Chapter 447: Chapter 177: Support
Hearing what Chen Chuan said, Lan Xinnan realized he hadn’t just been making polite conversation before. She relaxed slightly and went on to explain the difficulties they were currently facing in detail.
In truth, the matter wasn’t complicated. The Lower City District had a dense network of tunnels that provided access to nearly every part of the Upper City District.
Moreover, it was home to the largest black market in all of Central City, and the Lower City District had to purchase certain necessities from the Upper City District. Consequently, a great many people in this area were in the logistics business.
Lu Tong Logistics had originally been one of the major teams, but in recent years, it had run into a series of rather serious problems. On one occasion, they even lost an extremely important shipment.
After paying a massive sum in compensation, internal conflicts over profit sharing erupted, which in turn led to the team splintering.
A particularly important team was poached directly by a competitor, Poison Ant Express. To make matters worse, the team’s original supervisor and finance staff disappeared together. The entire logistics organization ground to a halt, and those who remained went their separate ways to find new opportunities.
Lan Xinnan had originally been a security officer. She, along with some others who were unwilling to leave, took over the original business and worked hard to restore some of its operations. Although they were a far cry from what they once were, their past reputation allowed them to keep going in some areas.
However, Poison Ant Express didn’t stop there. They had been continuously using violent means to drive them out and suppress them, with their actions becoming particularly frequent over the last two months. They had suffered a series of attacks.
If their team didn’t have a Third Limit Fighter, Old Bian, who made the other side somewhat wary, and if the team itself hadn’t been composed of numerous security personnel experienced in low-intensity combat, they likely would have collapsed by now.
However, Old Bian couldn’t be counted on either.
This Third Limit Fighter was very greedy, constantly demanding various supplies and money from them, but he never once took the initiative to attack. He would always wait until the enemy was at their door before showing up to "mediate."
This time, however, Old Bian’s demands had exceeded their bottom line, so Lan Xinnan no longer intended to continue working with him.
Chen Chuan considered this for a moment and said, "I have a question. For Lu Tong Logistics to have grown so large, it must have had some powerful backing. Who were your original supporters?"
Lan Xinnan said, "Our original supporter was the Iron Fist Association, but the Iron Fist Association doesn’t exist anymore. I don’t know the specifics, only that when we started having problems at Lu Tong Logistics, they were already too overwhelmed to help. Later, they fell apart even faster than we did.
"And the Iron Fist Association’s supporter was apparently the Jin Yu Company. I’m not certain, I just heard one of the veterans mention it in passing."
Chen Chuan thought for a moment. There were many companies in Central City, and the Processing Bureau was mainly concerned with the medium and large ones. However, he happened to have some recollection of this Jin Yu Company because it was a security firm.
Any company associated with armed forces, regardless of size, was on the Processing Bureau’s list of concerns. And this company also happened to have some ties to Lianwei Zhongyu. It seems they ran into some trouble before the new year and have now been acquired by Lianwei Zhongyu.
That explained it. Many gangs relied on companies for funding and technical support, and businesses in the Lower City District could only grow large by relying on a gang’s power. Once they lost their muscle and their financial backer, they were just meat on the chopping block, waiting for others to come and carve them up.
He said, "I think I have the gist of it. How many Third Limit Fighters does the other side have?"
"Several? No, there’s only one."
Lan Xinnan thought for a moment, then said, "Brother Chen, the resources in the Lower City District are nothing compared to the Upper City District. Most Third Limit Fighters are retained by the big gangs and major teams. If Lu Tong Logistics’ business hadn’t been so large in the past, we probably couldn’t even have hired someone like Old Bian."
She added with a hint of resignation, "That’s why I tolerated Old Bian for so long. Without him, we really couldn’t find anyone else."
Chen Chuan said, "Just one?" He considered it for a moment. "I can solve this problem for you. But have you considered this? Even after it’s solved, as long as you lack powerful backing, this sort of thing will just happen again. If not Poison Ant Express, some other power will set their sights on you."
Lan Xinnan answered frankly, "I have considered that. Brother Chen, if you’re willing, after this is resolved, we’d like to use your name for a while as a deterrent.
"During that time, we will give you a portion of our surplus profits. Although our business isn’t what it used to be, once we get it running again, the resources we can provide won’t be insignificant. We’ll use that time to find a new power to pledge allegiance to, which will stabilize the team."
Chen Chuan nodded slightly. Lan Xinnan’s thinking was clear. She knew what was important and had a plan for what to do afterward. Whether she could actually achieve it was another question, but at least the approach itself was viable.
He said, "I need some information on the Third Limit Fighter behind Poison Ant Express. Oh, and get me a file on Old Bian, too."
He never underestimated an opponent. Getting information in advance made solving problems easier, and he wasn’t averse to taking a path that saved him effort. Besides, the cleaner and more decisive the resolution, the greater its deterrent effect on the outside world.
Hearing this, Lan Xinnan knew he had officially agreed. She asked, "A file on Old Bian... Brother Chen, are you saying he might act against us?"
Chen Chuan looked at her and said, "I don’t know what he’ll choose to do, but we need to be prepared."
In truth, Lan Xinnan had the same concern, but now that she had made her decision, she wouldn’t back down. She had originally intended to warn Chen Chuan herself, but he was already one step ahead, which made him seem very reliable to her.
She said decisively, "Okay! I’ll start gathering it immediately. Brother Chen, if you need anything else..." She tapped her Realm Token and sent Chen Chuan a contact request. "You can just tell me directly."
Chen Chuan accepted the contact request and nodded. "Alright. I’ll contact you if I need anything, Captain Lan."
Lan Xinnan was a woman of decisive action. After settling things with Chen Chuan, she immediately gathered the team’s other leaders.
Once everyone had gathered, she didn’t mention Chen Chuan at first. Instead, she told them about Old Bian’s demand for another twenty-percent cut. Her words caused an uproar, and Xiaoding was the first to jump up and object.
The others chimed in, saying that Old Bian had gone too far this time. The team had already been pushed to its limit; they had conceded as much as they could, and yet he was still not satisfied.
Seeing their indignant reactions, Lan Xinnan finally revealed that she had convinced Chen Chuan to step in.
This news instantly lifted their spirits. Old Cao asked in surprise, "Xiaonan, Brother Chen agreed to step in? You just went and convinced him?"
Lan Xinnan shook her head. "I didn’t convince him. Brother Chen agreed to do us this favor out of consideration for Master and Xiaoke."
"So it was for Mr. Yu’s sake."
It made sense when they thought about it. Why would a Third Limit Fighter from the Upper City District with a proper standing be interested in the little they could offer? He was probably only willing to help this time purely because of a personal connection.
Sister Yun spoke up, "See? I told you so. It’s better to find someone trustworthy. Old Bian is unreliable."
Xiaoding was the most excited. "That’s right! That old bastard Old Bian. I’ve been sick of the sight of his face for a long time. Now that we’ve ditched him, we don’t have to suck up to him anymore!"
Old Shen was in charge of their finances. He didn’t understand combat and knew nothing about the power levels of Fighters, so he couldn’t help but worry. He asked, "Xiaonan, that Brother Chen looks so young. Is he really up to the task?"
It wasn’t just him; Old Cao and Sister Yun also felt uneasy. After all, they knew nothing about Chen Chuan, whereas the Fighter from Poison Ant Express was rumored to be exceptionally fierce. Old Bian had repeatedly stressed how powerful this man was, so over time, they had become psychologically intimidated.
Lan Xinnan, however, was extremely confident in Chen Chuan. After all, she had seen the video of his fight against Wei Wusheng. Though she was only at the Second Limit, as a Fighter, she could recognize the subtleties of skill and had her own internal measure for judging strength.
She said in a very firm tone, "Uncle Shen, Old Cao, Sister Yun, rest assured. Brother Chen will have absolutely no problem. He can definitely handle the man from Poison Ant Express."
"That’s good, that’s good to hear."
Hearing her say this, they felt somewhat more at ease, though a bit of apprehension lingered.
After discussing matters with the others and carefully arranging the subsequent tasks, Lan Xinnan walked alone to an open area some distance from the group and contacted Old Bian.
First, the sound of an old opera played as a waiting tone from the Realm Token. After a short wait, the call connected, and Old Bian’s voice came through. "Xiaonan, what have you all decided? The other side has been in touch with me again. This time is different from before. You’d better think this through."
Lan Xinnan said, "Uncle Bian, we’ve discussed it. This situation might force you into a life-or-death battle with the opposing Fighter, and we would feel terrible about that. So, we’ve decided not to trouble you any further. We’ll handle it ourselves."
"...Xiaonan, if you think another twenty percent is too high, then for old times’ sake, I can see about lowering it a bit..."
But Lan Xinnan said very seriously, "No, we can’t let you take a loss, Uncle Bian. You were right before. If it weren’t for our past connection, you could go anywhere you pleased. There’s no reason to waste your efforts on us juniors.
"Uncle Bian, we’ve truly been a burden on you all this time. We’ve figured it out now. We’ll handle our own problems ourselves, so we won’t trouble you any longer."
"..." There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then the call terminated.
After ending the call, Lan Xinnan turned crisply and walked with determined steps back toward the cluster of lights from the convoy.
On the other end of the Realm Token connection, Uncle Bian sat with a grim expression. He looked like a man in his fifties, but was actually sixty-nine years old. His slightly loose skin still clung to a frame of powerful muscle.
He let out a cold sneer. "Trying to kick me to the curb? It won’t be that easy!"
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