Service suspended

It had to be said that the members of Squad Three had always held their Divine Strategist in great respect.

Not just because of the Divine Strategist's intelligence and beauty.

But because this woman really could help them make money.

In the year since she had joined Squad Three, they had basically escaped poverty. At least, after buying cultivation resources, they had a little spare cash left for breakfast.

This... was happiness.

Who could turn down a few piping-hot... steamed buns every morning after training?

Paired with a bowl of hot water, it was practically heaven.

With unconditional trust in An Xin, they decisively followed her, heading toward the Ink Pavilion in anticipation.

"Bro, look!"

"This is the Ink Pavilion's provincial capital branch!"

"As the Human Race's highest-ranking department, overseeing the entire land, the Ink Pavilion certainly has prestige!"

Standing before a somewhat old-fashioned pavilion, Wang Wenxuan wore a boastful expression.

Yu Sheng glanced at it and walked straight inside.

"Damn, at least give it a compliment!"

"It's seriously cool, okay? This is the Ink Pavilion! The provincial capital's Ink Pavilion!"

"With all this prestige, are you sure you don't want a photo at the entrance?"

Wang Wenxuan rushed in as he shouted.

The Ink Pavilion's ground-floor lobby.

Several female clerks were patiently helping citizens with their business. When they heard Wang Wenxuan's booming voice, they instinctively looked up. Once they saw his face, they all shuddered in unison.

"Madman Wang's here again!"

"Why won't this beggar ever give it a rest?"

The clerks held their heads in dismay, their voices filled with anguish.

It was as though some terrifying figure had arrived.

Every time Wang Wenxuan approached an empty counter, a sign went up on it.

"Service suspended."

Wang Wenxuan stood there awkwardly, at a complete loss.

Meanwhile, Yu Sheng silently turned around and looked at him with an extremely complicated expression.

It seemed to say nothing, yet also everything.

Perhaps if I'd come alone, I would've had a one-in-three chance of collecting the reward for a heroic deed.

With this guy along... there's probably no chance at all.

People who talk too much are unreliable. Sin City really didn't lie to me.

Just then-

"Miss, sorry to bother you, but could you help us with something?"

"Our boss was badly injured on a mission and is lying in the hospital."

"He could die in the line of duty at any moment."

"We... we want to collect a reward to save our boss."

An Xin suddenly appeared at the counter beside the two of them, her eyes brimming with tears, a picture of helpless vulnerability.

The clerk behind the counter hurriedly removed the "Service suspended" sign from her desk.

"Don't panic, little girl."

"Tell me exactly what happened first!"

Clearly, An Xin's grief had affected her.

An Xin nodded hard and forced out a faint smile, though it was an especially bitter one. "Thank you... thank you, miss."

"I heard you can get a reward for fighting the Evil Cult and saving people."

"Boo-hoo... if our boss dies, we won't be able to survive either."

"He... he fought for the Human Race."

"He's even lost his legs!"

"Boo-hoo..."

An Xin's sobs grew increasingly heart-wrenching. Just hearing them hurt.

A reward?

The clerk kept going over the Ink Pavilion's regulations in her mind, even pulling out a thick Policy Compendium and searching through it page by page.

Finally...

"There really is one..."

The clerk murmured to herself, looking somewhat bewildered. "But during a fight... who has time to record a video?"

Still somewhat dazed, she took the USB Drive from An Xin and opened the video.

It showed the squad heading out on their rescue mission, but the footage had been edited and set to background music. As they advanced, they had the air of warriors marching into bitter winds toward a river of no return.

The camerawork was particularly skillful, too, giving the entire video a grim, solemn atmosphere.

Although, in the end, the only footage was of the badly injured Evil Cult driver.

But the scene quickly changed, showing the squad departing with grave, resolute expressions despite their severe injuries.

The footage was only three minutes long, but it could easily have served as a movie trailer.

The young clerk watched until her eyes reddened. For some reason, her nose stung, and she kept sniffling. Even so, she looked troubled. "This video is too short. I can't verify its authenticity. It looks more like..."

"A movie."

Her expression was deeply conflicted.

Even if the girl across from her looked filthy and pitiful, and her captain was hospitalized with serious injuries and had lost his legs, rules were rules. She simply didn't have that much authority.

"Miss, please!"

"If this drags on any longer, our captain will die..."

Disregarding appearances, An Xin began wailing loudly.

The clerk wrestled with herself for a long time before gritting her teeth. "I don't have the authority!"

"Wait here. I'll go find my supervisor!"

With that, the clerk turned and left.

Wang Wenxuan, who had watched the whole thing from a distance, froze. "That... works... too?"

"That crazy woman An Xin really has some ideas."

Meanwhile, Yu Sheng gazed at him, as though saying... You're in the same business, so why is their presentation so polished?

While yours is so unprofessional.

Wang Wenxuan was utterly bewildered. Normally, hardly anyone would have thought of exploiting a loophole like collecting rewards for rescuing people.

Perhaps someone had thought of it but couldn't bring themselves to stoop that low, which was why even the clerk had initially been baffled.

Why had that woman An Xin just happened to come up with the same idea as them?

Unless...

There was a mole!

Damn it, that shameless bastard Luo Yun!

He must have been eavesdropping.

Wang Wenxuan cursed furiously.

A gleam suddenly flashed through his eyes. Right there in front of everyone, Wang Wenxuan mussed up his hair and put on a miserable air. He staggered over and sprawled against the counter, looking at a clerk passing beside him. A full-grown man, neither handsome nor ugly, he simply started crying.

"Miss!"

"Please save me! I've got some materials here too!"

"Our boss..."

"Our boss is dying too."

"He's so pitiful, really. His arms and legs were all blown off. All that's left is his head wobbling around."

"If you don't approve my paperwork, you'll be murdering the Reserve Corps garrison commander of Baichun City!"

"A serious crime!"

Wang Wenxuan slapped the counter, looking extremely agitated. He even frantically signaled Yu Sheng with his eyes to play along. They had to get that money today.

If they could get it through their wits, all the better. That would save them from having to give their boss a cut.

Yu Sheng remained silent.

He simply watched Wang Wenxuan's performance, his gaze somewhat pitying. Only after a moment did he speak. "If I'm not mistaken, the person behind you should be the... boss you're talking about."

He pointed behind Wang Wenxuan.

Suddenly, Wang Wenxuan felt a chill down his back, as though some savage beast were staring intently at him.

As though eyeing its prey.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. Swallowing, Wang Wenxuan put away his grief-stricken expression and restored his smile. "Miss, I was just joking. Please, carry on!"

"My boss is mighty and imposing, brave through and through."

"He walks through hordes of demonic beasts as though on level ground, slaying one every ten paces and roaming a thousand miles unhindered."

"Fierce as a tiger, tough as iron, brilliant with words, a sturdy little tiger of a man, you could say..."

"How could he possibly die?"

Wang Wenxuan swore that in the space of a single minute, he had used every idiom he had ever learned.

And used them perfectly.