Chapter 434: Communication with That Gentleman at Night

Chapter 434: Chapter 369: Communication with That Gentleman at Night

“Ah Zhu,” Zhao Shao spoke up suddenly, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “Our company’s channels are getting flooded with invitations… from private companies and state-owned enterprises alike!”

Zhao Shao glanced at Chu Bamboo and calmly rattled off the names of many famous corporations.

After a brief pause, he continued, “They’re hoping our company… or more accurately, you, can collaborate with them in some capacity… or they want you to give a speech! The money they’re offering… tsk, tsk!”

Zhao Shao clicked his tongue in amazement. It was an absolutely astronomical sum. But he didn’t say the number out loud… because he knew Chu Bamboo couldn’t care less about the money.

“The specifics! We’ll talk tomorrow.” Chu Bamboo rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘As expected, I should just dump all this collaboration stuff on my good brother.’ Whenever he could fast-forward through things, Chu Bamboo always chose to.

“Now then,” Chu Bamboo turned his gaze back to Lin Xia. “Let’s continue what we were doing.”

Lin Xia didn’t object, simply picking up her pen again with a pained look on her face.

…

「Eight o’clock at night. Jinling University.」

Chu Bamboo stood outside the principal’s office, a hundred thoughts racing through his mind. His Memory Divine Techniques scouted the area, and he could feel that this place was different from before—it seemed ordinary, but it was undoubtedly on high alert, relaxed on the surface but tense underneath.

“Mr. Chu, this way, please.” A man with a gentle and refined air, dressed in a crisp suit and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, gestured respectfully for him to enter.

After a deep look at the man, Chu Bamboo strode in without hesitation and swept his gaze across the office.

There were three people in the office—

Besides Principal Li, one was a black-haired old man in a military uniform, though Chu Bamboo realized with a single glance that his hair must have been dyed. At the same time, to his surprise, the old man’s uniform bore no specific rank insignia.

The other was an old man with snow-white hair and a gentle smile. Chu Bamboo’s pupils contracted slightly, his heart in turmoil. He used to see this man on TV all the time a decade or so ago—though not so much anymore.

“This is General Qian!” Principal Li stood up and pointed to the black-haired old man first. “You can call him Elder Qian, or Grandpa Qian! Either is fine.”

Then, Principal Li gestured to the white-haired old man. At that moment, Principal Li’s attitude changed, taking on a tone of deep respect. He pursed his lips, opening his mouth to speak several times, but in the end, he just gave a wry smile. “This gentleman… I don’t think he needs an introduction!”

“…No, he certainly doesn’t! I just didn’t expect… that he would actually be here.” Chu Bamboo frowned and couldn’t help but wonder, ‘How come my good brother didn’t record this…’

‘Oh, right,’ Chu Bamboo realized. ‘My good brother released Star Sea in the future. The path he took is a bit different from the one I’m on now.’

Of course, Chu Bamboo also suspected… that even if his good brother had met this man, it would be normal for him to deliberately hide it. ‘After all, he loves to mess with me in these little, harmless ways!’

“I’m just a retired old-timer now! It just so happens that I settled down here in Jiangnan, so I decided to take a casual stroll… You can address me like you do Lao Qian! Just call me Elder Nuan, or Grandpa Nuan is fine too!” The old gentleman waved his hand, his demeanor gentle and refined.

“I just didn’t expect… to meet you right from the get-go!” Chu Bamboo took a deep breath and relaxed again. After all, he had been through so much in the Dream World and met far too many powerful figures… He was just a little surprised. As for being nervous or anything, not at all!

“I wouldn’t call it that!” Mr. Nuan, dressed in a thick tunic suit and wearing glasses, had eyes that were anything but cloudy. “I’ve actually been paying attention to you for a while… After all, the youngsters in my family can’t stop listening to your songs!”

“But later, I learned a lot more… Hmm.”

Mr. Nuan paused slightly, glancing at Elder Qian and Principal Li. “If you’ll permit me, I’ll call you young Mr. Chu.”

“Mr. Nuan, please, call me whatever you wish,” Chu Bamboo shrugged.

Mr. Nuan was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled. “Alright, alright! Then we’ll settle on that… Young Mr. Chu, would you be interested in taking a little stroll with a retired old-timer like me?”

“Please,” Chu Bamboo made an inviting gesture.

They watched the two depart.

The office fell into a long silence.

Elder Qian’s brow was tightly furrowed as he paced back and forth.

“…Can’t you just be still?” Principal Li took a sip of tea, but it did nothing to quell the fire in his heart. He shot a fierce glare at Elder Qian. This was the very person he had called earlier, hoping he would look out for Chu Bamboo.

But Principal Li had never imagined… that this man’s first meeting with Chu Bamboo would be under these circumstances.

“How can I be still at a time like this!” Elder Qian didn’t bicker with his old frenemy as he usually would. He just gave a wry smile. “In a way, this could be considered… a major turning point for the future!”

“I just don’t know if it’s for…”

Elder Qian didn’t finish his sentence.

Li Quanyuan fell silent. He took another sip of tea, closed his eyes for a moment, then said, enunciating each word, “I still believe in that kid. He’s a good kid.”

“Oh… I hope so!” Elder Qian shot Principal Li a look, then sighed again. “But then again, even if he really is a good kid… we don’t know what kind of situation he’s facing! His hands might be tied…”

“Throughout history, some good people have made what they believed to be the right decision at the time… but in the end, it turned out to be the wrong one for future generations! That’s the paradox of history… Not to mention, can we even be sure that our decision to engage with him is the right one?”

Principal Li said no more, his eyes filled with a faint worry.

…

「In the garden behind the administration building.」

“Today is something of a holiday! Security is a bit tighter… but no one is working overtime, and of course, no students are taking extra classes.” Mr. Nuan chuckled, hinting, “So there’s no need to be so formal!”

Chu Bamboo understood. The man was telling him they didn’t need to worry about being overheard right now.

Seeing that Chu Bamboo remained silent… Mr. Nuan narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked, “Is there something you’re concerned about?”

“?”

“I’ve read your file!” Mr. Nuan said slowly and deliberately. “You are a very typical good kid, a product of the Divine Continent’s education system. You have the passion of youth! You get angry at social injustice and are not afraid to speak out against it!”

Mr. Nuan recalled the intelligence analysis he’d received from the think tank. To be honest, the final few conclusions were something that he—and the group he represented—found very difficult to believe.

But no matter how incredible it seemed, the conclusions based on data, psychology, and all sorts of intelligence analysis… were what they were.

Moreover, considering the strange movements from the nation across the ocean… hmm, it was safe to say that a significant reason he had come in person was due to the intense reaction from that very nation.

‘Is it… some inherited ancient organization from the Divine Continent, similar to those secret societies in Europe and America… No, according to the think tank’s assessment, that’s the least likely possibility. After all, we already conducted a thorough purge of them in the past… If it really were them, their history would make them the least likely to cooperate with us. And based on what they’ve shown before… they shouldn’t possess this level of power!’

‘Or is it a third possibility: contact with an extraterrestrial civilization? A benevolent extraterrestrial civilization provided him with extraordinary technology… but this is also highly unlikely. It doesn’t explain why this civilization would choose a completely ordinary teenager—if they wanted to cooperate, it would be far more logical to seek out a country, or at least a major power. Besides, are aliens really so bored that they’d go out of their way to feed a kid massive amounts of knowledge just so he could write a book?’

‘And the most likely scenario is…’