Chapter 61 - Sixty-One: Thank-you Gift

The Bureau of Mystic Security’s Special Services Fifth Group "Siren," [Misty Songstress] Selena. With her chin raised high, Selena looked down on Liu Shichan with disdain, her small, pale hands casually stuffed into her pockets, and her hip-length hair tied at the back of her head like a red waterfall. When Chen Gu and Chen Zili arrived, the two groups of girls had already drawn closer to each other, almost ready to come to blows. Chen Zili hurriedly stepped forward. "It’s a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. My sister came here looking for me." When Liu Shichan saw Chen Gu, the flames in her eyes blazed even more intensely, but Chen Gu ignored her, walking over to ask Chen Qingyu, "Is something the matter?" Upon seeing him, Chen Qingyu immediately transformed into a docile girl, hands pressed against her school skirt, adopting the look of a frightened bunny. "My dad asked me to deliver something to you," she said. "I had no idea your school... is so, dangerous." Chen Gu rolled his eyes. Don’t think for a second that I didn’t see you sneakily hiding a pen-shaped baton behind your back just now. Well, my granddaughter studies music. She always needs to strike gongs and beat drums and the like, so carrying a heavy alloy baton is quite reasonable, right? No problem, girls should be pampered at home; there’s nothing wrong with that. As for Chen Zili... well, let that grandson go to hell. Chen Gu beckoned. "Let’s go to Xianwei Residence. None of you have had dinner yet, it’s on me." As for the little siren, Selena, she maintained that arrogant look the whole time, seemingly not even noticing Chen Gu. Liu Shichan clenched her teeth tightly. "Sisters, who wants to eat at Xianwei Residence?" Among the Eight Phoenixes, one of the girls immediately showed a troubled expression. "Big Sis," she said, "the food at Xianwei Residence uses the most primitive cooking methods—too much oil and salt. It’s really unhealthy..." Liu Shichan glared at her fiercely. "I want to eat!" "Eat! Eat! Eat!" the other girls quickly chimed in, pulling back the plain-looking girl who was still trying to advocate her health theories. As luck would have it, no private rooms were available at Xianwei Residence, so the two groups sat in the main hall, exchanging hostile glances while they ate. The other customers in the hall kept complaining, "Boss, the air conditioning isn’t strong enough! It’s so hot..." After the meal, Chen Qingyu pulled Chen Gu aside and gave him a sealed iron box. "This is from my dad," she said. Chen Gu was puzzled. His adult son had come over just yesterday; why didn’t he deliver it personally? After the meal, Chen Gu sent Chen Qingyu and the others away. The little siren kept her head held high the entire time, not saying a word to Chen Gu. Liu Shichan and her group remained vigilant, escorting Selena and her party a whole block away before triumphantly returning: the Dead Phoenix Gang had defended their turf! However, by that afternoon, the Lubei dark web featured a gossip item for sale at the cost of five gold shields: "Big Sister Head Liu Shichan and Melissa Music School’s number one enchanting songstress, Chen Qingyu, have a significant showdown over love, nearly causing large-scale bloodshed near the school gates!" There was also less reliable news suggesting: "Chen Qingyu’s close friend, Melissa Music School’s lead ’soprano’ Selena, seemed to have fallen for the object of their dispute at first sight." Note: "Soprano" at Melissa Music School is equivalent to the position of Big Sister Head, similar to Liu Shichan’s status. And there was another piece of news—"The identity of the man Liu Shichan and Chen Qingyu were fighting over"—sporting a high price tag of twelve gold shields! When Chen Gu found out that he was the "answer," he was startled. Am I being shipped with my own granddaughter?! That’s so wicked! So... The whole afternoon, Chen Gu’s seat was surrounded by boys. The "beasts" from senior year three expressed their wishes very clearly with all kinds of flattery towards Great Actor Chen: "Boss, please let us tag along!" Liu Shichan was out of the question for them, but the Eight Phoenixes around her were fair game! Chen Gu found it very surprising that even that plain-looking girl had a multitude of secret admirers... Well... indeed, whether for men or women, power and status are the best aphrodisiacs. This group of crazed individuals followed Chen Gu everywhere, even to the bathroom. It got so bad that Chen Gu didn’t open the iron box until after school, in his car. The box was very well-sealed. The outer layer appeared to be ordinary high-strength alloy, but the inner layer was a special coating, two centimeters thick! Inside the small space lay an item the size of a soybean. Although he had no idea what to expect, the moment Chen Gu saw it, he understood. It was a piece of super-material! And it had to be a super-material from the Terror series. Chen Jixian had rambled on somewhat incoherently yesterday, and today his daughter had brought him a small piece of super-material. Everything became clear: Chen Jixian was trying to express his gratitude to Chen Gu for helping Chen Qingyu. It wasn’t that his perception of his old man had changed in any way. Now that Chen Gu had this legitimately obtained super-material, his chances of successfully becoming a Professional had greatly increased. Upon exiting the "generator," he could declare himself a Professional. It’s really tough for that clueless old son of mine to come up with such a meticulous and convoluted line of logic, Chen Gu thought, finding the situation both amusing and exasperating. He decided there was no need to take risks anymore; he was going to turn down the mission from that sycophantic rabbit. But just as Chen Gu pulled out his social crystal stick and opened the profile of "Big Gold Tooth Cowboy Rabbit," a long string of messages popped up: "President, good news!" "The rich, foolish client learned that you’re joining and immediately raised the commission to 12 million Starshields!" "You’re a Second Energy Level powerhouse! This price isn’t an exaggeration." "However, they’ve also hired another team of Professional mercenaries, currently on a different mission. We’ll need to wait for ten days." "Should Big Rabbit transfer two million Starshields as a deposit to you first?" "Once you’re online, please reply to Big Rabbit and give me your account number." Following this was a string of various rabbit emoticons trying to be cute. Chen Gu frowned. They’ve hired someone else? What does this mean? Are they looking down on me, a Second Energy Level powerhouse and the President? Humph! Chen Gu mentally engaged in a near-perfect, self-indulgent performance of an offended dignitary, then, with a flick of his finger, haughtily replied with one word: "Noted." He was planning to use this as an excuse to refuse the mission, but as soon as his reply was sent, Big Gold Tooth Thug Rabbit quickly sent over a barrage of messages: "President, please don’t be angry! I’ve just received a message from the employer. They asked me to explain to you that the other team of Professionals was a last-minute hire. This was due to a change in circumstances; they have found some new information." "In the battle at Empire River Star, a legendary spaceship appeared and took part in the fight." "That ship is the ’Four Hundred Brave’! In the early days of humanity’s entrance into interstellar pioneering, this ship was a legend." "You must have heard of this ship. Their involvement in that battle suggests the potential existence of super life forms of extraordinary strength. For everyone’s safety, the employer decided to increase their forces, hence hiring a second team."