Chapter 17: Strangers
"Did you hire those hooligans?" Wang Wen's expression turned cold.
It struck him as a little strange. The way those people attacked did not appear to be a joke between students.
Therefore, he never suspected they were students in the academy.
It looked like it was Yu Zhi who hired them.
That girl was too excessive and did not know the gravity of the situation!
"Don't be angry. I'm sorry." Yu Zhi carefully explained, "That person said that he liked me. I was in a bad mood then, so I casually told him about you. He said that he wanted to help me vent my anger. I thought it was just a—"
"You can go now." Wang Wen turned his head and said indifferently, "I'll stay far away from you in the future. I definitely won't make you angry again."
Yu Zhi was so anxious that her voice sounded like she was crying. "I didn't do it on purpose. Don't be like that. I will scold them—"
"Just leave." Wang Wen sounded indifferent. It was almost emotionless. It was as if he was talking to a stranger.
Yu Zhi cried as she walked away.
She seemed to feel as if she had lost something when she stepped out of the ward door.
In the end, she saw Wang Wen's unmistakable disappointment.
'What a dreadful student!'
'You were the one who chased me!'
'Why would you be disappointed?'
'What right do you have to be disappointed in me?'
Yu Zhi comforted herself.
However, the tears did not stop.
The once-proud princess was crying like a child who had lost her candy and no one wanted her anymore.
Back at the academy.
The boy smiled and rubbed his hands together as he approached Yu Zhi.
Yu Zhi Li ignored him and walked away.
The boy chased after her and said, with a bitter face, "Are you still unhappy?"
Yu Zhi was furious. "Who did you hire? Did you want to kill them? Do you know that Wang Wen and the other boy almost died?"
The boy was very helpless. "A friend helped me with that. Maybe my friend was too concerned about our relationship, so he found someone shady. I can't do anything if they hit him too hard."
"Forget it." Yu Zhi recalled the disappointed look in Wang Wen's eyes. She lowered her eyes and said, "Your friend was too scary. Stay away from me. I'm afraid of you."
The boy reached out to pull her, but Yu Zhi avoided him.
The boy was heartbroken when he saw his beloved girl walk away. "Yu Zhi, do I really have no chance at all?" he exclaimed.
There was no response.
Yu Zhi's figure disappeared from his sight. It was as if she were dealing with a stranger.
After an entire day.
Wang Wen spent the entire day in the hospital sleeping.
After he was discharged from the hospital, he returned to the academy to have a meal with the skinny boy. He went to the dean's office to report his well-being and to thank the dean.
Then, he left the academy.
He took the pass from the intelligence department and walked through the teleportation gate to the First Consortium building's lobby.
The First Consortium was worthy of its name.
There was even a reception desk in the lobby.
Furthermore, the young woman who welcomed him was beautiful.
She looked graceful, confident, and sweet in a sky-blue uniform and flawless makeup.
Wang Wen walked forward, took out his pass, and registered his name.
The young lady gave him a sidelong glance before dialing the phone. Then she motioned to the electric vehicle at her side and told the driver to go to the intelligence department.
Wang Wen got into the vehicle.
The small car sped on the clean and tidy marble floor.
It passed through the hall, bypassed an indoor football field, passed through an artificial forest, and crossed a lake.
Finally, the car drove into an elevator at the end of the passage.
Ding!
The elevator went up to the second floor.
The driver adjusted his collar and gloves before the alloy door opened.
Finally, he shed his sleepy appearance and appeared to be fully awake.
Wang Wen, who was sitting in the back row, noticed that the driver appeared to be facing a formidable foe.
He raised his left eyebrow.
He could not help but grab the handrail in the car.
A few minutes later.
The driver was ready.
He put on a bulletproof vest and helmet.
He started the car and drove Wang Wen through the streets.
They went up in the sky and down on the ground.
They had to deal with fire, mud, water, and shelter.
They did their best to avoid stray bullets and flying debris in the haze.
They arrived safely at the intelligence department's gate on the second floor after two hours.
Tong Xiaolei, the intelligence department's middle team leader, stood by the door with a smile and waited.
"Mr. Seller, it has been a tough journey." She stretched out her hand from afar.
Wang Wen got out of the car and shook her hand. He nodded and smiled. "It had indeed been a little hard."
The two of them walked together.
Wang Wen turned around to see the car returning to the road, with only a slim chance of survival. "Why were there so many traps outside?" he could not help but wonder.
When he first joined the First Consortium in his previous life, there were not many things outside of the intelligence department.
That experience was relatively new.
It was not very safe after all.
He was not invincible. If he had to go through that every time he went to the intelligence department, it would be difficult to guarantee that he could pass through safely every time.
However, Tong Xiaolei smiled and said indifferently, "Those were just failures. They will be cleaned up in a few days."
Wang Wen thought of the future First Consortium's building, which had the Death of Intruders trap.
He finally nodded in realization.
It turned out that the intelligence department had developed the world-famous mechanism array in the building.
They even used their own floor as a laboratory at first. They deserved to be the department on which the First Consortium relied the most.
Wang Wen silently gave the intelligence department a thumbs up in his mind.
He followed Tong Xiaolei through the various sub-groups of the intelligence department's working areas.
Suddenly, he saw a familiar face.
It was someone familiar!
The leader of the upper group!
In his previous life, he could have been considered Wang Wen's only disciple.
However, at the time, he was still dressed in the uniform of a regular member. He was sitting quietly at his desk, listening to the seniors in the same group brag about various exciting stories from the tower.
Occasionally, he would even pour a cup of coffee for the seniors who were tired of bragging.
Wang Wen smiled and brushed past his disciple, who was busy pouring coffee. He did not say anything, as if he was a stranger.
They entered Chief Gu's office.
"Sit." The old man was reading documents with his glasses on. He did not raise his head when he spoke to Wang Wen.
After Tong Xiaolei led the way, she turned around and left.
She had no intention of staying behind to serve them.
Wang Wen did not sit down. He walked around the room as if he was familiar with the place.
From time to time, he would flip through the books on the shelves.
He would play with a few oddly-shaped models of mechanisms.
"There must be a limit to your impoliteness," the old man said in a dignified voice. "Those are deadly mechanisms that were meticulously crafted. You won't be able to go to the hospital in time if you get hit by one of them!"
Wang Wen pursed his lips and silently imitated the old man's words. He quietly reassembled the machine that had been routinely dismantled.
The old man put down the pen and took off his glasses. He asked, with concern, "How's your recovery?"
Wang Wen nodded. "I have no complaints about the intelligence department's arrangement with the hospital. "The mattress was comfortable. It's soft and has support. It's very similar to the famous brand in the history books."
The old man laughed. "Did you try to sleep?"
"Of course. It's a game with thousands of points a day. Wouldn't it be a waste not to try it out?" Wang Wen smiled and said, "I suggest you sleep when you have time."
The old man paused for a moment, then smiled faintly and shook his head. "Forget it. My body is very good. There's no need to sleep in a hospital bed. "
Wang Wen glanced at the old man without batting an eyelid. He nodded with a smile and did not continue the topic. Instead, he said, "I'm here to discuss cooperation with the intelligence department."
"Don't talk about cooperation at such a young age. You don't know the First Consortium at all," the old man warned him in a moderate tone.
"Okay." Wang Wen nodded. "Let me put it another way. I'm here to discuss with the respected First Consortium's intelligence department ideas for the next 20 years. Firstly, the elite team's training plan that's based on ten billion points. Secondly, the training method for the tower's higher levels. And third is the plan for excavating and searching for materials within the 600 floors of the World Tower. To be exact, there are two options available."
The old man's dentures almost fell into the cup.