"So, Senior Brother Lu, what do you plan to do?"

Chen Chuan wanted to hear Lu Fang’s thoughts.

Lu Fang said, "I want to find Zhao Qian’s whereabouts first, then start investigating the people around him. Since he took Senior Brother’s sister, he must have had some kind of motive. Not much time has passed, so I think he must have left some clues."

He leaned forward slightly, his hand resting on the warm drink. "Zhao Qian graduated from Wuyi General Hospital. That’s why I was originally thinking of finding you, Junior Brother, to ask if you knew where he might be. I never expected to run into you the very day I arrived."

Chen Chuan nodded and said, "I know where Zhao Qian is."

Lu Fang looked up at him.

Chen Chuan said, "But Senior Brother Lu, even if you find him, how will you search for clues about Senior Brother Shen’s sister? Are you going to ask him directly?"

Lu Fang quickly replied, "Although I came alone, I’m not without contacts in Central City. I found a few senior brothers I knew from before, and with their help, I’ve been able to get by. I think as long as I can confirm Zhao Qian’s location, I can investigate slowly. I’m sure I’ll find something eventually."

Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "But Senior Brother, you might not understand. As a mid-level corporate manager, Zhao Qian has a security team and Resonators protecting him at all times. If you show up near his company just a few times, you’ll end up on their watchlist.

"If I’m not mistaken, Senior Brother Lu, you probably don’t have official citizenship yet. Even if the security organization uses violence against you, no one will bat an eye, no matter how serious the outcome. The end result could be you getting secretly ’disposed of,’ and Zhao Qian might not even know you were ever here."

After hearing this, Lu Fang said very seriously, "Junior Brother, thank you for telling me all this. Even though it’s difficult, I can’t just ignore it. Senior Brother Shen helped me and our other classmates so much back then. I owe him this, and it’s up to me to repay that debt."

He looked at Chen Chuan with a sincere expression. "Junior Brother, can you tell me where Zhao Qian is? That’s all I need to know. I’ll be as careful as possible."

Chen Chuan considered this for a moment. ’Senior Brother Lu is persistent, but he’s also the kind of person who values loyalty and friendship above all else.’ The Fenxin Society had supported him several times before without asking for anything in return, a favor he had not forgotten.

He said, "Senior Brother Lu, if you really want to find out what happened back then, it’s best you do nothing for now. Wait for a while. You might see results."

Lu Fang wasn’t quite sure what he was thinking. He said hesitantly, "Junior Brother, you don’t really have to get involved in this..."

Chen Chuan shook his head. "Senior Brother Lu, don’t overthink it. This has nothing to do with what you told me today. You care about what happened to Senior Brother Shen back then, but don’t you think Zhao Qian cares about the fall of the Zhao Family?"

Lu Fang was stunned. He was beginning to understand what Chen Chuan meant and looked at him with a hint of worry. "Junior Brother, does that mean you..."

Chen Chuan smiled faintly. "Alright, Senior Brother, it’s rare that we get to see each other. Let’s not talk about this for now. Let’s chat about other things. You mentioned a few senior brothers who came to Central City helped you. What are they up to now?"

In the Deep Unexplored District, inside an underground fighting hall, two young men in their early twenties were instructing about two dozen teenagers on their punching and kicking. They were extremely strict. Whenever someone’s form was off, they would shout a harsh reprimand or even kick them directly. Any boy who fell would immediately scramble back up and continue training without a word of complaint.

Only after the movement was corrected would they shift their gaze to the next person.

After a long while, a bell rang—DONG! One of the youths, who had short hair, said, "Take a break."

The teenagers first bowed to the instructor, then let out a collective "WHOOP!" and scattered, their faces breaking into smiles. Only then did they look like the young boys they were.

The short-haired youth walked to the side, grabbed a bottle of water, and took a sip. "The Celestial Forgiveness Gang sent someone again recently. They’ve added a few more conditions and said they can help us solve our citizenship problems if we join them."

The other, taller youth said in a low voice, "It’s not that simple. They just want to use us. Citizenship? They’ll just dangle that in front of us to make us fight to the death for them. Ignore them. We’re fine as we are."

The short-haired youth grunted in agreement.

After a moment, he said, "Junior Lu said he was going to look for a junior brother who got into the Central Hospital this year to ask for information.

"I really didn’t expect someone from a place like Yangzhi could get into the Central Hospital as a commoner. That’s really something. But once you’re there, your status is completely different. I wonder if he’ll have any luck."

The other youth said, "It doesn’t matter if he has luck or not. If the person he’s looking for is already in corporate management, it’s a lost cause. We can’t go up against a corporation."

"Yeah, but he’s just too stubborn. You can’t talk him out of it." The short-haired youth sighed. "I just hope he listened to our warnings."

「Half an hour later.」

Chen Chuan and Lu Fang exchanged contact information and walked out of the beverage shop.

Chen Chuan had intended to pay the bill himself, but Lu Fang insisted they split it, and he didn’t refuse.

The two parted ways at the street corner. After watching Lu Fang leave, Chen Chuan returned to his dorm. He picked up the Snow Monarch Blade to consolidate and digest the techniques he had learned from Teacher Zheng that day.

Just as he was absorbed in his practice, his Realm Token suddenly chimed with an incoming call. Seeing it was Gao Ming, his heart stirred slightly. He put down the blade, walked out of the training room, and answered it.

Gao Ming’s voice came through. "Cousin, I’ve got a lead. Do you have time now? Let’s meet and talk."

Chen Chuan said, "I have time. I’ll head over now."

He tidied up a bit, left his dorm, got his car from the underground garage, and drove directly to Gao Ming’s apartment.

After they met and exchanged greetings, Gao Ming took off the Realm Token he was wearing. He smiled and said, "Cousin, what we’re about to discuss is a bit sensitive. It’s best we take these off for now."

Chen Chuan nodded. The Realm Token was convenient for communication, but it couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of technical surveillance. As a Litigation Master, Gao Ming was extremely cautious about this, a fact Chen Chuan understood well. He took off his own Realm Token as well.

Gao Ming placed both of their Realm Tokens in a box and closed it. He then turned back, handed Chen Chuan a glass of water, and sat down before speaking:

"Cousin, since I started at the firm, I’ve spent the last few days going through a lot of materials. Uh, that includes both the firm’s platform data and physical paper files."

Due to the unique nature of their profession, a Litigation Master’s firm keeps its truly valuable information in physical archives and offline, independent biological storage units. Only internal personnel can access them. As an invited partner, he was qualified to review some of the less confidential documents.

"Cousin, if you want to go after Zhao Qian, I currently have two lines of thought." Gao Ming took out a handwritten document and handed it to him. "First, we can use official power.

"I’ve looked into the specific functions of Central City’s various administrative departments. I found that the Processing Bureau, which is investing in you, Cousin, is partially responsible for suppressing and limiting the expansion of various corporations.

"Mm, it’s a bit like the Patrol Bureau in Yangzhi City. There, the Patrol Bureau keeps the Molan Company in check. But in Central City, the city patrol teams have almost no ability to stand up to the corporations, so the Processing Bureau has shouldered that responsibility.

"Almost every corporation hires Fighters, and security personnel are especially indispensable. Some outstanding Fighters can even become high-level executives. The Processing Bureau, in fact, indirectly interferes with the corporations by controlling and restricting these very Fighters.

"Getting back to the Lianwei Zhongyu Company, where Zhao Qian works... in the past year alone, it has been given special ’attention’ by the Processing Bureau four times. The last two instances were almost all personally related to Zhao Qian."

Chen Chuan asked, "Is it because of matters involving the Molan Company and the Zhao Corporation?"

Gao Ming said, "That’s right. I looked into some of Zhao Qian’s public information and found that he’s very smart. After he came to Central City, he realized the Molan Company was on the decline. So he gradually cut off his business ties with them and pulled out of his family’s business. It’s unclear how he managed to join Lianwei Zhongyu.

"But he benefited from the Zhao Family’s interests, so it’s impossible for him to have cut ties completely. The relevant administrative departments and the Processing Bureau seized on this point to audit him several times, but they never pushed him too hard.

"My personal guess is that these departments might want him to stay within the Lianwei Zhongyu Company."

Chen Chuan understood instantly. ’Cracking down on Zhao Qian only affects one person. But if they keep him around, they can use him as a way to extend their reach into the Lianwei Zhongyu Company.’

Gao Ming gently pushed his glasses up a bit. "So, Cousin, I was thinking, perhaps we can borrow the Processing Bureau’s power instead of getting our own hands dirty. If we handle it correctly, we might be able to force the Lianwei Zhongyu Company to abandon Zhao Qian.

"Without his status as a corporate manager, he’s just an ordinary Fighter. Dealing with him would be much easier.

"Competition between corporations in Central City is fierce. After so many years here, there’s no telling how many people he’s offended. It’s possible someone else will take the initiative to get rid of him before you even have to lift a finger, Cousin.

"The disadvantage of this plan is that it will take time to set everything in motion. We also can’t rule out special circumstances, such as Zhao Qian possessing some kind of unique value.

"If that’s the case, we have to consider this possibility in advance.

"Even if we have conclusive evidence that Zhao Qian tried to assassinate you, Cousin, some of the higher-ups in the Processing Bureau might not agree to move against him. Instead, they might use the incident to make Zhao Qian an easier pawn to control.

"So, if we take this approach, we might not have to confront him directly. But until things reach that point, we won’t be able to influence or determine the final outcome."

Chen Chuan nodded and asked, "And the other method?"

...

...