Just after leaving the laboratory building, Su Chen saw Cheng Lang waiting for him. He raised an eyebrow and said cheerfully, "Vice Minister Cheng, long ti no see..."
Seeing Su Chen’s warm deanor, however, made Cheng Lang inwardly cringe.
The last ti they t, Su Chen had freeloaded three Secret Technique Energy Crystals off him. While they weren’t exactly priceless, the matter had simply ended there with no follow-up.
He had been waiting for the kid to be defeated by Zhu Xuan and co crawling back for help. Instead, Su Chen had cleanly crushed Zhu Xuan, causing a huge stir.
God only knew how long he had been left speechless when he first heard the news.
Later, the higher-ups realized that if things kept going this way, Su Chen had a strong chance of becoming the Chief Judge even without their help.
Thus, they decided against making any unnecessary gestures and temporarily suspended contact.
They had shifted their focus to other candidates, but the veteran Core Seeds were all incredibly shrewd; they were the type who wouldn’t act without a guaranteed reward.
As for Zhu Xuan, who had no backing, he had died mysteriously after they’d only made contact a couple of tis.
Then ng Qi ca along. They contacted him once, and he was gone too, leaving them at a loss for words.
The most recent Core Seed selection competition only produced Feng Ze and Liang Jingcheng, two old-tirs whom Cheng Lang couldn’t even be bothered with.
All things considered, the only one left with no backing who could potentially be turned into a puppet was still Su Chen.
"It can’t be helped. I’ve been so busy lately I just couldn’t get away. I was hoping to et with you sooner," Cheng Lang said with a sigh. "By the way, those three Secret Technique Energy Crystals from last ti—any problems using them?"
"No problems at all! They were fantastic," Su Chen said, nodding eagerly. "I was just thinking I needed to thank you in person."
’As if I care about a simple thank you.’
Cheng Lang, displeased, lowered his voice and asked, "I heard that on the day ng Qi died, Black Tuo Followers appeared and entered the Judicial Court to make an accusation."
"What exactly happened?"
Su Chen frowned, looking troubled. "The Chief Judge issued a gag order covering everything that happened that day."
’I wouldn’t be asking if there wasn’t a gag order,’ Cheng Lang thought. He already knew the gist of what had happened anyway.
’But when you’re trying to cultivate a traitor, you can’t start by asking for top-secret information; that’s bound to fail. You have to start with sothing trivial like this.’
Su Chen still wore a troubled expression. Cheng Lang grew furious. ’He took my things, but he won’t even share a piece of information that’s practically common knowledge.’
He sighed and said with feigned helplessness, "About that incident at Cloud Sea last ti... I took a lot of heat from within the Inspectorate. That was a Black Tuo Followers’ nest, and I just let you have it."
"I helped you. I hope you can help in return. We should have each other’s backs."
At the ntion of this, Su Chen seed to hesitate, looking very conflicted. After a long mont, he finally gave a reluctant nod. "Alright."
Su Chen lowered his voice. "It’s true that Black Tuo Followers showed up. And the whole thing felt strange. I can confirm there was sothing seriously wrong with ng Qi."
"You’re sure there was a problem with ng Qi?" Cheng Lang’s eyes lit up.
He didn’t actually know much about ng Qi’s case. The story of what happened that night in the Judgent Hall had been twisted so much through rumors that it was hard to tell fact from fiction.
The entire Judicial Court was tight-lipped about the ng Qi affair, since, after all, it involved the reputations of several Chief Judges.
"How did he manage to fool Chong Jingtian and the others?" Cheng Lang pressed.
"That, I’m not sure about," Su Chen said, shaking his head.
Even though he didn’t get a complete answer, he had at least pried sothing out of him. Cheng Lang felt a lot better, his smile growing much warr.
"We’re all part of Ying Feng; we should help each other out. If you need anything in the future, just say the word."
The two exchanged a smile, their eyes filled with a mutual understanding—all for the good of Ying Feng, of course.
Sitting in the back of a hovercar, Su Chen couldn’t help but speculate. ’The Security Departnt has probably pulled stunts like this countless tis.’ The conflict between the Security Departnt and the Judicial Court must go way back.
They were just taking advantage of the Inner Court’s reforms to make a few small plays. These were probably just side bets—if one paid off, great. If not, they would just wait for the next opportunity.
Then his thoughts shifted. ’Hmm, I wonder how Gu Bing is doing. I hope she manages to get it.’
...
The Resource Library was Ying Feng’s central resource hub, under the direct jurisdiction of the Resources Reserve Managent Departnt. Over ninety percent of all resources were consolidated here before being sorted and distributed by category.
Located in the heart of Ying Feng, the facility covered a vast area. Super-heavy hover-containers traveled along its main thoroughfares, their surfaces stamped with the insignias of different cities and resource types.
Guided by dispatch, they were routed to designated zones. The unloading areas were dominated by massive Gantry Cranes. Electromagnetic Suction Plates lifted standard containers from transport holds, stacking them with precision onto automated guide vehicles for warehousing.
On the top floor of the central high-rise, Gu Bing and Tie Feng stepped out of an elevator.
"Did we bring enough money?"
Gu Bing glanced down the corridor. It was bustling with people from the Craftsmanship Departnt, the Pharmacy Departnt, and even the Inspectorate.
Tie Feng replied, "I’ve studied the records for the past few years. The price of a Void Star Fragnt is quite consistent."
"It’s estimated to go for around one hundred fifty million, but we’re representing Sir Su Chen. Others will show us so deference, so the bidding shouldn’t get that high."
"The one hundred thirty million we brought should be enough."
Gu Bing nodded. She followed the flow of people into the auction hall, which was already quite full, and found a place to sit.
"Isn’t that Gu Bing? So Su Chen needs sothing too?"
From a corner, soone spotted Gu Bing, and an unreadable emotion flashed in his narrow eyes. The man beside him, He Kang, furrowed his signature downturned brows and whispered:
"Xiao Ying, don’t start anything. Rember what Old Wei told us. He needs the Jade Concealnt to stabilize his profession."
"Relax. Am I the kind of guy who goes looking for trouble?" Xiao Ying chuckled.
He Kang wasn’t reassured in the slightest. He was about to say sothing more, but Xiao Ying had already gotten up and was calling out to soone nearby. "Uncle Zhou! You’re representing the Inspectorate this ti?"
"That I am..." The man he greeted wasn’t tall and had a full beard framing his chin, giving him a capable look. He offered a wry smile.
"There’s only so much good stuff to go around, and competing for it ruffles a lot of feathers. Nobody else wanted to co, so it fell to ."
This was Zhou Honglang, the Inspectorate’s Logistics Director. He Kang knew him as well, so he offered a greeting.
"What brings you two here? Eyeing sothing?" Zhou Honglang asked as he sat down next to them.
"We are," Xiao Ying confird with a smile. "Uncle Zhou, how about we coordinate a bit? Try to make sure we both get what we ca for."
"Sounds good," Zhou Honglang replied with a chuckle.
Everyone there was familiar with the bidding process. After the head of the Resource Library appeared and exchanged a few customary pleasantries, the first item materialized on the large screen.
It was a translucent, inky-green object, and a flowing, rosy light seed to be sealed within it.
"Jade Flesh from Golden Wall City. It takes several months to produce even this small amount," he said, giving a brief introduction. "You all know what it’s for. The starting bid is fifteen million."
"Twenty million..." a bid ca almost imdiately. It was from the Pharmacy Departnt; they clearly intended to conduct further research, hoping to create so kind of extrely potent potion.
"Thirty million..." ca a bid from the Craftsmanship Departnt, who apparently had their own ideas for it.
The two parties exchanged a single glance, and the air was already thick with tension.
"Why isn’t anyone from the Judicial Court here?" Gu Bing wondered from her seat, looking around.
"The vast majority of these items co from the subordinate cities. The Judicial Court has already skimd the best off the top," Tie Feng explained, clearly privy to the inner workings.
Gu Bing was taken aback for a mont before realization dawned.
One by one, items were sold off, and new ones were brought out. There were weapons from the Craftsmanship Departnt forged from special tal alloys.
There were also potions from the Pharmacy Departnt, concocted from rare ingredients. Every single item fetched a high price.
The bidders included not only Ying Feng’s official departnts, but also nurous buyers representing prominent families, as well as private individuals.
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