The next day, Chen Chuan turned on the radio first thing in the morning. It was still reporting on yesterday’s events and had even opened an anonymous hotline for the citizens of Yangzhi City to call in and recount the past misdeeds of the powerful families.

This was a brilliant move, stirring up the emotions of many citizens and placing them squarely on the side of righteousness.

However, not many citizens of Yangzhi City had the guts to curse them out, even on an anonymous call. So, despite the calls coming in one after another, many were pre-arranged. Still, the stories they told were likely true; many of them were quite detailed and held up to scrutiny.

Just then, the living room phone suddenly rang. He went over and picked it up, but after saying just one word, he immediately had to pull the receiver away from his ear as Ding Jiao’s booming voice blasted from it.

"Dude, you’re the man! You have no idea, I totally wanted to go yesterday. I even got to the entrance. But man, when I saw it was all students from Wuyi—I mean, I’m not afraid of making a fool of myself, but that atmosphere... my knees were knocking."

"But then I thought, what am I afraid of? My buddy is Chen Chuan, the baddest of them all! I straightened my back right then and there, my legs stopped shaking, and then..."

"And then you went home?"

"Yeah... no, wait!"

Ding Jiao quickly said, "I didn’t run away! You didn’t see me because a friend of mine was so overwhelmed by the atmosphere that he pissed his pants on the spot. I’m loyal to you, Xiaochuan, but I’m loyal to my friends too, so I took him home to change. But who knew, hey, by the time I got back, you guys had already dispersed."

"That friend you’re talking about... it wasn’t you, was it?" Chen Chuan said with a laugh.

"No way!" Ding Jiao’s voice suddenly shot up. "That friend is..." He abruptly cut himself off. "I can’t go around embarrassing people. Can’t just throw a buddy’s name out there..."

Chen Chuan chuckled as he listened to him ramble on for a while before finding a gap to ask, "Is everything alright on your end?"

"Of course! Why do you ask?" Ding Jiao sounded a little surprised.

Chen Chuan said, "Things might get a little rough soon."

"Yeah, things have been rough. The Blood Mark Gang is getting hammered by the Iron Chain Gang so bad they can’t even hold their heads up. I heard a lot of them have fled the city. As for major gangs, only the Iron Chain Gang is left, but they can’t handle the Blood Mark Gang’s business, and they don’t stick around in the city anyway. Nothing to worry about."

Chen Chuan said, "Just be careful, anyway."

"Got it! Xiaochuan, you’ve seen more of the world than I have now. I’ll listen to you."

Chen Chuan chatted with him for a little while longer before hanging up, feeling a bit more relaxed.

He glanced outside. He didn’t plan on leaving the house for the next couple of days. Under the current circumstances, Yangzhi looked the same as always on the surface, but the situation was actually incredibly tense. Something could kick off at any moment.

So, he just did some simple exercises at home. Although he couldn’t practice his Saber Techniques, it didn’t stop him from working on his fist forms and Breathing Technique. Even a small space had its own training methods.

At noon, after lunch, Chen Chuan was looking through some documents in his study when the living room phone suddenly rang. He went to answer it. After confirming his identity, the person on the other end recited a serial number from the conscription order and said, "Student Chen Chuan, please come to the alley entrance. There is a mission that requires your cooperation."

Chen Chuan said, "I’ll be right there," and hung up the phone.

He had thought he would have to wait a few more days, but a directive had arrived on only the second day. He changed his clothes, went back to grab the Snow Monarch Blade he had prepared long ago, picked up a case, and left through the courtyard.

When he reached the alley entrance, however, he saw a familiar face.

"Special Envoy Feng?"

The middle-aged man across from him, dressed in a trench coat and a fedora, was none other than Old Feng, whom he had met at the edge of the wilderness.

Special Envoy Feng smiled as well. "Chen, you’ll be working with us this time. Hmm, I guess you could say we’re old partners now."

Chen Chuan nodded readily. He was quite pleased with this arrangement. Specialist Cao was of a higher rank, and his attitude was inscrutable; he always felt like the man was hiding something.

He much preferred dealing with the man before him. Special Envoy Feng felt more like a kind, good-natured senior leading the way, and he had a much more human touch.

He walked up, shook Old Feng’s hand, and said, "On a hot day like this, Special Envoy... that outfit..."

Old Feng chuckled. "I’m used to it."

Chen Chuan didn’t press the issue. Special Envoy Feng was also a Fighter, so he probably wasn’t bothered by the heat. Besides, who knew what kind of weapons or special-purpose gear were hidden in that trench coat.

After a few pleasantries, Old Feng said, "Brother Chen, let’s find a place to talk."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment and said, "There’s a small park nearby. People go there to cool off in the evening, but it’s pretty empty during the day. We can talk there."

Old Feng agreed. The two of them walked for about ten minutes and arrived at a park. There was a pond full of lotus leaves, with a few lotus flowers standing tall among them. From time to time, the shadows of crimson-gold fish could be seen gliding beneath.

Old Feng glanced at the water. "The carp in Yangzhi City really are huge."

Chen Chuan looked down and saw a carp that was at least a meter and a half long. This was a normal size for a Yangzhi carp; he was used to seeing them. "Yes, the fish in Yangzhi get this big."

"The water quality here is certainly special," Old Feng remarked. After instinctively scanning his surroundings, his expression turned serious. "Chen, let me brief you on this mission."

Chen Chuan’s expression also grew serious.

"The operation to take down Molan Company is underway. However, our first task isn’t to target Molan Company itself, but to clear some other factions off the board first."

"Other factions..." Chen Chuan said, lost in thought.

Old Feng said in a low voice, "These factions are experts at fishing in troubled waters. If we don’t clear them out beforehand, it could lead to many unexpected incidents and losses. This is especially true for some of the foreign powers involved. They don’t care if citizens live or die; they’ll only try to make the situation more chaotic, which is something we absolutely cannot tolerate."

Chen Chuan asked, "Are resistance organizations part of this?"

"The resistance organizations need to be dealt with too, but someone else is handling them, so we don’t need to worry about it. Our target is an elite team sent by the Antan Company."

"This company’s business is extensive, covering everything from arms and drugs to pharmaceuticals and Implants. They also take on mercenary contracts, smuggling, and other jobs. Their branches are all over the world. Wherever there’s war, you’ll find this company’s shadow."

"I’m sure you’ve seen the intel. Molan Company ordered a large batch of Combat Mantises, along with a huge supply of High-Energy Nutrient Supplements. Without those supplements, the combat effectiveness of these bio-creatures is severely limited."

"We’ve already blocked all their official supply channels, so they can’t get any shipments in. Molan Company can now only resort to gathering supplies from smugglers on the black market."

"I’ve received intel that this team from Antan Company has taken on the delivery job. They will deliver the goods by the day after tomorrow at the latest. The rendezvous point is in the wilderness. Our job is to intercept this shipment and, if possible, capture it."

Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Special Envoy Feng, how do you need me to cooperate?"

Old Feng said, "I have a tactical squad under my command. They’re experts in infiltration, assassination, eavesdropping, and communications. Although Old Cao has assigned me some extra men, which should theoretically be enough, I have a feeling other companies might get involved this time. So, I need more people to coordinate with."

"Brother Chen, you’re a Yangzhi local. If you have any familiar and reliable people, you can bring them in. I can offer payment and evaluations according to standard commission rates."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. "I do have people. They should be enough to meet your requirements, Special Envoy Feng."

"That would be excellent."

Old Feng then asked, "How long will it take to assemble them? The sooner, the better. Time is of the essence. Once we deal with this, we can focus our efforts on Molan Company."

Chen Chuan said, "I’ll start making calls right now."

He found a payphone on the street and started calling Ren Xiaotian, Wei Chang’an, and the other classmates he had worked with before.

The team was practically ready-made. Every one of them had experience attacking armed groups in the wilderness, and they were all trustworthy.

Moreover, this operation counted as a commissioned mission—one under a national directive, at that. It would be an impressive addition to everyone’s resume.

As he called each person one by one, everyone who answered the phone immediately agreed to join the operation.

Wei Chang’an already had another commission lined up, but he dropped it immediately after hearing about this.

Putting aside his friendship and the favors he owed Chen Chuan, the benefits from their last operation alone were enough to get his men on board without complaint. Although they didn’t know the specific target this time, the moment they heard it was another trip to the wilderness, they knew it was a big job. They were all rubbing their hands together, eager for action.

As for Luo Kaiyuan, Feng Xiaochi, Wu Han, Weidong, and the others, they all agreed without hesitation. It was summer vacation, so they didn’t have much going on and could all gather quickly.

Under these circumstances, and with Chen Chuan specifically emphasizing the urgency of the commission, he managed to gather everyone in just one afternoon.

Old Feng was very satisfied when he saw that Chen Chuan had assembled a team in half a day, and that most of them were students from Wuyi Academy. Even the remaining members each had their own unique skills.

So, he handed out a pre-drafted plan.

Chen Chuan glanced at it. Setting aside the detailed plan, the information was so precise that it covered every single member of the Antan team. This elite group was practically an open book to them. He couldn’t help but feel impressed. ’The General Affairs Bureau’s methods really are something else.’

’If I’d had this kind of plan and intel when I was dealing with the Copper Rust Gang, I might have been able to take out their entire camp all by myself.’

Old Feng seemed to read his mind and said with a smile, "It’s not that complicated. Do you know where this intel came from? Antan Company sold it to us."

Chen Chuan was a little surprised. "They sell out their own people?"

Old Feng nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "That’s just how Antan Company operates. As long as the price is right, they’ll sell anything. For all we know, the person who sold us this information is in the transport convoy right now."

"However, they usually sell the information in several batches, and each batch is different. This intel is from last week, so there might be some discrepancies with the actual situation. We’ll still need to be ready to adapt on the fly."

...

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