NOVPUBSeptember passed, and it was now October.
Chen Chuan forgot everything else, focusing solely on practicing the Zhou Yuan Strength Method, repeatedly honing Zheng San Shou[-], and also taking some time to learn the basic saber moves that Cheng Zitong taught him in his spare time.
On a Holiday in early October, Cheng Zitong called him in the morning and said, "Little Chuan , the Assigned Mission can begin. The teacher has already arranged the specifics. The person leading you is my nephew, of the same generation as you. You can call him Senior Brother. Assigned Missions always involve unexpected situations, and he is more experienced. Just listen to him when the time comes."
Chen Chuan said, "Okay, teacher , I understand." Then he asked, "teacher , what's this Senior Brother's name?"
Cheng Zitong said, "Ren Xiaotian ."
Chen Chuan thought to himself, this Senior Brother's name is quite wild.
After hanging up the phone, he thanked the dormitory manager, returned to his room to prepare, and took the elevator downstairs. Exiting the building, he saw a gray-green Off-road vehicle parked not far away, with a man under 1.6 meters tall, about thirty years old, waiting in front of it. He had a stern and serious expression. Seeing him come out, he said briefly, "Chen Chuan ?"
Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Senior Brother Ren?"
Ren Xiaotian said, "That's me. Get in the car." As he spoke, he opened the driver's side door and climbed in with a large stride.
Chen Chuan went to the passenger seat, opened the door, and slid inside. After closing the door and fastening his seatbelt, the car started.
However, unlike Wei Chang'an , who knew how to handle things, Senior Brother Ren kept a straight face and didn't say a word for a long time after leaving the school gate.
Chen Chuan didn't know if this was his personality or some other reason, but since the other person didn't speak, he wouldn't disturb him. He didn't waste the time either, and practiced his Breathing Technique.
After a while, Senior Brother Ren suddenly said, "Basic Breathing Technique?"
Chen Chuan said, "Yes."
Senior Brother Ren fell silent again, and after a while, he said, "Not bad."
Chen Chuan looked over and confirmed that this Senior Brother was not good at conversation. He thought for a moment and decided to take the initiative to speak, "Senior Brother Ren, where are we going?"
Senior Brother Ren seemed relieved and said, "We are going to Jiao Mountain."
Chen Chuan was thoughtful, "Jiao Mountain?" He then asked, "What exactly are we doing?"
Ren Xiaotian said, "We are going to collect something for the Commission side."
Chen Chuan thought of what Lu Ke had told him before and could roughly guess where they were going.
At this time, Senior Brother Ren gave him a notebook and said, "You… take a look."
Chen Chuan took it and flipped through it. It was filled with densely written words about the Assigned Mission, with key points underlined in red.
Because the Commission side paid in full upfront, the reward would not be increased or compensated after the Commission Company and the Commission side confirmed it. Therefore, all additional expenses during the execution needed to be borne by the executor of the Commission.
If any variables occurred, the executor also needed to handle them properly. If they were not handled properly or if the mission failed, the Evaluation would be lowered, and it would be difficult to receive decent Assigned Missions in the future.
To avoid this, one had to ensure the success rate and minimize costs. He saw a bold note at the end of the notebook: "Information channels are very important."
He couldn't help but nod.
This was a competition of information channels. One was to quickly find various Assigned Missions, and the other was to timely understand the information needed to execute the mission. The more detailed and accurate the information, the higher the success rate and the lower the cost. Therefore, personal connections were very important for those who specialized in this line of work.
However, below the sentence "Information channels are very important," there was another sentence: "Protecting yourself is the most important."
He agreed with this even more. Assigned Missions were just tools on his path forward. If he couldn't protect himself, then none of this would matter.
He flipped through it for a while. The things written in the notebook were both new and old, and the key points were specially underlined in red, which should be to make it easier for him to read. He thought, "This Senior Brother Ren is considerate. The person the teacher found is indeed reliable."
The Off-road vehicle headed east, and after leaving the city, it crossed the National Highway and drove into the wilderness where roads were almost non-existent.
Chen Chuan looked at the desolate scenery outside, feeling as if he had suddenly left the civilized world, even though it wasn't far from Yangzhi City.
However, Yangzhi City's six counties were concentrated in the west and south, with mountains and small towns in the north, while the area east near Jiao Mountain was truly sparsely populated. It was said that only a few illegal organizations existed there.
On the other hand, Jiao Mountain was home to many people who made a living by scavenging garbage. They were nominally citizens of Da Shun, but they did not enjoy any civil rights, and they didn't even have household registration, so these people did not exist in any records.
He looked at the black ring of mountains in the distance. According to Lu Ke , there were many villages near the mountains, which didn't trust each other and had divided their territories.
The people of Jiao Mountain mostly traded with the Zhang Mountain area and surrounding villages in the northwest to obtain supplies, with the Iron Chain Gang controlling a large share. However, it seemed that they were not going there this time.
The journey was very bumpy, but fortunately, both of them were in good physical condition and did not feel any discomfort. After driving for about three hours, a patch of charred soil appeared in front of them. Seeing this, as well as the huge black mountain shadow rising gradually on the horizon, they knew that they were about to enter the Jiao Mountain area.
At this time, Ren Xiaotian handed him a mask and a scarf and said, "Put these on."
Chen Chuan took them. He knew that most of the residents of Jiao Mountain had lung diseases, likely caused by the special dust here. Wearing these was a necessary precaution, so he immediately put them on.
At this time, they could see a vaguely flat road ahead, which should have been made by previous travelers. After driving along this road for another half an hour, a simple sign made of old tires and metal coils appeared next to the road. The words "South Ditch Village' were crookedly bent out of metal wire at the top.
Seemingly because the sound of the car was transmitted, a man in dust-covered overalls emerged from behind the sign. He wore old goggles and a fur hat that covered his ears, and carefully peered at them. After looking at the license plate and comparing it with the note in his hand, he waved his hands at them. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
The Off-road vehicle slowly drove over and stopped not far from the sign. Ren Xiaotian put on his hat and quickly wrapped his scarf around his neck, covering himself tightly, and said, "Get out of the car." As he spoke, he opened the door, jumped out of the car, and walked towards the man.
Chen Chuan also got out of the car. As soon as he got outside, he felt gusts of wind blowing, mixed with some fine powder. He glanced at the Jiao Mountain shadow in the distance that seemed to be entering the clouds, and reached out to hold his student cap, following Ren Xiaotian .
As the two walked over together, the man trotted over, smiling and stretching out his dirty hands to Chen Chuan , bowing and scraping, "You must be Mr. Ren? Mr. Ren is so young and promising."
Chen Chuan waved his hand, gesturing to the side, and said, "This is Mr. Ren."
The man immediately knew that he had mistaken the person, but he didn't feel embarrassed at all. He quickly turned around and shook hands with Ren Xiaotian , saying, "Mr. Ren? Mr. Ren is really unassuming."
Ren Xiaotian said with a straight face, "You are Old Mi ?"
"Yes, yes, that's what they all call me."
"Where is the thing?"
Old Mi sighed and said, "I originally had the thing with me, ready to bring it out for the transaction, but I encountered a bit of an accident when I left the village…"
Ren Xiaotian said dryly, "The price can be renegotiated, but don't lie to me."
"No, no." Old Mi waved his hands quickly, "It's like this, the village is afraid of accidents, right? The village chief wants to invite you to the village for the transaction. That way, everyone can feel at ease, right?"
Ren Xiaotian was silent for a moment, then suddenly pulled out a revolver from his clothes, pointed it at Old Mi "s forehead, stared into Old Mi "s shocked and panicked eyes, and said in a voice without emotional fluctuations, "Give me the thing. If you don't, you die."
……
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