The Marvelous Skull

Section 34: The Marvelous Skull

Tiansheng Group Headquarters.

The big boss, Qin Dongbei, looked over the report compiled by his subordinates.

One section was highlighted: the First Consortium had recently taken in a batch of valuable rare items, numbering at least fifty. They were enough to equip at least ten mid- to high-level Tower Climber teams and give the group's middle ranks a slight boost in strength.

Qin Dongbei frowned as he read on.

There was little detail about the report.

Even the method by which the items had been acquired was listed as "unknown." That meant even the informants who had been embedded for years couldn't uncover anything. The only note was that the intelligence had likely come from the Intelligence Department's private, undisclosed sources and been provided by an independent Tower Climber.

"What do you think?" Qin Dongbei asked, looking up casually at the scarred young man seated across from him. "It seems the First Consortium really does have everything going its way. Everyone wants to work with them and looks down on us at Tiansheng. They sold such valuable intelligence only to them. We didn't even get the chance to make an offer?"

The scarred young man snorted dismissively. "They're just rare items from the lower floors. Does our group really lack those?"

"How could we not?" Qin Dongbei was clearly dissatisfied with the answer. "Wealth and strength are built up bit by bit. We can't underestimate even the smallest gain our opponents make, especially when they're our biggest competitor!"

Seeing Qin Dongbei's tone grow more serious, the scarred young man dropped his careless expression and thought it over. "Then we kill one as a warning to the rest. Wipe out everyone who chose the wrong partner, and no one will dare go to the First Consortium again."

"Too rash." Qin Dongbei offered only that one comment before falling silent.

After a while,

he saw the young man across from him shifting restlessly.

Qin Dongbei shook his head and patiently explained, "At the very least, we can't make it so obvious that we're targeting them. If the First Consortium gets leverage over us, we won't be able to explain ourselves."

The young man nodded as if he understood.

Just then, an eavesdropper behind him—clearly one of his trusted men—spoke up. "Boss, Young Master, this seller has actually been recorded in the Mirror."

"Oh?" Qin Dongbei said, looking curiously at the scarred young man.

The young man turned halfway around, looking puzzled at the man behind him.

The eavesdropper stepped forward, bent at the waist, and said, "Young Master, it's that Wang Wen. And the intelligence he traded was almost certainly about the Earth-Shaking Talisman, which he got by asking around in the Guard Department."

"Him again?" the young man asked suspiciously. "Did he sell the same piece of intelligence to both sides?"

The eavesdropper couldn't help chuckling. "He probably couldn't afford to be picky if he wanted to stay alive."

"Knock, knock."

Qin Dongbei tapped on the table. "You two, say something I can understand."

The young man rolled his eyes, then laughed along and said to Qin Dongbei, "Dad, I've got a great idea! We can kill one as a warning to the rest without giving the First Consortium anything to hold over us!"

"And besides..."

A sinister glint flashed in his eyes. "I can vent some of my anger, too."

Wang Wen timed his return to the Academy so he could have dinner in the cafeteria.

Mealtimes were among the few moments in his day when he could relax and clear his mind.

So he cherished them and took them seriously.

Unfortunately, someone stopped him just as he reached the Academy gates.

Wang Wen checked the time. Not wanting to get caught up in anything, he pretended not to see the person, sidled toward the gate, and tried to slip past.

The man blocking his way amusedly said, "Mr. Wang, we're all busy here. Why don't you quit fooling around?"

Wang Wen reluctantly stopped. "All right, what is it?"

The man politely introduced himself. "I'm Shen Rushuang, chief steward of Tiansheng Group's Mirror. I'm here to ask if you could keep your distance from Miss Cheng Queyi."

"What era is this? Isn't this sort of thing embarrassing?" Wang Wen asked curiously. "Those punks were sent by you, too, weren't they, Frosty?"

Shen Rushuang nodded, his expression unchanged. "Since you know it was us and still won't back off, does Mr. Wang want to take on Tiansheng?"

"Don't get me wrong. I have no interest in Tiansheng Group." The first half of Wang Wen's reply made Shen Rushuang smile.

Unfortunately, after he heard the second half, Rushuang's expression turned frosty.

"I wouldn't interfere if you were pursuing Cheng Queyi normally. If you both liked each other, I'd want her to find a good partner. But why use such despicable tactics?"

"I understand." Shen Rushuang said no more and stepped aside from the Academy gates.

The instant he moved out of the way,

several figures appeared from nowhere and lunged through the air at Wang Wen.

Boom!

The poor ground cracked apart.

Wang Wen had already darted inside the Academy gates. Pointing at the shattered ground, he shouted out, "You break public property, you pay for it!"

After yelling, he turned and ran straight toward the cafeteria.

The figures glanced at the ground in confusion, got up, and took off after Wang Wen, who was sprinting deeper into the Academy.

Then

the gate guards each grabbed one of them like a chick and tossed them outside.

Shen Rushuang's face turned icy as he approached and asked, "Is the Academy trying to stop Tiansheng Group?"

One of the guards, dressed in a supervisor's uniform, clasped his hands and smiled. "Lord Shen is welcome to visit the Academy, of course, but there's no need for these little Mirrors from the two- or three-hundredth floors to come along. The Academy is a place of learning."

The little Mirrors from the two- and three-hundredth floors were furious. They howled and threatened to tear the Academy down.

Shen Rushuang held them back, straightened his collar, and walked through the Academy gates. "Then I'll take a look around today and see what gives the Academy the confidence to challenge Tiansheng Group."

The supervisor repeatedly said, "We wouldn't dare," then took the lead and gestured toward the Dean's Office.

The Academy cafeteria.

Wang Wen hurried through the entrance, hurriedly got himself some food, hurriedly found an empty table, and started eating in great mouthfuls.

He was like a merciless poop-making machine.

Halfway through his meal,

someone set a tray down beside him.

A faint scent of shampoo drifted into Wang Wen's nose, cutting through the cafeteria's jumble of food and cooking-oil smells.

He looked up. It was the crazy woman. Frowning, he picked up his tray and moved to another table.

He had just set it down when Yu Zhi followed him over, tray in hand, refusing to give up.

He picked up his tray again, but heard a soft, choked voice from across the table. "If you leave again, I'll cry."

"What do you want?" Wang Wen said impatiently. "I'm being hunted. Don't come near me!"

Yu Zhi rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "Don't worry. I've already told them to stop. No one will bother you again."

Wang Wen's eye twitched. He repeated her words in his mind, stunned.

He tentatively asked, "Would they really listen to a little girl like you?"

Yu Zhi gave a bitter smile. "I can't make them listen. But the person who likes me can. I already agreed to be with him. My only condition was that he stop giving you trouble."

"You?" Wang Wen gaped, looking Yu Zhi up and down.

Come to think of it, although Yu Zhi was only the Department Beauty and might not be quite as stunning as Cheng Queyi by some measure, there was no denying she was a rare beauty.

Given the despicable tactics that man from Tiansheng had used, it was entirely possible he'd been so desperate that he'd pretended to accept Yu Zhi's offer, planning to get what he wanted from her before dumping her and continuing to target Cheng Queyi.

Seen that way, this crazy woman was doing all this for nothing.

She hadn't cut off the problem at its source and had sacrificed herself for no reason.

Worse, she'd left Wang Wen stuck with an obligation he never wanted.

"You fool!" Wang Wen finally set down his tray and said to Yu Zhi, "That guy's a beast! He just wants your body!"

Yu Zhi smoothed a strand of hair back from her forehead and smiled bitterly. "Aren't all men like that?"

She raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears as she stared unwaveringly at Wang Wen. "I waited so, so long for you, but you haven't come to class in ages. I just want to say I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"Wait." Wang Wen's thoughts were a mess.

How had another woman ended up like this?

After Cheng Queyi, Yu Zhi had turned out this way too. What kind of creatures were women? Did they have no logic, no principles, no reason?

A middle-aged man who had lived through two lifetimes had run into a question that troubled most men for the rest of their lives.

What exactly was inside a woman's head?

Wang Wen cautiously reached out and touched Yu Zhi's shoulder. He spoke to her softly. "How about we calmly talk this through? Could you go back to being your old, proud self? Don't do anything you don't want to do for anyone. Just pretend I never showed up, or that I'm nothing. Could you do that? Just pretend you never met me and go back to living your normal life. Can you?"

His words came out in a jumble.

But they made the girl across from him burst into tears.

Yu Zhi didn't make a sound. Tears simply poured down her face, tracing arcs along her cheeks before falling into her collar.

Wang Wen saw it and his face crumpled like a chrysanthemum.

He reached out, gritted his teeth, and pinched her tear-streaked cheek hard.

Then, with all his strength, he slapped her. Smack!

He rubbed the tears into his palm.

That felt amazing!

Yu Zhi was stunned.

She stared blankly at the young man in front of her, who stood there without saying a word.

One moment, he was gritting his teeth.

The next, he was grinning foolishly.

Every so often, he even rubbed his palm.

She had no idea what he was thinking.

She was crying so hard. Couldn't he at least comfort her?

What exactly was inside a man's head?

She cautiously reached out and tugged at Wang Wen's sleeve.

Wang Wen jolted back to his senses and warily stared at her hand, which was down by his crotch.

Then he realized they were in the Academy, and none of that could happen here.

He meant the way enemies in the World Tower attacked without thinking just to win.

He sat down in his chair.

Facing Yu Zhi like they were classmates on good terms, he began to explain things piece by piece. "Look, at first, you gave my love letter back and said you didn't want to get distracted before graduation. I agreed with you and thought you were right. I clearly understood where I'd gone wrong, so I promised it wouldn't happen again and that I'd keep my distance and never upset you. Right? So just look at you now. Why have you turned out like this? What do you need me to forgive you for? You haven't done anything wrong."

It would've been better if Wang Wen hadn't said any of that.

At the sound of his words,

the tears Yu Zhi had finally managed to stop began streaming again, and she sobbed aloud. "I knew it! I knew it was because of that! I said I was sorry, but you still won't forgive me! What do you want me to do, then?!"

Wang Wen's mouth hung open.

He was completely dumbfounded.