Chapter 92: White-haired Liu

Every major district in Wuzhaoyin City has two publicly-selected student slots. The competition for these slots in the 31st District, where Lubei Middle School is located, takes place between Lubei and Zhaolin Middle Schools. With what happened to Mao Yisheng, even if he’s later proven innocent, it would be very difficult for him to become a publicly-selected student. If Darkray gave up his spot to save him, then both publicly-selected student spots this year would fall into the hands of Zhaolin Middle School. Chen Gu was secretly furious. The tactics Zhaolin was using were despicable. Darkray hit his own head hard. "It’s all my fault! If I hadn’t suggested going out to sing, Mao wouldn’t have encountered such trouble!" He took a deep breath. "If there’s really no way out, I’ll agree to White-Haired Liu’s demands. I can’t let them ruin Mao’s life." "If I can’t go to college, I’ll just enlist in the military. It’s not like there’s no way out. My combat skills scores aren’t bad, and who knows, maybe I’d do even better in the military than in college." Chen Gu looked at his rash, impetuous behavior and couldn’t help but feel amused yet also touched. He was so much like his own 17-year-old self. Once that age passes, life gets instilled with varying degrees of a "sense of gain and loss," "utilitarianism," and a "competitive spirit"... It’s usually described as "getting savvy," no longer being so pure. "Bullshit!" Chen Gu cursed. Darkray, his blood boiling, let out a roar and glared, ready to butt heads with Chen Gu, before Chen Gu effortlessly pinned him down by the neck. Darkray, like a defeated mutt, all the fight gone out of him, whimpered on the desk, "Then do you have any good ideas, Brother Chen?" "Idiot!" Chen Gu cursed again. "If they can scheme against us, can’t we scheme against them?" "As long as we get some serious dirt on White-Haired Liu and his crew, won’t they have to comply?" Darkray and the others brightened up at this, but then their spirits deflated again. "When it comes to fighting, we’re not afraid of anyone, but when it comes to being cunning and tricky, we’re really not up to it..." Chen Gu waved his hand dismissively. "Set your minds at ease. Leave this to me." He sent Darkray and the others away, then made a phone call to Steve White, a sub-group leader of the Action Team. "Brother White, do me a favor... investigate someone. Is it too much hassle? Alright, alright. I owe you one, Brother White." For something like this, the Action Team was very accommodating to the Special Agents. Of course, the rumors within the department about Chen Gu "having significant backing" also played a role, so Steve agreed without hesitation. Chen Gu hung up the phone and suddenly felt a bit bewildered. Just yesterday, I was dealing with Mutants and the "True Knowledge Sin" incident, matters concerning public safety and political stability, and today I have to worry about the petty squabbles of some kids? In the afternoon, during combat fitness training, Teacher Ouyang rushed back. Darkray and the others, already distracted, immediately gathered around him. Teacher Ouyang glared. "Focus on your training!" Chen Gu sighed. "Teacher, if you don’t say something, how can they possibly concentrate? If they’re distracted and someone gets hurt, that’ll be a much bigger problem." After giving it some thought, Teacher Ouyang reluctantly said, "The evidence is conclusive, and it doesn’t look good for Mao Yisheng." Darkray and the others immediately became disheartened, but Teacher Ouyang added, "I have an old army buddy who transferred to the bureau. I’ve asked him to keep an eye on the kid." "At the very least... he won’t suffer inside." That was all Teacher Ouyang could really do. He tried to reassure everyone, "Don’t worry too much. Mao Yisheng’s family is well-off; they’re surely working on something too." Darkray, grinding his teeth, vowed, "That bastard White-Haired Liu! I’ll get you for this if it’s the last thing I do!" After training ended, Chen Gu received a phone call from Steve, efficient as ever. "I’ve sent you the information." "Thank you, Brother White. I owe you one." Chen Gu opened it and saw that Steve’s investigation was very detailed. It included the basic information of Liu Zhekang and his group of combat sports students, their daily activities, hobbies, and some shady things, like unsavory hobbies. Obviously, Steve had done more than just use the internal network for a quick search. He had also assigned people to directly track and investigate them. But that was as much as Chen Gu could expect from his relationship with Steve. Their friendship only extended far enough for the Action Team to take these measures. If Chen Gu wanted to do something next that involved some gray areas, Steve wouldn’t be involved, and Chen Gu would have to find someone else. Chen Gu looked at the material, pondering, and slowly a plan took shape in his mind. He made a call to Zhao Ji. "Lend me a few men. Those bodyguards from last time were pretty good." Zhao Ji was concerned. "Is someone bothering you again? Tell me, and I’ll take care of it for you! Let me tell you, sometimes you can’t be too tender-hearted, or people will always think you’re weak and bully you. When it’s time to show your fangs, you must demonstrate your ferocity!" Chen Gu smiled. "It’s not what you think." After summarizing the situation for him, and upon hearing it was a group of youngsters’ clumsy schemes, Zhao Ji immediately lost interest. "Fine, I’ll send the guys over to you. You handle it." After all, he, Zhao Ji, the great son-in-law, was a high-ranking freeloader! It was beneath his dignity to bare his fangs at a bunch of kids! Before long, the same group of bodyguards from last time arrived. "Young Master Chen, what do you need us to do?" ... White-Haired Liu’s real name was Liu Zhekang. His parents were ordinary office workers. In this era, many jobs didn’t actually require human labor, as AI and robotics could perform tasks better than humans. But to ensure employment rates, every department and company had to guarantee a certain number of job positions based on their annual profits. The salary for such positions naturally wasn’t high, often barely reaching the average standard. Therefore, the income of ordinary employees wasn’t high, and White-Haired Liu’s family situation was only so-so. He got the nickname because of his dyed white hair, and his combat skills were top-notch at Zhaolin, but he wasn’t originally the leader of Zhaolin’s combat sports students. That role belonged to another guy whose family owned a small business. There was no helping it. Without money, you couldn’t win people over. But in the past ten-plus days, White-Haired Liu suddenly became generous, quickly displacing the original core figure and becoming the leader of Zhaolin’s combat sports students. After school that day, White-Haired Liu called out and led everyone to a high-end hotel outside the school to eat. Chen Gu sat in a room in the opposing building, watching their every move clearly through the projection from a high-definition telescope. "Brother Liu, you’re incredible! We can finally hold our heads high!" "I’ve couldn’t stand those bastards from Lubei for ages! What good is their school if their combat skills aren’t necessarily better than ours! They’re all so arrogant. Just looking at them makes me want to beat them up." "Brother Liu, do you think Darkray will comply?" White-Haired Liu’s face showed a proud and cunning smile. "Doesn’t matter. If he doesn’t comply this time, we’ll just set up another trap and frame him next time. Those Lubei guys are very stupid; it’s easy to wrap them around our little finger." "That’s because you, Brother Liu, are wise and resourceful!" "HAHAHA..."