Chapter 220: Arrangements

Three days later, Chen Chuan received a call from Lei Guangcheng. He took some things with him and headed to He Nan’s private martial arts training center.

When he got out of the cab, he went into the front hall of the training center. He Nan was already waiting for him inside, and he greeted her, “Senior Sister He.”

“Go on in. Lao Lei and the others are already waiting for you,” He Nan said with a smile.

Chen Chuan gave her a nod and walked inside. After walking past the screen, he saw Lei Guangcheng, Guan Yuming, and a pot-bellied middle-aged man sitting inside.

The man had a warm smile and thinning hair, but based on his expression and posture, he was a government official of the same rank as the other two.

“Chen Chuan, you’re here. You already know Deputy Chief Guan, so let me introduce you to Mr. Wang, the director of the Communications Department.”

Mr. Wang looked over with a smile. “Chen Chuan, we were sincere when we offered you a position to intern at the Communications Department that day during your armor permit exam. If you come to us, we’ll give you the best benefits and treatment. We also have plenty of young and beautiful female staff members, and I’m sure you youngsters will have an easy time talking to each other.”

“Lao Wang, you’re head-hunting him right in front of my face? How shameless of you,” Guan Yuming teased him.

“If I were not shameless, I couldn’t get the good stuff, you know?” Mr. Wang was completely unbothered.

“Come, sit.” Lei Guangcheng beckoned Chen Chuan over.

Chen Chuan thanked him, then gave a nod to Guan Yuming and Mr. Wang before sitting down across from them. He Nan came in and poured him tea before filling the other three men’s cups. Then, she went out and shut the door gently behind her.

“I heard that Zhu Xian asked to see you,” Guan Yuming stated.

Chen Chuan nodded.

“Looks like our new director has his own agenda.” Mr. Wang laughed.

“If he can solve the problem his predecessor couldn’t, it’ll be good for him,” Guan Yuming said.

If multiple departments wanted to work together to take down the cults and resistance group, they had to go through the director of the Department of Administrative Affairs. But Zhu Xian had never made his stance clear before this. Instead, he called Chen Chuan over. This was an indirect way of showing his support. They could understand why he did that. Zhu Xian had just assumed office, so things were still uncertain for him. That was why he refused to take unnecessary risks.

But meeting Chen Chuan was enough for them when it came to this matter. As long as he didn’t stand in their way or hold them back, they could take care of this problem themselves.

“Everyone here took part in the operation to take down Black Orchid. We’re all trustworthy. You can say whatever you want,” Lei Guangcheng said.

Mr. Wang grinned. “The Communications Department took advantage of the situation and joined hands with the Communications Departments of other cities to set up a net. Our efforts weren’t in vain, and we managed to intercept telegrams from the resistance group a few days ago.

“Even though the contents are in the form of a code, the frequency of the telegrams sent is much higher than before. I’m confident that they’re planning to do something soon. Based on the analysis from intelligence officers, their target is most likely an important transport route.”

He turned to Lei Guangcheng. “That’s in line with the information Mr. Lei provided.”

Guan Yuming jumped in. “A few days ago, we found explosives in the downtown area. Their goal is too obvious. They want to attract the Constabulary’s attention.”

He then turned to Chen Chuan. “Our plan is to let them do whatever they want and catch them all in one go to get rid of the tumor that has been plaguing Yangzhi City for years.

“But we can’t mobilize too many constables. The resistance group has been around for years, and I’m sure that they have moles in other departments. They must be paying attention to all the familiar faces. That’s why we have to avoid large-scale actions.

“Besides, there are only a handful of people in the government departments who can be trusted to do something like this. But Chen Chuan, you were able to defeat Tan Wang. This means you’re strong enough, which is why we’ve decided to let you take the lead in handling this matter. What do you think?”

With a smile, Mr. Wang added, “This will be a mission assigned by all three of our departments to you. What do you think? If you have any concerns, you can tell us.”

Chen Chuan knew what his stance was on this, and he replied clearly, “It’s only right for me to lend a hand in this.”

He didn’t have enough money or other chances to increase his overlap time. If he could get those two things while also getting rid of some enemy forces, he would welcome it with open arms.

“The average person might not be your opponent, but your enemies this time will be different. You must be careful,” Guan Yuming cautioned him sternly.

Chen Chuan nodded in acknowledgement. Aside from the resistance group, he would also have to fight the cults and go up against their rituals. He did have to exercise more caution. After giving this some thought, he asked, “May I bring a team along with me for the operation?”

He then turned to Guan Yuming. “They’re all trustworthy. They took out an armed gang in the wilderness once and also took part in an operation with me when I was summoned to serve the country. There should be a record about it in the Constabulary.”

“Sure. That’s even better. Honestly, we’d be worried if you went up against the resistance group and the cult by yourself.” Guan Yuming agreed to it immediately.

“I also need to apply for some equipment and permissions from the Constabulary,” Chen Chuan added.

Guan Yuming waved his hand in assent. “No matter what equipment, weapons, or permissions you need, we’ll give them all to you. I can also promise you one thing. Since your main goal is to get rid of the resistance group and that ritual expert, collateral damage is allowed and accepted. Sometimes, giving out such a permission is necessary.”

His voice turned grave. “Xiao Chuan, you can’t worry about too many things. Otherwise, you’d just be doing yourself a disservice.”

Chen Chuan understood what he meant. His main goal was to get rid of the resistance group and the ritual expert. He didn’t need to protect anyone he met along the way. If necessary, he could even give up on them.

Chen Chuan understood the logic behind this. After all, he couldn’t tell what sort of situations he would encounter. Sometimes, the greedier he was to achieve things, the less likely he was to get what he wanted. He had to make trade-offs.

“I understand, Sir,” he said.

Chen Chuan would try his best to protect the innocents, but if he couldn’t, then he was going to ensure his and his team’s survival first.

Mr. Wang grinned. “Chen Chuan, you’re quite famous. You even got rid of Fang Dawei’s gang yourself. I won’t be surprised if your name is on the resistance group’s watchlist. They might already be following your every move. So, before you start making preparations, I suggest you leave Yangzhi City with some sort of excuse.”

“The Constabulary will put bounties on some armed groups in the wilderness. You should go there with your team with a telegraph set. When the time is right, head to where the targets are located. But you’re free to decide how you want to approach this mission yourself. I’ll have my assistant liaise with you for what you want. It’s Xiao Bei. He’s the one who sent you home after you fought Fang Dawei,” Guan Yuming added.

“Okay,” Chen Chuan agreed.

Just then, Lei Guangcheng said, “The Cult Investigation Bureau will collect data about the cult and ritual you might have to face. The ritual this time is something we’ve never encountered before, though, so our predictions of what it might do could be a little off. You’ll need to take some risks when you go up against it. If our predictions are horribly wrong, you’ll also need to take matters into your own hands.

“Stay here over the next two days. I’ll teach you some simple ways to destroy a ritual and some resistance-type rituals. They may prove useful later.”

That stirred up Chen Chuan’s interest. He had read up quite a lot about rituals, but he had never had the chance to try them because he didn’t have the materials. Since Lei Guangcheng was willing to teach him, he was excited to learn.

He wasn’t hoping to reach a professional level. As long as he could use some rituals, that would be enough.

The trio still had something to discuss with each other, so he didn’t linger. After saying that he was going to step out, Chen Chuan left.

Once he was out, Mr. Wang marveled in astonishment. “The boy was completely at ease. That’s a good young man.”

“His strength is also beyond question. He got his Class B unrestricted defense permit as a freshman. I’ve never seen anyone else do that,” Guan Yuming stated.

Mr. Wang nodded at that. This was the reason why he had agreed to let Chen Chuan take charge of the mission. He had been the Communications Department’s director for years and had access to all sorts of information, but even he had never heard of a freshman getting a Class B unrestricted defense permit.

Most crucially, though, he had defeated a Third Limit martial artist from Central City. That was an outstanding achievement. Setting aside how Chen Chuan’s future might turn out, his current strength already placed him among the top fighters in Yangzhi City.

“I’m going to ask one of our instructors to get ready as a backup plan, just in case anything happens,” Guan Yuming said.

Mr. Wang was completely at ease. “That’s good. Once we get rid of those people, we should have peace for a few years.”

Guan Yuming said nothing about that and just took a sip of his tea.

***

After Chen Chuan left the room, He Nan brought him to the study. It had quite a number of books regarding cults and rituals. While he was looking at the titles, Lei Guangcheng came in and motioned for him to take a seat.

Once Lei Guangcheng himself sat down, he went straight to the topic. “I’ve been observing Spill Hill over the last few days and have come to a general idea as to what that cultist is trying to do.

“He needs to fill up the details for that large-scale ritual of his, but he doesn’t have enough manpower. So, he can only get others to help him.

“Spill Hill was once the base for some cults because supernatural beings appear frequently there. The cultist might be thinking about making use of some old arrays there as catalysts for his own ritual. This could save him some time and add unexpected effects.”

Chen Chuan remembered discovering a ritual used to trap the Hill Demon during his mission to exterminate it and nodded. Being an extremely observant person, Lei Guangcheng noticed it and asked, “Have you seen something?”

Chen Chuan didn’t hide it and shared the ritual he saw.

Lei Guangcheng mulled over it before saying, “The ritual you saw should have been from the old Head-Worshipping Cult, not the Flying Head Cult. If we’re going to be strict about it, the Flying Head Cult can’t even be considered a cult. Its worshippers only worship in a group because the Flying Heads used their fear and helplessness to force them into worshipping them.

“The Head-Worshipping Cult believes that all heads contain secrets leading to the depths of the universe, so every head can be used as a tool. Based on this logic, the Flying Heads would have ended up as their research target and tool. That’s why they’re different from the Flying Head Cult.”

Chen Chuan felt like he had learned something new. He asked, “Mr. Lei, can we find these old arrays?”

Lei Guangcheng shook his head. “Spill Hill is just too big, and we don’t have the manpower to locate them. Besides, we might alert them if we try. That’s just going to make getting rid of them even more difficult. Fortunately, we have another way to target these arrays. You’ll need to take a bit of a risk, though.”