After the operation to capture Scar Face ended, Chen Chuan returned to his regular life.
In the morning, he went out to do basic training. Then, after he returned to his dorm room, he practiced his refined force and Principal Sanshou. In the evening, he maintained the basic breathing technique and found some time to practice his saber technique.
Since he needed real fighting experience with the saber, he asked Cheng Zitong about it, and his mentor wrote a permit for him. It allowed him to go to the training halls and spar with the students from the Weapons Department. Hence, Chen Chuan decided to go there to practice whenever he had time in order to avoid not being familiar with his saber if he managed to get his weapons permit later.
A problem arose soon. Since he trained a lot more than other students, he used up a substantial amount of medicine to complement his training every day.
If this continued, Chen Chuan believed that in just a month or two, he would exceed the quota of medicine given to each student every semester and would need to buy it with his own money.
Even if Cheng Zitong could get the medicine for him at cost price, Chen Chuan would require a large amount of money, so he had to take up more missions.
Chen Chuan took a look at his second self. The damage he sustained when capturing the child in the well remained, though it was starting to fade. His second self was slowly recovering, so he decided to wait a little longer until the damage completely disappeared. Then, he would try getting a second mission from Cheng Zitong.
One evening, after he finished his saber training, he used the unique saber oil he got from Ni Xiaolin to wipe and maintain his weapon.
He was getting more familiar with the saber techniques, and as time passed, he also sensed something different about his saber. He could easily transfer refined force into it. This was normal, since it was a weapon specifically made to help a martial artist release refined force.
But at the same time, he noticed that there was something in the saber that he had not managed to identify and master. He could not tell what it was specifically; he just had a feeling that something like that existed.
Halfway through the maintenance, the dormitory supervisor came over. “Phone call for you.”
Chen Chuan had an idea who would be calling him. He opened the door, thanked the dormitory supervisor, and went to the public phone. “Hello? Chen Chuan speaking.”
Just as he expected, he heard Wei Changan’s voice. “Chen Chuan, Scar Face confessed. We’re going to lure Tong Qianjiang out and capture him tonight. You have to come. If you’re free, I’ll come pick you up at 7 p.m.”
“Sure. I’ll wait at the dorm,” Chen Chuan replied.
After the phone call, Chen Chuan returned to his room and checked his watch. It was not even 6:30 p.m. yet, so he still had around half an hour left. He continued oiling his saber. Once he was done, he gave it a light swing, and the blade shone with a chilly light.
With maintenance done, Chen Chuan sheathed the saber before going into the bathroom to wash up. He then changed into outerwear and went downstairs.
It was not 7 p.m. yet, but it was already dark outside. The streetlights were lit, and Wei Changan’s Discoverer was already waiting. Wei Changan greeted him from the car. Chen Chuan went over and got in.
Wei Changan reversed the car and drove out of the university gate before taking the main road. He took out a few forms and handed them to Chen Chuan.
“These are the forms from the previous missions, including the ones where you captured Brother Tian and Scar Face. Sign them. Then, after I send them to the Constabulary, I’ll give you the receipt. You’ll also receive the pay after this. By the way, do you have a bank account yet?”
“Yes. I’ll give you my bank account number later.”
Chen Chuan took the forms and a pen to sign them. Even though he was in a moving car, he managed to hold the papers and pen firmly, and his signature wasn’t skewed in the slightest. Once done, he handed the forms back and asked, “Are you in a bad mood, Changan?”
“You can tell?” Wei Changan asked in a self-deprecating tone. “My dad always says that while I’m good at interacting with people, I can never hide my emotions. If I don’t fix that problem, I’ll never amount to much.”
Well, I don’t know about the rest, but I can tell for sure that you didn’t manage to hide your plan with the mop well, Chen Chuan thought.
Wei Changan put the forms away and exhaled long and hard before answering Chen Chuan’s question. “They changed the commander for the mission to capture Tong Qianjiang. The company said that I caused too many losses and casualties in my last mission, so they picked another person to lead this operation.
“They even switched out all the people I had brought into the operation last time. The team consists entirely of their own agents now.” He looked at Chen Chuan. “If you weren’t a major participant and hadn’t managed to capture the key figures twice, they would have excluded you too.”
Chen Chuan knew that conflicts existed everywhere. Clearly, someone had swooped in to pick the fruits of Wei Changan’s labor, but he could not help him in this regard.
“Did Scar Face tell you where Tong Qianjiang and his gang are?”
Wei Changan shook his head. “No. Scar Face is still bedridden. You were really brutal, Chen Chuan. Even though he isn’t dead, the chances of him recovering are slim to none. Fortunately, we have some truth drugs, which made him tell us certain things.
“Scar Face is only in control of the medicine Qiu Huzi left behind. The one who is in charge of contacting Tong Qianjiang is Tian Yaozu, his subordinate. Tian Yaozu knows most of what’s going on and has agreed to cooperate. He sent word to Tong Qianjiang and asked him to come over to make a trade tonight. If Tong Qianjiang comes, the operation is basically a success.”
No wonder. The agent company sure knows when to butt in. With Wei Changan’s current rank, it’s clear that he can’t fight back against things , Chen Chuan thought.
He checked the road sign and asked, “Are we going to the West Post District this time?”
“Yes. The location we agreed upon is where Tong Qianjiang was first noticed. The company is already stationing the agents in the area to set up an ambush. If Tong Qianjiang comes, we’re sure to capture him,” Wei Changan answered.
Around twenty minutes later, they arrived at an abandoned factory in the West Post District and drove straight in. It was bright inside, though no one would have been able to tell that from outside. They had a generator providing power to the factory.
“In order to prevent attracting Tong Qianjiang’s attention, I’m going to park the car here. We’re going to walk to the ambush site,” Wei Changan said.
Quite a number of cars were already parked inside the factory. “They’re all from the company.”
After Wei Changan parked his car, Chen Chuan got out and asked, “I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but who’s the person replacing you? Is it a higher-up from the company?”
Wei Changan shut the car door and sneered, “Hu Shiguang. He’s the second son of the company’s owner. All of his missions were done by other people, you know? The owner also gave this mission to him to make his resume look more impressive.
“Anyone can tell that he’s getting the credit on a silver platter. If we manage to capture Tong Qianjiang, we will be able to find Fang Dawei and the rest. This would instantly boost anyone’s credentials. The owner is paving the way for his son to take over the company.”
Wei Changan shook his head. “Once I become a high-ranking agent, I’m definitely going solo. I don’t want to work with these people. Anyway, let’s not talk about this anymore. I don’t want to ruin your mood because of my problems. Let’s go.” Read full story at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁
After they left the factory, Wei Changan took out a flashlight and walked down a path covered in weeds. He was walking quickly, making it clear that he had come here before.
Once they walked for approximately a kilometer, they arrived at another abandoned factory. The place seemed deserted, but Chen Chuan could sense quite a number of eyes sizing them up.
Wei Changan went to a side door and knocked on it. “Wei Changan here. I want to see Mr. Hu and ask him about the plan for tonight.”
After a moment, the door opened to reveal someone who looked like a leader of some sort. Behind him was a bodyguard. He first looked at Wei Changan, then at Chen Chuan. “Who is he, Agent Wei?”
Wei Changan gave him a sidelong glance. “Don’t you know him? He’s Chen Chuan, my junior.”