First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!

Yan Feifan spoke as he handed over the agreement he had quickly drafted.

[Regarding the Sky-Rending Talisman incident at Gold Flat, Special Envoy of the West, Lu Ding, bears full responsibility for leading the resolution. Considering the impact of the incident and its uncontrollable consequences, negotiations have been conducted with Special Envoy of the South’s Jinhua Tian Temple, Ying Gou, and Special Envoy of the South’s Gold Flat, Min Fang. It is hereby pledged that Special Envoy of the West, Lu Ding’s side, will take the lead in exchanging the South’s Qingyuan Prefecture to Min Fang, and the South’s Gold Flat to Ying Gou.........]

Below that was a space for signatures.

Yan Feifan pushed the pen and ink pad forward: ”Special Envoy Min.”

Min Fang waved his hand: ”No need.”

He wanted to use Spiritual Energy directly.

Yan Feifan quickly stopped him, gesturing toward the bodycam on his chest: ”Special Envoy Min, let’s keep things above board here.”

”Leave a trail of the work.”

Though Min Fang found it troublesome, since Yan Feifan had said so, he had no choice but to sign his name and press his fingerprint.After that, Min Fang asked again: ”What about the special envoy from Qingyuan Prefecture?”

Yan Feifan picked up the agreement, glanced at it, then called out: ”Brother Lu.”

Lu Ding slowly emerged from elsewhere.

”Don’t worry, I’ll go negotiate with him.”

Seeing Lu Ding walk out completely unharmed, Ying Gou found it hard to believe: ”What about those two and the Sky-Rending Talisman?”

”The men are dead, and the talisman exploded.”

Lu Ding’s answer was simple yet profound.

Ying Gou found it utterly incredible. After all, that was the Sky-Rending Talisman!!!

Something that even those at the God Ascension stage feared.

Not only had Lu Ding walked out without a scratch, but he had also killed the men!!!

For a moment, Ying Gou stood frozen in silence. He had never considered himself a true genius, yet when compared to ninety-nine percent of geniuses, he felt they were beneath notice.

But now, facing Lu Ding’s magnificent achievements.

Ying Gou was instantly struck with a blow.

What he didn’t know was that while he was still stuck in place, Lu Ding had already gained another massive power-up.

Ying Gou remained silent.

Min Fang turned to Lu Ding, hearing that the Sky-Rending Talisman had been dealt with.

In truth, Min Fang secretly regretted exchanging Gold Flat.

He wasn’t stupid.

It was just that Yan Feifan’s reasoning had been sound.

Besides, the huge commotion from Qingyuan Prefecture earlier — how could he not have heard it? Even if the detailed intelligence about the situation in Qingyuan Prefecture was blocked by the Qingyuan 749 Bureau.

Min Fang definitely knew there was something wrong with that place.

But Gold Flat faced the danger of being bombarded by the Sky-Rending Talisman, and he didn’t dare gamble. He knew full well the terror of the Sky-Rending Talisman.

That’s why he had signed — afraid that if he delayed, the talisman would explode and he’d bear the responsibility.

Now that the Sky-Rending Talisman was resolved, Gold Flat was completely intact.

Only some construction was damaged, and the Star-Plucking Tower was wrecked — nothing major.

But now, going back on his word was something he dared not do.

After all, orders had come down: benign competition in the new city, as long as no lives were lost.

Now that Lu Ding had the means to withstand the Sky-Rending Talisman’s power, if he dared to renege.

Lu Ding’s strength was more than enough to flip the table. Then there would be no exchange at all.

He’d end up with nothing.

Still, Min Fang couldn’t help feeling reluctant. He clasped his hands and asked: ”Grand Duke Lu, though I’ve already signed the agreement, I still want to ask — I hope you’ll tell me honestly — is there something wrong with Qingyuan Prefecture?”

Lu Ding nodded: ”That’s right. I turned Wuliang Mountain into a basin.”

”But the destruction was limited to Wuliang Mountain alone. The rest of the area is fine.”

No wonder such a huge commotion had occurred.

So Wuliang Mountain had been turned into a basin.

He was already somewhat numb.

He knew how big Wuliang Mountain was — for it to be turned into a basin, there was simply no comparison.

Lu Ding was even more terrifying than the Sky-Rending Talisman.

In an instant.

A hint of bitterness rose on Min Fang’s face.

If the value of a fully intact Gold Flat was 10, then the value of a complete Qingyuan Prefecture was around 15.

The Wuliang Temple on Wuliang Mountain, as a major taxpayer, along with the surrounding resources, accounted for roughly 3 out of Qingyuan Prefecture’s comprehensive value.

That was about one-fifth of the total value.

That alone showed how absurd this was.

And Wuliang Temple had always cooperated well with the local 749 Bureau.

On the surface, Qingyuan Prefecture’s remaining value was still around 12, which was still better than Gold Flat.

But that wasn’t how the math worked.

Wuliang Mountain, now a basin, would definitely need rebuilding or restoration depending on the situation. The cost of that was estimated to be around 2.

That way, the values of Qingyuan Prefecture and Gold Flat were basically even.

Min Fang sighed: ”Sigh......”

He’d just have to tell himself it was for Qingyuan Prefecture’s excellent geographical location.

That was the only way he could think of.

He clasped his hands again, this time out of respect for Lu Ding’s strength. The principle of the strong being revered never went out of style anywhere.

”When do we make the handover?”

Lu Ding glanced back at the damaged Star-Plucking Tower.

He asked Yan Feifan beside him: ”Everything packed up?”

”Almost, Brother Lu. After you left earlier, Special Envoy Ying was a huge help, minimizing casualties among our investigators as much as possible.”

”In this operation, over a hundred investigators were injured, including sixty-three with minor injuries and thirty-seven with severe injuries. None were killed.”

Ying Gou looked somewhat proud beside him.

Lu Ding looked at him: ”Thanks.”

No deaths — that was the best news.

Injuries were normal.

It was fine.

Lu Ding himself had been injured too, just that he recovered quickly.

”Then take the people back first. On the way, organize the spoils and coordinate with Xinghe.”

”I’ll take Special Envoy Min and the others to hand over Qingyuan Prefecture. Remember to notify the major families of the five western districts first. Tell them to contribute money, contribute manpower, and bring their plans. I want to see their attitude toward rebuilding the Mouth of the Evil Prison.”

”I won’t shortchange them afterward.”

Now that the three southern forces had been dealt with, rebuilding the Mouth of the Evil Prison and restarting the port was a matter of urgency.

But money was a problem.

It wasn’t possible for Lu Ding to divert funds from the bureau’s public accounts, was it?

There was no such arrangement. He was still poor, and the cost was considerable.

He could apply to higher-ups, but that would leave evidence — and not every leader was on his side.

Though every leader Lu Ding had dealt with so far was on his side.

But what if?

Sometimes the way he did things did rub people the wrong way.

If he applied for funding from above, and later someone who didn’t like him piped up with, ”The money to restart the West was all approved by us,”

It would be like family buying a house or car for their child. Most parents certainly wanted the best for their kids.

But when a parent opened their mouth with: ”Your car and house were all bought by me, and now you’re acting like this...”

It was exhausting.

So Lu Ding would just raise the money from the local magnates.

For others, this might be a fantasy, a blank check.

But for the magnates of the West.

Lu Ding’s reputation for keeping his word was well-known.

A phrase like ”I won’t shortchange them afterward”

Was almost as good as a blank check they could cash anytime.

Of course, they wouldn’t go too far. After all, steady streams run long. The West was Lu Ding’s. Whoever he wanted to feed could eat, and whoever he didn’t wanted fed wouldn’t eat.

Yan Feifan responded: ”Got it, Brother Lu.”