Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 155 - 137: Handling

On February 20th, a rest day, Chen Chuan and his partners from the recent operation gathered for a meal at the Du Yi Hotel.

Many of the team members had actually joined as a favor to him, but he knew what everyone really wanted. So, before the meal, he went over the accounts and distributed the payment according to each person’s contribution. He also mentioned that the Implant and gold notes hadn’t been dealt with yet, and he would get back to everyone about them later.

This proved to be the right move. After getting paid, everyone was visibly happier, and the atmosphere at dinner became much more lively.

Wei Chang’an raised his glass to toast Chen Chuan. "Junior, now that you’ve learned to drive, why not get your license and buy a car?"

Chen Chuan considered it but decided to wait. A car was far from cheap, and there was a lot to think about. Although he had earned a good sum of money, the expenses for his Fighter training were undoubtedly much higher.

Besides, when he took on commissions, a company car was usually available, so he didn’t have to worry about it. If he was working with a team, he could just rent one. It was convenient and hassle-free.

He said, "Let’s talk about that later. But Brother Wei, for certain reasons, this commission won’t be officially credited to anyone for now. The details might not be announced for another year, so your promotion to Advanced Client will probably have to wait."

Wei Chang’an leaned back in his chair, looking completely at ease. He smiled and said, "What are you talking about? I still owe you a favor. Even without this, helping a brother out is the right thing to do. As for becoming an Advanced Client, that’s not a problem at all."

Next to Ren Xiaotian sat Lin Xiaoti. Although she hadn’t participated in the raid on the camp, she had guarded the radio and relayed messages, which was also a contribution. So, she got a share of the pay and was now happily calculating how many snacks, hair accessories, and new dresses she could buy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Weidong had been stuffing his face the moment the food arrived. If you asked him how he felt about the operation, his answer would definitely be "unsatisfying." Aside from the infiltration phase, the rest was almost all a gunfight. Although he had learned how to shoot, he emptied his magazine quickly without hitting a single person. He did, however, manage to take down a few crossbowmen with his bare hands, but it seemed no one was willing to fight him head-on.

Wu Han was sitting next to him and had a great deal of admiration for Weidong. The two of them had coordinated their actions during the mission. This junior would attack whoever he was told to, never asking why. When it came to a fight, he was truly decisive and efficient.

’Next time I have a commission,’ he thought, ’I’ll bring this junior along.’

At that moment, the gunman surnamed Ding proactively raised his glass to Chen Chuan. "Brother Chen, if you have another operation like this, you absolutely have to bring me, Ding Liao, along."

Chen Chuan picked up his glass and clinked it against his. "A master like you, Brother Ding, is hard to get a hold of usually," he said with a smile. "Of course I’d welcome you if you’re willing to help."

Ding Liao laughed heartily. "Then it’s settled." With that, he downed the drink in his glass.

Most of the people here were Fighters, so they didn’t drink alcohol. But he didn’t like to drink anyway, believing that he could only shoot more accurately with a clear head.

The meal lasted for more than two hours. Afterward, the group left the hotel together.

As Chen Chuan walked out of the Du Yi Hotel’s main entrance, he glanced back up at the building. He remembered having a meal here last year before starting at the academy. In the blink of an eye, so much had already happened.

Back then, his only thought was passing the re-examination for Wuyi Academy. Now, he was starting to plan how to get to Central City.

He pulled his gaze away and looked forward, his steps becoming even more steady.

A horn honked. Wei Chang’an had pulled his car over and was waving at Chen Chuan and the others from inside. "Junior, and the other classmates, need a ride back?"

Chen Chuan didn’t stand on ceremony. "Thanks, Brother Wei."

After taking the car back to the academy, he returned to his dorm. He washed up, sat down in the living room, and took out the string of Bone Beads. He had been observing them for the past few days. The stimulus they provided for the Mutated Organization seemed to last for about four or five days per bead. There were thirteen beads left on the string, so if used continuously, they would last for nearly two months.

It felt like a short time, but since he had gotten them for free, there was nothing to regret. He still had to continue taking on commissions, but at least he now had a financial buffer, so he didn’t need to be too hasty.

In the following period, while waiting to hear back from Gao Ming, he began accepting "strange tale" commissions from the company.

The company had given him a lot of advantages, so he decided to return the favor. He would focus on increasing the number of completed commissions to boost the company’s rating with the Administrative Affairs Hall. With that in mind, he picked out some of the easier ones to handle.

The first was called "The Never-Ending Corn." It was an item discovered in a village outside Yangzhi City. The incident began when a villager ate half an ear of corn before having to leave on urgent business. When he returned, he found that the eaten part of the corn had grown back.

At first, he thought someone was playing a prank on him. But after it happened several times, he was thrilled to discover that no matter how much of the corn he ate, it would grow back by the next day. And it wasn’t just one ear; it seemed the entire bag of corn he had brought back behaved the same way.

It was only about thirty catties of corn, not a large amount, and it wouldn’t fetch a high price. He was also afraid it would be stolen if he showed it to others. So, he just decided to eat it as his daily food. He not only ate it himself but also shared it with some villagers he knew well. A few of them were worried there might be a problem, but he paid them no mind.

However, the villagers who ate the corn soon discovered they could no longer eat anything else. After a few days, their bodies became unusually weak and fatigued, and they grew thinner and thinner. Yet, the affected people themselves didn’t feel anything was wrong and ignored the warnings of others.

It wasn’t until these villagers starved to death one by one that the rest of the village realized something was wrong. Convinced the corn was the problem, they burned it all. But this didn’t solve the issue. After a while, the corn reappeared, and similar incidents happened again.

After this happened several times, the villagers realized they couldn’t handle it themselves and reported it. The village and town administration office issued a commission, but no one ever took it. Now, more than two years had passed.

When Chen Chuan arrived at the village, it was completely deserted. A warning sign was posted at the entrance, and the person from the administration office who had accompanied him didn’t dare to go inside.

He entered the village alone. As he approached a certain house, his Second Self showed faint signs of becoming insubstantial.

He pushed open the half-closed wooden door and walked into the house. When he reached the kitchen, he immediately saw several fresh ears of corn on the stove. The kernels were plump and golden, giving off a fragrant aroma as if they had just been cooked and taken out of the pot. The mere sight of them was enough to whet one’s appetite.

After looking at them for a few moments, he went back outside. He did a lap around the entire village and found similar things in other places; almost every household had them.

He had read the case file before coming. An ordinary person actually could deal with this thing; it just couldn’t be handled by simply burning it. Doing so would only cause it to spread.

In reality, if someone had eaten the entire ear, cob and all, when it was first discovered, there would have been no problem. So, if someone had been able to offer guidance at the beginning, the subsequent tragedy might have been avoided.

At this point, dealing with it was a bit more troublesome. It required letting livestock eat the corn, and then butchering and eating the livestock within a single day.

Having seen enough, he now had a plan. He returned to the company, explained the situation to Ren Shu, and asked him to arrange for people to handle it.

When Ren Shu heard that he could also participate in handling a strange tale, he became very enthusiastic. The young partners were also exceptionally excited when they heard about it. They immediately spent money to hire people and buy livestock, and they cleaned up the whole mess in just one day. After they returned, everyone was filled with a great sense of accomplishment.

Chen Chuan, however, shook his head. While resolving these incidents was something to be happy about, he felt that if they could offer a consulting service for strange tales, incidents like this might be preventable.

He mentioned this to Ren Shu. Any other company would have certainly refused—wouldn’t that mean losing their own business?

But Ren Shu and the others didn’t see it that way. They already had more cases than they could handle, and even if some dried up, they could always get more from the Administrative Affairs Hall. Besides, strange tales that could be handled by ordinary people were clearly in the minority, so it wouldn’t hurt them. On the contrary, it could enhance the company’s reputation.

The most crucial point was that the suggestion came from Chen Chuan, an important partner, so it had to be taken seriously. Therefore, Ren Shu agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Since this commission hadn’t required much effort, Chen Chuan went on to handle a few more small commissions.

However, perhaps because too much time had passed, on these next few commissions, not only had the clients disappeared, but even the strange tales themselves were nowhere to be found.

But in any case, as long as it was confirmed that the strange tale no longer existed, the commission could be officially listed as resolved. This was very useful for the company’s rating, and the company paid him for his work all the same, so it wasn’t a wasted trip.

「Time quickly passed, and soon it was the end of the month.」

That morning, just as Chen Chuan was getting up, his phone rang. He picked it up and heard a familiar voice: "Hello, Cousin? It’s me, Gao Ming."

Chen Chuan’s spirits lifted. He hadn’t pressed Gao Ming before, knowing that his cousin was always serious and responsible in his work. If he hadn’t called, it meant he hadn’t finished his investigation. The fact that he was calling now meant he likely had results.

After he acknowledged him, Gao Ming continued, "Cousin, I’ve finished investigating that case. It’s just that some things aren’t convenient to discuss over the phone. How about this: I’ll be back on the rest day in the first part of next month. We can meet and talk then."

Chen Chuan knew this matter was important and that it wasn’t a good idea to discuss it on the academy’s phone. He thought for a moment. "Alright, we’ll talk when we meet next month."

He hung up, but before he had taken two steps, the phone rang again. He picked it up once more. This time, it was Ren Shu’s voice on the line: "Mr. Chen, I was wondering if you’re free today?"

Chen Chuan asked, "Is it about a commission?"

"Yes, yes. Here’s the situation. Someone from the County Administrative Office of neighboring Jia County came to the company. They said they want to hire us to resolve a strange tale. I was wondering if it would be convenient for you, Mr. Chen?"

’The County Administrative Office...’

Chen Chuan thought about it. Even a County Administrative Office was a government department. Although he had already obtained the necessary ratings, that didn’t mean more of them were useless. If he could handle this type of commission well and accumulate more positive evaluations, it would be extremely beneficial for him when he later applied for an Armor Certificate.

After considering it, he said, "Alright, I’m on my way."

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