That evening, in the Tai city.
Grand Secretary Wang Maohong sat calmly in his chair, listening attentively to Chu Jiye's narration.
"So," Chu Jiye concluded, "it seems that over in Wuchang, they intend to seize this opportunity..."
"Wang Chuzhong," Wang Maohong interrupted calmly, "This is to asserting dominance."
"Asserting dominance?" Chu Jiye pondered for a moment, seeming to understand.
"Yes, Jiye, you did well this time, not letting the situation escalate unnecessarily," Wang Maohong stood up, "I'm going to see His Majesty immediately, so I won't keep you any longer."
Chu Jiye quickly took his leave.
In Wujiang Town, inside an old house.
"This is about asserting dominance," Wang Wanrou sneered, "My uncle truly regards the imperial family like a chicken and a dog, I wonder where he gets such mysterious confidence."
Cheng Jinyang fell silent, lost for words. When it comes to mysterious confidence, Miss Wang is certainly not inferior to her uncle.
"In short, Chu Debiao's role as a mole is to smuggle metal hydrogen back to Wuchang," Wang Wanrou summarized. "Metal hydrogen is the material used to make high-density energy batteries, which means..."
She paused here, waiting for someone to give an answer.
"War?" Xing Yuanzhi asked.
"Mm," Wang Wanrou sneered, "As for Chu Debiao's remarks afterward, they are certainly orchestrated by Wuchang. Even if the Yangdi Chu clan could restrain them, it's likely someone would spread it covertly."
"In the coming days, certain influential families are bound to engage in subtle maneuvers with Wuchang. The Five Great Clans and the imperial family will surely make some moves too, turning the entire city of Jiankang into a vast fishpond..."
"Fishpond?" Cheng Jinyang was puzzled.
"It means everywhere is full of miscellaneous fish," Wang Wanrou chuckled, "But don't worry, your position... well, Wujiang Town is quite remote, so it probably won't be swept into overly turbulent undercurrents. In that sense, I quite like it here."
"As long as Miss likes it," Cheng Jinyang signaled to Xing Yuanzhi with his eyes.
After the two left the study, Cheng Jinyang asked in a low voice:
"Will the Tianluo Department be in danger when the war comes?"
"To be precise, the risk will indeed increase significantly," Xing Yuanzhi said helplessly. "After all, the Tianluo Department operates in secret as assassins, not as soldiers on the frontlines. Before the battle reaches Jiankang from Wuchang, there will certainly be comprehensive and intensive infiltration into Jiankang. Our pressure will undoubtedly increase."
"Are you saying we have to deal with the assassins coming from the Wuchang side?" Cheng Jinyang pondered, "What's their strength like?"
"They're quite strong," Xing Yuanzhi replied quietly. "Hey, Jinyang, do you know the anecdote of 'don't put all your eggs in one basket'?"
"Um, not to put all your eggs in one basket?" Cheng Jinyang asked uncertainly.
"This statement was made by Mr. Zhongda, also known as Sima Yi," Xing Yuanzhi explained, "During the Three Kingdoms period, due to the long-standing stalemate among the Wei, Shu, and Wu, and the inability to determine who would win in the short term, diversifying investments became a self-preservation choice for the aristocratic families."
"For example, the Zhuge family: Zhuge Jin joined Eastern Wu, Zhuge Liang went to Western Shu, and Zhuge Dan went to Northern Wei... Do you understand what I mean?"
"So now some of the prominent families over in Wuchang have descendants serving Wang Wanrou's uncle, right?" Cheng Jinyang pondered, "Next, will Tianluo confront these supernaturals?"
"Not some, but the vast majority," Xing Yuanzhi corrected, "After all, in terms of military strength alone, Wuchang is stronger than Jiankang."
"But Jiankang has the advantage of geographical location," Cheng Jinyang said helplessly, "So, are we evenly matched?"
"For Tian Luo, the opposition is indeed evenly matched," Xing Yuanzhi sighed. "And considering Wang Chuzhong's aggressive style, the underground world of Jiankang City is likely to become a meat grinder."
Suddenly, the phone vibrated.
Cheng Jinyang took out his phone, and it turned out to be a call from Chu Qingqing.
Xing Yuanzhi saw that he had something to do, so she turned and went to the bathroom—sometime along the way, the two girls had already established their own territories in Cheng Jinyang's house. Wang Wanrou claimed the study, while Xing Yuanzhi took over the bathroom. They spent 3-4 hours each day immersed in their own domains.
On Cheng Jinyang's end, he picked up the phone, and Chu Qingqing's laughter came through:
"Jinyang, I have three pieces of good news here, each targeting you, us, and others. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Um." Cheng Jinyang hesitated for a moment. "Just go in the order you mentioned."
"Sure." Chu Qingqing cleared her throat pretentiously. "The first good news is that the Chu family highly acknowledges your performance in this mission and has decided to increase the compensation outlined in our original contract by 20%, to be paid by the family to the Tianluo Department."
Cheng Jinyang: ...
"Wait! Wasn't it agreed that this money would be transferred directly to us?" he said incredulously.
"Originally, yes," Chu Qingqing replied, "but since you caught the insider *** and said you'd reimburse me for this expense, it had to go through official channels. Obviously, official channels can't transfer money to your personal account, so it had to be sent to Cheng family's Tianluo Department."
"So, I guess they should return some of it to you in the form of performance bonuses, right? Think of it positively, you're receiving this money openly and rightfully, so it's okay to be a little more open-minded about it!"
So, why did the reward increase but what you actually get decrease? Cheng Jinyang was speechless.
"Hey hey hey, are you listening?" Seeing no response from the other side for a while, Chu Qingqing urged.
Cheng Jinyang didn't want to deal with her and was ready to hang up the phone.
"All right, don't hang up on me!" Chu Qingqing hurriedly said, "The second good news is, I've already explained our relationship to father, so you don't have to pretend to be my boyfriend anymore!"
"That's indeed good news, hmm." Cheng Jinyang said coldly, "What about the third?"
"I've decided to cover the medical expenses for Chu Debiao's sister," Chu Qingqing said.
Chu Debiao died from falling off a building, and with his identity as a mole exposed, even though the Yangdi Chu family is charitable, they won't be taking care of his sister anymore.
However, Chu Qingqing is willing to take on these expenses... It's certainly a good thing, but Cheng Jinyang can't see any reason why she would do this.
It doesn't seem like the type of person who would act out of kindness. You know, that girl suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Chu Debiao in front of everyone, her decisiveness in killing is even beyond that of the Yangdi Chu family's secret guards!
"Well, I'm relieved to hear that. But may I ask why you did it?" Cheng Jinyang asked cautiously.
"After all, his sister is innocent," Chu Qingqing said softly, "and also, quite pitiful."
Indeed, she is very pitiful, but you didn't hesitate to shoot her brother. So I won't fall for any cute act now. So, Cheng Jinyang said:
"Okay, I got it."
"Yeah, if you have time in the future, you can also go to the hospital we visited last time to see her," Chu Qingqing said with a smile. "That's all. Next time there's a commissioned task, I'll come to you guys."
Hanging up the phone, Cheng Jinyang sighed softly.
No matter what, this first Tianluo mission is finally over, and I don't have to worry about it anymore.
Um, yeah, I suppose...
Lying down at night listening to the wind and rain, Iron Horse Glacier ______