Chapter 679 - 30: Return Journey

Stepping onto Luo Wang Island again, Chen Chuan felt it seemed more orderly than before. In the distance, he could see a radio tower being constructed.

On an open space to one side of the docks, a security officer in a company uniform was drilling a group of locals wearing the same uniform.

The back of this uniform bore a logo resembling a circular disk.

The center of the disk bulged slightly, like a full, azure water balloon, but with an opening at the bottom from which water flowed, forming the shape of a droplet.

This was the logo of the Overseas Development Group. Everything he saw indicated that the company’s influence had truly arrived on the island. The old rules would likely be reshaped.

He turned and looked toward the distant harbor, where an ocean liner was moored. He had booked his ticket a few days ago; the ship would be taking him back this evening.

That meant he still had most of the day.

He hadn’t explored the entire island on his previous visit, only wandering through the bustling areas. He had yet to visit Nicha Mountain, said to be the most scenic and highest point on the island, so he decided to take a trip there before his departure.

Since it was quite a distance, he hired a horse-drawn carriage. Along the way, he took out his camera and snapped photos of the beautiful scenery. He reached the foot of the mountain around noon, disembarked from the carriage, and began to ascend the wide mountain path.

The main peak of Nicha Mountain was over two thousand meters high, with many steep and rugged paths. He didn’t intentionally push for speed, walking at a leisurely pace, yet he reached the summit in less than half an hour.

He gazed out at the horizon. The entirety of Luo Wang Island seemed to float on the azure sea, its outline clearly visible. The scattered reefs and green vegetation offered a rich visual feast.

He raised his camera and took pictures for a while. CLICK. CLICK. Then, he noticed a wooden bench nearby with a waist-high safety chain in front of it. He walked over, sat down, took out his water bottle for a few sips, and leaned back, contentedly admiring the beautiful scenery alone.

After a few minutes, a man walked up next to him, glanced at the other end of the bench, and asked, "May I?"

Chen Chuan glanced over. He was a man in his forties, dressed in a foreign-style suit and wearing a sun hat. He carried the air of a manager.

He nodded. "Be my guest."

After sitting down, the man took off his sun hat, fanned himself with it a couple of times, and wiped his sweat with a handkerchief. He then turned to Chen Chuan, smiled slightly, and extended his hand.

"Manager Chen, hello. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zheng Hai, a business manager for the Overseas Development Group in this region. I’m currently in charge of business development for Luo Island and the surrounding islands. I never expected to see you vacationing here."

Chen Chuan shook his hand. "A pleasure."

It wasn’t surprising that the man knew his identity. He had booked his ticket right here. And although his position as an Investigation Chief meant he no longer had to report his Third Limit Fighter status when traveling, it wouldn’t have been difficult for the Overseas Development Group to discover who he was if they paid even the slightest attention to their passengers.

’But this is my return trip, so I’m not concerned about my movements being known.’

Zheng Hai withdrew his hand and also leaned back against the seat. He looked ahead and gestured expansively with his hand, as if to encompass the entire island.

"We plan to establish an information Domain here. Over here, there, oh... and over this way..."

He pointed in several directions. "By placing Domain Creatures in these locations, we can link the island’s communications and provide certain information services."

Chen Chuan said, "The cost must be considerable."

Domain Creatures didn’t consume algae oil or electricity, but they did require High-Energy Nutrients, which were by no means cheap.

Zheng Hai smiled. "Of course, we won’t do this for every island. The Luo Wang Island area has always been a hub for tourism and commerce. To manage it well, maintaining public order is a prerequisite. And you can’t have good public order without good communications and transportation."

He paused. "Once we’ve done all this, Dashun’s rule can be solidly extended here."

"Of course, tourism and commerce alone may not be enough. The surrounding waters are very unique. I think the Canglong Company might establish a biological research facility here in the future. These initial investments will be recouped from future returns."

Chen Chuan said, "A biological research facility? Like the ones the Lynx Federation has?"

Zheng Hai laughed. "No, not at all. This place will be our own territory in the future. We wouldn’t conduct experiments like the Lynx Federation on our own soil. Besides, these experiments won’t involve high-risk projects. We have no desire to turn this beautiful island into a living hell."

Just then, he reached into his jacket pocket, took out a Name Card, and presented it to Chen Chuan with both hands. "Manager Chen, this is my Name Card. If you ever return to this area for work or leisure in the future and have any suggestions or needs, please feel free to contact me."

Chen Chuan reached out and took it.

Then Zheng Hai glanced at the camera beside Chen Chuan and said with a smile, "Oh, and this as well." He took his briefcase and pulled out an exquisite envelope from inside.

"These are postcards our company made featuring scenery from the surrounding islands. This is the first edition—only a hundred sets have been printed so far. They’re quite commemorative. Please, Manager Chen, take a set."

Chen Chuan was actually quite interested in this. Although he hadn’t taken the photos himself, they were indeed a nice memento. He thanked him and accepted them.

Zheng Hai put his hat back on, stood up, and gave a slight bow. "Well then, I wish you a smooth journey back." After another slight bow, he left.

After Zheng Hai had gone, Chen Chuan looked through the postcards.

’He knew what this visit was about.’ As an Investigation Chief, his primary duty was investigating companies, which included not only independent corporations but also National Enterprises.

’He’d said he was here for a vacation, but at this critical juncture, the two companies couldn’t be sure if he was secretly on a mission to monitor them. So, they sent someone to feel him out and express their stance.’

’Then it suddenly occurred to him that Dashun’s activities in the Outer Ocean weren’t limited to just these two companies. They must have also deployed the military. His cousin, Nian Qian, was very likely conducting military operations on one of these islands right now.’

’And now that the Ferris Wheel Company had collapsed and the Lynx Federation’s influence was being purged, perhaps Nian Qian would be able to come home for the New Year festival.’

Meanwhile, Zheng Hai took a cable car down the mountain and then a vehicle back to his office area. When his subordinate saw him return, he said, "Sir, the files you requested have been gathered."

Zheng Hai stopped and asked, "Is everything in there?"

"Yes," the subordinate replied. "It includes the old records collected from Feiguang Island, the inspection data left by the Lynx Federation, and some of the Ferris Wheel Company’s archived files."

Zheng Hai whispered something to his subordinate. The subordinate looked astonished but didn’t question it. He simply nodded and left.

Half an hour later, raging flames suddenly erupted in Zheng Hai’s temporary office, followed by panicked personnel rushing back and forth to fight the fire.

Zheng Hai and his subordinate watched from a distance. The subordinate asked in a low voice, "Sir, why?"

Zheng Hai said with a sigh, "If that *thing* really is in these waters, this place might not be so peaceful in the future. I’ve done so much preparatory work and finally managed to get things started. I don’t want someone to suddenly replace me, nor do I want all this to be halted for some reason."

The subordinate felt this reason wasn’t entirely sufficient, but he didn’t dare ask any more questions.

Zheng Hai stood there for a while longer before returning to his private residence. He pulled out a telegraph machine from its hiding place, tuned it to a secret frequency, and began transmitting a message:

"All anomalous records have been destroyed as per prior directive. Awaiting new orders. Sender: Cuttlefish. Jianzhi 95, August 20, 15:10."

Chen Chuan stayed on the mountain for over an hour. After returning, he didn’t linger on the island and boarded the cruise ship home directly.

At seven in the evening, after finishing dinner, he walked out of the ship’s restaurant and sat down on a deck chair in the open air. He asked a steward for the newspapers and reports from Jibei Dao Central City from the past few days.

He skimmed through them. There was nothing new; most of the articles were still about the recent biological experiment incursion by the Lynx Federation and its subsequent impact.

However, one piece of news caught his eye. A representative of the Federation, currently in Jibei Dao Central City, claimed that the Ferris Wheel Company had conducted a certain amount of business with the Federation and had signed many agreements.

Now that Ferris Wheel, due to the Administrative Affairs Hall’s actions, could no longer fulfill these agreements, the representative was demanding that the Jibei Dao Administrative Hall compensate the Federation and punish the relevant personnel.

He raised an eyebrow. As far as he knew, Ferris Wheel had indeed proposed numerous business collaborations to the Federation, but no agreements had ever been finalized. ’The Federation must be using this as a pretext to pressure the Administrative Affairs Hall.’

’If there wasn’t solid evidence of Ferris Wheel colluding with the enemy, the accusations would probably be far worse.’

’But one could imagine the City Council would use this pretext to stir up trouble. And those multinational companies that suffered losses during the Fumu schism and didn’t want to see the government’s power expand would likely take advantage of the situation as well.’

’This wasn’t surprising. The conflict between the Administrative Affairs Hall and the Council had always existed. Until one side was completely crushed, this struggle would continue.’

’But...’

He flipped through the papers again and found they only provided reports from Dashun’s side. There was no news at all about the Lynx Federation. ’What is the Lynx Federation thinking right now?’

’I’ll have to wait until I get back to find out more. In any case, this sort of thing falls squarely under my duties as an Investigation Chief.’

And as he sailed back, inside an office building in Jibei Dao Central City, Ji Xinmin of the Refinement Sect was on the phone, his expression deferential.

He kept repeating, "Yes, yes."

After a while, he put down the phone and said to the other two people in the room in a low voice, "We have instructions from above. That person will likely be returning to Central City in the next few days. *He* needs us to find a way to make contact again."

...

...