Light Fortress
Chapter 91 - 85: Extortion (Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Votes)_2

Chapter 91: Chapter 85: Extortion (Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Votes)_2

Gu Shen suddenly felt like he had been duped.

Since Shi Li’s files were taken out and he had established his course of action, Cui Zhongcheng seemed to have done nothing, but in reality, he had been leading him on all along.

His sole purpose was to lure out the big fish.

As for how to lure out the big fish, that didn’t matter; as long as the final goal was achieved, that was good enough.

However... the situation for Gu Shen at present was, likewise, the best scenario he could have chosen for himself.

If possible, who would wish to be bait?

But having become bait, one must eliminate evil!

...

...

Gu Shen sat on the chair, lost in thought.

"Now that everything has been said, why haven’t you left?" Cui Zhongcheng casually issued an eviction order.

Gu Shen asked a question, furrowing his brows in deep thought.

"After the Solemn Stone Sculpture incident, has my mission in Da Du... already concluded?"

"The mission in Da Du has only just begun." Cui Zhongcheng glanced at Gu Shen indifferently and said, "Do you want to make a deal? When the mission is over, whatever you want, I will apply to the council for it."

"Mr. Xiao Cui, as expected, knows me like the back of his hand. It’s just that after our last meeting by the lake, upon reflection, I always felt a bit shortchanged." Gu Shen’s frown slowly eased into a smile, "What’s past is past; I can only blame my youthful ignorance for not understanding the ways of you Old Foxes. But fortunately, a stumble may prevent a fall, and this time I’ve learned."

"You... learned..." Cui Zhongcheng couldn’t help but smile a bit, "Learned what?"

"The retrieval of the Solemn Stone Sculpture and the treatment of the mass insomnia can be considered as surveillance missions of the Judgement Institute. But due to the intelligence error on your part... I almost got chopped into pieces on the river bank last night," Gu Shen said leisurely, "Let’s just talk about this account for now... What do you think we should settle this?"

...

This time, it was Cui Zhongcheng who fell silent.

He felt a headache coming on.

This young man was much shrewder than he had imagined.

When Hu Danian had brought Gu Shen to him last night, he had already started worrying about the aftermath of the event... On the surface, his attitude towards Gu Shen was one of utter indifference to his life and death.

But in reality, Gu Shen was a "S-class" that had passed the audit group’s evaluation!

The Solemn Stone Sculpture incident, as well as this mission to draw out Shi Li, were both aimed at steering Gu Shen to face the Changjiu Foundation head-on. As far as the mission unfolding in Da Du was concerned, so far everything had been firmly within his control.

Yet, it just so happened that last night’s incident on the river bank was an uncontrollable event that he hadn’t anticipated.

Cui Zhongcheng’s fleeting look of helplessness did not escape Gu Shen’s sharp eyes.

Exactly as thought.

He had only thrown out this probing statement.

If Cui Zhongcheng had continued with his previous cold indifference, Gu Shen would have been helpless, but now he was certain that the other party felt like he was in the wrong.

"Did you learn this from Zhou Jiren... to actually hit me up for a deal?" Cui Zhongcheng looked at the young man, sighed, and said, "About last night’s incident, I do indeed bear responsibility. What compensation you desire, you may suggest."

Actually... struck gold!

Without changing his facial expression, Gu Shen said, "I want a one-time highest level authority to investigate any file..."

Seeing Cui Zhongcheng’s unruffled expression.

"Plus one top-level breathing technique."

Looking again, still no change.

"And add one Extraordinary Sealed Object..."

There was still no change, but on closer inspection, Mr. Xiao Cui’s lips were twitching.

But Gu Shen wanted to raise the stakes further, regretfully, he couldn’t think of any more demands, lamenting that he hadn’t gotten more advice from Senior Brother Zhong Wei.

A book is only useful when you need it most.

A perfect opportunity to push his luck, and he had run out of words.

"You’re asking for too much!"

Cui Zhongcheng interrupted Gu Shen, annoyed, "Let’s start with the first point; a one-time highest authority to investigate any file, look carefully, my surname is Cui, not Zhao... Moreover, even the old chairman himself can’t freely access any file. Deep Sea’s permissions for certain files are extremely strict, even members of the council are subject to various limitations."

So that’s how it is, I indeed wanted too much...

Gu Shen blinked and immediately asked, "Then what’s the highest level of authority you can approve?"

"If it’s as compensation for this time... I can offer a one-time authority to investigate a file from the Deep Sea Ninth Layer," Cui Zhongcheng glanced at Gu Shen’s expression and said, "Having passed the Deep Sea Ninth Layer’s trial, or the file’s level of secrecy being determined as less than the Deep Sea Ninth Layer, you can have unrestricted access to one."

Deep Sea Ninth Layer?

Gu Shen silently estimated... if his senior sister was a Titled of the twelfth layer, then Han Dang must be a person close behind her.

The secrecy level of Han Dang should be the Deep Sea Eleventh Layer.

"Eleventh Layer." Gu Shen bargained.

"Ninth Layer, or get lost." Cui Zhongcheng had seen through the negotiating style of the young man opposite him, who was the type to brazenly push forward, advancing boldly with every small step you gave in, determined to take a bite out of you.

"Ninth Layer is fine... but I need a good breathing technique and a suitable Sealed Object!" Gu Shen clung to his desired piece of meat, refusing to back down, "Think about it, if my teacher knew about my near-death experience on the river bank last night, what would his reaction be?"

Cui Zhongcheng, who was usually expressionless, now felt the urge to grind his teeth.

At Gu Shen’s mention of "teacher", he immediately thought of a certain old man’s visit to the Huazhi Building—