Book 3, Chapter 241: Countermeasure

The chairperson of Ferris Wheel received news that the operation had failed on a ship docked at the port in Oceanway District. He immediately left the place and brought the telegram back to the company while looking for the supervisor of the Operations Department.

After reading the telegram, the supervisor shook his head. “We didn’t manage to get rid of either target? Not even a disciple from Fierce Wave School could do it, huh?”

“According to the telegram, Jiancheng Sheng used the Mind of the Blade technique, but still failed to injure the main target.

“Sir, I believe that if we want to kill the target, we need to hire even stronger martial artists.”

The supervisor frowned at that. If they could do it, they would have done it a long time ago and wouldn’t have gone to Fierce Wave School to ask for help. This was the Great Shun Republic, though, and they were bound by many rules. “We need the board of directors to come to a decision for that. Did they wrap things up?”

“They did. There won’t be any concrete proof pointing toward us,” the chairperson said.

“Sometimes, concrete proof isn’t necessary to get someone implicated. Still, getting rid of those involved will give us less trouble,” the supervisor said grimly.

They had attacked Chen Chuan again before the attack on the flyover had even settled down, so the Resolution Department wasn’t going to let them off so easily this time. The company was going to face a lot of pressure, and some people were highly likely going to be forced to take responsibility for it.

He cast a glance at the chairperson—a reliable subordinate of his—and stayed silent for a while before saying, “Wait for me for a while. I need to tell the directors about this.”

***

After resting in his villa for the night, Chen Chuan took Wei Dong and Wu Han on a tour around the city to familiarize them with the place.

When they were having lunch, he asked Wu Han, “Would you like to stay at my place for a few days to get used to life here, or do you want to do something else?”

Wu Han cackled. “You know me, Chen Chuan. I can’t stay still. Didn’t you say that there’s a lot of missions I can take up here?”

“You might not be an official citizen here, but Central City is big. As long as you’re capable, you’ll have a room to show your skills. Let me introduce you to someone. If you like him, he’ll help you get to know the agent scene here. After that, you can decide what you want to do,” Chen Chuan said with a nod.

“Sure. We can do that,” Wu Han agreed.

Chen Chuan immediately contacted Qi Gao and asked him to bring Wu Han along for a few missions.

He had actually planned this beforehand. Qi Gao was an official citizen and a proper agent in a company. He had also worked a number of times with Martial Valor University, so he had plenty of experience working with martial artists. He would know what to do with Wu Han.

And since Qi Gao didn’t dare to show his place in public because of the Plague Gang, Chen Chuan could send Wu Han over to work with him, and they could take care of each other.

The discussion with Qi Gao went by smoothly. After receiving a general rundown of the situation, he immediately agreed to help.

To Qi Gao, Chen Chuan wasn’t actually asking him to take care of his friend. Instead, he had found someone who could protect him. He was full of gratitude and immediately began wondering how he could do what he had been asked.

With this matter settled, they finished lunch, and Chen Chuan brought Wu Han and Wei Dong to visit some of the important places in the city before sending Wei Dong back to the campus. Then, he brought Wu Han to Qi Gao’s temporary place to introduce them to each other. When he saw that there were no problems, he left the place.

On the way back, he called Gao Ming. “Free to meet at night, Gao Ming? Aunt Wan asked me to bring some things for you, since she knows that you’re living alone. Also, I have some things to discuss with you too.”

“We have an office building reserved for meetings near the law firm. Let’s talk there. You’re my most important client, so I’m definitely free for you,” Gao Ming said.

“Alright. I’ll be there in an hour.”

***

At around 5 p.m., Chen Chuan reached Majestic Light District. Aside from White Bird District, Majestic Light District had the best public facilities and security.

After all, Central City’s government buildings, circular conference halls, high-end law firms, accounting firms, consulting firms, and branch companies of most mega corporations were built here. The Resolution Department had stationed quite a substantial number of their elites in the area.

On the way to the meeting room, four Class Two Officers greeted Chen Chuan. It showed that if anything happened, multiple Third Limit martial artists would arrive at the scene of the crime within minutes.

There was a lot of violent crime in Central City, but this wasn’t entirely due to them lacking the power needed to ensure security. Sometimes, crimes ran rampant in the city because of the distribution of manpower.

When Chen Chuan reached the office building, he parked his car and took the elevator to the meeting room on the eighty-second floor. Upon walking in, he found Gao Ming already waiting inside.

They greeted each other and sat down beside a wide floor-to-ceiling window. “The stuff is in my trunk. Grab it when leaving,” Chen Chuan said.

“Sure thing, cuz,” Gao Ming replied with a smile.

As the sun set outside, they chatted for a bit. After finishing a cup of tea, Chen Chuan told Gao Ming about the two attacks from Ferris Wheel.

Gao Ming listened seriously before saying, “I think that even if the government puts pressure on them, without concrete proof, Ferris Wheel will at most only need to apologize to you and offer you some compensation.

“That will be the end of these two cases. Even if the central government really wants to take down Ferris Wheel, they won’t do it because of this. They’ll do it for something else.”

Chen Chuan hummed in acknowledgement. He expected this.

While Ferris Wheel wasn’t a world-class mega corporation, they still had a significant number of parties with involved interests.

The company also had its own armed forces and active biosentient entity. Setting aside its influence among the island nations, it was involved in most of the business activities in Majestic Light District, so a lot of people wouldn’t wish for anything bad to happen to it.

“Ferris Wheel seems to be trying to kill me for an unknown reason, and I don’t think they’re going to give up,” Chen Chuan pointed out.

Gao Ming understood what he was trying to say. “No single person can go up against a big company. Only a company can take another company down. You can also have the government help you with that, but you’d need to wait for a chance, like what happened when Black Orchid wanted to tamper with Yangzhi City’s water source.”

Then, he grinned. “Frankly, I think Ferris Wheel isn’t too far from getting into a similar mess.”

Chen Chuan took a moment to think about what Gao Ming said. “Is it because of the Union?”

“Precisely. The Union’s inspection is connected to the power play at the top. I don’t know what the government is thinking, but I’m sure that applying to join the Union has already pushed Ferris Wheel to the edge of a cliff. All previous cases prove this true.

“Ferris Wheel’s attempts at Mr. Lei and your lives were clearly abnormal. I believe this has something to do with them joining the Union.

“So, before they officially join, they might try again. You’re probably not their only target, but it’s highly likely that they’ll try to hurt you in some way again. As long as they keep doing this, they’ll be pushing themselves closer and closer to the edge.

“All we need to do is wait.

“Waiting doesn’t mean giving up. You’re just letting your enemy make a mistake and leaving behind an even bigger hole in their defenses before counterattacking. You’re a martial artist. You should know this better than I do.”

“You’re right, so let’s continue using martial artists as an example. We don’t just wait for a chance to strike back. We attack and force our enemies to make that mistake. So, my question is: Can I try making them fall off the cliff?”

Gao Ming grinned even wider. “That depends on the strength of the one trying to push them off. If you’re strong enough, you can do it. There are ways to achieve it, but I think that other people might be even more impatient than we are. You’ve been in contact with someone from Azure Dragon before, haven’t you?”

Chen Chuan nodded.

“The island nations and the Ocean Alliance support Ferris Wheel. This is public information, but Azure Dragon’s main businesses are in the island nations. If Ferris Wheel joins the Union, Azure Dragon will be the first to have their interests negatively impacted.

“The other one affected will be Ocean Corporation Development. Both of these are state-owned enterprises, so they won’t sit by and just watch Ferris Wheel rise to power.

“So, I don’t think that you need to be in a hurry to do anything. Once they learn that Ferris Wheel is behind the attempts on your life, they’re likely to take the initiative to contact you.

“If they sit still, that means they either have a greater agenda, or someone even more powerful in the government is stopping them from doing anything. If that’s the case, you absolutely can’t do anything rash.

“The best thing to do now is to wait and make necessary preparations. I believe that time is on our side.”

Chen Chuan mulled over this before saying, “Gao Ming, Ferris Wheel dug around for my information in Yangzhi City, so they might try to kill you too. You

have

to be careful.”

Gao Ming smiled at that. “I know. Ever since learning that someone looked into you, I’ve been staying in the law firm’s dorms instead of going back to my apartment.”

Chen Chuan nodded. It explained why Gao Ming had asked to meet him here. His law firm was pretty famous and had its own security guards. It also signed all of its lawyers to City Defense’s security service. The Resolution Department had also stationed a substantial number of its officers in the district, so Gao Ming didn’t have to worry about his life being in danger while staying here.

“Still, stay in contact,” he reminded him.

“I will,” Gao Ming said seriously.

After discussing a few more problems, they left the meeting room together before parting ways at the square in front of the building.

The moment Chen Chuan settled down in his car, he received a message from the university platform. When he played the audio message, he heard Hongfu’s voice.

“Hello, Chen Chuan, your tutor will arrive at the university on the first of February. Please meet him on the day itself.”

Chen Chuan perked up at that. He had joined the World Ring Defense System so that he could get more in-depth guidance. Now, it was finally time for it.