My Professions Have Too Much Personality

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Sister-in-law’s Husband [Gale Hunter]

His expression shifted. He hadn’t had much contact with Old Zhao. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “What happened?”

Hu Xiang sighed and explained in detail, “This happened yesterday. His wife woke up in the morning and found that Old Zhao had hanged himself.”

“Hanged himself?” Su Chen repeated.

“It definitely wasn’t suicide. Old Zhao had a happy life and was about to become a Professional. There was no reason for it.” Hu Xiang lowered his voice. “Our people dissected his cerebral cortex and found signs of damage. We suspect he was interrogated before he died.”

“But he was just a grunt in the City Patrol Guard. He wouldn’t know any secrets. Unless…”

Su Chen understood Hu Xiang’s implication and finished his sentence, frowning. “You suspect it’s because of me?”

Hu Xiang’s attempt to downplay it only made it more obvious. “It’s just a guess. Don’t feel any pressure about it. After all, he only spent a little time with you and exchanged a few words. Even if it was because of you…”

“It’s possible.” Su Chen’s expression tightened, his thoughts turning to the Space Crystal.

’Certain things that happened that day were never fully explained. For instance, besides the Holy Word Stone, did I find anything else?’

’Hu Xiang is almost the only one who might know, but he’s a Tier Two Professional and not an easy target. That’s why they started with someone else.’

Though he suspected this, Su Chen said aloud, “Some madmen, bent on revenge, might target anyone connected to me.”

“You mean, it’s Zhou…” Hu Xiang’s heart skipped a beat as he breathed out the name.

“Stop pretending. You definitely thought the same thing,” Su Chen called his bluff.

“But would they go that far? Old Zhao was just a small fry…” Hu Xiang sighed.

Su Chen remained silent. In all the information he had accessed, there was no mention of a Space Crystal, which meant its value was undoubtedly immense.

’Revenge for his son’s death, plus recovering the Space Crystal. They have plenty of motivation to act.’

Su Chen’s heart tightened. Zhou Xian was a Tier Three Professional. If he acted personally, Su Chen knew he wouldn’t stand a chance.

But then another thought occurred to him. ’Since they went after Old Zhao first, they probably don’t dare to move against me openly. The suspicion on Zhou Xian hasn’t been cleared yet, and Old Yuan is watching him like a hawk.’

’Old Zhao’s death might just be about gathering intelligence.’

“Do the City Patrol Guards offer any compensation in a situation like this?” he asked.

“Yes, it’ll be treated as a death in the line of duty. His family will be taken care of, so you don’t need to worry.” Seeing that Su Chen remembered to ask about this, Hu Xiang’s expression relaxed considerably. He couldn’t help but add, “You should be careful lately.”

The main reason for his visit was to warn Su Chen and curry some favor.

The matter had already been suppressed within the City Patrol Guard, so no news would leak out.

Su Chen glanced at him. “You too.”

“Me?” Hu Xiang was taken aback.

Su Chen grinned, a sight that made Hu Xiang’s blood run cold.

“It seems you’ve forgotten. Besides Old Zhao, there’s someone else in the City Patrol Guard who looks like they’re on very good terms with me.”

Hu Xiang froze for a second, then his expression changed dramatically.

Su Chen sighed theatrically. “Something happened to Old Zhao, and you came to inform me right away. Such touching friendship.”

“Stop it.” Hu Xiang’s face flushed a deep crimson. He had been too close to the situation to see it clearly, but with Su Chen’s reminder, he finally understood.

“As for your wife…” Su Chen began, but Hu Xiang had already turned to leave. He got to the door, then turned back to exchange contact information.

“Stay in touch…” he said hastily before rushing off.

’The Space Crystal…’ Su Chen frowned. ’It’s already been absorbed. There’s no way to spit it back out, and no way to explain it.’

The convenience of the storage space was self-evident. ’Right, there’s still the Shadow-avoiding Robe at the academy.’

’That thing is a Tier One Item, after all. It should easily sell for five thousand gold. Leaving it under the bed isn’t safe.’

’I’ll go back to the academy during the day and get it.’

Su Chen skillfully plucked a hair and wedged it in his doorjamb. After saying a quick hello to Old Sun, he headed to Southwind Academy.

…

WHOOSH—

Gale-force winds howled. Above, black lightning crackled and twisted, its RUMBLE echoing across the land.

“It’s the mechanical faction…” Zhang Hongbo’s collar flapped violently in the wind. In his line of sight stood a dilapidated steel fortress. The part merely exposed above the wasteland was nearly a thousand meters tall.

Its surface was welded together from rust-spotted metal plates, etched with countless pits and gashes of varying depths. The dark red rust looked like congealed blood.

The metal doors were long gone, leaving only a pitch-black, bottomless entrance that exuded a heart-pounding aura of decay.

“Let’s gather intel first…” Zhang Hongbo gave the order. The Explorer Guards behind him fanned out, carrying various instruments as they began to cautiously approach the fortress.

…

Leaving the dormitory building, Su Chen glanced back one last time. The Shadow-avoiding Robe was already tucked away in his Personal Space. There was nothing left for him here.

“Brother Su, it’s really you…”

A surprised shout came from nearby. Su Chen turned to see a few guys with excited expressions.

“You… you… you’re… Liu Liang?”

Under the leader’s expectant and nervous gaze, Su Chen finally recalled his name.

Liu Liang breathed a sigh of relief. His underlings were standing right next to him; it would have been awkward if Su Chen really couldn’t remember his name.

“What’s up?” Su Chen asked, confused.

Liu Liang strode forward. Instead of trying to cozy up, he lowered his voice. “Brother Su, someone’s been asking about you recently.”

“Oh?” Hearing Liu Liang’s words, Su Chen’s eyes narrowed. “Who?”

“Uh, it’s… your lady’s husband…” Liu Liang said, sounding a bit awkward.

“Whose?” Su Chen was completely baffled.

“I mean, Teacher Jiang’s husband…” Liu Liang clarified.

Su Chen’s face darkened. “Qi Chuan, right.”

“So his name is Qi Chuan…” Liu Liang scratched his head. “Anyway, it was him. He’s been secretly asking the few of us for news about you.”

“He asked about everything, right from when we first met. He even asked what you ate.”

“But don’t worry, Brother Su. My lips are sealed,” Liu Liang said, puffing out his chest.

Su Chen looked him up and down, then shook his head. “No need. There’s nothing to hide about any of that. If he asks you again, you can name your price. That senior is a fool with deep pockets.”

“Huh?” Liu Liang stared blankly at Su Chen’s departing figure.

“Brother Liang?” A few of his underlings sidled up. “What did Brother Su say to you? I got the feeling he was a little pissed off.”

Liu Liang lifted his head and sneered, “What do you know? This just shows how close I am with Brother Liang. Would you get pissy with a stranger?”

The Inspector Guards inside the academy had almost all withdrawn. As Su Chen walked, he mulled it over. ’Why is the wronged husband still obsessed with that? My power has already been revealed. Can’t he figure it out?’

’Wait, could Zhou Xian be behind him…’ Su Chen stopped dead in his tracks, his expression sinking. ’That’s not impossible.’

’Oh, my dear wronged husband, it seems you and I are truly bound by fate…’

When he returned to the Inspectorate, it was mid-afternoon, and he saw Fatty Sun waiting for him at the door.

“Little brother, you’re finally back.” Fatty Sun greeted him warmly.

“Brother Sun, what’s up?” Su Chen asked politely.

“Inspector General Yuan asked me to bring you something…” Fatty Sun’s small eyes darted left and right before he pointed toward the room.

“Alright.” Su Chen opened his door, then stopped abruptly. He looked down at his feet, his expression instantly becoming dark and uncertain.

“What’s wrong, little brother?” Fatty Sun asked from behind.

“Nothing…” Su Chen walked in, his expression normal. After Fatty Sun followed him inside, he familiarly closed the door and grinned. “First-level Inspector Guard Su Chen, on behalf of the Inspectorate, I’d like to congratulate you.”

“Congratulate me?” Su Chen was confused.

“That’s right. The Seventeenth Patrol Guard squad you’re part of busted an underground black market in the South District this morning. The whole squad was awarded a Third-Class Merit.”

“Huh?” Su Chen was even more bewildered. He listened as Fatty Sun continued, “In light of your outstanding performance, we’ve specially requisitioned and are granting you the [Gale Hunter] profession information.”

Su Chen finally understood. This whole roundabout affair was just to give him the [Gale Hunter] profession.

“But… I wasn’t there. Is that really okay?” Su Chen couldn’t help but ask.

“You provided the key intelligence. The reason you weren’t on-site was that you needed to rest.” Fatty Sun frowned, displeased. “This is a collective honor. You deserve it.”

Su Chen fell silent. ’They went through all this trouble just for my sake.’

With a collective honor like this bestowed upon them, his colleagues from the Seventeenth Patrol Guard, whom he had never even met, probably wouldn’t have any objections.

With that, Fatty Sun activated his silver wristband, pulling up a virtual screen where lines of text appeared.

[Tier Two Upper Profession discovered—Gale Hunter. Promotion is possible after meeting the promotion conditions.]

[Promotion Condition 1: Hunt and kill one Tier Two Professional without being detected by anyone else.]

[Promotion Condition 2: Attain Master Level in three F-level Body Refining Techniques.]

’I actually have to hunt a Tier Two Professional?’

Su Chen was surprised. Even a Tier Two Subordinate profession was still Tier Two.

The difficulty of promoting to a Tier Two profession had suddenly skyrocketed. The F-level Body Refining Techniques also needed to reach Master Level—three of them, no less—but for him, that wasn’t the hard part.

These were the explicit promotion requirements. There were also implicit ones, such as developing his current profession’s progress to 100%. The ideal Tier One profession was [Gale Walker].

At the very least, it had to be a speed-oriented Tier One Middle profession, and even then, complications could arise during the process.

However, if one had a related Top-tier Profession, compatibility would be much easier.

’Hunt a Tier Two…’ Su Chen mused. ’And without being discovered.’

“It is a Tier Two Upper profession, after all. The difficulty is high,” Fatty Sun chimed in.

“It is…” Su Chen said with a chuckle. “By the way, Brother Sun, don’t have anyone clean my room from now on.”

“Clean your room?” Fatty Sun was stumped, then explained awkwardly, “We don’t offer that service. This isn’t a hotel, after all.”

He thought Su Chen was making a request.

“Even better that you don’t.” Su Chen politely saw Fatty Sun out, and his face immediately darkened.

Someone had secretly entered his room. The strand of hair he had wedged in the doorjamb was gone. He had confirmed its position with his [Spiritual Perspective] before leaving; there was no way he could be mistaken.

’The Inspectorate has their people, too.’ Su Chen felt as if a great net was closing in around him, and his expression turned grim. ’To be able to sneak in here, their position can’t be low.’

’I almost forgot!’ Su Chen shot to his feet, his eyes shining. ’I’m not alone in this anymore!’

’I’m a goddamn second-generation heir!’

’This is my teacher’s territory! What the hell am I scared of?’

He hadn’t quite adjusted to his new status yet. Realizing this, Su Chen rushed out of his room and intercepted Fatty Sun at the elevator.

“Brother Sun, I need to check the security footage! Someone entered my room!” Su Chen said directly.

The previously cheerful Fatty Sun’s expression shifted. He said in surprise, “Entered your room? How could that be? This floor is access-restricted…”

“I’m certain of it. I want to check the footage. Just for this floor. That shouldn’t be a big problem, right?” Su Chen insisted.

“Umm…” Fatty Sun’s expression flickered. “No problem. Come with me.”

The two went to the surveillance room. Fatty Sun had someone pull up the video feed for the hallway outside Su Chen’s room. From the time he left until Fatty Sun knocked, only a few people passed by. No one entered his room.

Fatty Sun pulled him into an empty adjacent room and whispered, “This surveillance system is just a standard model. A lot of Professionals can bypass it. If someone really got into your room, it’ll be hard to find them.”

“I want to go after someone.” Su Chen wasn’t surprised. If the intruder dared to enter, they wouldn’t be easy to find.

But this shift in his identity had given him a new idea.

“Who?” Fatty Sun jumped. ’Just this morning, I thought this guy was calm and steady. Is he showing his true colors this afternoon?’

“Qi Chuan,” Su Chen stated the name.

’Brother Cuckold, the tables have turned. It’s time to start collecting interest on old and new debts.’

“Qi Chuan… hold on…” Fatty Sun swiped at his virtual screen and quickly pulled up a file. “Qi Chuan, a Level 1 researcher in the Relics Research Department… became a Tier Two Professional just four months ago…”

’So he really is Tier Two, even faster than Jiang He…’ Su Chen mused.

“Married. Wife is… Jiang He?” Fatty Sun hadn’t paid much mind when he saw Qi Chuan was a Tier Two Professional, but now his expression shifted slightly. “This Jiang He, isn’t she the daughter of Jiang Rong, the head of the Relics Research Department? Going after her husband…”

“They have no feelings for each other anymore…” Su Chen explained, then briefly recounted the story of how he had provoked Jiang He to get into Southwind Academy.

He omitted some key details, only saying that because of that incident, Qi Chuan had been constantly looking for trouble with him.

GULP. “Little brother, you’re a real beast.” Fatty Sun swallowed hard, the “jealousy” in his eyes practically bursting out.