Chapter 227: The Championship Has Been Pre-Ordained by Me

Wu Chang brought Lei Mengde back to Sanctus Company; at half past four in the morning, the company was still brightly lit.

Fortunately, that Federation wasn't born in this plane; otherwise, if he asked a reporter whether they'd seen Los Angeles at four in the morning, the reporter would answer that they hadn't gotten off work yet at that hour.

The two entered the Fully Automatic Defense System Department, and Wu Chang opened the ppt he had prepared long ago.

The ppt listed the gaps between the old automatic defense system used by the Orens Estate and Sanctus Company's latest model; within the system alone, the major upgrades alone numbered over fifteen hundred items.

When opening the ppt, Wu Chang was a little uneasy, because the ppt he was playing clearly couldn't have been put together in a few minutes or a few dozen minutes; he worried that being so thoroughly prepared might expose that he had long had his eye on the Orens Estate.

However, what he hadn't expected was that Lei Mengde was even more thoroughly prepared than him.

After a cursory review of the data Wu Chang had prepared, Lei Mengde not only picked out over a dozen parameter errors within it, but also pointed out that paired with other high-energy weapons, better results could be achieved.

After finishing his nitpicking, Lei Mengde even directly produced a procurement contract, and the procurement list enumerated on the contract was precisely the configuration Lei Mengde had described.

This time Wu Chang was a bit dumbfounded—what's the meaning of this? Could it be that the other party had procurement intentions long ago, and his late-night trip to release the Disqualified Monster was superfluous?

He forwarded the contract Lei Mengde had issued to the Contracts Department, asking them to confirm whether there were any errors in the contract.

Two minutes later he received a response: there was no problem with this contract; the Contracts Department had already reviewed it once a month ago.

Huh?

The Contracts Department had already reviewed it? Who submitted it?

Wu Chang looked at Lei Mengde in confusion and asked, "Mr. Lei Mengde, I'm a bit unclear on the current situation—could you explain it to me?"

Lei Mengde was not surprised by Wu Chang's confusion; he said in a flat tone:

"The procurement plan and procurement contract were what Manager Farrell and I negotiated back then."

Wu Chang immediately frowned—this wasn't right, was it? Farrell was the manager of the Insurance Department; when the Orens Estate purchased an automatic defense system, how could the contract have been negotiated with Farrell?

More importantly, in Xiao En's memory, there was not the slightest impression of this—good lord, so this is NTR, is it?

Lei Mengde guessed what Wu Chang wanted to say; his face showed not the slightest awkwardness of being caught cheating, and instead he said righteously:

"A month and a half ago, Manager Farrell approached us, saying that you, Manager Xiao En, intended to resign, and that before long you would step down from the manager position, and he would take over the Fully Automatic Defense System Department."

Wu Chang rifled through Xiao En's memory, and after a moment, his expression turned strange.

Xiao En really did seem to have said something—just a month and a half ago, Farrell had invited Xiao En out for drinks; as the median company executive who wasn't afraid of Farrell, Xiao En had no guard up against Farrell, and after being plied with drink, he revealed that he was under too much pressure and wanted a change of lifestyle.

So the moment they got Xiao En drunk and pumped him for information, Farrell turned around and started poaching the client, did he?

Lei Mengde continued:

"To obtain this order, Farrell went door to door visiting the owners of the Orens Estate, and even installed a trial energy wall near the estate."

"Mr. Morez, seeing his sincerity, had me negotiate the order in advance—if Manager Xiao En really resigned, the contract would be signed with Manager Farrell."

Wu Chang was momentarily at a loss for words—no wonder when they infiltrated the Orens Estate, they encountered an energy wall that didn't appear in the company records; it turned out to be Farrell's doing.

But from the result, it seemed he had NTR'd it back, and even hit a super double.

Picking Farrell's peaches like this, it's almost a bit embarrassing.

The plan was Farrell's, the contract was reviewed by the Contracts Department—professional matters left to professionals; Wu Chang trusted their judgment, and all he needed to do was collect the money and grow his performance numbers.

The procurement scope in the contract, including the Orens Estate, covered the three largest villa districts in Wielde City; the project included upgrades to the public automatic defense systems of the three major villa districts, as well as the construction of automatic defense systems for over a hundred luxury homes.

Adding labor fees, expedited construction fees, personnel training fees, and other amounts, the total came to two billion Federation credits.

He grabbed Lei Mengde's hand and gave it a firm shake, saying, "Deal."

Ten minutes later, Wu Chang delivered the contract stamped with Morez's seal to the Contracts Department; after Lei Mengde paid the deposit, this order was credited to Wu Chang.

The two-billion-Federation-credit performance pushed Wu Chang's single-year performance past Farrell's original position, instantly vaulting him to second place among all Level-8 managers.

Using Farrell's plan, signing Farrell's contract, taking Farrell's performance, and even knocking Farrell out of his ranking.

Walking out of the Contracts Department, Wu Chang glanced somewhat guiltily toward the Insurance Department—Farrell wouldn't be angry, would he?

Returning to the Fully Automatic Defense System Department, the moment his foot stepped inside, several pops of handheld confetti cannons sounded from the side, and a shower of golden rain fell over the entire department.

Cheers and applause came from all around; every employee in the department came out to congratulate their department manager.

At Sanctus Company, performance was everything, and the treatment of each department naturally spoke through performance.

Ever since the Automatic Defense System Department had been given Xiao En, performance had plummeted, and department employees couldn't even hold their heads up outside.

Now, with this performance on hand, they had finally reclaimed the glory of one of the former three core departments and restored their right to breathe.

Among the employees, the most excited were undoubtedly Flying Light and the others.

The few players from the Iron Armor group who had participated in the operation each received a full two hundred thousand in performance credit—enough for them to be promoted to Level-2 employees with plenty to spare—and all they had done throughout was help their boss climb over a wall.

At this moment, in their eyes, Wu Chang had not only hired them against the rules, but could also lead them to earn big performance—he was simply one of the top ten bosses of Abyss Game that moved them; the loyalty values of the few toward Wu Chang skyrocketed.

Flying Light and the others were now smiling from the heart; if they knew that the department manager Xiao En wasn't a local, but a player just like them, they wondered whether they could still smile.

After participating in the same operation, they gained two hundred thousand in performance; what Wu Chang gained was two billion.

It could be said that from this moment on, for the instance's competitive side-quest, the championship had been pre-ordained by Wu Chang; the other players could only fight for second place.

Thinking of this, Wu Chang's already upturned mouth curved into an even brighter smile.

This is the true value of a "True Walker."

The department's celebration didn't last more than a few minutes before it was interrupted by a woman wearing a gold name tag on her chest; the title of Chairman's Assistant on her name tag instantly silenced everyone, who quietly returned to their workstations.

The woman smiled at Wu Chang and said, "Manager Xiao En, the Chairman requests your presence."

Wu Chang nodded and said, "Let's go."

As the elevator stopped at the 99th floor, Wu Chang once again stepped into an office like the Schultz Library, except this time his back was ramrod straight.

Wu Chang was mentally prepared for Schultz's summons.

In Wielde City, or rather in the entire Federation, the rich had privileges.

That chaos did not enter wealthy districts was an unwritten rule; after all, both the Federation and Sanctus Company relied on these big moneybags to make money.

Even the madman Farrell, who dared to arrange shootings at kindergartens and elementary schools, had his gunmen avoid private schools in wealthy districts when attacking.

And what he had done today had clearly crossed the line.

Passing through the rows of bookshelves, Wu Chang arrived at Schultz's desk; he saw that Schultz was not reading, but leaning back in his office chair, eyes closed, listening to the piano music coming from a vinyl record.

As the boss of the world's most advanced tech company, Schultz nevertheless had a fondness for old things; compared to top-tier audio systems that cost hundreds of thousands of federal credits, he preferred the charm of record players from the old era.

Wu Chang's footsteps were very light, but Schultz still opened his eyes as he approached.

Schultz sized up Wu Chang, as though examining the latest prototype out of Hymn Corporation's laboratory.

"Xiao En, people always tell me that the moment a man senses the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, he goes from childish to enlightened in an instant. I've always been skeptical of that saying, because in my view, an adult whose worldview has already taken shape won't wake up easily without suffering some real blow." "But what happened to you proves my thinking was wrong. Your resolve is firmer than I assumed, and the ideas in your head are clearer."

Saying this, Schultz stood up, walked over to Wu Chang, and gave him a hug.

"Xiao En, welcome to the world of adults."

Wu Chang patted Schultz on the back and said with feigned ease: "Come on, you're only a few years older than me."

Schultz gestured for Wu Chang to sit, then returned to his own office chair and asked:

"What are your thoughts on tonight?"

Wu Chang shrugged. "Honestly, not much. I just feel that, as it turns out, all I had to do was throw away a few things to pick up a lot more."

Schultz smiled. "Quite the experience. If you'd figured it out earlier, it would've saved me a lot of trouble."

Seeing Schultz in a good mood, Wu Chang took the chance to ask: "I don't have many thoughts, but I do have a few questions."

Schultz said: "Let's hear them."

!

Seeing that Schultz didn't bring up the matter of overstepping, Wu Chang decided to raise it himself.

"Will what I did bring any bad consequences for Hymn Corporation?"

Schultz shook his head dismissively. "Of course not. This is Wielde City, and you are Xiao En."

Schultz's answer was simple, yet carried weight.

Wu Chang continued: "I guess Morez must know what I did, but why aren't he and the owner of the Osrun Estate angry, and instead…"

He paused for a moment, then said in an uncertain tone: "…instead, very excited."

Schultz straightened the books on the desk with his hand and said softly:

"Because I let them see Primal Armament. Even Morez has never seen a finished Primal Armament. For people like them, money is just a number; what they care about more is the future."

"The future of the world, and their own future."

Wu Chang said in sudden realization: "So that's how it is."

So that's how it is? There's definitely something fishy!

Wu Chang's incarnation as Xiao En, just like those members of the Bureau, was hopeless at clearing dungeons, but when it came to studying his own people, he had them completely figured out.

Xiao En had studied Schultz extremely thoroughly. According to the intel in Xiao En's memory, whenever Schultz was about to lie or hide something, he would fidget with books in a slightly uneasy way.

Xiao En had noticed Schultz's habit long ago, but had never said anything.

In Xiao En's eyes, Schultz's straightening of the books just now was a signature declaration that Schultz had something to hide.

Wu Chang naturally didn't call Schultz out. He said: "Last question—does the current me qualify?"

"Of course. I already congratulated you when you first came in," Schultz said.

"I called you over not only to congratulate you on your success, but also to tell you something else. Since you've made up your mind, thrown away those unnecessary things, and chosen our way of life, I can now prepare the Psionic Activation Procedure for you."

Wu Chang asked in confusion: "You wouldn't agree to let me undergo the Psionic Activation Procedure before—was it because of this?"

Perhaps because fidgeting with books too often would look unnatural, this time Schultz didn't lie, and answered:

"Once you become a Tier-Nine Partner, I'll tell you the reason."

Once Schultz had decided something, no one could change it. Wu Chang didn't press the matter and steered the conversation back.

"Then when does my Psionic Activation Procedure begin?"

Schultz said: "When you complete one more contract."

Walking out of Schultz's office, Wu Chang could feel that the female employees in the outer office were looking at him with slightly different eyes.

Last time he came, their expressions were polite, but their gazes carried a hint of contempt. This time, the contempt in their eyes was gone, replaced by a certain inexplicable burning intensity.

That was just how Hymn Corporation was—everything came down to ability and performance, and the before-and-after change was obvious and unhidden.

As long as your ability was strong enough and your performance high enough, you could get anything here. Conversely, if you couldn't prove your worth, you would be swept out the door without mercy.

It sounded utterly cruel, without a shred of human warmth, but precisely because there was no human warmth in it, the bottom-level employees who had no connections to cling to were given the drive to climb upward—even if it meant burning their lives and abandoning their conscience, they would scramble up at all costs.

Since someone has to make it up there anyway, why can't it be me?

Ding.

The elevator stopped at the 99th floor, the doors opened, and Farrell, stepping out, and Wu Chang, about to step in, ran right into each other.

Farrell's expression stiffened for a moment, then quickly recovered as he said with a smile:

"Xiao En, congratulations on just closing a big deal. Those tightfists at the Osrun Estate—prying money out of them is no easy feat."

Looking at Farrell, whom he had just NTR'd, Wu Chang said modestly:

"Being able to close this deal so quickly, I have to thank you. As a token of thanks, I'll treat you to drinks in a couple of days."

Farrell's smile was about to slip. Before his composure collapsed, he said stiffly: "Sure, another day for sure. The chairman's looking for me—catch you later."

After parting with Farrell, Wu Chang stepped into the elevator in excellent spirits.

If he remembered correctly, Farrell's long-term late nights and abuse of stimulants meant that even with half an hour a day in the healing pod, his heart and liver had still developed quite a few problems.

If he put in a little effort and got Farrell so angry he dropped dead on the spot, would that count as avenging the Zou brothers?

Coming out of the chairman's office, it was already 5:30 in the morning, and the sun had already risen.

Work for the second day started at eight in the morning, so Wu Chang simply dozed for a while in his office.

For his current physique and willpower, going ten days or half a month without sleep wouldn't have any effect.

But he was, after all, flesh and blood, and had to split his focus to control two bodies simultaneously. Letting one body rest temporarily helped him stay full of energy.

Two hours later, Wu Chang, woken by his secretary, stood up from the office sofa and stretched.

He glanced at his status panel out of habit and found that Wielde City's Peace Value had risen from 57 to 59.

Just after waking up, he saw something good happening. He opened his computer screen, ready to see what had occurred.

Holy Song Company controls everything in Wielldo City. All news, whether broadcastable or not, as long as it happens, will appear in the Intelligence Department's message column.

Clicking open the Intelligence Department, the first piece of intel Wu Chang saw was:

"At six o'clock this morning, two Level Seven executives were assassinated on the street. The state of the bodies was horrific, suspected to be an execution. The perpetrator is currently at large. Company employees should be cautious when going out recently."

(End of chapter)