Book 3, Chapter 224: Recruit

Chen Chuan guessed what was going on based on the noises he heard, and he hummed before saying, “I’ll wait for your reply, Mr. Su.”

Soon, he heard the sound of wind howling, followed by people getting hit. There was also a mix of enraged shouts and gunshots, but it only lasted for a moment.

Then came some simple explanations of the situation. After around two minutes, he heard footsteps, and the noises gradually faded away until it became completely silent.

An apologetic voice came through. “Sorry for making you wait so long, sir. Shall we continue our discussion?”

“May I ask why you held back?” Chen Chuan asked.

“What?” Su Wei was stunned.

“Among the seven people you defeated, five went for your friend’s vitals, but you just subjugated them. You didn’t kill them,” Chen Chuan pointed out.

Su Wei was surprised. “How did you...”

He swiftly came to a realization. Chen Chuan had deduced the situation based on the sounds from the Realm Pass. Not only had he managed to figure out the number of people he fought, but also figured out that Su Wei had held back.

It seemed like his client was no average person.

So, he answered sincerely, “The socio-political situation here is complex. Everyone is a mercenary, and we usually get into fights to the death at the slightest disagreement. There’s hardly ever even a reason for the fights.

“I don’t know what happened just now. Maybe my friend started it, but I didn’t want to see him dying in front of me, so I just stopped both sides.”

“Is that so?”

Chen Chuan could detect a hint of gloominess in his voice, as if there was another story behind this, but he didn’t ask. Instead, he just nodded. “Mr. Su, have you considered what I asked? I’m in Central City right now. If you’re free, we can meet up to talk.”

Su Wei thought about it before saying, “I need to submit an application to cross the border and enter the city. It may take me up to five days to come to Central City to meet you.”

Chen Chuan sent him a communication signal. “Once you’re here, please use this signal to contact me. You can call me Mr. Chen.”

Su Wei perked up a little at that. “Alright, Mr. Chen. I’ll contact you when I’m in Central City.”

After the call, Chen Chuan contacted the base and discussed some things with them. Around an hour after he was done, Zuo Handan arrived.

He waited until their meeting was settled before saying goodbye to Tan Zhi and leaving with Dawncall.

***

A day later, Su Wei walked out of the train station’s checkpoint. The bright sunlight in Central City appeared much more vibrant compared to the constantly gloomy and dark merged space. It dazzled him for a moment.

Traveling between Central City and the merged space was difficult.

Those born in the merged space were practically not allowed into Central City and couldn’t live in the normal world. Hence, the merged space locals’ knowledge of the world was rather limited.

Even though Su Wei was a Third Limit martial artist, he only had a vague idea of how things worked in Central City.

Anyone who wanted to enter Central City from the merged space had to have no criminal record. Then, they had to sign an NDA that forbade them from revealing anything about the merged space to those uninvolved. After paying a deposit, they then had to put on a monitoring Realm Pass. If they mentioned anything related to the merged space to those uninvolved, they would be immediately captured.

Su Wei had a travel pass, which he had received after accepting some missions from Central City clients. Even so, he had to go through days’ worth of checks. This time, however, things went by quickly. He was cleared for travel the moment he submitted his application, and he didn’t even need to pay a deposit.

He had a feeling that his client was behind this, and it made him reevaluate his client’s strength.

After standing for a while under the sun, he found himself squirming, since he wasn’t used to it. So, he went to stand under the shade of a building and contacted his client.

Before long, the call went through.

“I’ve arrived, Mr. Chen.”

“Alright. Please come to this place. We’ll meet there.”

Su Wei received an address and checked it on the Realm Pass. A few minutes later, he got on a city tram. Once he got off, he went to a drinks shop.

The moment he walked in, he heard a voice calling out to him. “Over here, Mr. Su.”

Su Wei looked over and saw a handsome young man with a commanding presence. He was quite surprised. Even though he could tell from the voice that his client wasn’t that much older than him, he wasn’t expecting him to be this young.

He had managed to become a Third Limit martial artist at such a young age and also had an outstanding organization or family supporting him. This made Su Wei even more cautious around him.

Su Wei went up to Chen Chuan and said, “Hello, Mr. Chen. I’m Su Wei.”

Chen Chuan observed him for a bit. Third Limit martial artists usually had a bit of a temper, so it was rare for one to be so cautious. This might have something to do with his experiences.

Few Third Limit martial artists were as down-and-out as Su Wei, but that was because he gave all his money to his deceased teammates’ children and siblings. He also never took immoral missions, which were the majority. There were also plenty of people going after his life, so even though he was strong, he never managed to rise to power.

“Have a seat, Mr. Su,” he offered.

Su Wei pulled a chair out and sat down before asking, “Mr. Chen, why are you trying to hire me?”

“I’m recruiting members for my team. That’s why I’d like to have you join me,” Chen Chuan said.

“A team? Aren’t you from the Command Center?” Su Wei was quite surprised.

“I

am

from the Command Center,” Chen Chuan said and offered a hand. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Chen Chuan, squad captain of the World Ring Defense System’s Command Center in Jibei Road’s Central City. I’m currently looking for suitable members for my team.”

“A squad captain...” Su Wei couldn’t help but really look at Chen Chuan. He pushed down the shock in his heart and shook his hand before saying tentatively, “Greetings, Captain Chen.”

He had come into frequent contact with people at the Command Center before, but this was the first time he met such a young squad captain. Even so, he didn’t doubt Chen Chuan’s strength. After all, he seldom met anyone who intimidated him this much.

“Captain Chen, since you’re interested in recruiting me, I need to tell you some things first. I told you before that I have people after my life. If you’re going to hire me, you need to be ready for that,” he said seriously.

“And I told you before that this problem of yours isn’t a problem to me at all,” Chen Chuan said while looking directly into his eyes.

If the people going after Su Wei’s life were strong, Su Wei wouldn’t be around anymore. Even if they had a strong background, the forces of power in the merged space wouldn’t be able to affect the army.

“If you’re willing to, I could help you join the army and become a temporary member of my team. That way, you would have a lot less to worry about,” Chen Chuan offered.

Su Wei hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “Forget it.”

He didn’t want to be tied down. If he joined the army, even if temporarily, he would have to obey the army’s rules. Su Wei had no foundation or connections, so he might end up dead in a ditch someday without even knowing why.

Most importantly, though, he still didn’t know Chen Chuan and didn’t want to be bound to him.

“That’s up to you,” Chen Chuan said. He was fine with Su Wei not joining him. If they only shared a client-mercenary relationship, Su Wei would only need to answer to Chen Chuan, his client. That would be fine.

“That’s all I have to say. Do you have any requests, Mr. Chen?” Su Wei asked.

“I only have one: Obey my orders. But don’t worry, I know your requirements and won’t ask you to do anything against your morals,” Chen Chuan assured him.

Su Wei relaxed a little. “Then, I’ll have no reason to refuse working with you.”

Chen Chuan nodded and tapped on his Realm Pass to send Su Wei a recruitment form. It had all the various requests and conditions they had already talked about

Su Wei read through the form several times to make sure it had nothing wrong before signing his name. Then, he sent it back. Soon, they received a notice from the platform confirming their relationship as mercenary and client.

Chen Chuan smiled and said, “Welcome to the team, Su Wei.”

Su Wei smiled as well and asked, “What do you need me to do now, Captain Chen?”

“We don’t have any missions right now. Anything we do would be after the New Year, though I don’t know when exactly. This is a long-term contract, and you’ll receive a salary and benefits like my other team members. Just be on standby,” Chen Chuan said.

“Do nothing?” Su Wei looked like he had something to say about that. Just earning money and not doing anything made him feel uneasy.

Just then, Chen Chuan received a call. He took a look at the caller before standing up. “I need to leave now. I’ve sent some information to you, and I hope that you can give me some suggestions based on your experience. Please make sure to stay in good condition during this period of time and keep your communication signal available at all times.”

Su Wei trembled and stood up before saying earnestly, “Got it.”

“I’ve already paid for the drinks. The hot drinks here are pretty good, so I’d recommend you try them,” Chen Chuan said with a smile and left.

Once he was outside, he walked to the university while answering the call, “Mission from the department, Officer Ni?”

“It’s not a mission, but I do need to tell you something. Recently, we’ve been looking into Ferris Wheel attacking you and Border Fusion. Even though we’ve found some clues, they sent their legal team forward, and we don’t have any results yet.”

“Could they be planning another attack?” Chen Chuan asked.

“I was just about to talk about that. We found that someone had gone to Yangzhi City to look for information about you. They were likely from Ferris Wheel. When you go back to Yangzhi City, keep an eye out for danger, especially after you leave Central City. We won’t be able to provide you with any support outside the city,” Ni Qianqian cautioned him.

After the attack that day, based on the captured people’s testimonies and other things, Chen Chuan had deduced that those people were after his life. Border Fusion had just been dragged into his mess.

But that was strange. Did they think that they could only kill Meng Shu after killing him?

Still, even if they killed Meng Shu, it wasn’t as if there was no one else in the Meng family who could take over the company. As long as Meng Lai was around, he could find another successor.

Besides, after Meng Huang was taken out of the picture, Border Fusion didn’t have any more business deals with Ferris Wheel or any of the island nations.

Because of this, Chen Chuan was likely the main reason behind the attack.

Even though he didn’t know why, there was no need for him to figure it out. “Thanks for the reminder. I’ll be careful.”