Chapter Twenty-Four: Professionalism

Ye Yan was not someone who acted on a whim.

But if the money was enough...

Well...

Of course, that was only part of the reason.

There were two other reasons as well:

First, a favor from Xu Si was worth quite a lot.

Second, if he joined Universal Access, Xu Si would pretty much become half his boss.

They would see each other day in and day out.

Doing him this favor was only reasonable.

With a few brief exchanges, the matter was settled between the two of them. Ye Yan turned his gaze back to the battlefield, all the while pondering how to best play the role of an inside man—how to act convincingly, and with dignity.

He had to act.

And he had to act well.

He couldn’t let anyone see through him.

That was the bare minimum of professional ethics.

On the field, the battle grew ever fiercer.

Under the combined assault of Feng Shayan and Jia Zhengyu, Feng Baobao was no longer as at ease as before. Moreover, she never went for the kill with her attacks.

This put her at an increasing disadvantage.

“Master Jia, you’d better step down and catch your breath. Leave this one to me,” Feng Shayan suddenly called out mid-battle, after missing with a punch, intending for Jia Zhengyu to withdraw and let her finish the fight with Feng Baobao.

But Jia Zhengyu, his eyes red with humiliation, refused without a moment’s thought.

“No.”

Feng Shayan’s fist froze mid-swing as she looked incredulously at Jia Zhengyu, only to see him, as if possessed, repeatedly sending his controlled weapons after Feng Baobao.

But the results were always disappointing.

He strained to guide his Dragon Pecking Spike, yet he couldn’t even touch the hem of Feng Baobao's clothes.

What’s wrong with this guy?

Feng Shayan grumbled inwardly.

It was a rare chance to have a good fight with Feng Baobao, but why was this newcomer so oblivious? Feng Shayan was getting irritated.

Just as she was about to speak, Ye Yan’s voice cut in from the side, stopping her: “Shayan, maybe you should step down for now and let Master Jia continue…”

“But…”

Feng Shayan looked at Ye Yan in confusion, only to hear him go on, “She’s already fought several rounds after coming up from below. If you go up again now, it would really be bullying her by numbers.”

“Even if you win, it would be an unworthy victory.”

“Is that what you want?”

Ye Yan understood Feng Shayan well; instead of trying to persuade her, he used a little reverse psychology.

“This…”

Feng Shayan hesitated, then glanced at the blood-stained dress Feng Baobao was wearing. Finally, she dropped her guard and refrained from pressing her advantage.

With Feng Shayan’s withdrawal, the pressure on Feng Baobao eased at once. She could move freely again, and the pressure shifted entirely to Jia Zhengyu, who, still mired in his own frustration, didn’t even notice Feng Shayan had left the field.

Then, Feng Baobao leapt forward, deftly swept away his weapons with a punch and a kick, used a third weapon as a springboard, and delivered a mid-air spinning kick that sent him sprawling face-first to the ground, where he lay motionless for quite some time.

“It’s over!”

Landing barefoot, Feng Baobao stood on the ground, glanced at the thoroughly defeated Jia Zhengyu, and then ran over towards Feng Shayan.

“Want to fight?!”

Seeing Feng Baobao approach, Feng Shayan’s expression grew serious and she swung a punch through the air.

As she closed in, Feng Baobao nimbly dodged aside, then, seizing the moment before Feng Shayan could react, darted forward, gripped her shoulder, and said,

“Do you know where Zhang Chulan is? I want to find him. Could you take me to see him for a bit?”

“Would you?”

Feng Shayan’s fist froze in midair as she was taken completely by surprise; she hadn’t expected Feng Baobao to approach just to ask such a simple question.

Her tone was childlike and innocent, her eyes clear and untainted, which unconsciously made Feng Shayan lower her hand.

After a long moment, she said weakly, “Feng Baobao, you mean you caused all this chaos in our World Society just to find Zhang Chulan?”

“They wouldn’t let me look for him,” Feng Baobao replied, full of righteous indignation.

“You…”

Feng Shayan, speechless, wanted to argue, but seeing that it was Feng Baobao before her, she swallowed her words.

Honestly, this was just the kind of thing Feng Baobao would do.

“Let go.”

She shook off Feng Baobao’s hand.

“Okay.”

Feng Baobao obediently let go, then looked at Feng Shayan with hopeful eyes.

“This girl…”

Feng Shayan was filled with complaints, yet didn’t know where to begin.

After a while, she glanced at Ye Yan for help, her eyes saying, What do I do with her?

“Maybe ask Uncle Feng,” Ye Yan suggested promptly.

He was just playing his part now; his job was to keep Feng Baobao safe. So, letting Feng Zhenhao make the decision was the safest route.

“Alright, I’ll go ask my dad,” Feng Shayan agreed after a moment’s thought, realizing it was best to leave the decision to her father.

After all, Feng Baobao was from Universal Access.

She bore the official label.

Acting rashly could have serious consequences, especially now that her father had just taken his place among the Ten Elders.

Everything had to be handled cautiously,

lest anyone seize upon it as a pretext or cause gossip.

“Yezi, keep an eye on her,” Feng Shayan said, her caution evident even in the way she now addressed Ye Yan by a nickname.

“Alright, go ahead,” Ye Yan agreed without a second thought.

Feng Shayan hurried off, while Feng Baobao, having failed to see Zhang Chulan, sidled up to Ye Yan and picked up their earlier conversation.

Ye Yan studied the girl.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that the Feng Baobao before him was somehow different from the one he’d previously met, though he couldn’t say exactly how.

Oh well, no need to overthink it; as long as he kept an eye on her, the favor would be his.

A favor earned for free.

Who could say no to that?

With that, Ye Yan banished his stray thoughts.

Just then, Jia Zhengyu, who had been knocked out by Feng Baobao’s kick, started to stir, struggling to get up.

“I’m going to kill you.”

At that moment, Jia Zhengyu looked like a demon crawling from hell, his face twisted and savage.

Ye Yan’s heart skipped a beat.

If this guy got up, things would only get messier. For the sake of that favor, he’d better sleep a little longer.

The underfloor heating in the Tianxia Group was quite pleasant, after all.

So, with a springing step, Ye Yan shot forward. Before Jia Zhengyu could even rub his aching neck to stand, Ye Yan’s foot was already flying toward him.

Bang!

With a dull thud, the size-forty shoe sole loomed large before Jia Zhengyu’s eyes, landing squarely on his face.

Jia Zhengyu, barely awake, tongue lolling and mouth askew, collapsed again without a sound.

“Done,” Ye Yan clapped his hands, looking relaxed.

That seemingly casual kick was actually the “One-Time Kick,” a professional skill of the Night Watchmen. Anyone struck by it would fall soundly asleep for a set period. Ye Yan had calculated the force precisely—Jia Zhengyu would sleep for exactly one hour.

One hour before he woke.

To avoid suspicion, Ye Yan, who had just put Jia Zhengyu under with a forced sleep, adjusted his posture back to normal.

With everything in place, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The favor… was his.

Ye Yan casually pulled out a cigarette, stuck it between his lips, and before he could light it, he noticed Feng Baobao standing behind him, eyes wide in amazement, giving him a big thumbs-up.

Her lips moved as she said,

“Professional!”