Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1363 Anque Brings the Morning Light

On October 7th, the second day after Chen Chuan entered Zhongjing, Committee Member Xiao arrived at Ziying Pavilion early in the morning to pick him up.

This time, the Ministry of National Security dispatched special vehicles and a large number of security troops, and implemented traffic control on the roads in advance to ensure that there would be no more traffic jams.

When some officials, social celebrities, or even executives of large companies from central Beijing pass through this section of the road, the boundary markers will display official announcements informing them who is in the car and what their rank is.

They then learned that the person riding in the convoy ahead was the newly appointed Director of the Ministry of State Security.

Chen Chuan's article supporting the skyline caused a great stir locally, and his resume was even published. However, the media in Zhongjing were more restrained, focusing only on the matter itself without providing a detailed introduction to Chen Chuan.

Therefore, many lower- and middle-level officials and people in Zhongjing had not yet immediately connected the person with the article, and at this moment they couldn't help but inquire about his background and origins.

When doing business in Zhongjing, the most important thing to figure out is who is in which circle and who is working for whom, let alone someone so young who is a high-ranking official in a powerful department like the Ministry of National Security.

Thanks to the clear roads, the security convoy arrived at the Ministry of National Security in less than half an hour.

The Ministry of National Security is located at the western end of the State Council Building. From a distance, the entire administrative building looks like a gray-white dam rising from the ground with a slight tilt.

It has three ramps extending outwards for nearly a kilometer on each side. In Da Shun, these are called the "Wing Protection Ramps," meaning "protecting the eastern lands." This can be described as an extremely imposing and practical military structure.

The walkway directly in front of the building is wide and flat, with straight lines and a row of flags flying high at the entrance. Armed guards and vehicles patrol back and forth from time to time, creating an extremely solemn and orderly atmosphere.

The special car drove across the square and turned into the main entrance driveway, with fully armed guards on both sides raising their hands in salute.

Chen Chuan glanced at the fortress-like building opposite the square. Its top was slightly raised, and its exterior was a combination of glass curtain walls and thick stone slabs, reflecting the light and shadows of the sky and clouds.

The government military building is separated from the Ministry of Security by only a large plaza.

The car drove slowly all the way and finally stopped in front of the main building. A guard immediately ran up and opened the car door.

After Chen Chuan got out of the car, he saw a huge relief monument directly opposite him, with eight large characters on it: "Secure the country and establish life, safeguard the nation and its people." The characters were bold and imposing.

Committee Member Xiao got out of the car and said, "These eight characters were written by Tan Guangyan, the second Chief of the General Political Department, who was also the first Minister of our Security Affairs Department."

Chen Chuan stared at the handwriting and could tell that this person had the foundation of a fighter, but had not been able to break through the limit. Even if he really reached that level, he probably wouldn't be able to reach that position.

"Steward, shall we go in?"

Chen Chuan nodded and walked inside with him.

The wide staircase in front of the building has thirty-six steps, with two platforms in the middle. As two people climb the steps, they can see a guard in a neat uniform standing with a gun every few steps on both sides.

Once you get to the top, there's the main entrance and two access channels for staff on each side. Security personnel are stationed at each point, and you can see a lot of people coming and going on both sides.

Everyone was spaced apart from each other, and no one spoke or whispered; the order was impeccable.

Accompanied by Committee Member Xiao, and under the respectful gazes of those on both sides, Chen Chuan entered the main hall of the building through the wide main entrance.

As soon as I entered, a deep but serious voice rang in my ears:

"Officer Chen, hello. I am 'Shenyu,' an active consciousness entity of the Ministry of National Security. Welcome to the Ministry of National Security. Please proceed to the main control station to complete your inauguration procedures."

Committee Member Xiao stepped aside and gestured forward.

Chen Chuan arrived at the center of the main hall, where a field screen was displayed, along with a metal square column with an inclined cross-section.

Following the instructions of "Shen Yu", he took out his identity card and placed it on the square pillar.

He then saw messages flashing before his eyes, including one that read "in office" after his title as a committee member.

"Officer Chen, your physical name card is being produced. According to the regulations of the Affairs Department, you are temporarily granted Level 2 security access and Level 2 active consciousness usage privileges. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me."

Chen Chuan retrieved the name card representing himself as the head of the Jibei Provincial Security Bureau, but after the information was updated, it could only serve as a souvenir now.

When he returned, Commissioner Xiao smiled and said, "Congratulations, Secretary Chen."

Chen Chuan said, "Thank you, Committee Member Xiao, for your help along the way."

Committee Member Xiao bowed slightly and said, "Not at all, I didn't do anything. I've been in the administrative department for many years and know a bit about what's going on in the department. If Secretary Chen has anything he wants to know, I can offer some advice."

Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Then I'll thank Committee Member Xiao in advance."

Committee Member Xiao shook hands with him again. "I have some matters to attend to, Mr. Chen. I'll take my leave now."

"Alright, Mr. Xiao, please make yourself at home."

After parting ways with him, Chen Chuan followed Shen Yu's directions and headed to the office that the department had assigned to him.

During the journey, he looked at the responsibilities of the Security Affairs Department, which was mainly responsible for coordinating domestic and international security affairs.

It oversaw or directly managed more than a dozen important institutions, including the State Administration for Handling Cases, the State Garrison Command, the Central Capital Inspection Office, the Active Consciousness Organization, and the Resonance Management Office. It can be considered one of the most powerful departments in the Da Shun regime.

The Affairs Department is one of the three major violent departments, alongside the Da Shun Military Headquarters and the National Defense Headquarters. While the Wu Yi General Academy is nominally managed by both the Defense Headquarters and the Affairs Department, it is actually relatively independent and even holds a more privileged position. In particular, the principal of the Wu Yi General Academy is usually a member of the Supreme Security Advisory Council.

Including him, the Affairs Department currently has eight committee members in office, but only three of them hold real power. Of the previous seven, four were fighters: three from Changsheng Temple and one from Dongxuan Temple. If he is added now, there are two fighters from Dongxuan Temple.

And this is just the committee member; the entire Security Affairs Department has far more high-ranking fighters than that.

He glanced at the list and saw that all the martial artists in the department who had reached the level of the Longevity Temple generally had extremely important political and military tasks, the most important of which were to assist in guarding the Central Capital and to participate in guarding the four surrounding central cities.

There is also a Dongxuan Temple fighter outside, whose job description is to deal with unexpected and sudden situations, and who is only responsible to the minister.

Putting aside their military prowess, these people, while enjoying all the benefits they deserve, do not hold high official positions. This is because those who can hold higher positions in the ministry usually need to have sufficient merit.

While viewing this information, Shenyu reminded him that entering the private elevator ahead would take him directly to his office.

He snapped out of his reverie and stepped into the elevator.

Meanwhile, in the minister's office, Minister He Shugang was on the phone.

Commissioner Xiao was waiting outside. After the call inside ended, his secretary opened the door for him. He went in and bowed slightly. "Minister, Secretary Chen has completed the formalities for assuming office. Minister, would you like to meet with him?"

He Shugang glanced at his watch and said, "I'll be gone for today. I have an important meeting in twenty minutes. Oh, by the way..."

He gestured to a document on the corner of the table, "Give this document to Manager Chen and ask for his opinion."

"Okay, Minister."

Committee Member Xiao stepped forward and took it. After looking at the number on it, his heart skipped a beat.

He was very familiar with the affairs of this department, and he knew from the number that this was the Maoshan Strange Tales.

This is an old, strange tale. It's not that no one has tried to solve it in the past, but rather that it keeps recurring, becoming more troublesome and difficult to deal with each time it appears.

He couldn't help but wonder if the minister had entrusted this matter to Chen Chuan so that Chen Chuan could resolve it.

This is really putting people in a difficult position.

And the minister's attitude seems...

As he changed his mind, he stepped out of the minister's office and walked down the corridor.

"Committee Member Xiao, please wait a moment."

Committee Member Xiao paused, turned around, and saw that it was Vice Minister Ren's confidential secretary. He smiled and said, "Secretary Pei? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Secretary Pei smiled and said, "Minister Ren has some questions for you. Does Committee Member Xiao have the time?"

"There's time, there's time."

With a forced smile, Committee Member Xiao entered the Vice Minister's office at Secretary Pei's direction. A man with a square face and a dignified air sat there reviewing documents.

After he entered, the man looked up, his sharp gaze sweeping over the briefcase tucked under his arm. He closed his pen, leaned back in his chair, and said, "What's that? Let me see it."

"Oh, okay," Committee Member Xiao thought to himself, but kept a smile on his face as he placed the file bag on the table.

"This is what the minister asked me to give to the newly appointed clerk, Mr. Chen. Perhaps there's some arrangement involved?"

Deputy Minister Ren picked up the file and looked at the number, saying, "Case number 445, Maoshan Anomaly. I remember this is a case that the Secret Sect Review Bureau asked our affairs department to assist in handling. It should have been handled in September. Why is it only being released now?"

Committee member Xiao smiled apologetically and said, "This matter has always been coordinated and arranged by the minister. Perhaps the minister has some considerations."

Deputy Minister Ren neither confirmed nor denied it, but asked, "Did you communicate with Secretary Chen beforehand?"

"Minister Ren, I haven't had a chance yet."

Deputy Minister Ren said, "I'll handle the communication. You can leave the case file here and go back first." With that, he put the case file aside.

"This……"

When Committee Member Xiao saw that he was no longer paying attention to him, he hesitated for a moment, but had no choice but to turn around and leave.

After leaving the house, he immediately reported the matter to He Shugang, who simply said "I understand" and ended the call.

After Committee Member Xiao left, Vice Minister Ren finished reviewing another document. He leaned back in his chair, considered for a moment, and then tapped the boundary marker.

"Officer Chen, this is Ren Xinshan. If you have time, please come to my office."

……

……

(End of this chapter)