Chapter 35: An Abnormal Start Of The New Semester

Martial Valor University’s new semester began on September 1st.

At 6 a.m., Chen Chuan straightened his Martial Valor University uniform in front of his closet mirror. Yu Wan had already ironed it for him.

Chen Chuan grabbed his hat and put it on his head, then went to the door with a luggage bag in hand. Once he stepped out the door, he took one last look at his room before shutting the door slowly.

Yu Wan was waiting for him in the living room. “Chan’er, no one will watch over you in Martial Valor University. Remember to eat. Don’t study too hard, and remember to go to bed early. Don’t overwork yourself.”

“Don’t worry, Aunty. The university is very generous when it comes to food and accommodation. I also get a day off every ten days, so I’ll come back to visit,” Chen Chuan said with a smile.

Yu Wan smoothed out his collar and patted it before she stepped back and said in satisfaction, “Now look at you, looking all handsome!”

“I’ll be leaving now, Aunty. Tell Uncle about it for me,” Chen Chuan said.

“Okay. Be careful on your way.”

Chen Chuan went out, and a blast of refreshing, cold air blew against his face. He did not ride his bicycle today but instead walked to Martial Valor University.

He ran through the proceedings of the day. The opening ceremony was around 9 a.m. Before that, he had to go to his dorm to leave his luggage. After the ceremony, upperclassmen would bring the freshmen around to familiarize them with the campus and what was where. They would then have time to themselves. Then, on the next day, they would officially begin their new lives as university students.

In less than an hour, Chen Chuan arrived in front of the university gate.

Just as he was about to walk in, a gray Discoverer sedan—another car brand—drove over and stopped not too far away from him. The door opened, and a tall young man stepped out of it. He had short, neat, black hair and wore a crisp, dark blue suit and tie. He also wore a pair of well-polished black leather shoes.

“Chen Chuan, is that you?” The young man smiled and walked over to extend his hand to him. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Wei Changan, a senior at Martial Valor University.”

When Chen Chuan heard the name, a thought popped up in his head, and he held Wei Changan’s hand before returning the greeting. “Hello. Are you Wei... Captain Wei’s son?”

“Yes, I’m Wei Laohu’s son. You can just call him Tiger. Don’t feel shy about calling him by that nickname.”

Chen Chuan observed Wei Changan. He had met Wei Laohu before. He was rowdy, fierce, and brawny. To think that his son would be such a refined person. Wei Changan even seemed to have been looking specifically for him. So, he asked, “Do you have business with me?”

Wei Changan’s expression turned serious. “The university sent me on a dispatch mission, and I need your cooperation. Sorry, you might not be able to join the opening ceremony on time today.”

Chen Chuan was surprised. “A dispatch mission? Are you sure? I’m just a freshman who hasn’t even started...”

Just then, the car window of the backseat rolled down, and a familiar, sonorous voice came from within. “Go with him, Chen Chuan. This is a mission from the university. Wei Changan will tell you the details.”

Chen Chuan recognized the person—he was Bian Feng, the lecturer who let him pass the entrance examination. Chen Chuan hurriedly greeted him, “Hello, Mr. Bian.”

“Chen Chuan, you’re one of our first-class students after passing the follow-up exam and have the duty and responsibility to work together with the Civil Affairs Bureau and other departments,” Bian Feng said.

He took out two forms. “Wei Changan, give this to him and have him sign the other one.”

Wei Changan ran over to take the forms before coming back and handing them to Chen Chuan. “This is your travel authorization form. With this, you will be exempted from the university’s activities and lectures. You will also have limited authority to act in self-defense.”

Chen Chuan checked out the forms and found the stamps from the Admission Department, the Administrative Department, and the Operations Department on it, along with the signature of Gu Botang, the vice chancellor.

Wei Changan handed him a pen. “Please sign the second form. Mr. Bian needs to bring it back for record keeping.”

Chen Chuan pondered over it. It seemed like the university management had already decided on sending him on the mission, so he could only do it. But what exactly was it about? Did they choose him based on the follow-up exam?

Despite the questions in his head, Chen Chuan took the pen and signed the form.

Wei Changan took it back, checked it, and handed it over to Bian Feng, who put it into the briefcase he always carried with him. He got out of the car and said, “I’ll be going to the university now. I’ll leave this matter to you two. Be sure to handle it properly.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Bian,” Wei Changan reassured him.

Bian Feng headed toward the university gate with his briefcase in hand while Wei Changan extended his hand to Chen Chuan. “Let me put your luggage into the back of the car.”

Chen Chuan thanked him, and Wei Changan went to the back of the car to open the trunk. He put Chen Chuan’s luggage inside before opening the door to the front passenger seat. He beckoned Chen Chuan over. “Get in. We’re leaving right now. The sooner we get this done, the sooner you can come back.”

Chen Chuan got into the front passenger seat and fastened the seatbelt.

Wei Changan got into the driver’s seat and fastened his seatbelt too before putting his hands on the steering wheel. With a turn of the car keys and a series of practiced actions, the algae oil engine rumbled, and the car rolled down the road.

After a while, Wei Changan noticed the silence in the car and smiled. “Are you finding it regretful that you can’t attend the opening ceremony? I’ll be honest and tell you that there’s nothing fun about it. It’s just a bunch of old men and women talking on stage. Their speeches are quite annoying. You can just ask me if you have any questions.”

“Can I ask about the mission, Senior?”

“Cut the ‘senior’ crap, just call me Changan. Hmm... This mission is actually related to you,” Wei Changan said while keeping his eyes on the road.

“Oh?” Chen Chuan was quite surprised.

“Do you remember the group of people who ambushed you before the follow-up exam?”

Chen Chuan was surprised. “It’s related to that?”

“The one who led the ambush was a man called Dou Qi. He’s in charge of an underground drug trade site. When the Constabulary went over to arrest him, they found a man called Tong Qianjiang, who’s part of a group of escaped convicts. This group broke out of Enlightenment Reformatory three months ago, and we have yet to arrest them.”

Just then, he switched on the right turn signal and turned into a side road. Chen Chuan checked the direction and found that they were heading to the eastern part of the city.

Wei Changan continued, “After seeing him, Captain Yu... He’s the captain who brought a squad to the West Post District that day for the raid. He reported it to the higher-ups and interrogated Dou Qi.

“Dou Qi’s employer is a man called Lao Hei. He has access to a supply line of forbidden drugs. Tong Qianjiang had approached him to buy anti-mutation medicine, which is where things got interesting.”

Chen Chuan pondered over the information. “Anti-mutation medicine? I think I’ve heard that term before.”

Wei Changan cast a glance at the rearview mirror to look at Chen Chuan. “Do you know about implants? The major corporations and big companies all over the world have started replacing human limbs and organs with bioengineered implants to give them superhuman abilities. Of course, military-grade anti-mutation medicine is different from civilian-grade ones. Most of the ones available to the public are civilian-grade ones. I heard that everyone in Central City is using them. But you need to take the medicine orally or via injection long term, or you will go through mutation, and the consequences will be dire.

“Implants aren’t common outside Central City. Perhaps it’s because you need specific technical support during the implantation process. Anti-mutation medicine is considered a forbidden drug outside Central City.

“Now, when Tong Qianjiang and his gang were arrested, they did not have any implants, so why did they need anti-mutation medicine? Did they get implants after breaking out of the reformatory, or were they buying it for someone else?

“The Constabulary looked into it. Lao Hei was getting drugs from his supplier, Qiu Huzi, and based on what he said, Tong Qianjiang and his gang might have gotten some medicine from Qiu Huzi before, but he later sent them to Lao Hei. But Lao Hei had a backup plan. He was worried about getting involved in this mess, so he had Dou Qi and his goons liaise with Fang Dawei and his gang instead, since they’re completely out of the loop.

“In order to find Fang Dawei and his gang, the Constabulary required clues from Qiu Huzi, so he sought protection from one of the leaders of the Blood Scars Gang. We’re going to meet this person right now and ask him to hand Qiu Huzi over.”

Chen Chuan was puzzled. “Since a gang is involved, why isn’t the Constabulary arresting Qiu Huzi on their own? Why are university students like us asking for him?”

“Why won’t they arrest him straight away? Heh. Because Black Orchid is supporting the Blood Scars Gang. The gang’s front company is under Black Orchid. Not only do they have their own lawyers, they even have Black Orchid’s legal team supporting them. If the Constabulary went through the proper procedures to try to arrest Qiu Huzi, they wouldn't be able to do it, because they don’t have proof.

“As for why they let us handle this?” Wei Changan smiled, leaned forward, and took out a name card from the glove compartment before handing it to Chen Chuan. “Take a look.”

Chen Chuan took the name card. It had the words “Registered member of the Agent Association, designated agent for critical operations, Wei Changan.”

“You begin your internship the moment you become a sophomore in Martial Valor University. When you’re a senior, you can join the departments under the Civil Affairs Bureau. I’m part of the Agent Association and am in charge of handling communications and negotiations with non-governmental organizations.”

Chen Chuan had heard about agents before. The agent system was not just widespread in the Great Shun Republic, but also prevalent in other countries.

When certain departments or individuals needed to manage or come into contact with other individuals or organizations not working within the department or whichever company the individual belonged to, agents would be employed. It was done to cut costs and avoid all sorts of unnecessarily complicated procedures. Agents would simply deal with communications and various other tasks.

Because of this, agents had access to wide networks and resources, and often knew one another. Of course, there was competition among them as well. Some high-ranking agents were even given a certain amount of power.

Once Chen Chuan came to understand Wei Changan’s current status, it became clear why Wei Changan was on the mission.

“Don’t worry. The agency I’m affiliated with has communicated with the Blood Scars Gang leader already. They’ve agreed to hand Qiu Huzi to us. We’re just going there for formalities’ sake,” Wei Changan said.

“And you’re bringing me along because I’m involved in this?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Come on. I’m doing you a favor here! Don’t you know that these dispatch missions affect your academic performance evaluation? It affects whether you’ll get your permit later on, and I’m talking about the one permit that you can only get from Martial Valor University in all of the Great Shun Republic!” Wei Changan declared.

“Thank you, then.”

“That’s the spirit. We both have family working for the Constabulary in Yangzhi City. The Constabulary is huge, and many other constables’ family members also got into Martial Valor University, but only four of those still studying have passed the follow-up exam, including you and me. Who else would I help if not you?”

The Constabulary was very united, but...

Chen Chuan had a strange expression on his face. Did Wei Laohu ask his son to do him a favor so that Nian Fuli wouldn’t have the heart to ask him to eat a mop?