Wanzhong Group

"Should I just tell you the result?" Ye Xiaojing looked coldly at her boss.

Lan Junxian was leaning against the desk in a flashy pose, like a birthday boy ready to unwrap his presents.

He asked casually, "Did the Special Task Force argue much? If it wasn't dramatic enough, just skip to the result."

"The meeting minutes put it this way: 'The Special Task Force engaged in a rational debate.' Which basically means that if they'd been allowed to get physical, they'd probably have beaten each other bloody."

Ye Xiaojing calmly described the rough proceedings of the afternoon's Special Task Force meeting.

As the group discussed Jiang Qian, they went from initially holding their own opinions and weighing the pros and cons to later scrambling to claim him. It had left Ye Xiaojing sick of the twists and turns of human nature.

"Hahaha, I can imagine!"

Lan Junxian happily drained his glass. "Tell me, when can we bring him back?"

"We can't bring him back to the East Sea, boss."

"?"

Lan Junxian's expression froze, and his heart sank.

Was this different from what I expected?

"After learning that Jiang Qian had not only absorbed the Peacock Spider cocoon but also made a major contribution to the capture operation, the Special Task Force held a rational debate and ultimately made the following personnel recommendations..."

Lan Junxian straightened up and listened intently.

"First, he could join Beijing Headquarters. The Headquarters' Special Operations Department is also very interested in this exceptional talent and can hire him directly, waiving the probationary period."

Just that one sentence was enough to instantly deflate Lan Junxian!

Headquarters had laid claim to him. How could they possibly compete?

Ye Xiaojing continued, "Second, he could join the East Sea Branch and assist the Peacock Spider Task Force in handling related cases."

That was the outcome Lan Junxian, the East Sea Branch, and the Deep Sea Clan had all been striving for.

"There was also a third recommendation: he could stay here and be hired by the Wanzhong Group as an intern. After completing a three-month probationary period, he would then take up a position at the Jinping Special Affairs Center."

"The Wanzhong Group? A probationary period?"

Lan Junxian laughed. "A rare talent I value so highly, a prodigy I was going to bring back to the East Sea and cultivate as a priority, and they're sending him off to the Wanzhong Group to work as a security guard? What kind of nonsense is that!"

Ye Xiaojing folded her arms and shrugged.

"Faced with these three options, the Special Task Force was caught in a bind, so they planned to toss the decision to Jiang Qian himself. But someone at a higher level quietly pushed things along, and the group settled on the third recommendation."

Ye Xiaojing finished speaking without changing her expression, waiting for her boss to erupt.

But Lan Junxian fell silent.

If someone at a higher level was quietly pushing things along, that meant the matter was beyond the control of someone at his level. There was no point forcing it.

At that thought, Lan Junxian sighed and made an effort to adjust his attitude, accepting reality.

"It'll be good for him to get some experience at the Wanzhong Group's grassroots level. He can see what the world of License Holders is really like, and he'll gain a deeper understanding of this profession."

In truth, it wasn't a shabby destination.

The Wanzhong Group was famous nowadays, one of the country's leading commercial ecosystems.

Its main businesses spanned instant messaging, finance, technology, the internet, new energy, biopharmaceuticals, e-commerce, and many other sectors. It had its own research institutes, experimental bases, and energy systems. It was a commercial giant that had risen over the past decade.

Besides that, this commercial behemoth had another, little-known nickname: the stronghold of orderly License Holders!

The Wanzhong Group was ultimately controlled by the official License Holder authorities.

Most official License Holders working at the Public Security Bureau's Special Affairs Center were elite candidates selected from the Wanzhong Group.

That's right—not every orderly License Holder was qualified to enter the official Special Affairs Center and take up a government post.

Only those with clean backgrounds and real ability were fit for important roles.

The Wanzhong Group provided the official License Holder authorities with a high-quality, convenient talent pool from which to select their best and brightest.

But even those who weren't chosen for official positions still found the Wanzhong Group the best destination for most orderly License Holders.

Since the Super-Species World descended at the turn of the millennium, most people who obtained an Identity Card had remained stuck at the First or Second State for years. They moved from one relatively easy Evolution Dungeon to another, never making progress.

In fact, if most License Holders could protect themselves and resist the many temptations to become Fallen, they were already doing society a great service.

Through the Wanzhong Group, the official License Holder authorities gathered all orderly License Holders, regardless of their aptitude, and "provided for" them over the long term.

For work requiring genuine commercial and technical expertise, Wanzhong paid top salaries to hire professionals, who steered the company as executives. They signed performance-based agreements to ensure the Wanzhong Group's ecosystem remained competitive and profitable across its industries.

This way of operating might not have been particularly sophisticated, but it had certainly solved employment and retirement problems for many License Holders.

It strengthened the solidarity of the orderly License Holders at large and provided ordinary License Holders with a bridge into the official ranks and the Special Affairs Center.

Among the ambitious people at Wanzhong, a saying had become a legend:

"Before you become an elite official, you have to learn how to be a good security guard at Wanzhong!"

Still, whenever Lan Junxian imagined Jiang Qian wasting his time at the Wanzhong Group, he couldn't help feeling it was a shame.

He felt he ought to do something, at the very least.

Even if Jiang Qian wouldn't grow under his wing, he didn't want them to lose touch.

In the end, with a reminder from his assistant, Ye Xiaojing, Lan Junxian finally found a fitting role for himself: Buddy.

It meant "partner."

Basically, it was a trendy way of describing a mentor guiding an apprentice.

As a well-known publicly listed company, the Wanzhong Group naturally offered excellent employee benefits. A Wanzhong Buddy's responsibilities included introducing new License Holders to the principles of the profession and License Holder culture, as well as offering guidance on work-related matters.

Buddies weren't in a supervisory relationship, and their reporting lines didn't overlap. It was more like a personal connection.

But that still wasn't enough.

After much thought, Lan Junxian finally found a new solution in the unapproachable look on Ye Xiaojing's face...

"Xiao Jing, I have an important task for you."

Later that day, Jiang Qian was secretly transferred to a new Safe House.

He still had three full days left before his isolation period ended and he was released.

The new Safe House was in a villa and was completely different from the last one. Jiang Qian had gone from a minimalist environment to a comprehensive learning and training facility.

It included a library, a training room, an audiovisual room, and a laboratory.

After showing him around, Lan Junxian finally told Jiang Qian, regretfully, what the Headquarters Special Task Force had decided about his future work: he would intern at the Wanzhong Group.

Lan Junxian would stay in touch with Jiang Qian as his "Buddy."

Then he made a bold promise:

"Jiang Qian, I'll use these three days to teach you the most important basics of the License Holder world!"