Snatching a Person

It was eleven o'clock in the morning.

The gym owner, Liu Zhendong, suddenly walked toward him with two men in black suits.

"This is Jiang Ran."

The two men in suits fixed their gazes on Jiang Ran, looking him up and down.

Liu Zhendong continued the introduction: "Jiang Ran is our ace instructor here at the gym. Whether it's freestyle fighting, jiu-jitsu, or taekwondo... he has deep expertise in all of them. Many students come here specifically for him."

Upon hearing this, one of the men in suits reached out toward Jiang Ran with an expressionless face:

"Hello."

Jiang Ran looked at the hand extended before him but did not immediately shake it.

His gaze shifted first to Liu Zhendong standing beside them.

The gym owner immediately stepped forward with a smile to smooth things over: "Jiang Ran, let me introduce you. These two are from Skylight Group."

"Skylight Group wants to invite you over to be in charge of combat training for their security department," Liu Zhendong continued, "This is a great opportunity."

Only then did Jiang Ran extend his hand to shake the hand of the man in the suit, who identified himself as Mr. Zhang.

At the same time, he activated his psychological profiling ability on the two men.

First was the strength of the handshake.

The other party had a very firm grip, with thick calluses on the webbing between his thumb and index finger and on his knuckles.

This was caused by long-term handling of a specific type of tool.

Firearms? Or blades?

Jiang Ran's gaze quickly swept over the man's wrist.

There was a pale white scar there, looking like it had been left by a shrapnel graze.

The two men stood with their feet naturally spread to shoulder-width, their centers of gravity slightly tilted forward.

Their bodies were constantly maintained in a state ready to exert force at any moment.

This was an instinct formed by long-term exposure to dangerous environments.

It was clear to see...

These two were definitely not ordinary corporate security personnel.

They were very likely mercenaries, or perhaps retired private military contractors.

"I wonder if Instructor Jiang would be interested in a spar?"

The moment Jiang Ran let go, Mr. Zhang suddenly spoke up.

Jiang Ran looked at the two of them and shook his head.

"Not interested." His voice was equally calm, "And I have no interest in going to your company, either."

As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Zhendong's expression changed instantly.

He hurriedly stepped forward, pulled Jiang Ran to the side, and lowered his voice: "Don't be so hasty. Do you know how much they're offering you per month?"

Jiang Ran looked at him calmly.

Liu Zhendong held up three fingers and said urgently: "A monthly salary of three hundred thousand! And they're willing to pay three months' salary upfront as a deposit! Where else could you earn this kind of money as an instructor!?"

Three hundred thousand.

Jiang Ran frowned slightly.

This number was indeed beyond the normal range.

Even if he were the most popular instructor in the gym, and even if he had the strength to compete professionally, a monthly salary of three hundred thousand was far too exaggerated.

Top-tier professional athletes might reach this figure in appearance fees.

But that was only on the condition of winning major matches.

For an ordinary combat instructor, no matter how excellent, fifty or sixty thousand a month was already the ceiling of the industry.

What kind of company would pay such a high price to hire a combat instructor?

Unless...

Several possibilities flashed rapidly through Jiang Ran's mind.

Well, he had only just thought yesterday that conglomerates and factions might take measures regarding Abyssal Void.

He hadn't expected someone to show up at his doorstep today.

"Jiang Ran, I'm not trying to harm you, brother." Seeing Jiang Ran silent, Liu Zhendong thought he was wavering and quickly struck while the iron was hot, "I've checked into Skylight Group for you; they have a very deep background and many operations overseas.

They are genuinely trying to invite you this time, and with terms like these, it doesn't matter who you're teaching, right?"

Jiang Ran listened, feeling somewhat helpless, and was just about to find an excuse to refuse.

Just then, another voice came from behind him.

"Excuse me, is Coach Jiang Ran here?"

Jiang Ran and Liu Zhendong turned their heads at the same time.

At the entrance of the training area, another man in a suit had appeared.

He stood beside the two men in suits from Skylight Group, wearing a smile, his gaze locking onto Jiang Ran immediately.

Liu Zhendong was stunned for a moment and asked instinctively, "Who are you...?"

"Hello." The man walked forward with a smile, pulled a business card from his inner pocket, and handed it over with both hands. "My name is Liang Hui, from Voyage Company. I've come today to discuss a potential partnership with Coach Jiang and Master Liu."

Voyage Company.

Upon hearing those two words, the expressions of everyone present shifted slightly.

In Feng City, you might not know anything else, but you cannot be ignorant of Voyage Company.

Starting out in shipping, this enterprise had expanded over several decades to cover real estate, finance, technology, and many other fields; it was the veritable local industry leader.

Liang Hui's gaze turned to Jiang Ran, his smile becoming even gentler. "Coach Jiang, our company is currently establishing an internal training department specifically to provide security awareness and self-defense training for our senior management.

We understand that you are one of the best coaches in Feng City, so we came to visit you specifically."

He paused, then continued, "We are willing to offer a one-month trial period with a monthly salary of one million.

If both parties are satisfied with the collaboration, we can discuss a formal employment contract after three months, with a guaranteed annual salary of fifteen million, plus performance bonuses."

One million.

When this figure was spoken, the entire training area fell silent for a few seconds.

Even the students training nearby stopped their movements, staring over in stunned silence.

Liu Zhendong's mouth hung open, unable to speak for a long time.

Jiang Ran's expression remained unchanged; he simply looked at Liang Hui calmly, then swept his gaze over the two men in suits from Skylight Group standing nearby.

The two men exchanged a glance, said nothing, and turned to leave.

No arguments, no haggling; they just left, plain and simple.

Clearly, in the eyes of Skylight Group, competing head-on with Voyage Company was not a wise choice.

At least, not on the surface.

Once the two men disappeared at the door, Liang Hui looked back at Jiang Ran, his smile still in place. "Coach Jiang, what do you think?"

Jiang Ran was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "Are you one of Old Chen's people?"

The smile on Liang Hui's face deepened, and he nodded. "Yes. President Chen asked me to come and speak with you."

Hearing this, the last shred of doubt in Jiang Ran's mind vanished.

No wonder.

Having one conglomerate show up could be understood as him having gained some fame.

But having two show up at the same time, with the second one offering terms that completely crushed the first, made it unlikely to be a coincidence.

Aside from Old Chen, whom he had just met last night, Jiang Ran couldn't think of anyone else.

However, Jiang Ran hadn't expected that Old Chen was actually with Voyage Group.

Jiang Ran pondered for a moment and nodded.

"Fine."

Seeing this, Liang Hui was not surprised and turned to Liu Zhendong. "Master Liu, Voyage Group is also interested in investing in the combat fitness industry for venue upgrades and equipment renewal."

Liu Zhendong's eyes lit up instantly.

"Really!?" His voice even cracked slightly.

"Of course," Liang Hui smiled. "We can discuss the specific details at our leisure."

Watching the back of Liu Zhendong as he practically dragged Liang Hui away, Jiang Ran shook his head helplessly.

He took his phone out of his pocket, opened WeChat, and found the chat box for Old Chen.

"Working hours?"

A few seconds later, Old Chen replied: "Right next to Xiao Meng Club, at the newly established training center. Aren't you going to Xiao Meng's place this afternoon? Just come over when you're done; there's always someone here."

Jiang Ran replied with an "OK" emoji and put his phone away.

1:00 PM.

After a quick lunch in the combat gym's cafeteria, Jiang Ran found Liu Zhendong, who was still in his office discussing details with Liang Hui.

"Master Liu, I might not be coming in for a while," Jiang Ran said.

Liu Zhendong was in a great mood and nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. "Sure, sure, you go handle your business. Your salary here will continue to be paid! Don't worry about it!"

Jiang Ran didn't say much else; he nodded and left the combat gym.

On the way to the club by taxi, he leaned back in the passenger seat, closing his eyes to rest.

Psychology had reached max level, granting 5 career points.

But unlocking the three skills for Martial Monk had used them all up.

Now, he needed to level up other professions as quickly as possible to acquire more career points.

The car stopped at the entrance of a park in the eastern suburbs.

Jiang Ran paid the fare and stepped out. Just as he reached the gate, he saw Meng Xi rushing out from inside.

"You're finally here!" Meng Xi let out a visible sigh of relief upon seeing him.

Jiang Ran was taken aback, following her as she walked into the park: "What's wrong?"

Meng Xi explained helplessly as they walked: "After I leaked the news last night that you were coming back to work, the class sign-ups exploded..."

Jiang Ran listened, finding it somewhat amusing: "Isn't more people a good thing?"

"It is a good thing, but..." Meng Xi hesitated, stopping as they reached the club entrance.

"That young lady came to ask about it, too."

Jiang Ran's heart stirred: "Li Xintong?"

"Who else but her." Meng Xi rolled her eyes, "As soon as she heard you were coming back, she signed up immediately."

Jiang Ran shrugged helplessly.

Li Xintong, a top student at Feng City University.

Her family background was very deep, though Jiang Ran had never asked exactly what they did.

This girl had an extremely competitive spirit.

When Jiang Ran was a coach at the club, she had been one of his students.

Logically, between a coach and a student, one teaches and one learns; there was nothing to compare.

But Li Xintong didn't see it that way.

Every time she had a lesson, she insisted on competing with Jiang Ran, from fixed targets to Moving Target Shooting, from Compound Bow Shooting to Traditional Bow Shooting, determined to decide who was better.

Naturally, the result was always Jiang Ran winning.

From then on, she latched onto Jiang Ran; as long as he was at the club, she would definitely show up, and she would definitely compete.

Later, Jiang Ran's archery skills reached a certain level.

Combined with the fact that Li Xintong's pestering was starting to affect his work, he resigned.

He hadn't expected to run into her again now.

Jiang Ran shook his head and walked into the club lobby.

Meng Xi quickly brought over the contract.

Jiang Ran scanned the terms quickly, and after confirming there were no issues, he signed his name.

He then looked at the panel in the top right corner of his vision.

[Profession: Archery Coach Lv.6 (198/400)]

[Professional Basic Skills: Compound Bow Shooting Lv.7 (432/700)]

[Traditional Bow Shooting Lv.5 (210/500)]

[Moving Target Shooting Lv.4 (156/400)]

[Professional Core Skill: Prediction Lv.3 (112/300)]