You Can't Have Both
Lin Hao repeated, "I'll take the Martial Artist Examination, and I'll get into a martial arts university. Believe it or not, that's up to you. But if you want me to give up, that's impossible."
Zou Jianmin and Shi Tie inwardly scoffed. Where did Lin Hao get his confidence? With blood qi of 0.3, he fell short of even many elementary school martial arts students, yet he wanted to get into a martial arts university?
But seeing how resolute Lin Hao was, they found themselves in a bind, unable to advance or retreat.
Although Lin Hao's older cousin Lin Qing had been taken away by the Discipline Bureau, they had heard it wasn't anything too serious, so they couldn't afford to offend her too much.
Just as the situation reached another impasse, the classroom door was pushed open again.
Several people in Martial Arts Branch Bureau combat uniforms walked in.
Leading them was a woman with a two-star martial artist badge on her epaulets. She was Zhao Man, captain of the Second Division, who had recently been competing with Lin Qing for the position of deputy director of the branch bureau.
She glanced at the pledge on the desk, then fixed her gaze on Zou Jianmin, her tone cold and hard. "Principal Zou, the Dragon Country General Bureau of Martial Arts explicitly stipulates that no school or individual may, in any form, force or induce martial arts students of eligible age to relinquish their eligibility to register for the Martial Artist Examination. Does your No. 2 High School intend to violate the regulations?"
Zou Jianmin immediately plastered a smile across his face and hastily bowed. "You've misunderstood, Captain Zhao. We were only discussing it with the students. There was absolutely no coercion intended. It's entirely voluntary, entirely voluntary."
But Zhao Man abruptly changed tack, pinning her gaze on Lin Hao as a cold sneer curled her lips. "Still, Lin Hao, didn't you give up on the Martial Artist Examination yourself long ago? What are you insisting on here now?"
Everyone in the classroom froze, looking from Lin Hao to Zhao Man, their faces full of confusion.
"I'm Zhao Man, captain of the Second Division of the West City District Martial Arts Branch Bureau." She took two steps forward and stood before Lin Hao's desk, looking down at him. "Your cousin should have mentioned me to you."
Lin Hao's expression darkened.
Of course he had heard that name.
He had planned to go to the Discipline Bureau with his parents at noon. He hadn't expected Zhao Man to come looking for him first, much less come straight to his school.
Zhao Man turned to Zou Jianmin. "Principal Zou, Lin Hao is implicated in a case involving irregular recruitment by a public official and bribery. We need to conduct routine questioning now."
Zou Jianmin and Shi Tie exchanged a glance, unable to hide the delight in their eyes, and nodded. "Of course, of course. We'll fully cooperate with the branch bureau's work!"
"Cooperate, my ass!" Jiang Chao stood up again, glaring at Zou Jianmin.
"Jiang Chao." Lin Hao reached out and caught his arm, shaking his head gently to signal for him to sit down.
Jiang Chao gritted his teeth, but still listened to Lin Hao and dropped heavily back into his seat.
Zhao Man pulled up a chair and sat directly opposite Lin Hao, leaning forward with deliberate provocation in her voice. "Lin Hao, your cousin Lin Qing doesn't seem to care about you as much as you think.
"During the Discipline Bureau's questioning, she pushed all the responsibility onto you. She said you handled every step of getting that security position yourself and that she knew nothing about it.
"Do you know that, with irregular recruitment and bribing a public official punished together, you could end up behind bars for several years?"
Jiang Chao's face paled. He looked at Lin Hao, his eyes filled with panic.
Lin Hao, however, gave him a reassuring look. He understood.
His parents must have found some way to tell his cousin about the decision he and his parents had made yesterday, which was why she had said that.
That way, once the time came and he proved that his blood qi and combat power far exceeded the industrial park's security recruitment standards, the matter could be easily resolved.
Now, Zhao Man's rush to find him indicated precisely that his and his parents' decision had probably taken effect, driving Zhao Man into a corner.
Having figured this out, Lin Hao smiled. "That's right. My cousin told the truth. I handled this entire matter myself, from beginning to end. It had nothing whatsoever to do with her."
The smile instantly vanished from Zhao Man's face, and she snapped, "Don't sit there talking tough! I advise you to come clean. Even if you don't talk, Lin Qing's thirty-thousand-yuan bribe is enough to bring her down!
"If you confess now, you can still receive leniency. Otherwise, not only will you fail to protect your cousin, but you'll be in serious trouble yourself!"
"Captain Zhao, don't try to scare me with that." There wasn't a trace of panic in Lin Hao's eyes. "I'm eighteen this year, not three.
"If you could make a case out of those thirty thousand yuan, you wouldn't need to come all the way to school looking for a breakthrough through me.
"Besides, you haven't taken me back to the branch bureau for questioning. That probably means you have neither an arrest warrant nor any questioning documents, right? Is questioning me like this compliant with procedure?"
Zhao Man's expression instantly changed. Forcing herself to remain composed, she said coldly, "You're quite sharp. But this is a routine on-site inquiry. It's fully compliant."
Lin Hao looked relaxed. "Then is your compliant questioning over, Captain Zhao? If it is, I still need to cultivate and prepare for the Martial Artist Examination."
Zhao Man's expression turned utterly cold, but she had no other recourse.
She threatened, "Fine. Talking tough won't help you anyway. The branch bureau has already arranged for your blood qi and combat power to be retested at the Martial Artist Assessment Center tomorrow morning at ten.
"If your blood qi fails to meet the industrial park security position's recruitment standard of 0.9, just wait for the serious consequences."
She changed tack and looked at Zou Jianmin, a sinister smile curling her lips. "Also, Principal Zou, under Dragon Nation's regulations governing high school martial arts classes, anyone who has secured formal employment and entered the social insurance system may no longer occupy high school martial arts education resources. Schools have the right to dismiss them.
"Lin Hao's name is currently on the publicly posted list of official hires for security positions at the East City Industrial Park. He already has formal employment. I don't need to teach your school what to do, do I?"
Delighted, Zou Jianmin smiled. "You're absolutely right, Captain Zhao! How did we forget that? Under the regulations, the school does indeed have the right to dismiss him!
"Lin Hao, since you already have formal employment, the school has the right to dismiss you. Do you have anything else to explain?"
Jiang Chao grew anxious at those words, but all of this was fully within the regulations, leaving him at a loss for what to say.
Lin Hao took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly. He hadn't expected Zhao Man and the others to pull a move like this.
But he couldn't possibly cast aside the matter of the industrial park security position for the sake of the Martial Artist Examination and abandon his cousin to her predicament.
Besides, if something really happened to his cousin, Zou Jianmin and Shi Tie would have even more ways to make him give up on the Martial Artist Examination.
Conversely, as long as his cousin got out of the Discipline Bureau safely, he believed that, given her position, she could find a way to resolve the issue of his Martial Artist Examination.
At that thought, Lin Hao said slowly, "I understand. I accept the school's decision. I have nothing to explain."
Hearing this, Zhao Man watched Lin Hao's conflicted expression, her face brimming with a victor's smug satisfaction.
Even if she couldn't deal with Lin Qing, couldn't she deal with Lin Qing's younger cousin?
Zou Jianmin and Shi Tie couldn't hide the mocking smiles on their faces.
The school had just offered Lin Hao a hundred thousand, and he had refused.
Now look at him. Not only would he get nothing, but he had even lost his high school martial arts class diploma.