Lord of Prayer - Chapter 62 - 55: What Happened to the Trust?

Chapter 62: Chapter 55: What Happened to the Trust?

In the brightly lit, simply furnished office, Jiang Che glanced up from her mountain of work as Zhou Chen pushed open the door.

“What is it?”

“I’m here for my shift,” Zhou Chen replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“…”

Jiang Che’s hands froze mid-type. As if she’d heard something utterly unbelievable, she stared at Zhou Chen suspiciously, sizing him up for a few seconds. “What do you want?”

“Whoa, I come in for a normal shift, and you think I’m up to something?” Zhou Chen’s eyes bulged as he proclaimed, “Where’s the trust? What happened to our trust?”

Jiang Che rested her left elbow on her chair’s armrest and rubbed her temples, looking vexed. “Would a person like you, who slacks off for seven and a half hours of every eight-hour workday, actually show up voluntarily? Besides, you’re on a mission. You don’t need to be working.”

“Er… I admit I might have slacked off a little too much in the past, but I’m really here to work.” Zhou Chen pointed to the faint dark circles under her eyes and said earnestly, “You need to get some rest.”

Jiang Che was silent. Her slightly weary eyes gazed at Zhou Chen, searching his expression for any trace of duplicity, but she found nothing.

After a long moment, she let out a weary sigh. “Fine, I’ll leave things to you. I’m going to get some sleep.”

There was a hidden compartment in the office that opened into a small bedroom containing only a single bed. Such rooms were quite common in the Star Association; for a group of workaholics like them, pulling all-nighters and not being able to make it back to the dorms was practically routine.

Jiang Che took a small vial from her drawer, poured out two extra-strength sleeping pills, and washed them down with warm water. Before she left, she instructed, “Call me immediately if anything urgent comes up. And, you should receive an invitation later. Just hold on to it. If they ask, just say I’m unavailable for the moment.”

“Got it,” Zhou Chen nodded.

Jiang Che walked into the private room. A moment later, the Wish Bottle harvested its corresponding wish value, and the unformed seventh star slowly began to take shape.

Satisfied, Zhou Chen started to work.

「An hour later.」

He leaned back in his chair. His slacker’s itch was starting to act up, and he couldn’t resist the urge to goof off.

’Just for a bit… The work isn’t that urgent, anyway. I’ll get a notification if something comes up…’

With that, he opened a streaming platform to watch an esports match. A little over ten minutes later, an email suddenly arrived in Jiang Che’s inbox.

’An invitation?’

Staring at the email’s subject line, Zhou Chen hesitated for a moment before clicking it open. After all, Jiang Che hadn’t told him not to.

“Dear Ms. Jiang Che, I sincerely invite you to join me for dinner tomorrow evening at the Sky Garden on the top floor of the Wanli Building. —Fu Qing.”

The invitation was simple, but the sender’s name gave Zhou Chen a shock.

—Fu Qing.

The Jinzhu Region agent for the Southern Shipping Asia Branch, an honorary member of the World Ocean Protection Association, the president of the Jinzhu City branch of the Eternal Commerce Association… He was also the wealthiest man in the Jinzhu Region, whose annual donations reached into the tens of millions. In the eyes of the public, he was the ultimate philanthropist.

Southern Shipping was a behemoth that controlled over thirty percent of the world’s maritime logistics, a true titan of the industry. As its agent for the Jinzhu Region, Fu Qing wielded immense power, overseeing nearly all import and export business in the area.

The “Honorary Member of the World Ocean Protection Association” title wasn’t really worth mentioning; it was just a way to add a veneer of high-society respectability and build connections. What was most important was his role as president of the Jinzhu City branch of the Eternal Commerce Association.

The Eternal Commerce Association was a top-tier global guild that monopolized over sixty percent of the world’s market for Extraordinary goods. It was involved in numerous fields, possessed vast networks, and had daily revenues that could reach into the billions. Forbidden Objects were a common sight at its high-end auctions.

As the president of the Eternal Commerce Association branch, Fu Qing was not only an Ascender himself but also enjoyed the highest level of personal security, with Ascender bodyguards who never left his side. He also controlled the Extraordinary market in the Jinzhu Region and its surrounding areas. His power was so immense that even the Star Association had to give him some face on a regular basis.

In short, Fu Qing was a big shot in Jinzhu, and indeed throughout all of Coastal Asia. With a single command, he could summon tens of thousands of lackeys to hack and slash their way from South Street to North Street and back again, and they wouldn’t stop until he told them to. Of course, the reality was that the Star Association would arrest him on the spot the moment he gave the order.

’I wonder if he’s trying to curry favor, negotiate, or make a threat… Jiang Che only just arrived and she’s already killed a batch of bigwigs. I think some of them were his people… Ah, whatever. That’s the world of the powerful; it doesn’t have much to do with me.’ Seeing no follow-up message, Zhou Chen stopped paying attention to it.

·

「The next morning.」

Fully rested and refreshed, Jiang Che emerged from the bedroom to find Zhou Chen munching on a steamed bun while coordinating business with someone. His one-handed typing speed was incredible, his fingers a blur that left afterimages over the keyboard.

“Ah, you’re up. I bought you breakfast, though I’m not sure if it’s to your taste.” Zhou Chen pointed to the warm steamed buns and soy milk on the desk.

“Did anything major happen last night?” Jiang Che asked.

“Nope, all was quiet. I finished the remaining work and organized the details into a spreadsheet. You can take a look if you want to double-check…” As he spoke, Zhou Chen stood up to give her the seat. He suddenly recalled something and added, “Oh, right. Fu Qing invited you to dinner at the Sky Garden tonight.”

“Hah. So he came looking for me, just as I expected.” With a sharp POP, Jiang Che plunged her straw into the paper cup. She took two sips of soy milk, opened her email, and found the invitation.

“What does he want with you?” Zhou Chen asked, unable to restrain his curiosity.

“With Iron Python and Lady Grey gone, their backer has been weakened. That person happens to be Fu Qing’s mortal enemy. He probably wants to rope me in to help him eliminate his rival so they can carve up the massive cake that is Jinzhu’s illicit industries. We’re talking about astonishing profits,” Jiang Che said nonchalantly.

“So Iron Python and Lady Grey’s backer is Fu Qing’s mortal enemy…”

Zhou Chen quickly put it together. “He’s the backer behind Birdman and Snow White? And the one who arranged their alliance?”

“Mhm.”

“So are you going?”

“Of course not.”

Jiang Che looked at him, her calm gaze sending a shiver down his spine. Her voice was cool and dispassionate. “Because I’m going to eliminate him as well.”

Zhou Chen was stunned. He sputtered for a moment before saying, “Is that a good idea? If you refuse, he’ll definitely be on his guard against you. If a big shot like him acts cautiously, it’ll be incredibly difficult to find any dirt on him. Wouldn’t it be better to feign cooperation, advance step by step, and then, when the time is right, backstab him and take him out…?”

“I’ve considered that plan, but there’s another problem.”

Jiang Che said calmly, “I have too few people at my disposal. And Fu Qing, aside from having Tier Three Ascenders for protection, personally commands numerous unknown Forbidden Objects. He wouldn’t dare move against me openly, but he can play dirty in the shadows… Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I don’t want to accept an invitation that will very likely put me at a disadvantage.”

“…That makes sense.” After a moment of thought, Zhou Chen had to agree.

As an important executive, Jiang Che certainly had protective mechanisms, but who could predict the strange and unexpected nature of Extraordinary Power? It was entirely possible to have one’s subconscious manipulated without even realizing it, just like what happened to Fina Blanch…