Just This?

Commander Jeff froze for a moment before catching on to the youth's meaning. He laughed out of sheer exasperation. "I was originally planning to be polite, little guy... Hong Yan isn't here right now." Wu Youren gave a slight nod. "Sounds like you still owe her. That will hurt your reputation." *He's this fearless?* Jeff inwardly grew wary. How many explosives had this kid planted? He knew the boy was skilled with mechanisms and traps, but he had previously thought, could a grand knight plus several knights fail to handle a mere teenager? Yet if there were a great deal of explosives, it was actually... damn dangerous. Moreover, the kid hadn't been hiding here for just a day or two. Jeff disliked fighting on another person's home turf, even if the opponent was only an apprentice knight. The most critical issue, however, was that he would rather endure being embarrassed by Hong Yan just to track down Red Pine because he genuinely needed something! The New Army cared only about results, never the process. Regardless of his anger, he had to achieve his objective first! Jeff actually smiled again. "That is between me and Hong Yan. In what capacity are you asking?" The youth answered unhurriedly, "I am merely evaluating your creditworthiness, Commander." "Creditworthiness... what is that?" Jeff wanted the boy to understand that he was not someone who played by conventional rules. "Mm, fair enough," Wu Youren nodded slightly. "Officials have no private morals." "Those words... aren't bad!" Jeff clapped twice. "Didn't expect Jin to have such an adage. Care to guess why I'm looking for you?" "I won't guess," the youth replied, shaking his head. "I just want to know, what about the debt you owe Boss Hong?" "No matter what matter you seek me for, Commander, if you haven't settled that debt... it will make things very difficult for me." He disregarded every other factor and emphasized just one point: I roll with Instructor Hong! "Tsk, tsk. You're not even as good as a kid," a raspy, smoker's voice drifted from afar. "Ashamed yet?" "Holy shit," Jeff snapped in irritation. "You actually followed me?" "Swearing... just this once!" Hong Da did not show herself, continuing in a leisurely tone, "I truly didn't want to wade into these muddy waters! But a life for a life, and a debt must be paid!" "I already gave you one piece!" Commander Jeff was on the verge of losing his mind. "Paying in installments—is that so unheard of?" Coming here had cost him dearly, but he had no choice; the pressure from above was simply too overwhelming. "Until you pay off your debt, you are not allowed to make trouble for him." The raspy voice drifted further and further away. "Fucking... yeah, truly risking life for money!" Commander Jeff shook his head helplessly. He had originally assumed she would let the matter drop, but thinking about it now, he still owed two pieces. No wonder she refused to let it go. Speaking of settling debts, recalling the answer she had given last time made him not know whether to laugh or cry. Just that bullshit suggestion about a pilot program had cost three marching stones... Blackhearted, truly fucking blackhearted! Greedier even than our New Army! Forget it. He collected his thoughts and looked at the youth. "Did you guess she would follow?" *You mean that moneygrubber?* Wu Youren shook his head. "What I said was purely common sense, wasn't it?" Though Jeff stood some distance away, he could tell from the boy's reaction alone... it was definitely that exceptionally innocent, crystal-clear gaze! "I won't beat around the bush with you. You should be able to guess what I've come to ask." "I truly have no idea," Wu Youren replied, shaking his head. "I am still young and don't know much." "Don't give me that crap." Thinking of that clear gaze made Jeff feel inexplicably irritated. "The pilot program is already in place. How should we implement it? Give me a plan!" *Just how many meals do you intend to squeeze out of one fish?* Wu Youren could hardly take it. "After I hand over a plan, will you expect me to execute it too?" "That's not out of the question," Jeff gave a dry laugh. "I can personally go to Hostage Manor... go to Jin Manor to demand you!" *Truly shameless!* Wu Youren was rendered speechless. You are a dignified Commander of the New Army! "Tsk." He rubbed his brow in frustration. "I'm not sure if I have a plan. First, tell me what I stand to gain." "You helped your boss collect a third of her debt." Important figures truly could be completely shameless. "I need benefits of my own!" Wu Youren said with a solemn expression. "How about... clearing your hostage status?" The youth shook his head. "Something I can receive immediately. Commander, your creditworthiness... I would rather not tempt it." "Name it, then," Jeff offered naturally. "As long as you are willing to reveal your terms, I will definitely satisfy them." "Do you have a death-exemption medallion?" Wu Youren answered without hesitation. "I am terrified of dying. That is my strongest need." "Holy shit." Jeff felt a bout of dizziness. "What am I talking about, and what are you talking about... do you want immortality next?" "I'm afraid of taking the blame," the youth replied blandly. "As long as I commit no acts harmful to Liang, when trouble arises, spare my life!" "You're fucking something else!" Commander Jeff was utterly at a loss for words. A death-exemption medallion? I fucking want one too! "Given your creditworthiness... I am truly worried about being scapegoated," the boy answered unhurriedly. "Fine, but it will have to go on credit first!" Jeff actually dared to agree. Painting a cake—who didn't know how to make empty promises? Besides, upon careful reflection, the youth's life and death were truly inconsequential to Liang. A foreign hostage was all he was, hardly any key figure of Liang. If things genuinely proved troublesome, what was so hard about cooking up a pretext to sentence him to death and then pardoning him? "Solve two problems for me. Today is the first. When I ask the second, I will give you the death-exemption medallion!" The New Army Commander anticipated that the boy wouldn't agree easily and that they would have to haggle further. To his surprise, the youth spoke without a second thought, "Very well, state your problem... Can Hong Da bear witness?" A bitter wind howled across the wilderness, but the raspy voice did not return. "You're quite confident," Jeff chuckled. Without even knowing the question, the boy dared to guarantee an answer? Regardless, it was an empty-handed swindle anyway. He laid out the problem he had run into. *So simple...* Wu Youren fell silent. Could you at least up the difficulty a bit? "Just this?" Hearing that incredulous tone, Jeff felt his pride sting. *What kind of tone is that?* Even so, he nodded; at this moment, face truly meant nothing. "That's right, just this. It requires a bottom-up struggle!" "Bribe them," Wu Youren almost couldn't keep a straight face. He had expected calculus at the very least, but it turned out to be basic arithmetic? "Discreetly spend money to buy off some knights, and wouldn't things get rolling?" "What kind of bullshit answer is that?" Jeff couldn't stand it anymore. He couldn't stand the boy's tone to begin with, and then came this answer. "Knights of prestige have their own estates and businesses. Other knights serve noble houses... Are you telling me to bribe unattached knights?" Unattached knights possessed negligible influence. Even if they were numerous, among the three categories, their circumstances were the worst. When people said knights lived a life of licking blood off a blade's edge, they were primarily referring to this type. Wu Youren's gaze could no longer remain innocent. "I said bribe!" "And I had no intention of selling out either!" Jeff snapped in annoyance. "Will bribing a few knights accomplish anything?" "I see where the problem lies!" The boy nodded in sudden realization. The two of them were completely talking past each other. Jeff was thinking of bribing a few key figures to push the matter through or get things started. Granted, that perception wasn't wrong. Back on Blue Star before his transmigration, weren't the Flying Monkeys and Saint Ze cut from that exact cloth? But please—orchestrating a movement was hardly limited to a single approach. Various colors, various Springs—care to get acquainted? "I didn't tell you to bribe one person, or just a few. You have to spend serious money—scatter it around." "One links to ten, ten link to a hundred, mobilizing all the knights... apprentice knights work too!" "This..." As Jeff listened, he felt his brain short-circuiting. "How much money would that cost?" Wu Youren couldn't even be bothered to answer. With this level of intelligence, how did you even make Commander of the New Army? Bah! Wait, no. In all fairness, this shit-stirring tactic truly wasn't something just any civilization could conceive. Take Shenzhou in Blue Star's history: there were schemes to sow discord, and one could bribe warlords, local gentry, or influential magnates... Yet even when bribing soldiers guarding city gates, it was confined to a tiny handful. Scattering money across a massive scale was genuinely rare! Jeff was currently trapped in a similar cognitive blind spot. Great Liang's society was no longer tribal, but someone lacking influence truly couldn't stir up any meaningful storm! He remained silent for a full five minutes before speaking up to ask, "An organization... like the fallen knights?" In the end, there was at least something comparable. "Pretty much," the youth replied calmly. "Actually, it won't cost that much." "Easy for you to say," one of the white-clad men couldn't help chiming in. "Do you have any idea how much it costs to bribe a knight?" He was a knight himself—get this straight, you're talking about buying off knights, not apprentice knights like you! "Shut up," Commander Jeff suddenly flared with rage. "Did I fucking give you permission to speak?" After a short while, he let out a soft sigh. "Actually, it might not require that much money. We only need to ensure the initial investment." Wu Youren kept his mouth shut. Linking together a large flock of wandering ghosts—how much could that really cost? So what if knights were a bit more expensive? Think about how massive your harvest would be once it succeeded! If the return on investment wasn't high enough, how could certain countries play Color and Spring to such dizzying heights? Another knight caught on as well, his voice turning sinister. "Entering the board is easy, but trying to leave... that will be difficult!" Wu Youren couldn't help nodding slightly. This one's intelligence seemed somewhat operational. "Nobody speak. Let me think." Jeff felt that his brain simply wasn't up to the task. For a dignified Commander of the New Army, such a display was rather humiliating. If he couldn't figure it out, he could always head back and ponder it at his leisure—just like the Duke of Wei's illegitimate son. Yet he knew full well that once he returned, if any doubts remained, there would be no one left to ask. There was someone right in front of him to question; why wait until he went back? As for losing face? Nonsense! He had already discarded all shame—what was a little more? After a long while, he spoke slowly. "Starting up will still require a sum of money."