Chapter 61: Professional Team

"I need to have a word with you, my friend. It's not that I'm trying to lecture you, brother..."
"It's not easy for anyone, Director Wang. Everyone's got a lot on their plate these days."
"Next time, just drop my name. I guarantee it'll work wonders... Tell me, how can something so trivial still not get done? Sigh."
At a restaurant in downtown Maple Sugar City.
The dinner party in the private room was gradually winding down.
The post-drinking rhetoric of middle-aged men always follows a fixed script, remarkably like some pre-trained AI program.
Yet every drinking party has its central figures and theme. Tonight's theme was the aftermath of the Magic Spirit incident at the Municipal First High School, and the central figure was quite obviously Section Chief Yu of the Procurement Department.
Section Chief Yu had been plied with so much alcohol that the world was spinning. After the gathering, he barely managed to feel his way along the wall out of the restaurant and called for a designated driver.
The designated driver arrived promptly. He was a tall, well-proportioned young man wearing the mandatory face mask required by the industry, looking thoroughly reliable.
The car drove very smoothly, passing through the neon lights of the night and gradually entering a tranquil villa district. It lacked the bustle of the old town near the Municipal First High School, nor was it as upscale and prestigious as the development zone, but the security here was top-notch. The wealthy residents of Maple Sugar City were all happy to live here... Oh, except for the Li family; the prominent scions of the Li family lived directly in Sword Pavilion.
Section Chief Yu's mind was churning with chaotic and complex thoughts. After a while, he suddenly noticed that the car had stopped. His heart skipped a beat in a flurry of panic as he lowered the window to look outside, only to heave a sigh of relief when he saw they were parked in the garage of his own villa.
Ha, he had actually thought he’d run into a kidnapper posing as a designated driver.
When someone has a guilty conscience, they always tend to be a bit hyper-sensitive.
Section Chief Yu tugged open the top two buttons of his shirt and loosened his tie. "How long have we been here?"
"Just now," the young driver replied, sounding somewhat shy. "I thought you were asleep."
"Good, good, not bad... You're a good lad. Leave your contact info, and I'll look you up next time."
"You can just bookmark me on the designated driver booking platform. Do you need help walking inside?"
"Come along."
Section Chief Yu considered himself an expert at reading people. In the procurement business, dealing with all sorts of people on every front, if you didn't learn to discern human hearts, you wouldn't even know how you died.
This designated driver looked like a university graduate who had just finished school not long ago. The current employment situation was somewhat delicate; for a university graduate to gain a solid foothold in the designated driving industry was already pretty decent.
If one really had to be technical about it, a designated driver who could maintain a long-term foothold had to possess a composure-type Magic Spirit to ensure driving quality and the ability to handle emergencies—like this year's Double Eleven sales champion in the mental composure sub-category, "Shrug and Ignore"... The coupling with the Magic Spirit also had to be just right; otherwise, if the driver inexplicably shrugged in the middle of a trip, it would be rather eerie, and no customer would want to hire them.
"Are you a local, young man?"
"Sort of, from one of the counties further down."
"Oh, oh... Where did you go to school?"
"Maple Sugar City College."
"That's fine too. What tier?"
Once inside the large villa, Section Chief Yu directed the young driver to fetch him a glass of water from the kitchen. Staring at the young man's diligent back, he fell into deep thought.
Section Chief Yu's preferences in that particular regard were slightly niche.
Well, in this era, it wasn't actually all that niche; it was just that Section Chief Yu didn't usually flaunt it and belonged to the closeted category.
He wouldn't mind giving a helping hand to this impoverished rural college student.
As for what to do if the other party refused? A mere designated driver—all it took was the threat of a bad platform review, and he probably wouldn't put up much resistance. Besides, he, Section Chief Yu, was a respectable man; it wasn't like he wouldn't pay.
Although the other party was wearing a mask and his eyes were somewhat hazy and unclear, years of experience told Section Chief Yu that he was undoubtedly a rare and exceptionally handsome fellow...
Wait.
The upward curve of his lips was suddenly forced back down.
His spiritual senses were sounding the alarm.
Section Chief Yu whipped his head around and saw two uninvited guests standing in the spacious area behind the sofa.
From their defensive specifications, they were obviously contraband chainmail, accompanied by heretical robes that looked as though they randomly snatched an unlucky passerby to sacrifice every afternoon tea time.
Their faces were covered by uniform sun masks, a faded orange-yellow casting an eerie reflection under the lights.
"Section Chief Yu, your house is quite large."
At this moment, a third sun emerged from the kitchen, clapping his hands. He had already shed his designated driving suit, revealing the street-punk attire underneath.
Hahaha, late at night, and there are three suns in the house.
Section Chief Yu was so angry he laughed. "Are you here for money, or...?"
"Mercenaries taking an order."
"Ha, mercenaries... Playing at historical reenactment here? The mercenary industry was outlawed ages ago."
"That's only on the surface. Don't tell me, Section Chief Yu, that you've never hired mercenaries? How you edged out that brilliant doctoral candidate competitor back then to get your current position—do you need me to recount it for you?"
"..."
Section Chief Yu glared fiercely at the sun masks.
He had finally figured out how his home had been breached.
Clearly, the two accomplices had used the fake designated driver to bypass the community's access permissions. But why had the villa's security system failed to show any signs of activating, even though he had secretly pressed the emergency alarm button hidden in his underwear?
As if reading his thoughts, the fake designated driver spoke up, "The security power supply lines were cut. We also handled the community's surveillance, and even our retreat route was planned in advance." The fake designated driver toyed with a fruit knife he had just swiped from the kitchen. "We are professional mercenaries."
"Ha, fine, absolutely fine!" Section Chief Yu laughed out of extreme anger. "Who hired you?"
"The next line is 'I'll pay double'? Don't be ridiculous. We already said we're professional mercenaries; turning on your employer mid-battle is a major taboo in the industry. Don't stress too much either. As long as you obediently cooperate and help us achieve our goal, this will all be over soon."
"What do you want?"
"Evidence that you illicitly procured examination Magic Spirits, and evidence that you conspired with several big figures to sacrifice the interests of examinees to cover up your mistakes."
"Damn it, you logistics bastards!" Section Chief Yu cursed furiously. Clearly, he had already locked onto the employer behind the mercenaries.
That was precisely the desired effect... The fake designated driver smiled silently behind his mask, then twirled the fruit knife as he approached Section Chief Yu. "It's time for your confession, Section Chief Yu. The sooner you confess, the less you'll suffer."
"In your dreams! You think waving swords and acting tough is going to let you make me betray my superiors? Let me tell you, I'm no pushover either... Argh, argh, argh!"
...
Section Chief Yu swore by the God of Public Administration and Finance.
Initially, he had intended to hand over the evidence of his own corruption and dereliction of duty, taking the fall entirely upon himself so that the fire wouldn't reach the big figures.
This was also the correct procedure when encountering such unexpected mishaps.
Anyway, afterward, the big figures would reward him, much like how the school offered certain benefits to appease the scapegoats in the logistics department.
Who could have guessed that these street-punk mercenaries completely ignored martial ethics?
Skipping the wrestling phase entirely, they went straight to "investigative methods," carrying a strong flavor of ancient heritage.
The methods of torture were unexpectedly... Section Chief Yu didn't even last three minutes!
The result was that Section Chief Yu not only produced the materials they requested, but they also searched his villa and uncovered a hidden hoard of unexplained wealth, along with an even more fatal "ledger"...
He wasn't nearly as resilient as he had imagined.