Encirclement

By the time he reached the Pest Control Bureau, Li Ye immediately knocked on the section chief's office door.

The moment Sun Shun saw him, his whole face broke into a beaming smile.

After Li Ye sat down, he pulled out a cigarette and offered him one. Just as he was about to light it, Sun Shun waved a hand, picked up the lighter, rose to his feet, and lit Li Ye's cigarette first.

Only then did he light his own. He took a satisfied drag, exhaled smoke, and said with a chuckle, "Li Ye, what do you need from me? Let me say this first: promotion isn't possible unless you officially join us. But I can still arrange benefits for you. Did you give away the things sent to your home? It's fine. I can handle something this small."

Over the past few days since joining, Li Ye had handed out a cigarette to everyone he met. That was definitely not something that could be counted in just one or two packs.

As for these specially supplied cigarettes, even he, a section chief, only received one carton around the New Year. The only person who could smoke them without limit was the director. For Li Ye to hand them out so lavishly, they could only have come from the director.

With such an enormous honor bestowed upon him, he, as the section chief, naturally knew better than to be insensitive.

"I have enough for now, Section Chief. I came to ask about something else."

Li Ye smiled. "Do you know the Ren Family?"

Sun Shun's smoking hand paused. Holding the cigarette between his fingers, he flicked ash into the ashtray twice. "Five Flavors Chopsticks?"

No one who became a section chief could possibly be stupid.

Li Ye did not beat around the bush. He used those jade-green chopsticks that never picked up grease even when eating in the cafeteria. Even someone with no eye for valuables could see that the chopsticks were extraordinary, much less Sun Shun, who knew his goods.

The matter of the Five Plagues Ghost had happened here. Anyone with eyes could guess that Li Ye had obtained a Magic Treasure.

For an ordinary person like Li Ye to possess a Magic Treasure, it had naturally been given to him by Director Pan. Those who saw through it pretended not to know, while those who did not know held Director Pan in awe and had no desire to investigate.

"That's right. When I came here, I ran into someone named Ren Xu. He insisted on buying what I had, and he even investigated my family."

Li Ye asked, "What does he do?"

Sun Shun thought for a moment, took another drag, and said, "Just think of him as a child from a wealthy family."

Li Ye was taken aback. "The wealthy among martial artists?"

Sun Shun nodded. "Don't blame our colleagues either. Those rich people have their hands in every pot, and it's normal for them to be on good terms with certain people. Maybe they just wanted to do him a favor. Whether you sell or not is entirely up to you."

Li Ye looked at Sun Shun. "Section Chief, if it were you, could you refuse?"

Sun Shun smiled and shook his head. "My family has neither power nor influence, and I'm only at the Second Dragon Gate. My realm is lower than those first-rank Data Clerks. If the offer was sincere enough, I might sell. But even if I refused, no one would dare say anything."

As he spoke, he leaned back. The Xiezhi emblem above and behind his head became even more prominent.

It did not matter if his martial realm was not high. The force at his back was the strongest martial path of all!

"You don't need to worry either. Whether you sell or not is up to you. In Ningjiang City, no one will dare do anything to you. After all."

He raised the cigarette in his hand and smiled. "These specially supplied cigarettes are rarely seen in Ningjiang."

"I understand, Section Chief. Thank you."

Li Ye thanked him, rose, and left.

Sun Shun watched Li Ye leave with a smile. After the door shut, he flicked away some more ash and clicked his tongue. "They've stretched their hands this far already. Don't do anything stupid, our great director is just annoyed that he has no excuse."

Walking down the corridor, Li Ye swept his gaze over the brightly lit surroundings and gave a cold laugh. "The wealthy Noble Families and powerful clans among martial artists?"

He was not surprised that such people existed. Put plainly, it was not some deeply hidden secret, nor was it anything too mystical.

After he himself stepped onto the martial path and entered the First Dragon Gate, he could already feel that his parents had stood a little straighter lately. Take his classmate Deng Hao, for example. If Deng Hao achieved something in martial arts, coupled with his family background, he would also gain influence.

Li Ye had simply always believed that such people could not affect him, just as ordinary people and the rich basically belonged to two different worlds.

"They're so rich, yet they don't even offer sincere terms when buying something. Typical looking down on people."

Li Ye smiled and shook his head as he headed toward Data Room One.

He had not cared before, and he cared even less now. He had only come to ask so he could understand the situation.

After all, he had only acknowledged a master at noon, and what he was learning was a martial art on the verge of being lost. Pan Zhengyang had a better relationship with his cheap master.

So if he said he would not sell, no one would be able to force him to sell.

That evening, after Li Ye finished dinner in the cafeteria, he finally headed home.

From West City District to East City District, the fastest route was naturally the riverside avenue. It was also the route Li Ye knew best.

He twisted the throttle of his electric scooter to fifty kilometers per hour. The river wind tossed his hair, dispersing some of the oppressive heat.

Once tomorrow came and the rice arrived, he would be able to practice martial arts to his heart's content. And once his appetite "naturally increased," he would be able to eat as much as he pleased.

With two months, even if his progress was slow, he felt he could reach the Three Dragon Gate.

And there was still his final year of high school.

As long as he reached the Seven Dragon Gate and passed General Knowledge, he could get into a top Martial Arts University.

He would not even need to study for General Knowledge. As for his martial arts score, by the time of the martial exam, he might even reach the Nine Dragon Gate!

Just as he was thinking this, his electric scooter rounded a corner and prepared to change routes. At that very moment, beneath a dim yellow streetlamp, a figure lunged out and blocked the scooter.

Screech!

Li Ye reacted swiftly, squeezing the brakes. His strong legs stamped heavily against the ground, scraping out a harsh sound as he forcibly brought the electric scooter to a stop.

"Oww!"

There was clearly still some distance between the electric scooter and the figure, yet a miserable cry rang out. A yellow-haired man threw himself to the ground, clutching his stomach and rolling around.

As the yellow-haired man writhed, he shouted with full force, "He hit someone! He hit someone!"

Li Ye froze.

Was this a scam?

Suddenly, brakes screeched behind him. A van stopped, its doors were flung open, and a whole vanful of people poured out.

There were roughly a dozen of them.

"What happened? Are you hurt?!"

The leader, a Rune Warrior with a black dragon tattoo on his arm, shouted as he strode quickly toward Li Ye.

The people behind him moved quickly as well. They had clearly spread out, as though they intended to surround the yellow-haired man.

Something's wrong!

Li Ye did not even have time to marvel at how so many people had fit inside that van before he twisted the handlebar, preparing to flee.

"You can't leave!"

The fallen yellow-haired man suddenly pounced forward, forcibly bracing himself against the electric scooter even as its wheels began turning. At the same time, both hands reached toward Li Ye.

"You hit someone and think you can leave? No way!"

In that instant, Li Ye understood. He immediately abandoned the electric scooter and sprang into the air. The moment he landed, he broke into a sprint.

The yellow-haired man's outstretched arms were powerful. Though he was not tall, the muscles he displayed were terrifying, and his skin was as rough as sandpaper.

And he could easily hold back Li Ye's starting electric scooter.

There was someone similar in Li Ye's class.

He practiced body-hardening arts!

It was confirmed. These guys had come for him!

"Chase!"

Sure enough, when they saw Li Ye run, the Rune Warrior barked an order. The people around him moved in unison, all chasing after him, their running accompanied by fierce gusts of wind.

Some of them could actually keep close behind Li Ye in speed!

He was not slow!

His leg techniques were already exceptional. His hundred-meter burst was comparable to Bolt from his previous life. Anyone who could keep up with him was definitely no ordinary person.

A dozen people, all trained at martial arts schools?

Especially that leading Rune Warrior. He seemed to be even faster than Li Ye, and when he ran, he looked as though he were floating.

"You can't get away!"

The Rune Warrior shouted, kicked his legs upward, and seemed to step on air itself. He skimmed low over the ground to the nearby greenery, stepped on the plants above it, and accelerated even more.

Lightness Skill!

Damn it, he was a martial artist too!