Chapter 486 The Establishment of the Relevant Department

Chu Bamboo took out his phone and dialed Elder Qian’s number.

“…Have you run into trouble again? Or is someone refusing to obey you?” Elder Qian’s voice was stern.

“I need a special operations squad!” Chu Bamboo got straight to the point. “A squad that can infiltrate the Europe and America Region, bypass the highest level of security, and steal an item belonging to the Golden Dawn!”

“? Are you serious?” Elder Qian almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I will provide the exact coordinates, location, potential contacts, and the specific passwords for the security measures, as well as the detailed infiltration procedure.” Chu Bamboo’s tone was calm. “I can even alter their appearances to a certain degree to make it easier for them to blend in!”

Elder Qian was silent for a moment before saying, word by word, “I understand!”

He stood up and paced back and forth. “However, you don’t actually need me to prepare one for you!”

“?” Chu Bamboo was taken aback.

“Just yesterday, we established a new temporary department. You can call it the Relevant Department!” Elder Qian said calmly. “Starting yesterday, I’ve been screening top elites from various military districts to serve as the Relevant Department’s special operations force!”

“Of course, we’ve also screened elites from other fields to handle operations!”

“So for this kind of matter, you can just have the special operations force handle it directly!” Elder Qian paused, then gave a wry smile. “This department was initially intended to be your security detail! And also to help you integrate with the various research institutions!”

Ultimately, even if the higher-ups issued a direct order, that didn’t guarantee perfect execution.

How would subordinates view a leader who was parachuted in from above? The answer was obvious. Feigning compliance while secretly resisting was standard procedure.

This was especially true given the sheer number of departments Chu Bamboo could interfere with. Forget about Chu Bamboo, who hadn’t even graduated from college yet; even a seasoned veteran in a related field would be helpless if thrown into that situation…

It wasn’t even a matter of competence anymore. If you hadn’t worked in the department for a long time, had no loyal subordinates, no power base—it wouldn’t matter who you were. You’d be useless.

However, neither Elder Qian nor the group of people silently watching Chu Bamboo from behind the scenes had expected him to use such an outrageous method. He directly cut out the leadership, accurately identified, and promoted the truly capable people—and those he promoted were usually the department’s workhorses, honest and diligent types!

While these people couldn’t be called absolutely loyal to Chu Bamboo for his forced promotions, they would certainly never defy his orders as long as it didn’t violate the law or their bottom line. And so, the whole apparatus began to function, albeit clumsily.

As a direct result, of the orders Chu Bamboo issued, under the silent observation of this group… at least thirty percent had begun implementation—

Thirty percent might sound low, but considering that Chu Bamboo had interfered with dozens of research institutes, and had basically only made a single phone call to each… that level of efficiency was already inhuman! Besides, this was just what had *begun* implementation. Many of the remaining orders were in the preparatory stages, not being actively resisted.

It got to the point where Elder Qian wasn’t sure how to hand this “Relevant Department” over to Chu Bamboo. Initially, he had planned to wait until Chu Bamboo ran into a problem and called him for help. Who would have thought he’d get stuck on the very first step because Chu Bamboo was too damn capable?

“I see.” Chu Bamboo fell silent for a moment, rubbing his temples. He felt a bit wistful. ‘Looks like I still haven’t adjusted my mindset to how things work in reality…’

That’s right. Now that he was connected with the government, many things could naturally be fast-tracked. He no longer had to carry the entire burden on his own shoulders as he had before. He just hadn’t expected the government to be so decisive! Even when he was holding back, they had unhesitatingly thrown in their chips!

“I understand. I’ll adjust my way of thinking!” Chu Bamboo changed many of his preconceived notions and said seriously, “In that case, next, I need to meet with the leadership of the Relevant Department.”

“…Strictly speaking, the Relevant Department isn’t an official organization!” Elder Qian’s expression was a bit strange. “So its leader… is actually you. Of course, I know what you mean. Hmm, come to the Jinling Military District… no!”

Elder Qian paused briefly before changing tack. “Go to Cloud Street in the Yuhua District first. The new Huarun community building there is the Relevant Department’s temporary base! I’ll be there in about an hour.”

…

Standing on the eighteenth floor of the Huaren Building, Chu Bamboo looked out the window at the massive construction site below, where work was still underway.

“Right now, we’re building some underground facilities!” Elder Qian said, his hands clasped behind his back. He was still wearing the old, rankless military uniform. “As for what to build on the surface… that’s up to you!”

After a slight pause, Elder Qian added in a peculiar tone, “You can even build some shops, or stores, or even a shopping mall… it’s all fine! Don’t look at me like that, I’m not testing you… We will naturally supervise the construction, but the profits from these malls, after passing through our hands for a quick review, can be directly allocated to you as a funding channel!”

“After all, if we went through the treasury… people who keep a close eye on financial appropriations might notice something!”

As for why it had to pass through their hands, that was a matter of protocol!

“I see.” Chu Bamboo was thoughtful. “That works! I’ll figure out the specific layout later. And the underground facilities… hmm! I’ll give you a detailed report tomorrow.”

This kind of thing was, of course, a job for his good buddy to worry about!

Clearing his throat lightly, Elder Qian turned around. “Now, let me make some introductions.”

Two people stood behind Elder Qian, a man and a woman. The man looked to be in his forties, with a square face and a crew cut. Despite wearing a Zhongshan suit, his posture was ramrod straight, and he exuded an indescribable killing intent.

The woman had large, bright eyes. It was obvious she wasn’t wearing any makeup, and the downy hair on her face hadn’t faded, making her look as if she were still college-aged. She wore a military uniform.

“Sun Rui, Su Mobai.” Elder Qian pointed at them, his introduction concise. “They are both work secretaries! Of course, if you want a personal-life secretary, that’s also possible! Just say the word… I can arrange it!”

“As for work secretaries, if two isn’t enough… just say the word, and we can add more.”

“The Relevant Department’s personnel currently includes a thirty-man special operations squad and seventy administrative staff, though the administrative staff are still on secondment!”

“…Why so many administrative staff?” Chu Bamboo was stunned.

Elder Qian stared at Chu Bamboo wordlessly. *What do you think?*

Right. Chu Bamboo caught on and nodded. In reality, seventy administrative staff members wasn’t a lot at all… it was even a bit on the low side! ‘If it weren’t for Z…’ Chu Bamboo felt a wave of emotion.

Elder Qian nodded slightly, then continued, “If you want to expand, whether it’s administrative staff or the special operations unit, just file a report… As long as the request is reasonable, there won’t be any problem on my end…”

“Right now, the direct leader of the Relevant Department is you! I’m the nominal secretary of the department… but don’t worry, I generally won’t interfere with your work!”

“I see.” To be honest, Chu Bamboo was surprised. For him, a restriction like that was as good as no restriction at all.

Rubbing his temples, Elder Qian added, “As for what you said before, about you supplying the money for researching those things… forget it. The country isn’t that poor yet. As long as it’s reasonable, and as long as there are results, we’ll give you as much as you need.”

“Is that so! Perfect, then,” Chu Bamboo thought for a moment, made his decision, and looked directly at Sun Rui. “My first order is… tomb raiding—oh, no, archaeology.”

Sun Rui’s expression had turned serious and his body had tensed instinctively at the word “order,” but after hearing the last word, his face went slack with shock for a moment. He almost couldn’t believe his ears.