That afternoon, Li Jinshui easily passed his first month's martial arts assessment.
He used less than eighty percent of his Qi-Blood, scoring 392 on the meter—comfortably above the required mark.
There was no need to test his Basic Lightness Skill. They simply recorded him as having reached entry level in the Ninth-Grade Martial Skill, Lightning Pulse Step, which meant he had already completed the martial arts assessment requirements for the next two months.
Under the shocked gazes of his fellow trainees, Li Jinshui threw back his head and laughed, then swaggered out of the assessment room.
"That's what a real genius looks like!"
"Never mind that he never forgets anything—he's even mastered a Ninth-Grade Martial Skill that quickly."
"I'm convinced. Honestly, even if they dumped all those top-grade resources on me, I couldn't master Lightning Explosion Step that fast."
"Damn it, why him? He's got incredible martial arts talent and a powerful family backing him. The most infuriating part is that he's so handsome, too. Is there any justice?"
"Quit whining. Why are you so jealous? How else do you think he won over Manager Ye?"
The trainees chatted among themselves, getting more animated by the minute.
But the staff member responsible for recording the data in the corner grew more and more horrified as he listened. His confusion turned to sheer panic, and his heart began pounding wildly.
Holy crap, what huge news!
Manager Ye was actually involved with that young man, Li Jinshui?
Was this the kind of top-secret gossip that low-level grunts like us were even allowed to know?
Meanwhile.
Li Jinshui had just sat down on the sofa in his room and switched on the TV when Huang Lichen called and summoned him over.
"I've already met the requirements. Why are you calling me to the office again?"
Li Jinshui frowned as he hung up.
"Ding!"
His phone suddenly rang again. A text message had come in.
"Don't agree to the new location."
Li Jinshui stared at it in surprise.
What was that supposed to mean? It made no sense.
Were they planning to send me to work at a new location? I haven't even used up three months' worth of resources, so of course I wouldn't agree.
He checked the sender. It was an unfamiliar number.
After a moment's thought, Li Jinshui called it back.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service..."
What the hell? Who pulls something like that?
Li Jinshui blinked, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and headed out.
Soon, the elevator took him straight to the fifty-first floor.
Li Jinshui knocked on Huang Lichen's office door.
But as soon as he pushed it open, a strong, pungent smell of smoke hit him. The whole office was so hazy it could have been the Celestial Court.
Several people were sitting on the wide sofa, including Ye Mei.
Beside Ye Mei sat an old woman dressed in loose streetwear covered with large logos. A pair of colorful sunglasses rested on her head, and she had a long, thin cigarette dangling from her lips. She certainly stood out.
Farther along sat a middle-aged man with a full head of silver hair.
Everyone but Ye Mei had a cigarette between their fingers, puffing away.
"I thought smoking wasn't allowed in here," Li Jinshui said, pinching his nose. He'd opened his pack of Huazi over a month ago and still hadn't smoked a single one. They were probably stale by now.
"Enough chatter. Get in here and close the door," Huang Lichen said, beckoning him over with a worried, grave expression.
Li Jinshui didn't say anything more. He shut the office door and, under the scrutinizing gazes of the others, walked over as if he owned the place and plopped down beside Ye Mei.
Ye Mei's face was expressionless. She casually rested an arm along the back of the sofa and tapped her fingertips against it in a steady rhythm, lost in thought. She paid no attention to Li Jinshui.
"A-Shui, this is Zhang Li, Deputy Commander of the camp, and this is Chen Yu, Director of the department."
Huang Lichen stubbed out his cigarette and pointed to the two important figures on the sofa, introducing them one by one.
The camp had four deputy commanders in total, and Zhang Li was one of them. She was also aligned with Huang Lichen.
The silver-haired middle-aged man with the sharp gaze was Chen Yu, the powerful head of the camp's Intelligence Department.
Hearing their titles, Li Jinshui promptly stood up straight and saluted. "Hello, Commander Zhang! Hello, Director Chen!"
The two had been wearing grave expressions, but they managed to force out a smile and nod in response.
After they sat back down, Huang Lichen spoke before Li Jinshui could ask what was going on.
"A-Shui, you're in big trouble." His expression was grave, his voice low.
Li Jinshui's heart gave a thump.
Seriously? My good days have only just begun, and now I'm in trouble again?
"It's about the security guards you killed before..."
Huang Lichen didn't beat around the bush. He explained the whole situation, emphasizing that the Weihu Security Company had issued a blacklist order. Now, no food-delivery location in Rong City dared to take Li Jinshui on.
He didn't say what they planned to do about it.
"Weihu Security Company is that arrogant? They don't even respect Daming Technology?" Li Jinshui immediately invoked the name of the parent company.
"Don't flatter yourself. We're the Youth Training Camp, not Daming Technology." Huang Lichen tapped the table in irritation. "Even within our own camp, we're not all on the same side. Everyone has their own agenda, let alone the people above us. If we reported such a petty matter to the branch company, they'd just fire you and be done with it."
"Uh, so there really isn't a single station manager in Rong City who'll take me on?"
Li Jinshui found it hard to believe. Flash Group Delivery was a massive industry giant backed by Daming Technology. How could its station managers be so spineless that they wouldn't dare cross even the Weihu Security Company?
"A-Shui, society isn't all about fighting and proving who's stronger. Everyone has a family to support."
Huang Lichen sighed and couldn't help pulling out another cigarette and lighting it. "If a station takes you on, its couriers will have people lying in wait for them every day. They'll be chased, have their food orders snatched, and have things smashed up. Which station manager would put up with that?"
"Fair enough..."
Only then did Li Jinshui slowly nod. He could understand why things had turned out this way.
But he was starting to wonder.
Normally, if someone like him caused trouble, the company would cut its losses and fire him.
But now the HR manager, two deputy commanders, and the head of the Intelligence Department were all gathered here. If they really meant to fire him, there was no need for such a big show.
The situation clearly called for some major evaluation and arrangements.
Wait!
The anonymous text message he'd received earlier suddenly flashed through Li Jinshui's mind.
Don't agree to the new location?
No way. Were they planning to send me out to set up a new station?
Who sent that message, and why were they telling me not to agree?
"Li Jinshui, I'd like to hear what you think about this," Zhang Li said, slowly exhaling a ring of smoke.
"Commander Zhang, you're too kind. I'm just a rookie. What could I possibly think? My opinion doesn't matter. I'll follow whatever arrangements the organization and its leaders make." Li Jinshui cleverly gave them the official line and declared his loyalty, while dodging the question.
Whatever you people decide, as long as I can stay in the Youth Training Camp and use up my resources, we can deal with the rest later!
"Oh, this young man's quite the slippery one."
The old woman laughed, but her expression changed in an instant.
Her face suddenly turned cold, and she said mildly, "But I still want to hear your thoughts. Or I could report this to the branch company for you. Don't worry. With my experience and seniority, they'll at least show me some respect."
As if you've got any pull.
If they respected you, would you be sitting here smoking in frustration? This is clearly a threat to get me fired.
Fine, fine. No need to go to all the trouble of laying the groundwork. I'll save you the effort and finish this myself.
"Don't do that. Whatever you do, don't."
Li Jinshui slapped his thigh and sprang to his feet. His gaze swept over the assembled executives, bright and resolute. "If none of the station managers are willing to take me on, then I won't go looking for one. I'll set one up myself. A new Heli... I mean, a new delivery station!"