Chapter 63: Another Mission

When the first twenty days of October passed, Cheng Zitong dropped by to check on Chen Chuan’s progress and felt quite optimistic. Judging by his current state, he would be able to pick up the basics of refined force and start creating it by the end of the month or, at the latest, by the first half of November.

This meant that after he completed all his required missions, he could register to take the test for the weapons permit.

But Cheng Zitong also warned that after the First Limit, the growth of mutated tissue would slow down. Once that happened, he would need to observe Chen Chuan for the time being.

Some people’s mutated tissue stopped growing entirely, while others’ began growing again after the slowdown, as if it was only a period of adjustment and strength gathering. Hence, they needed to pay attention. If Chen Chuan belonged to the latter group, they would need to move into the Second Limit ahead of time.

Chen Chuan did not know what would happen to him, because his continuous growth was due to him using the basic breathing technique nonstop. It was not due to him being naturally gifted. Hence, theoretically speaking, he would reach his peak once he managed to use the basic breathing technique for twenty-four hours straight. After that, he might never be able to rely on it to stimulate the growth of his mutated tissue again.

Honestly, that was the best case scenario. The effects of the basic breathing technique could begin to weaken before he even reached that state.

What should he do after that? Rely on medicine or other methods? While it was too early for him to consider those things, he should start paying attention to other options.

On the second day off of the month, he made some preparations for the second mission Cheng Zitong got for him.

Once again, he joined Ren Xiaotian, who called him after 10 a.m. Chen Chuan went downstairs and immediately saw the familiar SUV parked by the dormitory.

He went over and greeted Ren Xiaotian. Then, he saw an energetic-looking girl sitting in the front passenger seat. Her pixie cut made Chen Chuan mistake her for a boy at first glance. She waved at him. “Hi, I’m Lin Xiaodi. You can just call me Xiaodi.”

“Hello,” Chen Chuan greeted her.

“This is my senior sister’s disciple. We need her for the mission today. And this is our mission for the day.” Once Chen Chuan got into the car, Ren Xiaotian introduced Lin Xiaodi to him and handed him the notebook from last time.

Chen Chuan took it and flipped to the last page he had read with familiar ease. The next page provided a brief description of the mission: The daughter of a rich businessman by the name of Mr. An often snuck out to watch underground fighting rings organized by the Blood Scars Gang and stayed out overnight.

Mr. An had tried various ways to convince his daughter to come back, but to no avail. He even tried to use force, but his daughter’s bodyguard beat up and chased away all of his hired hands. The daughter had hired that bodyguard, who was very skilled, with her allowance, so for the time being, Mr. An had no way of getting his daughter back home without using extreme methods. Hence, he hired an agent company to do it for him.

While the mission appeared simple, it was actually quite difficult, because most agents avoided doing any missions connected to the Blood Scars Gang. Even if a lot of money was offered, only a handful of people would take them.

Ren Xiaotian’s plan was to head in and try to persuade the daughter to go back. They would figure out the situation once they were inside and try to solve it without using force. But if force was necessary, then Ren Xiaotian and Chen Chuan would fight the bodyguard while Xiaodi brought the daughter out.

This arrangement made sense, and it was the reason why Xiaodi was necessary—if they had to use force, they would need to grab the daughter. Only Xiaodi could do it without creating even more trouble to deal with afterwards.

At the end, Ren Xiaotian underlined two important points in red.

“First, the Blood Scars Gang might try to stop us. We must be careful.

“Second, protecting ourselves is the most important thing.”

After Chen Chuan finished reading, he returned the notebook to Ren Xiaotian, only for Ren Xiaotian to keep sneaking glances back at him. When he did it the third time, Chen Chuan figured out what was on his mind. “I’m fine with the plan, Senior Brother Ren.”

Ren Xiaotian stopped sneaking glances at him and focused on driving.

After they left the university, Ren Xiaotian headed south before turning west. He drove for around ten minutes before arriving at the underground fighting ring owned by the Blood Scars Gang.

It was located at the intersection between the Sealed District and the Great Plain District, which was southwest of the Sealed District. It was not too far away from the most vibrant part of the downtown area.

The underground fighting ring was actually a non-professional arena. Even though it was not recognized by the Arena Association, it was allowed to be open for business in Yangzhi City. The owner also paid taxes to Yangzhi City’s Department of Administrative Affairs.

The building looked similar to Martial Valor University’s training hall. Even though the sun was still up and the fighting ring was not at its liveliest, Chen Chuan saw quite a number of cars parked outside.

When they went inside to buy tickets, the security guard sized them up, but didn’t come forward to ask them questions.

They walked up a slope until they reached a corridor that ringed the arena and continued on to a door with quite a number of security guards stationed in front of it. Through that door, they finally got into the hall where the fighting was. Noise instantly filled their ears. The sounds of drum beats matched the cheers and groans echoing through the arena.

The fighting ring had all lights focused on it and was elevated more than a meter above the floor; it was about twenty meters away from Chen Chuan. Two fit martial artists fought in it. Their punches were brutal, and they soon ended up in a tangle of limbs as their sweat and blood mixed together.

Dozens of people surrounded the fighting ring while clapping, cheering, and whistling. A few of them were sprawled on cushioned seats with scattered beer bottles and cans around them.

Lin Xiaodi grabbed a waiter passing by and gave him a bank note. “Where’s An Qingqing’s room?”

The waiter grabbed the money and pointed in a direction. “Room Seven, second floor.”

Chen Chuan observed the layout of the area and took note of where the security guards and gang members stood.

Ren Xiaotian tugged at his arm and gave him a shake of his head. “Not here. Do it upstairs.”

Chen Chuan nodded.

They took a corridor to the back, then went up the stairs to the second floor. With the help of the colorful lights, they found Room Seven.

Lin Xiaodi knocked on the door and asked, “Is Miss An in?”

The person inside did not get on guard. It was likely because Lin Xiaodi was a woman and her voice did not stir up caution. They heard footsteps, and the door opened to reveal a well-built woman.

She was taller than Chen Chuan by half a head, so more than two meters tall. “Who are you?” she asked in a growl.

Lin Xiaodi showed her an assignment form. “Mr. An asked us to look for Miss An.”

Before the female bodyguard could say anything, the girl inside the room spoke. “Did Dad send them? Let them in.”

The bodyguard stepped aside to make way, and the trio walked in to see a teenager of around eighteen years sitting on the sofa. She wore a loose dress shirt and well-fitted canvas trousers. She had thick eyelashes and wore a glittering, bright red lipstick. Chen Chuan had to admit that she was quite pretty.

She placed her hands on either side of the sofa and swung her feet while watching the match downstairs. She did not even look at them as she said, “Go back. I already told Dad that I won’t go back until I’ve had enough fun.”

“What’s your definition of having enough fun?” Lin Xiaodi asked.

“What’s my definition—hmm?”

An Qingqing turned around to give them a cursory look. She originally intended to look away immediately afterward, but once she saw Chen Chuan, she sized him up. Something seemed to spark her interest. She turned around, knelt on the sofa, threw one arm behind the backrest, and plopped her chin on the other.

“All of you are martial artists, aren’t you?” she said after scanning them. “There’s going to be a round-robin tournament soon. One of you go up there and fight. If you win, I’ll leave with you.

“You can try to force me to leave with you as well. As long as you defeat Xiao Zhen, I won’t resist.”

Chen Chuan could tell that this was just an excuse. She just wanted to see them fight and see some exciting matches.

Fighting was the worst option. While they could defeat Xiao Zhen, things were not that simple. An Qingqing was a customer of the Blood Scars Gang. If they used force, the Blood Scars Gang would not sit by and do nothing.

Ren Xiaotian turned around and walked outside. Chen Chuan did not know what he was planning, but he was not going to ask questions about it or meddle with his decision. Without any hesitation, he followed Ren Xiaotian. Lin Xiaodi gave An Qingqing a wave before leaving as well. “Bye, Miss An.”

An Qingqing pouted, as if she found their reaction boring, and sat back down.

Once Ren Xiaotian was outside, he gave Lin Xiaodi a piece of paper. “Go outside and wait for half an hour. If you don’t see us by then, call this number.”

Lin Xiaodi did not ask any questions. She took the paper, gave them a wave, and walked outside with no hesitation.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Once she was gone, Ren Xiaotian went to a Blood Scars Gang member who looked like he was quite high up in the gang. He took out his business card and said, “I want to see your boss.”