Chapter 64 - 54: The Aftereffect is a Bit Strong

He found a breakfast shop, ordered a cup of hot soy milk, and ate two eggs and some meat buns.

Only when his stomach felt full did the dizziness, blurred vision, and sense of panic gradually ease.

’I earned a total of 0.04 attribute points this morning. These Pile Skills are really amazing!’

’But the side effects are so severe. Do I need to eat some restorative foods?’ Chen Jue thought, mulling over what Zhao Jianguo had said.

He went upstairs, took a hot shower, changed his clothes, and rested until 8:40.

When it was nearly time, he made a point of taking the jar of cod liver oil with him and drove toward Hengtong Group.

Once again, he clocked in downstairs just in the nick of time, not late at all.

However, since he was still extremely fatigued from practicing the Pile Skills that morning, Chen Jue decided against recklessly taking the stairs. He figured he’d give it a rest for a day.

He squeezed into the elevator to the 17th floor. Upon reaching his cubicle, he plopped right into his chair and, like Fatty Bai next to him, began to doze off.

There was no morning work this week anyway, so nobody would bother Chen Jue even if he slept. It was the perfect opportunity to close his eyes and recover some energy.

He dozed until about 11 AM, when Shen Shikun next to him gently tapped on the cubicle’s aluminum partition. "Brother Jue!" he whispered kindly. "Management’s here!"

Chen Jue’s eyes snapped open at the warning. After a two-hour nap, he felt much more comfortable, and a good deal of his fatigue had faded.

Lifting his head, he glanced down the aisle Shen Shikun had gestured to and saw none other than President Luo of the risk control department, personally leading a large, bustling group of people on a tour.

’Why them?’ A hint of surprise crossed Chen Jue’s face, because he’d spotted several familiar people in the group.

Aside from the ambitious Zhou Yong from Taisheng Finance, his own "little apprentice," Jiang Lin, was also in the tour group.

Seeing them craning their necks and looking around like spies gathering intelligence, Chen Jue figured out in a single glance that they had probably taken on an outsourcing contract from Hengtong Group.

The so-called outsourcing business is when a financial enterprise contracts out some of its operations to other willing channel vendors.

Hengtong Group was a massive enterprise; it was impossible for them to handle every single thing perfectly. If they wanted to expand their business territory and scale of capital even further, they had to bring in channel partners.

As for a man like Zhou Yong, ambitious and cunning, after leaving the dysfunctional environment of Taisheng to start his own company, he had obviously recognized Hengtong’s power and wanted to latch onto this powerhouse to get his new business off the ground.

But amidst the rows of cubicles in a department so lavish it occupied an entire floor, Zhou Yong suddenly spotted the troublemaker who had left such a deep impression on him before, and his expression immediately became a sight to behold.

’How the hell is that little bastard here?’

’With that worthless diploma of his, how did he get into Hengtong?’ Zhou Yong’s expression was a mixture of shock and suspicion, his mind racing with paranoia.

Jiang Lin, who was tagging along, had clearly been roped into Zhou Yong’s new company. The moment he saw the mentor who had guided him into the business, he took advantage of a break in the tour to scurry over excitedly. "Brother Jue! You got an offer from Hengtong?"

"That’s so cool! You live up to your name as my mentor!" Jiang Lin’s face was filled with envy.

As one of the top companies in the industry, Hengtong was famous for its high salaries, and Jiang Lin knew it.

He had previously thought that by following Zhou Yong, a former president, and starting a new company, it wouldn’t be hard to surpass Chen Jue one day.

So, after resigning from Taisheng, Jiang Lin hadn’t contacted Chen Jue.

Who would have thought that after only ten-odd days, the tables would turn? His mentor had leaped into a major corporation, once again becoming someone he had to look up to. A sour feeling welled up in Jiang Lin’s heart.

"I just got here a few days ago, still getting used to it!"

"What about you? Getting used to running with Zhou Yong?" Chen Jue offered a small smile. He felt that his once-naive little apprentice had become a bit smoother around the edges after the harsh lesson of leaving a job.

Indeed, this cruel, money-driven society was the best school for personal growth.

"It’s so-so! The conditions at President Zhou’s place aren’t as good as Taisheng, but with fewer people now, there are more opportunities." Jiang Lin shrugged and chatted with Chen Jue about some work-related matters.

...

The group’s tour lasted for about half an hour. When lunchtime rolled around, they followed President Luo downstairs in a great swarm for a company meal.

This is how the finance industry works—using "tours" as an excuse to go around drinking tea and mooching meals.

As long as you’re shameless enough, getting fat and lazy from freeloading on food and drink is no problem at all.

What Chen Jue didn’t expect was that not long after the group went downstairs, he received a private message on WeChat from Jiang Lin.

It said that Zhou Yong wanted to invite him out for a small get-together in the evening to "strengthen their bond" and, incidentally, chat about business matters.

Chen Jue scoffed internally. ’Strengthen our bond, my ass! Is he trying to bribe me for some special treatment?’

The risk control department is the gatekeeper of a financial company; its purpose is to keep high-risk clients out.

It looked like this Zhou Yong had just taken on Hengtong’s car-title loan outsourcing business. From now on, the applications they submitted would basically all be sent to Chen Jue’s team, Group Five.

When that time comes, wouldn’t it be up to people like Chen Jue to decide whether the applications were approved?

Although the clients assigned by the system are random, as long as a position involves someone making the final decision, there’s a lot of room for manipulation.

For example, you could tamper with the uploaded documents to embellish them, then bribe the back-end reviewers. With a little cooperation from the inside, even the worst clients could get approved.

Many financial companies on the market, even major banks, have similar kickback schemes. The number of risk control personnel who can’t resist the temptation is countless.

Although Chen Jue was short on cash, he knew he couldn’t take money that violated his professional ethics. It was too hot to handle!

Once Hengtong found out, they could even send him to prison for embezzlement.

Besides, he had threatened Zhou Yong with a ballpoint pen last time. God only knew what that guy was plotting against him now. Without a second thought, Chen Jue replied with "I’m busy these evenings, maybe some other time!" and directly refused his little apprentice’s invitation.

Of course, Chen Jue was also telling Jiang Lin the truth.

He had to go out at night to farm Skill Level and Attributes; he had no time to have dinner with a schemer like Zhou Yong.

As for Zhou Yong, he was in a private dining room in the cafeteria downstairs, toasting and hobnobbing with several Hengtong directors, when he heard Jiang Lin whisper a reminder next to him: "President Zhou, Brother Jue says he can’t make it tonight. He said he’s busy!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yong’s face instantly darkened. ’That little bastard!’ he cursed in his heart. ’Does he really think getting into Hengtong makes him untouchable?’

’I... ’

But just as he was about to let loose some harsh curses in his mind, Zhou Yong immediately recalled the ballpoint pen that had pierced through the sofa leather. It was like a traumatic memory, sending a shiver through his entire body.

And when he thought about how nine times out of ten his future business deals would have to be approved by Chen Jue—meaning he was completely at the other’s mercy—Zhou Yong felt any enthusiasm for the afternoon’s drinking session evaporate completely.

’That little bastard... is so fucking freaky!’