When Qi Wu mentioned the Abyssal Grand Prison,
Wolf Team's aura suddenly grew a little strange.
"Come with me."
As he spoke, he started toward his office.
Qi Wu followed.
They entered Wolf Team's bureau chief's office.
After closing the door, Wolf Team took his seat behind the desk.
Qi Wu sat down across from him.
After a stretch of silence,
Wolf Team spoke in a slightly wary tone.
"Where did you hear that name?"
Qi Wu had already prepared his story.
He answered immediately:
"I used to know a powerful senior."
"He told me I absolutely had to visit that place. He said it could help hone my abilities."
Qi Wu hadn't come up with this story at random.
He had based it on memories from his previous life and information he had gathered afterward.
During the Demon invasion in his previous life,
he had met several Psychics known as "monsters who emerged from the abyss."
Those people had all been a little unhinged.
But every last one of them had been powerful.
That abyss referred to the Abyssal Grand Prison.
From this, Qi Wu had deduced that the abyss didn't just contain powerful Demons.
It was also a place that cultivated powerful fighters.
Its methods might simply be a little extreme.
Thus, he used the excuse that he wanted to visit the Abyssal Grand Prison to hone his abilities.
Sure enough, Wolf Team looked thoughtful after hearing what Qi Wu said.
"Hone your abilities?"
Wolf Team gave a quiet snort.
"Who exactly was this powerful senior of yours, to dare call what happens there training?"
Seeing that Wolf Team seemed to know about the abyss, Qi Wu looked very interested.
When Wolf Team spoke of the abyss, a flicker of apprehension crossed his eyes.
"That place is a paradise for lunatics."
"Even saying you'd have a one-in-ten chance of surviving is generous! Was that senior of yours sending you there to die?"
His words offered scraps of information about the Abyssal Grand Prison, steeped in blood and terror.
Yet Qi Wu only grew more interested.
Rather than looking afraid, he seemed even more intrigued:
"A paradise for lunatics? That exciting? Now I want to see it even more."
Wolf Team: ...
He realized he couldn't begin to understand how Qi Wu's mind worked.
[Annoyance points +50 (Wolf Team thinks you're unreasonable and courting death)]
Wolf Team stared at Qi Wu, speechless.
He rubbed his brow, feeling that talking to this kid was more exhausting than subduing a powerful Demon.
"Qi Wu."
Wolf Team's tone carried an almost helpless gravity.
"I'll say this one last time. Give up on the idea. That's not a place you should go."
"Come on, Wolf Team."
Qi Wu immediately adopted a sincere expression that somehow still looked eminently punchable.
"Look, I'm pretty strong, aren't I? I've even taken down an eighth-rank Demon. I just want to broaden my horizons. Maybe I really could get some training out of it. I promise I'll only look around. I absolutely won't cause trouble!"
"Your promises have no credibility whatsoever," Wolf Team interrupted coldly.
"Besides, this isn't about strength. It's about clearance and regulations! Access to the Abyssal Grand Prison is extremely restricted. Even I need to submit a special application with a valid reason. It's not some tourist attraction you can visit whenever you like!"
"Rules are rigid, but people can be flexible." Qi Wu began wheedling relentlessly, putting his shamelessness to full use.
"You're the chief of the Nanjiang Branch Bureau. You've got serious authority! Just make up a reason, like sending me on some special investigation. Or say I'm going there to volunteer and help with the cleaning?"
A vein in Wolf Team's temple began throbbing again.
"Do I look like an idiot to you...?"
Wolf Team clearly didn't want Qi Wu to visit the Abyssal Grand Prison.
But his attitude also confirmed that he knew about the abyss.
He might even have very high clearance.
Precisely for that reason,
Qi Wu had to win him over and get information about the abyss out of him.
This was a major matter concerning his next template.
Qi Wu changed tactics again:
"How about this? Give me a chance. Set a condition. What would it take for you to let me go? As long as it's something I can do, I'll brave any danger!"
He struck a pose that practically said, I'm valuable. Hurry up and put me to use.
Harassed beyond endurance, Wolf Team took a deep breath.
"Fine! You're that determined to go, are you?"
He fixed Qi Wu with a sharp gaze and declared firmly:
"Take first place in the bureau-wide Selection Tournament a month from now!"
"If you can defeat every A-rank team, I'll personally apply to headquarters and use my highest clearance to take you to the Abyssal Grand Prison for a look! Just one look!"
This condition was extremely demanding.
The A-rank teams all had deep reserves of strength, and their captains were veteran eighth-rank fighters.
For a newcomer like Qi Wu, defeating those veterans would be anything but easy.
Wolf Team had expected Qi Wu to hesitate, bargain, or simply give up.
Instead, Qi Wu's eyes instantly lit up, and he agreed without a second thought:
"Deal! Your word is your bond, Wolf Team. No backing out!"
He looked so eager that it seemed less like he had accepted a difficult task and more like he had stumbled upon an incredible bargain.
Watching Qi Wu agree so eagerly, as though afraid he might change his mind, Wolf Team felt his faint sense of foreboding deepen.
This kid...
He agreed far too readily!
Could he really be confident he could defeat every veteran A-rank captain in the Selection Tournament?
But he had already given his word and couldn't take it back. Wolf Team could only press on, emphasizing with a stern expression:
"I'm not asking you merely to pass the Selection Tournament. You have to take first place. If you lose, never bring this up with me again!"
"Don't worry, don't worry." Qi Wu smiled like a cat that had stolen a fish.
"It's only first place. I absolutely won't let you down, Wolf Team! I'll leave you to your work and head back to prepare for the Selection Tournament!"
With that, he sprang to his feet and gave Wolf Team a comical salute.
Then, as though afraid Wolf Team would change his mind, he turned and fled so quickly that he vanished in the blink of an eye.
Wolf Team was left standing alone in the empty conference room, staring in the direction Qi Wu had disappeared with his brow furrowed.
"This kid..."
Wolf Team murmured, his tone complicated.
"Could he still have something up his sleeve?"
Suddenly, he felt an unprecedented anticipation for the Selection Tournament a month away... along with a faint sense of foreboding.
In high spirits, Qi Wu hummed a tune as he left Wolf Team's office.
He had barely stepped out of the office building
when an arrogant figure blocked his path.
It was Luo Bai, brimming with anger and jealousy toward Qi Wu.
Qi Wu narrowed his eyes.
"What, here to challenge me?"
Luo Bai stopped five meters away from Qi Wu and fixed him with a hostile glare.
"I don't know what trick you used to bewitch Wolf Team into letting trash like you become an A-rank captain! But don't get too full of yourself!"
Qi Wu's eyes narrowed slightly. Rather than getting angry, he found it rather amusing.
He tucked his hands into his pockets and gave a lazy yawn:
"Oh? Then what does the noble Captain Luo Bai want with an unworthy nobody like me? Did you come all this way just to show off your impotent rage?"
[Annoyance points +300 (Luo Bai considers your contemptuous attitude the greatest insult to him)]
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