Chapter 81: Equivalent Exchange (I'm a bit excited today, so I'm adding an extra chapter to make up for it)
Xu Le left the office and went straight home. According to the report from the shadow warrior who was monitoring Zhang Chulan, Zhang Chulan had received news that his grandfather's grave had been dug up and hurriedly returned to his hometown.
After walking a few steps, a black Mercedes stopped beside Xu Le. The window slowly rolled down, and Xu Xiang, sitting in the back seat, said to Xu Le, "Let me give you a ride!"
Xu Le opened the car door and got in, asking Xu Xiang, "How's your recovery going?"
"Not bad, I never thought that my old bones could regain their energy."
Xu Xiang replied with a smile, took out a black briefcase from under his seat and handed it to Xu Le, saying solemnly, "These are the cultivation techniques I collected from extraordinary individuals. However, most of them are low-level techniques. After all, high-level techniques are firmly controlled by sects. There are only a few in here, so please don't be offended."
Xu Le opened the box, inside which were neatly arranged more than a dozen books, including low-level martial arts such as Taizu Changquan, Wuhu Duanmen Dao, and Tiesha Zhang, as well as higher-level internal martial arts such as Quanzhen Menfa.
Xu Le wasn't too disappointed. He was just using these as a reference for his own path. As for the truly useful techniques, the Eight Skills were still the best. Feng Baobao had the Old Farmer's Skill, which was also known as the Qi Body Source Flow. It was a technique for forging Qi and body.
Xu Le casually tossed the box out the window. Xu Xiang was startled and couldn't help but exclaim, "Why did you throw that away? It's a bit low-grade, but these things shouldn't be allowed into the ordinary world. Xiao Wu, slow down and find a place to park."
Seeing Xu Xiang's anxious expression, Xu Le chuckled and said calmly, "Don't worry, look outside."
There weren't many pedestrians on the street. A dark shadow appeared on the ground where the box was. When the box fell on it, it seemed to sink into a lake. After a while, it disappeared, and then the shadow also disappeared.
"What amazing Qi! Who exactly are you?" Xu Xiang also witnessed this miraculous scene and was shocked. He had traveled all over the country for so many years and had never seen such a miraculous technique that could actually contain objects.
"You must have told those people on the board that they know my abilities, right?" Xu Le didn't answer, but instead asked another question.
Xu Xiang wasn't surprised. He smiled kindly, like a benevolent old man, and replied, "They know my body best. If I suddenly get better, they'll definitely be suspicious. Rather than letting them be suspicious, it's better to tell them directly to avoid trouble and unpleasantness for everyone."
What a cunning old fox!
Xu Le thought to himself that he was cunning. Sure enough, one should not underestimate anyone. Just like Xu Xiang in the comic, who was thinking about Feng Baobao's future even before he died, making people sigh that he was a good person.
But after all these years of struggling, he has survived and holds a very high position in South China. He has been able to outwit and outmaneuver those in power for so many years, while also keeping Feng Baobao's identity hidden for decades. How could he possibly be a pure and innocent person?
"To live long without dying is to be a thief." His long life had given him a wealth of experience. He was a good person, but that was to his family and Feng Baobao. To his subordinates, he was a dignified superior. To his enemies, he was a troublesome and detestable opponent.
This time, it seemed like they didn't want to cause any more trouble, but in reality, they were directly provoking the board of directors to test Xu Le and find out his background.
However, Xu Xiang did not expect Xu Le's reaction to be so strong and his attitude to be so firm and unforgiving, so he brought these things to apologize.
Xu Le throwing things out the window was a warning and a show of force, meant to tell Xu Xiang to behave himself.
"Tell those guys on the board that if they want something, they should trade it to me with something of value. I prefer equal exchange, but if they're trying to get something for nothing, tell them to get lost. I don't have time to waste on these little things."
Xu Le stated his conditions: he preferred equal exchange, provided both parties were on equal footing. If someone was a weakling with no power, then Xu Le would devour them completely, leaving not even bones behind.
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiang gave a wry smile and frowned. Although Xu Le's words were arrogant, as if he were a naive young man who dared to challenge a company with influence all over the country just because he had some strength, Xu Xiang had felt Xu Le's immense power and knew that he could do what he said.
After careful consideration, Xu Xiang realized that he was right. As long as the principle of equivalent exchange was followed, he would also make the transaction. Although some people on the board of directors might have objections, this was already the best way to handle the situation.
Xu Xiang sighed and said self-deprecatingly, "Young people these days are really getting more and more amazing. Even this old man is starting to fall behind the times."
Xu Le didn't mince words and continued, "After all, your era has passed, and this new era belongs to the young people."
"Haha, that's right." Xu Xiang stroked his beard and laughed heartily.
The car arrived at Xu Le's apartment shortly after. After saying goodbye to Xu Xiang, Xu Le returned home, where Liu Yanyan had already prepared lunch—a few simple home-style dishes. Although plain, they tasted good.
After finishing their meal, Xu Le chatted with Liu Yanyan for a few minutes before returning to his room.
Inside the room, the shadowy warrior stood by, awaiting orders, and all the supernatural martial arts manuals from the briefcase were neatly arranged on the table.
Xu Le casually opened a book on the Five Tigers Severing the Gate Saber. It only contained explanations of the moves. Although they weren't very strong, they were still quite useful for someone like Xu Le who hadn't had enough time to accumulate power.
………
In the hospital filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant, a man in a black robe walked slowly down the corridor. He seemed to be ignored by everyone; everyone who passed by seemed not to notice his strange attire and walked away as if no one was there.
As they turned a corner, a middle-aged woman in a cleaning worker's uniform and wearing a mask said mysteriously to the two people beside her, "Do you know what? I heard someone came to the next ward!"
Who is it?
"I heard his name is Liu Yun, a PhD student. I heard that because his family was poor, he secretly went to his professor's house to steal things at night. When his advisor discovered him, he accidentally fell down the stairs and hit his head while fleeing, becoming a vegetable. Fortunately, his advisor was kind and took him to the hospital and paid for his medical expenses, otherwise this guy would have been dead."
The man in the black robe stopped and listened attentively to their conversation.
"How can someone be so shameless as to steal from their own teacher? Who is their teacher?" Another cleaner cursed indignantly, standing up for the teacher, and then asked curiously.
The middle-aged woman glanced around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to their conversation, whispered, "His teacher is Xu Bowen. He recently published his research findings, which caused a sensation both at home and abroad. The news about him has been on TV for the past few days."
"Xu Bowen, is that the scientist who is about to successfully develop neural connection technology? My son keeps saying that if it succeeds, there will be virtual reality games, Sword Art Online will be made into reality, and so on. Although I don't understand it, it seems very amazing."
"What are you doing? Hurry up and clean up instead of chatting." Suddenly, a female doctor in a white coat came out and interrupted their conversation.
"We'll go right away." After saying that, the three middle-aged women hurriedly left.
The female doctor looked at the gossipy middle-aged women and said irritably, "All you do is chat. I haven't even cleaned my office properly; it's still dusty. I still have to go check on Liu Yun, the thief. Why send someone like that to the hospital? It's a waste of land if he dies."
After saying that, she swayed her hips and walked away, not noticing that there was someone behind her.
In ward 404, a pale-faced young man lay on the hospital bed with his head bandaged and some bloodstains remaining on the back of his head.
The female doctor gave Liu Yun a cursory examination and left the ward, showing absolutely no professional ethics.
Liu Yun was the only patient in the ward. After the female doctor left, Liu Yun and the man in black were left alone together.
The man in black robes placed a ball of light into his arms, covered it with his clothes, and turned to leave.
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