Book 3, Chapter 142: Getting Involved

Chen Chuan thought about it. If Meng Shu could actually carry out her promise, then no other place could offer a better deal for him.

But there was a problem: Right now, it was just an empty promise. Meng Shu was at a disadvantage, and Chen Chuan couldn’t tell whether she would be able to follow through with her offer.

Yet if she was really unable to do it, she wouldn’t be asking for his help.

“Even if you’re confident that you can give me all the company’s resources, it’s useless. I’m a law enforcer of the Resolution Department. Even if I wanted to leave the department and join your company, the Resolution Department won’t allow it.”

“If you’re not against the idea, leave the rest to me. I’ll think of something. I can also promise you that I won’t do anything that affects your personal interests negatively,” Meng Shu said.

“If you can really do that, then I won’t mind helping you,” Chen Chuan said.

Meng Shu nodded at that.

The assistant at the entrance gave some instructions to the hotel attendants, and they began serving food. They were all local dishes from Yangzhi City. The chef was someone Meng Shu had hired from there.

They didn’t continue the topic while eating. Instead, they told each other stories about what had happened in their lives during the two years they had parted ways.

After lunch, Chen Chuan and Meng Shu walked out of the courtyard and left separately. Once Meng Shu was escorted into her armored car, her assistant asked, “Have you discussed it with him, Miss Shu?”

“I did,” Meng Shu said.

“The length of time you spent on it wasn’t what I estimated it to be. It seems like you didn’t use the strategy I had planned out for you. Is that right?”

“There was no need for that. I know him. It’s better to be honest with him rather than tempt him with benefits or scheme against him. It’s not necessary,” Meng Shu said.

“Miss Shu, benefits and schemes aren’t a bad thing. You don’t have to treat them like your mortal enemies. When you’re in charge of a company, your emotions and rationality are just your tools, and you can’t let yourself be controlled by them,” the assistant pointed out.

“I’m not in charge of the company yet, so I can still do whatever I want,” Meng Shu replied.

“While I don’t approve of your actions, I do like that you’re staying true to yourself. Did Mr. Chen say yes?” the assistant asked with a smile.

“He’s not against it, at least on the surface.”

“Since you’ve managed to convince him to help you, I take back what I said. As long as you achieve your goals, it’s a good plan. Then, it’s my turn to do my job.”

“I’ll give you as much power as I can right now. I hope that you can get me the results I want,” Meng Shu said.

“I’ll be sure to do it,” the assistant replied seriously.

***

After parting ways with Meng Shu, Chen Chuan met up with Gao Ming outside Across the World. They went to his car, and Chen Chuan told him all that he had talked about with Meng Shu.

Gao Ming nudged his glasses up. “Since she promised that to you at the end, it means that she’s confident she can do it. I believe that if the Resolution Department is okay with it, helping Meng Shu is a good choice.

“Even if the resources she has right now are less than what the entire company has, it’s still a substantial amount. What do you think?”

“If she can really carry out her promise and helping her won’t affect my job, I don’t mind giving her a hand as a friend,” Chen Chuan said.

“Now, it all depends on how she’s going to handle matters. I have an inkling about what she’s going to do. If I’m right about it, it’ll be great for you, since you won’t become tied too deeply with Border Fusion. You’ll just need to maintain your close friendship with Meng Shu.

“While both the companies and governments wish to defend the World Ring, they have their own stances on the matter. You don’t have to worry about it for now, but once you’ve grown to a point where both sides can’t ignore you any longer, you’ll need to make a choice.

“Your relationship with the government, the companies, and Meng Shu will change according to your strength.

“We need to be ready to make adjustments based on the changes in these relationships.

“Meng Shu is weak right now, so she’s willing to make many compromises for you, but once she starts gaining power in the company, things will change. This isn’t something that can be avoided just because you’re good friends with her. That’s why you should work on getting stronger and remaining on top. This would be the best for both of you.”

Chen Chuan knew that Gao Ming wasn’t wrong for considering these things already. For example, Meng Shu represented a company, and companies chased after profit. They weren’t entities who gave away their things without asking for anything in return. Once Meng Shu started getting more power, she wouldn’t be able to decide who to give the resources to anymore.

The only right way to approach this was to figure out the interests involved and not face them with a one-dimensional mindset.

“We’ll see what happens later and plan accordingly,” Chen Chuan said.

After returning to his room, he continued training until night. Once he took a shower, he remembered the Viper Order while toweling his hair.

Chen Chuan sat down on the sofa and contacted Cai Mi to ask him about the situation.

Cai Mi told him that the martial artist originally scheduled to partner up with him had been sent to another operation, so they were shorthanded. The operation was set aside for the time being, and he would notify Chen Chuan the moment he had updates.

Chen Chuan could understand that. After all, the Viper Order was an organization with multiple Third Limit martial artists. Unless they had enough manpower on their side and were absolutely certain of victory, the Resolution Department wouldn’t attack them.

Since Chen Chuan didn’t need to take part in the operation for the time being, he decided to focus on training.

Three days after the day off, Ni Qianqian contacted him. “Free, Chen Chuan? Could you come to the department if you are? The higher-ups need to discuss something with you.”

Some emotions stirred in Chen Chuan’s heart, and he said, “Yeah, I’m free. I’ll come right now.”

As usual, he fed Dawncall and refilled its water bowl before heading to the Resolution Department. Once he was there, an officer brought him to the familiar meeting room.

Officer Qiu was already waiting inside. When he saw Chen Chuan, he shook hands with him. “We meet again, Chen Chuan. I have some questions for you on behalf of the department.”

“What are they?” Chen Chuan asked.

Officer Qiu motioned for him to sit before asking, “Officer Chen, is it true that you were classmates with Border Fusion’s Meng Shu?”

“Yes,” Chen Chuan answered. The information was in his file, so the department could easily learn about it.

“You met Meng Shu at Across the World a few days ago. Could you tell us what you talked about? Of course, you aren’t obligated to answer, and you can keep silent.”

“Simply put, she thinks that her safety is compromised and wants me to protect her. The rest is private stuff,” Chen Chuan answered readily.

“Did you say yes?”

“I’m working for the Resolution Department, so I can’t bypass the department.”

“I understand.” Officer Qiu stood up and motioned to the side with a smile. “This way, please. Director Wu would like to see you.”

Chen Chuan stood up as well. Director Wu was the deputy director in charge of overseeing day-to-day affairs of the Resolution Department. He had read it in the information regarding the department before but had never met Director Wu in person.

The elevator took them to the thirtieth floor, where they went into a large meeting room, which had two people talking by a window. One of them—a tall, middle-aged man with a wide-brimmed hat and lively eyes—walked over and extended a hand. “Officer Chen, I’m Wu Quan.”

He then turned to the side and spoke to a bespectacled man with calm, profound, and grave eyes. “Allow me to introduce you to Director Fang, the deputy director in charge of all matters related to defending the World Ring from our side of the world.”

Chen Chuan shook Director Fang’s hand as well.

“Come, sit. We can talk more comfortably that way,” Wu Quan said.

Once they were seated, Wu Quan continued, “Officer Chen, I heard your conversation with Officer Qiu just now. Thank you for being honest with us. That conversation is part of a necessary procedure. If we’ve offended you, we hope that you won’t take it to heart.”

“I’m part of the Resolution Department now, so I know that some things involve more than just me.”

“You’re right. It’s rare to see someone who thinks that way,” Wu Quan marveled. Third Limit martial artists had strong personalities and tempers. Even if those weren’t Chen Chuan’s true thoughts, it was rare for anyone to be willing to take such a stance.

Once another officer served them tea, Officer Qiu left the room and shut the door behind himself. Only Chen Chuan, Wu Quan, and Director Fang were left.

“I believe you’ve already guessed that we asked you to come here because of Meng Shu’s offer. What we’re trying to say is that we hope that you will agree to her request,” Wu Quan stated.

“May I ask why?” Chen Chuan asked.

“The Resolution Department is in charge of fighting against criminal martial artists, but we also have another responsibility: Helping the country suppress and restrain the companies’ expansion.

“Right now, all the companies have their own security systems. We need to be strong enough to make them rein themselves in during crucial moments, but going up against them head-on isn’t the right choice, especially at this current point.

“Our plan is to support the small- and mid-sized companies, which are these companies’ direct competitors, and make them side with us. We’ll help them to a certain degree in order to keep the big companies in check.

“Border Fusion receives many deals from the government and the military every year, so it has managed to develop to its current state partly due to the government’s support.”

“Meng Huang received our help in the past. He has a lot of ambitions, but that's not even the most damning part,” Director Fang chipped in. “We’re suspecting him of contacting a certain existence from the other side.”

“Did he now?”

Once Chen Chuan remembered Director Fang’s job scope, he realized that he was talking about an entity from the other world.

Sternly, Director Fang said, “Meng Lai has stated that he’s going to retire, which might be because of this. Even though we don’t have concrete proof yet, we can’t let someone like Meng Huang become the president of a mid-sized company.”

Wu Quan looked Chen Chuan in the eyes. “We’ve been searching for a way to get involved with Border Fusion, but we haven’t been able to do it without alerting Meng Huang of our presence. Now, we have our chance.

“Officer Chen, we hope that you will agree to Meng Shu’s request. Until we find the evidence and have all our arrangements in place, we need to ensure that Meng Shu stays alive. Of course, you also need to keep in mind your own safety.”