Jiang Chuan carried a large stack of books from his office to the classroom. Seeing the children listening attentively to Old Jack's lesson, he didn't disturb them. Instead, he left the classroom and went to Edmund's office. He handed Edmund the books he'd written. "These are the books I've put together. From now on, the children's lessons should follow them. This is the language arts curriculum, twelve books in total, one per semester. There are two semesters each year, and the children will graduate after six years."
After flipping through the books, Edmund said, "President, it's just Jack and me teaching the children on the island right now. We're seriously short-staffed."
Jiang Chuan nodded. "How many children on the island are receiving an education?"
Edmund took out a small notebook. "President, there are currently one hundred and twenty children attending classes."
Jiang Chuan smiled. "That's easy to solve. Divide the children into two classes and have them attend in shifts. Old Jack can teach one class in the morning, and you can teach the other in the afternoon. You won't interfere with each other, and you can arrange the curriculum however you see fit."
After considering Jiang Chuan's suggestion, Edmund clapped his hands. "President, that'll work. I'll talk it over with Old Jack after class."
Jiang Chuan waved a hand. "You can work out the details yourselves. I'll be off."
There was no need to worry about the children's studies now, and construction on the island was running smoothly. Everything was proceeding according to plan. After leaving the island's affairs in Laurie's hands, Jiang Chuan decided to approach Sarah as a bounty hunter. The World Rune was extremely important to him. He couldn't afford any mistakes!
"From the game's animations, it looks like Resolve, Inspiration, Sorcery, Domination, and Precision each have only one. But the game also has the concept of Keystone Runes, and the Precision tree alone has four. Or are the World Runes the embodiment of Runeterra's laws? There's still a lot to explore."
Jiang Chuan returned to his office, deep in thought, and called Laurie over. "I'm going away on business, and I'll be gone from the island for a long time. I've already told you the details and made all the other arrangements. As for the Dark Sea Throne, I'll be taking them with me on the mission, so there'll be a gap in the island's security. Have a few trusted people fill in. If anything unexpected happens, send someone to tell the Proprietress at The Tavern."
Laurie answered solemnly, "Yes, President!"
Jiang Chuan packed a few things. "After I leave, no one is allowed into my office. I'll come back once a month."
Once he'd finished giving instructions, Jiang Chuan went to Old Jack's place and made a few simple dishes to share for lunch.
"I won't be on the island for the next few months, maybe longer. I'll only come back once a month."
Old Jack took a bite of meat. "What are you going to do this time? Have you gotten into another feud with a gang?"
Jiang Chuan smiled. "I'm going out to work as a bounty hunter."
Old Jack said mildly, "Just be careful."
Jiang Chuan scooped up some food from his plate. "We should be able to build a steamship in the second half of the year. Then you can go to Demacia to see your daughter. I have a project with the Crownguard Family in Demacia, so you won't be any worse off there than you are here. You might even be better off."
Old Jack finished his meal, wiped his mouth, and lit a cigar. "Be careful, no matter what. I don't believe you're just going off to work as a bounty hunter."
Jiang Chuan wiped the grease from his mouth. "I'm off."
How could he get close to Sarah and become her partner? It was simple: take on bounties with her. The sooner he got to know Sarah, the sooner he could learn where the World Rune was. He'd already come up with a whole series of plans for this...
Sarah was currently dealing with the Slut Ripper. All Jiang Chuan had to do was find the Slut Ripper's lair first, kill her, and quietly wait for Sarah to arrive. As for what came after that, he'd leave it to fate.
Jiang Chuan recalled the official backstory. The Slut Ripper's lair was inside a section of Sea Monster carcass at the Slaughter Docks. That narrowed down the search area. The Slut Ripper was a ruthless killer, so he couldn't let his guard down. But he wondered if she'd be afraid of a Void creature.
Jiang Chuan traveled light, carrying only a few silver coins. He strolled over to the bounty board. Sarah had already taken most of the postings, and the ones left were small fry not worth bothering with.
Jiang Chuan smiled wryly. "Sarah really doesn't leave anyone else a chance."
After making a round of the area, Jiang Chuan arrived at the Slaughter Docks.
The stench of blood at the Slaughter Docks was as strong as ever. Sea Monster and fish carcasses lay everywhere. Jiang Chuan searched slowly until he spotted a section of Sea Monster carcass that was abnormally large, its skin nearly bursting from the strain. He smiled faintly. "This is it."
He snapped his fingers and summoned Kog'Maw, the monster. "Let's see just how powerful a creature from the Void can be!"
After being summoned, Kog'Maw stared at Jiang Chuan. Acidic drool dripped from its mouth onto the ground with a sizzling, corrosive sound, giving off a foul stench. But Kog'Maw just kept staring at him. Even the creatures of the Void probably didn't know what Kog'Maw was, but Jiang Chuan felt their relationship was like that of a pet and its owner, just like the dog he'd had as a child—though that dog hadn't been nearly as ugly.
Jiang Chuan looked at Kog'Maw. "Go have a big meal. I know you're hungry."
Kog'Maw made a sound Jiang Chuan couldn't understand and ran toward the Sea Monster carcass. But from its wagging tail, Jiang Chuan could tell it was happy...
In no time, Kog'Maw had bitten a hole in the carcass. Jiang Chuan followed it inside. Just as he'd suspected, this was the Slut Ripper's lair. There wasn't the slightest smell of blood in here. If anything, a faint fragrance lingered in the air. Jiang Chuan walked deeper inside. The Slut Ripper was lying on a bed, completely unaware of his arrival.
Jiang Chuan sat in a chair, with Kog'Maw crouched at his feet. "Stop pretending. I don't believe the Slut Ripper would stay quiet when someone entered her lair."
The Slut Ripper got up and looked at Jiang Chuan, unconcerned that her body was exposed. "You're not the only one who can find my lair. But no one's ever managed to kill me in it."
Jiang Chuan smiled. "I'll be the first to kill you in your lair. Your head's worth a pretty penny."
"Hahahaha! You're a bounty hunter, and you're this naive? You're sitting right on top of a barrel of explosives."
Jiang Chuan shook his head and whistled to Kog'Maw. It spat out a glob of acid, which flew straight to the Slut Ripper's left hand as if it had eyes. The corrosive acid quickly ate away her hand until only bone remained—and even the bone was slowly dissolving!
The Slut Ripper shrieked and grabbed the knife beside her, cutting off her own hand to save the rest of her arm.
Her face pale, the Slut Ripper collapsed to the ground. She stared at her dissolving hand, drenched in cold sweat.
Jiang Chuan said nonchalantly, "If this were a romantic evening, I'd be happy to talk with you about life's other pleasures. But now, you'll be spending the rest of your life in this half of a Sea Monster carcass. What a pity."
The Ripper stammered, "Even... if... I die, I'll... blow you up!"
Jiang Chuan watched quietly as she took out a fire striker and lit the fuse. The Slut Ripper snarled, "What's wrong? Too scared to speak? Too late! Die!"
The fuse burned rapidly, and her smile grew more and more vicious. But it didn't reach the barrel of explosives beneath Jiang Chuan's chair as she'd expected. Kog'Maw's drool had soaked the fuse and put it out before it got there.
Jiang Chuan waved to Kog'Maw. It spat another glob of acid onto the Slut Ripper's right hand. Her screams rang in Jiang Chuan's ears. He stood and chopped off her right hand. "Unfortunately, I can't give you a quick death. You'll have to bear with it. She should be here soon."
Jiang Chuan sat back down on the chair above the barrel of explosives and tossed Kog'Maw chunks of meat and fruit. It was just like playing fetch with his dog when he was a child.
The Slut Ripper stared coldly at Jiang Chuan. "Who are you, anyway? At least let me know who killed me."
Jiang Chuan shook his head. "I'm not the one killing you. You did this to yourself. You've been in Bilgewater this long and still don't realize you could be killed? As for who I am, it doesn't matter. I'm just a bounty hunter."
The Slut Ripper said nothing. She bit through the poison sac beneath her tongue and killed herself, unwilling to endure any more pain.
Jiang Chuan ignored her and kept playing with Kog'Maw.
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