Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 177Book 3, : Support
When Lan Shennan heard Chen Chuan’s words, she realized that he wasn’t just saying meaningless pleasantries, and she felt some of the weight on her shoulders lift. So, she told him about the group’s current troubles in great detail.
The situation wasn’t all that complicated. The lower city district had an extensive tunnel network that connected to basically every district in the upper city district.
Of course, it also contained the largest black market. There were some things the lower city district needed to buy from the upper city district, so there were plenty of people here who were involved in logistics.
Clear Road Transport was one of the largest logistics groups, but recently, they had run into several huge problems. Once, they even lost an incredibly important cargo.
After paying a huge compensation fee, the group got into a fight about the distribution benefits, which led to the splitting of the group.
One of the more important squads had also been headhunted by Toxic Ants, their competitor. To make matters worse, the group’s original director and accountant went missing. This led to operations coming to a screeching halt, and many people left to seek employment elsewhere.
Lan Shennan had originally been a security guard, and she, along with those who didn’t want to leave, took over the remaining business and tried their best to restore some of their operations. Even though things weren’t as good as before, they found some business due to their previous reputation.
But Toxic Ants refused to stop harassing them. They kept using violence to chase them out and suppress them. Their harassment had ramped up over the past two months, and Clear Road Transport had been attacked multiple times.
If not for the fact that Toxic Ants were wary of Lao Bian and that they were made up of a large number of security guards, who were really experienced in low-intensity fights, Clear Road Transport might have been destroyed a long time ago.
But now, they couldn’t rely on Lao Bian anymore.
This Third Limit martial artist was just too greedy. He kept asking them for resources and money, but he never once fought for them. He only ever stepped forward to mediate the situation when Toxic Ants brought the fight to their door.
This time, however, Lao Bian had asked for so much that it crossed the line, so Lan Shennan had no intention of continuing to work with him.
After some thinking, Chen Chuan said, “I have a question. Since Clear Road Transport had been able to make it so big before, you should have had some form of support from a powerful group. Who was your original supporter?”
“It was the Iron Fist Gang, but they’re gone now. I don’t know the details, but when we started having problems, they were in trouble themselves, and they collapsed faster than we did.
“Golden Reins was supposedly behind the Iron Fist Gang, but this is something I heard from a senior, so I’m not sure whether it’s just a rumor or not.”
Chen Chuan pondered over this. There were quite a number of companies in Central City. The Resolution Department’s attention was mainly on big and mid-sized companies. Still, he remembered reading about Golden Reins before. It was a security company.
Regardless of their size, the Resolution Department kept an eye on all companies with substantial martial power. This company also had some ties with United Might. Apparently, before the New Year, they ran into some trouble, and now, United Might had acquired them, which made what happened to the Iron Fist Gang make sense.
Many gangs relied on the companies for money and technological support. Meanwhile, the businesses in the lower city district were only able to grow by relying on the gangs. Once they lost their fighting power and their investor, they became lambs waiting for slaughter.
“I get the gist now. How many Third Limit martial artists does Toxic Ants have?” he asked.
“You make it sound like Third Limit martial artists are common... They only have one.”
After some thinking, Lan Shennan added in resignation, “The resources here can’t compare to those in the upper city district. Most Third Limit martial artists are hired by large gangs and organizations. If not for the fact that Clear Road Transport had run such a huge business before, we wouldn’t have been able to hire Lao Bian.
“That’s why I have been tolerating him all this while. If he leaves us, we won’t be able to hire anyone else.”
“Just one?” Chen Chuan was quite surprised. Still, he thought about it and said, “I can help you with this, but have you considered the fact that afterwards, if you aren’t strong enough, you’ll run into such trouble again. It might not be Toxic Ants, but other forces of power which will attack you.”
“I’ve considered it, yes. If you’ll accept it, after this, we’d like to use your name to intimidate the others,” Lan Shennan answered frankly.
“In the meantime, we’ll give you whatever extra money we earn. Our business might not be as great as before, but if we run our operations properly, we can provide a lot of resources for our members. We’ll also use that time to contact some other forces of power and see whether we can gain their support. Then, our group will be safe again.”
Chen Chuan nodded. Lan Shennan’s thought process was clear. She knew what was important and had also thought about what to do in the future. Chen Chuan had no interest in wondering whether she would be able to carry out her plan. At the very least, it was plausible.
“I need some information about the Third Limit martial artist working with Toxic Ants... Might as well give me Lao Bian’s information too, while you’re at it,” he said.
He wasn’t going to underestimate any of his enemies. If he could understand them before the fight, it would make it easier for him to win against them. Chen Chuan wasn’t the type to say no to easy ways to win a fight. Besides, the faster and easier he defeated that Third Limit martial artist, the more intimidating of a threat it would be.
When Lan Shennan heard this, she knew that Chen Chuan had truly agreed to help, but she also detected something else. “You want Lao Bian’s information? Are you saying that he might stab us in the back?”
“I don’t know what he’s going to do, but it’s better to be prepared,” Chen Chuan said while looking her in the eye.
In truth, Lan Shennan was worried about this too, but since she had already made up her mind, she couldn’t back out of her decision. She had wanted to warn Chen Chuan to be careful, but he considered the possibility by himself, and that made him look reliable in her eyes.
“Alright. I’ll get the information right away,” she declared decisively. Then, she tapped her Realm Pass and requested to connect with Chen Chuan. “If you need anything else, just let me know.”
Chen Chuan added her and nodded. “Okay. I’ll be sure to call you if I need anything.”
Lan Shennan was a woman of action. After settling things with Chen Chuan, she immediately assembled the leaders again.
Once they were all present, she didn’t tell them about approaching Chen Chuan first. Instead, she told them about Lao Bian asking for another 20%. The group exploded in rage, and Xiao Ding was the first to voice his dissent.
The others also said that Lao Bian had crossed the line. The entire group was pushed to the edge, and they had already given Lao Bian everything they could give, yet he was still not satisfied.
When Lan Shennan saw how worked up they were, she told them that Chen Chuan had agreed to help them.
Excitement bubbled up, and Lao Cao asked in shock, “He’s willing to help us? Did you manage to persuade him?”
Lan Shennan shook her head at that. “I didn’t persuade him. Chen Chuan is only willing to help us because of Master Yu and Xiao Ke.”
“Ah... Because of Mr. Yu. Of course.”
That made sense to them. Chen Chuan was a Third Limit martial artist with proper citizenship in the upper city district, so why would he want any of their stuff? He was only willing to fight because of his relationship with Yu Gang.
“I was saying that we should look for someone reliable. We can’t rely on Lao Bian,” Big Sis Yun quipped.
Xiao Ding was the most excited. “That’s right. I’ve found Lao Bian’s wrinkly face an eyesore for a long time. We can fire him and not have to tread carefully around him anymore.”
Lao Shen was in charge of finances. He didn’t understand anything about martial arts and didn’t know about how martial artists differentiated the strong and weak, so he was worried. “But Chen Chuan looks young. Can he really do it, Xiao Nan?”
He wasn’t the only one thinking that. Lao Cao and Big Sis Yun weren’t actually confident either. After all, they knew nothing about Chen Chuan, and they had heard rumors that Toxic Ants’ Third Limit martial artist was ruthless and brutal. Lao Bian had stressed multiple times that he was really strong, which was why, as time passed, they became afraid of him.
But Lan Shennan was confident in Chen Chuan. After all, she had seen his fight against Wei Wusheng. While she was just a Second Limit martial artist, she could see what lay behind Chen Chuan’s skills and had formed her own judgment of his strength.
With great certainty, she said, “Uncle Shen, Lao Cao, Big Sis Yun, don’t worry. Chen Chuan will be fine. He can definitely take down Toxic Ants’ Third Limit martial artist.” 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
“That’s good, then.”
Even though they were still worried, they trusted her opinion.
After Lan Shennan finished discussing things with the group, she made detailed arrangements for what needed to be done before going to a space further away from the group and contacting Lao Bian.
She first heard a traditional opera-style waiting tune. Before long, the call went through, and she heard Lao Bian’s voice. “Have you made up your mind? That guy has spoken to me again. Things are different this time, so you have to think carefully.”
“I’ve discussed things with the rest of the group, Uncle Bian. We’ve been feeling really guilty about even considering sending you to fight against Toxic Ants’ Third Limit martial artist, so we’ve decided not to bother you. We’ll handle it on our own,” Lan Shennan said.
“Xiao Nan... If you think another 20% is too high, I can lower it. Considering our past ties, I can lower the rates a little...”
“No need,” Lan Shennan said seriously. “We can’t let you come out short. You were right. If it weren’t for past ties, you could have gone elsewhere. You don’t need to stay here and worry about us anymore.
“We’ve been holding you back and have finally come around to understanding it. We’ll take care of our own problem and won’t bother you again.”
Lao Bian stayed silent for a while before ending the call.
Lan Shennan spun around and marched over to the spot where all the lights from the vehicles gathered.
***
Uncle Bian sat on a couch. He was a sixty-nine-year-old man with the physical appearance of someone in his fifties. Despite his slightly sagging skin, his muscles remained firm underneath.
“You want to fire me? It won’t be that easy,” he sneered.
