Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 286 - 18: Textbook

Chen Chuan stood at the edge of the ritual pattern, keeping a close eye on the changes happening to his Second Self. After about two or three minutes, he saw the blurry, ethereal effect on it suddenly vanish. His eyes lit up, and he immediately walked over and started digging up the dirt.

At this moment, the mannequin inside had actually disappeared, leaving only the Upper Jawbone.

’It worked!’

He bent down, reached out, and picked up the Upper Jawbone. The instant he touched it, he saw his Second Self begin to flicker intensely.

’Clearly, you can’t feel it unless you touch it.’

’This is exactly what I wanted.’

Now, the problem here was considered solved. As long as he took the Upper Jawbone back with him, no one here would be afflicted again.

He placed the item into his bag and strode away.

While he was dealing with this matter, Central City’s City Cleaning Team had already finished processing the scene at the Golden Shrimp Tower.

The City Cleaning Team didn’t just collect dead bodies and clean the site. They were also responsible for analyzing evidence, collecting data, and reconstructing the scene and the specific sequence of events.

This information would eventually be uploaded to "Pusuo" for data storage. The next time a similar situation occurred, it could be used for data comparison.

However, Wubei had deleted all the on-site Domain information records. Moreover, most of the bodies had been further disturbed by gang members who arrived later, making an accurate reconstruction impossible.

Therefore, the only way to fill in the details was through written statements from those who arrived on the scene. However, these statements were based on personal experience and subjective viewpoints, so regulations prohibited their use as primary evidence. They could only serve as references, greatly diminishing their importance. Most likely, they would just be filed away and forgotten.

But the fallout from this incident did not subside. The Golden Shrimp Team had its own headquarters and what could be called an elite team. Besides legitimate commissions, they also had their own gray channels. In addition to doing dirty work for the Upper Layer, they often engaged in illicit, shady business with certain gangs.

For such a team to be annihilated in a single day, sharp-nosed reporters and news media teams immediately rushed in to dig for the inside story.

The Golden Shrimp Team had indeed paid tribute to several powerful figures, but now, not one of them made a statement. Afterward, all traces of these patrons were wiped clean.

Just as Chen Chuan had thought, unless there were extremely deep-seated interests or direct family ties involved, these people wouldn’t just refuse to back the Golden Shrimp Team—they would quickly cut all ties at the first sign of trouble. After all, there were plenty of people under them willing to die for them. If one batch was gone, they could just be replaced with another.

The incident also caused quite a stir in the circle of contractors, but no one was crying foul for the Golden Shrimp Team. This was because they never played by the rules and were utterly ruthless, having almost no bottom line. Even some people who considered themselves extremely vicious found their methods hard to stomach.

This group mainly took on abnormal commissions and some clandestine black-market jobs, so their business didn’t overlap much with other contractors. That’s why no one usually said much. But for that same reason, no one sympathized with their downfall; instead, everyone was gloating.

After dealing with Xiaoman’s arrangements, Old Qi returned home. He immediately found a place to hide the money bag, then collapsed into bed and slept. When he woke up, it was already noon the next day.

The first thing he saw was a message from his daughter in his Realm Token, and he couldn’t help but smile as he read it.

He’d had things to take care of for the past two days, so he had left his daughter with his brother-in-law. From the looks of it, she was having a great time.

Then he saw his contact interface flashing nonstop. The light was so intense it almost made him dizzy. He got up to wash his face while opening it and asked, feigning ignorance, "Ah Ji, what’s up? So early in the morning?"

An eager voice immediately rang out: "Old Qi, did you hear? The Golden Shrimp Team is finished."

Old Qi feigned confusion. "Golden Shrimp? Which Golden Shrimp?"

"Which other Golden Shrimp could it be?" The voice suddenly grew louder. "The Golden Shrimp Commission Team!"

"What?" Old Qi’s voice filled with shock and disbelief. "It was them?"

"Yeah, them! You haven’t heard? The scene was brutal. I heard all their Implants and gear were stripped off them. Tsk, that crude method screams Moss Gang. They only take the good stuff, leaving the junk and cheap crap behind.

"If it were those guys from the sewers, there wouldn’t even be any bodies left. The Moss Gang really scored a freebie this time. How come good stuff like this never happens to me?"

Old Qi played along with a surprised tone, "So you’re saying the Moss Gang didn’t do it? They just picked up the scraps?"

His tone was slightly exaggerated, which wasn’t his usual style, but luckily, the guy on the other end was too excited and eager to spill the beans to notice.

"Isn’t that the truth? By the time the Moss Gang showed up, the job was already done. Tsk tsk, Jing Li spent a fortune on that crew of his. He probably sank all his earnings from the past few years into them. If I had pulled off that one job, I could retire tomorrow."

Hearing that made Old Qi wince a little. ’Yeah, that really was a huge pile of money.’

’But in reality, we couldn’t have taken it anyway. Fencing that kind of black-market gear requires channels and connections. Otherwise, it would just rot in our hands, and we’d end up as glorified custodians for someone else’s property.’

He then asked, his voice a mix of nervousness and anticipation, "Right, you still haven’t said who actually did it."

The guy on the other end lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "I heard... it was the government."

"The government?" Old Qi’s expression was one of stunned disbelief.

"Yeah, it has to be. Did you know? They say the security team turned right around the moment Jing Li’s people died. They retreated so cleanly, and the attackers’ style didn’t match any of the corporations. So, it could only have been the government."

"That does make some sense..." Old Qi said. ’It’s actually good if everyone thinks that. This way, it won’t be traced back to Brother Chen and us.’

He made small talk for another ten minutes or so before ending the call. Then, he checked the contractor’s communication platform and saw that everyone was discussing the incident.

Between the lines, everyone was full of admiration for the group that had carried it out, wondering which legendary figures were behind it.

As a participant, Old Qi felt a secret thrill reading all the praise and awe. He couldn’t say anything, of course, so he had to keep it bottled up, which made him feel a bit antsy.

Finally, deciding that out of sight was out of mind, he closed the interface and made himself some breakfast. Halfway through, he received a message from Chen Chuan, asking him to count the cash in the money bag when he had a moment and let him know the total.

Old Qi immediately felt a sense of being trusted. After agreeing, he went back to count the money and found it was an even number: exactly one hundred thousand yuan.

This was no small amount of money; it could even be called a huge sum. He knew there was a lot, but he hadn’t expected this much.

He immediately contacted Chen Chuan and Wubei to inform them of the amount.

Wubei was a bit curious. "Why were they keeping so much cash on hand? Were they planning to buy something?"

Old Qi mulled it over. "It’s possible. But they also took on a lot of black-market jobs, and that money can’t go through the official platforms. So it might have been a deposit from a client."

Chen Chuan said, "The purpose doesn’t matter. Everyone put in the effort this time. You two should take a cut as well."

Wubei thought for a moment and said, "Alright." He didn’t need the money, but he felt that if he didn’t take any, it would be awkward for the others to take their share. So, he decided to accept.

Old Qi said seriously, "Brother Chen, Brother Wu, I won’t be coy. I need the money. But I only contributed a little this time, so I can only take the share I’ve earned." Although he was desperate for money, he wouldn’t reach for what wasn’t his. He knew his own worth.

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. "How about this: Brother Wu and I will each take twenty-five thousand, Old Qi, you take five thousand. The rest will go into the team’s public fund. And Old Qi, I’ll give you another twenty thousand. Consider it an expense from the public account to replace your Implants. You’ll need to contribute more to the team in the future."

Wubei added, "That’s right, Old Qi. Your Implants are too old. It’s good to get a new set."

Realizing the two of them were looking out for him, Old Qi was touched. This time, he didn’t refuse. Instead, he said solemnly, "Alright. I’ll go get them replaced right away."

Twenty thousand yuan wasn’t even a down payment for high-end Implants. But if it was just for upgrading and expanding his current set, and limited to civilian-grade models, it would be enough if he was frugal. The key was finding a reliable Implant doctor to maximize their effectiveness.

After ending the call, Chen Chuan looked at the Upper Jawbone sitting on his study desk. With this weird tale, he wouldn’t need his medication for the time being.

But weird tales didn’t exist indefinitely. If one failed to affect anyone in the outside world for a long time, it would likely fade away on its own.

This was also why a weird tale would vanish after everyone in a particular place had died.

Since he had his Second Self to bear the affliction for him, it was equivalent to creating an uninhabited environment. Over time, the weird tale would disappear. However, this process would take a very long time—a few months should be no problem. For now, at least, his need for medication was no longer so pressing.

He withdrew his gaze and turned his attention to his Realm Token, finding the teacher who had tried to contact him earlier.

He hadn’t had time before, but he could reply now. After all, it was a teacher from the academy who had taken the initiative to message him during the holidays. It would be rude not to respond.

He followed the message thread and sent a reply. He thought he would have to wait a while, but the call connected almost instantly.

"Teacher Wu? This is student Chen Chuan."

"It is."

Teacher Wu’s voice was a deep baritone. "Hello, Chen."

Chen Chuan said, "I’ve looked at the materials you showed me, Teacher Wu. You said you can help me improve my combat skills in a short amount of time?"

"That is unequivocally true."

Teacher Wu replied with a confident tone, "I have personally coached more than three hundred students. This is all verifiable. I have a wealth of teaching experience. You can choose to trust me."

Chen Chuan considered this. ’The high number doesn’t really mean anything. Good teachers usually take an elite approach, training fewer students and focusing on quality.’

He asked politely, "What do you suggest, Teacher Wu?"

"Student Chen Chuan, I’ve seen your file. You’re from a small city. Of course, I don’t mean to look down on you, I’m just stating a fact. The combat techniques from smaller places still carry traditional, outdated concepts."

"I have a tutorial series here that, once you learn it, will compensate for your shortcomings and deficiencies. I guarantee you’ll be able to pass the academy’s assessment. The price for this course material isn’t high right now, and I can give you a discount." As he spoke, he sent over a description of the material. "You can take a look first..."

Chen Chuan glanced at it and said politely, "Alright, Teacher Wu. Please allow me to look it over first."

On the other end of the Realm Token connection, in a messy, dark room, a neurotic-looking man with deep lines on his forehead ended the call. His gaze fixed on the view outside the window as he muttered to himself over and over, "He’ll call me back. He’ll call me back..."

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