Chapter 727 78: Warning

An Shield quickly put Chen Chuan through to Director Wu. Once the call connected, Director Wu's voice came over, "Manager Chen, I'm looking at your report. Nice work."

Chen Chuan said, "We've only suppressed them for now, Director Wu. Lianwei Zhongyu won't give up this easily. They're bound to make another move."

Director Wu asked, "What do you have in mind?"

Chen Chuan said, "I'd like to request authorization to test the energy rating of Lianwei Zhongyu Company's High-Energy Nutrient Supplements. Also, I want to restrict the quantity they're allowed to purchase."

"So you suspect something, hmm," Director Wu said in a low voice. "Investigating their energy rating is a very sensitive matter. It touches on agreements between the government and the company. An investigation would require wading through a ton of bureaucratic procedures and involves multiple departments. I can help you with it, but I can't guarantee it'll be effective.

"As for restricting their purchase quantity, we can do that under the emergency ordinance, and I support you. However, if Lianwei Zhongyu has already prepared for this, it might not do much good."

Chen Chuan said, "I know, but at least it will be a restriction."

"Alright. I'll issue a restriction order under the emergency ordinance later. Manager Chen, is there anything else you need from the bureau?"

Chen Chuan replied, "Not at the moment, thank you, Director Wu. It's just that due to a lack of manpower, there's been no progress on the Green Source Ecology front."

Director Wu said, "You always have to prioritize. You can put Green Source Ecology on the back burner for now. If anyone from the bureau asks about it later, just say it was on my orders.

"Thank you, Director Wu."

"Good. That's all for now."

After ending the call, Director Wu turned around. Xu Chan was sitting in his office. He picked up the files from his desk, walked over, and personally handed them to Xu Chan.

"This situation is a bit special. The various companies will certainly dispatch their most capable people. Manager Han's investigation turned up files on these individuals. Their specific details are inside. You should take a close look, Old Xu.

"We're in the process of requesting their past combat recordings from the higher-ups, and we've also had our personnel stationed abroad purchase them from external platforms. They should be delivered in the next couple of days."

Xu Chan flipped through a couple of pages, looking them over one by one. They contained detailed introductions and notes on their individual specialized techniques.

'As for combat recordings, they can only serve as a basic reference, not to be taken as gospel. After all, anything that can be recorded is just what's on the surface, or perhaps what they intentionally want you to see. Most people won't readily reveal their truly hidden skills to outsiders.'

After looking them over, he raised his head and asked, "Director Wu, is this intelligence accurate?"

"All these individuals are confirmed. I've already verified their existence through back channels."

Director Wu said gravely, "Manager Han mentioned he had to call in a lot of old favors and leverage his network to get this. But even he can't guarantee there are no omissions. After all, some people are known only to the members of the delegation and might be considered a secret even within their own companies."

Xu Chan put the files away, intending to take them back to review. Though he considered himself quite strong, he wouldn't underestimate anyone. This was especially true for a mission in the Merging Land, where he might have to go deep inside. Once he was far from the range of the local garrison, the logistical support he could receive would be extremely limited; he'd have to rely entirely on himself.

"You've already received the data on the Merging Land. This is the most complete information currently available. Neither the companies nor the Lynx Federation has intel as complete as what we've compiled."

Xu Chan said, "That gives us a slight advantage, I suppose. But Director Wu, if the Lost Object we're looking for is indeed Third Level, being familiar with the terrain won't be enough."

A Lost Object isn't some inanimate thing that stays put. Sometimes it attaches itself to creatures in the Merging Land, some of which are extremely difficult to deal with, especially the massive ones. If that were the case, the target would become incredibly obvious, and it would almost certainly lead to a tough battle.

"So, be careful, Old Xu," Director Wu said with great solemnity.

Xu Chan completely agreed. He said, "I've temporarily handed off some of my current tasks to Manager Chen."

Director Wu said, "You can be at ease leaving things to him. Manager Chen has always been decisive and sharp. I'll be here holding down the rear; you just watch yourself on the front lines. Also, I have to ask one more thing: are you not going to consider it this time? If you were promoted to First Level before heading out, you would receive more support from the Defense Department."

Xu Chan shook his head. "Director Wu, you know I'm not interested in that sort of thing."

'It wasn't actually that he wasn't interested, but that he knew reaching that step would force him to make a choice. If he didn't make one himself, someone would force his hand, and that would bring too many complications with it.'

Director Wu had broached the subject with him several times before. Seeing that he was still adamant, he said, "Then let's not talk about it. I'll arrange for all the personnel the bureau can mobilize to be at your disposal. Specialist Liang will also make the proper arrangements for you. But you have to know, there will always be people on the inside dragging their feet. So you need to be mentally prepared. This time, the burden on your shoulders might be especially heavy."

Xu Chan said, "I understand, Director Wu."

Director Wu said, "Alright, I won't say any more." He stood up and said solemnly, "Old Xu, the object is important, but you are more important. As long as you're still alive, we can always find another way."

Xu Chan stood up as well, gave a solemn salute, and said, "Director Wu, Xu Chan understands."

「One day later.」

It was the last day of September, which was also a day of rest.

Since the matter with Lianwei Zhongyu had come to a temporary close, Chen Chuan treated all the squad members to a meal to celebrate the successful operation, where he also distributed everyone's due rewards and compensation.

When he came out after the meal, he received a message from the bureau. It stated that the information department had discovered something in the Merging Land passage he had asked them to monitor. They had found a piece of paper there. It was certain that the item had been deliberately left for them to find, but they couldn't determine what was written on it.

Chen Chuan looked at the photo they sent. It showed a piece of paper covered in messy, strange numbers and what looked like fragments of characters, making it impossible to discern any specific information.

He thought for a moment. 'Perhaps Chang Dong can understand this.' So, he went straight back to the bureau, picked up the item, and then drove to the temporary residence of Chang Dong and Gao Yanjun.

Ever since the attack, the two of them had been living in an apartment in Weiguang District. The construction of their branch office had been handed over to a construction company, and they simply communicated daily about its progress via a Realm Token.

After Chen Chuan arrived and met with them, he took out the piece of paper and handed it to Chang Dong. "Mr. Chang, someone deliberately left this in that Merging Land passage. Can you recognize the content on it?"

Chang Dong took it and glanced at it, immediately reaching a firm conclusion.

"This is a coded message. A coded message from our Pure Sect. It's written in a format we used fifteen years ago. I need to think about this... hold on..."

He went back and rummaged for a moment, then came out with a notebook to use as a reference for deciphering it. At the same time, he sent a message back to a certain location to confirm something. After going back and forth a few times, he managed to decode the complete message.

The general content was a demand for them to release 'the person' as soon as possible, a warning not to establish any branch in Jibei Dao Central City, and advice to leave Central City quickly. Otherwise, the sender would personally come and destroy their branch."

Chen Chuan looked at the decoded text. "Was this written by our target?"

"No."

Chang Dong shook his head. "This tone doesn't sound like the target. He's actually a very reasonable person. Whatever he says or does, regardless of whether others think he's right or wrong, he'll present his own logic and reasoning—and genuinely believe in it. That person would never issue such a direct and shallow threat."

Chen Chuan pondered for a moment. "One of his students?"

Chang Dong mulled it over. "I don't think it's the target. In fact, it's highly likely to be *that* person."

Chen Chuan remembered the photograph Chang Dong had given him. "Mr. Chang, is this the person you asked me to find?"

"It's very likely him."

Chang Dong said, "He knows these codes and was a participant in that incident fifteen years ago. It couldn't be anyone else. If this person is truly colluding with the target, then it's not surprising he would do something like this."

Chen Chuan said, "A threat?" He glanced at the paper. "With just these few words?"

"Naive, isn't it?" Chang Dong chuckled. "That makes it even more likely it's him. He's the type to do naive things sometimes." He turned to Gao Yanjun, who was standing to the side. "Gao, what are your thoughts?"

Gao Yanjun was still dressed in a well-tailored skirt suit appropriate for an office worker. She said coolly, "I believe that rather than warning or threatening us, he is trying to persuade us to leave this place and avoid danger."

"Hmm..." Chang Dong nodded. "That makes sense. It does sound like something he would do. Fifteen years, and it seems he hasn't changed a bit. But we need to find out what really happened back then."

He handed the paper to Gao Yanjun. "Gao, can you find him through the residual Domain on this?"

Gao Yanjun took it and said, "Too much time has passed; the Domain residue is almost nonexistent. However..." She turned the paper over. "He should be in Central City, not the Merging Land. This paper wasn't produced in the Merging Land."

Chang Dong said, "But it's also possible he came to Central City and just grabbed a random piece of paper to write on."

Gao Yanjun stated coolly, "But this paper is from a child's workbook."

"A child's workbook?"

Chang Dong was stunned and took the paper again. 'It's impossible for this to be in the Merging Land. The paper was most likely just something he grabbed from wherever he was.'

His mind instantly flooded with possibilities.

Chen Chuan, on the other hand, took the paper, tore off a small piece, and walked outside. He activated his Realm Token, placed the paper fragment in front of the light screen, and said, "An Shield, check this paper's purpose and age."

A moment later, An Shield replied, "Preliminary analysis: this is paper from a workbook for a student aged seven to twelve. The paper was manufactured approximately three months ago."

Chen Chuan nodded, went back inside, and relayed An Shield's analysis. "I agree with Ms. Gao's assessment," he said. "This person probably isn't in the Merging Land. It's highly likely he's right here in Central City."

...

...