Chapter 210: Rescue

Once Chen Chuan was inside the room, he looked around. It was a large, sparsely furnished space. Queen-sized beds with only metal frames were placed where office desks should have been, and lying on them were unconscious people.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in strange arrays. Four cultists were in the room. When they saw him barge in, they showed no fear. Instead, there was an indescribably crazed look on their faces.

One of them immediately trained his gun on a person lying on the bed, but before he could fire, a stone hit his wrist, and it shattered with a loud crack. The shattered bone pieces broke through his skin. As his gun fell on the floor, he screamed in pain.

Chen Chuan moved forward and shoved the person charging at him behind him while giving the person on his other side an upward shove to his stomach. Both of them were thrown off their feet.

One of them was thrown toward the wall, as if he had been pushed back by a powerful force. After a dull crash, he stopped moving and making sounds. The other was sent flying upwards. When his back hit the ceiling, cracks appeared on it before he fell down with the chandelier. Just like the other cultist, he fell motionless on the floor.

The final cultist seemed to have realized what had happened. Even though he was panicking, his belief kept him from breaking down. A crazed look appeared on his face, and he clenched his fists, as if he wanted to fight Chen Chuan, but before he could charge forward, he felt a hand press against his forehead.

Bam!

The back of his head crashed against the wall behind him, and he fell down with his eyes rolled back.

The one with the shattered wrist had cold sweat pooling down his forehead, but he endured the pain and tried to grab the gun. His eyes were filled with ruthlessness. But right when his fingers touched the gun, a foot came slamming down on his hand and the gun.

Crunch.

Both his hand and gun shattered.

Before he could even scream, Chen Chuan smacked the top of his head, and the cultist collapsed on the floor. He became as still as the dead.

At this point, Chen Chuan turned around to check the room. Once he was sure no one was pretending to be unconscious, he relaxed a little. Min Lan was lying among the unconscious group. Her face was pale and thin, while her eyes were shut tight. But she was still breathing, and her body was intact.

If there was nothing wrong with their minds, they would be able to recover quickly, since they had better physical bodies as martial artists.

Chen Chuan went to the door and grabbed the door handle. With a twist, the door swung open. The constables and Cult Investigation Bureau members standing nearby to keep an eye on the staircase noticed it and immediately brought their guns up, but when they saw him, they lowered their guns.

Chen Chuan walked out and gave a nod to the people outside before turning to the side. The constables and Cult Investigation Bureau members rushed in. Then, they started shouting from within, “Get the paramedics here!”

Since the situation was under control, Chen Chuan walked down. The entire process of him going up and coming down took less than four minutes. That had been enough time for him to defeat everyone inside. Most of the four minutes were actually spent on him going downstairs.

Chen Chuan returned to Lei Guangcheng’s car and got in.

“Looks like it’s taken care of,” Lei Guangcheng observed.

Chen Chuan nodded.

“Well then, your mission is over. I will report this to the committee later, and it’ll go into your record,” Lei Guangcheng promised.

“Thank you, Mr. Lei,” Chen Chuan said.

Lei Guangcheng just dismissed it. “This is part of my responsibility. You don’t have to thank me.”

They waited a little longer before a Cult Investigation Bureau member came down to give Lei Guangcheng a report. “Sir, we’ve apprehended all the cultists and taken photos of everything inside for archiving. We’ve also locked down the place and sent the hostages to hospitals. Some of them had their organs dug out.”

“These cultists treat people like resources they can exploit. Aside from transferring away their vital energy, they also sell the organs of the dying ones,” Lei Guangcheng explained to Chen Chuan.

“Who are the victims?” Lei Guangcheng then asked the team leader.

“The logistics staff. Based on the testimonies we received, the cultists had found buyers for the three martial artists’ organs, but things changed, and the sale failed to go through,” the team leader answered.

“When martial artists’ mutated tissue is removed, it needs to be stored in specialized equipment. This might be the reason why they never harvested their organs,” Lei Guangcheng commented calmly.

“Have you notified the Constabulary?” he asked.

“I have. We’ve done everything as per usual,” the team leader answered.

“Leave a team to guard the place. The rest should get ready to go back,” Lei Guangcheng ordered.

“Roger.”

The car window wound up, and they started heading back.

“Your friend should be okay,” Lei Guangcheng comforted Chen Chuan.

“I hope the others are okay too,” Chen Chuan said.

“As long as the cults are around, such things cannot be avoided. We can only try to discover them in time and do our best to salvage the situation,” Lei Guangcheng advised solemnly.

Chen Chuan changed the topic. “Mr. Lei, you mentioned just now that the Life Cult transfers their victims’ vital energy away. Who are the people receiving that vital energy?”

“Usually the cult’s senior leadership. Based on the number of cultists who conducted the ritual, one person should have received all the vital energy, and that person should still be hiding in Yangzhi City.”

“Mr. Lei, if you need me to capture more people, just call me,” Chen Chuan said seriously.

Lei Guangcheng nodded before raising a hand to signal an end to the conversation. “Let’s stop talking about this. Did you know that Liu Zhan got his position?”

“Where has he been transferred to?” Chen Chuan asked.

Lei Guangcheng stared at him for a beat before saying slowly, “The Foreign Affairs Department. He’s back there as a director.”

Chen Chuan wasn’t expecting Liu Zhan to return to his original position. After mulling over this for a while, he said, “Mr. Liu has always been great at dealing with foreign affairs. I’m sure that the position as director of the department suits him.”

“You’re right. No one else in the Department of Administrative Affairs is better than he is at handling foreign affairs. That’s why the top government officials decided to let him do what he does best,” Lei Guangcheng said in agreement.

Chen Chuan laughed. That position was a stable one. Anyone who got it could stay there until the day they retired. The average person could only dream to have such a position, but to a government official like Liu Zhan, it might be a form of torture.

“By the way, remember to come to my wedding with He Nan,” Lei Guangcheng said.

“Of course. Have you picked a date for the wedding?” Chen Chuan asked.

“It was supposed to be in October, but I don’t think I’ll be done with my work by then, and He Nan hasn’t decided on the date either. I’ve known her for years, and she’s usually very decisive when it comes to important things, but when it’s her own affairs, she can’t make up her mind.”

“Maybe she cares too much about it,” Chen Chuan pointed out.

Lei Guangcheng gave him a long look. “That doesn’t sound like something someone your age would say, but you’re right. Sometimes, when you care about something too much, you have a tough time coming to a decision.”

The car arrived at the university’s entrance. Once Chen Chuan said goodbye to Lei Guangcheng, he went back.

Another twenty days passed. When it was late September, the unrest in Yangzhi City finally settled down, and the news broadcasts returned to the usual news.

On the twenty-seventh of September, Chen Chuan received a call from Lao Feng. In a relaxed voice, he said, “Chen Chuan, bring your state summons and come out for a bit.”

“Okay.” Chen Chuan took the document and went out. When he arrived at the entrance, he saw Lao Feng’s car. The man was waiting for him in the back seat. Chen Chuan went over, knocked on the window to greet him, and got into the car.

Once the driver started the car, Lao Feng asked, “Remember Lao Cao telling you to write a request form? Have you thought about what you want?”

“I have,” Chen Chuan answered.

“Let me see.”

Chen Chuan took the request form from his pocket. Most of the things he asked for were medicine. He had asked Cheng Zitong about some of them because they would be really useful for his subsequent training, but only the government could provide them.

Aside from the medicine, he also asked for a rather high-grade protective gear. Once he got his armor permit, he could start wearing it.

Lao Feng took a look at it and grumbled, “You’re asking for too little. You don’t have to help Lao Cao save money. He’s already lined his wallet from the operation. Your saber is made through an old method, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Someone who’s skilled at creating weapons gave it to me,” Chen Chuan answered.

Lao Feng took out a pen and wrote down a few more medicines on the form. “Humans need medicine to train, and these previously forbidden weapons can also be nurtured with medicine. I added some of them to your list. They all nurture and reinforce weapons, but only the government can provide them.”

He then added a model number to the protective gear Chen Chuan requested before returning the form to him. “When you see Lao Cao, give this form to him.”

Chen Chuan smiled, then took the form back, folded it, and put it back into his breast pocket.

The car went straight to the Constabulary’s headquarters, and the constables saluted them. Chen Chuan looked around and found that the atmosphere here was much more solemn than before. The constables no longer moved about like they were in a constant hurry.

Once the driver parked the car, both Lao Feng and Chen Chuan went to the war room. Mr. Cao was there alone and seemed to have been waiting for them.

Chen Chuan went forward and put his state summons on the table. Mr. Cao took one look at it before asking, “Did you bring your request form?”

Chen Chuan took the form out of his breast pocket and put it on the table as well.

Once Mr. Cao picked it up, he saw the familiar handwriting on the paper and cast Lao Feng a glance. The latter met his gaze squarely, but Mr. Cao said nothing. He just took out a ballpoint pen and wrote his approval on it before signing his name on the state summons document.

Then, he took out his personal stamp and stamped the two forms before pushing them to Chen Chuan. “I have a copy of your state summons. Keep this for yourself.”

After Chen Chuan took the forms, Mr. Cao said sternly, “The state summons have come to an official end. You’re free to act freely from now on. Remember to not tell those not involved in the operation the details. If the country needs you again, we will summon you once more. Be ready when the time comes.

“It usually happens once a year, unless there are emergencies. If that happens, you’ll be compensated. Alright, the state summons have ended, Chen Chuan. Let’s leave and get your stuff from the storeroom.”