Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Just as Xia Fei stepped out of the library, Qin Mang made a video-call to Ye Jingshan.
As always, Ye Jingshan appeared on that display screen with a look of reverence. “Master, are you looking for me?”
“Yes.” Qin Mang nodded slightly. “There are a few things I need you to do.”
Ye Jingshan was startled. It was very rare for his master to take approach him first for anything, much less make a request to him; this was truly unprecedented.
“Master, just instruct me whatever you wish, and Jingshan will obey them all.” Ye Jingshan lowered his head.
Qin Mang cleared his throat. “Since Xia Fei has returned, the reward for his discovery of complete ancient relics back then ought to be remunerated, right?”
Ye Jingshan’s face momentarily darkened. He never would have guessed that what his master wanted to discuss was actually Xia Fei and that he had personally made this call all for that young man’s sake. This realization did not sit well with him.
He was uncertain of this feeling. In terms of qualifications, he and Xia Fei were about the same, and in terms of respecting his master, Xia Fei and Ye Jingshan were miles apart. These past few decades, Ye Jingshan had been exceptionally deferential to his master, while Xia Fei was the exact opposite, calling his master ‘old man’ so nonchalantly. However, it just so happened that Qin Mang did not mind and, instead, felt that Xia Fei was more to his liking.
Xia Fei would often gift Qin Mang tea leaves, snacks, and other such small treats to curry favor with him, and in Ye Jingshan’s eyes, he was no more than putting on an act, yet Qin Mang happened to enjoy it and had even learned the vice of smoking from Xia Fei.
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Ye Jingshan was a very old-fashioned person. The way he saw things, Xia Fei was no different from a rogue fresh off the streets, neither knowing how to act nor caring to learn it, only knowing how to go about his crooked ways. His most-respected master ended up being fooled senseless after having been exposed to Xia Fei’s unorthodox ways. How could Ye Jingshan be reconciled with this?
“Master, going by Union rules, Xia Fei can indeed be rewarded with ten percent of the total value of his discovery and will additionally get 100,000 contribution points. I’ll be sure that not a point less will be given to him, posthaste.” Ye Jingshan did his best to control the seething rage in his heart as he gave his answer.
Qin Mang nodded his head with satisfaction. “Very good. Since you’ve already decided to give Xia Fei the reward he deserves, why don’t you let him exchange points for items in the high-tier database? That kid has had it rough; his head’s turned white in just a year, and he’s looking so much skinnier. Plus, all his fairly decent equipment has received damage beyond repair. It’s truly hard to imagine how he managed to survive that whole year.”
Qin Mang said it so lightly; Xia Fei’s Windshade Mark IV combat suit and Chasing Light were both Legendary-grade equipment, yet these two precious treasures had merely gotten a so-so evaluation in Qin Mang’s eyes.
Ye Jingshan’s shoulders shuddered slightly, thinking to himself, ‘Master, you’ve only known Xia Fei for a handful of days, yet you’re already considering so much for his sake. I have been loyally following you for over forty years; when have you ever treated me like that?’
Sighing, Ye Jingshan said, “Master, you probably don’t know, but Xia Fei doesn’t have the authorization to access the high-tier database. I’m afraid tongues will wag if I privately let him access it.”
Qin Mang glared at him with his old eyes. Though they were separated by a screen, Ye Jingshan was still jumping in his skin from that shocking aura his master gave off.
“Does it mean that you’re not willing to do it?” Qin Mang’s forehead creased as he asked.
Ye Jingshan nervously waved his hand. “No, that’s not what I mean to say, master.”
“Then, what do you mean?” Qin Mang did not let the matter go, pressing like a teacher inquiring for an explanation.
Helpless, Ye Jingshan blinked a few times. He now knew that his master was not joking this time around, and he was afraid that he would get the short end of the stick if he did not obey his request.
“Fine, I promise to let Xia Fei choose three items from the C-tier database.”
“Make it the B-tier, with no limits,” Qin Mang said angrily. “Look at you being so stingy. The training camp isn’t even some family business you’ve opened; what are you guarding all that crap as if everything’s treasure?”
Though Ye Jingshan looked very dignified in the eyes of the other instructors of the training camp, with all of them wishing that they could take a detour to avoid him, the very same Ye Jingshan was actually the most afraid of his master, Qin Mang. Furthermore, this fear was not a pretense but a sort of horror etched in his very psyche.
Gritting his teeth, Ye Jingshan nodded. “I’ll listen to you. B-tier database, no limits.”
Now that Ye Jingshan had agreed to his request, Qin Mang did not make things difficult for him. He stroked Old Black in his arms and smiled. “Actually, you won’t have to trouble yourself much further very soon, for Xia Fei is leaving tonight. You’ve always disliked him, so at least you will be rid of this frustrating eyesore.”
Ye Jingshan did not show anything outwardly, which itself was a silent admission to Qin Mang’s words. His attitude toward Xia Fei kept changing, from the initial appreciation to the eventual loathing. Even President Robert, who had strongly recommended Xia Fei in the beginning, was the same. In fact, Robert even wished that he could expel Xia Fei as soon as he could, preventing him from causing trouble all day long.
Except Ye Jingshan could not make sense of why he would be heading off after returning so soon. Why did it seem that the young Xia Fei was busier than him, a battalion commander? Just what sort of trouble had he gotten himself into again from behind the scenes?
Qin Mang said some more words of consolation to Ye Jingshan, who was so busy stewing in his resentment that nothing else registered on his head. Turning off the screen after, Ye Jingshan fitfully waited for Xia Fei to knock at the door before permitting him entry.
Xia Fei smartly arrived at his office and stood right before Ye Jingshan.
“Battalion Commander, were you looking for me?” Xia Fei asked with a smile.
Actually, Xia Fei’s expression and tone were completely normal, and it did not have a hint of sarcasm or flattery toward Ye Jingshan, but every word coming out of his mouth ended up becoming unbearable to the older man’s ears.
“Where have you been in this whole year? You need to give an account of things to the camp,” Ye Jingshan snapped with that emotionless mug of his.
Xia Fei shrugged, offering the line that he had already prepared for such a question. “I don’t remember. All I recall is falling asleep inside that secret laboratory, and when I next woke up, an entire year has passed.”
Ye Jingshan sighed. Xia Fei had actually used amnesia as an excuse for himself. With someone like his master, Qin Mang, backing this young man up, Ye Jingshan could only helplessly accept such an outrageous lie.
“Fine, I’ll report this matter thusly to the Union. As for your contribution in discovering completely intact ancient civilization remnants and relics on YZZ 7526, the Union has decided to reward you with ten percent of their total market value, as well as an additional 100,000 contribution points,” Ye Jingshan said. He was now in a hurry to get rid of himself this troublemaker Xia Fei, which was why he had skipped past the interrogation and went straight to allocating the latter rewards; he figured that there was no point in trying to probe the young man further; he could tell that Xia Fei had no intentions of revealing anything.
‘It’s only ten percent, but I guess that’s better than nothing,’ Xia Fei thought to himself.
“There was still that mantis carcass inside his spatial ring. Due to the fact that the space within a spatial ring was completely devoid of air, the carcass remained perfectly preserved. Xia Fei thought about it and decided not to take it out now; he would first see if there were other research institutions outside that would be willing to buy it for a high price. He was not about to let the Adjudicator Union profit off his labor like this.
“Everything within that research facility when converted into cash comes up to eighty billion star coins. Ten percent of that will be eight billion star coins, and the contribution points can be used on the Union’s item-exchange database at your discretion. Whether you wish to exchange all now or save them for the future is up to you.” Ye Jingshan rapidly rattled off.
“Eight billion star coins.” Xia Fei was stunned for quite a long time. He originally thought that the ten percent he would be getting was not much, but who knew that it would actually be as high as eight billion star coins?
After swallowing a mouthful of spit, Xia Fei answered, “I’d like to redeem them immediately.”
All his equipment had pretty much been completely destroyed, and even his supplement supplies had been used up until he was nearly out. Right now, Xia Fei was essentially destitute, and since he was given this chance, he would of course be willing to replenish some of his necessities.
Without another word, Ye Jingshan accessed the item database, entered a password, and pulled out a screen. Panels upon panels of equipment and items appeared on it, leaving Xia Fei dumbfounded.
Xia Fei had looked through the internal item-exchange database quite a few times himself, but what had been on offer was not even a tenth as good as what was before his sight at this moment, with the grade of the items far outstripping those he had seen before.
‘What happened? Did the database of the training camp get expanded?’ Xia Fei wondered to himself. He was completely unaware that this was a B-tier database Ye Jingshan had given Xia Fei access to, and it did not belong to the camp but the entire Endaro Star Region’s Adjudicator Union branch.
The Heaven Execution Training Camp was only a subsidiary of the Union, so the items that they could exchange for were of course much fewer than what would be available to the entire Union. Besides, a B-tier database was leaps and bounds better than the database cadets could have access to in the internal database; therefore, there were plenty of high-grade items appearing on the screen that had usually been hidden deep in the Union warehouses.
Even Phantom could not help but exclaim in awe, “Not bad! Not bad at all! These items are all very decent in terms of grade. That’s why I say that the distinguished Adjudicator Union couldn’t possibly be just trash.”
Ye Jingshan purposely coughed a few times. “I’m going to leave now. You have thirty minutes to choose the items you need, so don’t dawdle.”
With that, Ye Jingshan marched off his office. Actually, he did not have any other business to attend to but merely did not wish to stay in the same room as Xia Fei.
“Thirty minutes?” Xia Fei muttered to himself. He immediately realized that there might be some chicanery behind this, but no matter the case might be, a chance was a chance. It was only the possibility that this chance might not come by again, which was why he was determined to find the most valuable item to exchange for.
His journey to the Black Abyss was about to begin, and any worker would need to sharpen their tools if they wished to do well; Xia Fei prioritized the need to acquire some good equipment right now, and given how his cultivation was no longer what it used to be, it was all the more important that he found some top-grade equipment that could further augment his capabilities.
“Should I buy a normal edition Windshade Mark IV combat suit since the one I originally own can’t be used anymore?” Xia Fei said this as he saw a similar combat suit to the one owned before appearing on the list, so he asked Phantom for his opinion.
“Don’t. Since you have access to even better products now, why settle for something less?” Phantom shook his head. “Let’s take a good look at everything that’s on offer first, find all the top-grade, and filter them out after.”
“Quick, don’t just stand there. Thirty minutes isn’t a lot of time. Hurry up and go through the pages,” Phantom excitedly urged.
The two of them acted as if they had been plunged into a thrilling battle, with only their eyes swiftly scanning through the screen in front of them, showing a solemn countenance to the task at hand.
Ye Jingshan stood outside the door and silently counted the time, not sure why he felt somewhat worried.
The B-tier database of the Union had several very valuable high-grade items, and Ye Jingshan was worried that Xia Fei would end up choosing one of these, which meant that he would really be suffering a loss here.
A B-tier database was prepared for those members who had made a significant contribution to the Adjudicator Union. Not only was there a great variety of items inside, even the price was lower than their market price. Ye Jingshan was not willing to let Xia Fei obtain these top-grade items from within, which was why he had pulled a stunt; he had the complete database of B-tier and below all opened up so that these top-grade items would be hidden in the tens of thousands of trash, making it that much more difficult for Xia Fei to pick and choose.
‘Xia Fei is only a cadet, so he should not know about these items. Besides, he only has 100,000 points on him; I doubt he’ll be willing to use it all just to buy one item,’ Ye Jingshan thought in an attempt to console himself.
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