pjbooks Chapter 94 Who's inside?
Chapter 94 Who's inside?
Jiang Chen slept soundly that night.
He didn't dream of the sword fights in the cultivation world, nor of the empty throne in the Apostle Hall, nor of the misty rain in a Jiangnan town a thousand years ago and the woman who called him "Achen." He only dreamed of pure, deep sleep, devoid of any content, as if he had laid out all the weariness accumulated over a thousand years on this creaking single bed, letting it melt away little by little in the early autumn night of Jiangzhou.
When he woke up, sunlight was already streaming through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin, golden dapple on the old floor. Sparrows chirped in the crooked locust tree outside the window, and the shouts of scrap collectors drifted downstairs, their tricycle bells jingling all the way.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes, staring at the crack on the ceiling that stretched from the corner of the wall to near the light fixture. This crack was from the summer he was seven years old. That year, the thunderstorms were exceptionally heavy, and rainwater seeped down from the roof, leaving a water stain on the ceiling. The stain dried, but the crack remained forever. He stared at it for a moment, then sat up and reached out to pull back the curtains.
The sunlight was blinding. Downstairs by the flowerbed, the old lady who walked her Teddy every day was squatting down, putting a leash on her dog. In the direction of the community entrance, there seemed to be several white vans parked there, with some kind of logo printed on them, but it was obscured by the branches of the locust trees.
Jiang Chen yawned and slipped on his slippers as he walked out of the room.
In the kitchen, Jiang Xueqin was already busy at the stove. Golden bubbles danced in the oil, the hum of the soy milk maker mingled with the roar of the range hood, filling the kitchen with a warm, unique aroma of fried dough. Jiang Tianyi sat at the dining table, remote control in hand; the television was on, the volume turned down low.
"Awake?" Jiang Xueqin didn't even turn her head. She took a crispy fried dough stick from the oil pan and placed it on the draining rack next to her. "Wash your face and brush your teeth, eat it while it's hot."
Jiang Chen responded and went into the bathroom. The boy in the mirror looked about seventeen or eighteen, his hair a little messy, with a red mark from a pillow on his left cheek. He splashed cold water on his face, dried it with a towel, and then sat down at the dining table. The fried dough sticks were crispy, the soy milk was slightly sweet, and the pickled radishes by Jiang Xueqin were crisp and crunchy with every bite. Everything was exactly the same as it had been over the past ten years.
But Jiang Tianyi's expression told Jiang Chen that today was destined to be no ordinary day.
"There are reporters everywhere at the entrance of the community." Jiang Tianyi put down the remote control, picked up his soy milk and took a sip. His tone was as calm as if he were talking about how the price of cabbage at the market had gone up again today. "There are at least forty or fifty people. There are also several cars parked across the street with those big antennas on their roofs. They look like they're doing live broadcasts."
Jiang Xueqin poked her head out of the kitchen, her apron covered in flour: "Can't they just shut up? They were livestreaming so late yesterday, and now they're blocking the door first thing this morning?"
"Stop it?" Jiang Tianyi chuckled, a rare occurrence, a soft laugh tinged with bittersweetness. "Yesterday in the Apostle Hall he admitted to being a cultivator, achieving Immortal Emperor status in a thousand years. Do you think those reporters will stop now?"
Jiang Xueqin didn't say anything more, but simply placed the freshly fried dough sticks heavily on the plate, as if she was sulking with someone.
Jiang Chen took a bite of the fried dough stick; the crispy dough cracked between his teeth, and the aroma of oil exploded in his mouth. He chewed a few times, swallowed, and then said, "It's okay, the headquarters will handle it."
As soon as the words were spoken, a commotion broke out outside the window. Some people were shouting, "Please cooperate with our work," some were arguing, "We have freedom of the press," and others were reading something through a megaphone. The sound came through four floors and the closed windows, muffled and indistinct, and only fragments could be heard—"Awakened Affairs Bureau," "Forced Clearance," "Temporary Control."
Jiang Chen walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked down.
Three black sedans appeared at the entrance of the residential area. They had no markings, but the first two digits of their license plates made Jiang Chen raise an eyebrow. Those were special license plate numbers reserved for the Special Administration Bureau; Su Ze had used one of these cars when he picked him up in Jiangzhou to go to the capital last time.
A dozen or so staff members in dark gray uniforms were setting up a cordon at the entrance of the residential compound. Their movements were practiced and efficient, clearly indicating that this was not their first time handling such a situation. Outside the cordon, a large group of reporters were negotiating with the staff. Some were holding microphones, some were carrying cameras, and others were broadcasting live on their phones. Their expressions shifted from excitement to annoyance and then to helplessness.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the crowd outside the cordon began to disperse.
"By special order from the Dragon Kingdom Awakened Affairs Management Bureau, this area has been designated as a temporary control zone. No interviews or filming of any kind are permitted without authorization. Your cooperation is appreciated."
This statement was recorded on another reporter's phone and uploaded online, where it was forwarded hundreds of thousands of times within minutes, accompanied by a wide variety of comments. Some applauded, saying that these reporters had been buzzing around like flies, bothering Chen Ge for so long, and should have been cleared out long ago; others questioned the boundaries of the State Administration of Press and Publication's power, saying that even special figures cannot arbitrarily restrict press freedom; still others posted a screenshot of a reporter's stunned expression during the clearing, captioned, "Reporter: My month-long exclusive story is gone just like that?"
Regardless of the online uproar, the entrance to the residential compound had indeed quieted down. Inside the cordon, only a dozen or so staff members and two middle-aged men in black suits remained. One of them was looking down at his phone, while the other was talking to the property manager, who nodded repeatedly, his expression a mixture of tension and excitement, probably because he had never seen anything like it before.
Jiang Chen lowered the curtains and returned to the dining table to continue eating breakfast. The fried dough sticks were a little cold, but the soy milk was still hot.
The phone on the table vibrated simultaneously. The screen lit up; it was a message from Su Ze.
"Jiang Chen, Director Chu wants you to come to the Jiangzhou branch this morning. He says he wants to discuss the cultivation system in detail."
After reading the message, Jiang Chen picked up his soy milk, drank the last drop, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and stood up. "Dad, Mom, I'm going out for a bit."
Jiang Xueqin turned around, still holding a spatula in her hand, a piece of egg pancake batter still clinging to it. "Where are you going?" Her voice held a hint of nervousness, her hand unconsciously tightening its grip on the spatula handle.
Jiang Chen put down the tissue and went to the entryway to change his shoes. "I'm going to see Director Su. There's something I need to discuss."
Jiang Xueqin stared at him for a moment, as if confirming the truth of his words. Then she nodded, turned around, and said something to the stove that made Jiang Chen pause at the doorway for a second.
"Are you coming back for lunch?"
Jiang Chen nodded, opened the door, and went down the stairs.
He walked quickly, but his steps were steady, each step making a slight creak on the stair treads, just as he had done every time he left the building over the past decade. As he stepped out of the building, he saw the property manager still talking to the two men in black suits.
One of the men in the suit saw Jiang Chen, immediately straightened up, and bowed slightly in his direction, his movements restrained and respectful, clearly showing he had received specialized training. Jiang Chen nodded to him in response, then walked out of the residential complex without looking back.
It was indeed much quieter outside the residential area. Most of the reporters outside the police tape had dispersed, leaving only a few persistent ones still waiting in the distance. They immediately raised their cameras when they saw Jiang Chen emerge, but were stopped by staff. Jiang Chen ignored them and walked straight to a black sedan parked by the roadside. The car still had no markings, but a person he recognized was sitting in the back seat by the window.
Su Ze opened the car door and personally came out to greet him. He wasn't wearing a Zhongshan suit today, but a more formal dark gray suit. His hair was still meticulously combed into a three-seven part, but the bluish shadows under his eyes indicated that the director of the Jiangzhou branch had clearly not slept well last night.
"Jiang Chen, you've worked hard." Su Ze reached out and shook hands with Jiang Chen, then personally opened the car door.
The secretary, Su Ze, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was a young woman wearing round-framed glasses. She had been glancing at the rearview mirror ever since Jiang Chen got in the car. Her fingers were gripping the folder so tightly that her knuckles turned white, but she tried her best to maintain a professional and calm expression.
Jiang Chen looked at the back of her head and suddenly remembered that this was his second visit to the Jiangzhou branch of the Public Security Bureau during this trip to Jiangzhou. The first time was shortly after Awakening Day, when he was the world's first person without abilities, and Su Ze personally came to pick him up at the entrance of his residential compound. At that time, the secretary's eyes were filled with only pity and curiosity. Now, the pity was gone, leaving only pure awe.
The car drove out of the street in front of the residential area and onto the main road. The morning rush hour traffic in Jiangzhou was already picking up, with buses, private cars, and electric bikes forming long lines at the traffic lights. Su Ze sat next to Jiang Chen without saying a word, simply taking a tablet from his briefcase, pulling up several documents, and placing them on his lap.
Jiang Chen glanced at it and saw the eye-catching words on the first page of the document: Feasibility Analysis Report on the Immortal Cultivation System - Fourteenth Edition.
"This was produced by the General Administration's Research Center working through the night," Su Ze said. "From the time you admitted to cultivating immortality in the Apostle Hall yesterday until now, less than 24 hours have passed, and they have already revised it more than a dozen times."
Jiang Chen didn't ask about the report's contents; he simply leaned back in his seat, watching the street scenes rushing past the car window. Passing Jiangzhou College, he saw a huge red banner hanging at the school gate. The banner read, "Warmest congratulations to our senior high school student Jiang Chen for successfully challenging the Twelfth Apostle's Hall," with a smaller line below: "Jiangzhou College is proud of you." The banner fluttered in the morning breeze. A number of students and teachers had gathered at the school gate; some were taking pictures of the banner with their phones, while others were speaking into the camera, presumably conducting some kind of interview.
"The school principal called me," Su Ze said, following his gaze. "He said he'd like to invite you back to give a presentation."
"I declined," Jiang Chen said.
"I've already turned it down for you." Su Ze chuckled, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "You're the focus of the entire world right now. Director Chu's suggestion is that you keep a low profile for a while and wait until the public outcry cools down a bit. Of course, the General Administration won't interfere with what you want to do. We're just making a suggestion."
Jiang Chen remained silent. The car drove into the courtyard of the Jiangzhou branch. Though called a branch, it was actually a five-story gray building, unassuming in appearance, but the dense runes covering the walls and the two A-level Awakened guards at the entrance clearly indicated its location. Jiang Chen noticed that there were significantly more cars parked in the courtyard today than last time.
The most conspicuous vehicle was a dark green military off-road vehicle with the emblem of the Awakened Affairs Administration printed on its side.
"Who's inside?" Jiang Chen asked.
Su Ze put away the tablet and opened the car door. "You'll see when you get in."