Chapter 93: Condition
While Guan Yuming was talking to the chief, three armored personnel carriers drove over into Cai Hamlet. A brilliant blooming black orchid was on each one of them.
Among the people sitting in the carriers were He Yaoxian, Black Orchid’s new external affairs manager, and Wan Poming, the captain of the third field security unit.
He Yaoxian appeared to be in his twenties, but was almost forty, and was constantly smiling. He was also a little on the rounder side, but looked really energetic.
Even if he had never practiced martial arts before, once Black Orchid employees reached the managerial level, they were provided with medicine that could keep them in optimal health.
His muscles did not become flabby, but remained firm, his head was covered in hair, and his eyes were full of life. Not only did he look like a young adult, but he also only needed to sleep for three hours a day to stay alert and in good condition.
This was all thanks to technology and medicine. Employees of different levels enjoyed different benefits when it came to medicine. The higher the position, the more medicine they got. Of course, if one could not live up to their position and could not give the company satisfactory results, all that they received would be taken away.
But that was never the case with He Yaoxian.
He might not be good enough to rise to the top in Central City, where competition was the highest, but all that he faced in the branch company in Yangzhi City were just small, local problems. There was no reason why he could not take care of any problems coming his way.
He cast a glance at Wan Poming. The captain of the third unit was usually quiet. He did not say a thing on the way, and it pleased He Yaoxian. Tools should not ask too many questions and just obey orders.
“Captain Wan, are you confident in the mission?” He Yaoxian asked serenely.
“Mr. He, I’ve read through all the information regarding Fang Dawei and his gang. They’re using outdated or imperfect experimental implants with lots of side effects. Even if they’ve found strategic terrain, my team will be able to take them down within five to ten minutes,” Wan Poming answered calmly.
“Why five to ten minutes? If you’re confident, shouldn’t you be able to take them down within the shortest amount of time possible?” He Yaoxian asked curiously.
“Some people go through abnormal mutations due to stimulations from their implants. The degree of the changes varies from person to person. If that happened, things could be a bit more troublesome. But that’s not a bad thing. The company wants to see such things, because it gives the research department new ideas and materials,” Wan Poming explained.
“Spoken like a true veteran of the company,” He Yaoxian praised him. As the new external affairs manager, he did not have any understanding toward these things, because he was mainly in charge of communicating with subsidiary companies and the various sections in the Department of Administrative Affairs. He seldom dealt with this sort of thing.
This was mainly because he did not need to take time out to specifically take care of things in Yangzhi City. Usually, the entry-level staff or junior-level staff would do it on their own. Such problems did not reach people on his level.
“We’re almost there, Mr. He,” his female assistant said softly.
He Yaoxian looked out and saw constables standing guard on both sides of the road. Patrol cars moved about in a hurry. He Yaoxian could not help but smile in amusement.
The three armored personnel carriers turned into an upward slope. After driving up for a bit, they arrived at a rather spacious empty piece of land. It was at the foot of the outpost where the command center was, and quite a number of patrol cars were parked there.
After the carriers came to a stop, security guards in two layers of protective suits, dressed in full tactical gear, equipped with custom-made guns, and wearing helmets got out of the carriers. Once they secured the area, He Yaoxian got out of his carrier. He looked at the sun above and remarked, “It’s a bit hot today.”
His female assistant hurriedly took out a fan and started fanning him.
He Yaoxian pointed at the constable on duty. One of his subordinates immediately went over to speak to the constable and tell him that they had arrived, so they wanted to see Guan Yuming for the handover. The Constabulary could leave everything to Black Orchid.
The subordinate quickly returned. “Mr. He, the constable said that Deputy Chief Guan isn’t here. He went to soothe the shaken villagers.”
“To soothe the villagers?”
He Yaoxian scoffed. He did not believe this excuse in the slightest. Is he stalling for time? That’s useless. If the Constabulary were able to arrest Fang Dawei and his gang, they would have done so a long time ago. No matter how much time he stalls, it’s pointless.
He walked over and said, “Since Deputy Chief Guan is busy and can’t meet us, I suppose we’ll have to go the extra mile to meet him.”
An open-top jeep belonging to the Constabulary drove over. The female assistant took note of it and said, “Mr. He, that’s Guan Yuming. He doesn’t seem to be sitting in his assigned car.”
He Yaoxian stopped walking. The open-top jeep soon arrived in front of him. The constables in the area snapped to attention and saluted in unison.
Guan Yuming saluted them right back before getting out of the jeep.
He Yaoxian walked over and said with a smile, “Deputy Chief Guan, I heard that you went to the villages to take care of some business. Are you perhaps done?”
“I am. We’re about to leave now,” Guan Yuming said.
He Yaoxian was satisfied. If Guan Yuming was willing to cooperate, things would be much easier. Black Orchid could influence certain decisions at the Department of Administrative Affairs, but they could do nothing about the Constabulary because it was a government organization that reported directly to the government.
In truth, the Constabulary’s main concern was not the robbers or criminals, but Black Orchid Co. The Constabulary knew this, and the company knew it too.
“If that’s the case, let’s perform the handover as soon as possible. After all, we need to arrest Fang Dawei and his gang quickly so that we can report our success back to the Department of Administrative Affairs. That’ll be good for both of us, don’t you think?” He Yaoxian said.
“Fang Dawei and his gang have been a major scourge to the people. We’ve been trying to capture them for a long time, but we only just managed to find them, and we even ended up letting them kick up such a fuss in the city. I feel truly regretful about it,” Guan Yuming said.
“Don’t put it that way, Deputy Chief Guan. There’s more than six million people in Yangzhi City, and the Constabulary has to maintain the law among all of them! It’s inevitable that there’s some oversights,” He Yaoxian said with a sigh.
“That’s why we have to make up for these oversights. While it’s difficult to nip trouble in the bud, we can try to fix things before they get worse,” Guan Yuming said.
He Yaoxian raised an eyebrow at that before he chuckled and said, “This really isn’t your fault, Deputy Chief Guan. The Department of Administrative Affairs isn’t about to hold you accountable. We’re also willing to help solve this problem. We’ll make sure the newspapers write an article about the Constabulary’s contributions. Everyone will have a happy ending. What do you say?”
He was used to people trying to negotiate with him, so that’s what he thought Guan Yuming was doing. He could write nice things about the Constabulary in newspapers, but nothing more.
“Thank you, Mr. He, but you won’t need to trouble yourself. We’ve already taken care of the matter. The gang has been taken down and detained. No one escaped,” Guan Yuming declared.
He Yaoxian was stunned and instinctively looked around before turning back to Guan Yuming.
“You took care of the matter, Deputy Chief Guan? You’re not pulling my leg, are you?” he asked.
“You can find the injured robbers and corpses over there. We’ll have an article published about it later today. The Constabulary does not tolerate those who break the law,” Guan Yuming said firmly. “Alright then, Mr. He, I need to send the surviving criminals back as soon as possible. We have a ton of things to take care of in the station, so my apologies, but I will have to cut our conversation short.”
Guan Yuming returned to the jeep before turning around. “By the way, you might have to tell the newspaper company affiliated with Black Orchid to rewrite its article. Terribly sorry for the trouble we’ve caused, and thank you.”
He gave a signal, and the jeep’s engine roared to life.
With a whistle, the constables put the guns on their backs, turned around, and jogged to the area with the patrol cars.
He Yaoxian’s expression turned sour. The Constabulary had actually managed to take Fang Dawei and his gang down? Damn it!
Not completing the task was not the major issue. The problem was that Fang Dawei and his gang knew plenty of secrets, and some of them were still alive. Now that the Constabulary had arrested them, who knew just how much of a fuss they would kick up over it?
Black Orchid was not going to go under or suffer a major loss, but the higher-ups were definitely going to find a scapegoat, and the best candidate for it would be...
All color drained from his face, and he started trembling. His female assistant came over to wipe the sweat for him, but he could not stop sweating.
Wan Poming watched him silently.
In the many years since he joined Black Orchid, he had seen far too many employees like He Yaoxian. They lived in the limelight, but the moment they made a single mistake, their fate became unenviable.
He Yaoxian racked his brains over how to save himself. A few moments later, he grabbed the female assistant’s collar and pulled her over. While staring into her panicked eyes, he said with a savage expression, “Find Deputy Chief Guan or his assistant. Tell him that I’ll do my best to fulfill whatever request he has. Even if I don’t have the authority, I can pass it to my higher-ups!”
***
The car dedicated to the deputy chief of the Constabulary drove back to the city. The inside of the car was not decorated lavishly, but it was spacious and comfortable. The constable driving it was also a skilled driver. He managed to drive steadily outside the city as if he was driving on a smooth road.
Senior Wu lay on a lowered seat while Chen Chuan watched the scenery outside.
“It’s all thanks to you that I got to sit in this car, Chen Chuan.”
“What I did is nothing compared to what you did, Senior Wu,” Chen Chuan said.
Senior Wu huffed and sat up. “I stayed because I wanted to take revenge for Liu Xin, not for any other reason. I was really impressed with what you did today, so call me if you need any help in the future. If I complain about it in the slightest bit, I’ll tell my parents to disown me.”
“Senior Wu, if you had been in Senior Liu’s place, would you have saved the child?” Chen Chuan asked.
Senior Wu thought about it before replying with great certainty, “Perhaps not in the past, but now, I will!”
Chen Chuan nodded and offered a hand to him. “Chen Chuan, freshman of Martial Valor University.”
Senior Wu was taken aback, then his eyes lit up with a spark. He gave Chen Chuan’s hand a firm grip and introduced himself seriously, “Wu Han, sophomore of Martial Valor University.”
The car took a turn, and Chen Chuan saw that they were not heading back to the university. He patted the partition in front of them. When the communication window opened, he asked, “Captain Bei, sorry for asking, but where are we going?”
Guan Yuming’s assistant answered from the front passenger seat. “Deputy Chief Guan told us to send you back home so that you can tell your family you’re safe. Then, we’ll send you back to the university.”