Era of Mist

Chapter 145: Chapter 144: In Trouble

”Really?” The young man’s interest was suddenly piqued. ”No supplementary manuals, no guidance from a master, no instruction from a teacher, and he can’t even guarantee his training time... yet he still managed to reach this level with nothing but some so-called ’secret techniques’ that are complete trash? Someone like him would be considered a young prodigy even in the inner solar system. I never expected a shithole like Tumu Castle to hide this kind of potential.”

The voice said, ”Young Master, Tumu Castle is a lineage passed down from the old era, after all. Its potential shouldn’t be underestimated.”

”Hmm, you have a point.” After a moment of thought, the young man made his decision. ”Since he’s a young prodigy, that’s even better. Pull some strings and ensure he can participate in the Small Village Preliminaries. Don’t let that idiot He Chong interfere. Right, and since he needs to work for money, arrange for him to meet Old Wen.”

”Young Master, are you planning to cultivate him as a seed?”

”Just a bit of foresight.”

”Yes. I will see to it at once.”

The voice faded away. The young man sank back into the sofa and seemed to let out a soft sigh, muttering to himself, ’Shi Tiexin, I hope you can put on a dazzling enough performance to let me breathe for a moment... so I don’t have to keep suffocating like this...’

* * *

「In the ’fake’ director’s office of the Mu Yuan District Orphanage.」

”HUFF... HUFF... PUFF... PUFF...”

Strange sounds were coming from inside the office.

No, it wasn’t Situ the Old Bald Head doing anything weird. On closer inspection, the Orphanage director was squatting on the floor, meticulously oiling his sofa. He wiped with care and concentration, occasionally huffing warm air onto a spot before polishing it or gently blowing away dust with his mouth. He was treating it as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

”A fifty-year-old genuine leather sofa...” The old bald head caressed the sofa’s surface, his face a mask of pure bliss. ”The leather furniture from Central Star really is the best...”

He had just met with a potential employer, and this sofa from Central Star had really made him look good. Situ the Bald decided to give the sofa a fresh round of maintenance, after which he would lock the door tight to prevent a single speck of dust from landing on his beloved couch.

After all, it was the only thing in the entire Orphanage he could use to brag about.

’Sigh, not a single one of these damn brats gives me a moment’s peace. One gets into a fight today, another gets sick tomorrow, and dammit, there’s even one who got pregnant and needs an abortion. Can’t any of you bring me some good news for once?’

Just then, Situ Zhennan’s personal communicator suddenly rang.

”Hello, Situ Zhennan speaking, I... oh? An old war buddy! Right, there is a kid named Shi Tiexin, what about him? Oh... hm? Huh?! HOLY SHIT—!” CLATTER. Situ Zhennan’s communicator dropped to the floor, but he paid it no mind. He stood stunned for a moment, then suddenly bolted out the door and bellowed, ”Is Shi Tiexin around?! Which one of you little bastards is going to get that punk for me!” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

When Shi Tiexin returned to the Orphanage, he noticed everyone was giving him strange looks.

’What happened?’

”Brother Tie, the old bald head is looking for you.”

”Okay.” Shi Tiexin nodded, then pulled a younger boy aside. ”Why is everyone looking at me like that?”

”I don’t know, but the rumor going around is that you’re in deep shit, Brother Tie.” The kid looked around before whispering, ”They say the old bald head took a call and was raising a huge ruckus in his office for a while. We don’t know what’s up, but you should be careful, Brother Tie!”

’Hm? What’s going on? Could it be...’

Shi Tiexin had a pretty good idea of what was happening. He headed for Situ Zhennan’s director’s office.

On the sixth floor, he pushed open the door to the *real* director’s office. The pigsty inside was as messy as ever, but it was completely empty.

”Over here, Brother Tie, over here!”

’Hm?’

Shi Tiexin turned his head and saw a young kid poking his head out from the door of the fake office—the one that was used maybe twice a year—and waving him over.

’Why are they in that room? Doesn’t the old bald head treasure that furniture set so much he barely even uses it himself?’

Feeling a little puzzled, Shi Tiexin pushed the door open and entered the ”fake” director’s office.

Whoa!

The moment he stepped inside, Shi Tiexin was taken aback. He’d never been in this fake office and had no idea it was so luxurious! Just look at the crystal chandelier, the wall-to-wall carpeting, and that sofa set that looked vintage but high-end. Every single thing was perfectly maintained and sparkling clean.

’Now Shi Tiexin was even more confused. What on earth was going on? Why would the old bald head not only let people into this room, but even turn on all the lights?’

FLASH.

A bright light flashed, and Shi Tiexin instinctively squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, a bald head was approaching him—it was pretty shiny, too. Looking around, he saw that the young kid from before was holding an old-fashioned camera, apparently taking pictures to document the occasion. The bald man opposite him, however, wore such a sickening smile that Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but recoil.

”Shi. Tie. Xin,” Situ the Bald said, snatching Shi Tiexin’s hand with a grip so tight it was as if he was afraid he’d flee from his crimes. ”Do you have any idea? You’re in trouble. Big trouble!”

”I know.” Shi Tiexin knew exactly what this was about.

’The Star Worker Union is a vital pipeline for jobs from the Orphanage. You could say a lot of people here rely on the Union to survive. This morning, I fought my way through a crowd of eight hundred and openly defied He Chong. I already anticipated the potential fallout.’

’The best-case scenario he’d imagined was that Mr. He would stay out of it. The parents of the students he’d knocked out might raise a stink, but it wouldn’t cause any serious trouble, and things would eventually blow over. The worst-case scenario was that Mr. He, shamelessly disregarding his own status, would personally step in to deal with him before the Small Village Preliminaries.’

’Shi Tiexin had asked around about Mr. He’s personality, so he figured the chances of the worst-case scenario were low.’

’He just hadn’t expected things to slide toward the worst possible outcome. In the short time it took him to get back from school, the Star Worker Union had already put pressure on Situ the Bald.’

’And it seemed the old bald head had already made his choice.’

’Look at that kid taking my picture. Is he taking a photo for my funeral?’

”You know?” Situ the Bald was surprised. ”How could you possibly know?”

Shi Tiexin said matter-of-factly, ”I had a feeling. I was expecting it.”

The old bald head seemed taken aback by his nonchalant attitude and couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up. ”In this entire Orphanage, you’re the most badass one here... next to me, of course!”

Shi Tiexin looked at the old bald head, noticing his expression wasn’t as apoplectic as he had expected.

’So he’s not planning to tie me up and hand me over to them?’

”Cut the crap,” Shi Tiexin said, looking Situ Zhennan straight in the eye. ”What’s your plan?”

”My plan? Do you even need to ask? With something this huge, of course I’m taking you with me!”

’So he’s still planning to take me in and hand me over? Well, sorry, but I’m not going down without a fight.’

”Let’s go, let’s go! We’re leaving right now!” Situ the Bald looked ecstatic. ”The exhibition and review meeting starts this afternoon. They’ll announce the results today and present the awards tonight!”