Order Society (Part 2)

"Gear?"

"Yes, the name's strange, right? But I can't think of a more fitting description for the moment." Xie Junping sounded like an enthusiastic salesman, though the results were mediocre at best.

Ronan lightly pressed a hand to his forehead. He had made similar gestures so often lately that they were practically becoming a habit, and they kept his attention from focusing too sharply.

As they spoke, the two rounded a natural wall of forest and soon came upon the front of the building.

Just as he had glimpsed before, the building's outer walls were a rusty red, a color unlike anything in the surrounding natural environment. It resembled corroded metal, tinged with paint. Yet the main structure was blanketed by sprawling vines and weeds from the jungle. With the daylight in the forest already dimming, its overall layout was even harder to make out.

Worried that its appearance would leave Ronan with a bad impression, Xie Junping hurriedly added, "It hasn't been maintained much these past two years, so the surroundings are a little messy. But the inside will definitely surprise you."

Ronan neither agreed nor disagreed. He said nothing, wanting to see what exactly Xie Junping was up to.

The two followed a narrow path choked with wild grass and turned toward the building's main entrance. There had probably once been a small plaza here, but with so few people tending it, the jungle had retaken and occupied it. If the main doors had not been shut tight, the vines spreading through the wetlands could have reached straight into the main hall.

Now, the entire building was tightly surrounded by jungle. The small plaza offered the best view in the area, yet even from here, it was impossible to see the building in its entirety.

Only then did Ronan realize, "There's no one here?"

"There were still people here last semester. Now it's just an empty shell."

Xie Junping used his wristband to access the Smart Brain's permissions. At once, the building's metal front doors rose, and the hall within automatically lit up.

Xie Junping led Ronan inside and explained, "This place currently belongs to the Order Club. It's an old, established club that used to be very active. I even heard it was founded before the school itself. At its peak, it attracted sponsorship from more than ten Big Moneybags on the Fortune 500 level. It was insanely awesome. But having too many Big Moneybags was also trouble. Especially after several generations of older members graduated, the younger ones relied on their respective backers and fought like mad. A perfectly good club was turned into a battlefield, and the grudges became hopelessly tangled. Then there were two major incidents in '90 and '93, both extremely serious. The school barred them from recruiting new members, and that was enough to make the whole thing collapse."

The two entered the empty hall. There was no neat, square layout here. Spiral staircases, cylindrical elevators, and circular corridors carved up the hall while hinting at spaces extending even farther beyond.

Xie Junping shrugged. "The main structural theme inside this building is circles. That's probably why it's called Gear. I heard that the fifteen main rooms and halls inside, including a huge atrium running through every floor, are all circular. It's circular to a ridiculous degree. You might feel a little dizzy when you first come in, but you'll get used to it."

Ronan did not feel uncomfortable at all. If anything, he was somewhat curious.

Xie Junping continued, "The club has really reached the end of its road in this generation. Actually, its right to recruit new members was supposed to be restored this semester. But those idiots just had to court disaster. They ran into financial problems again last semester, and all the Big Moneybags pulled out. Their funding stream was completely cut off. The old members withdrew one after another. The few who didn't are all connected to the case and are still under investigation. Once their guilt is confirmed, the club will automatically dissolve."

At this point, Xie Junping let out a fake sigh. "It hasn't even dissolved yet, and people outside are already fighting tooth and nail over it."

Ronan was a little surprised. "Is this place that sought-after?"

"Of course! The school's clubs have had their eyes on North Shore for ages, especially Gear. It covers half a hectare, putting it among the largest club and research institute facilities. Back in the day, it was the flashiest building on North Shore, and over the years, those Big Moneybags have put plenty of things into it. More importantly, this is the only place on North Shore where you can dig deep. Among all the research institute and club buildings on North Shore, only this one has enough underground space. Nothing else can compare on that point! Those people are throwing money at each other now. They're just short of tearing each other apart with their bare hands..."

Xie Junping was talking animatedly, but Ronan had no interest in this kind of gossip whatsoever. His face remained blank. Xie Junping could not help feeling the intense frustration of casting flirtatious glances at a blind man, and could only give him a direct hint.

"Nan Di, don't you want to know who'll take it over in the end?"

Ronan glanced at him. "Hasn't the result not come out yet?"

"There are only two left: the Construction Club and the Mystic Studies Society. They're taking turns raising their bids, and it'll come down to who can overpower the other. The result should be out in the next couple of days... I think the Mystic Studies Society has a much better chance!"

"The Mystic Studies Society?" Hearing the name of the elite club he had missed out on, Ronan naturally paid closer attention.

A strange smile appeared on Xie Junping's face. "The Mystic Studies Society is really going all out to get this place. They've already promised to take over all the Order Club's debts and personnel... Heh heh, they don't seem to realize that even if everything goes smoothly, the procedures won't be finished until next semester. And if no one keeps looking after this dump, it'll turn into ancient ruins before long. By then, it might not be worth that price anymore. Don't you think so, Nan Di?"

What kind of logic was that...

Ronan swept his gaze across the hall and confirmed that there was definitely an automated cleaning system here, perhaps even intelligent machinery. There was almost no dust within sight. With maintenance at this level, let alone another six months, nothing would happen even after another ten years.

But Xie Junping was saying this for an entirely different purpose.

Ronan more or less understood.

Having brought the conversation this far, Xie Junping finally laid his intentions completely bare. "Nan Di, look. To protect the club's assets to the greatest extent possible, someone has to maintain this building and keep it basically operational. But the Order Club's resources and connections are all things of the past. Other than a mountain of debt, it has nothing. To do this, the Student Union would have to spend money, and even conservatively, it would cost at least a hundred thousand a year. That's all pure loss.

"If, at a time like this, there were someone willing to join this already fallen club, spend their precious personal time maintaining it for free, yet gain no club activities or networking opportunities from it... oh my, that would be such a huge sacrifice! Nan Di, people like that are hard to find. Your Brother has been so anxious over this the past few days that my hair's practically turned white. Think you could help me out here...?"

Ronan watched Xie Junping put on his earnest performance and was momentarily speechless. But he had also completely figured out his intentions—this was probably a roundabout way to achieve his goal.

According to Xie Junping's plan, Ronan would first join the Order Club, which was already on the verge of collapse, and become an official member. Then he would endure for half a semester. When the club was subsequently absorbed, he would become an inseparable "extra" and enter the Mystic Studies Society—something they had already promised.

It seemed like a good plan. Of course, it also required a high-ranking Student Union official like Xie Junping to intervene. Only then could they complete the procedures and force a new student into a club that was on the brink of collapse and had no organizational capacity at all.

However, the Mystic Studies Society was backed by Big Moneybags and was also a circle of rich heirs. Would they really acknowledge Xie Junping's crude maneuver?

At least for now, Xie Junping was very confident. Smiling, he pushed Ronan toward the cylindrical elevator.

"Don't worry, don't worry. I know people over there well. According to people in their inner circle, they're sparing no expense for this acquisition. I already put in a word before, and one or two people are nothing... Nan Di, I'm not trying to be overly sentimental. If I hadn't been muddleheaded yesterday and made you miss the exam, why would we have to go around in circles like this? Ever since Yan Hong's reputation was ruined and his research team disbanded, this damned place hasn't had a good day. They say we're taking advantage of them, but I say we're the ones cursed by bad luck!"

At the sound of that name, Ronan jolted to a halt and whirled around. "Who did you say?"