Chapter 13: Conditions
Wang Wen had thought of countless ways to reunite with the old man.
That was probably his greatest thought after his reincarnation.
He would not repeat his regrets from his past life.
Wang Wen rubbed his eyes and smiled at the old man in the chair.
The dean said, "Chief Gu, that is Wang Wen, a student from the scientific decryption department. His grades are stable, he's friendly, and he has a good relationship with his classmates."
His words were interrupted by the old man.
The old man looked at Wang Wen carefully and asked, "Have we met before?"
Wang Wen shook his head as images from his past flashed through his mind.
Even in his previous life, the two would only meet a few years later. Naturally, they had never seen each other during that period in the academy.
"That's strange."
The old man said, with a strange expression, "You look emotional. It's not something that people who meet for the first time would have. I am an old man, so I believe that I am not mistaken. Tell me. Am I more attractive than Miss Tong that you were reluctant to move your eyes from me from the moment you entered the door?"
Tong Xiaolei's face was expressionless, but her ears were slightly red. She would not have noticed it if the old man did not say anything about it. She also thought Wang Wen had behaved a little differently from the previous day.
However, she thought it was a normal reaction for an ordinary person when they saw the head of the First Consortium's intelligence department.
Similarly, Wang Wen's answer also confirmed her speculation.
Wang Wen pursed his lips and let out a short breath. He smiled and said, "I'm flattered to be able to see the head of the First Consortium's intelligence department with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed."
"That's a nice thing to say."
The old man pretended to be unhappy and changed the topic. "You dare to ask for a million points from our intelligence department for a piece of information for the 69th floor? You must have a big appetite."
Wang Wen was too familiar with the old man's expression.
Was he angry, or was he pretending to be angry? After quarreling for so many years, he knew the old man's expression as soon as he looked at him.
Wang Wen could hardly control his emotions when he saw the expression he had missed for more than 700 days, even if it was just a habit that the other party had inadvertently revealed.
In the dean's office.
Everyone noticed how quiet the scene had become.
Wang Wen was supposed to speak after the old man finished speaking.
Who knew he had seemingly forgotten to speak?
He just stood there, giggling foolishly while his eyes reddened.
That occurrence surprised the old man, who had been through hundreds of battles.
According to his subordinates' reports, the young man should have been a brave and cautious person. He wanted to see if he could deal with the intelligence department.
In the end, he only said a sentence that was not harsh, so why did he cry?
The old man was confused, but Tong Xiaolei snapped to her senses.
She had suspected that the intelligence provided by the other party was obtained at the expense of the lives of his loved ones.
He must have encountered financial difficulties before enduring the agony of selling it.
The old man's careless words may have struck a chord with the young man.
The more Tong Xiaolei thought about it, the more certain she was. She looked up and realized that Wang Wen was heartbroken, yet he still forced a smile to avoid being rude.
She lowered her head and said softly to the old man, "Chief Gu, it looks like the information must be very precious to him. He might have gotten it from a lost loved one. He was not even willing to enter the tower to test it."
The old man looked solemn. "You're saying that he's not a tower climber?"
Tong Xiaolei nodded. "We've investigated it. He's never entered the World Tower."
The wrinkles on the old man's face relaxed. Then, he did something that shocked everyone else.
He waved at Wang Wen and said kindly, "Child, come here."
The rest of the group was stunned.
Wang Wen was also stunned.
'What happened?'
'Why would the head of the intelligence department show such obvious kindness to an ordinary person like me?'
'Is this a trap, or is my identity exposed?'
'No! Impossible! No one knew about my reincarnation!'
Then what was going on?
Wang Wen moved toward the old man, trying to figure out what was happening.
Based on his understanding of the old man in his previous life, he had countless ruthless methods to deal with his enemies.
If that was a plan, then...
Then what was the plan?
Intelligence?
Before Wang Wen could figure out what was going on, the old man held his hand.
He looked at Wang Wen kindly while patting the back of his hand. He comforted him softly. "It must have been hard on you."
Those words finally broke through Wang Wen's defenses. They pierced into his heart as he stared at the old man, who was just inches away from him.
His entire body trembled, and bean-sized tears slid down his face.
His lips trembled. He had to use all of his rationality from saying, "I've missed you so much, Old Man."
His expression showed his true feelings, and the old man came to the same conclusion as Tong Xiaolei.
Some people could act, but that kind of deep-rooted emotion was not something that could be faked.
He had worked in intelligence for decades, and it would not escape his eyes if it were faked.
That was confirmed.
The old man looked at Wang Wen with an increasingly kind gaze. He thought that Wang Wen's fate was the same as his. His loved ones had all died in the World Tower.
They were pitiful in that broken world.
If that were the case, it would be easier to talk to the child.
The old man patted Wang Wen's hand again and said, "Don't worry. We'll pay you for the information. You can contact us if you encounter any difficulties in the future."
Wang Wen looked at the old man's face and took a deep breath. He wiped his face and smiled as he shook his head. "I've told them. The information is free if Chief Gu comes for it. You don't have to pay me anything. I've already spent some of the deposit, and it'll be too troublesome to transfer it back to you. Perhaps I can add some other information to offset the deposit."
The old man was stunned. "You have other information?"
Wang Wen nodded and reluctantly withdrew his hand from the old man's. He turned around to ask the dead for a pen and some paper. Then, he wrote a few lines on the paper and put the pen on the table.
He handed the paper to the old man.
The old man took the paper and looked at it with narrowed eyes.
The more he looked at it, the more serious his expression became.
Then, he handed the paper to the subordinate behind him.
Tong Xiaolei, Luo Shan, and the others leaned in to look at it.
The more they looked, the more serious their expressions became.
Tong Xiaolei cast a glance, and a few members of the middle team rushed to the table, removing the paper and pen that Wang Wen had used earlier. They even used some kind of device to scan the table.
They did not speak to the dean.
Of course, the dean did not seem to have any objections.
The old man was silent for a moment, then raised his head and said to Wang Wen, "Your information is worth far more than just a deposit."
Wang Wen nodded. "I know. I have conditions. "
The old man frowned, but he understood. He leaned back on the chair and said, "Alright, tell me your conditions. "
Wang Wen looked at the group of people from the intelligence department. He said, "My condition is that the intelligence department must allow me to meet with Chief Gu at least once a week. We can talk, chat, and I'll stay for half a day. Any official matters must be postponed during that time unless it is urgent. No one can disturb us."
Everyone was shocked to hear that.
Their mouths were wide open.
Wang Wen shrugged. "I've already given you the complete information. If you disagree, I can't do anything about it."