Chapter 129: Negotiations in the Bathroom?

Since that was the case, he would have to confirm it further.

Wang Chen forced down the nausea and wolfed down the rest of the fried rice in a few hurried bites. He paid at the front desk, took his wristband, and headed into the bathhouse.

In the changing area, he put on a bathrobe and deliberately lingered for a while.

A moment later, the man in sunglasses followed him in.

"So this guy really is suspicious," Wang Chen said inwardly.

Now that he had identified the stalker, the question was what to do next.

After all, the man in sunglasses had not made a move yet, so Wang Chen could not simply declare him an assassin and call the police.

But he could not just run either. The man had already trailed him all the way near his home; this was not something escape alone could solve.

After much thought, he decided to test the man's strength first.

If Lu Han had sent someone after him, then that person should not know he was already on the verge of reaching his next breakthrough.

In that case, the assassin might not be very strong, and Wang Chen might be able to deal with him easily.

Besides, if he could handle him, that would be best. If not, he could simply run.

He had no shortage of means to escape, whether it was the earth-burrowing bead or the instant-move skill.

Having made up his mind, Wang Chen acted as though nothing were amiss and went into the bath to soak.

For now, he could not show even the slightest sign of suspicion toward the man in sunglasses, or he would alert the enemy.

...

"Pretty good at enjoying yourself, aren't you? Coming here to soak in the sauna. Do you know how hard I've been waiting for you?" Ajie thought to himself as he watched Wang Chen walk into the bathhouse.

He was, of course, the man in sunglasses, and he had no idea that Wang Chen had already taken him for an assassin.

At the moment, he was focused entirely on how to strike up a conversation with Wang Chen and then naturally invite him to join the association.

As he changed clothes, Ajie recalled the advice his president had given him.

The key points, the president had said, for getting close to a male practitioner were nothing more than hobbies, women, and money.

As for female practitioners, the president had declined to elaborate, saying Ajie was not yet skilled enough to learn that part of the experience.

"Then I'll just try chatting with Wang Chen like this," Ajie quickly worked out a script.

He locked the locker and headed into the bathhouse.

...

Wang Chen rinsed himself in the shower, then entered the pool and put on an air of comfort and ease.

In truth, he had not even taken off his soft armor. It clung tightly to his body and was nearly transparent; unless one looked very closely, it could not be seen.

Whoosh.

The plastic curtain to the bathhouse was drawn aside, and Ajie walked in at an unhurried pace.

"Hm? Is that the man in sunglasses?" Wang Chen muttered inwardly.

Ajie had already removed his sunglasses and put them in the locker. One could hardly keep them on while soaking; that would have looked far too strange.

He rinsed himself in the shower and rubbed at the dark circles around his eyes with hot water, hoping they would fade a little.

After all, when meeting a practitioner for the first time, it was better to leave at least a slightly favorable first impression.

Two or three minutes later, he entered the pool and sat not far from Wang Chen, watching the television behind the glass.

With the corner of his eye, Wang Chen observed Ajie. "Not bad. It should be him. Even his fingertips have nail polish."

He thought to himself, "I didn't expect the dark circles under his eyes to be so severe. Well, that's reasonable. Assassins usually kill at night."

"If that's the case, this guy's business must be good. His skills can't be weak, so I need to be extra careful."

Meanwhile, Ajie was calculating to himself, "Hiss, this first meeting is in a bathhouse. That's really a bit awkward."

"No, I need to find a way to bring up a topic, or Wang Chen will soak for a while and then leave."

He looked at the daily news being broadcast on the television, just as it was reporting that the authorities had made full preparations for the upcoming interschool grand competition, and suddenly an idea struck him.

Ajie let out a long, deliberate sigh. "Ah, the interschool grand competition. I remember when I took part years ago, I nearly slept through it and missed everything. Time really flies."

Wang Chen was momentarily stunned by Ajie's lament.

Wait—do assassins nowadays chat while they work? He was a little confused.

Then it dawned on him. This guy was trying to get close to him, to build familiarity before striking when he least expected it.

Wang Chen drew in a cold breath in his heart. Too terrifying. This assassin really had something to him.

But that was fine. Wang Chen also wanted to probe the assassin's strength. Since the other side had taken the initiative to speak with him, he might as well talk and see if he could pry out some useful information.

"Oh?" he said, pretending only then to have noticed Ajie. "And what happened in the end? Was it all right?"

Ajie was delighted. Excellent! Wang Chen had taken the bait.

That made sense. He was, after all, a student about to participate in the interschool grand competition, so it was only natural that he would care about such things. Ajie's angle of approach had been perfect.

Suppressing his joy, Ajie put on a weathered look full of nostalgic reminiscence. "Ha, I barely made it in time. My homeroom teacher nearly slapped me to death."

He glanced at Wang Chen with seeming casualness. "From your age, you should be about the right age to take part in the interschool grand competition, right?"

"So, how about it? Confident about getting into a good school?"

Just look at what a great question that is, Ajie thought inwardly.

Speaking as someone who had been there before, he was showing concern for a junior. If it were an ordinary person, they might find him preachy and annoying.

But Wang Chen was the sort of talent the president praised without end. Naturally, he would have the competition well in hand, and this question would not trouble him.

By asking this, Ajie had given Wang Chen a chance to show off. After a few flattering words from him, the flattery would have been slipped in without a trace.

"This guy is probing my strength too," Wang Chen thought. "Very cautious."

His mind flashed as he answered, "It's all right. I was just lucky. I leveled up quickly during my first trial."

Wang Chen guessed that Lu Han must have told the assassin about him, and that the man should know about his rapid rise to level ten in his first leveling session. That much, he naturally admitted.

"But the higher you go, the harder it gets," Wang Chen said, looking at Ajie. "Is the path of a practitioner always this difficult? What about you, big brother? How has your journey been?"

He could not keep letting the other side question him. It was time to kick the ball back.

When Ajie heard this, he nearly wept with emotion.

Truly worthy of the talent the president praised so highly. Even when speaking to a stranger, he was so modest.

He even remembered to leave room for the other person to speak, never making it all about himself.

And most importantly, that question had landed right in Ajie's sweet spot.

He adopted a modest expression. "It really is difficult. Even now, I'm still only a diamond practitioner."

This was part of the president's strategy. The people sent to visit practitioners all had decent strength themselves.