"Have you gone crazy for money?!"
Wei Bohu sprang to his feet.
Fortunately, it was a luxury sedan with a relatively high roof, so he didn't hit his head.
The Wei Financial Group could afford twenty million.
But it wouldn't pay that much for Wei Bohu.
He wasn't that important.
The Wei Financial Group had a rigid internal hierarchy. Every family member's resources were allocated strictly according to scores for talent and performance.
Even having the chairman as his father wouldn't change that.
The chairman was merely an executive chosen by the family; he didn't own the financial group.
"Bohu!"
Wei Qiance pressed a hand down, motioning for him to sit.
Then Wei Qiance turned to Ning Chuan and said with a smile, "Twenty million is quite a premium for a spot in the Mountain and Sea Genius Training Camp.
But it can't be bought on the market, and scarcity makes things valuable.
I agree to that price!"
Ning Chuan was stunned.
He actually agreed?!
A rush of immense joy welled up in him, but he quickly suppressed it.
He'd better not be making an empty promise.
"When will you transfer the money?"
"Twenty million in cash isn't a small amount, even for the Wei Financial Group's cash flow. We'll need a few days to arrange the funds," Wei Qiance said with a smile.
Wei Bohu looked anxious as he listened.
"Then contact me when you're ready."
Ning Chuan picked up his cloth bag and stood, preparing to leave.
Until the money arrived, nothing else mattered.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave!"
Wei Qiance stopped Ning Chuan and pressed a button on the seat's armrest.
"Buzz!"
A concealed compartment in the car opened, and wisps of condensed white mist drifted away. Inside were rows upon rows of test tubes filled with dark red liquid, bubbles roiling within. There were over a hundred of them.
They were all Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution!
Wei Qiance took out three test tubes and held them out. "A small gift. Please, don't stand on ceremony."
Ning Chuan looked at Wei Qiance but didn't take them.
Wei Qiance smiled. "This has nothing to do with me personally.
You killed a Heavenly Martial spy and safeguarded the peace of Qingshan City, Ning Chuan.
As a star enterprise in Qingshan City, the Wei Financial Group naturally ought to show its appreciation.
These three tubes of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution are a token of the Wei Financial Group's gratitude."
Hearing this, Ning Chuan put aside his doubts.
Several businesses in Qingshan City had also given him money yesterday.
Such acts could improve their standing with the public and the city government.
"Thank you to the Wei Financial Group for the reward."
Ning Chuan accepted the Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution, bowed slightly to Wei Qiance, and pushed open the door to leave.
Seeing Ning Chuan get out, Wei Bohu could no longer contain his anxiety. "Dad, there's no way the board will approve twenty million for me!
And why did you give that kid Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution?
Three tubes, at that!
Even if you wanted to improve the Wei Financial Group's image, wouldn't one tube have been enough as a gesture?"
Wei Qiance smiled without answering and asked instead, "How much do three tubes of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution cost?"
"At market price, one tube is 180,000, and three are 520,000!"
Such simple arithmetic was naturally no challenge for Wei Bohu.
"That's more than my cultivation allowance for two months. You'd have been better off giving it to me!"
Wei Bohu complained.
Wei Qiance ignored him and continued, "Article 319 of the Federation's criminal code states that theft of public or private property worth over 500,000 constitutes an especially large amount and is punishable by at least ten years in prison, up to and including the death penalty."
"And three tubes of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution are just enough to exceed that amount!"
A smile appeared on Wei Qiance's face.
Unlike before, there was no warmth in it, only a chill that made the heart quail.
"You mean..."
Wei Bohu instantly understood what his father meant and couldn't help growing excited.
Wei Qiance glanced sideways at him and said unhurriedly, "I've told you many times that there's no need to use force to suppress ordinary people. It's far too inefficient.
The Federation has rules of its own.
People of our class have a grasp of those rules. As long as we're good at using our advantages, there are all too many ways to make them submit."
"Yes, Dad!"
Wei Bohu answered readily.
"Ning Chuan, oh, Ning Chuan, I offered you face and you wouldn't take it. You looked down on a million, so you won't get a single cent!"
On the road to the old district.
A driverless taxi sped along.
Ning Chuan sat back in the rear seat, took out his phone, and lit up the screen.
It was displaying a recording interface.
After a moment's thought, Ning Chuan saved the recording.
Twenty million was no small sum.
If the Wei father and son tried to lower the price at the last minute, the recording would serve as proof.
More than half an hour later.
The taxi stopped outside the gate of the residential complex where Ning Chuan lived.
"You have arrived near your destination. Your fare is 103 yuan. Have a pleasant journey!"
The artificial intelligence's feminine voice sounded.
"So expensive. If I'd known, I'd have booked an economy model!"
Ning Chuan, whose assets were worth nearly five million, shook his head.
It wasn't that he was stingy.
He simply didn't think it was necessary.
He placed greater importance on an item's practical value.
He ordered ferocious beast meat costing over a thousand yuan per jin and Vajra Body medicine packs costing forty to fifty thousand each without batting an eye.
When it came to personal enjoyment, however, he spent far less.
Even now, he still lived in the old district, and the clothes he wore were all Qingshan No. 1 High School uniforms.
"I'll put the money and nutrient solution at home first, then go to school and talk to Su Yun about the B-grade breathing technique."
Carrying the cloth bag, Ning Chuan entered the complex.
The apartment he rented was on the fifteenth floor.
As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, Ning Chuan saw two police officers in black uniforms pacing back and forth outside his door.
Didn't Zhou Wei say the police department's reward would take a few more days? Did it come early?
Thoughts swirled through Ning Chuan's mind.
The two officers strode over.
"Are you Ning Chuan?"
The younger officer asked in a distinctly discourteous tone.
They don't look like they're here to deliver a reward.
The thought flashed through his mind, but Ning Chuan nodded anyway. "Yes, that's me."
The older officer said coldly, "Good. I'm informing you that you're implicated in a theft. Come with us!"
Ning Chuan was taken aback. "What did I steal?"
The older officer sneered. "Still denying it? The Wei Financial Group reported you for stealing three tubes of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution!"
Hearing this, Ning Chuan felt a trace of unease. It was as though a conspiracy had closed in around him.
The younger officer had sharp eyes. Pointing at the opening of the cloth bag in Ning Chuan's hand, he exclaimed in delight, "Captain Liu, look! The Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution is right in the bag!"
"That's a lot. More than three tubes!"
Captain Liu glanced down and couldn't help blurting it out. Then a trace of greed appeared in his eyes.
Immediately afterward, Captain Liu barked, "How dare you! You're a habitual thief, too! Put your hands on your head and squat down, now!"
Ning Chuan frowned. After a moment's thought, he explained, "This Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution and the money were rewards from Qingshan City government departments and some private companies after I killed the Heavenly Martial spy Zhao Weiping.
If you don't believe me, go ahead and look it up online!"
"You're that high school student!"
The younger officer was somewhat surprised, but his attitude didn't soften much.
Captain Liu, meanwhile, began cursing and complaining. "Fuck, that's not fair! I've killed a thug who was attacking people too, so how come I only got a few hundred yuan added to my salary? Aren't cops worth rewarding?"
Seeing their attitudes, Ning Chuan frowned even more deeply.
In fact, the generous rewards he'd received were purely the result of several fortuitous circumstances coinciding.
The television station had reported on Zhao Weiping for days, drawing a great deal of attention.
Wang Ershui's livestream.
His own status as a high school student, fighting alone and suffering terrible injuries, only to turn defeat into victory in the end.
All of it had attracted too much attention.
After rummaging through the cloth bag, Ning Chuan took out three test tubes. "This is the Wei Financial Group's Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution.
But I didn't steal it.
Their chairman, Wei Qiance, gave it to me privately.
There may be some misunderstanding here."
The younger officer scoffed. "Three tubes of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution worth over 500,000, and we're supposed to believe they were a gift just because you say so?"
Captain Liu glanced at the test tubes and said coldly, "Still trying to argue? The numbers match. There's no doubt this is the stolen Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution!"
Every tube of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution had a unique anti-counterfeiting number on its container.
Hearing that, Ning Chuan's expression shifted slightly, and the last trace of hope lingering in his heart vanished completely.
The Wei father and son were setting him up.
They had never intended to buy the Mountain and Sea Training Camp spot in a normal deal.
After getting out of the car, he hadn't lingered anywhere; he'd taken a taxi straight home.
Yet these two officers had already been waiting outside his door.
Everything had been planned in advance.
A chill gradually spread through Ning Chuan's heart.
If he hadn't secretly made a recording out of caution, he couldn't have explained himself even with eight mouths.
A deadly trap!