Chapter 1634: Chapter 1936: Overseas Expansion (1)
"A secret base?" Ling Chen’s heart leapt with joy. It seems this trip to the Zhu Family wasn’t in vain, there’s finally some gain. "Family Head, have you investigated that secret base?"
Zhu Qian shook his head and said, "No. You already know about He Honggang’s situation, and whether he established the Dark Pavilion or not, the Zhu Family wants to avoid unnecessary trouble. Moreover, the Dark Pavilion bears no ill will towards the Zhu Family. If you wish to investigate, I can provide the location of the secret base to you, but I must remind you, since the Dark Pavilion inherited the skills of our Zhu Family, they’re definitely not to be trifled with. You’d better be careful."
Ling Chen replied, "Family Head, rest assured, I’m well-aware."
After bidding farewell to the Zhu Family, Ling Chen, accompanied by Zhu Qing, took a car with Chen Junfeng and Ji Gang to Dengzhou City Airport and directly returned to East Sea City.
Sitting in the plane’s first class cabin, Zhu Qing asked, "When do you plan to send people to investigate the location of the Dark Pavilion’s secret base?"
With a smile, Ling Chen replied, "I’m not going to investigate."
"You’re not?" Zhu Qing asked in confusion, "Why, you’ve hardly gotten a clue, are you going to give up?"
"Why should I proactively investigate the Dark Pavilion?" Ling Chen retorted, "You have to know, the enemy of the Dark Pavilion is the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. Recently, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion was attacked, suffering heavy losses, and now everyone suspects it’s the work of the Dark Pavilion. You’ve encountered people from the Dark Pavilion, you should know their strength; even the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion dares to make a move against them, they’re definitely formidable opponents. So, why should we set up a powerful enemy for ourselves?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Qing immediately understood, "You’re thinking of giving this clue to the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and letting them investigate?"
"Of course." Ling Chen nodded, "I imagine the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion would want nothing more than to immediately seek revenge on the Dark Pavilion. We just watch on the sidelines without intervening, what we need to guard against now is the Netherworld Snake." Mentioning the Netherworld Snake made him rub his temples in frustration. Despite finding some documents from the Zhu Family, they were centuries old, uncertain if they can be of use now.
After several hours of flight, the plane finally landed at East Sea International Airport.
Upon returning to the base, Ling Chen skipped resting and went straight to the control room to find Hu Fei who was busy. "Fatty, any progress with the information I sent you a couple of days ago?"
"I sent people to verify a few places, and they’ve all been abandoned or changed beyond recognition; after all, it’s been centuries, those places couldn’t possibly remain unchanged. However, there are two places that seem suspicious, currently under deeper investigation without further news."
"Which two places?" Ling Chen asked.
"Last time, Zhu Qing went to Jin Hai City and found a lot of suspicious places. I compared your data, and indeed, the Netherworld Snake had a secret base in Jin Hai City centuries ago. However, back then, Jin Hai City wasn’t called that name, but the place is the same. Moreover, the location of that secret base coincides with the intel provided by Zhu Qing. I’ve made a preliminary judgment that the Netherworld Snake’s secret bureau in Jin Hai City still exists."
"You mentioned earlier, there are two places under deeper investigation, besides Jin Hai City’s place, which is the other one?"
"The other is the former headquarters of the Netherworld Snake." Hu Fei said with interest, "This place is rather intriguing."
"Intriguing?" Ling Chen asked doubtfully, "What does that mean?"
"I’ve investigated the location of the Netherworld Snake’s headquarters; it’s a very remote place. But over the centuries, with development, it gradually became a national tourist area. In it, there’s a very famous spot called the Stalactite Cave, it’s a naturally-formed landscape with numerous entrances, interconnected like a spider web, sprawling through every corner of the mountain. The Netherworld Snake’s headquarters was built deep within the Stalactite Cave."
"Are there still people at that headquarters now?"
"The team sent to investigate hasn’t reported back yet, but if I were the mind behind the Netherworld Snake, I’d definitely choose that place to re-establish the headquarters of the Netherworld Snake. The reason is simple, the tourist spot has a high visitor flow, receiving thousands every day. If anything happens, they can quickly blend in with the tourists to evacuate. Even if they can’t leave, they can take some tourists hostage. Nobody would dare to do anything against them. What do you think?"
Ling Chen nodded in agreement; Hu Fei’s analysis made a lot of sense. But everything was merely conjecture; the exact situation would have to wait for the front-line intelligence personnel to finish their investigation.
"I’ll go rest first, inform me immediately if there’s any news."
"Okay." Hu Fei responded.
Leaving the control room, Ling Chen returned to his room and lay on the bed, holding his phone and browsing through the contact list. When he saw Nanrong Wanqing’s name, he felt a bit uncomfortable inside. Originally, he got along very well with Nanrong Wanqing, and marriage was just a matter of time. But now, due to Jiang Yue’e’s return, they ended up in their current predicament.
Back at the Nanrong Family at the time, he was momentarily upset and agreed with Jiang Yue’e not to associate with Nanrong Wanqing moving forward. Thinking back now, he actually feels regret; he shouldn’t have said those angry words back then.
Mulling over this, Ling Chen decided to call Nanrong Hao instead. Although he wanted to reach out to Nanrong Wanqing, he worried that Jiang Yue’e might be nearby. The phone connected, and immediately a noisy sound came from the other end as if there were many people.
"Hey! Chen." Hearing Nanrong Hao’s drunken voice, Ling Chen asked, "Where are you drinking, you brat?"
"Company dinner, celebrating my sister’s career reaching new heights."
"Is that so?" Ling Chen asked with a smile, "What’s the good news, tell me?"
"Chen, you don’t know yet, our Hongyu Group has opened its doors to the world, preparing to enter the international stage." Nanrong Hao’s voice carried a hint of excitement.
"You’re planning to develop overseas?" Ling Chen was somewhat surprised. He previously discussed this topic with Nanrong Wanqing, and she mentioned she didn’t have great ambitions; she would be satisfied if she could make Hongyu Group a leading domestic enterprise. Now, Hongyu Group’s intention to expand abroad seemed to deviate from Nanrong Wanqing’s initial plan.
"My sis wasn’t originally inclined, but mom persuaded her. Mom has quite a few acquaintances and connections abroad, providing chances for Hongyu Group to expand. Hongyu Group is already a top-tier domestic enterprise; by stepping out internationally, it could further level up to become a truly global corporation."
"Then let me congratulate you guys first." Ling Chen said, though feeling slightly uneasy inside.
