Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 160 - 141: The File

On the way back to Yangzhi, Chen Chuan sat in the car, watching the scenery outside as he replayed his handling of the previous case.

It was the first time he had ever encountered a weird tale he’d never even heard of. Fortunately, he’d managed to resolve it successfully.

But if it hadn’t been for that accidental death, dealing with it would have likely been much more troublesome. A few more people might have died in the process.

This was already the best possible outcome.

’But could I have done better?’

He considered it. ’As things stand, you can only manage these weird tales by adapting to the situation and choosing the right approach. It seems brute force is useless... though maybe that’s just because my own power isn’t great enough. With sufficient strength, I’d have more options and a much higher margin for error.’

He also noticed that weird tales were becoming more frequent. It wasn’t just because he had entered this circle; the commission requests showed that the number of weird tales was indeed increasing year by year. ’What’s the reason for this?’

He couldn’t help but recall what Duma had said: "The world’s echo is deepening." ’Could it be related to this?’

While he was pondering this, the car suddenly slammed on its brakes. He felt the shift in momentum and reacted before the seatbelt could tighten. Pressing a hand against the front seat and planting his feet, he channeled the force through his Mutated Organization, layer by layer, keeping himself from being thrown forward.

The driver in the front seat cursed. The reason was a few motorcycles that had shot out of the gorge, nearly scraping the side of the car. They had barely avoided a collision.

After the motorcycles passed, they seemed to notice the car wasn’t from Jia County and didn’t have an escort. They actually looped back around and began flanking the vehicle. They were incredibly brazen, periodically swerving in front of the car.

The driver asked, "Mr. Chen? How should I handle this?"

Chen Chuan glanced over. Although the motorcycles were close, they were mostly just showing off their riding skills. "Ignore the ones that pull up alongside us," he said. "Just drive like you normally would. If any of them block the road ahead, do what you have to do."

The driver’s spirits lifted. "With you saying that, Mr. Chen, I know exactly what to do." ’It’s not like I don’t have backing,’ he thought. ’The company bosses all come from powerful families. Why would I be afraid of a few hicks?’

He first honked the horn, then stepped on the gas, shifting gears and accelerating. The car’s speed shot up. The two riders blocking the path saw him suddenly surge forward in their rearview mirrors and jumped in fright, scrambling to get out of the way. They felt like he had almost scraped them, breaking out in a cold sweat. Since it was a downhill slope, the car was moving fast and shot past them in an instant.

The driver glanced back. Seeing the motorcycles were still in pursuit, he said with some regret, "It’s a shame this isn’t Young Master Sun’s Hurricane sports car. Otherwise, I guarantee we’d lose them in no time."

’No wonder the company sent this driver instead of the more cautious-looking Xiaowei,’ Chen Chuan thought. ’This one is bolder and better suited for this kind of situation.’

A short while later, they exited Pingkong Gorge and the road turned into a winding mountain pass. The driver was even more in his element on the hairpin turns, never letting the motorcycles behind them overtake.

After a bit, they left the Jia County area. Once they passed the highway checkpoint, the bikes stopped chasing them. Clearly, they knew they wouldn’t get away with anything outside their own territory.

Over an hour later, Chen Chuan was back in Yangzhi. He first stopped by the commission company to report on the case from beginning to end, drawing up a report for their archives.

Ren Shu was thrilled. The County Administrative Office’s commission had been a recommendation from the Administrative Affairs Hall, and now that it was successfully completed, the company’s reputation had undoubtedly grown. In the future, when other administrative departments needed to handle similar matters, they would certainly think of them first. Their earlier strategy had been the right one.

Unfortunately, people who could take on weird tale commissions were extremely rare. It was hard to find even ordinary operatives, let alone an expert like Chen Chuan. This meant they couldn’t expand their business. For now, they could only slowly build up their reputation. Luckily, they didn’t have to worry about funding, so their priority was to become the best in this field.

After Chen Chuan finished up his business at the company, he had Xiaowei drive him back to the school.

The trip to Jia County had taken several days. Before he knew it, March had arrived.

Although he had missed a few days of training while in Jia County, it didn’t matter much to him at his current level. Forgoing a few days of routine skill practice was insignificant. The key was the pursuit of strengthening his Mutated Organization, and the gains from the past few days were more than enough to make up for the missed time, with plenty to spare.

All in all, the benefits outweighed the costs.

After returning to the school, he made his usual phone call to Cheng Zitong and explained in detail how he had handled the case. The master and student discussed it for a while before ending the call, after which he threw himself back into his daily training.

However, the effects of the drugs were diminishing. Fortunately, he had the Bone Bead he’d gotten from Qi Sai to use as a substitute, which would be enough to sustain him for the next two months.

「Several days flew by, and soon it was the first rest day of the month.」

Chen Chuan remembered his meeting with Gao Ming, so he didn’t go anywhere and just waited in his dorm. As noon approached, the phone rang. He answered it, and Gao Ming’s voice came through: "Cousin, I’m here."

Chen Chuan put down the phone, left his dorm, and walked to the school gate. He saw Gao Ming leaning against a car door in the plaza outside. He walked over and asked, "You didn’t go home first?"

Gao Ming smiled. "Cousin, your business is my top priority." He gestured with his hand. "Let’s talk in the car."

Chen Chuan opened the car door, got in, and closed it behind him. Gao Ming took a file folder out of his bag and handed it to him. "The information is all in here. You can take it back and look it over later, Cousin. I’ll just give you a rough summary of the main points."

His expression turned serious. "I’ve been looking for that student’s file. But the deeper I dug, the more I realized how scarce the records on him are. Besides what we found before, there’s almost nothing. I had to slowly search for information from other sources.

’Actually, I thought before that if I couldn’t find anything, it might be a good thing. It would mean the student successfully made it to Central City and possibly holds a position of some importance, so his files would have been transferred there.’

"Last month, I got lucky. A senior colleague of mine was going to a high-level firm in Central City to deliver some documents. I asked him if he could look into this for me on the side, and he agreed."

He smiled. "But the situation in Central City is complicated. I just mentioned it in passing and wasn’t really expecting anything. But he got results quickly, because this person is special."

"Special?" Chen Chuan’s mind raced. ’Special in Central City isn’t the same as special anywhere else.’

"Because he’s relatively famous in Central City, but not for a good reason."

Gao Ming held up a hand. "Cousin, first, the good news. Fifteen years ago, after receiving the recommendation to Central City, this student successfully entered the city. This proves that he succeeded back then, and our example is viable.

"After entering Central City, he first worked for the Central City Processing Bureau. Later, for some unknown reason—perhaps by personal choice—he quit and joined a corporation. But partway through, he got tied up in a lawsuit, so he quit again two years later.

"Up to that point, it was nothing unusual. But just six months later, an explosion occurred within that corporation. Many employees and executives died, and he was suspected of being involved. That’s why his files were transferred away, and it’s also why I could never find them."

He looked at Chen Chuan and said, "Cousin, everything that happened later took place after he got to Central City. But the earlier part of his story proves his success.

"But we have to consider one factor: because of what he did, some people might have become more wary of commoners entering Central City. So, the resistance you face might be even greater."

At this point, he smiled again. "But personally, I don’t think you’re out of chances, Cousin. In fact, this timing might even be more advantageous for you."

"How so?" Chen Chuan asked.

Gao Ming’s expression grew serious, and he gestured upward. "We overlooked a factor before: what the Upper Layer is thinking. I was always looking at how to break through this path from the bottom up. But then I looked into the Upper Layer’s policies regarding the Wuyi Branch for the last ten years, and I found that for all these years, they have been leaning in favor of students from commoner backgrounds.

"However, due to obstruction from local powers and influential families—who also control most of the resources—the effect has been minimal. But if a student with the right qualifications comes along, they’re actually more likely to be valued by those at the top.

"How should I put it... it’s fifty-fifty. After all, without more sources, this is the only conclusion I can draw. This is all I can provide. The final decision is up to you, Cousin. But personally, I think if you don’t at least try, you’ll never know what the result could be."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment and said, "Thank you, Gao Ming."

Gao Ming smiled. "It’s nothing. I’m hoping to win your business, Cousin."

Chen Chuan said, "Your last suggestion was very useful. I’ll probably apply for the Unlimited Defense Certificate ahead of schedule. But there are a few things I’ll need your help looking into."

Gao Ming grew serious. "Of course, Cousin. Go ahead."

Chen Chuan asked, "Do you have a pen and paper?"

Gao Ming rummaged around for a moment and handed them to him.

Chen Chuan took them, jotted down a few notes, circled something, and handed it back. Gao Ming took it, glanced at it, and nodded. "Got it, Cousin. Wait for my update."

After their conversation ended and they said their goodbyes, Chen Chuan got out of the car. He first went back to his dorm to look through the file, then took it and went straight to Cheng Zitong’s office.

When Cheng Zitong saw him arrive with the file folder in hand, he realized what it was. He stopped what he was doing and asked, "You got the file?"

Chen Chuan nodded.

Cheng Zitong instructed, "Close the door and let me see it." Chen Chuan turned, closed the door, and walked over to hand him the file.

Cheng Zitong took it, opened it on his desk, and read through it carefully. At the end, he also read the notes Gao Ming had appended at the bottom, which basically summarized what he had told Chen Chuan.

When he finished reading, he looked up at Chen Chuan.

"What are your thoughts?"

Chen Chuan said seriously, "Teacher, everything I’ve done up to this point has been for the sake of getting into Central City. To be honest, regardless of what this file said, I was already planning to try and compete for a spot.

"The outcome presented in this file is actually better than I expected, which has only strengthened my resolve. So, I think I’ll submit my application this month to test for the Unlimited Defense Certificate."

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