My Professions Have Too Much Personality

Chapter 164: Chapter 116: Targeting and Advancement to Tier 3 (Part 2)

They weren’t afraid of Su Chen falling from his position as a Core Seed. In fact, they would be glad to see it, as it would give them a real opportunity to get him under their control.

…

Since he was already at the Translation Department, he’d wanted to stop by and catch up with Old Sang. He went to his lab but found he wasn’t there, so he had no choice but to return to the Judicial Court.

Just as he came out of the parking garage, Su Chen noticed a large group of Judges gathered together, speaking loudly with righteous indignation.

In the time it took to walk past them, Su Chen figured out what was going on.

It was about the deaths of the Judges. Three had died in the last month alone, which was a major incident.

But the Inspectorate was holding the bodies, so an investigation couldn’t even begin. The second Chief Judge, who was stationed at the Judicial Court, had personally intervened, but the Inspectorate showed him no deference.

And without an order from the Elder Council, the Judicial Court had no jurisdiction to conduct law enforcement investigations within the city. So this group of people was simmering with pent-up rage.

’Any faction that develops to a certain point naturally has a tendency to expand. Even Chong Jingtian can’t solve this problem. He can’t very well attack his own foundation.’

’…Unless an external crisis forces them to unite. Perhaps when Ying Feng was first established, everyone was truly of one mind. But it’s been over a thousand years now, and the external environment can hardly be called a crisis anymore…’

Su Chen’s thoughts kept wandering until he arrived back at his villa. He found Gu Bing already waiting for him, and she didn’t look too happy. A small hover transport was parked at the entrance.

“Su Chen…” Gu Bing’s expression eased slightly when she saw him return. “Here are the metal materials you asked for.”

“Thanks.” Su Chen opened the door and moved the materials into the basement. Seeing the distracted look on Gu Bing’s face, he asked, “Is something on your mind, Senior Sister?”

“Huh?” Gu Bing was taken aback and seemed to hesitate.

“If you’re in any trouble, you can tell me about it,” Su Chen pressed. He had a good impression of the Gu Family.

’If you accept favors from someone, you have to back them up in return.’

“Well, it’s like this…” Gu Bing organized her thoughts. “Didn’t you mention Secret Technique Energy Crystals and Thunder Cores to me before? The Secret Technique Energy Crystals are a bit troublesome to get, but the Thunder Cores are much easier.”

“We had already negotiated with the people at the Resource Library to get three of them for a price of four million gold, but they suddenly informed us yesterday that they couldn’t sell them to us.”

“It was no use, even when my grandfather offered to increase the price by five hundred thousand for each one.”

“Hmm…” Su Chen was quite surprised. He had indeed mentioned the Thunder Cores once, but only to ask about the difficulty and price of obtaining them.

’I didn’t expect the Gu Family to be so attentive.’

“It’s fine. I don’t need them for now,” Su Chen said reassuringly.

“It’s not just that we didn’t get the items,” Gu Bing said in a low voice. “The Resource Library has a good reputation, and my grandfather was dealing with an old acquaintance of his. Logically, there shouldn’t have been a problem.”

“After the deal was intercepted yesterday, my grandfather went to see his old friend that same night. The friend subtly revealed that the person who intercepted them was from inside the Judicial Court.”

Su Chen’s expression hardened. ’Inside the Judicial Court… So they aren’t targeting the Gu Family. They’re targeting me.’

’My contact with the Gu Family can’t be hidden from anyone who’s paying attention. The Gu Family has never dealt in Thunder Cores before. For them to suddenly try to buy some… it was for me, nine times out of ten. That’s an easy deduction.’

’Zhu Xuan?’ Su Chen wondered subconsciously.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The sudden sound of knocking rang out. A glint flickered in Su Chen’s eyes. “Interesting. I only just got back.”

Gu Bing looked bewildered, not understanding what Su Chen meant.

“Junior Brother Su…”

Standing outside the door was a young man. His smile seemed amiable, but his eyes were unnervingly calm.

“Senior Brother Liu…” Su Chen recognized him. It was Liu Chen… an Inner Court Seed, a Red Gold Talent, and a Tier Three Professional.

A while ago, it was he and Ming Lin who had fought a grueling forty-minute battle, earning him the reputation of being one of the people closest to becoming a Core Seed.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” His gaze swept past Gu Bing, who was standing behind Su Chen. Without waiting for a reply, he continued on his own, “Actually, I’ve come to offer my humblest apologies.”

“Humblest apologies?” Su Chen’s eyes flickered, as if he had already guessed. “Whatever for?”

Seeing that Su Chen had no intention of inviting him in, Liu Chen’s expression soured for a moment before he quickly composed himself. “Well, you see, a younger brother of mine needs to go out on a mission, so I was thinking of getting him some weapons for self-defense.”

“That’s when I set my sights on the Thunder Cores. But when I asked, I found out this month’s entire output was already reserved. Left with no choice, I had to cut in line and take three.”

At this, Gu Bing pressed her lips together.

’Left with no choice and had to cut in line? Her grandfather had paid a heavy price to reserve those!’

Liu Chen continued with a helpless look, “But as it turns out, I just found out that I actually intercepted them from the Gu Family. I truly didn’t expect that, so I made a special trip to come and say sorry to you, Junior Brother.”

He started by saying he came to “offer his humblest apologies,” but now it had become a simple “sorry.” Su Chen stared at him with an inscrutable smile, but said nothing.

’He’s not even getting anxious?’ Liu Chen was quite surprised. ’This kid has some decent composure.’

He pressed on, “I also came this time to ask if you need them urgently, Junior Brother. If you’re in a hurry, I can have someone send them over first. You’ll have priority.”

Gu Bing’s expression turned ugly. At this point, even she understood that Liu Chen hadn’t come to apologize at all; he was clearly here to put on a show of force. He would only give the Thunder Cores if Su Chen asked for them. This wasn’t just about the “Thunder Cores”; it was about everything Su Chen would need in the future. This was a way of forcing Su Chen to pick a side.

She couldn’t help but look at Su Chen with worry, only to see her young junior brother still smiling. He shook his head gently. “Oh, there’s no rush. You should prioritize your brother. It would be terrible if something happened to him.”

Liu Chen’s expression froze for a second, then twisted into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, as long as you’re not bothered by it, Junior Brother, that’s all that matters. If you need any help from your senior brother in the future, don’t hesitate to ask.”