Chapter 92: Net
While Chen Chuan was fighting against Fang Dawei, Seventh had climbed into the secret tunnel and used it to reach the foot of the hill.
He had lost his will to fight after Tong Baitao died, because he knew that the ones remaining could not possibly win against Chen Chuan. Besides, he also sensed that the constables were coming up.
Once he saw that Fang Dawei was also rapidly losing ground, he fled without any hesitation. The secret tunnel that he discovered earlier became his path to survival.
He had a unique body that allowed him to hide well. If he could sneak out and lay low in the bushes until night arrived, he could run away.
The secret tunnel was really narrow and allowed only one person of a normal build to pass through, but that was nothing. Seventh stuck himself to the wall and continued on.
He stopped every couple of steps to make sure that there was nothing wrong, then continued forward.
Seventh shuffled forward until he reached the entrance. He waited for a little while until he was sure that there was no trap waiting for him. Then, he walked out.
The moment half of his body was exposed outside the tunnel, a short spear thrust forward from the side and pinned him against the wall. His limbs twitched.
Senior Wu stepped out and said excitedly, “I’ve been waiting for you scumbags for a while. You really did try to escape through here. Chen Chuan was right.”
Chen Chuan had asked him to keep watch over the entrance of this secret tunnel and stop anyone from leaving. He was sure that someone from Fang Dawei’s gang would use it as an escape route.
Senior Wu would have suspected anyone else who told him this, but he trusted Chen Chuan wholeheartedly. After all, Chen Chuan was risking his life to fight, so how could he doubt him?
Other people in his shoes might have let their thoughts run wild or become restless, but Senior Wu had a one-track mind. If he said he would wait, then he would. Ever since he had come to the entrance, he had not moved an inch. His breathing remained restrained and controlled, as if he were a bear in hibernation, which was why Seventh failed to notice him.
When Senior Wu noticed that Seventh was still not dead, since his limbs were still twitching around, disgust and disdain showed up on his face. He channeled refined force into his leg and stomped on Seventh’s neck, breaking it with a loud snap.
***
When Chen Chuan kicked Fang Dawei down, the rope around his neck tightened further, and Fang Dawei’s eyes rolled back. He kept struggling and twitching, but the more he moved, the tighter the rope became. A few minutes passed, and Fang Dawei slowly stopped moving.
“Aren’t you worried about Black Orchid making your life hell if you kill him?” Lin Fa asked with curiosity.
Chen Chuan looked down and replied calmly, “Dr. Lin, right? You’re not scared, so why should I?”
“I see.” Lin Fa figured out the basis of Chen Chuan’s confidence. “Yes, but I’m different from you, because I’m part of Black Orchid,” he said languidly. Then, he took out a business card from the pocket of his white coat and showed it to Chen Chuan. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lin Fa, Black Orchid’s external implant specialist.”
“Black Orchid’s implant specialist?”
“Correct.” Lin Fa put his business card back into his pocket and pointed at the severed limbs on the floor. “Do you know how they got their implants?”
He grinned. “In order to research new implants, Black Orchid experiments on criminals every year. In order to test the implants and gather data, they release these criminals once in a while, so they can hunt or be hunted.
“Of course, most of the time, the criminals are the ones hunted, because the hunters are all descendants of powerful families, who have plenty of people protecting them.
“The descendants of the rich families call it a ‘hunt,’ but when it comes to hunts, the prey sometimes escapes from the hunting grounds, right? That’s nothing to Black Orchid. It’s just a bit more troublesome. Once they’ve done enough research on the prey, they just capture them again.”
Chen Chuan walked down the stairs to stand in front of Lin Fa. He looked straight at him in the eye. “Is this the secret?”
Lin Fa shrugged in a resigned manner. “Yes. It’s a secret to people like Fang Dawei, but all the descendants of powerful families know about it. Even if word leaked out, nothing would change. Not even the people in Central City can do anything to Black Orchid, much less those in Yangzhi City.”
His voice became full of admiration and longing. “Black Orchid is a titan. The world is divided among countries and mega corporations, you know? They’re the true rulers!”
“What about you? Why were you with Fang Dawei and his gang? Were you just treating their wounds, or did you have another mission?” Chen Chuan asked while staring at him.
“I’m in charge of examining their bodies while also observing and recording the daily changes and combat performances of their implants. I can also gather some bio materials and do some experiments I want.” Lin Fa smiled and nudged his glasses up his nose.
He regarded Chen Chuan with interest. “Your fight with them was truly exciting. I saw many things I had overlooked or never considered. I’ll record all of it and send it back to Black Orchid. This will get me rewarded, and I’ll get to join the Implant Research Department. Yes. Perhaps I’ll even be able to get some martial artists to participate in my experiments. That way—”
Suddenly, a flash of saber light lit up the guard post for an instant. Lin Fa’s expression froze, and he made gurgling sounds as he fell to his knees while his hands scrambled to cover the cut on his neck.
Chen Chuan walked to the entrance and said calmly, “What made you think that I’d let you leave?”
Lin Fa fell on the floor and could only watch as Chen Chuan walked out into the bright outside world with his saber in hand. His consciousness faded, and his world turned black.
When Chen Chuan walked out of the guard post, the afternoon sun shone. Wei Laohu and the constables saw him, and their faces lit up in joy and concern.
Chen Chuan gave them a nod.
Wei Laohu brought his gun up and shouted, “Charge!”
He was the first to rush into the guard post.
Chen Chuan continued forward until he reached the edge of the platform. He stood there and stared at the endless sky above. More constables ran past him into the guard post.
In this world, everyone lived in nets they made for themselves or that others made for them. The nets were layered and thick, and they prevented other people from getting into them. Meanwhile, the ones inside only saw the world within the man-made net, not the world as it really was.
Some people, while pretending they were far above everyone else, looked down on all those they perceived as beneath them rip each other apart.
Chen Chuan extended an arm and curled his fingers into a fist. He still remembered what had spurred him to take the path of a martial artist. He wanted to continuously surpass himself and get stronger so that his freedom would not be restricted.
His goal remained unchanged. He would continue growing stronger to gain the strength to break free of all shackles!
After Wei Laohu went into the guard post, he saw the severed limbs all over the floor, along with Fang Dawei hanging and swaying from the second floor. Even though they had not verified the bodies yet, he was sure that all the robbers would be found.
Suddenly, he felt a little dizzy, as if the inside of the guard post was unbearably stuffy and humid. He slapped himself twice and wiped off the sweat on his face before saying, “Damn it, Captain Nian sure has a good nephew. That boy really did him proud!”
He grabbed a random constable. “Go and tell Deputy Chief Guan that we’ve secured the guard post! Tell him that Xiao Chuan killed them all by himself!”
***
Guan Yuming received the report back at the command center. After verifying the report several times, he clenched his fists, though his expression remained calm.
He did it! Attaboy! he thought.
He pulled his sleeve back to check his watch. Half an hour had passed since Chen Chuan left for the guard post.
After some thinking, Guan Yuming picked up the phone and called the headquarters. Once it went through, he said, “Sir, it’s Guan Yuming.”
“Lao Guan? Don’t try anything. Black Orchid’s security team is about to arrive. Order your constables to retreat. You brought too many people out, so the city is under-defended now.”
“I was just about to tell you that the deed is done,” Guan Yuming said.
“The deed is... What? Did Black Orchid’s security team arrive ahead of time?”
“No. It’s one of our own. He’s a student from Martial Valor University, who is related to a constable. He charged into the guard post alone and took down Fang Dawei and his gang.”
The chief fell silent for a long while, as if he was digesting the information. After a long time passed, he asked, “He’s related to a constable?”
“Yes. He’s Nian Fuli’s nephew.”
“Lao Nian’s nephew? Heh. When I was still a company commander, he was my messenger. Since the boy is his nephew, he must be reliable.”
“Sir, the students of Martial Valor University were assigned to this mission until Fang Zuo’s son was found. Almost all of them left afterwards. Xiao Chuan, Lao Nian’s nephew, that is, is one of the two who stayed. After the other one went somewhere, Xiao Chuan charged into the guard post with his weapon. I believe I don’t need to tell you why he stayed.”
“Good lad! He’s got guts!” the chief praised Chen Chuan. After a pause, he said, “Go on. Tell me, what do you want me to do? Just make sure it doesn’t cross the line.”
“Here’s what I’m thinking: while he was officially removed from the mission, we can make it so that he wasn’t,” Guan Yuming said.
“We can?”
“Not everyone in Fang Dawei’s gang died. Some of them are heavily injured. We know why that is, but we can choose not to know. As a trade, Xiao Chuan must pass the mission originally assigned to him,” Guan Yuming said seriously.
The chief replied decisively. “Since he’s related to one of our own, I’ll cash in some favors for him. Lao Guan, get this thing under control and come back to the city. I’ll be going off to talk to those guys about this now. Bye.”
Guan Yuming put the phone receiver back on the switch hook and looked outside with a stern expression. Whether the mission was assigned to Chen Chuan or not was not the important part. He was actually doing this to tell everyone one thing: The Constabulary was protecting Chen Chuan.