Chapter 122 - 121: X’s Hustle May Be Late, But It Will Never Be Absent

Chapter 122: Chapter 121: X’s Hustle May Be Late, But It Will Never Be Absent

The Cleaners’ conference room fell into a brief silence. The Vice Minister was no longer as uncompromising as before, no longer clamoring that they absolutely had to save the people on Huayang Road.

The consequences Tang En had described were simply too severe.

If the seal was broken, it could even affect the entire world.

This was undoubtedly an outcome that no one wanted to see.

Roger’s head was buzzing, feeling as if it could explode at any moment.

’What sins did I commit in my past life?’

’All these major problems just keep coming one after another!’

Meanwhile, inside Huayang Road, He Xiaotian realized the situation was not looking good.

The storefronts along the street were, one by one, plunging into darkness.

"A power outage?"

It wasn’t just Vice Minister Roger whose head was buzzing; even He Xiaotian was starting to get a headache.

’I’m the one who caused this mess. I can’t just let innocent people get hurt, can I?’

From his storage space, he pulled out the tablet computer he had secretly pocketed.

Of course, this thing was, strictly speaking, a portable detector. The internet access was just a secondary feature.

Power on!

A fingerprint scan appeared before his eyes.

"..."

’I almost forgot, this thing can only be used by Cleaner personnel.’

’These R&D guys are nuts. Fingerprint locks have to be humanity’s worst invention.’

"Minister! We’re getting a signal from inside Huayang Road. It’s one of our portable detectors. Serial number: 123. Owner: Zhou Yun."

"I know that girl. Isn’t she recovering in the medical bay? When did she run off to Huayang Road?"

someone in the conference room who knew Zhou Yun remarked.

"Never mind that. Connect it."

On the large screen, Lei Yang and the others disappeared, replaced by the image of a man wearing an adorable mask.

"X?!"

Roger’s eyes welled up with tears as he looked at the familiar pig-snout pattern on the mask.

’Oh, thank God! I’ve finally heard some good news!’

Through his own ’expert swimmers,’ he had gained a relatively clear understanding of He Xiaotian’s strength.

Terrifying physical strength, and skilled with two heavy hammers.

He could also control a cyan flame that suppressed evil spirits, and possessed a body with Unrivaled defense.

He had originally planned to recruit him, but who would have thought that he’d be hit by one scapegoat accusation after another, leaving him dizzy and completely overwhelmed.

Furthermore, this person could change his body shape at will, rendering almost all previous intelligence obsolete.

On top of that, all data and videos related to the mysterious X had been wiped a few days ago, so they had all but given up.

After all, the man was clearly in the friendly camp; he had helped them eliminate many dangers.

It was basically confirmed that his threat level was extremely low.

And since X had made it clear he didn’t want too much contact with the Cleaners, they had temporarily set aside the idea of recruiting him.

Besides, their ’recruitment’ was genuinely voluntary.

"???"

He Xiaotian stared at the conference room displayed on the portable detector, a little dumbfounded.

"Hello, X. I am Roger, the Vice Minister of the Shanghai Cleaner unit."

"And why should I care who you are?"

...

The group stared at one another. Now that he mentioned it, there really wasn’t any connection.

Normally, Roger’s face would have darkened by now.

But he needed a favor!

He could only suppress the "motherfucker" screaming in his heart, force a smile, and continue, "You’re right, but what comes next does have something to do with you."

"Alright, let’s talk about the price."

He Xiaotian looked at Roger’s ingratiating smile and knew exactly what the guy was thinking.

’It’s just that the people outside can’t get in, and the people inside can’t get out.’

’You want me to do some hard labor and protect the masses, right?’

’Fine by me. But it won’t be cheap.’

Don’t you dare tell He Xiaotian that he was the one who caused this mess. It’s not his fault the Cleaners don’t know that!

Besides, he still owed Shouyangzi a huge batch of Spiritual Energy Crystals.

Now that he’d finally run into a big spender like this, he’d be doing a disservice to all the victims he’d scammed in the past if he didn’t rip them off good and proper.

"..."

Holy fuck. Roger almost choked to death on He Xiaotian’s words.

Could this conversation even continue?

But no matter how painful it was, he had to endure it.

He was the one asking for a favor, after all!!

Seeing Roger’s expression darken, He Xiaotian’s mood instantly improved.

’I can’t mess with Mr. Men, but you think I can’t handle a measly vice minister?’

"Ten Spiritual Energy Crystals. How about it?"

"Goodbye!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, He Xiaotian moved to turn off the portable detector.

’Is he trying to get rid of a beggar?’

’Ten crystals? Who is he looking down on?!’

"Wait, wait, wait! Twenty! Thirty! Fifty! That’s the limit, we can’t go any higher."

"One hundred Spiritual Energy Crystals. I’ll solve all your problems for you. And I mean *all* of them!"

"PFFT!"

Roger felt as if his heart had been stabbed. There’s highballing, and then there’s this! That’s not how you’re supposed to negotiate, is it?

He just doubled it! ’Do you have any idea how much one hundred Spiritual Energy Crystals are worth?’

"On the black market, a single crystal is worth at least ten million CNY."

He Xiaotian rolled his eyes at that. ’It’s all just speculative hype.’

’When it comes to bluffing, I, X, have never feared anyone.’

’If Spiritual Energy Crystals were really worth over ten million a piece like Roger claims...’

’...wouldn’t that make the Daoist Alliance’s shop a complete rip-off?’

’A relatively cheap Protective Talisman costs fifty million CNY. What a joke.’

’Not to mention the divine statues that go for hundreds of Spiritual Energy Crystals.’

"One hundred and ten. From now on, every sentence you speak will increase my price by ten percent," He Xiaotian stated, digging in his heels and refusing to budge. ’Let’s see which one of us cracks first.’

’Anyway, you guys aren’t on-site. You have no idea what the situation on Huayang Road is really like.’

"I..."

"One hundred and twenty."

"I accept." Roger conceded defeat. Faced with someone this impervious to reason, he had no choice but to yield. A few more words and the guy would probably demand his life savings. "Unlock his reconnaissance and transformation permissions. If you miss a single evil spirit or anomaly, don’t blame me for welshing on the deal!"

He Xiaotian knew that last sentence was meant for him, but he didn’t argue.

’After all, Roger is my employer now. Besides, even if you asked me to miss one, I wouldn’t!’

’This is all living, breathing Experience Points! Of course I’m going to harvest every last one of them!’

"X, you can now place the portable detector on your arm. It will automatically attach and transform without hindering your movements."

He Xiaotian did as he was told. Just as Roger had said, the detector automatically curved and fastened itself to his left forearm, transforming into something that resembled a bracer.

"The display and the metal casing are military-grade; they won’t be damaged in a typical fight. We can also use the micro-camera on it to get a full 360-degree view of your surroundings."

"Nice piece of kit, Vice Minister Luo. After this is all over, can you give me one? I just need the evil-spirit-detection and transformation functions."

Roger: "..."

’So now that you need something, you know to call me Vice Minister?’

’Where the hell was this attitude a minute ago?’

"Sure!" Roger managed a smile and agreed with surprising readiness.

’Huh. Maybe this is a sweet deal after all?’