One Person, Two Geniuses

Seeing that Zhou Zheng did not know how to answer, Zhang Qishan spoke first. "City Lord, Lin Hao volunteered to take all the responsibility, saying everything was his own idea and had nothing to do with Lin Qing.

"Lin Qing was released from the Discipline Bureau yesterday afternoon and returned to work at the branch as usual. We had already verified that the industrial park's pre-employment testing equipment had a serious calibration error, so we arranged a retest this morning.

"In accordance with your earlier instructions to exercise leniency as appropriate, regardless of the retest results, the matter will end here, and no one will be held accountable any further."

"End here?" Wei Cang's voice abruptly rose. "Zhang Qishan, I told you to investigate thoroughly, be fair and impartial, and exercise leniency as appropriate if there were any irregularities. Is this how you follow my instructions-by only listening to half of them?

"An eighteen-year-old high school student could get through every stage of the industrial park's procedures himself and arrange a security position with an official staffing slot for himself? Since when was Jiang City's public service system so easy to get into?

"You're telling me this is the result of your fair, impartial, and thorough investigation?"

Zhang Qishan jumped in fright and lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Wei Cang glanced at Zhang Qishan, then looked away in another direction. "Zhou Zheng!"

"Present!" Zhou Zheng shot to his feet, the back of his uniform already soaked with cold sweat.

Wei Cang demanded angrily, "This is your Discipline Bureau's investigation result? Shove all the responsibility onto a child, then turn a major issue into a minor one and make the minor one disappear? Does Jiang City pay you people to muddy the waters?"

"Yes, yes, you're right to criticize us, City Lord." Zhou Zheng wiped the sweat from his forehead. "We'll reopen the investigation as soon as we return. We'll get to the bottom of this and give Comrade Lin Qing an answer!"

"I want to review the investigation results personally," Wei Cang said gravely.

In truth, as the city lord, he had not originally wanted to interfere much in a matter involving a lower-level department like Lin Qing's. He had also considered it a trial for her.

That was why, at the time, he had merely instructed them to be fair and impartial and exercise leniency as appropriate.

But now that the matter involved Lin Hao, a pharmaceutical genius, it was no longer a lower-level departmental affair. It was a major matter for all of Jiang City, and he had to personally oversee its handling.

"Yes!" Zhou Zheng and Zhang Qishan answered in unison.

Shen Ce spoke at just the right moment to ease the atmosphere. "City Lord, please don't get too angry. The fact that Lin Hao stepped forward at a time like this to shoulder all the responsibility for his older cousin shows that this child values loyalty and affection.

"Someone who values loyalty and affection won't easily leave the place that gave him life and raised him. As long as we show enough sincerity, our chances of keeping him may be much greater than we expected."

"Deputy City Lord Shen is right," Chen Jingshan agreed. "Such a promising seedling, and one of Jiang City's own children at that-we can't let him slip away, no matter what."

"That may be true." Huang Keming sighed, his face full of worry. "But everyone knows what resources Jiang City has. Cultivating just one top martial arts genius would already leave us pulling at our lapels only to expose our elbows.

"If we add a top pharmaceutical genius to that, there's no telling how many times that figure would multiply.

"This year's budget was fixed long ago. City defense and survivor benefits account for seventy percent, and what's left isn't even enough for one comprehensive round of maintenance on the high walls. What do we have to offer to keep them?"

The meeting room fell silent again.

Everyone understood this reasoning.

Talking only about feelings and not money would not keep geniuses around.

But Jiang City truly could not come up with the money right now.

"We'll find a way to handle the money together."

Wei Cang drew a deep breath, his tone firm. "Even if we have to hand over my entire salary as city lord, even if we have to cut the General Administration's operating budget in half, we must keep at least one of these two geniuses."

Shen Ce nodded in agreement. "In that case, shall we call this Lin Hao now?"

Wei Cang shook his head. "No. Discussing something like this over the phone would show far too little sincerity. We have to talk face-to-face.

"Shen Ce, take a team to the mining district's family housing compound to find Lin Hao right now. Remember, your attitude must be sincere. As long as he's willing to stay in Jiang City, everything is negotiable."

"All right, I'll go now." Shen Ce nodded and rose to leave.

Just then, Zhang Qishan's phone suddenly vibrated.

He glanced at the caller ID. It was Deputy Director Wei Kun.

They were in an important meeting, so he rejected the call without a second thought.

But less than two seconds later, the phone vibrated again.

Frowning, he rejected it again. Just as he slipped the phone back into his pocket, a message popped up.

Zhang Qishan instinctively opened it.

One glance was all it took for his pupils to contract sharply. The phone in his hand fell onto the table with a clatter.

"What is it?" Wei Cang asked with a frown at Zhang Qishan's exaggerated reaction.

Zhang Qishan raised his head, his expression a mixture of shock, wild joy, and disbelief. Only after a long moment did he say, "C-City Lord... found him..."

"Found him?" Wei Cang froze. "Shen Ce hasn't even left yet. What have you found?"

"The martial arts genius! The martial arts genius who killed the Mimic Spiders! We've found him too!" Zhang Qishan's voice changed pitch with excitement.

Everyone was startled again. When they could not find them, neither genius could be found; now that they had found one, they had actually found both.

Shen Ce immediately suggested to Wei Cang, "City Lord, we need to seize the initiative with both geniuses. Send two teams to meet them separately."

But before Wei Cang could respond, Zhang Qishan spoke first. "There's no need to arrange two teams! No need!"

"What do you mean?" Wei Cang asked, frowning.

"They aren't two people! They're one person!" Zhang Qishan swallowed hard and said excitedly, "Lin Hao! This martial arts genius is Lin Hao too!

"He took his retest at the martial artist assessment center this morning. Blood qi: 2.79, combat power: 9.21! He killed a Wind-Rending Swift Leopard with 4.5 blood qi in three moves of the Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist. He's already been granted exceptional recognition as a one-star martial artist!

"He admitted it himself: he was the one who killed those two Shadow Mimic Spiders in the old city district!"

Instantly, the entire meeting room abandoned the reserve expected of senior officials and erupted like a boiling pot.

"What?! One person? The two geniuses are the same person?"

"Blood qi of 2.79 and combat power of 9.21? A combat power ratio of more than three times? How is that possible!"

"He killed a Wind-Rending Swift Leopard in three moves? And with the Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist? Did I hear that right? Those things give even two-star martial artists headaches!"

"An eighteen-year-old one-star martial artist! And one granted exceptional recognition! Jiang City is about to produce a dragon!"

"..."

Chen Jingshan's mind went blank, and he muttered to himself, "Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist... killed a Wind-Rending Swift Leopard in three moves... I've guarded Jiang City for forty years, and I've never seen a genius like this..."

Zhou Zheng slumped in his chair, his face as white as paper.

Their Discipline Bureau had nearly treated a once-in-a-century dual genius of Jiang City as a criminal and prosecuted him.

Shen Ce stood rooted to the spot, unable to take another step.

He looked at Wei Cang, his eyes filled with shock.

Wei Cang stood before the conference table, stunned for a good while.

Then he slapped his thigh hard and let out a hearty laugh. "Good! Good! Wonderful! Brother Chen, Shen Ce, Huang Keming, and you too, Zhang Qishan, Zhou Zheng-come with me to Lin Hao's home! We're leaving now!"

Before his words had finished ringing out, he had already taken the lead and strode out of the meeting room.

Behind him, Jiang City's highest-ranking officials hurried after him.

Three black sedans soon drove out through the gates of the General Administration and sped toward the mining district's family housing compound.