Chapter 87

88. Chapter 88: Reward (Ally Leader Bonus: Chair Guy Is Slackin’)

Today, Li Yi’s mood was excellent.

A single mission granted him the White Bone Contemplation cultivation method, instantly raising his cultivation value from eighty percent to four hundred percent—reaching the level of a genius—and given his substantial contributions during the mission, he was certain the subsequent bonus would not disappoint him.

Added to that, he had now officially joined the Investigation Bureau, securing a legitimate and stable job; from now on, he only needed to live well, and his future would only grow brighter.

The days of risking his life for fifty thousand yuan were over forever.

“I made the right choice back then—I needed to change how I lived. Otherwise, I’d always be that poor kid scrambling for nutrient solution, doomed to stay broke for life.”

As Li Yi walked along the training base path, he couldn’t help but reflect inwardly, feeling increasingly hopeful about his future.

Everything was improving.

“Li Yi, you lazy bastard, sleeping till noon? We were just about to go look for you.”

At that moment, Wang Jian, Zheng Gong, and Chen Hao walked toward him, greeting him warmly upon seeing him.

Wang Jian looked much better, but Zheng Gong had his arm in a cast—clearly badly injured—yet the formidable physical resilience of cultivators allowed them to recover astonishingly fast, healing in just a few days.

“Oh? Looking for me? Another mission?” Li Yi asked curiously.

“What mission? After what happened yesterday, we’re all off today. We’re looking for you because it’s good news—you have no idea how huge your contribution was after yesterday’s tally. The battalion commander, Zhang Lei, and several senior Investigation Bureau officials are tearing their hair out trying to figure out how to reward you.” Wang Jian grinned.

“I’m short on cash. Just give me more bonus money.” Li Yi said bluntly.

Zheng Gong chuckled beside him: “It’s not about money anymore. If we only rewarded you with cash, people would call the Investigation Bureau stingy. The news about the anomalous artifact has already gone wild through Tianchang City’s cultivation circles—you’re the one who recovered that incomplete artifact for us. Now, countless people in the Investigation Bureau are grateful to you.”

“Why are they grateful to me?”

Li Yi frowned: “I didn’t even find the artifact. I just carried it from the Ruined District like a laborer.”

Wang Jian leaned in, lowering his voice: “Li Yi, let me tell you something—after yesterday’s discussion, the Investigation Bureau has confirmed that the headquarters has approved placing the incomplete artifact in the training base. That means, from now on, our Investigation Bureau has its own artifact, and every investigator here is eligible to apply to use it for cultivation. Do you see why they’d be grateful?”

“You’re the only person who can ignore the artifact’s influence. If you hadn’t brought it back, there’d still be fighting over it—and it wouldn’t just involve the Cultivator Association and the Wanderers anymore. Major corporations and top-tier experts would have stepped in. The situation would’ve spiraled out of control.”

Li Yi nodded, finally understanding. His actions had swiftly ended the struggle over the artifact, preventing a major conflict, and secured this vital resource for the Investigation Bureau.

As long as the incomplete artifact remained in the Tianchang City Investigation Bureau, every investigator who later used it for cultivation would owe Li Yi a favor.

After all, cultivation isn’t just about fighting—it’s also about relationships and social obligations.

“Precisely because your contribution is so great, Commander Zhang is having a headache. If the reward isn’t handled well, it could cause problems.” Wang Jian grinned again. “I’ve been an investigator this long, and this is the first time I’ve seen superiors struggle over rewarding an external combatant.”

“Let’s go, don’t stand around here—Commander Zhang is probably already impatient.” Zheng Gong reminded them.

Wang Jian snapped to attention: “Right, we’ll talk later—let’s go see the commander.”

At this moment,

inside a conference room at the training base.

Zhang Lei, several investigators, and Investigation Bureau senior officials were debating Li Yi’s reward. Compensation and bonuses for everyone else were straightforward—only Li Yi gave them trouble, because his contribution was enormous, and as an external combatant, mishandling his reward would severely damage the Investigation Bureau’s reputation and credibility.

“During this mission, Li Yi saved Investigator Wang Jian’s team, single-handedly killed a beast-man bear, then aided in the anomalous artifact incident by successfully rescuing Battalion Commander Zhang Lei, Investigator Zhang Zhixiong, Liu Yue, and external combatant Priest Pete—fifteen people total—and assisted the Investigation Bureau in recovering the incomplete artifact. He also used a sniper rifle to eliminate two Wanderers attempting to attack investigators.”

“Additionally, inside the building where the artifact was located, Li Yi personally killed fourteen beasts, and all their corpses were successfully recovered.”

A staff member read aloud from a report.

“So Li Yi killed fifteen beasts, rescued nearly twenty key personnel, and recovered an incomplete artifact? That’s an extraordinary achievement. Too bad he’s not a native investigator—if he were, promoting him to battalion commander would be justified.” One Investigation Bureau senior official’s expression turned grave upon hearing these figures.

“Have you calculated the value of the beasts?” Zhang Lei asked.

“Fifteen beasts total. According to external combatant regulations, the individual who participates in the kill receives thirty percent of the reward. The total value of the beasts is one hundred twenty million taels. Based on this, Li Yi should receive thirty-six million taels in bonus.” The staff member quickly calculated and replied.

“Round it up—raise his personal bonus to forty million. Most of these beasts were killed by Li Yi alone, with almost no assistance. But we still can’t break the rules.” Zhang Lei said seriously.

The Investigation Bureau senior officials nodded, then pondered: “The incomplete artifact is staying at the training base, right? Grant Li Yi a permanent slot to use it for cultivation. After all, he understands the artifact best—letting him study it further will benefit everyone later.”

“Why not be generous? Give him two slots. Having one more or one less slot doesn’t affect us, and the artifact was almost entirely recovered by him alone. Giving only one slot would seem too stingy.” Zhang Lei thought for a moment and said.

“That makes sense. He won’t use both slots himself—he’ll give one to a friend or relative. Eventually, any talent cultivated through it will likely join our Investigation Bureau. This proposal is excellent.”

Another Investigation Bureau senior official immediately recognized the wisdom of Zhang Lei’s suggestion and agreed.

“How do we reward him for rescuing twenty colleagues?”

This was the last remaining issue to resolve.

“What if we make him a full investigator? Give him command authority?” Zhang Zhixiong proposed.

“First, that violates regulations. And rewarding him only with that would seem cheap—it’d badly damage the Investigation Bureau’s image. External combatants care about tangible benefits.” A senior official immediately objected.

“Give him another cash bonus?” someone suggested.

Zhang Lei rejected it: “No. Adding more cash is meaningless—it’ll make people think we’re just taking it from his beast-killing reward. Find another way. I’ve met Li Yi before—I know something about his family. His parents are both dormant, confined in medical pods for six years, still living in the Old District. Just reward him with new housing.”

“That’s a good idea. But we don’t own property in the Peace District—we do have some assets nearby. Xiao Wang, check if there’s a suitable residence.” The senior official said.

The staff member named Xiao Wang immediately checked and quickly found results.

“There are eleven properties closest to the Peace District: six residential buildings.”

“Exclude the residential buildings. It’s not the Peace District anyway. Just give him an entire building. Don’t let people think the Investigation Bureau is cheap—we just had him save our battalion commander. Do we want others to think our people are that worthless? Besides, I have high hopes for this young man—he’ll become a pillar of our Investigation Bureau. Give him better treatment now; the returns will come later.”

Another senior official tapped the table, offering his opinion.

“I agree. The future is complex, and now that we have the artifact, this is the perfect opportunity to spend gold to attract talent and strengthen our investigators.” Other seniors nodded in agreement.

“If we remove the residential buildings, only three properties remain: Peace Financial Tower, Liunian Club, and Xiangpiao Restaurant.” The staff member said, projecting images of the three buildings.

Peace Financial Tower was a thirty-story office building with a glass façade of modern elegance, constructed after the Heaven’s Fall incident and undamaged—but since its completion, it had remained vacant due to the incident’s aftermath.

Liunian Club was a twelve-story building sealed off by the Investigation Bureau, lavishly decorated with all necessary living facilities.

Xiangpiao Restaurant was a nine-story building, inferior to the others, but closest to the Peace District—if reopened as a restaurant, business would surely thrive.

“Giving him an entire building—isn’t that excessive?” someone raised an objection upon seeing the three buildings.

Zhang Lei said: “Property values aren’t what they were before the Heaven’s Fall. These buildings aren’t even in the Peace District—their worth is drastically reduced. Li Yi’s coming soon—I’ve already sent Wang Jian to fetch him. Let him choose himself. That way, he won’t be dissatisfied later.”

“Agreed. Let’s also ask Li Yi if he has any other suggestions for rewards. Show more respect to our hero.”

The reward for Li Yi was provisionally settled.

Not long after,

a knock came at the conference room door.

“Commander, Li Yi is here,” Wang Jian’s voice called from outside.

“Good, let him in,” Zhang Lei replied.

As the conference door opened, Li Yi poked his head out like a curious child, looking slightly nervous.