Withdrawal Period (Part 2)

"Done!"

Once the paperwork was complete, Susan waved her hand, telling Zhang Yingying to get lost and stop interfering with her overtime work.

Zhang Yingying shamelessly refused to leave. "Wait, I want to see who'll be involved in the actual evaluation."

"What do you care about that for? Doesn't your agency only start throwing its weight around at the Awakening Ritual?"

Within the Professional Association, newcomers received three stages of "guidance": the membership evaluation, the Awakening Ritual, and career designation. Of these, the membership evaluation was the most perfunctory. To truly influence newcomers and form cliques, they had to wait until the latter two stages.

Zhang Yingying answered with a grin, "We think highly of this newcomer."

"You say that every time."

Susan frowned. "Yingying, is it really that interesting, always scheming over newcomers? And they're all non-combat personnel. Their awakenings may be easier, and your Martial Emperor does indeed specialize in this. Over the years, she's supported quite a few people and built up a massive fortune. But in our circle, this is what comes first."

A thick fist lightly struck the sensor pad with a dull thud.

"Great wealth attracts thieves, and tall trees catch the wind. The richer you get, the more people will have their eyes on you. Look at this—seventy percent of Youlan Agency's people are non-combat personnel. How are you going to guarantee their safety? You should know that, inside and outside the Association, not everyone wants to chat, joke around, and do business with you."

Zhang Yingying raised her brows. "Hmph, those jealous bastards. They don't stop to think that it's only been a few years since they started calling her Martial Consort and then Your Majesty... Ha, dear Susan, I know you mean well."

As she spoke, she smiled again and moved to embrace Susan's plump face and plant a fragrant kiss on it.

Susan shoved her away irritably. "Are you pretending to be stupid, or are you actually stupid? I remember you used to have plenty of your own opinions. So how did you turn into your Majesty's yes-woman over the last two years? I remember it clearly—during two consecutive Association rank assessments, you never moved up at all. Has your 'White Rainbow' gone dull?"

Seeing that Susan was genuinely angry, Zhang Yingying's smile faded somewhat. She shrugged.

"I just agree with what Boss says. Even if someone possesses an iron fist capable of smashing the world apart, it serves no purpose in the continued existence of society. The moment he smashes the world, he also erases his own essence. What rules society, in the end, is still the resources and production that sustain its existence—abstractly speaking, the economy and its various advanced forms. Applying one's abilities there is far more efficient."

Susan rolled her eyes. "I think the Martial Emperor has brainwashed you. A sufficiently hard fist can also force others into submission and obtain everything."

Zhang Yingying crossed her arms over her chest. "We can achieve that more easily, and do it more perfectly."

Susan slammed another fist onto the sensor pad. "The one thing you can't do is turn those things into fists! Fists completely under your own control! Then others can simply force you into submission and obtain everything even more easily!"

"Who says?"

"Facts will prove everything!"

Puffy pig eyes and almond-shaped eyes faced off, neither willing to yield. Only when messages popped up on both their wristbands at the same time did they both snort and lower their heads.

A priority notification flashed across the screen:

"An emergency meeting?"

"All Awakened currently in Xia City are required to attend? No virtual participation of any kind?"

"Feels like a trap."

"Screw you. But it is a bad sign."

"I think it'll be good if even fifty percent show up."

"At most fifty percent."

In just a few sentences, Zhang Yingying and Susan reached a consensus again, then pressed confirm at the same time.

Susan shook her head, no longer bothering with the work she had only half finished. She heaved her large, fat body up and prepared to shut down and leave.

"Hey, hey, hey, I still need to see the reply!"

"See my ass! That kid probably forgot. Come on, come on, I'm hitching a ride in your car."

"He was obviously in such a hurry... Forget it, meeting first! But let's make this clear: if you crush my car, you'll have to play Wilderness with me for at least ten days and nights!"

"I'll crush you for ten days and nights!"

Laughing and joking, the two walked away, leaving their minor dispute behind in the empty research institute.

As she started the sports car, Zhang Yingying was still considering whether to call Ronan. But on second thought, that kid was sensitive and suspicious; pressing him too hard would only backfire. She temporarily put the matter aside.

The sports car drove out through the institute gates just as it passed a mighty, luxurious Titan vehicle.

Titan was one of the world's premier rugged vehicle lines, and its top-tier Wrath of the Sky model was practically a hovering tank, imposing and majestic.

At that moment, Lian Yu sat alone in the spacious back seat. Even with the armrests and footrests all raised, it still felt empty—just like the inexplicable unease in her heart.

Why had she agreed to ride back to school in Li Xuecheng's car? Her situation now was completely different from what she had imagined.

Li Xuecheng had abandoned his usual clingy manner. He sat by himself in the front seat and had not spoken to her at all along the way. Instead, he made several phone calls in succession, and she had no idea what he was busy with.

Lian Yu had an ominous feeling, but she did not want to dwell on it. She could only force herself to stay calm and take out her makeup to touch up her face.

Just as she was feeling dazed, a voice suddenly slipped into her ears. "I haven't seen the school locker rooms in a long time, especially the men's."

Caught off guard by those words, Lian Yu's hand trembled, and her compact mirror fell to the floor by her feet. She bent down to pick it up, but at that moment, the broad front seat turned around. The usually thin Li Xuecheng sat there, and at first glance, he looked like an immature boy.

Lian Yu forced a smile and reached for the compact mirror, but Li Xuecheng also bent down. As if he were helping, he instead grabbed Lian Yu's hand.

"Jie Yu, I'm sorry. I disappointed you today."

Disappointed my ass! What right do you have to say that?

Li Xuecheng's unusually gentle voice did not stir the slightest resonance in Lian Yu. Instead, it made every hair on her body stand on end. Thinking that she had actually been secretly lusted after by someone like him, she nearly slapped him across the face.

But with just one struggle, she saw Li Xuecheng's gloomy, bluish face. It was as though icy water had been poured over her head, instantly extinguishing the false heat that had just risen in her. She could only speak as gently as possible.

"Xuecheng, calm down first..."

"I'm very calm. On the way here, I prepared a gift for you. Though it isn't exactly pleasant to look at..."

As he spoke, the projector cast an image of a bustling place onto the blank space to their left. Just as Li Xuecheng had said earlier, it was a school locker room, with young students constantly passing through.

Lian Yu noticed that the projection was displayed from a First Perspective. Like some immersive game, the character being controlled even deliberately showed off the "props" in his hand.

A stun gun. A needleless syringe.

And directly ahead of the character, a vaguely familiar figure stood before a locker, changing clothes.

That was... Ronan.

Lian Yu's voice trembled despite herself. "What are you trying to do?"

Li Xuecheng lightly kneaded the bones in Lian Yu's palm and chuckled under his breath. "I heard that among our lot, he's the only one whose urine test came back clean, pure as a White Lotus. The brothers probably won't be convinced by that result."

Lian Yu couldn't help raising her voice. "The police have already closed the case. What's the point of cornering him now?"

Li Xuecheng looked astonished. "Didn't they say drugs have a withdrawal period? What does quitting and relapsing count as... Come on, let's play together:

"Let's go!"