Chapter 452: Chapter 182: Cooperation In a villa in the Upper City District’s Yinglu District, Sister Huan gathered her team members before a light screen. "We just received word from the Lower City District," she announced. "Our target has gone there."
A team member couldn’t help but ask, "Sister Huan, can we take this opportunity to eliminate the target?"
Sister Huan crossed her arms. "It would be very difficult. The company has partners with assets there, but we’ve been tasked with completing this mission independently."
"If we wanted our partners’ cooperation, we’d have to contact the Upper Layer first, then go through them to establish a dialogue. It’s too inefficient, information could easily leak, and it’s prone to accidents. Besides, there’s no guarantee the target would still be there by then."
"I didn’t call you here today to go after him right away. I want you to watch this recording."
As she spoke, she flicked her finger across the light screen, pulling up a video. "This is from yesterday—the target’s performance in the Lower City District. You can compare it to his fight against Wei Wusheng."
"We didn’t find much useful information from the Viper Corps incident, but this clip should give us a solid idea of his current condition and skill level. We can use it for analysis."
It was provided by some special Resonator teams in the Lower City District. Although issues with the Realm Token made it impossible to see every detail, by slowing down the footage, they could make out almost every move.
The fight was over in a flash. When the group saw Chen Chuan block the thrust of a Three-Section Staff with his bare palm, their expressions flickered. One person remarked, "We couldn’t tell for sure from his fight against Wei Wusheng, but after seeing this, the target has definitely trained in Horizontal Training."
The others nodded in agreement.
Next, they watched Gai Er’s powerful swing. They couldn’t help but nod in appreciation; the move was respectable and well-known. But then they saw the staff slam into Chen Chuan’s neck, and he didn’t even flinch. This only confirmed their earlier assessment.
Chen Chuan hadn’t just practiced Horizontal Training—he was a Horizontal Training Expert!
Sister Huan spoke up. "No, it’s not that simple."
She thought for a moment, then said, "Normally, when someone using Horizontal Training is hit by a blunt weapon, the blow is either deflected or their body sinks in to absorb it. His technique looked more like he purely redirected the force, while also using Essence Blood to reinforce his Mutated Organization."
A team member asked doubtfully, "If he really used that method, given that display of power, his Mutated Organization coverage would have to be at least eighty-five percent. Is that even possible?"
Sister Huan wasn’t entirely sure either. "That’s why it’s just a theory for now," she said.
The team continued watching. Next, they saw Chen Chuan suddenly close the distance on Gai Er and grab him by the neck.
Sister Huan paused the footage. "Did you see that? The moment he was grabbed, his opponent instantly lost all control of his body. That’s a textbook example of Capturing Force."
The others nodded. Immediately after, they saw Gai Er get slammed straight into the ground before his head was crushed by a stomp. The sight made them all tense up, their muscles tightening as they unconsciously shifted into defensive stances.
The video stopped, freezing on that frame.
Sister Huan spoke. "What are your thoughts?"
After a moment, a team member offered a suggestion.
"Based on this recording, compared to his fight with Wei Wusheng, he’s shown greater durability, but I don’t see any other significant improvements. It could just be that his opponent was too weak to force him to reveal his full strength. I think we should stick to the original plan for now, but we should add measures or weapons specifically for dealing with a Horizontal Training Expert."
Sister Huan said, "Acceptable. What else?"
Another team member spoke up. "The target is a formidable combatant, especially in one-on-one fights. He’s exceptional at exploiting openings. I just got some intel on his engagement with the Viper Corps. Based on a tactical analysis, it looks like he picked them off one by one."
"The same thing happened with Wei Wusheng, and now with this dead Fighter."
"So, when we move against him, we can’t give him any one-on-one opportunities. When engaging the target, we should never send someone in alone. There must be at least one other team member providing support."
"Or... we could bring in a member who can pin him down in a direct confrontation..."
Sister Huan looked at the team member. "Do you have someone in mind?"
The team member looked up. "Sister Huan, I think we should bring in Jiang Huowang for this."
「Lower City District, Lu Tong Logistics Camp.」
Using the strong signal that Old Chi had set up, Chen Chuan contacted both the Processing Bureau and Fusion Boundary.
After becoming the official head of the company, Meng Shu still had to manage numerous business and personnel handovers and coordinate all sorts of affairs. Her official inauguration wouldn’t be until next month, which was still a while away. This meant he could rest until at least the middle of next month.
And since he had just completed a long-term mission, the Bureau had no new assignments for him at the moment. However, Director Wu did remind him again not to forget to participate in a defense mission before the end of the year.
That wasn’t a problem. He didn’t plan on staying here long anyway. As soon as he arranged for Yu Gang’s Implant, he would leave.
In fact, when it came to Implants for Fighters, the Secret Snake Sect offered such services and had an excellent reputation. Unfortunately, they didn’t serve outsiders.
A manager from Porlon Company also owed him a favor, but they weren’t well acquainted, and he didn’t put much stock in a verbal agreement.
So, in the end, he decided to go through Fusion Boundary Company. The company produced its own line of Implants, a matter he’d already brought up when he contacted them.
The company was highly efficient. Just one day later, they contacted him via the strong signal and dispatched an armed convoy from the Upper City District. The convoy arrived at the camp, escorted by Lan Xinnan, who had gone to meet them.
The man in charge stepped out of the vehicle and hurried over to shake Chen Chuan’s hand. "Advisor Chen, a pleasure. I’m Tang Zhang, the company’s Vice Manager of External Business."
"Based on the information you provided, we’ve brought several options. They’re all manufactured with our latest in-house technology. Post-implantation, the medicinal dependency is far lower than with the products currently on the market. Furthermore, Miss Meng gave specific instructions to remove the Implant’s security key, so it won’t impose any restrictions on the recipient."
This was precisely why Chen Chuan had chosen Fusion Boundary. Even with a service from the Secret Snake Sect, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t leave a security key in the device. Meng Shu, however, would never do something so pointless; on the contrary, she would do everything in her power to prevent it.
He thought for a moment. "I’ve heard there are Implants that don’t require medication?"
Tang Zhang replied, "They exist, but they require extensive compatibility testing beforehand. The area for the Implant also needs to be specially cultivated, which can take years and is extremely expensive. Our company has not yet mastered that technology."
Chen Chuan nodded. He had only been asking. ’Since safety is the priority, there are bound to be trade-offs,’ he thought.
Tang Zhang then turned to Lan Xinnan, who was standing nearby. "Captain Lan, if your camp needs an implantation specialist and equipment, we can provide those as well."
Lan Xinnan replied, "Thank you, but we have our own."
Only now did she truly understand the Energy of a Third Limit Fighter from the Upper City District.
At its peak, Lu Tong Logistics supported more than one Third Limit Fighter. Their greatest function was as a martial deterrent, but they never demonstrated any particular influence beyond that.
Even though that had been sufficient for their organization, it was nothing compared to what Chen Chuan was demonstrating now. All it took was a single call for him to summon a company manager, who personally delivered the Implants right to their door.
In the past, she would have had to exhaust every channel, call in countless favors, and make numerous promises, only to end up with a standard-grade Implant at best.
For Chen Chuan, however, those seemingly insurmountable problems didn’t even exist.
Chen Chuan then said, "Captain Lan, it would be inappropriate for me to be the one to show up. It’s best if you’re the one who speaks with Teacher Yu."
Lan Xinnan nodded firmly. "Leave it to me."
After she left, Tang Zhang looked at Chen Chuan with a smile. "Advisor Chen, may I have a word with you in private?"
Seeing he had something to say, Chen Chuan walked with him to an empty, secluded spot. "Manager Tang, what’s on your mind?"
Tang Zhang smiled. "This is my first time in the Lower City District. I was chatting with Captain Lan on the way over, and it occurred to me that this place is very suitable for expanding our company’s business. I just wasn’t sure if that would have any impact on you, Advisor Chen."
"Please don’t misunderstand, Advisor Chen. This is purely a business consideration. The company fulfills government contracts every year, but we also need to find new avenues for growth."
"When Meng Huang was in charge, he set his sights on the Outer Ocean. Frankly, it was a good choice, were it not for political factors. With that avenue blocked, the only untapped market left is the Lower City District."
Chen Chuan looked at him. "The Lower City District has always been here. Why hasn’t the company done business here before?"
Tang Zhang smiled. "For one, there were restrictive regulations we couldn’t get around. For another, we lacked suitable products and a viable point of entry."
"We manufacture protective gear, but the government forbids selling such items to ordinary people, let alone the undocumented population of the Lower City District. However, as you’ve seen, Advisor Chen, our company has now developed a range of biological Implants, which makes doing business in the Lower City District much more feasible."
"But doing so requires the cooperation of a local power in the Lower City District. I think Lu Tong Logistics is a perfect fit. They have existing channels and territory, making them ideal for promoting our products. Most importantly, they themselves have expressed a willingness to cooperate."
Chen Chuan asked, "Is this your personal idea, Manager Tang?"
Tang Zhang chuckled. "To be honest, the company has had a contingency plan for this for a while. Who wouldn’t want a slice of the pie that is the Lower City District? But I’m aware that the people at Lu Tong Logistics may be your acquaintances, Advisor Chen. So, before making any decisions, I wanted to get your thoughts on the matter. If you feel it’s inappropriate, then please, just pretend I never said a word."
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