Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1365 A Startling Rain Enters the Deep Mountains

The next day, Chen Chuan decided to first find out about the situation in Maoshan.

Because there might be more complicated circumstances behind this matter, he didn't want to make a big fuss about it right away.

In addition, since Maoshan might be unfavorable to ordinary people, he did not bring the Resonators and security personnel assigned to him by Ren Xinshan. Instead, he contacted Zhan Jiyue and a driver familiar with the Maoshan area, and also brought Chaoming along.

Maoshan is located at the southern end of Zhongjing (the capital of the Central Capital), and together with more than ten other culturally significant mountains, it forms a vast mountainous area. In the past, this area served as the southern barrier of Zhongjing, with only a few established mountain paths and passes leading to the outside world.

When the old dynasty was overthrown, the martial arts masters of both sides fought a battle here, damaging many parts of the mountain. So they simply abandoned the pass and opened up several wide roads, and these famous mountains were no longer connected to each other.

At the same time, a central city was built on the south side of the mountain to serve as a protector of the south, and also to share the pressure of the eternal rift from Chiqiu when necessary.

After the problem occurred, the main transportation route through Maoshan was blocked, so people traveling by land had to find a detour.

The driver focused intently on driving ahead. As a dedicated driver for the administrative department, due to the special nature of his position, he had a special implant. Unless his superiors asked or called him, he would always block out conversations between superiors during the journey.

After the vehicles left the city center, a vast expanse of natural scenery appeared outside. The industrial and main agricultural areas of Zhongjing were concentrated on the east and west sides, while the main military garrison was located in the north.

The area to the south still retains the scenery from before the old era, and is not much different from what it was more than a hundred years ago.

Chen Chuan and Zhan Jiyue were discussing the situation at the Pure Faction headquarters on the way. When they realized they had left the city, he asked some sensitive questions.

"Mr. Zhan, does our Pure Faction have its own intelligence department in Zhongjing?"

Mr. Zhan said, "We do have some, but it's not very mature. It's just a few members collecting information, so it's not something we can talk about. If we need some intelligence, we usually get it through a secret department."

Chen Chuan shook his head.

If it's an external mission, the covert departments can cooperate. But the current situation is mainly internal, and there will definitely be confrontations between various factions. Lacking firsthand information will slow down the reaction, putting them at a disadvantage.

However, he also understood that the Pure Faction's main development direction was military force, and resources were tilted towards this area first, inevitably leaving other places weak.

To prepare for the potentially complicated situation ahead, he will try to propose increasing investment in this area, at least by adding more manpower. If that doesn't work, he will try to find people to form a team.

“Members…”

Zhan Jiyue glanced at the driver and used her mental power to shield the surrounding area.

“Last night after I returned to headquarters, I originally wanted to report your situation to the president, but the president has been busy lately and has been in meetings, so I could not meet with him. Therefore, I only reported to Vice President Zhu. Vice President Zhu asked me to pass on a message to you.”

Chen Chuan showed a look of concern.

Zhan Jiyue said seriously, "Regarding the current discussions on the Skyline Plan, we are trying to secure more votes from the Privy Council."

However, besides the members from the Central Capital, the Privy Council consists mostly of representatives from local areas. Compared to them, our strength is weak and our situation is not optimistic. Therefore, the Privy Council is very likely to reject the proposal for full-scale expansion.

Chen Chuan was also aware of this. If the Privy Council rejected a bill, the Executive Government could bypass the Privy Council and force its way through, but it rarely did so.

Because of the separate governance of each central city, if you do not go through the decrees of the Central Council, the local areas can also refuse to cooperate. This will only cause political division and damage the political reputation of some people in the Executive Government.

"If the government still wants to push forward, it will need to wait for the opinion of the Supreme Security Advisory Group. The group's attitude is crucial; if they agree, we can continue to move forward."

After the New Year, there will be one reserve supplementary position on the advisory board, and all the major factions are vying for it, with one nomination slot available within each faction.

Zhan Jiyue looked at Chen Chuan and said, "The faction's plan is to support you, Councilor Chen, to join the advisory group."

Actually, Perry already had a recommender, but Perry thought you were the most suitable, so that other person has now withdrawn.

Chen Chuan remained expressionless. Zhao Qilan had said something similar to him before, so he had expected this.

The Supreme Security Advisory Council generally does not interfere in specific political affairs; it only intervenes when there are disagreements on major political decisions.

However, once the advisory group makes a decision and it is approved by the government, the decision will not be overturned for ten or even twenty years unless there are special circumstances.

Let alone ten or twenty years, a major collision could happen in just one more year. If we miss this window of opportunity, we may never have another chance.

Zhan Jiyue said, "We have already contacted the implantation faction and persuaded them to give up and fully support you. We are still in negotiations."

"And another group, the naturalistic faction, we're also negotiating with them, trying to gain their support."

Chen Chuan was slightly surprised, "Is there any possibility of success for the Natural Faction?"

"It's still quite possible. It's related to your pinball game, Councilor Chen. We've already found several key members of the Natural Faction, and they're all very interested in this game. One of them is a hardcore fan."

They might abandon their original factional choice and support us instead. If that happens, we'll have the support of both factions, greatly increasing our chances of victory.

Chen Chuan thought about it and realized that this kind of thing might seem unbelievable in other places, but it was very much in line with the style of the Tianxing faction.

Because as long as they are happy, all conditions are negotiable, and they do not have a fixed stance.

But if they can do it, other schools of thought can too, so it's impossible to be certain until the very end.

Just then, the sky outside suddenly turned gloomy, and then a torrential downpour began. "Huh, why is it raining?" the driver exclaimed in surprise. "The weather forecast said there wouldn't be any rain today."

Chen Chuan looked out the car window and saw that in just a short while, everything outside had turned into a white expanse.

He checked the boundary marker and found that the field signal had suddenly become extremely weak. He asked the driver, "Assistant Lai, have we entered the Maoshan area?"

Upon hearing the keyword, the driver unblocked the message and immediately replied, "Not yet."

He looked outside, seemingly checking for road signs, and then said, "It's at least another half hour's drive, no doubt about it."

With the shield removed, the driver seemed to open up, saying, "Officer, the rain is too heavy, and the visibility is low. It's not suitable to go into the mountains. I remember this place..."

He looked outside again and said, "This is it. Go down this side road to the west, and there's a Hai Family Restaurant. Their braised chicken is incredibly fragrant, and their homemade sausages are also very good. The most special thing is their spicy soup. Drinking a bowl of it on a rainy day is so comforting."

It's almost lunchtime, stess, how about we stop over there for a bit and wait for the rain to let up before continuing?"

Zhan Jiyue said, "What do you say, sir?"

Chen Chuan glanced outside, stared for a moment, and then nodded: "Okay."

The driver said okay, and the vehicle drove forward for about three or four minutes before turning onto a side road. A few minutes later, a two-story building came into view, with two middle-aged men and women busy inside. It looked like a husband-and-wife shop, and there was also a dark-skinned young man doing odd jobs.

A cement road was paved in front of the store, and a simple open space served as a parking lot.

The three got out of the car and entered the store. The middle-aged woman at the door wiped her hands with her scarf and greeted them, "How many guests are there?"

"Three people." With that, the driver went up to talk to her and ordered several of the restaurant's signature dishes.

Chen Chuan looked outside and asked the middle-aged man, "Boss, is this rain common?"

"It's not common, I haven't seen it in years. Sigh, such heavy rain, if it continues for a day or two, it could flood my vegetable garden."

"How's business here?"

"Business wasn't very good before, but then the road ahead was blocked, so many customers passed through here, and business has improved a lot since then."

Chen Chuan nodded and asked, "This place is closest to Hai Village. Are you from Hai Village, boss?"

"You know about Hai Village?" The owner looked surprised. "You're from out of town, right? Yes, my wife and I are from Hai Village, and our whole family shares the surname Hai."

Chen Chuan glanced at the photo hanging on the wall and saw a boy who looked like a middle school student. He asked, "Is the boss's child studying in the city?"

"Yes, he came to help out during the summer vacation, but he's back to school now. The child is quite promising, studying at the agricultural technology college in Zhongjing. He won't have to worry about farming in the future."

Chen Chuan glanced at the photos again and saw one with several cable cars leading into the mountains. He asked, "Boss, is this the mountain behind your shop? Where do those cable cars lead to?"

"There? Two years... three years, yes, three years ago, they developed some kind of hot spring amusement park there, but it was abandoned after only two years. What a waste of money."

Chen Chuan hummed in agreement, then asked, "Boss, do you know anything about what's happening in Maoshan?"

Upon hearing this, the boss's face showed a hint of surprise, and he hesitated for a moment. "I've heard some of it. But we're just doing our business. Maoshan is far from here, and we can't really control it."

"Yeah, as long as they don't come and cause trouble for us, that's fine," the middle-aged woman who was slicing sausages chimed in.

Chen Chuan nodded without asking any further questions. Soon, the restaurant brought out all the dishes, and after tasting them, he found them to be quite good.

After they finished eating, the owner brewed three cups of digestive tea for the three of them.

The driver looked outside and complained, "I don't know when this rain will stop; the weather forecast is unreliable."

Chen Chuan came out and looked around, then said, "This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon, let's not wait any longer, let's go."

Zhan Jiyue nodded. This little bit of rain was nothing to them; they could just brave the rain to go up the mountain. So the three of them got back into the car, turned onto the main road, and continued driving towards Maoshan.

About ten minutes later, the driver said, somewhat puzzled, "That's strange. There's no one on the road. There used to be a police patrol team blocking the road here. Maybe they all left after the rain?"

Chen Chuan looked up and said, "Stop the car!"

The driver reacted quickly, immediately stepping on the brakes and stopping the vehicle, which then lurched forward.

He glanced ahead and his face turned deathly pale, for there was a gaping crevice in front of him, and beyond that was a sheer cliff with a huge drop.

Chen Chuan and Zhan Jiyue got out of the car. Zhan Jiyue just frowned when she saw them. As fighters, even if the car fell, it wouldn't hurt them.

He was puzzled. This road looked extremely remote. They had clearly just taken the main road, so how did they manage to get around here?

……

……

(End of this chapter)