Chapter 351 - 82: Clue
Chapter 351 - 82: Clue
Weiguang District, Four-sided Corridor Building, the Jibei Dao Central City branch of the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop. Though night had fallen, the entire fifty-second floor was still brightly lit.
The company’s policy research team was analyzing feedback on new medicines collected from various regions.
Every year, the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop released a batch of new medicines onto the market. Besides Dashun Country, its clientele in Jibei Dao primarily consisted of the many island nations across the ocean.
Thanks to their geographical advantage and long-term partnership with the Canglong Company, their rival, Celestial Hundred Herbs, couldn’t compete with them in this region. However, Celestial Hundred Herbs held a firm upper hand in the field of Fighter medicines and had recently been actively seeking a partnership with Canglong Company as well.
This placed immense pressure on the policy research team.
Starting the year before last, the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop had developed a batch of new medicines for Fighters. However, finding Medicine Testers was difficult because both Celestial Hundred Herbs and the foreign mega-corporation, Talide Company, already had very mature products in this field.
Fighters would rather wait for the limited monthly quotas from these two giants than risk their health on new, unproven medicines that could potentially harm them.
Most of the Drug Testers the company managed to find were people who wouldn’t have gone far on the path of a Fighter anyway. They participated in the trials simply to grasp at a sliver of hope.
The ones who could climb to the top were precisely those with exceptional talent. To put it dramatically, this group was almost a different species compared to ordinary Fighters, which led to very poor test results.
Fanqingshan, the head of the policy department, was using his Realm Token to review the reports submitted from below. They were all feedback on the new medicines. Currently, their primary source for test subjects was the Central City Prison.
Another avenue was the non-roster students from the Wuyi Arena Competition. These students were, by tacit agreement among the major corporations, basically test subjects available for the right price. However, they were often loaded with Implants from various companies and had to take large, regular doses of Anti-Differentiation Medicine, which greatly diminished the value of their feedback.
Just then, a company employee hurried over and handed him a document. "Director, here’s a new drug test report. The Drug Tester has been designated Grade A. Please take a look."
Fanqingshan’s expression immediately turned serious. Grade-A Drug Testers were rare, and every single one deserved his attention.
After taking it and looking it over, he found the report to be exceptionally detailed, with reactions filled in for every item. It was clear the subject had been practicing the Breathing Technique the company provided to its testers.
He couldn’t help but nod. ’Regardless of this Drug Tester’s own condition, their attitude is, at the very least, up to standard.’ He despised those who lacked ability but were also unwilling to cooperate seriously.
Hm?
’Consecutive doses?’
As he read on, he grew astonished. To date, not even the most aggressive Medicine Testers had dared to take three doses within ten days.
This was because after two consecutive doses, most of them reported intense physical reactions and abnormal hyperactivity.
For talented Fighters, if their Mutated Organizations didn’t experience significant growth after taking the medicine and only exhibited a state of excitement, it was a form of extreme overexertion. This could cause a lethargic period to set in prematurely, which made them unwilling to continue.
Even less talented Fighters wouldn’t casually gamble with their lives. They would usually wait for a period, letting the medicinal effects subside rather than accumulate, before continuing.
That was why the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop stipulated that Drug Testers only needed to consume all the medicine within three months.
It wasn’t that absolutely no one would do this, but they were a tiny minority—people with little hope, low coverage from their Mutated Organizations, and most of them being very weak. The reference value from such individuals was extremely limited; at most, it only confirmed that the drug wasn’t life-threatening.
But that alone wasn’t enough. A medicine with no value, no matter how low the risk, was still a failure.
This record, however, was incredibly detailed, and more importantly, it provided the continuous reaction data they desperately lacked. It was completely different from the testers who mixed various drugs. It was clear that this person was no ordinary Fighter; their emotional state seemed incredibly stable from beginning to end.
This was exceedingly rare.
He immediately used his Realm Token to contact the person in charge. "Get me the file on this Fighter." He then recited a string of numbers.
For confidentiality reasons, the test reports and the Fighters’ files were kept separate. Only management at the director level was authorized to access them, and only in paper form.
After a five-minute wait, Chen Chuan’s public file was delivered to him by the person in charge.
He looked it over and was even more astonished. ’A Wuyi Academy student? With an over eighty percent chance of reaching the Third Limit? Why would someone like that become a drug tester?’
He read the resume and felt a sense of dawning realization.
This student had once defeated a Third Limit Fighter under the suspected influence of drugs. Furthermore, after joining the Processing Bureau, it was confirmed that he had killed a wanted Third Limit fugitive, also while under the influence of medication.
’What a talent!’
Fanqingshan couldn’t help but marvel. This Fighter undoubtedly possessed a natural talent that surpassed ordinary people.
Some people were simply able to draw out far greater effects from medication than the average person, yet they experienced minimal side effects. Such individuals were exceedingly rare, and this student seemed to be one of them. He was exactly the person Fanqingshan needed.
His heart burned with excitement. He said, "Contact him immediately. Ask if he’s willing to continue taking our medicine consecutively." After a pause, he added, "He can name his terms."
It would be a terrible waste if he stopped now. If he could take all ten doses consecutively and they could obtain a complete, firsthand record, the value would be immense. He would finally have something to report to the head office.
Unfortunately, the agreement stipulated that continuation was up to the Drug Tester’s personal willingness. It would have been easier with a tester who had no background, but for a Wuyi Student and a candidate for the Processing Bureau, they had to follow standard procedure.
In his dorm room, Chen Chuan was training, taking advantage of the medicine’s effects. Suddenly, he received a message from the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop asking if he was willing to continue taking the medicine.
Of course, he was willing, but he didn’t agree immediately. He couldn’t appear too eager. So, he replied that he would consider it and get back to them in a few days.
Two days later, it was time for his scheduled appointment at the Sea Realm Arena. He applied the Treasure Ointment beforehand and headed over. This time, his quota had been increased to over eight hours, so he spent the entire day there.
By the time he was driving back, the sky was completely dark. Due to the Domain interference, the northern stretch of road in Ji Yang District was nearly pitch-black, save for the red lights and searchlights on the watchtowers. Only his headlights illuminated the path ahead.
He turned on the car’s stereo, and rhythmic music immediately filled the air, a welcome boost on the silent road. After driving a bit further and leaving the zone of Domain interference, he received a message on a fringe channel. It reported that another Fighter had been killed, with the prime suspect being the recently wanted Fighter, Wei Wusheng.
Chen Chuan’s gaze sharpened. A while ago, he had been focused on dealing with Zhao Qian. More recently, he had been using the drug trial as an opportunity to cultivate. In the meantime, Wei Wusheng had been striking frequently. Three more Fighters who had been on the cruise ship had died at his hands.
Each time, he eliminated his target in an extremely short amount of time. Furthermore, the man seemed to have changed his methods, becoming almost covert and insidious rather than using his previous forceful and direct style.
One of the Fighters had been riding a Ferris Wheel with his family. When he got off, his skull was found to have been split open, yet no one had noticed anything unusual before. If it weren’t for the analysis of the Power and the angle of the attack confirming it was Wei Wusheng, everyone would have assumed it was someone else.
He couldn’t help but recall what Wei Wusheng had said that day—that his Heart Thought would grant him his reward. Perhaps as the Fighters who had shown up that day were killed off one by one, that reward was beginning to materialize.
As he was pondering this, he noticed an incoming call. Seeing it was from Wubei, he answered immediately. Wubei’s excited voice came through: "Brother Chen, I found some things that might be useful to you."
Chen Chuan’s spirits lifted slightly. "Do I need to come over?"
Wubei said, "No need, I’ll send it to you right now, Brother Chen. Regarding that thing you asked me to look into, I found some fragmented data in the recent passive recordings. I managed to restore some of it and found someone who seems to match the description you gave me, Brother Chen. Hmm, you should be able to get a decent look..."
A restored scene recording appeared on Chen Chuan’s Realm Token. The data was fragmented, with large chunks missing in some places, but the figures within were clearly visible.
It appeared to be in an office, next to a curtain wall, and was from a first-person perspective. This must be Zhao Qian. The other person was a petite young woman, holding a drink. She knelt before Zhao Qian and offered it to him.
In the moment she lifted her head, her face was relatively clear for an instant. He took one look, his eyes flickering. The contours of the young woman’s face bore a faint resemblance to Shen Zheng.
’Could it be her?’
He still remembered Zhao Qian telling him, in a tone of absolute certainty, that he would never find Shen Zheng’s sister. But if she was right by Zhao Qian’s side, he wouldn’t have said that.
"Oh, right," Wubei’s voice came through again. "I almost forgot something else. I found some more deeply hidden stuff. First, a few secret accounts. I checked them out, and only one isn’t anchored by a Biological Domain, so it’s confirmed it won’t be frozen. I’m not sure of the amount yet, I’m trying to crack it now."
Chen Chuan said, "Thank you for your trouble, Brother Wu."
"Hey, it’s nothing. I’m gonna cut the connection for now. There’s still a lot more for me to dig into here. I might find more clues."
Chen Chuan said okay. He glanced at the restored scene again, thought for a moment, and then contacted Lu Fang. "Senior Brother Lu, are you free? Care to grab a drink?"
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