My Professions Have Too Much Personality - Chapter 209 - 137: Bidding and an Accident (Part 2)
Chapter 209: Chapter 137: Bidding and an Accident (Part 2)
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 time no see…”
Seeing Su Chen’s warm demeanor, however, made Cheng Lang inwardly cringe.
The last time they met, 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 come 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 times.
Then Meng Qi came 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-timers 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 meet with you sooner,” Cheng Lang said with a sigh. “By the way, those three Secret Technique Energy Crystals from last time—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 Meng 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 something 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 time… 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 me in return. We should have each other’s backs.”
At the mention of this, Su Chen seemed to hesitate, looking very conflicted. After a long moment, 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 something seriously wrong with Meng Qi.”
“You’re sure there was a problem with Meng Qi?” Cheng Lang’s eyes lit up.
He didn’t actually know much about Meng Qi’s case. The story of what happened that night in the Judgement 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 Meng 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 something out of him. Cheng Lang felt a lot better, his smile growing much warmer.
“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 Department has probably pulled stunts like this countless times.’ The conflict between the Security Department 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 Management Department. 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 Department, the Pharmacy Department, and even the Inspectorate.
Tie Feng replied, “I’ve studied the records for the past few years. The price of a Void Star Fragment 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 some 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 something too?”
From a corner, someone 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. Remember what Old Wei told us. He needs the Jade Concealment 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 something more, but Xiao Ying had already gotten up and was calling out to someone nearby. “Uncle Zhou! You’re representing the Inspectorate this time?”
“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 come, so it fell to me.”
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 something?” Zhou Honglang asked as he sat down next to them.
“We are,” Xiao Ying confirmed with a smile. “Uncle Zhou, how about we coordinate a bit? Try to make sure we both get what we came 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 seemed 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 came almost immediately. It was from the Pharmacy Department; they clearly intended to conduct further research, hoping to create some kind of extremely potent potion.
“Thirty million…” came a bid from the Craftsmanship Department, 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 come from the subordinate cities. The Judicial Court has already skimmed the best off the top,” Tie Feng explained, clearly privy to the inner workings.
Gu Bing was taken aback for a moment before realization dawned.
One by one, items were sold off, and new ones were brought out. There were weapons from the Craftsmanship Department forged from special metal alloys.
There were also potions from the Pharmacy Department, concocted from rare ingredients. Every single item fetched a high price.
The bidders included not only Ying Feng’s official departments, but also numerous buyers representing prominent families, as well as private individuals.
