In the Name of Divine Ability, Section 36

But human effort could change things. With the old Daoist around, he had a 30% chance of becoming a Martial Marquis in the future. To develop his life further, he had to keep climbing the ranks and obtain a larger quota of life supplements.

There were also the various secret medicines within the Federation. Starting at the second tier, life development required taking secret medicines.

These secret medicines were worth a fortune on the outside, and their prices were often driven sky-high on the black market.

But within the Federation, a single second-class merit could be exchanged for a portion of secret medicine.

Lu Zhao said, "Old Zhang, isn't Deputy Station Chief Chen being transferred next month?"

"Probably."

Zhang Like replied, "Deputies are all here to build up seniority. He'll probably go somewhere else to take charge. Why, do you have something in mind?"

Lu Zhao gave a noncommittal nod. "Do you think I have a chance? Or you could take the position."

"I can't. I was only promoted to major two years ago. I'll have to wait another two years."

Zhang Like shook his head, then rubbed his chin as he considered it. "Deputy station chief is a battalion-level post. You've just been promoted to captain, which is enough. And you have two second-class merits, so you can be put forward."

"I think it's doable. It would be best if you could get Deputy Chief Chen to recommend you."

Lu Zhao said, "I'll give it a try. If it doesn't work out, I'll find another way."

Zhang Like was a little tipsy. "Graduates from the Imperial Capital sure are quick learners. I don't even need to teach you anymore."

"I don't know whether it was right or wrong to bring you down this path. I think you'd have made a good teacher. Sometimes, once you become an official, you can't let it go until you've climbed all the way to the top."

June 10.

It was a special day. The camp was full of cheer because it was payday.

The soldiers lined up outside the logistics department, waiting to collect their life supplements and pay.

Lu Zhao had also come early that morning to stand in line. Several of the men around him were his own soldiers, and they chatted on and off.

The soldiers of the reinforced platoon noticed that their platoon leader had become much more talkative lately. Even his deadpan face now wore a smile.

"Oh! Isn't this Staff Officer Lu?"

A voice rang out. Lu Zhao looked up and saw a balding major approaching: Mo Kun, the head of the logistics section.

His relationship with Lu Zhao had been lukewarm. At first, he had made things difficult for Lu Zhao over his life supplement quota, but he stopped targeting him after Lu Zhao grew closer to Zhang Like.

But the two had not grown any closer as a result. Mo Kun had merely stopped targeting him.

There were all kinds of people at the border station: easy targets like Liang Fei and fence-sitters like Mo Kun.

Once Lu Zhao had shown enough strength, most people chose to watch from the sidelines rather than stick their faces out to be slapped just to curry favor with Lü Jinshan.

Now, Mo Kun had abandoned his usual businesslike manner, and his face was lit up with a warm smile.

He said, "There are a few things about the flood prevention work I'd like to consult you about, Staff Officer Lu. Could you come to my office? I'll only need a little of your time."

Lu Zhao raised an eyebrow.

The man had been cold toward him before, but now his attitude had taken a complete 360-degree turn.

When something was out of the ordinary, there had to be something behind it.

He followed Mo Kun into his office, where they actually began discussing flood prevention.

For the most part, Mo Kun was the one asking questions, showing great concern for the flood prevention work. Lu Zhao didn't know what he was up to, but he still answered him conscientiously.

Half an hour passed. Lu Zhao glanced at the time and saw it was already nine in the morning. He rose to take his leave. "It's getting late, Section Chief Mo. Let's talk another day. If you have any more questions, I can send someone over later."

"Wait a moment, Staff Officer Lu. There's something else I was hoping you could take to Captain Zhang for me."

Mo Kun brought a battered box out from behind his desk and explained, "This is the liquor he asked me to buy for him earlier."

As he spoke, worried that Lu Zhao wouldn't believe him, he even opened the box to show him the bottles inside.

Judging by the label, it was Honghualang.

Lu Zhao thought nothing of it and bent down to pick up the box.

The logistics system was underdeveloped these days, and the concept of online shopping didn't exist yet. Most of the things in the camp were purchased through internal channels via the logistics department.

That included the soldiers' personal belongings. All they had to do was fill out a declaration form.

The next moment, he suddenly grew wary. He put the box down, took out a bottle, unscrewed it, and gave it a sniff.

A strong smell of Chinese medicinal herbs wafted out. This clearly wasn't liquor; it was life supplement.

And it wasn't low-grade, either. It was very likely an intermediate life supplement.

Lu Zhao looked up and frowned. "This is life supplement?"

Mo Kun smiled. "Medicinal liquor. It's medicinal liquor."

"Take it to him yourself."

Lu Zhao put down the bottle and left, leaving Mo Kun standing there with a stiff expression.

The soldiers outside collecting their pay and life supplements didn't know what had happened. They only saw Staff Officer Lu return to the line, collect his things like everyone else, and leave the logistics department.

That was also why Lu Zhao had earned their respect.

You might face no consequences for many of the things you did, but that didn't mean nobody knew about them.

Lu Zhao first returned to his dormitory, took a life supplement, and began refining essence into qi for the first time in a while. Then he tested himself with a blood analyzer.

[Vitality: 37.4]

Lu Zhao's office was unusually busy that day.

Department heads, middle managers, junior clerks, and soldiers-people who ordinarily never got a chance to speak to him-came in wave after wave to curry favor with him.

It reached the point where he could barely work normally.

Chapter 44: The Benefits of Power

That evening, in Lu Zhao's room.

Zhang Like walked in carrying a box, a broad smile on his face. "Old Lu, look what good stuff I brought you."

Lu Zhao had a bad feeling about this.

As he watched, Zhang Like put the battered box on the floor and opened the lid, revealing a box full of "red gourds."

The red gourd-shaped ceramic bottles had golden floral motifs and the character "郎" baked onto them.

Zhang Like took out a bottle and examined it. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Good stuff, really good stuff. This is intermediate life supplement. They normally never give any to our border station."

"Old Lu, want to try some..."

He looked up and met a pair of dead fish eyes, plainly filled with disdain.

"What's with that look?"

Lu Zhao said, "No dogs or corrupt officials allowed in here."

"I knew nothing good would come out of that mouth of yours." Zhang Like didn't mind. He smiled and said, "If you don't take it, someone else will. You're so short on money, and you've been guzzling life supplements lately. I felt sorry for you, so I decided to be a corrupt official for you this once."

"Besides, this doesn't count as embezzlement. Mo Kun bought it all with his own money. Our station doesn't have a quota for intermediate life supplements."

Lu Zhao said, "And where did his money come from? That's a tough one to guess."

"You really don't want it?"

"No."

"I knew you wouldn't want it."

Zhang Like pulled a receipt from his pocket. "Mo Kun brought it to curry favor with me, but I didn't actually accept it. I bought it at the internal price."

"A promotion calls for a drink of Honghualang."

Lu Zhao glanced at the receipt, and his expression gradually softened. "That's really cheap. A thousand a bottle."

The average market price for intermediate life supplement was three thousand yuan. It had twice the energy density of the low-grade kind, but fewer impurities, making it easier to absorb.

A thousand a bottle was indeed the average internal price, but these days, a quota mattered more than money.

There were many things money couldn't buy. You needed ration coupons.

"That's the advantage of being in the Federation," Zhang Like said. "A lot of things outside are governed by the market economy, and scarcity drives up prices. But within the Federation, we have a rationing system. Sometimes the price is even lower than the cost."

"That's also the benefit of holding a high position. Every bit of power comes with benefits."

The two of them had only briefly held control of a battalion-level unit, and someone had already offered them a box of intermediate life supplements.

Zhang Like counted them, then opened the refrigerator and stuffed them inside.

"Nine bottles in all. Make them last. Good stuff like this doesn't come around every month."

Lu Zhao took twenty thousand from his wages and handed it to Zhang Like. "That includes what I owed you from before."

Zhang Like pocketed it without counting.

There was no need for them to make insincere refusals. Even brothers should keep clear accounts.

Lu Zhao hesitated for a moment, then added, "My vitality has reached 37."

"That's good. The higher your life development, the faster you can get promoted..."

Halfway through his last syllable, Zhang Like jerked his head up. "How much?"

Lu Zhao repeated, "37.4, to be exact."

If he was going to keep working in the Federation, he couldn't conceal his level of life development. There was no avoiding the quarterly physical examinations and assessments, and every promotion and benefit was closely tied to his level of life development.

There had always been plenty of late bloomers. Many Martial Marquises hadn't stood out from the beginning.

Lu Zhao was a genius to begin with, so even if his life development advanced by leaps and bounds, there would be no grounds to fault him.

Zhang Like had supported him so much, and he couldn't repay him for now, so he could only show where he stood through his life development.

Calculating the time, his next physical examination was in September. By then, he would have decided where to go.

Once his vitality reached fifty, he would apply to transfer to the Red Water Legion, which was still engaged in local warfare.

"37.4... Your vitality was only 35 in March at the beginning of the year, wasn't it? Our station only supplies low-grade life supplements, and you raised it by two points in half a year with those supplements."