As Chen Chuan walked into the room, sunlight streamed in from outside. It illuminated a portion of the interior and cast his shadow on the floor.

He glanced around. Aside from a layer of dust, the room’s furnishings were no different from when he had left a year ago. This meant no one had been here since his departure.

Perhaps it was the building materials, or some other reason, but there were no insects to be found.

His predecessor had already taken away anything of major value bit by bit. All that remained was some furniture.

As he slowly walked through the room, his predecessor’s memories surfaced at just the right moments. They were clear and vivid, flashing before his eyes like scenes from a warm-toned old film.

They were scenes from his childhood here, along with some memories of his predecessor’s parents. That period had been his predecessor’s happiest and most carefree time.

But that was all before he was five. In the memories that followed, his predecessor’s impression of his parents began to fade. It was as if they had gone off to do something, returning less and less frequently. Instead, his aunt, Yu Wan, appeared in his life from time to time, sometimes accompanied by the sound of Nian Fuli’s booming voice.

By the time he turned six, his predecessor’s parents never came back. After that, Nian Fuli and Yu Wan took him to live with them. However, once his predecessor got a little older, he would always come back to stay for a few days every so often. It seemed he was nostalgic for the old days, and perhaps waiting for something he hoped for.

Chen Chuan could now deeply understand this feeling. He took a breath and walked slowly into his bedroom. First, he went over and pulled open the curtains, letting in more light. Then, he moved to the edge of the bed, reached down, and lifted a loose floorboard. He dragged a small box out from underneath.

After a moment of thought, he stood up again and went to the bedside table. He pulled out the entire drawer and retrieved a key from a hidden compartment in the back panel before turning back to unlock the box.

The box didn’t actually contain anything valuable. It was just some old books and expense ledgers left by his predecessor’s parents, with some old newspapers mixed in. However, many of the newspapers and notebooks had been deliberately cut into pieces and sorted together inside.

His predecessor hadn’t known why these things were kept. He’d just had a vague feeling they might be useful, and since they weren’t in the way, he never bothered to throw them out.

’Now, however,’ he thought, ’it’s possible my predecessor’s parents left behind some clues. Afraid of them being discovered, they intentionally cut them up and stored them separately.’

After taking the items out, he spread them on the table. He then brought over the pieces Madam Ni had given him. Comparing the two sets, he quickly found parts that matched up.

He patiently pieced them together. He discovered that some of the reassembled words had numerical markings beneath them, so he arranged them in order.

Once it was fully assembled, he saw that it was an address, followed by a string of numbers. Since it was written very clearly, he could tell it was an address in Central City. But he still didn’t understand the meaning of the number sequence.

He pondered this and couldn’t help but think of the Black Card. When he had asked Gao Ming to investigate, he learned that the card had expired ten years ago. That was right around the time his aunt had taken him in.

’Could this thing my predecessor’s parents left behind be connected to the Black Card?’

Besides that, he had another major question.

Applying to Wuyi was a decision he himself had made after arriving. He was certain that while his predecessor had been curious about Wuyi and admired Fighters, he had never intended to apply.

His predecessor’s greatest interest was actually leaving Yangzhi to become a globetrotting explorer, wanting to see if the world was as magical as it was described in novels and movies.

And yet, when Madam Ni gave him those items, she implied that his predecessor’s mother had been certain he would apply to Wuyi. But getting into Wuyi usually required a childhood of martial arts training. He believed that his predecessor’s mother, being a Fighter herself, wouldn’t have overlooked this. However, his predecessor had never been exposed to training, nor had anyone ever mentioned it to him.

’So did something go wrong somewhere?’

’Could his predecessor’s death be connected to this?’

After mulling it over, he concluded there were too few clues. It was impossible to figure anything out just yet.

He looked at the address before him. ’I’ll probably have to go to Central City and find that place to investigate further.’

He memorized the address and numbers, then jumbled the pieces up again. He put some of them back in the box, locked it, and returned it to its original spot.

He glanced at the bright sunlight outside. ’Since I’m here, I might as well clean up.’

He went back to get some tools and tidied up the house inside and out. He even found a sealed canister of tea leaves in the basement, which must have been left by his predecessor’s father. He hadn’t noticed it before.

There was also an algae-oil generator in the basement to ensure there was power at night. He checked it and found it still worked. So, he started it up, boiled a kettle of water, brewed a cup of tea, and brought a chair out to the veranda, gazing at the woods and the stream outside.

The autumn scenery was flecked with gold and red. Warm sunlight fell, casting the shadows of branches onto the eaves, where they swayed gently. A few leaves occasionally spiraled down.

His predecessor’s childhood memories made this place incredibly familiar. As a child, he often played with Meng Shu by the stream out front. Later, they were classmates at school. Perhaps that was why Meng Shu saw him in a different light; after all, they had spent the best years of their childhood together.

’Speaking of which, I might run into her when I go to Central City.’

After finishing the pot of tea, he stood up, went back inside to put things away, then locked the door. He walked down the wooden steps, got back on his bike, and took one last look back, surveying the surrounding scenery before pushing off on the pedals and leaving.

The return trip was uneventful. An hour later, he was back on campus. Once he returned to his dorm, he pushed these old memories to the back of his mind. Whatever these things were, what he needed to face now was the vast, expansive future ahead of him. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

In the following days, he began using the medicinal herbs from the operations team to aid his combat training.

These medicines were far superior to what he had used before. A very small dose was enough to be effective. Moreover, judging by the degree of his Second Self’s virtualization, the negative impact hadn’t increased by much. This was quite impressive. ’No wonder Old Feng said they were exclusive to the government.’

He calculated the amount. If he didn’t get any more, it would be enough to last him for about a hundred days. It might even be enough to support him until he went to Central City.

After each day’s training, he would find time in the evening during his routine Basic Breathing Technique practice to read through his materials. Lately, he had been focusing on the book about Esoteric Rituals.

He read the parts that should have been exceedingly dull with great interest. He could study the dauntingly complex diagrams stroke by stroke, as if he found some sort of pleasure in it.

He paid particular attention to the Esoteric Rituals used to restrain anomalies. If he took on anomaly-related commissions, he would most likely encounter them. He also thought that perhaps he could try using Esoteric Buddhist methods to help resolve anomalies sometimes.

After many such fulfilling days, in mid-October, he received a call from Director Lei.

"Chen, we’ve identified that person."

Chen Chuan’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately knew Director Lei was talking about the person who used an Esoteric Ritual to absorb Life Essence Qi. Director Lei’s voice continued over the phone:

"His name is Han Chang, a veteran of the Blood Mark Gang. The gang members like to call him ’Uncle Han.’ Through our investigation over the past few days, we’ve also found his whereabouts. When things started looking bad for the Blood Mark Gang, he took a group of people and hid in a village outside the city, where he’s still holed up.

He should have members of the Life Sect with him. The Esoteric Review Bureau needs someone to deal with him and dispose of those cultists. Chen, you have experience leaving the city to deal with cults and armed groups.

Therefore, on behalf of the Esoteric Review Bureau, I am asking if you are willing to accept a commission from the Review Bureau to clean up these cultists and their affiliates?"

Chen Chuan responded immediately, "No problem, Director Lei. I am willing to accept this commission."

He was a second-year student now and could accept commissions in his own name. As for the procedural matters, he could ask Gao Ming for help, but he felt it wasn’t necessary for now.

Ren Shu’s company had provided him with a lot of convenience, and he ought to return the favor. A commission from a government agency could also enhance the company’s reputation and standing.

So, he then asked Director Lei to post the commission through the company, which he would accept in the company’s name.

Director Lei didn’t mind. As long as Chen Chuan was the one accepting the commission, the name it was under didn’t matter. He said, "I’ll have the files sent over later. Just find some time to take care of it."

"Okay," Chen Chuan said.

It was official information, after all. Less than half an hour after he hung up, a courier delivered it to the school. After signing for it, he returned to his room, opened the file, and read through it carefully.

This "Uncle Han" had sharp instincts and strong execution. The moment the Blood Mark Gang’s upper leadership came under fire, he sensed something was wrong. He immediately pulled a group of men out of the city to wait and see how things would play out.

Of course, there was no need to elaborate on the subsequent situation. Although the remnants of the Blood Mark Gang in the city had been completely wiped out following the collapse of the Molan Company, this group had escaped the city early on. Since they weren’t a primary target for any of the major powers, no one had bothered with them for the time being.

But things were different now. Since Uncle Han was clearly involved with cultists, the Esoteric Bureau, having tracked him down, would certainly not let him go.

Chen Chuan looked at the location of the hideout and felt a faint stirring in his heart. The place seemed familiar. Not far from there was the Cai Family Stronghold, the place he had been to when he was hunting Fang Dawei’s group.

...

...