Chen Chuan looked out at the river. "If I’m not mistaken," he said, "he originally intended to use Molan Company to acquire Esoteric Materials. He planned to use Yangzhi City’s waterways to set up an Esoteric Ritual, one that could potentially encompass a part of, or even the entirety of, Yangzhi City."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. Then, Director Lei’s voice came through, clear and tinged with gravity. "Chen, please tell me everything you saw and all the clues you’ve found. Tell me clearly, and take your time. I’m listening."

Chen Chuan agreed and proceeded to recount what he had seen during his previous commission, combining it with his discoveries from today. He concluded, "Director Lei, I suspect that the substances leaked by Molan Company might themselves be one of the Esoteric Materials being used.

"If this can be confirmed, then I suspect the rumors about this mud having beauty and health benefits were intentionally spread by the mastermind. There might even be people he arranged among the buyers."

Director Lei said, "The Review Bureau has inspected that substance before. We still haven’t reached a conclusion on what it is, but on its own, it’s not sufficient to be used as an Esoteric Material. However..."

He continued, "Yangzhi City’s water quality is unique. If the two were combined, it’s hard to say whether some special effect would be produced. That’s an easily overlooked detail. I’ll arrange for someone to investigate it shortly."

Chen Chuan said, "Director Lei, for this person to be able to do this in the river right next to Molan Company, the company itself must have been aware. Molan Company might have even been the one orchestrating it from behind the scenes.

"However, no major incidents occurred at Molan Company right up until its collapse, so he must have failed to complete his work. Yet, based on the current situation, it seems this person hasn’t completely given up on his original idea."

Director Lei said, "If we go by your findings, the ritual is laid out along the waterways, which means it’s likely intended to encompass the entire city. But that alone isn’t enough. That would only form the outermost perimeter; the core would still require massive amounts of reinforcement, which is something the waterways alone cannot accomplish..."

He paused. "Hold on a moment..."

On the other end, Director Lei seemed to be shuffling through some papers. After a moment, his voice returned, this time sounding exceptionally grave:

"If the ritual is laid out along the river routes, then the previous ritual on Olive Street probably wasn’t just to transfer Primordial Qi. It was likely a cover to make it a part of the entire Grand Ceremony.

"Looking at it this way, the old factory in West City where you stayed was probably another one of its nodes.

"Before this, we discovered and disrupted various rituals in South City and North City. Although the distances between them weren’t uniform, the perimeter of each site could invariably be linked to a nearby waterway or underground river."

"Viewed this way, the mastermind must have had this grand plan for a long time. He’s very patient, spending years slowly pushing it forward, refining his techniques, and gradually piecing the whole puzzle together."

At this point, Director Lei’s tone became cool. "But his scheme is too ambitious, and he’s being far too optimistic. To achieve that kind of effect, he’d have to pretend the Yangzhi City Esoteric Review Bureau doesn’t exist."

Chen Chuan nodded silently. It was true. Even if the Esoteric Review Bureau hadn’t known about the plan in advance, they had still managed to disrupt most of it through sheer professional expertise.

But that was because the Review Bureau had an experienced leader like Director Lei. ’What if Director Lei hadn’t been in charge?’ Chen Chuan involuntarily recalled the incident with the director’s son three years ago. ’That was probably no coincidence.’

He thought for a moment, then asked, "Director Lei, if this Esoteric Ritual were successfully completed, what kind of effect would it achieve?"

Director Lei mulled it over for a moment. "It’s impossible to say at this point. This ritual doesn’t exist in any known records; he likely created a modified version based on the specific circumstances.

"There has never been an Esoteric Ritual on this scale before, and we can’t even be certain it would succeed. It’s possible he doesn’t even know what will happen. This time, he’s likely just pursuing technical success. Perhaps only after this attempt will his next step be to pursue a specific outcome."

Chen Chuan said, "So, Molan Company was probably just being used by him. Hmm, or perhaps Molan Company didn’t care about the resources they were investing. Even though Molan is gone now, it looks like he’s still trying to restore the ritual."

Director Lei’s voice was grave. "We’ve already destroyed many of the nodes, so it’s impossible for him to achieve the ritual’s original scale. Completing only a portion of it would be largely meaningless. But there is another possibility...

"If he uses the waterways as a boundary, but directs the ritual outward instead of inward—targeting the areas and people beyond the river instead—that could be possible."

"Beyond the river... You mean outside the city?"

Chen Chuan suddenly thought of the Blood Mark Gang’s attack on the Cai Family Stronghold. There had been esoteric practitioners among them. ’Could that have been for this purpose?’

’No!’

’That place is too far from the main river, completely off the mark. If he were setting up the ritual to project outward, it would still need to be distributed along the riverbanks to be effective.’

’And as for important, exploitable places beyond the river...’

A place name suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Xieshan!

’That large mountain to the southeast is extremely close to the White River. A stretch of railway also runs right under Xieshan—the same section that was repeatedly bombed before.’

’It’s been repaired now, but there’s no guarantee it won’t be targeted again.’

’Furthermore, Xieshan is one of the mountains from the Three Mountains Legend and a hotbed for strange phenomena. He himself had eliminated that Mountain Ghost right within Xieshan!’

’But that doesn’t mean it was the only strange phenomenon in Xieshan. If the Esoteric Ritual could command the other supernatural entities that already exist within the mountain, then that stretch of railway would become extremely dangerous, even after reopening.’

’Especially since the resistance organization has repeatedly caused trouble there. Now, it seems the resistance is connected to the Blood Mark Gang and the mastermind behind it all. Could this be the key?’

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He relayed his thoughts to Director Lei, who replied, "Chen, that theory is highly plausible. The key is to figure out the mastermind’s objective. Judging by his past actions, if he can’t achieve a specific effect, the entire endeavor is meaningless to him."

He said gravely, "And soon, the fate of the Molan Building will be decided. Several corporate giants will be coming to Yangzhi. Domestic companies can choose to travel in armed motorcades, but some of the foreign ones will have to take the train. That newly repaired section of railway could very well be a target.

"Even if there’s only the slightest possibility that this inference is correct, we cannot afford to ignore it. I’ll get in touch with the relevant departments and also launch a covert investigation into the matter."

He added, "If this is confirmed, we must find a way to stop it. Chen, when the time comes, we may have a commission for you. Wait for my call."

After hanging up the receiver, Chen Chuan stepped out of the phone booth and gazed at the flowing river outside.

’He had no interest in playing bodyguard for corporate giants, but the vast majority of people on that train would be ordinary, innocent passengers.’

’Besides, whether it was the incident with Shen Zheng or the events at the old factory that had involved him directly, the mastermind’s shadow was behind it all. It was about time he returned the favor.’

At around the same time, in a secret stronghold in Shangbu City, Bao Yuan, the captain of the resistance organization, was on the phone with someone.

"Manager Han, I’ll do what I promised. But the guns and funds you pledged to us... shouldn’t they have arrived by now?

"...You’ve hidden yourself away in the Land of Chaos, but my men are left here to contend with the hounds. My men have to fight, and they have to eat. For that, we need our tools...

"The last shipment? Don’t even get me started. The hounds intercepted it while it was still on the road. We never got our hands on it...

"Hah... I’ll make my move. Of all the things I promised your Molan Company in the past, have I ever failed to deliver?

"...Since we’re on the subject, let me be blunt. You know full well what kind of work we do, Manager Han. If I don’t step up and make a move, my men won’t respect me. You get what I’m saying, right?

"So you don’t need to worry about me slacking off. The second I get the goods, I’ll make my move. Whether I do a little or a lot, either way, you won’t lose out, right?

"Uh-huh, good. I’ll be waiting, then. As soon as the funds and guns are in place, we’ll act immediately...

"...Just you watch. I’ll have a nice ’thank you gift’ for you this time."

CLICK. Bao Yuan hung up the phone and looked up at a team member beside him. "He’s convinced. The goods will arrive in a few days. Once the money and the gear are here, we’re storming back to Yangzhi City. This time, we’re going to cause some real chaos."

The team member’s spirits lifted. After a thought, he added a reminder, "Captain, those folks from the Cai Family Stronghold seem to be looking for us everywhere lately. Shouldn’t we..."

Bao Yuan frowned. "They were lucky the Blood Mark Gang didn’t finish them off. We don’t have time to deal with them right now. Ignore them."

But the man complained, "Captain, with them holding us back, we can’t get a lot of things done. Plus, they’re always slandering us to the higher-ups. Why don’t we just..."

Bao Yuan’s expression turned stern. "No. We can’t make the first move ourselves. We won’t be crossing paths with them on this job anyway. But if they really dare to come provoke us, then we’ll fight them too. Go tell the men to lay low for a while. I don’t want them causing any trouble."

"Alright." The team member left, looking dejected.

Bao Yuan thought for a moment, then went to the adjacent telegraph room. He said to the operator waiting there, "Send a wire. Ask ’the Painter’ if the painting can be delivered on time."

The operator immediately sent the telegram as instructed.

Bao Yuan didn’t leave, waiting there instead. After more than one hour passed with no reply, he remained patient. When nearly two hours had gone by, the operator finally received a response. Bao Yuan couldn’t help but stand and lean closer. "What’s the word?"

After decoding the message, the operator looked up. "Captain, the Painter says he’s not short on supplies or canvas. The painting will be delivered on time."

...

...