Pretty Boy and Glasses Girl

Little Pretty Boy and Glasses Girl

After returning to the commandery administration hall, Lin Wen fetched the most detailed map of Long Mountain Commandery and shut himself in his office, studying it carefully.

He needed to memorize the locations, strengths, and weaknesses of every region in Long Mountain Commandery so he could reduce the expenditure in the questions and answers to come.

It had to be said, only once it was laid out on a map did one realize just how atrocious Long Mountain Commandery's geographical position truly was.

It lay at the westernmost edge of East Qin Province, hemmed in by two great mountain ranges—the Cloudsoar Mountain Range to the north and the Taixu Mountain Range to the south. A third of the commandery was mountainous terrain. Beyond that, there were plains, hills, rivers large and small, marshes, valleys, basins, Gobi deserts, and all manner of landforms. Its geographical environment was exceptionally complex.

An exceedingly complex geographical environment had brought exceedingly difficult transportation, and exceedingly difficult transportation had brought an exceedingly impoverished environment.

In all of Long Mountain Commandery, only a small patch of plain at its easternmost end bore any trace of modern civilization.

Crammed into that tiny plain were the commandery's two most developed towns: East Grain Town and Huai Town.

The moment one stepped beyond that plain, which did not even account for one-thirtieth of Long Mountain Commandery's territory, it was like plunging headfirst into primitive society. All traces of modernization vanished without a shadow.

The farther west one went, the more primitive it became, and the fainter civilization's breath grew, until one finally left Long Mountain Commandery's borders.

If Long Mountain Commandery were a person, it would be someone who had slipped and fallen into an abyss. That tiny patch of plain was like his hand, gripping the cliff edge with desperate force and preserving for him a single thread of life.

And now, the flood had soaked the body below his neck, increasing his weight. His hand was already close to giving out, while the people atop the cliff were still watching the show.

Lin Wen sank into thought.

Without question, there was no longer any point hoping for help from the Empire.

And for the moment, he had not thought of any new way to make money—over time, and with the Imperial plan becoming public, quite a few people had seen through the holes in his utterly flawed investment-solicitation post.

Many people cursed furiously beneath the post. Fortunately, Lin Wen had promptly replaced all the text with images of spellcasting materials, turning the onlookers who knew nothing of the truth into spellcasting onlookers, thus preventing the situation from spreading any further.

Moreover, thanks to that string of wild maneuvers, quite a few websites that had been unwilling to rot had evolved post-deletion functions, while another portion had devolved into sites dedicated solely to spellcasting materials, losing the conditions he needed to make a big splash.

In addition, perhaps because of him, the Empire seemed to have taken notice of the internet. Several utterly inhuman websites had turned into 808.

Under these circumstances, causing trouble again would be far too difficult.

In short, he was almost surrounded on all sides.

What should he do?

He had already tried it. [Immortal's Guide] was still an expenditure he could not bear to look at directly.

Was something missing?

But he had already made so many preparations. He could not think of anywhere else where the expenditure could be reduced.

Or was this matter itself practically impossible?

Just as he was thinking, a girl interrupted him.

"G-Governor Lin, e-everyone's here. Sh-should we begin the meeting?"

Lin Wen looked up. It was a glasses girl he had never seen before. Her face was pure and innocent, while her figure was anything but. Speaking to someone of commandery governor rank for the first time, she looked extremely nervous.

"Who are you?"

The glasses girl immediately seemed far more dejected. "I-I'm Li Xiaoli, a clerical officer in the governor's office. Governor Lin instructed Deputy Director Yuan to hand the work over to me. M-me."

Lin Wen had to turn it over in his mind before remembering who she was. So she was the successor to Yuan Zhimen, the big fat man he had appointed offhandedly.

"Oh, I remember. Go call them all in."

"O-okay." The glasses girl lowered her head dejectedly and walked out.

"Wait." Lin Wen said, "Stick your chest out."

"Ah?" The glasses girl failed to understand what the governor meant at once.

"What I mean is—"

"You're excellent. Have confidence. No matter when, hold your head high and your chest out."

A huge flush rose across the glasses girl's face. Without saying another word, she fled outside in a panic.

Very soon, all seventeen people Lin Wen had selected yesterday entered. No one had defected.

Lin Wen only said a few simple words.

"From now on, your workplace will be Changle Town. You'll eat, sleep, and work there. Pack your luggage and set off immediately."

All seventeen people were stunned. No one was used to this way of speaking.

After a while, it was still the big fat man, Yuan Zhimen, who spoke up. "But, uh, Governor, have the office location and living arrangements been prepared? What are we supposed to do first when we get there? Could you perhaps explain?"

Lin Wen said impatiently, "Go find Huang Mingxiao, director of the Civil Affairs Department, and have him arrange it. Your first assignment is to assist the temporary command headquarters. Stop talking nonsense and get moving."

Only then did everyone leave, albeit reluctantly.

One hundred public security guards went with them as well.

That should ease some of the manpower pressure.

Once he had dealt with these trivial matters, Lin Wen once again sank into a state of wringing his brain to its limit.

He no longer had anything to rely on.

Only his wisdom.

That towering 250—an intelligence beyond anyone's reach.

It usually lay dormant, only running at half capacity.

Now, it was time to reveal its true prowess!

Just as Lin Wen was about to erupt, another voice interrupted him.

"Hello, County Chief Lin."

Six burly bodyguards dressed head to toe in black barged in.

A pretty boy stepped out in front of them and gave Lin Wen a slight bow.

"Pleased to meet you. Please be lenient with me."

Lin Wen looked at him with an annoyed expression and said nothing.

The pretty boy wore brocade and splendid robes, with a row of jade pendants tied to his bright red sash. When he bowed, the pendants jingled all over him. A sword hung flamboyantly at his right side, its scabbard embroidered with gold thread and silver patterns, extravagantly luxurious.

Judging from that outfit alone, it was as if he had traveled back to ancient times. And this young master, with superiority written all over his face, was clearly the small fry Lin Wen was about to slap down first.

"Hey, hey, no need to be so cold. I came to help you."

With a flick, he opened a white jade folding fan and gently fanned his air of superiority, his nostrils practically pointed at the sky.

"Oh?" Lin Wen was slightly surprised. "How much money did you bring?"

He thought, If it's more than ten million, I'll forgive him. Otherwise, I'll smash that smug face of his.

The pretty boy snapped his folding fan shut, and his nostrils lowered. His handsome face went wide-eyed. "Money? What money?"

Lin Wen's patience instantly ran out. He shouted, "Glasses girl—uh, no, what was your name again... Li Xiaoli!"

The temp worker Li Xiaoli ran in. "C-County Chief, what is it?" She shrank timidly into a corner, not daring to approach the six hulking men or the pretty boy.

The moment the pretty boy saw Li Xiaoli's delicate face, his eyes lit up. Then he saw her proud figure and the silk blouse stretched taut over it, and he practically floated over. Bracing one hand against the wall, he lightly flicked the loose hair from his forehead.

"Little sister, what's your name? How about big brother takes you out tonight?"

Lin Wen sneered. "Li Xiaoli! Right hand! Hit him!"

Slap!

A crisp sound rang out, and half the pretty boy's face turned red.

Both Glasses Girl and the pretty boy were unable to believe it. Li Xiaoli stared at her slender hand, unable to believe it could deliver such a merciless slap. It was as though, in that instant, her hand had been controlled by the magic in County Chief Lin's words.

A strange strength rose freely within her. For the past twenty years, she had always been the one bullied, never daring to resist. Her father, who had always protected her, had passed away only last year. She had been left to face the raging storms of the outside world alone, her heart filled with confusion and fear.

Now, they seemed to have vanished.

The pretty boy, meanwhile, had suffered a thousand-point critical strike to the soul. Clutching his face, he could hardly believe that there was actually a woman in this world capable of resisting his charm.

Lin Wen rose to his feet, having waited for this chance. "Li Xiaoli! Go out and call over the Security Office, the Public Order Division, and the Inspectorate!"

Li Xiaoli turned and ran out. The pretty boy shouted, "Wait!" and reached out to grab her. At the same time, one of the tower-like burly men beside him also extended a hand.

Just as Lin Wen was about to unzip his pants like a gay, he saw that the burly man's hand was not reaching for Li Xiaoli at all. Instead, he grabbed the pretty boy, forcing his waist down.

"Young Master, stop making trouble. Apologize to the County Chief."

"Let go of me! Let go!"

The pretty boy struggled desperately, but it was like a dragonfly trying to shake a pillar. His face turned bright red. Knowing that continuing would only humiliate himself further, he said quietly, "I'm sorry, County Chief Lin. It was my fault."

Seeing that a fight was not going to happen, Lin Wen was suddenly somewhat disappointed, yet also somewhat relieved. He was disappointed because he had been planning to work this pretty boy over a little, to see whether he could squeeze some money out of him.

He was relieved because he would not have to risk spending goodwill. What if this pretty boy was all show and no substance, without a single cent to his name? Wouldn't that be a pure loss?

He sat back down and asked, "What exactly did you come here for?"

The burly man said, "We are from the Governor's Guard. Governor Sheng learned that you have yet to form a personal guard, so he specially ordered us here to assist you and protect your safety until you have formed one. This is Young Master Li Yuchen. He is the young son of the Governor's friend, and also our captain."

Lin Wen gave an "oh," not bothering to consider how much hidden meaning lay behind those words. He said directly, "Fine. You are my personal guard now, and naturally you should obey my orders. All of you, set out immediately for the temporary command post in Changle Town. Report there and follow Director Huang Mingxiao's arrangements. Assist with his work."

The pretty boy, Li Yuchen, instantly leaped up like a cat with its fur standing on end. "Who do you think you are? The Emperor of the Empire? We're the Governor's personal guard—what gives you the right to order us around? Uncle Jie! Ignore him. We're going back right now. I'm going to complain bitterly about him to Uncle Sheng!"

Neither the tower-like man nor Lin Wen paid any attention to the pretty boy. They looked at each other for a moment. The burly man withdrew his gaze and replied, "As you command, County Chief Lin."

He dragged the still-fussing pretty boy out, giving Lin Wen one deep look before leaving.