Chapter 205: Leaving A Legacy

After cleaning up the cargo terminal, Chen Chuan and Lao Feng left with Luo Qi’s corpse and briefcase.

Less than ten minutes later, a black car came.

It stopped outside the cargo terminal, and a man with a white face mask got out. He went to the edge of the cargo terminal and noted the signs of damage all over the ground. He was silent for a while, then left.

***

On the way back, Lao Feng kept a watchful eye on his surroundings. Fortunately, no accidents occurred, but when they were about to return to the city, they heard a faraway explosion, and they turned to the source of the sound.

Lao Feng recognized it right away. When he spoke next, his voice was filled with both melancholy and excitement. “Looks like Lao Chao made his move.”

“Is that the sound of artillery?” Chen Chuan asked.

Lao Feng grunted. “Do you know why Black Orchid decided to retreat? It’s because we leaked fake news saying that two warships and a troopship are coming from the north. The troopship is real, but there aren’t as many soldiers on it as we said.

“Black Orchid didn’t dare to take that risk. Even if there aren’t a lot of soldiers this time, there’s no guarantee that more won’t come later, and if they’re surrounded by the military, they won’t be able to run away.

“That’s why they had to leave!

“With the information we gathered before this and what we learned from the mole in Black Orchid, we pieced together that they planned to retreat north using some kind of flying vehicle.

“In order to kill them with minimal casualties, we started working together with the military more than a year ago to have the railway repaired up to the perimeter of North Ornament Highlands. We also asked them to send a substantial number of railway guns, so they could carpet-bomb their target.

“If the plan worked, then from the moment the artillery rounds hit the ground, they would have killed most of Black Orchid’s employees and main elites. Even if they missed some, they wouldn’t pose much of a threat anymore.”

Chen Chuan nodded at that. The plan didn’t seem complicated. Aside from coordinating with various departments, intelligence played the decisive role here.

The last step was the most crucial. The timing for when to open fire required a lot of planning and attention to detail. Someone had to give the artillery team an accurate report, which was most likely the mole’s work.

This meant that the mole would not have made it out either.

Lao Feng stepped on the gas pedal and increased the car’s speed. “We should soon get results from the carpet bombing. If the plan worked, the task given to us by the top government officials would be mostly complete.”

Chen Chuan gave him a long look. Lao Feng said that the operation would only be mostly done after wiping out the main players of Black Orchid Co. It seemed like his theory was correct. The government had another important goal aside from wiping out Black Orchid Co.

***

Yan Yi was in his garden manor located in the south of Yangzhi City. The rapid changes in the city’s political and economic situation were too much for him to follow.

After he came back from the tribunal court, he heard about what had happened inside the courtroom and found to his shock that Chen Chuan had returned unharmed. The public’s sentiment also leaned toward him.

By then, he had already noticed that something was off.

He was a local and knew just how great the influence of Black Orchid Co. and the local powerful families were, but after they lost the channels to manipulate public opinion, everyone could curse at them blatantly. Even so, Black Orchid Co. didn’t do anything to curb the insults, which was abnormal.

Black Orchid Co. might have been in a bit of a pinch after its headquarters was attacked a few years ago, but even an injured giant was stronger than an ant. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Black Orchid Co. could do whatever it wanted in Yangzhi City.

That was why he had left the tribunal court that day. It was not wise to offend such a powerful being for Chen Chuan.

But when he learned that Black Orchid Co. had retreated, he guessed that an even stronger and bigger entity had decided to attack them. Otherwise, it was impossible for the company to leave the nest it had been tending to for so long.

As for who could force Black Orchid Co. to retreat from its home ground? It could only be the Great Shun Republic’s government.

He frowned. “Now that I think about it, isn’t Chen Chuan standing at the forefront of all this? Does he have ties with the top government officials, or is this just a coincidence?”

After pondering over this, he decided that it was just a coincidence, because Chen Chuan grew up in Yangzhi City and had a clean background. The top government officials wouldn’t let a teenager take such an important role.

“But he’s really lucky...”

Regret began to bloom in Yan Yi’s heart. If he had known that Black Orchid Co. was already weakened, he wouldn’t have backed down and could have gotten Chen Chuan to owe him a favor. Then, he may have already fulfilled Meng Shu’s request.

“It’s fine. I’ll have other chances.”

He picked up a cup of tea from the table. He wouldn’t have any hope of getting Chen Chuan to work for Meng Shu before his graduation, because he would look down on the idea of working for companies after what happened between him and Black Orchid Co. He might even think that not dealing with any companies was the right choice.

Chen Chuan was young, so having such thoughts was normal, but the world was ruled by both mega corporations and the governments. Even if he joined the government, without support or connections, no matter how capable he was, his chances of promotion would be limited. After running into several walls, he would gain a clearer understanding of how the world worked.

Then...

A heavy explosion resembling a thunderclap tore through the air. Yan Yi’s hand trembled, and the tea spilled out from the cup onto his chest.

Frustration bloomed on his face, then his expression turned grim. “What’s going on? Is that... artillery I hear?”

Had the government already started attacking Black Orchid Co.?

Even though Yan Yi had resigned, he was once a company employee. After figuring out what had happened, he felt uneasy and mumbled, “Looks like I’ll need to call Miss Shu...”

***

Lao Feng and Chen Chuan returned to the Constabulary’s headquarters.

After Lao Feng got out, he approached a team leader he was familiar with and exchanged a few words with him before leading Chen Chuan to the war room.

Mr. Cao was standing behind the table and waiting for the final results. When he saw them, some of the fierceness left his gaze. “Did you kill Luo Qi and bring what I asked for?”

Lao Feng picked up Luo Qi’s briefcase to show it to Mr. Cao. “It’s all here. We didn’t open it. We also brought Luo Qi’s body back. I asked Lao Zhao to take care of it.”

Mr. Cao nodded at that.

“Chen Chuan only took fifteen minutes to kill Luo Qi. It wasn’t easy,” Lao Feng added.

Mr. Cao turned to Chen Chuan and said, “I’ve told you that I won’t put this on your record, and I won’t let anyone know that you killed Luo Qi, but I won’t let you work for free. I’ll compensate you. Think about what you want and submit a request form later. If I’m able to do it, I’ll approve whatever you want and send it to you.”

“Lao Cao is being generous for once! You have to think about this carefully. You don’t have to submit the request form in a hurry,” Lao Feng said with a laugh.

Chen Chuan nodded and asked, “Do I have any other tasks?”

“Not for the time being. You can go back now, but don’t leave Yangzhi City. If your service under the state summons ends, someone will notify you,” Mr. Cao said.

Chen Chuan had figured out that regardless of whether Black Orchid Co. had been taken out, his participation should no longer be required. He said goodbye to Lao Feng and Mr. Cao before leaving with the Frost King Saber.

They watched him leave, and Lao Feng remarked, “He truly is an outstanding young man.”

Then, in a more serious tone, he said, “Lao Cao, you weren’t there to see it, but he took a lot of medicine to draw out his potential for the fight. He also fought against Luo Qi without caring about whether he was going to come out alive. He reminded me of us when we were young. We were filled with the same enthusiasm and passion. We need to give a young man like him a sufficient reward.”

“I don’t need you telling me that. I’ll make the arrangements,” Mr. Cao stated.

“Anyway, are the results out yet?” Lao Feng asked after observing him for a while.

“They are. The artillery bombing and explosion killed basically all the Blood Ink Guards and bio-weapons present. There are few survivors. One of the two Zeppelins has fallen, while the other fled after seeing the explosion. It might be headed to the Chaotic Land.”

Lao Feng sighed in relief upon hearing that. After some thinking, he stepped closer to Mr. Cao and asked in a whisper, “Do you think we can get it?”

“I’ve sent someone to retrieve it. That thing won’t be destroyed so easily. If they have been carrying it with them, I’m sure our men will find it,” Mr. Cao answered softly.

“Aren’t you worried about it being left there in the meantime?” Lao Feng asked.

“I’ve asked Lao Hong to take a team with him to retrieve it,” Mr. Cao reassured him.

“Good. The other companies haven’t figured it out yet, have they? Once Lao Hong brings it back, the dust will have settled.” Lao Feng nodded.

They waited until midnight. During their wait, they never received a single piece of news. When the clock was about to strike midnight, hurried footsteps came from beyond the door, and a well-built but honest-looking man strode in with a metal box covered in ashes and smoke.

“How was it? Did you run into any accidents on the way back?” Mr. Cao asked.

“No. The trip back went smoothly,” the man answered and hoisted the metal box onto the table. He then said seriously, “The thing should be inside, Sir. Also...”

He hesitated.

“What is it?”

“The earth was red over there.”

“It was?”

Lao Feng looked up and said, “It might be

that

, Lao Cao. I heard that Black Orchid has been collecting

that

all this while. This place was once the Merkarians’ ancestral land. If

that

spilled out, it could create that sort of effect.”

“Have you sealed off the place?” Mr. Cao asked.

“I did. There are also constables patrolling the roads leading there,” Lao Hong answered.

Mr. Cao asked no further questions. His gaze landed on the box, and he slowly spun the dial. A few minutes later, the box opened with a click.

Just as slowly, he opened the lid to reveal a perfect stack of glowing pages with a blueprint on them. The pages were so thin and transparent the stack looked like a jade tablet with fine and elaborate drawings. Each one could only be seen through a magnifying glass, but even just a casual look at them dazzled the eye.

As Mr. Cao stared inside, he said, “When Tianhe Minerals broke down into more than twenty smaller companies, its then business manager, Sun Shang, came back and created Black Orchid. Way back then, he was suspected of getting a part of Tianhe Minerals’ legacy. By the looks of it, it was true.”