Chapter 72: A Good System

"Great stuff! This is a good stuff, but I still have classes to attend. I can't just stay in Perfume Town forever, can I?"

[Beep! Figure it out yourself.]

"..."

One month to eradicate the Liu family's entrenched influence in Perfume Town.

This matter could be simple, or it could be complex.

For anyone else, someone like Xu Zhonghao, completing this task would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens, but for him right now...

"Tell me about Liu Xiaojun's background. I heard his family runs a sand quarry?" Lin Bai took the initiative to ask.

Xu Zhonghao nodded. "Yeah, his family's Baihe Sand Quarry is the largest gravel plant in Perfume Town. Liu Xiaojun's dad, Liu Jiancai, started out as a street punk when he was young. In recent years, due to government crackdowns, he's reined it in a bit and isn't as blatant as before."

"Liu Jiancai has an unmentionable cooperative relationship with the mayor of Perfume Town. I know doing this is stupid, but... ordinary folks like us have no other way out besides fighting with our lives."

Xu Zhonghao's words were true, and Lin Bai nodded.

"Leave this matter alone. Focus on your studies, the college entrance examination is next year."

"Hmph—" Xu Zhonghao sneered. "Let me live until then first. College entrance exam? My ass."

Lin Bai raised an eyebrow. "What? Do you think Liu Xiaojun will retaliate against you?"

"It's not a matter of thinking, it's inevitable. But it's fine, I've only got one worthless life. If he wants to mess with me, bring it on. I'm not that easy to bully!"

There was a sort of outlaw edge to Xu Zhonghao, and this edge served as his protective shield.

At the very bottom of society, he could only rely on this edge and this fierce determination to protect himself and his family.

His words reminded Lin Bai, a possibility he truly hadn't considered beforehand.

Ahead lay the center of Perfume Town, where a few shops were still open at around ten in the evening.

Lin Bai found a restaurant, parked the car, brought Xu Zhonghao inside, and ordered several signature dishes.

While waiting for the food, Lin Bai excused himself to the restroom, found an empty corner, and called Bai Kewei.

"Brother Bai?"

"Kewei, does the company have... anyone who is particularly skilled in combat?"

Bai Kewei paused on the other end of the line. "Brother Bai, are you asking if we have bodyguards?"

"Yes, yes, yes, do we?"

"The company doesn't offer bodyguard services, but we do have a partner security firm. If Brother Bai needs one, I can contact them and ask."

"Alright, call and ask for me right now. Price is not an issue."

"Understood, Brother Bai. I'll get back to you shortly."

Hanging up, Lin Bai washed his hands and returned to the restaurant.

When he got back to the table, Xu Zhonghao was nowhere to be found, leaving only a note on the table.

Puzzled, Lin Bai picked it up and read:

"Thanks for today, I'm heading back. You should go deal with your own stuff too. By the way, the one hundred thousand and one hundred yuan, consider it a loan from you. As long as I'm alive, I'll pay you back sooner or later."

Reading the note, Lin Bai let out a helpless sigh.

"He's got quite some spine."

The food was served, and since Lin Bai was famished, he quickly shoveled down a few mouthfuls.

Just as he was finishing up, Lin Bai received a call from Bai Kewei.

"It's settled, Brother Bai. Panlong Security Company. It's too late today, so you can head over tomorrow to discuss the price and sign the contract directly."

"Good work."

Ending the call, Lin Bai finished the remaining food, wiped his mouth, and stood up to leave.

...

More than half an hour later, a little before eleven, Lin Bai returned to Jiangcheng.

The dormitory was already locked for the night, so Lin Bai went to the apartment he had purchased in Peach and Plum Waterside.

Looking at the empty rooms, Lin Bai suddenly remembered that he still hadn't taken care of buying furniture and appliances as planned.

"Sigh, I feel like I'm being pulled in too many directions. Can a person be taken apart and used in pieces?"

Lin Bai shook his head in self-mockery.

Right now, he only had Bai Kewei under him, and as a young woman, it wasn't convenient for her to get involved in many matters, meaning he still had to handle most things personally.

The crucial part was that he still had classes to attend—studies came first!

[Beep! Sub-quest triggered!]

[Sub-quest: Every man needs a helping hand.]

[Every man needs a helping hand: Within the specified time, find qualified helpers to share the host's pressure. During this period, the system will display the target's loyalty attribute to assist the host in screening.]

[Time limit: One week.]

[Quest reward: Unlock loyalty attribute.]

Lin Bai's eyes lit up, praising the system for having good timing.

"Not bad! This is a good system."

[Beep! You're welcome.]

...

Thursday.

After finishing his morning classes, Lin Bai opened his navigation app and drove straight to Panlong Security Company, seventeen kilometers away.

He arrived in about half an hour. The company was located in the suburbs of Jiangcheng, on the edge of Jiangxia District.

The so-called headquarters of Panlong Security Company looked like a school, with suit-clad bodyguards standing at the entrance gatehouse with stern expressions.

"Pardon me, sir, please show your identification."

Lin Bai took out his ID card and handed it over. "I made an appointment yesterday."

The man glanced at the ID, raised the boom barrier, handed the ID back to Lin Bai, and gestured forward.

"Go straight ahead, the building opposite the parking lot is the one."

"Thank you."

Entering the company and parking his car, Lin Bai walked toward the building. Along the way, faint sounds of training and chanting slogans could be heard.

Inside the building, a specialized suit-clad bodyguard greeted him, escorted him upstairs, and led him to an office on the second floor.

Sitting inside the office, Lin Bai found himself facing a rugged-looking man wearing a camouflage undershirt.

"Lin Bai, right? The one who called yesterday?"

"Yes, that's me."

The man looked Lin Bai up and down. "So young, still a student, right? You need bodyguard services?"

"Yes." Lin Bai kept it brief.

He had never hired bodyguards before and knew nothing about the process.

"How many do you need, and at what level? Who is the employer? Take a look, this is the price list."

The man handed over a sheet of paper. Lin Bai took it and let his eyes fall on the text:

Class B / 500 / day, package price: 12,000 / month
Class A / 1,000 / day, package price: 28,000 / month
Class AA / 2,000 / day, package price: 55,000 / month
Class AAA / 3,000 / day, package price: 88,000 / month
Class S: Currently unavailable

The content of the list was easy to understand, but Lin Bai wasn't very clear about the boundaries between the different levels, so he asked:

"What's the difference between Class B and Class A?"

"There is. We conduct internal assessments within our security firm and determine the bodyguards' levels based on performance metrics. It's a bit complicated to explain in detail."

Lin Bai roughly understood. He then thought of Liu Xiaojun, Liu Jiancai, and the others—merely a bunch of petty thugs in a rural town. Class A bodyguards should be more than enough, so...

"Class A bodyguards, I'll take two, both on the package rate."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Alright, please fill out this form."

Lin Bai took the form, glanced over it briefly, and began filling it out. When he reached the employer section where it asked for Xu Zhonghao's name and ID number, Lin Bai paused.

"Here's the situation: the employer is a high school student, and he doesn't know I'm arranging bodyguards to protect him. I don't know his ID number either."

"That's fine. Just fill out what you can. You can leave the parts you genuinely don't know blank."

Lin Bai nodded, finished filling out the rest of the information, and handed the form back to the man.

The man took the form, stood up, and extended his hand.

"Hello, I'm Xue Qien, manager of Panlong Security Company. Thank you for your support, Mr. Lin. We require a 50% advance payment, and the remaining 50% is to be paid in full after the mission concludes."