Some People Force You to Be Strong

If the Earth-Shaking Talisman is considered precious due to its rarity.

Then the Ginseng Fruit is so universally known for its ubiquity that it has indirectly led to a massive market demand.

Everyone wants to eat a Ginseng Fruit!

It is a cute little thing with solid effects, a pleasant taste, and no side effects.

People are so eager they could bite into one and have the juices splatter everywhere.

Even if eating more than one is ineffective, at least everyone wants one for themselves, right?

With so many people in the world, not everyone can easily reach the 250th floor.

There will always be elderly people, frail and incapable of climbing the tower, who hope to trade some paper talismans—which are of little use to them—for the hope of living one more year.

To some, money is more important than life.

But to others, life is more important than money.

However, it is precisely because its effect only lasts for one year that the market price of the Ginseng Fruit has never been able to rise.

It sits at around 30,000, much like the rare 200th-floor item, the Earth-Shaking Talisman.

Come to think of it, it is quite impressive for a common item to be priced the same as a rare one.

Yet, the Earth-Shaking Talisman is only from the 200th floor, while the Ginseng Fruit is already from the 250th. For many, those extra 50 floors are a chasm that they might not cross in their entire lifetime.

So, it is hard to say who truly comes out on top.

Lethal items like the Earth-Shaking Talisman are treasures to combat fanatics, but those nearing their end will prefer the Ginseng Fruit more.

Regardless, however.

The Four Vajras of the Regional Security Department jumped directly from around the 210th floor to the 250th in just one short week.

This is astonishing news.

"How much did it cost?" The Chief stood at the door of his office, looking out at the lobby as he asked Vice Chief Jiang beside him.

He assumed the Four Vajras reached the 250th floor by buying intelligence all the way up.

The mere thought of the price of intelligence above the 200th floor made his heart ache; he estimated that the 52 Earth-Shaking Talismans the Regional Security Department had just acquired would all have to be poured into it.

Unexpectedly, the Vice Chief Jiang shook his head. His gaze drifted toward Wang Wen, who was currently surrounded by the cheering Four Vajras, and he replied, "We didn't buy any intelligence. We only improved some equipment in the training grounds and replenished some medicine. Wang Wen handled everything from start to finish; even the meat in the cafeteria was bought with his own money."

The Chief froze, then asked in confusion, "What is his purpose in doing this?"

Purpose?

Vice Chief Jiang turned to look at the Chief, his expression complex. "Perhaps he wants to trade his utmost sincerity for the cooperation of the Regional Security Department."

From a personal standpoint, Vice Chief Jiang very much hoped to reach a cooperation with Wang Wen.

Just as the other party kept emphasizing, this was a win-win situation that was beneficial and harmless.

The only resistance lay with the Chief.

Vice Chief Jiang knew clearly in his heart that the Chief had long been critical of the fact that the only high-end tower climbers in the Regional Security Department were concentrated under his command.

Now that he learned he was going to cooperate with an outsider, using the resources and personnel of the Regional Security Department to help an outsider climb the tower and obtain items.

He certainly wouldn't have a pleasant look on his face.

If the people were trained well, they belonged to the Vice Chief Jiang; if the items were obtained, they belonged to the outsider.

The Chief would get nothing, and he couldn't be satisfied by the title of "Number One" alone.

Furthermore, the security guards had their own duties, and cooperating with an outsider to climb the tower at will carried the suspicion of dereliction of duty.

If someone were to seize upon this point and investigate it deeply, even using "revenue generation" as an excuse wouldn't hold water.

Sure enough, the Chief let out a cold snort, his tone extremely displeased as he said, "Sincerity? Perhaps I would have believed that before he hid important information and sabotaged the security department, but now?"

He looked up at the Vice Chief Jiang. "You were the one who negotiated this cooperation with him?"

Vice Chief Jiang nodded silently in admission.

The Chief delivered the final verdict: "Then you will be the one to end it with him."

After saying this, the Chief turned and walked back into his office, closing the door behind him.

Vice Chief Jiang's gaze passed through the lobby to look at Wang Wen in the center of the crowd from afar, and he let out a long sigh.

A few minutes later.

The crowd, having learned the news, fell silent.

Everyone looked at the Vice Chief Jiang, who had announced the end of the cooperation, with a mixture of neatness and confusion.

"Why?" Jiang Daoli, the leader of the Four Vajras and the most capable confidant of Vice Chief Jiang, asked the question they all shared on everyone's behalf. "Teacher Wang's strength is plain for all to see! We were able to break through so many floors in such a short time all because of him! Why end the cooperation?"

"Do not ask any more questions," Vice Chief Jiang said expressionlessly. "This is a decision made by the organization. Obey orders."

"A decision by the organization??" Jiang Daoli pointed angrily toward the Chief's office. "A decision that harms others without benefiting oneself like this must be that senile old..."

"Jiang Daoli!!" Vice Chief Jiang shouted, cutting him off. "Are you done yet? Shut your mouth!"

Jiang Daoli was slightly stunned, then lowered his hands in indignation.

Wang Wen had been listening quietly for a long time.

Seeing the stalemate, he stepped forward and asked Vice Chief Jiang, "Is it a matter of profit distribution? I've thought about it. Even if I train the climbers for the Guard Department for free, it's true that taking all the items for myself isn't quite right. We can negotiate this."

He looked at the surrounding guards and dropped a bombshell: "We're all on the same side, so I'll state my bottom line: aside from the specific items I name, all other climbing gains will go to your Guard Department. How about that?"

Upon hearing this, Vice Chief Jiang's face flushed as red as if he were drunk.

The terms offered by the other party had pushed him into a corner with nowhere left to retreat.

To sacrifice so much of his own interest just to facilitate a partnership.

Vice Chief Jiang could not swallow such a conscience-pricking cake.

"There's no need, Wang Wen. As you said, the premise of cooperation is a win-win. If one side has to sacrifice this much, there is no need for such a partnership to exist."

He said to Wang Wen, filled with guilt and apology, "You should go. With your ability, you'll have no trouble partnering with anyone. It's our misfortune. I'm very sorry for wasting so much of your time."

"..."

Wang Wen looked at his hands, which were being tightly gripped.

He then looked up at the expressions of all the guards around him—full of frustration yet helpless.

Finally, his gaze landed on the tightly shut office door in the distance.

He found it.

Ridiculous.

And pathetic.

In his past life, climbers looked down on the Guard Department, and no one ever thought of partnering with them.

As a result, the Guard Department lived a miserable existence; by the time Wang Wen broke through the seven-hundredth floor, they hadn't produced a single guard capable of reaching the four-hundredth.

In this life, because his initial strength wasn't high enough to qualify for a partnership with the First Consortium, he had a sudden whim to bestow his favor upon the Guard Department.

Yet, he still ended up being turned away.

Ridiculous pettiness, pathetic bureaucracy, a hopeless Guard Department.

Wang Wen packed his things, took the only fruit of his labor, the Ginseng Fruit, and quietly left the place where he had spent over half a month on and off, a place he once thought he would stay in for a long time to come.

Just as he stepped out the main gate.

His new phone rang with a pleasant chime.

Seeing the number of the thin little boy on the caller ID, his mood improved slightly, and he answered, "The matter I was handling has come to an end. Let's have lunch together when I get back today."

There was silence on the other end for a moment.

What came through, however, was not the boy's voice.

A deep male voice spoke unhurriedly: "Is this Wang Wen? This is World Tower Plaza. A boy came out of the tower with severe injuries. We called an ambulance, but it feels like it's already too late, like he's about to stop breathing. You are the only contact in his phone..."