Set a Small Goal

By the time Wang Wen returned to The Academy, he had arrived just in time for dinner at the cafeteria.

It had to be said that The Academy cafeteria was quite conscientious.

Dinner was actually stir-fried noodles! There were even very legitimate shreds of meat inside!

The price was also quite reasonable, 1 point for 50 grams, and if you had a good enough relationship with the staff, you could even get 80 to 100 grams!

The skinny boy was very happy to see Wang Wen appear and clamored to treat him.

Wang Wen did not argue with him.

Instead, he heaped several large spoonfuls of stir-fried noodles onto his plate.

When placed on the scale, it weighed over a pound.

The skinny boy was a man of his word; he didn't even blink as he swiped away over a dozen points.

The two carried their basins to a table and sat down.

After a few bites of the noodles, the dryness choked his throat. Wang Wen stopped his chopsticks, exhaled to catch his breath, and pulled a brand-new mobile phone from his pocket, sliding it across to the other side.

The skinny boy stared blankly at the phone pushed to his hand with a noodle hanging from the corner of his mouth, asking in a daze, "You bought a phone? Which model is this? It's so beautiful!"

"It's for you." Wang Wen caught his breath, feeling a bit better, and began to lower his head to eat again. "My number is saved inside. You can see it when you open the contact list."

The skinny boy widened his eyes in disbelief: "For me??"

He was so shocked he stopped eating his noodles.

He set down his bowl and chopsticks, clapped his hands together outside the table, wiped them vigorously on his pants, and only then slowly picked up the phone to examine it.

The moment the screen lit up, his expression became intoxicated.

After playing with it fondly for a good while, he suddenly stopped.

"Why are you giving me such an expensive gift?" The skinny boy stared at Wang Wen with a face full of vigilance. "Are you trying to keep me?!"

Wang Wen looked up, his eye twitching.

At a nearby table, a young man and woman who appeared to be close classmates were eating; the girl suddenly let out a "pfft" and sprayed her food.

A mouthful of stir-fried noodles landed squarely on the face of the male student opposite her.

She apologized repeatedly, stood up, and grabbed tissues to help wipe his face.

In the midst of the chaotic scramble, she noticed Wang Wen and the skinny boy looking over, and she "pfft"ed again, spraying the male student's face once more.

The girl covered her mouth, her expression one of utter agony.

After bowing and apologizing haphazardly, she ran away in embarrassment, leaving the male student covered in noodles and confusion.

"I might be quite busy from now on," Wang Wen said to the skinny boy. "Having a phone makes it easier to stay in touch. You can call me anytime."

Upon hearing this, the joy the skinny boy felt from receiving the new phone vanished instantly.

He stammered as he pushed the phone back.

Wang Wen was puzzled: "What are you doing?"

The boy's voice was as low as a mosquito's hum: "I don't want the phone."

He was terrified by Wang Wen's words, as if accepting the phone meant Wang Wen would never return to The Academy again.

From then on, they would only be able to communicate via phone.

They would never see each other in person again.

To the boy, this was a terrible feeling.

In The Academy, Wang Wen was his only friend.

If accepting a phone meant losing this friend, he would rather not have the phone.

Even if this phone was truly beautiful.

Having lived two lifetimes, Wang Wen realized what the other meant after a moment's thought.

Beyond his sentimentality, he was more amused than anything: "Are you an idiot? Hurry up and take the phone! You can notify me in time for exams later!"

The skinny boy looked at him suspiciously: "Do you still need to take exams?"

"Nonsense! I'm still a student!" Wang Wen threw the phone directly into his lap, causing the boy to scramble in a panic.

The next day.

Morning training ended.

After eating breakfast, Wang Wen left The Academy again.

No one could have imagined that Wang Wen, who had only been "released from prison" a few days ago, would return to the Regional Security Department carrying a large pile of things.

The Chief had gone on a business trip to the World Security Headquarters to give a report.

He wouldn't be back for a few days, and during this time, the Regional Security Department would be temporarily managed by Vice Chief Jiang.

With the Chief gone, the atmosphere in the Security Department became much better.

Everyone was full of energy.

Seeing Wang Wen, they cheered, hugged him, and even flipped tables in their excitement.

Wang Wen distributed the gifts he had brought to everyone one by one.

After settling the costs for several items with Vice Chief Jiang yesterday, there wasn't much money left in his account.

He had only spent two or three hundred points on some cooked food and snacks, but the guards weren't picky at all; they happily swarmed over and snatched everything up in an instant.

After laughing and joking with them for a while.

Wang Wen followed Vice Chief Jiang to a spacious area deep within the Regional Security Department.

Pointing to the various facilities in the area, the Vice Chief introduced them with a hint of pride: "How about it? This is our training ground. Not bad, right?"

Wang Wen walked through the facility, looking around. Under the Vice Chief's wide-eyed gaze, he casually dismantled a few mechanisms and put them back together, nodding to indicate that it was indeed "not bad."

Clearly, the "not bad" meant two completely different things to the two of them.

The Vice Chief's "not bad" was a humble brag born of pride.

Wang Wen's "not bad" was truly just "not bad."

In his view, it was already decent that the Regional Security Department had put in the effort to build a World Tower simulation training ground; he really couldn't ask for too much.

If evaluated strictly, this training ground couldn't even compare to the one at The Academy, let alone the First Consortium.

Using words like "simple" or "crude" to describe it would be a compliment.

Aside from a few standard physical fitness corners, the entire venue lacked any training areas for scientific decryption or mental power.

The handful of mechanism models present were all from within the first hundred floors.

Rather than calling this a World Tower training ground, it would be more accurate to call it a gym or a sports stadium.

Wang Wen clicked his tongue in wonder, feeling immense sympathy for the pitifully poor Regional Security Department.

"So, as of now," he turned to ask Vice Chief Jiang, "there are only five people in this Regional Security Department who can reach the two-hundredth floor, and that includes you, Vice Chief Jiang, right?"

Hearing the phrase "only five," Vice Chief Jiang was displeased: "Except for headquarters, our Regional Security Department ranks in the top three across the entire Eastern Region!"

Wang Wen twitched his eye in silence.

Even if they ranked first, they were just the tallest among dwarves. They didn't even have a team capable of reaching the five-hundredth floor, so what was there to be proud of?

"Then let's set a small goal first." Wang Wen looked at the Vice Chief and held up one finger: "Let's aim for first place."

The Vice Chief's expression became chaotic: "Stop joking. The security department in first place has several tough guys who can reach the three-hundredth floor!"

Seeing Wang Wen's indifferent expression, he said worriedly: "Compared to that, I think we should find a way to get more 200th-floor *Earth-Shaking Talisman*s? Didn't you say the First Consortium is also scrambling for them? They refresh once a week, and someone has to go in and restart the floor; it's a race for resources. I reckon if Xiao Chen and his group come out empty-handed again this time, they'll go crazy."

"Don't always keep your eyes fixed on these small things." Wang Wen shook his finger, his expression turning serious: "What about the partnership I mentioned before? Have you considered it?"

The Vice Chief hesitated: "We are public servants, after all. A private partnership with you doesn't seem quite right."

"Don't you always say how difficult things are for the Regional Security Department, that you rely on funding from above and lack your own revenue streams?" Wang Wen pointed toward the hall they had just passed through: "A security department this big, with so few people—who would want to work here if the benefits and pay don't keep up? You covered the bonuses this time with the *Earth-Shaking Talisman*s I gave you, but what about next time? Or the time after that?"

He gripped the Vice Chief's shoulders and said earnestly: "Vice Chief Jiang, it's time to make a change! Partnering with me is a win-win; it will only benefit you and cause no harm!"

The Vice Chief was silent for a long time, but in the end, unable to overcome the cruel reality, he asked cautiously: "You said yesterday, how much could we earn per week?"

"At least one hundred thousand!"

"Damn it! I'm in!"