Inheritance of Two Trillion
Chapter 904: Fight Without Breaking, Struggle Without Injury

Chapter 904: Chapter 904: Fight Without Breaking, Struggle Without Injury

"Elder Xia, if you have any orders, just say it directly. This opening speech always makes me feel like you’re about to give me a hard time," Bai Xiaosheng joked with the old man.

On the other end of the phone, Xiahou Qi burst into laughter.

"Officer Bai Xiaosheng, I wouldn’t dare to order you around. Last time, I just hinted that you should ’stir the waters’ a bit."

"And look at you, going after Lin Yu relentlessly. You don’t realize, the Department of Affairs blew up twice because of you two."

"Now your popularity in the Department of Affairs is even higher than Lin Yu’s, despite his many years of effort compared to your few days. When I say you’ve ’got it,’ isn’t that the truth?"

Xiahou Qi’s voice carried no hint of reproach.

Bai Xiaosheng felt relieved and laughed, "You really mustn’t frame me. What do you mean I was relentlessly pursuing Lin Yu? As the president, you can’t just spout nonsense. It was him chasing me all the way from JinPing to Yuquan, and then to Wuqiu. I can’t believe you knew nothing about it!"

"Moreover, it was self-defense and I just retaliated reflexively. As for why I suddenly have so many supporters, I guess maybe I’m just naturally likable, or maybe it’s ’the more virtuous gets more help’. It’s definitely not because I paid for them."

Bai Xiaosheng bantered playfully with Xiahou Qi.

The conversation between the elder and the younger showed no sign of serious interaction.

After chatting a bit more, Xiahou Qi said, "Alright, I won’t keep you any longer. I’ve got things to attend to. Where are you now?"

"Me? I’m on my way to Yunhai to meet up with Lin Ke," said Bai Xiaosheng.

"Hmm, okay, that’s good. Then I’m reassured. I thought you’d take the opportunity to counterattack Lin Yu."

Xiahou Qi chuckled, "I also heard that Lin Yu has left Wuqiu. His going direction is nearly the opposite of yours, more or less."

Bai Xiaosheng suddenly understood, "So you’re stepping in to extinguish the fire!"

Superiors like subordinates to fight and compete as it maintains vitality and ambition, yet also prevents collusion and ensures they aren’t supplanted.

But whether it’s fighting or competing, it must be controlled within limits.

Fight without breaking, compete without harming.

Managing this balance counts as half the success for those higher up.

"I prefer that you two don’t keep fighting," Xiahou Qi stated bluntly to Bai Xiaosheng, "You two young people represent the future of the Department of Affairs. I hope that before the future arrives, you haven’t already weakened each other through internal conflicts."

Actually, Xiahou Qi had been paying attention ever since the two had disagreements and frictions starting in JinPing.

Nevertheless, he also relied on their provocations to leverage various powers within the Department of Affairs.

If the whole scene was a setup, Xiahou Qi was both a spectator and the manipulator behind the scenes.

"At present, the turbulence caused by you two has been enough for me to detect some problems and start solving a part of them."

"For now, just lay low for a couple of days and give this old man some time to handle it. Later on, you can continue to stir things up."

"But maybe don’t always focus on Lin Yu."

Xiahou Qi kept giving instructions.

"Alright, I got it," Bai Xiaosheng agreed.

Xiahou Qi hummed in satisfaction and then with a bit of sentimentality, said, "Seeing you guys reminds me of the old days."

"You remind me of myself and Grand Affairs Officer Shen Peisheng back then. We competed all the way to the end. I became the president, and he became the Chief Senior Affairs Officer, and it’s been peaceful for so many years. See, isn’t that nice?"

Bai Xiaosheng was quite surprised on hearing this.

He had always thought that Xiahou Qi and Shen Peisheng were contemporaries, but had no idea they had been actual colleagues and even competed against each other.

Maintaining harmony like they do now is indeed rare.

Or perhaps it’s just a harmonious facade under the hierarchy of power, Bai Xiaosheng mused quietly.

"I’ll leave it at that for now. You go and relax, while this old man continues to toil away, ah... Alright, I’m hanging up," said Xiahou Qi.

"Okay," Bai Xiaosheng chuckled, and then heard the dial tone "beep beep."

Bai Xiaosheng held his phone, lost in thought for a moment.

"Elder Xia’s words contained some valuable information," he mused.

"It seems that Lin Yu has indeed stepped back for now. Was it voluntary, or did Grand Affairs Officer Shen Peisheng persuade him to leave..."

"Lin Yu’s actions lasted for half a month. Grand Affairs Officer Shen Peisheng must have known something. Did he not stop Lin Yu, or did he not want to stop him?"

"I, Bai Xiaosheng, have only been in the Affairs Department for a few days. What merits and abilities let me receive so much support? Their real purpose is probably to use this to strike at Lin Yu... and even directly target Grand Affairs Officer Shen Peisheng!"

Bai Xiaosheng couldn’t help but sigh.

"As the saying goes, it’s cold at the top. If the situation for a Senior Affairs Officer is this bleak, what about higher up... like the President of Zhenbei Group!"

A solemn feeling settled in Bai Xiaosheng’s heart.

"I am not strong enough yet! Whether it’s temperament, cognitive ability, or anything else, I need more experience! Climbing the corporate ladder is like rowing upstream; one truly cannot relax for a moment!"

As Bai Xiaosheng pondered these things, the voice of Red Lotus suddenly rang in his mind.

"One General Manager in the Greater China Region’s major subsidiary is found with severe issues. Convincing evidence is now available, and prosecution is imminent. Add five points!"

"All current ways to earn points increase by twenty percent, add an extra point."

"The final score is six points, the current total score is sixty-eight for the Affairs Officer level, thirty-two points away from the Senior Affairs Officer level."

Another six points?

Bai Xiaosheng couldn’t help but smile.

Having just become a New-type Affairs Officer less than a month ago, he had already increased his score so dramatically, truly like breaking through bamboo.

Perhaps by the time I advance to a Senior Affairs Officer, I will shock a bunch of people, even Elder Xia might be quite surprised!

Bai Xiaosheng couldn’t help but think to himself.

By then, a direct order from higher up will let everyone know that Bai Xiaosheng is not without a background, but rather, has a background even greater than Xiahou Qi!

At this thought, joy sprang up in Bai Xiaosheng’s heart.

But the voice of Red Lotus rang again, "Current score approaching seventy percent of this stage, warning!"

"Once the current stage score reaches seventy percent, all extra points will be cancelled, and all points earned will decrease!"

Bai Xiaosheng was startled.

Just as he was starting to feel happy, Red Lotus doused him with cold water.

"Red Lotus, this rule seems too arbitrary!" Bai Xiaosheng was quite displeased.

"The score increase for this stage is too rapid, the host’s qualities in various aspects have not yet reached the qualifying standard. To ensure you are competent for the Senior Affairs Officer level, we must artificially slow progress," Red Lotus explained. "The promotion mission is being generated!"

"If you agree to double the difficulty of the emergency mission, the slowdown will be cancelled!"

"Forget it then," Bai Xiaosheng hastily said.

Arguing with the system, he felt, was still beyond him.

"However, truly reaching seventy points, only a third of the points are left for the upgrade, this won’t bother me!" Bai Xiaosheng reassured himself.

"Moreover, what Red Lotus said is right, ascending to a high position without the corresponding abilities isn’t a blessing, it’s more like a disaster!"

"Moreover, the job of an Affairs Officer is so interesting, I’ve just started to enjoy it, it shouldn’t end too early!"

Bai Xiaosheng couldn’t help but laugh.

Next to him, Lin Weiwei and Lei Ying exchanged a puzzled look.

Having just hung up the phone, Bai Xiaosheng was frowning one moment and smiling the next; it seemed something was happening, seemingly... not a bad thing.

Just as they were pondering this, an announcement came over the train’s speakers.

"Dear passengers, Yunhai City, we have arrived!"