Chen Chuan got back into his car and drove to the department.
At around 1 p.m., he arrived at the Resolution Department and parked his car at the entrance. As two security guards saluted him, he entered the building.
He found Ni Qianqian in her office, and she handed him a document before saying, âFerris Wheel actually had some demands. They said that if they were to compensate you, you are not to harbor any hostility toward them in the future, but we shot that down.â
Ni Qianqian crossed her arms and sneered, âYouâre the victim here. Why should you get told what to do by your assailants? What a joke. If they think themselves so capable, they can continue fighting against us and United Might. Iâm perfectly happy to see whoâs going to suffer more losses in the end.â
Chen Chuan read the document. It was mostly about compensation clauses. âWhat are they going to do now?â
âWeâve come to an agreement. Theyâre going to compensate you in batches. I think this is their main goal. As for why they want to do it in batches?â
Ni Qianqian scoffed. âThey might be thinking that you wonât attack them to get the rest of the money.â
Chen Chuan put the documents on the table and said, âPutting aside the compensation, I want to know what Ferris Wheel is thinking. Did they say why they attacked me?â
âAccording to them, you killed a woman called Big Sis Huan while escorting Meng Shu back to Central City. Sheâs the partner and assistant of some executive, and they were pretty close in private. Thatâs why he tried to take revenge on you after she died.
â
Apparently,
he didnât listen to the companyâs warnings and hired foreign martial artists through private channels to attack you.â
It was obvious that Ferris Wheel had just coughed up this excuse to humor them, because this didnât explain why they also targeted Lei Guangcheng.
The real reason had to be of some importance, which was why they didnât want to tell it.
By the looks of it, Ferris Wheel had no intention of giving up. They were just stopping for the time being due to external pressure.
âI have one more question: The person who attacked me claimed to be from Fierce Wave School. What does the department intend to do with the school?â he asked.
âWeâve sent people to ask them, and the school said that theyâre only in charge of guiding their disciples in their martial arts journey. They donât concern themselves with their disciplesâ actions.â
She shook her head at that and said grimly, âWhile we can put pressure on Fierce Wave School, itâs going to be hard to bring them to their knees.
âFierce Wave School isnât like other schools. The martial artists who graduate from there are spread all over the island nations and Oceanland, and some of them are quite powerful. The school itself also has great prestige in foreign lands.
âAfter entering the new era, Fierce Wave School used new technology to create an elite force for itself.
âIf we want to put pressure on them, weâd need to mobilize a lot of administrative resources. Putting aside how effective thatâs going to be, even if we manage to make them admit defeat for a time, the martial artists who view Fierce Wave School as their God might do something extreme, and we donât want that.â
Chen Chuan understood what she was saying. Fierce Wave School was just like Martial Valor University and had its own independent force.
Unless the government decided to use military power to destroy them, putting pressure on Fierce Wave School through political means was useless.
That was fine, though. Since the school had sent one of its martial artists to fight against him, Chen Chuan could visit them as a martial artist too.
Ni Qianqian tapped on her Realm Pass and sent him a contract. âThis is the first 200,000 devs Ferris Wheel sent you. Our lawyer has already checked the contract for you. Itâs fine. If youâre worried, you can have your lawyer read through it. Youâre going to receive two other batches of money later.â
Chen Chuan signed the contract and said, âCould you hand the money over to the department for me, Officer Ni?â
The three batches of money would come up to a total of 600,000 devs. It was about the same as the bonus Border Fusion gave him. Obviously, Ferris Wheel was just humoring him, or rather, they didnât want to give him that much money.
That was why he didnât intend to take the money, at least not now. He would get all that Ferris Wheel owed him later and with interest.
It wasnât as if he was short on money now. The special medicine he used came from Border Fusion, and aside from buying other types of medicine as well as gas, he didnât need money for much else.
If he took the compensation, some eccentric people in the department might also get jealous of him, so it was better for him to offer up Ferris Wheelâs money to get these people to owe him a favor.
âAre you sure?â Ni Qianqian asked.
âVery,â Chen Chuan replied.
âIf I were you, I wouldnât want to part with such a huge sum of money. Iâd be able to get a new car with it,â she said jokingly before her voice turned serious again. âI know that youâre not going to let things end this way. The department wonât let it end this way either, so donât be rash. Youâll get your chance.â
âI know. By the way, are you free? I said that Iâd treat you to a meal, and itâs a day off today,â Chen Chuan changed the topic.
Ni Qianqian massaged her temples. âHow about next time? Iâm an internal affairs officer, and I need to meet up with the new sponsored student over the next few days. Iâm at my witsâ end here.â
âSpeaking of which, I havenât met that student yet,â Chen Chuan said.
Ni Qianqian huffed. âHeâs under probation, but based on what I can see, heâs far from your level. Iâm not talking about potential or combat strength here. Itâs just data, and we wonât know his real strength until he shows it in a fight. Even though his assessment points are slightly higher than yours from your first assessment, heâs too arrogant.
âHe thinks itâs only right for us to sponsor him, and that heâs showing us respect by joining the Resolution Department.
âThe higher-ups are also treating him like a national treasure and think that theyâre going to get another you. Iâve been working in the Resolution Department for years and have met plenty of students. Iâll tell you this: Iâve never met another you.â
Chen Chuan could hear the resentment in Ni Qianqianâs voice and knew that this student didnât give her a good impression. He shook his head and said, âLooks like heâs not the funny type.â
When Ni Qianqian heard this, she let out a full belly laugh and took a while to stop before dismissing him with a wave. âAlright, then. Itâs a day off today, so donât waste it here. Go back and rest.â
Chen Chuan nodded and said goodbye to Ni Qianqian. When he left her office, he received a message telling him that the saber he sent to the Logistics Department had been repaired, so he could come to retrieve it.
That was perfect timing. Chen Chuan went to the Logistics Department to retrieve the saber, which had been placed in a beautiful box.
Chen Chuan thanked the staff, then walked out of the department and went back to his house to put it back on the shelf he had prepared for the saber in his weapons display room. Then, he spent a long minute admiring it before leaving the room.
The moment he was back in his dorm room, he continued his training to familiarize himself with the tempering method. He wanted to ask Xue Shou to teach him the next step of mental training.
In the blink of an eye, the third day off of February arrived.
Chen Chuan had agreed to watch the theater production with Tan Zhi in the afternoon, so he went to meet him in his house. Since they could encounter Chen Bitong, Chen Chuan dressed formally and left his room early in the morning to head to Tan Zhiâs place.
The theater was in Majestic Light District, so he didnât drive his regular car. Instead, he drove Lightning Flash.
He had never driven it before, and it wasnât just because maintaining it was troublesome. It was mainly because that car might just disappear after he decided to take it out for a spin.
But he didnât have to worry about that in Majestic Light District.
When he reached Tan Zhiâs rented house, Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin had already arrived. Pan Xiaode was as friendly as ever and shook his hand. âItâs been a long time since we last met, Chen Chuan.â
âHeâs strong, so he needs to shoulder a lot more responsibilities,â Tan Zhi pointed out.
âI should have sparred against you earlier. Now that youâre a Third Limit martial artist, I canât do it anymore,â Pan Xiaode said in frustration.
âWe can still spar. I can control myself and fight at about the same level as you,â Chen Chuan said with a smile.
Pan Xiaodeâs eyes immediately sparkled, and he asked eagerly, âCan you?â
âYeah. You can fight against me with Qi Huixin,â Chen Chuan said.
âOkay!â Pan Xiaode turned to Qi Huixin. âHuixin, letâs attack him together.â
Qi Huixin grunted in agreement and stood beside him with a stern expression.
Fighting against a Third Limit martial artist was a rare opportunity. Their families had hired martial artists to spar with them before, but they wouldnât say an extra word to those younger than they were, considering their status and identity.
As for the teachers they hired, they were only in charge of teaching them. They wouldnât spar with them. After all, a fight with too great of a disparity in strength was meaningless.
At least, that was what they thought in the past. Now, they learned that it was because those people werenât good enough to hold themselves back like Chen Chuan.
Pan Xiaode turned to Tan Zhi. âWhat about you, Tan Zhi?â
âCount me out,â Tan Zhi shot down the offer with a wave of his hand.
If this was a dance competition, he would give the best performance, but when it came to fighting? He wasnât as enthusiastic about it as his two friends. If it werenât for the threat of being demoted once his assessment points got too low, he would just get by.
Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin treated the sparring session with utmost seriousness. They first excused themselves to warm up and took a few tubes of nutritional paste.
Since Chen Chuan was willing to spar with them, they werenât going to treat it as their God given right, but treasure this opportunity.
Once they finished warming up, they grabbed their best weapons and went up to Chen Chuan. They shouted and attacked him from different directions.