Chapter 128: Recruitment, an Assassin?

"Please, get this straight. As the dignified President of the Luzhou Professional Association, would I ever offer you empty promises? Just get to work, young man."

"Yes! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" A-Jie replied with excitement, though he then asked with some doubt, "Is this Wang Chen really worth us putting in so much effort to recruit?"

"Of course he is worth it! He broke the entire Su Province record for clearing the Void Realm!"

"Besides, through connections with friends, I found out that he frequently sells equipment and materials, all of which are of high quality. It’s clear he’s quite capable."

"Furthermore, the boy has been an orphan since he was young. To have made it this far, his willpower must be tougher than the average person's! Naturally, we must bring such talent into our ranks!" The President spoke with spirited, endless enthusiasm.

Hearing the President rattle off various details about Wang Chen with such ease, A-Jie said in a strange tone, "Did you go and dig up everything about him again?"

He pleaded earnestly, "I’ve told you so many times, people find that really repulsive. Have you forgotten how many professionals have turned to other regional associations simply because you investigated them too thoroughly?"

"What are you talking about? I’m just doing a little background check on an outstanding young person. This is perfectly normal," the President defended himself.

"To the point of knowing exactly what a female professional likes to eat and the color of her undergarments? Where is that normal!" A-Jie retorted. "And you never conduct such deep background checks on male professionals."

"Ahem, that’s not important. In short, you must recruit Wang Chen into our association." The President quickly cut the topic short.

"As for the problem you mentioned... why don't you pretend it's a total coincidence, spar with him, shower him with praise for his strength, and then invite him to join the association?"

A-Jie felt a sense of awe. "President, your talent for trickery is truly masterful!"

"Oh, it’s all from practice. If you put your heart into it, one day you'll be able to do this too."

*Hey, I wasn't complimenting you!* A-Jie roared internally.

But aloud, he said, "I understand, President. I will try not to make the recruitment of Wang Chen seem too intentional."

After hanging up, A-Jie stood there blankly for a while before suddenly jumping up and swearing.

"Damn it! I got gaslit by that old man again!"

He felt a bit miserable; this wasn't the first or second time it had happened. He was always being sent to stake out professionals worth recruiting. Every time he called the President to complain, the old man would use his "tai chi" skills to deflect all his requests, and A-Jie would find himself unwittingly bamboozled into continuing the grind.

After kicking a utility pole for a bit, A-Jie accidentally glanced toward the mouth of the alley and saw a young man walking by.

"Huh? This person looks familiar." He hesitated for a moment, then his body gave a jolt. "Damn, damn, damn! Isn't that Wang Chen?"

A-Jie immediately jogged over, getting a clearer look as he closed the distance.

There was no mistake. He had looked at this guy's photo hundreds of times; he would recognize him even if he were turned to ash!

Finally, no more stakeouts. A-Jie almost wanted to hug the utility pole and cry.

However, he knew that finding the professional was only the first step. Getting him to join the association would require a lot more effort. For example, how to strike up a conversation naturally without making the invitation feel forced.

A-Jie was still pondering, but watching Wang Chen walk further and further away, he couldn't keep his cool and wait for a perfect plan. So, he decided to follow Wang Chen first and think of a good strategy later.

...

Wang Chen always felt like something was following him.

At first, he thought it was his imagination. After all, he was back in the city; surely no ferocious beast would be trailing him. But this feeling persisted, starting from the alleyway below his apartment building all the way to the bathhouse.

He felt a chill. Could Lu Han have hired an assassin to ambush him?

It was leisure time, and the streets were full of tourists. With too many eyes and distractions, he couldn't use his "Blindfold" technique to accurately screen who the stalker was.

After a moment of thought, he decided to lure the stalker into the bathhouse. In that wide-open space, whoever was following him would naturally be exposed.

"Yo! Wang Chen is here!" the bathhouse proprietress greeted him warmly when she saw him.

Because the tenement building he lived in didn't have private showers, he often came to this small bathhouse to wash up, and over time, he had become familiar with the proprietress.

She then asked, "What's the plan for today? Just a soak, or are you going to eat something first?"

This bathhouse sold some basic noodles and fried rice for customers who got hungry after their soak.

Wang Chen smiled. "Give me a bowl of fried rice first, I'll eat before I soak."

"Coming right up!" The proprietress went to prepare it with practiced efficiency.

Wang Chen sat in a corner playing on his phone, glancing around the dining area with his peripheral vision, trying to identify the stalker.

Upon inspection, he spotted two people who seemed a bit off. One was holding his head at an unnatural angle, acting sneaky. The other was wearing sunglasses late at night.

Wang Chen's fried rice arrived, and he ate while quietly keeping an eye on the two.

A flash of cyan light flickered in his eyes, and the vision of a small child appeared in his mind. He had chosen this perspective carefully; the child was eating with his family, had finished early, and was looking around out of boredom. It made for the perfect observation point.

He saw the sneaky person tilting his head, fumbling with his face, and then, with lightning speed, sticking his pinky finger into his mouth and licking it.

Wang Chen was deeply suspicious. Was this guy taking medicine off his fingernail? What kind of medicine? Something that would drive him into a berserk rage? Was he planning to strike in this public place?

After pulling his pinky out of his mouth, the sneaky guy fumbled with his face again, this time sticking his pinky into his nostril to dig.

Wang Chen froze, and a wave of nausea rose in his stomach. He suddenly felt the fried rice in front of him lost its appeal.

*Are you serious, man! You look like you're in your thirties, why are you still eating your own boogers!* Wang Chen screamed internally. *Go home to your mother! Don't go out and embarrass yourself!*

He found the bowl of rice hard to swallow now, especially since it was mixed with some greenish pickled peppers that looked far too much like the part he had just witnessed.

He pushed the rice around, pretending to eat, and secretly shifted his attention to the man in sunglasses.

Upon closer inspection, Wang Chen did find this guy a bit odd—he was actually wearing pink nail polish?

Furthermore, the guy would occasionally raise his head and stretch his neck, looking in his direction.

Could this guy be an assassin? What kind of assassin wears nail polish? And pink, at that?

Wang Chen was hesitant, but for now, the man in sunglasses was the only one who seemed suspicious, whether because of his constant glancing or his out-of-place shades.