Ch. 318 - A Hidden Dragon Entering the Sea Speaks Not of Its Ambition — How Could Rotten Fish and Trashy Shrimp Understand

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"Hmph! Character is all empty talk! I, Wang Jue, can also use my character as a guarantee."

Wang Jue spoke with utter calm. "How about we settle this with a match? Let strength decide who gets to be the partner?"

Confidence gleamed in his eyes. He wanted to let strength do the talking.

"Fine! Let the two geniuses decide!"

Liu Ming's eyes rolled thoughtfully before he finally nodded.

Truth be told, both companies' conditions were perfectly acceptable. He was having a hard time choosing between them.

In that case, he might as well see what Chen Shu and Wang Jue were made of — call it flipping a coin to decide.

And hey, he'd get to watch a good show.

"You sure about that?"

Chen Shu's mouth hung slightly open as he sized Wang Jue up and down.

He was a Black Iron-rank Beast Tamer. He could absolutely curbstomp any Apprentice Beast Tamer.

Forget S-rank Contract Spirits — not even SS-rank would do you any good here!

"Out-of-towners, man..."

Xu Xiaoyu shook her head. Never having experienced a beatdown from the Bandit, she silently offered a moment of mourning for Wang Jue.

Wang Jue remained perfectly composed. He stood up and said, "I'm short on time! Thanks!"

"..."

Xu Xiaoyu's mouth fell open slightly. Were people really in that much of a hurry to reincarnate these days?

Chen Shu stayed in his seat. The space to his left tore open, revealing a pair of adorably innocent, enormous eyes.

"Partial Summoning?"

Wang Jue's eyes bulged. A vague sense that something was deeply wrong began creeping over him.

That was not a technique a high schooler was supposed to have!

Before Wang Jue's words had even fully faded, the space to Chen Shu's right also tore open, revealing a pair of profoundly wise eyes.

One human and two beasts stared at Wang Jue. The conference room fell deathly silent.

Chen Shu spoke up. "Brother Wang, when shall we have our match?"

"Match? What match?"

Wang Jue quietly sat back down, an expression of pure confusion on his face.

"Wasn't the decision already made? I've been sold on Uncle Xu's company from the very start!"

"..."

Watching Wang Jue's seamlessly fluid about-face, everyone couldn't help but click their tongues in private astonishment.

Holy shit, wasn't that just a little too damn smooth?

"Young Master Wang..."

The boss of Duobao Company spoke in a low voice. He had never imagined that the man he'd paid a fortune to hire would defect this quickly.

"Alright! In that case, 666 Potion Company will be signing the contract with us!"

Liu Ming's expression was one of deep shock. He hadn't expected Chen Shu to already be at the Black Iron rank.

That fact alone was reason enough to partner with 666 Potion Company — at the very least, it forged a connection between both sides.

"Pleasure doing business!"

Xu Feng's eyes crinkled with a smile. He hadn't expected Chen Shu to come through so decisively.

That one million? Worth every cent.

"Pleasure doing business!"

The two companies began signing the contract. Chen Shu had no interest in sticking around for the rest.

He'd just stepped out of 666 Potion Company when a voice called out behind him.

"Brother Chen!"

Wang Jue came over, all smiles, looking for all the world like a long-lost friend reunited after many years.

Chen Shu turned around. "Hm? Something up?"

"Let's be friends! Let's be friends!"

Wang Jue beamed as he spoke. "We're both freshmen at Huaxia Academy. I'm hoping Brother Chen can look out for me."

"Just call me Bandit Bro."

"Ban... Bandit?"

Wang Jue's eyes went wide with shock. Then he raised a big thumbs-up.

"The name fits the man! No wonder I was instantly won over by Bandit Bro's sheer charisma!"

Wang Jue rattled on, utterly shameless, lying through his teeth without batting an eye.

Standing off to the side, Xu Xiaoyu's mouth hung open. Was this really the kind of student Huaxia Academy was admitting now?

Chen Shu rubbed his chin, studying the guy. "You've got some decent acting chops, don't you?"

"What can I say — it's how I make a living!"

Wang Jue laughed. "Tonight, dinner's on me, Bandit Bro! Let me make up for my rudeness earlier!"

Just as he spoke, his phone rang.

"One sec, let me take this..."

Wang Jue pulled out his phone. "Hello?"

"Is this Huaxia Academy's genius, Young Master Wang? We have a meeting here and were hoping you could make an appearance..."

Wang Jue furrowed his brow. "Chang City? No can do. Too far. I can't make it today."

"Appearance fee: one million. Refund half if it falls through. Just send me five hundred thousand upfront."

"???"

Silence stretched on from the other end of the line. Eventually, the caller seemed to want to say something.

But evidently afraid of Wang Jue holding a grudge, he could only hang up.

This bastard was straight-up robbing people!

"There's a move like that?"

Chen Shu's mouth twitched. You really had the nerve to say that out loud!

"Was just joking around..."

Wang Jue said with a grin. Though if the other party actually sent him the money, he supposed he'd reluctantly accept.

"What can you do — life's hard. Finally got into Huaxia Academy, and now the name's a golden ticket!"

Chen Shu only dabbled in this stuff as a side gig, but this guy had turned it into a full-blown profession.

"Bandit Bro, I'll get in touch tonight!"

Wang Jue waved and headed off from the company entrance.

"Sure!"

Chen Shu didn't refuse. Who could say no to a free dinner?

"Xiaoyu, you're starting school on September 1st, right?"

"Hm? Why?"

Chen Shu patted his chest. "Let's head up together. With me escorting you, safety's guaranteed!"

Xu Xiaoyu's expression turned troubled. Traveling with Chen Shu — she was worried they'd end up delivered straight to the Spirit Suppression Bureau...

In that scenario, everyone else would be starting school while they were starting prison. Wouldn't that be a whole other level of screwed?

"Then it's settled! A happy decision!"

Chen Shu declared, his mood thoroughly buoyant.

A free dinner, and now a free ride. How had life gotten this good?

That evening, Chen Shu had dinner with Wang Jue.

The two of them had a grand conversation, mapping out the future of Blue Star together...

Because Wang Jue had more gigs to book, he hurriedly left Nanjiang City right after.

Chen Shu slid back into his listless summer vacation state, not a care in the world — which honestly did wonders for his mood.

But happy times were always fleeting.

In the blink of an eye, it was August 25th.

Chen Shu lay sprawled on the couch, idly scrolling through his phone, browsing group chat messages.

A group called "Huaxia Academy Class of 981 Combat Department" was buzzing with constant chatter.

"Guys, school's about to start — I'm honestly a little hyped!"

"Yeah, I heard our class has a ton of geniuses this year."

"Did you guys hear? The Beiyuan City top scorer has an SS-rank Contract Spirit. He hasn't joined the group yet, otherwise I'd be in there trying to ride his coattails."

"That's nothing. Our Dongtang City also has an SS-rank, and they're about to break through to Black Iron."

"The pressure this year is insane. Feels like everyone's a genius..."

Chen Shu rubbed his chin. An idea immediately sprang to mind.

He promptly applied to join the group with a burner account — and set the display name to Zhang Dali.

Zhang Dali: "You guys call that impressive? I heard Nanjiang City just produced a real monster named Chen Shu. He was already Black Iron rank by the time of the college entrance exam!"

Chen Shu: "Classmate, you flatter me too much! We're all geniuses here. I'm nothing special."

He licked his lips and switched back to the burner account.

Zhang Dali: "Brother Chen Shu, don't be so modest. I heard you won the Beast Taming Competition champion title in one shot, and during the exam you almost killed a Black Iron King-rank beast!"

Chen Shu: "All trivial, not worth mentioning! Classmate! Please stop! I truly don't wish to show off!"

Zhang Dali: "Nope, I'm gonna say it! Nobody can stop me!"

Chen Shu nodded in satisfaction. The group chat had gone completely silent now — exactly the effect he wanted.

A hidden dragon entering the sea speaks not of its ambition — how could rotten fish and trashy shrimp understand?