Li Xingyuan - 1

The revived Fuzhen Junming Mining Group provided Xi Chen a projected performance of three and a half tons of extracted material per hour across all three mining zones.

Of course, as the outdated technology was only capable of surface extraction as the group's founders had forgotten to include blasting equipment before their decline, otherwise it wasn't impossible for the rate per hour to triple at the least – if all mines operated synchronously. The barren region containing the mine was overcome by the torrential sea of rising and falling metal pillars, and tore at nearby eardrums with the fierce shrilling of minecarts loaded to their maximum capacity racing along the transport systems.

It seemed that the youth had forgotten to change the purity of the newly implanted minerals and ores in Zone A, hence when he sauntered past the blast doors and witnessed the stones crashing through the storage ducts and into the prepared cavities inlaid with a dense layer of lead, his lips couldn't help but rise into a pained grimace. The clumps of excavated rock were seeded with a sizeable amount of precious ore and mineral, yet were far too varied and sparse for any purity to be assessed. Since the mining region had been supplanted with an overabundant, diverse supply, all Xi Chen could do was wait for the drills and excavators to scrape past the chaotic layer.

"I'll gain proper returns when I obtain deep-mining equipment. Although, having a generic base isn't bad – perhaps I can transmute this with the bowl?"

There wasn't another generic mine that didn't excavate clumps of stone containing over two hundred different ores and minerals… right?

Fortunately, the manufacturing plants remained silent as there wasn't anything to be produced; otherwise, Xi Chen would have been forced to flee from the sheer noise erupting from his surroundings. Although the actual mining process was being conducted a couple tens of kilometers away from his current position, the screeching along the transport lines, the powerful humming of the mineral jig and general-purpose crushing mill was enough to force the youth to sway and clamp both hands over his ears – particularly when three refining and extracting plants were running simultaneously in a single region.

"I'll check on the stockpiles after a few days or weeks. The supply of jade should be enough for me if I decide to tackle the position of a supply unit… although that might have to wait," Xi Chen hissed, and quickly fled until his ears ceased stabbing into his brain from the sheer strength of the churning vibrations rampaging in the plants.

"Taxi… taxi – ah, maybe this one? They do state that they accept calls from rural regions, as long as its within a hundred kilometers from…"

Then, carelessly tossing three hours of agony onto an unsuspecting graduate student who was a part-time taxi driver, Xi Chen returned to the urban nightlife of Suzhou. The youth wandered around the night streets exploding with youthful passion and vigor as he referenced the numerous lines of words scrawling over the phone's display. He ignored the passing flirtatious calls and stares of several drunk women, until his eyes gleamed at the fresh text notification from a certain grumpy old man.

"The law enforcement department processed my requirement so quick? Since I'm obtaining the registration from a backdoor, it shouldn't take long, but to receive the text message when I'm standing just across the police station…" Xi Chen's eyes crossed, and lit a stick of incense in his heart.

Dealing in paperwork with law enforcement in any country was akin to riding on a tiger's back – and a debilitated, drunken tiger that had lost all rational consciousness. The agencies under national endorsement weren't so bad, and were rather swift and efficient in their efforts, but a local police station could somehow manage to lose track of a perfectly audited document even if it was placed on their department head's desk.

"I gave that elderly fellow so many benefits and advantages in this deal… don't disappoint me by peeping from some obscure window!"

Xi Chen placed the phone into his chest pocket and strode through the bulletproof doors of the police station. He immediately avoided an unpleasant collision with the rapid streams of officers scurrying about with papers clasped to their chest and handcuffed criminals dragged from behind, and removed himself to take a seat at the area designated for civilians. The youth glanced at the nearby husband and wife couple sobbing in the corner towards his left then a traumatized man towards his right, and returned to browsing his phone.

The roars of enraged senior police officers and the fearful protests and squeals of arrested civilians blurred into the background, and Xi Chen took advantage of the time to browse through the online feed for Jiangbei's third university. It was nothing different from the usual – rich and poor male students fawning and tripping over the newest campus belle, and the fierce, anonymous complaints against their professors' rigor and harsh punishments.

Some Young Master Sun of Jiangbei had managed to stick himself into a scuffle with a young girl who was once friends with a business campus belle named Han Xi, and involved a pregnancy and possible abortion. Although, the university 'netizens' seemed confused whether it was the friend who was pregnant or Han Xi –

"You are the young man surnamed Xi?"

The youth's brief nighttime daydream was interrupted by a cold female voice, stern and unforgiving. Xi Chen raised his gaze towards a policewoman who had positioned herself just a few meters away from his knees, arms crossed with a disdainful expression plastered on her countenance. When she noticed that the former seemed more interested in what was being displayed on his phone and not her presence, the policewoman's lips tugged into a grim smile.

"Xi Chen, the department will handle your matter in a different location. It'll be wise for you to follow along."

"Why should I follow you to a different location? Old man Liu didn't state anything about this…"

The soft mutter naturally filtered directly into the policewoman's astute hearing, and her blood chilled at the surname Liu as her mind flashed to the memory of the department chair's special request. The glacial glare towards the youth immediately plummeted to murderous intent, and her teeth clamped onto each other into a fierce embrace.

"Then, we shall satisfy this matter here. You can follow me to my office."

Xi Chen frowned at the harsh stare from the policewoman, and stood with a raised eyebrow. The youth followed the latter until they had entered an adjacent office that was clearly marked with a male police officer's identification, and the latter turned to face him with a scowl.

"I don't know how you managed to demand for a firearm through the backdoor, but you better confess now. Otherwise, young man, things are about to become really nasty."

"…what did I do to you?"

Xi Chen leveled an inquisitive glance at the policewoman, and slipped the phone into his pocket as he witnessed a spectacular slurry of frustration and rage morph into hatred. The nonchalant voice of the youth coincided with her interaction with the department chair, and the hatred magnified with each beat of her heart.

"You better confess now, Xi Chen! After I count to three, I will arrest you for disregarding the instructions of a police officer and disobeying the law!" the woman reached for the baton strapped to her belt, and gently patted her palm.

"I, Li Xingyuan, am renowned for interrogating prisoners and extracting information without torture. Get on with it."

She had expected the slightest quiver of fright or fear from the youth's visage, but disappointment reigned when all she was given was a sliver of shock quickly replaced by bemusement. Li Xingyuan tapped the baton's end against the side of the desk as to prod him further, and was dejected when the accursed phone left his pocket, and the dastardly surname was heard once more.

"Senior Liu, I believe you owe me an explanation."

"Ah? This… you are the youth who gave me the Peach Monkey Jade? You managed to dig such heavenly treasure, what a lucky child," the elderly man chuckled and sipped at his tea, winking at his beaming wife.

"So – what do you mean that I owe you an explanation?"

Xi Chen raised an eyebrow at the paling countenance of the policewoman, but paid no heed as he glanced at the ceiling. The youth gauged which response he was to deliver to the blissful elderly lounging in his mansion, then tossed caution to the wind.

"Senior Liu, I believe that in exchange for the Peach Monkey Jade, you would assist in the acquisition of licensure and certification for civilian ownership of small-arms, and the law enforcement in Suzhou would determine the specific caliber. So why is the police officer by the name of Li Xingyuan threatening to arrest and interrogate me if I do not obey her commands?"

"Huh? Who did you say – Li Xingyuan?" there was a brief pause, then the elderly man released a sigh.

"Ah, young man, you should allow me to have a slight conversation with Xiao Xingyuan. It'll be brief."

Xi Chen hesitated, then handed the phone towards the bewildered and cautious policewoman. Li Xingyuan held the phone to her ear and greeted the elderly Liu with a short salute, then presented the youth with an awe-striking view. In his experience of a prior life, he had never witnessed so many expressions manifest on a beautiful woman's countenance.

"F-fine! I will let him receive the licensure and certification. But he can't take the firearm with him out of the station!"

There was a stain of blissful love, followed by the grimace of betrayal. Then, anger, frustration, grief, pain, and guilt hurled themselves into the chaotic mixture to form a pale, deathly gleam that was snow white and pitch black.

"Grandpa Liu, we can't allow a civilian run around with a firearm in these tense circumstances! In a few years – just give us a few years, and we can allow him to apply through the normal process and we can take it from there!"

The policewoman struggled and clutched at her words, and the blood rushed to her cheeks to complete a stricken rose.

"Or we can enroll him into the police force and give it to him through official channels! Why must you do this to me, Grandpa Liu? Can't you have selected someone – he can take the firearm with him, but all ammunition must be provided from Suzhou, and nowhere else. We can issue him a Type 19 that's still left over, or a Type 64 – no, we can't give him a QSW-06! Argh… alright, alright! A QSZ-92 chambered in 9x19 mm – that's the limit that we can offer to civilians not enrolled in any security organization endorsed by the state – will that do?"

He had to admit, the anguished cry at the end was rather satisfying to the ear.