"Teacher, your majestic performance in debating the crowd was truly admirable," Su Chen praised as he walked in.
"Enough, stop buttering me up." Yuan Chenyang waved a hand, though his expression had relaxed considerably. "You finally decided to leave the house today."
"I came to show some concern for my teacher." Su Chen feigned curiosity. "How did things get so big? Was it because of that Strange Artifact?"
Yuan Chenyang kneaded his temples. "Why are you asking?"
Su Chen sighed. "It feels like some small actions of mine set off a chain reaction and left you surrounded by enemies on all sides."
He meant draining the Strange Artifact dry, while Yuan Chenyang assumed he meant discovering its empty shell.
"This has nothing to do with you. Don't put pressure on yourself." Yuan Chenyang glanced at him, his gaze growing gentler as he emphasized:
"I do not have much time. I will soon rotate to guard the ruins, and I was already planning to investigate with great fanfare. If not for the Strange Artifact you discovered, today's hurdle would not have been so easy to clear."
"I see..." Su Chen let out a breath of relief. He had no way to explain swallowing the Strange Artifact. If he had truly dragged Yuan Chenyang into a pit, he would have felt rather guilty.
Yuan Chenyang seemed afraid that Su Chen would feel pressured and immediately added, "Besides, discovering a Strange Artifact is a merit no matter where it happens!"
"Just because you did not discover one this time does not mean there was none. Exposing it in advance is even better!"
"That's true..." Su Chen thought for a moment, then shifted the subject with a bashful tone. "Since it counts as a merit..."
"I knew it." Yuan Chenyang laughed. "I have kept Qi Chuan's matter suppressed and have not disclosed it publicly. That merit is troublesome and difficult to reward, especially with Cult of the Strange Gods believers still watching in the shadows."
"How about this? I will personally give you another ten Blackflame Potions and Revitalizing Potions."
Su Chen had no objections. Rewards meant nothing; tangible benefits were what mattered.
"Can the Revitalizing Potions be exchanged for something better?" Su Chen rubbed his hands together.
"You..." Surprise appeared in Yuan Chenyang's eyes. "As expected of a Scarlet-Gold Talent. Our Inspection Department has no better stock. I will think of something for you."
Even Su Chen felt he was being a little excessive, and he carefully asked, "Um... do you have any more Glazed Blood?"
"Have you become addicted to drinking it?" Yuan Chenyang asked kindly.
Seeing Su Chen nod, he said irritably, "I do not even get much quota of that stuff in a year. You are only Tier 1, yet you are really willing to use it."
"It will not multiply if you keep it in your hands," Su Chen argued.
"No more, no more." Yuan Chenyang waved his hand repeatedly. Seeing Su Chen still standing there, he caught on. "Is there something else?"
"What I mentioned to you before, special professions..." Su Chen reminded him.
"Didn't I give you Engineering Apprentice?" Yuan Chenyang stuffed the Strange Artifact on the desk back into a drawer.
"I mean something like Scholar," Su Chen said.
"You cannot chew more than you can swallow..." Yuan Chenyang leaned back, rubbed his bald head, and shook it. "When I was young, I was just like you, curious about every kind of profession. I wasted quite a lot of time."
"When you reach my age, it will not be too late to delve into them. That is, if you still have the energy by then."
"Besides, do you think special professions grow on trees? Southwind City does not have many either. Yingfeng should have some."
"Yingfeng..." Su Chen became thoughtful. He was not entirely ignorant of Yingfeng; its knowledge restrictions were extremely strict.
Among Southwind City's official institutions, only Tier 2 Professional information was available as well, at least on the surface.
"Fine." Su Chen gave up. Yuan Chenyang rubbed his brow and casually asked, "How far have you developed your profession?"
"About seventy percent," Su Chen replied vaguely.
"You can feel it that precisely?" Yuan Chenyang was quite astonished and rather gratified. "That is not slow. I have carefully studied this Sky-Rending Warrior. It should not conflict with Storm Hunter."
"Before long, you will probably become a Tier 2 Professional."
Yuan Chenyang seemed to recall something. Looking at Su Chen, he sighed. "At your age, having such patience is truly rare. The potions I gave you last time should have taken at least a month, perhaps even two, to finish."
"Talent is important, but temperament is even more important. Perhaps it is also because you were once a refugee and would desperately seize every opportunity. It is not as if I have never seen talented people waste their years away. As one grows older, talent can deteriorate too..."
Beep—
As he spoke, his wristband buzzed. After opening it, Yuan Chenyang's expression changed slightly, his brows knitting tightly. "Zhang Hongbo is here. How did he return so quickly?"
"No, if he is back, why is Zhou Xian bringing so many people here?"
Yuan Chenyang muttered to himself before suddenly cursing, "That old fox! He wants to see what cards I have in my hand. What a sly bastard!"
"The City Lord is back?" Su Chen's thoughts raced. Yuan Chenyang had clearly not expected it.
Zhang Hongbo had probably received the news and was worried that Old Yuan would do something reckless.
"You should go back first. I will arrange for Old Sun to deliver the things to you." Yuan Chenyang impatiently sent him away.
"Yes." Su Chen nodded and left the room directly. The elevator happened to arrive as well.
Ding!
Su Chen stopped short. Zhang Hongbo was standing inside. "City Lord."
"Just call me Uncle Zhang." Zhang Hongbo was very amiable as he patted Su Chen on the shoulder.
Su Chen readily called him, "Uncle Zhang."
"Mm..." Zhang Hongbo nodded. "Hengyu is rather reserved. You two can interact more. In the future, at Yingfeng, perhaps you can support each other."
"We greeted each other at the banquet that day. He was exceptionally imposing and has much of your bearing," Su Chen said sincerely.
Zhang Hongbo stared at him for quite a while before shaking his head with a laugh. "Go on down."
Only after watching the elevator doors close did the smile on his face fade. The instant he stepped into Yuan Chenyang's room, he said sternly, "Yuan Chenyang, what are you trying to do?!"
"I was only gone for ten days, and you have turned all of Southwind City upside down. How about you be the City Lord instead?!"
"I would not dare..." Yuan Chenyang met his gaze coldly, inwardly disgusted. He said in a deep voice, "City Lord, you should already know the specifics. The situation was truly urgent."
"There are people from the Cult of the Strange Gods in the Inspection Department, Patrol Department, and Exploration Department. The power within the Strange Artifact has completely dissipated. We do not know what they did."
Zhang Hongbo's voice was cold. "Those minor lackeys in the Patrol Department, we uncover a few every year. I do not know about the Inspection Department, but that person in the Exploration Department has always been on the watch list."
"As for the Strange Artifact, it is indeed troublesome." He paused. "But since you caused such a huge commotion and still found nothing, it is probably not as you imagined."
Yuan Chenyang's temples throbbed. He suspected that this old fox had not returned today at all, but had been watching in secret to see what he could uncover.
Then Zhang Hongbo's tone softened. "Internal matters of the Inspection Department are the Inspection Department's responsibility, and you did discover a Strange Artifact. But the city is full of complaints, and there are some things I cannot do anything about."
"What do you mean?" Yuan Chenyang stared at him.
Zhang Hongbo explained, "I returned in a hurry, leaving no one to guard the ruins. The council has decided that you will rotate early and guard the ruins."
"Rotate early?" Yuan Chenyang abruptly rose to his feet. Zhang Hongbo remained expressionless. "In addition, Yingfeng's people have just arrived, and they agree as well."
Yuan Chenyang swallowed back his words, the veins on his forehead bulging. Only after a long while did he force out a single word. "Fine."
"Your intentions are good, and we all understand that. But one must also pay attention to methods." Zhang Hongbo comforted him. "I will temporarily take over the Inspection Department. Do not worry."
Before you continue