Book 3, Chapter 65: United Might

Two hours later, Wu Bei came back. He had gone over to Qi Gao’s house and brought him along as well.

Chen Chuan had a brief chat with them before deciding to load the remaining useful things, especially the raccoon statue. It was heavy, so they loaded it onto Wu Bei’s truck.

Chen Chuan chose to drive the car from Jiade, since he didn’t have to worry about crashing into anything while driving it, and he asked Qi Gao to drive the silver Lightning Flash. When Qi Gao got into the comfortable driver seat, he gasped. “I’ve never driven anything so high-class before. It’s all thanks to you that I’ve gotten this chance. If I were at least ten years younger, I’d definitely drive it around Central City,” he lamented.

“I’ll be parking it in Wu Bei’s warehouse. The keys will be in the car. If you want to drive it, feel free,” Chen Chuan said with a smile.

Qi Gao shook his head at that. “No, no. No point giving something so good to someone as worthless as me. I’m not suited to driving this sort of car.”

Chen Chuan just smiled and returned to the car from Jiade. He opened the door and got in. He had learned the basics of how to drive a car back in the wilderness, so it didn’t take him much time to get it started. Besides, with his reflexes, he wasn’t worried about getting into any accidents.

Just then, he remembered the raccoon statue and asked on his Realm Pass, “Mr. Qi, could you get more ritual materials?”

Qi Gao thought about it before saying, “I should be able to.”

Chen Chuan then transferred him some money. “Mr. Qi, if it’s dangerous, set up a mission request for it. Don’t risk your own safety.”

“I know. The trouble I got into last time was just because of money and because I was worried about getting into future trouble, but with you supporting me, I don’t have to worry about such things,” Qi Gao explained.

“Alright. If you run into any trouble, remember to tell me,” Chen Chuan reminded him.

“Will do.”

They turned on their headlights one after another in the rain and slowly drove down the hill. Once they were on the road, they sped up and left.

Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at Wu Bei’s apartment and moved all the things into the warehouse.

When Chen Chuan saw how packed the warehouse had become with the medicine he got from Wu Ruo’s house and all the stuff now, he thought about finding another place to store everything.

But for now, he wasn’t ready to get such a place. While getting a house was easy, ensuring its safety was the problem. If he couldn’t make sure it was safe, then he would just be storing goods for someone else.

Chen Chuan could only deal with that in the future.

So, he went to the raccoon statue instead. This supernatural being had just eaten an offering and wouldn’t cause any trouble for a while, but Chen Chuan couldn’t guarantee that it would behave long-term. Hence, once Qi Gao bought the ritual materials, he had to think of a way to bind it or shatter the statue and transfer it to somewhere else.

Speaking of which, perhaps he could do this.

He had an idea, but he would only test it out after he got the materials.

After saying goodbye to Wu Bei and Qi Gao, he left the apartment complex, got into the car from Jiade, and drove it back to the university.

Once he reached the Arcane Palace, he registered the car on the platform through his Realm Pass and parked the car in the underground parking lot. From there, he took an elevator to his room on the forty-ninth floor.

He took a shower, dried himself, changed into another set of clothes, and picked up the Realm Pass he had tossed on the sofa. This time, he could read the message, but it only contained a few words.

Phantom Form: Look for Fat Ring.

What did that mean? Was Fat Ring a person or a codename?

Since Phantom Form had decided to send him such a message, it should be an obvious clue. At least, it was an obvious one to Phantom Form.

It would be pointless guessing what it meant, so Chen Chuan decided to ask someone who knew the ropes. He contacted Wu Bei, but there was no answer, so it was likely that he was busy with the resonator nest. After all, Wu Bei had mentioned that while recalibrating it, he wouldn’t be able to receive any calls or messages.

After some thinking, Chen Chuan decided to contact Ni Qianqian and tell her that he was done with his problem. He also told her that he got some clues and asked her about Fat Ring. “Officer Ni, I’m interested in learning about Fat Ring. It might be a codename, so I thought you’d know about it.”

Ni Qianqian huffed and said, “You asked the right person. In the underworld, Fat Ring refers to United Might.”

“United Might?”

Chen Chuan did a quick search and found that it was a famous mercenary company. It provided escort and similar security services. “He used the codename instead of the company’s name. Is it because he was trying to hide it?”

“The companies notice and take note of anyone using certain words, so non-government officials avoid mentioning their names directly. Usually, they use codenames instead.

“Even so, it’s hard to completely avoid detection. Some companies add codenames into the list of words they pay attention to. That’s why some people use their own personal codenames for each company. Compared to that, though, Fat Ring is a relatively well-known codename, and United Might’s senior executives accept it. They even use it in private.”

Chen Chuan nodded and asked, “Do you know anything about the company?”

While he could find some information about them on the platform, it was all superficial stuff. When it came to details, the Resolution Department definitely knew more.

“United Might, huh? This company has some power in Central City and is a rival of Tranquil Fields. Even though they can’t compete with them on the global market, they cut into Tranquil Fields’ share within the Great Shun Republic.”

“I thought Tranquil Fields sells information, though?” Chen Chuan suddenly piped up.

It took Ni Qianqian by surprise, then she started laughing so hard that Chen Chuan could already imagine her shoulders shaking.

Right. I forgot that she’s easily amused,

he mused.

Ni Qianqian only stopped laughing after a while. Her voice became more serious. “Anyway, let’s get back to the main topic. United Might is a large company and wouldn’t target you specifically, especially since we’re sponsoring you. If the person specified this company, then you need to think about anyone who doesn’t like you working there.”

Chen Chuan thought about it carefully and went through every possible candidate in Central City who had bad blood with him and might attack him. Suddenly, he thought of someone, and he asked, “Could you help me look into someone?”

“Is he a martial artist?”

“Yes, and he should have reached the Third Limit,” Chen Chuan said.

“That’s not a problem, then. Unless they had a company or organization acting as their guarantor, every Third Limit martial artist who wants to walk around and buy medicine in Central City has to report to the Resolution Department. We have records of all Third Limit martial artists. Name, please.”

“Zhao Qian,” Chen Chuan said.

“Zhao Qian, eh?”

Ni Qianqian took a moment to check before raising an eyebrow in amusement. “Sharp instincts you have there, Chen Chuan. Zhao Qian is part of United Might’s management and is currently the head of the External Agency Department. Since you suspect him, we can activate the personnel protection code. I’ll send you his information.

“One thing, though. I won’t stop you no matter what you do, but you have to remember that you must think carefully before taking action. Better yet, act only when you have sufficient evidence. Otherwise, if United Might takes matters into their own hands, even we will have a hard time defending you.”

“Got it,” Chen Chuan promised seriously.

“Good. One more thing. I’ve already submitted your new assessment. Your chances of reaching the Third Limit have surpassed those of the other two students, and the department will invest more resources in you. That also means that we’ll be giving you more work.”

Chen Chuan could understand that, so he said, “Thanks for the help, Officer Ni. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Ni Qianqian said.

After Chen Chuan ended the call, he sank into deep thought.

Zhao Qian.

Before coming to Central City, he had discussed this person at length with Gao Ming, and they believed that he might try to take revenge. If Zhao Qian was working at United Might, then Phantom Form’s message asking him to look into Fat Ring couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.

Chen Chuan was almost certain that Zhao Qian had hired Phantom Form to kill him.

Phantom Form probably had learned the location of his client through some channels, but didn’t know just who Zhao Qian was, which was why he only gave Chen Chuan this keyword.

Since Zhao Qian had hired him on the very day Chen Chuan finished his second assessment, he suspected that Zhao Qian had some channel in the university, who sent him the test results. They made him believe that Chen Chuan was a threat, which was why he came to the decision to hire an assassin.

Even if Phantom Form had failed, Zhao Qian wouldn’t give up and was likely going to hire new assassins. Next time, Chen Chuan might run into an even more troublesome enemy, or Zhao Qian may threaten his friends and family.

Chen Chuan narrowed his eyes. Zhao Qian had to be taken out as soon as possible.

As he paced in his living room, he sank into deep thought. Setting aside Zhao Qian’s own strength, the fact that he was part of United Might’s management meant that he had security guards. He could even make use of the company’s resources during crucial moments.

It wouldn’t be easy taking down someone like that. Chen Chuan couldn’t just march up to Zhao Qian and beat him up. He had to consider many factors.

While he was thinking, his phone rang, and he walked over to pick up the phone receiver. “Chen Chuan speaking.”

Gao Ming’s voice came through. “Hey, cuz, I’m about to reach Central City’s checkpoint. I should be in the city in an hour.”

Chen Chuan perked up at that and checked his watch. “Alright. I’ll pick you up.”

***

Zhao Qian was working in his office at United Might when he suddenly received a notification from Secret Python Cult.

“We’ve lost connection with Phantom Form’s biofield for six hours, so he has been confirmed to be dead.

“Since we didn’t assign Phantom Form to you, according to our rules, we will return 20% of your deposit to you. If you still require our services, please send another request. Would you like us to recommend someone to you?”