Xu Zhengyang was immediately enlightened.
The "Qilang" mentioned by the woman was a character from a short story in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, called Qilang.
The story revolves around a wealthy man, Wu Chengxiu, who enjoyed mingling with prominent figures and scholars, with no ordinary people in his mansion. One night, a divine old man told him to befriend someone named Qilang, who could save Wu Chengxiu's life.
After much searching, Wu Chengxiu discovered that Qilang was a poor hunter with exceptional martial skills. Despite his high status, Wu Chengxiu humbled himself to befriend Qilang, only to be scolded by Qilang's mother, who believed that such a wealthy man might bring disaster to her son.
Her fears were proven right. After Qilang's wife passed away and the family could not afford her funeral, Wu Chengxiu helped them out of genuine friendship. Despite the repeated efforts to strengthen their bond, disaster struck when Wu Chengxiu fell into trouble. Qilang single-handedly attacked the authorities but was ultimately killed. In the end, his corpse rose to kill the corrupt officials, ending the friendship.
As Qilang's mother said:
"Those who benefit from others are often troubled by them; those who receive help are often repaid with hardships. Rich people repay with wealth, while poor people repay with loyalty. To receive heavy bribes without cause is ominous; it may bring death to the benefactor's children."
This meant that Xu Zhengyang's great favor made her fear that she could not repay it, and ultimately, Mu Sheng and his group might repay with death.
Xu Zhengyang felt a pang of anxiety.
He hadn't expected this aunt to be such a sage, but her concerns were not unfounded. He did share some similarities with Wu Chengxiu, but Xu Zhengyang was not going to give up. Times had changed, after all.
"Auntie, I understand your concern about the disaster of Qilang, but times have changed."
"There is no difference! I'd rather my daughter remain untreated than have them repay with death!"
The middle-aged woman's attitude was resolute.
As she spoke, she tried to push Xu Zhengyang out. However, Mu Sheng grabbed her, his face dark and deep in thought.
"Untreated, and then what? Have you ever thought that the day they joined the army, their thoughts were not of a peaceful life! Your son was like this, and so are they.
Men have martial skills, and they should use them. Moreover, I am not a bad person. I give them a place to use their skills to punish evil and promote good.
There is a company making fake drugs, harming dozens of lives. I want to deal with it but have been unable to find key evidence! If I provide funding and equipment, what do you think your son would do if he were here?"
Xu Zhengyang did not avoid the woman's gaze but asked clearly.
The woman's eyes reddened, and she glared at Xu Zhengyang but couldn't speak.
"I am willing!"
As the atmosphere grew tense, the other brothers gathered around, with Mu Sheng being the first to break the silence.
Everyone's eyes were instantly on him.
"I am willing. Not only to punish evil and promote good, but if you can provide the funds to cure my sister's illness, my life is yours!"
Mu Sheng, with reddened eyes, thumped his chest with a loud thud.
"I am too!"
"Me too!"
The other five also expressed their willingness, their attitudes firm.
The woman closed her eyes in pain, tears streaming down her face.
"Mom! We understand your intentions, but since Zhao Xiong passed away, we have been suffering greatly. Xiao Meng is his only sister, and we have been trying every means to cure her. We even considered breaking the law!
If you don't want to see us take the extreme path, then today is the day!"
Mu Sheng said with some restraint. They understood that such opportunities were rare.
Even the girl lying in the bedroom had closed her eyes, tears flowing like rain. She felt that all this was her fault.
"Mom, moreover, we don't want to miss this chance. We not only want to cure Xiao Meng but also take care of you and my dad and mom! Give them a good life."
One of the brothers said this, and the woman could no longer refuse. You couldn't block them from their own lives. After all, for so long, the mother and daughter had always been their burden.
She could only helplessly wipe her tears and nod.
Xu Zhengyang sighed, no longer saying much, and signaled to Lin Yourong.
Lin Yourong immediately understood, took out her phone, and stepped outside to make a call.
"Hello, City First Hospital? Please arrange an ambulance. We have a patient here…"
Xu Zhengyang turned back to Mu Sheng and the others.
Mu Sheng immediately stood at attention, knowing Xu Zhengyang wanted to assess their capabilities.
"Southwest J District, 32nd… Special Reconnaissance… Mu Sheng."
"Southwest J District, Li Jiu Cheng!"
"Southwest… Zhen Chaoyang!"
They each reported their former units in strict attention. Xu Zhengyang didn't have much concept of their full details but understood the key points, which was sufficient.
Actually, Xu Zhengyang had known from the moment they blocked him in the hallway that Mu Sheng had already discovered him.
Although he didn't know their full strength, they were certainly stronger than ordinary people with some counter-intelligence measures.
Just then, a system prompt sounded in his mind.
[ Ding… Detected that the host is forming their own intelligence agency. The system has automatically opened the reagent store. ]
[ Current available reagents for intelligence agencies—Electronic Technology and Mechanical Mastery. ]
[ Current available reagents for intelligence agencies—Hacker and Information Technology Mastery. ]
[ Current available reagents for intelligence agencies—Disguise Mastery. ]
[ Current available reagents for intelligence agencies—Theft Mastery. ]
[ Intelligence…—Investigation and Counter-Intelligence Mastery. ]
Xu Zhengyang looked down and saw that currently, only these four types of mastery were available. There were some more detailed types below, but they were blacked out, indicating they were not yet available.
[ Mastery Reagents: Each person can ingest up to two types of reagents. Ingesting more than that is unbearable. After ingestion, the related professional proficiency increases instantly. ]
These reagents caught Xu Zhengyang's attention.
If there were these reagents, their skills, which were already above average, could be further enhanced to an extraordinary level.
In fact, Mu Sheng and his group should be relatively strong in investigation and counter-intelligence, while other skills might not be as developed.
However, these reagents would ensure that his intelligence agency would become more comprehensive and professional in the future.
But he certainly wouldn't use them immediately.
He wanted to test their loyalty first.
There was an old saying about apprenticeship: "Three years for the master to visit the apprentice, three years for the apprentice to visit the master."
Trust deepens with understanding.
Moreover, these reagents were indeed not cheap.
A small bottle of Theft Mastery Reagent was 200 points.
A bottle of Electronic Technology and Mechanical Mastery Reagent was 300 points.
Adding up all these points to his comprehensive attributes seemed very tempting.
At this moment, Mu Sheng looked at Xu Zhengyang and asked:
"What do you want us to do?"