If the [Earth-Shaking Talisman] was precious because it was rare,
then the [Ginseng Fruit] was so common that everyone knew about it, indirectly creating enormous market demand.
Everyone wanted to eat a [Ginseng Fruit]!
These little things were effective, delicious, harmless, and adorable.
People could hardly wait to pop them into their mouths one after another, juice bursting everywhere.
Even if eating more than one had no effect, surely everyone deserved at least one, right?
There were so many people in the world, and not everyone could easily make it past the 250th floor.
There would always be elderly people, frail with age and unable to climb the tower, who hoped they could trade some paper scraps that were of little use to them for the chance to live another year.
For some people, money mattered more than life.
But for others, life mattered more than money.
Still, because it only worked for a year, the market price of the [Ginseng Fruit] never rose very high.
Like the rare item from the 200th floor, the [Earth-Shaking Talisman], it went for around thirty thousand.
It was quite impressive that an ordinary item could fetch the same price as a rare one.
But the [Earth-Shaking Talisman] was only from the 200th floor, while the [Ginseng Fruit] came from the 250th. Those extra fifty floors were an insurmountable gulf for many people, one they might never cross in their entire lives.
So it was hard to say which one was more valuable.
A destructive item like the [Earth-Shaking Talisman] was a treasure to battle maniacs, but those nearing the end of their lives would probably prefer the [Ginseng Fruit].
Regardless,
the Four Vajras of the Regional Security Department had leaped straight from around the 210th floor to the 250th in just one week.
It was astonishing news.
"How much did it cost?" The chief stood in the office doorway, looking out over the hall as he asked Vice Chief Jiang beside him.
He assumed the Four Vajras had reached the 250th floor by spending money on information along the way.
Just thinking about the prices for information on floors above the 200th made his heart ache. He figured the Security Department must have spent all 52 [Earth-Shaking Talismans] they had just acquired.
But the vice chief shook his head. His gaze traveled across the hall to Wang Wen, who was surrounded by the Four Vajras as they cheered. "They didn't buy any information. They just improved some of the training equipment and replenished their medicine supplies. Wang Wen handled everything himself, even paying for the meat in the cafeteria."
The chief was taken aback and pressed him, puzzled. "What was his goal in doing all this?"
His goal?
The vice chief turned to look at the chief, his expression complicated. "Perhaps he wanted to show the utmost sincerity and secure the Security Department's cooperation."
Personally, the vice chief very much wanted to work with Wang Wen.
Just as Wang Wen had repeatedly stressed, it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement with no downside.
The only obstacle was the chief.
Vice Chief Jiang knew perfectly well that the chief had long resented the fact that all the Security Department's top Tower Climbers were concentrated under his command.
Now the chief had learned that he wanted to cooperate with an outsider, using the Security Department's resources and personnel to climb the tower and obtain items for that outsider.
There was no way the chief would take it well.
The trained climbers would belong to him, the vice chief, while the items would go to an outsider.
The chief would get nothing. A number-one ranking alone wasn't enough to satisfy him.
Besides, guards had their duties. Climbing the tower with an outsider could be seen as dereliction of duty.
If anyone seized on that and investigated, they couldn't simply claim they were generating revenue and expect to get away with it.
Sure enough, the chief gave a cold snort and said, clearly displeased, "Sincerity? Before he hid important information and led the guards into a trap, maybe I would've believed him. But now?"
He looked up at the vice chief. "Were you the one who negotiated the deal with him?"
The vice chief silently nodded.
The chief made his decision. "Then you can be the one to tell him it's over."
After saying that, the chief turned and walked back into his office, closing the door behind him.
Vice Chief Jiang gazed across the hall at Wang Wen in the middle of the crowd and let out a long sigh.
A few minutes later,
the crowd that had heard the news fell silent.
Everyone looked at the vice chief, who had announced the end of their cooperation, bewildered and dismayed.
"Why?" Jiang Daoli, leader of the Four Vajras and Vice Chief Jiang's most capable right-hand man, voiced the question on everyone's mind. "Teacher Wang's abilities are plain for all to see. We managed to break through so many floors in such a short time entirely because of him! Why end the cooperation?"
"Don't ask questions." Vice Chief Jiang said expressionlessly. "It's the organization's decision. Follow orders."
"The organization's decision?" Jiang Daoli angrily pointed toward the chief's office. "A decision that hurts everyone and benefits no one? It must be that muddleheaded old ba—"
"Jiang Daoli!" Vice Chief Jiang roared, cutting him off. "Are you done? Shut the hell up!"
Jiang Daoli was momentarily stunned, then lowered his hand, still seething with indignation.
Wang Wen had been listening quietly for a long time.
Seeing how tense things had become, he stepped forward and asked Vice Chief Jiang, "Is this about how the spoils are divided? I've thought it over. Even if I trained the Security Department's Tower Climbers for free, it wouldn't be right for me to keep all the items. We can negotiate."
He glanced at the guards around him and made a shocking offer. "We're all on the same side, so I'll be upfront about my bottom line. Aside from the items I specifically ask for, your Security Department can have all the other spoils from our climbs. How does that sound?"
Vice Chief Jiang's face flushed red as if he were drunk.
Wang Wen's offer had practically backed him into a corner with nowhere left to retreat.
He was giving up nearly all of his own benefits just to make the cooperation happen.
Vice Chief Jiang couldn't bring himself to accept such a deal against his conscience.
"There's no need, Wang Wen. Like you said, cooperation has to benefit both sides. If either side has to sacrifice this much, there's no point in working together."
Filled with guilt and regret, he told Wang Wen, "You should go. With your abilities, you can work with anyone. We just aren't fortunate enough. I'm sorry we wasted so much of your time..."
"..."
Wang Wen looked down at his tightly clenched fists.
Then he looked up at the guards around him, their faces full of frustration and helplessness.
At last, his gaze settled on the closed office door in the distance.
He found it
ridiculous.
And tragic.
In his previous life, Tower Climbers had looked down on the Security Department. No one had ever considered working with them.
The Security Department had struggled terribly as a result. Even by the time Wang Wen had broken through the 700th floor, not a single guard had made it to the 400th.
In this life, because his early strength hadn't been enough to qualify him to work with the First Consortium, he'd had a sudden whim and decided to favor the Security Department instead.
And yet they'd still turned him away.
A ridiculous pettiness, a tragic bureaucracy, a hopeless Security Department.
Wang Wen packed his things, picked up his sole reward, a [Ginseng Fruit], and quietly left the place where he'd stayed on and off for over half a month—a place he'd once thought he might keep staying for a long time to come.
He had barely stepped outside
when his new phone rang with a pleasant chime.
Seeing the call was from the skinny little boy, he felt a little better and answered. "I'm done with what I had to take care of. I'll be back for lunch today."
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
But the voice that came through didn't belong to the boy.
A low male voice spoke unhurriedly. "Is your name Wang Wen? This is the World Tower Plaza. A boy just came out of the tower badly injured. We called an ambulance, but it feels like it won't get here in time. He seems to be dying. You're the only contact in his phone..."
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