internal platform, where he found a previously recorded negotiation video.
On one side of the long negotiation table sat the Central City officials, including representatives from the Government Affairs Office and the Municipal Parliament. Opposite them were the main members of the Union delegation.
The entire grand conference hall was brightly lit, with camera flashes flickering from time to time.
Numerous security personnel were standing around, many of them from the Handling Bureau. Manager Han, as the Handling Bureau's manager, stood behind the officials responsible for the negotiations.
Chen Chuan glanced at Han Supervisor, and his eyebrows slightly arched as he noticed something seemed slightly off about the man, despite his usual appearance.
But the platform only provided a fleeting glimpse of the scene, lasting just a second or two, before shifting focus to the attendees from the Linaksis Federation, including Admiral Achimo, a member of the Federation's foreign affairs team.
Achimo, in his sixties, had a stern face and a head of grayish-white hair, clearly of mixed heritage. On his chest, he wore the Federation's coat of arms, featuring two intertwined rings, one blue and the other silver, with a three-dimensional lightning bolt piercing through them.
This individual was known as a hawk within the foreign affairs delegation, a military representative.
Following the death of Havford, he had been entangled with the Jinbei Route Government, insisting that all negligent officials should pay the price for their failures.
However, the Da Shun side had long-standing conflicts with the Linaksis Federation, and even with the Municipal Parliament's media outlets stirring things up, no one from the Government Hall paid heed to his words.
After watching the brief footage, Chen Chuan exited the main hall of the Handling Bureau and approached his luxury vehicle. He activated his communication directory and contacted Assistant Ling.
"Assistant Ling, was there something you needed to discuss with me?"
Assistant Ling's deep voice echoed from within, "Supervisor Chen, as I mentioned, I wanted to show you the evidence I spoke of. Now, I believe the time is right. Would you like to see it, Supervisor Chen?"
Chen Chuan's eyes flashed, "Oh? Well, I happen to have some time."
Assistant Ling smiled, "In that case, please come to the academy. I'll be waiting for you there."
"Alright, I'll be there shortly," Chen Chuan replied.
He checked the time; it was 11:40.
As he approached his vehicle, the waiting guards saluted him, and one opened the car door. He stepped inside and instructed, "Head to the Wu Yi Academy."
The car promptly started, leading the way, with the rest of the convoy following closely behind.
In the parking lot, Sun Rao and Wei Yujie had just finished their daytime patrol and returned.
They had another patrol scheduled two hours later, which would continue into the early morning. Instead of finding a place to eat, they settled for a nutrient gel and listened to a program on their Dimensional Token to relax.
Sun Rao spotted Chen Chuan exiting and couldn't help but watch as the luxury vehicle drove away.
Wei Yujie, noticing his gaze, said, "Senior, no need to stare. People have their own paths; it's best not to indulge in unrealistic fantasies."
Sun Rao took out another nutrient gel and munched on it silently. "Junior, why are you still here patrolling with me after all this time? With your abilities, you could be assigned more meaningful tasks."
"Senior, the Jinbei Route is dangerous," Wei Yujie explained. "I'm not ready to face that danger yet, so I think patrolling suits me better."
"Dangerous?"
"Of course. And it's becoming increasingly so."
Sun Rao remained silent. Wei Yujie was right; the past year had been filled with incidents, making the situation in the Jinbei Route more complex and perilous than ever before.
"I've studied Senior Chen's career path, and it's not complicated," Wei Yujie continued. "His position today is the result of his hard work and determination, with no room for error. But if he had failed even once, he'd be gone. I don't want to gamble on those odds."
"Junior, aren't you the brave one?" Sun Rao asked. "You faced the person in the Three Cities Waste without heeding any warnings."
"That wasn't about bravery," Wei Yujie clarified. "It's about recognizing oneself and others. Senior, I know that beneath your seemingly rule-abiding exterior..."
He pointed at his head and circled his finger, "Your mind is filled with unrealistic dreams."
Sun Rao's voice rose in protest, "People are allowed to have dreams!"
Wei Yujie nodded in agreement, "Exactly, as long as we recognize they're dreams. Senior, let me offer some advice: don't pursue overly unrealistic goals. It's better for both you and others."
At 12:10, the armed convoy came to a halt in front of the Xuan Gong Tower.
Chen Chuan stepped out of the vehicle and glanced up at the red figure standing above. He nodded, signaling for everyone to wait, and then entered the tower.
Holding the Snow Queen Saber, he walked through the lobby and took the elevator straight to the 90th floor, the aerial garden where he had previously met Assistant Ling.
The elevator doors slowly opened, and he stepped inside.
Assistant Ling stood in the center of the garden, dressed in a black and purple imported leisure suit, his white hair making a striking contrast. He spread his arms and smiled, "Welcome, Supervisor Chen. I've been expecting you."
...
...
(End of Chapter)
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