Deep within the rainforest of the Oceanic Country, Jiang Chuan stood before a military factory that rose imposingly amidst the lush greenery, his face etched with the dust of travel.
The entire structure exuded the raw, untamed aura of a steel beast. Its silver-gray exterior walls and towering heights radiated an air of authority from every angle.
Jiang Chuan swallowed hard.
Wow. Just… wow.
This military factory was far larger than he had ever imagined. Just from the outside, it had to cover over a thousand acres!
They had literally carved out a chunk of the rainforest to build this fortress of industry.
“Boss, this is your military factory,” Dwayne Johnson said with great respect.
“Ah… yeah.” Jiang Chuan nodded, then turned his gaze back to the factory.
To be honest, he had never in his life imagined owning a military factory, nor had he ever dreamed his life would take such a dramatic turn.
Looking back on the journey that Dwayne had guided him through, it all felt like some sort of surreal simulation—and it truly was surreal.
After all, he had traveled all the way from Qingcheng in the Kyushu Nation to the heart of the Oceanic Country.
The Oceanic Country, much like Kyushu, was a nation with a long and storied history. It was also a neighbor to Kyushu, situated on a small island just off the coast.
However, the Oceanic Country was tiny in landmass—nowhere near the size of even a major city in Kyushu.
Since they were neighboring nations, their customs and ways of life were largely the same, and the language—Kyushuan—was identical, with no discernible difference.
Under Dwayne’s lead, Jiang Chuan stepped through the gates of the military factory.
No sooner had he entered than he spotted several armed soldiers patrolling the grounds. The moment they caught sight of Jiang Chuan, they came to a halt, snapped to attention, raised their hands in salute, and barked in unison: “General Jiang!”
That single salute sent a pleasant shiver racing down Jiang Chuan’s spine.
After exchanging greetings with the soldiers, he followed Dwayne into the factory’s workshop.
As the workshop doors swung open, the first things that caught his eye were a middle-aged man in glasses and dozens of workers dressed in matching uniforms.
“Greetings, General Jiang!” the middle-aged man bellowed, raising his hand in a crisp salute.
The dozens of workers joined in, their voices ringing out in unison.
Jiang Chuan stopped in his tracks, clasped his hands behind his back, and stood with the poise of a general reviewing his troops. He gave a satisfied nod.
The middle-aged man stepped forward. “General Jiang, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wang Mingyuan, and I am the workshop director here at the factory. I also serve as the technical supervisor, overseeing production and quality inspection.”
“The rest of these folks are our factory workers. Some handle production, others handle inspections, and a few among them also double as weapons testers.”
Jiang Chuan remained silent, taking in the factory before him. A wave of emotion washed over him.
From this moment on, this military factory was his. And just like in the novels he’d read, he was about to become a full-fledged arms dealer!
Just thinking about all those movies where arms dealers rub shoulders with the leaders of major organizations sent a thrill of excitement through him.
“General Jiang, since this is your first time visiting the factory, please allow me to give you a tour and brief you on our current operations,” Wang Mingyuan offered.
Jiang Chuan inclined his head. “That would be perfect. Lead the way.”
With Wang Mingyuan as his guide, Jiang Chuan saved himself a lot of hassle and gained a thorough understanding of the factory’s current scale.
To put it simply, the military factory was divided into three zones. The first zone housed the workshops dedicated to manufacturing basic weaponry like firearms and ammunition.
The second zone was where missile-based military equipment was produced.
And the final zone was reserved for the production of heavy-duty, formula-class combat equipment.
As Jiang Chuan finished his tour of the entire facility, one issue became glaringly obvious.
“I noticed the workshops are practically empty, and it seems the only production lines that are fully operational are those for guns and ammo,” Jiang Chuan observed.
Wang Mingyuan’s face fell into a wry, troubled smile. “That’s right, General Jiang. At present, our factory can only manufacture basic firearms and ammunition. We don’t yet have the production lines for missile systems or formula-class heavy equipment.”
Jiang Chuan nodded in understanding.
That was fine—he could always add those later once he had the funds. And besides, he still had the System. If things got tough, he could just exchange for what he needed. With the System on his side, what was there to fear?
“Also, the reason the factory looks so empty is that we haven’t secured our first order yet, so…” Wang Mingyuan trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.
But Jiang Chuan already had a pretty good idea of the situation.
Without orders, there was no money to fund production, so the workers were all idle for the time being.
In simple terms: they were bleeding money with nothing coming in.
Sure enough, the System had rewarded him with a factory that had production capacity but zero orders on the books.
As for securing orders—well, that was something he’d have to figure out on his own.
Not that he hadn’t expected this. After all, if the System had handed him everything on a silver platter, what would be the point of having him as the boss?
“I see. I’ll handle the order situation. Oh, and from today on, just call me ‘Mr. Jiang,'” he said.
“General Jiang” had a nice ring to it, sure, but it was a bit too flashy for his liking.
His factory hadn’t even reached full scale yet; it was little more than a hollow shell. Calling himself a general at this stage would be nothing short of arrogant.
Besides, once the factory grew, he’d inevitably have to collaborate with Kyushu and other nations. The title “General” just wasn’t appropriate.
Without asking a single question, Wang Mingyuan responded promptly, “Understood, Mr. Jiang.”
——–
Meanwhile, at the Qingcheng Police Department.
Zhou Ran sat at the head of the conference table. Liu Changshan was seated to his side, while Wang Hai, Gu Yuan, and the others occupied the seats across from him.
“What’s the status of the investigation into the Jiang Chuan case?” Zhou Ran asked, his tone stern.
Ever since he’d issued orders the day before and assigned tasks to everyone, half the station had been mobilized.
After a full day of investigation, it was time for them to report their findings.
Seeing that no one else spoke up, Wang Hai took the lead. “Chief Zhou, Gu Yuan and I re-investigated the fraudster Zhang Songyang. We tried using him as a point of contact to reach Jiang Chuan, but… Jiang Chuan completely ignored Zhang Songyang. He didn’t even reply to the messages we sent.”
“So using the fraudster as a lead isn’t going to work?” Zhou Ran’s brow furrowed.
Gu Yuan nodded. “Based on the current situation, Jiang Chuan is clearly aware that we’re after him. He’s lying low for now, but I assure you, Chief Zhou, he won’t stay hidden for long. From my psychological profile of him, he’s likely to surface again soon.”
Zhou Ran gave a thoughtful nod, then turned to Liu Changshan. “Old Liu, how’s the city-wide surveillance review going? Have you spotted any trace of Jiang Chuan?”
This was the key to capturing him. If there was no sign of Jiang Chuan in any of the city’s surveillance footage, things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.
