The genius pharmacist's identity

Jiang City, General Administration, top-floor conference room.

The heads of the City Defense General Administration, Martial Arts General Bureau, Discipline Inspection Bureau, Resource Coordination Administration, Six-City Tournament Organizing Committee, and other departments filled the seats around the conference table.

Thick files lay open in front of each of them.

The deputy division chief of the City Defense General Administration was currently delivering his report. His head was lowered, and he looked somewhat nervous. "...We've retrieved all surveillance footage from thirty-seven streets surrounding the old city district.

"We've screened nearly seven thousand people within the relevant age range and are currently comparing their qi and blood fluctuation records one by one. Since the Mimic Spider destroyed the area's surveillance in advance on the night of the incident, the investigation has been quite difficult..."

City Lord Wei Cang crushed the cigarette butt in his hand into the ashtray and interrupted the report. "That's enough. You should know this isn't what I want to hear."

His voice was quiet, yet it pressed the entire conference room into utter silence.

Wei Cang swept his gaze over everyone at the conference table. "I don't want to hear how much footage you retrieved, how many people you investigated, or how many difficulties you encountered. I only want a result. Have you found him? And where is he?"

Everyone kept their heads lowered. No one dared respond.

Seeing their reaction, Wei Cang could no longer contain his temper. He said angrily, "He's right here in Jiang City! Right under our noses! Can an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old high school student just vanish into thin air?

"Do you know how many people in the five surrounding cities are looking for him right now? If we only wake up after someone else poaches him, every single person sitting here, myself included, will have let Jiang City down!"

"City Lord," Shen Ce said with a smile, trying to ease the tension, "all six cities have their eyes on this child now. Whoever finds him first will gain the initiative. But look at it another way: none of them has released any news yet, which means no one has found him.

"Besides, we aren't only looking for this martial arts genius right now. There's also the anonymous champion of the Six-City Pharmacist Competition. Perhaps everyone has a little too much on their plates."

Wei Cang picked up the teacup in front of him and took a large gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing as he suppressed his anger. "A genius pharmacist is all well and good, but if he isn't from Jiang City, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep him. You all know how many geniuses Jiang City has lost over the years.

"Even if we give it everything we have, we can't match the terms the big cities offer. Only children who grew up here, whose roots and homes are here, might stay.

"We should still focus our efforts on the child who killed the Mimic Spider. As for that genius pharmacist, we can put him aside for now."

Although Wei Cang did not spell it out, everyone present understood the other meaning behind his words.

Pharmacists burned money.

According to the statistics, the resources needed to train one junior pharmacist could produce six one-star martial artists.

Furthermore, once pharmacists became accomplished at brewing potions, their earning power was tremendous.

For a genius pharmacist capable of brewing a Beyond-Perfect-Grade Primordial Qi and Blood Potion, never mind Jiang City-even the five surrounding cities might not be able to offer terms that would tempt him.

"Don't worry too much, City Lord," Chen Jingshan said, setting down his teacup. "As long as us old bones are here guarding this wall, Jiang City won't fall for at least another ten years."

Wei Cang looked at his graying hair, at Shen Ce's still-bandaged arm, and at the crisscrossing scars on his own hands. A pang of sorrow rose within him.

Ten years.

What about ten years from now?

When they could no longer fight, who would defend Jiang City?

Just then, the conference room door was pushed open.

A confidential staff officer hurried inside, clutching an encrypted document, his excitement plain on his face.

"City Lord! Esteemed leaders! We found him!"

Every gaze instantly turned toward the staff officer. Quite a few people even rose straight to their feet.

Wei Cang leaned forward and asked, "Where? Where is this martial arts genius?"

Startled by their reaction, the staff officer faltered in his steps and hurriedly waved his hand. "N-no, not that martial arts genius. It's... it's the anonymous champion of the Six-City Pharmacist Competition! We've uncovered his identity!"

The tension in the conference room immediately eased.

Those who had just stood up sat back down one after another, the excitement on their faces unconsciously turning into faint disappointment.

If it wasn't the local martial arts genius, what use was uncovering his identity?

Never mind competing with the big cities for this genius pharmacist-they stood little chance of beating even the five surrounding cities.

Wei Cang frowned, but still raised a hand. "Go on."

"Yes, sir!"

The staff officer opened the document in his hands and spoke in a clear voice. "We retrieved all civilian surveillance footage surrounding the competition venue and combined it with snapshots from the entrance passage. By comparing gait and build, we finally identified the target.

"His name is Lin Hao, male, eighteen years old, a Jiang City native residing in Unit Four, Building Four of the mining district family housing compound. Three days ago, he purchased a competition slot from Zhou Mingxuan, a contestant from Linshui City, and used his identity to enter the venue and complete the competition."

A Jiang City native?

An uproar instantly broke out around the conference table.

Everyone wore an incredulous expression. The martial arts genius was from Jiang City, and now the genius pharmacist was from Jiang City too.

Since when had their Jiang City produced so many geniuses?

And they were both geniuses who had escaped their notice all this time. If word got out, the other cities would mock Jiang City for having eyes but failing to see.

Two top-tier geniuses had been right beside them, yet they had failed to discover them all these years.

Zhang Qishan, director of the West City District Martial Arts Branch Bureau, who had kept his head lowered all this time, suddenly looked up. A flicker of surprise and doubt crossed his eyes. "Lin Hao from the mining district family housing compound? Isn't he Lin Qing's younger cousin?"

The staff officer lowered his head and flipped through two pages of the document before nodding. "Yes, Director Zhang. The immediate-family section lists his older cousin as Lin Qing, captain of the Third Detachment of the West City District Martial Arts Branch Bureau."

"Lin Qing?" Wei Cang was surprised as well. "The Lin Qing who was selected for Jiang City's 'Qingjiang Plan'?"

"That's her." Zhang Qishan nodded, looking unsure whether to laugh or cry. "Come to think of it, Lin Hao was involved in a bit of trouble recently. That case the Discipline Bureau investigated a few days ago, involving an improperly arranged security position at the industrial park-he was the person involved."

"What?" Wei Cang's expression immediately darkened.

The atmosphere in the conference room tightened again.

Everyone turned toward Zhou Zheng, director of the Discipline Inspection Bureau.

Zhou Zheng's expression instantly changed, and his heart leaped into his throat.

Wei Cang's voice was cold as ice. "How was Lin Qing's matter handled?"

Zhou Zheng grew nervous. He had never imagined Lin Qing's matter would become such a big issue.

He had thought he had handled the matter well on both the Zhao Family's side and Lin Qing's, neither offending the Zhao Family nor making Lin Qing resent him.

But he could never have imagined that Lin Qing's younger cousin was actually the genius pharmacist Jiang City and the five surrounding cities had been searching for.

If he offended Lin Hao, that would be far more troublesome than making Lin Qing resent him or offending the Zhao Family.