Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 149Book 3, : Where The Heart Belongs

Meng Shu walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and stared at the night sky outside before asking, “Have you gone back to your old house?”

“I did. I visited it again before coming to Central City,” Chen Chuan said.

“I remember the stream in front of your house. When I walked in it during the summer, the water went up to my calves, and it felt really refreshing. Back then, I had nothing to worry or think about.

“I also remember the stars covering every inch of the night sky. There was once a time when I thought about how I could sail to the galaxy if I rode down the stream in a boat.”

Chen Chuan went over to the window and looked outside as well. Even though it was already autumn, he could see the shining stars, and he couldn’t help but remember the night of the student gathering two years ago.

Meng Shu crossed her arms and said, “When I came back here two years ago, grandfather told me the truth about the world, and I learned about the other world from him. He also told me that the two worlds are about to collide.

“After hearing about it, I didn’t show an extreme reaction, so my grandfather was pleased with my composure.

“But I had only reacted that way because I thought that even though everything around me was within arm’s reach, none of it belonged to me. So, no matter how the world changed, it had nothing to do with me.

“Funnily enough, when I learned that I could claim some things for myself, I started feeling scared. Maybe it’s because I finally had a chance to have something.

“Xiao Chuan, were you scared when you learned the truth?”

Chen Chuan stared at the beautiful, majestic starry sky. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to it, because it means that the shackles on me are no longer unbreakable. Perhaps there will come a day when I can go there with my own strength.”

“I should have known you would say that. You always loved stories about adventures and longed to see all sorts of things in the world. I remember how your eyes would light up whenever your mother told us those amazing tales. It’s as if you couldn’t wait to become part of her stories,” Meng Shu said.

That was the old Chen Chuan’s dream. My dream is to explore the mysterious and unknown, to become free of all shackles, and to become a transcendent being who will no longer be tied down by anything, Chen Chuan thought.

Meng Shu sighed. “Honestly, I want to give up, but this isn’t my problem alone. My grandfather’s hopes for me aren’t even the most important thing. All my followers and supporters want to push me forward. I can’t stop.

“I might be manning this ship, but I’m not the one who decides when it stops and where it goes.”

Chen Chuan took a moment to think before asking, “Is your grandfather just going to sit by and do nothing while watching you two fight to become the successor?”

“I can never figure out my grandfather’s real thoughts. I’ve only seen him a handful of times before. Probably fewer times than his followers have met him. He has many sons, but he didn’t pick any of them. Instead, he chose me and Meng Huang as his potential successors.

“He sits at the top of the company. Before he makes his final decision, both Meng Huang and I need to do whatever he wants us to. It’s the same for the Meng family and every employee in the company.

“Perhaps I’ll only truly understand what he’s thinking if I take over his position. Then, I’ll be free to have my own thoughts and steer the ship in the direction I want.”

She turned to him. “Xiao Chuan, I’ve never asked you whether you’re certain about helping me, because you’ve always seemed so confident.”

“I’m a martial artist. My power comes from within me. Once I decide to do something, I can face all my enemies without hesitation. I’m confident in my strength, because there’s nothing else that can give you more confidence than this,” Chen Chuan answered in a level voice.

Even though he wasn’t saying anything motivating, there was a strange power contained in his words.

Meng Shu sucked in a deep breath and turned to the sky again. “Maybe you can actually get there without any boat to take you. I think you can do it with your own strength.”

Their conversation ended, and Chen Chuan returned to his villa to do his daily training.

On the third day, the blurring out effect on his second self started weakening and disappeared completely. From this, Chen Chuan deduced that he could take the special medicine once every three days.

Anyone else wouldn’t be able to make such accurate deductions without using external tools or special methods, which also meant that they couldn’t take the medicine in such a continuous manner, like him.

So, Chen Chuan took the second dose in order to maintain his training rhythm.

Yan Yi’s predictions were true. In just a few days, the company declared that they were going to pull back the security guards given to Meng Shu on the excuse that she refused to go to the family meeting.

With slight regret, Yan Yi said, “This means that there weren’t any moles among the security guards. It’s a pity, but this also shows that there’s nothing wrong going on at Mr. Meng's side. Meng Huang should have persuaded only a part of the Meng family to side with him. Otherwise, he would have done much more than this.

“But they’re not going to stop with just this. Next, they are likely to target Miss Shu’s businesses. They might even take the resources allocated to her.

“Luckily for us, this won’t be easy. They won’t be able to get results with matters tied to the law so quickly. As long as Miss Shu doesn’t admit defeat on her own, we can hold out for a few years. I think they’re thinking about draining our energy and money.”

She was right, again. Two days later, the company sent a legal notice to the manor, saying that they weren’t happy with Meng Shu’s right to live in the manor and the money she earned.

But Meng Shu’s group was ready and had hired a lawyer to bring this matter to court. The lawyer didn’t need to win. All that was needed was to drag it out as long as possible.

Any good lawyer could do it. Even if something happened to him or he decided to betray them, they could hire another lawyer to take his place, so they weren’t too worried.

Just then, Chen Chuan received a message from Guan Ziyang of the Resolution Department.

“Meng Huang started working at the company some time ago, but over the past few days, he had frequent contact with people from outside the company, and he has been showing up in public spaces a lot. We think that he’s getting ready for an attack.

“Be careful, Officer Chen.

“And here’s something else: Two high limit martial artists came into the Great Shun Republic a few days ago through Ferris Wheel.

“There might be more, but they didn’t register with us. We’ll be keeping a close eye on these two and putting some pressure on Ferris Wheel, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have any tricks up their sleeves. We’ll send information to you about the people we suspect to have entered our country, along with a detailed analysis of their abilities. Please remember to download it.”

“Got it. Thanks,” Chen Chuan said.

When he hung up, he received a lot of documents. This was the benefit of having the Resolution Department behind his back. Even when he was stuck at the manor, he could still know what was going on outside.

Chen Chuan read through the documents. They detailed all the people the department believed could threaten Meng Shu’s group.

Most registered Third Limit martial artists were monitored no matter where they went, so Chen Chuan didn’t have to bother with them. The only ones worthy of his attention were those with a bounty on their heads, in criminal groups, and who had snuck into the country illegally.

The reason why the Resolution Department was so wary of foreign martial artists was because the big companies who brought them in usually hid their tracks for them.

The Resolution Department had also talked to mercenaries who could be hired through Central City’s official platform. Many of them said that some people had approached them recently, but when they learned that they had to go up against Chen Chuan, they stated that the risks were too great.

The main reason was the strength Chen Chuan had displayed during his fight against Wei Wusheng. The other cited reason was because Chen Chuan was clearly part of the Resolution Department.

If he had been just a normal student with no powerful family background, they might have considered it, but there was no good reason for them to risk the wrath of the Resolution Department.

Once these martial artists were screened, the list of potential threats became much smaller.

After reading through everything, Chen Chuan found that there were only three groups that truly needed to be regarded with suspicion.

And among them...

***

While Chen Chuan was reading through the information, the branches linked to a resonator nest in a room in another villa on Motie Mountain flashed. The elegant, tall man who had spoken to Meng Huang a few days ago was waiting outside.

A long time passed before the branches stopped flashing.

The tall man went over and asked, “How is it?”

“The domain is really sturdy. It’s clear that they have a professional team, and I suspect it’s from the Resolution Department. They have one team defending the outside and another team in charge of the inside. I can’t break in,” the resonator answered.

“I thought the client said that he has moles among them,” the tall man grouched.

“He has only one, and he can’t do anything. The two teams are mutually independent. If we can’t break through the external defense and contact the mole, it’s pointless.”

“So, this path is a bust?”

“Not exactly. If we can force the Resolution Department to pull back or if our client sends a team to support us, we might have a chance. In any case, with the current situation, we won’t be able to do anything on our own.”

The tall man didn’t ask for the impossible and said, “Just pay attention to things related to tech. Leave the rest to me.”

He turned around and contacted his boss. “I got information. It’s difficult, but not because our guys aren’t doing their jobs properly.”

He then gave his boss the important details before saying, “If the client won’t give us reinforcements, can we ask for more money to hire mercenary resonators? We just need to break down the external defenses. After that, the mole inside will liaise with us.”

They couldn’t skip this step, because the residential area in Motie Mountain had its own security system. Two small airships patrolled the area 24/7 and rushed to any manor in trouble the moment they detected it. That was why it was necessary to block off the domain signal.

He discussed things with his boss for a little longer before saying, “If none of these work, then we need to splurge and buy a one-time use biosentient entity from the black market to block the domain signal. But this will only last for a short time.

“Got it. We’ll do as you said. We’ll have two plans ready. I’ll get things ready.”