Chapter 354: Meeting President Qian (3/15, Autumn Subscription)

【I am Fang Yue, sitting in a luxury car worth tens of millions, enjoying the pleasure of a joyride.】

【But my heart is not at peace; I am about to arrive at the 【United Hand Society】 branch in Qingshui District, Jianghai City, and my future is uncertain.】

【Soon, I arrived safely at the United Hand Society branch, without the grandeur one might imagine.】

【Under Qiu Dugu's lead, I quickly met President Qian.】

【I……】

Unexpectedly, the parchment appeared smoothly.

No, it shouldn't be unexpected!

Because unlike in the game, the parchment can be a bit willful.

In reality, they are bound by strict contracts.

Whenever its own safety is involved, the parchment must give its all.

"What's wrong with me? Speak quickly!"

Fang Yue urged inwardly, but the next moment, Fang Yue was stunned.

【I……】

【I……】

【I……】

【I……】

【I……】

Fang Yue:???

What's going on? Did it crash?

"Parchment?"

【I am Fang Yue, sitting in, my future is uncertain.】

【But my heart, I quickly met President Qian.】

Fang Yue:??

A jumbled mess, what is this.

Fang Yue was a bit dumbfounded—what is this gibberish? Could the parchment have eaten too much Black Ember and broken its brain?

Better not feed it any more in the future.

【No way!!】

【Paper is iron, Black Ember is steel; go one day without eating and I'm starved!】

【Also, the great and noble Lord Parchment has received interference!】

【Cannot foresee! Cannot foresee! Cannot foresee!】

Cannot foresee??

Fang Yue's heart chilled—this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

What on earth is hidden in the United Hand Society's branch that could interfere with the parchment?

One must remember the parchment is Rain-grade… oh, Transcendence-grade, that's not right.

"By the way, others say you're a Transcendence-grade anomaly, so why do you call yourself a Rain-grade anomaly?"

【What?! I am a Transcendence-grade anomaly??】

Fang Yue's face darkened—so this guy doesn't even know its own grade?

【I don't know! That old witch said the great and noble Lord Parchment was a Rain-grade anomaly, so I believed her!】

【Despicable! So angry! So the great Lord Parchment is actually a Transcendence-grade anomaly! Good! From now on, I'll style myself as a Transcendence-grade anomaly!】

"……Can you unleash attacks on the level of a Transcendence-grade anomaly?"

【Can't! The current cap is Rain-grade.】

"Then isn't it just a Rain-grade anomaly? What's the point of changing the title! Nothing has changed at all!"

【Don't care! Don't care! Don't care! It's Transcendence-grade! Transcendence-grade! Transcendence-grade!】

Fang Yue's face darkened again, and he simply ignored the parchment.

This fellow—its foresight is being interfered with, and now it can't even speak clearly.

However……it turns out the parchment's previous owner, that closed-beta player who played the game, set the standard for the parchment's grade.

Could it be……that later, during research, they discovered the parchment's true function and elevated it to a 【Transcendence-grade】 anomaly?

The so-called Transcendence-grade means it surpasses cognition, an unknowable existence—in layman's terms, no one knows where this thing's upper limit is, so they casually slapped this title on it.

Based on the parchment's function, Fang Yue couldn't say whether it lived up to the title.

Just as Fang Yue was thinking this, the luxury car had already stopped in front of a skyscraper with over a hundred floors.

But just as the parchment said, it wasn't as grand as imagined—surprisingly ordinary.

Fang Yue had thought the United Hand Society's branch base would at least have an Imperial Palace-style design, as big as could be.

"Get out of the car."

Qiu Dugu had no idea what wild thoughts were running through Fang Yue's head.

He swiped a card to bring Fang Yue inside, heading straight for the elevator.

Fang Yue glanced left and right; though the building was large, there weren't many people inside.

Following him into the elevator, Fang Yue noticed Qiu Dugu had directly pressed the button for the top floor.

As the elevator rose, in no time at all, it reached the top floor.

The doors opened, and they walked down the corridor, soon stopping outside a room.

Knock knock knock.

He knocked on the door.

The door opened automatically.

"Come in."

Fang Yue followed Qiu Dugu inside and found that calling this room an office was a stretch—it was more like a presidential suite, lavishly decorated, with a bed, a bathroom, a bedroom, a study—basically everything.

Looking at President Qian, seated in a chair, whom he had met once before, a slight tension rose in Fang Yue's heart.

The parchment's precognition had been disrupted, most likely because of him.

"You brought him back, which means he's willing to join the United Hand Society?"

"Yes," Qiu Dugu said.

"... Good. You step out first. I want to speak with him alone."

"... President Qian, he's my partner..."

"I'm telling you to step out."

"... Yes."

Qiu Dugu glanced at Fang Yue, then retreated out.

Along with the sound of the door closing, only Fang Yue and President Qian remained in the room.

President Qian studied Fang Yue. The Bee Wings behind him unfurled, and he hummed as he slowly flew up to Fang Yue, only to find that the man was staring straight back at him without a shred of fear.

"You're not afraid?"

"I'm here to join the United Hand Society. Why would I be afraid?"

"... I confirmed with headquarters. The parchment in stock was a fake—the real one was swapped out by Ma Shaoku."

Fang Yue said nothing, because he knew President Qian hadn't finished speaking, so he simply listened.

"After I learned of this, I investigated through the night, and after combing through all kinds of records and files, I confirmed one thing—the parchment is on you."

"..."

Fang Yue still said nothing, because the fact that he was standing here, right now, inside the Qingshui Branch building of the United Hand Society, already said plenty on its own.

"I told Qiu Dugu to bring me your head, so I could recover the parchment. But he refused. He said you were strong, that you could become an asset to the United Hand Society."

"I thought it over and agreed with his opinion, told him to bring you back, to make you a member of the United Hand Society. Do you know why?"

Fang Yue finally lifted his gaze, knowing President Qian was about to get to the key point.

President Qian stared into Fang Yue's eyes and slowly said,

"Because I'm very curious."

"Curious?"

"Yes, curious!"

"Curious about what?"

"Curious how an ordinary person like you, after obtaining the parchment, could have such a sudden, explosive leap in strength."

"..."

Fang Yue's heart gave a sudden jolt; he vaguely guessed at something.

Could it be... the United Hand Society simply didn't know that the parchment could Synchronize abilities from the game into reality?

Thinking it over carefully, it actually made sense—because on the day he obtained the parchment, *Blue Sea* had only just launched!

And it was by sheer chance that he had signed the contract and gained the parchment's Synchronize ability.

And when the game hadn't even launched yet, even if the United Hand Society had obtained the parchment, there was no way they could have used this ability, so it was only reasonable that they were in the dark.

But then, there was one problem.

(End of Chapter)