173: Chapter 173 Deliberately Making Things Difficult

The next morning, at exactly eight o'clock.

In front of the abandoned warehouse in the southern suburbs of Kyoto, the mist had not yet dispersed, and a chill of late autumn permeated the air.

A row of luxury cars was parked by the roadside, and standing beside them was a group of listless young people with massive dark circles under their eyes.

Zhao Wujing yawned, feeling his entire body's bones protesting. Last night's massive cleanup had dragged on until four in the morning; he had only just returned home to nap for two hours when he was jolted awake by a nightmare. In the dream, that devil Lin Fan was holding a whip and forcing him to scrub toilets.

"Young Master Zhao, are we really going to do this?" a rich kid beside him asked with a bitter face, still holding a brand-new shovel with the tag untorn.

"Nonsense! Do you dare not show up?" Zhao Wujing glared at him, then lowered his voice and pointed to the row of burly men behind them wearing matching overalls and hard hats. "But, we have a countermeasure."

"This is a gold-medal renovation team I called in from home; they usually handle renovations for five-star hotels. That Lin Fan only wants results, so if we pay people to do the work, that should be fine, right?"

Hearing this, the rich kids' eyes lit up, and they all gave thumbs up. "As expected of Young Master Zhao, your mind works fast!"

Just then, the warehouse door opened with a "creak."

Lin Fan, dressed in loose casual clothes and still holding his signature thermos, walked out slowly.

He glanced at the massive group at the entrance, his gaze finally landing on the dozens of fully equipped renovation workers, and his eyebrows twitched slightly.

"So many people? Is this a party?"

Zhao Wujing hurriedly stepped forward, a fake smile plastered on his face. "Chief, isn't this to speed up the project's progress? These are professionals; they're much more efficient than us. Don't worry, we'll cover the wages and guarantee that this... this Strategy Department will be renovated magnificently!"

"Professionals?"

Lin Fan took a sip of goji berry tea and looked at Zhao Wujing with a half-smile. "Young Master Zhao, did you forget what I said yesterday?"

"Where is this?"

"New Martial Arts Special Strategy Department!"

"What level is this?"

"A military secret unit!"

Lin Fan's expression suddenly darkened, and his voice rose. "You brought in a bunch of civilians with unknown backgrounds; if national secrets are leaked, can you bear the responsibility?"

"Ah?" Zhao Wujing was dumbfounded. "This... this is just a broken warehouse..."

"A broken warehouse?" Lin Fan sneered. "A strategic deployment is just a broken warehouse? Zhao Wujing, I think you want to go have tea at a military court."

"No, no, no!" Zhao Wujing shuddered in fear and hurriedly waved his hands.

"Since you don't want to go, then tell them to get lost." Lin Fan pointed at the workers. "Leave the tools, and the people leave. For a classified project, you 'insiders' who signed non-disclosure agreements must do it personally."

"Ah?"

The group of rich kids let out a chorus of wails.

They thought they could pay for peace and quiet, but after spending the money, they still had to do it themselves?

Under Lin Fan's unquestionable gaze, Zhao Wujing could only wave his hand tearfully, making the bewildered renovation workers leave their tools and depart.

Looking at the electric drills, cement shovels, and brushes piled on the ground, these young masters and ladies, who had never done a day's hard labor in their lives, felt like the sky was falling.

"Alright, stop looking so miserable."

Lin Fan checked the time. "It's 8:10 now. Zhao Wujing, you're in charge of purchasing materials. Where are they?"

At the mention of this, Zhao Wujing, who was originally dejected, suddenly straightened his back.

He spread his hands, a look of helplessness mixed with a bit of schadenfreude appearing on his face. "Chief Lin, this isn't my fault. I called all the major building material suppliers in Kyoto early this morning and even visited two in person, but..."

Zhao Wujing drew out his words, secretly observing Lin Fan's expression.

"But what?" Lin Fan's expression was calm.

"But they won't sell."

Zhao Wujing let out an exaggerated sigh. "Chief, you might not know, but the Tang Family and the Qin Family joined forces last night to spread the word. They said anyone who dares to sell materials to this address is making an enemy of both families."

"You also know that in Kyoto, the Tang Family controls logistics, and the Qin Family controls resources. With their blockade, let alone deep sea sinking silver, even if I wanted to buy a bag of cement, no one would dare sell it to me."

At this point, Zhao Wujing was practically blooming with joy inside.

Serves you right!

That's what you get for being so arrogant!

Without materials, let's see how you, a commander without an army, handle the renovation!

As long as the project can't proceed, we have an excuse to slack off. When the military headquarters blames someone, it'll be Lin Fan's incompetence, so what does it have to do with us?

The other rich kids around him chimed in, each putting on a dramatic performance.

"Yeah, Chief, my cousin who's in the steel business hung up as soon as he heard it was for you."

"Same here. The boss selling psionic paint said if he dared to sell to us, his shop would be trashed tomorrow."

"Chief Lin, it's really not that we aren't trying; it's just that the enemy is too cunning!"

Everyone chimed in, appearing "desperate" on the surface, but in reality, they were all waiting to see Lin Fan make a fool of himself.

In their eyes, although Lin Fan had a military background and was a Grandmaster, he was still too green in Kyoto's complex circle of influential families.

Offending the Tang Family and the Qin Family meant being unable to take a single step!

These were the rules of Kyoto!

However.

Facing everyone's "complaints" and subtle mockery, Lin Fan didn't show the slightest panic or anger.

He still stood on the steps, gently turning the thermos in his hand, a playful smile even tugging at the corners of his mouth.

That look was like he was watching a group of self-important clowns.

"Can't buy it?"

Lin Fan chuckled, his tone as relaxed as if he were commenting on the nice weather. "The Tang Family and the Qin Family have quite a long reach, daring to block even my purchases."

"Yeah, Consultant Lin, why don't you report this to the higher-ups?" Zhao Wujing suggested insincerely. "Or perhaps you could go apologize to the Tang Family? After all, even a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake."

"Apologize?"

Lin Fan let out a sneer, as if he had heard the world's biggest joke.

He slowly closed the lid of his thermos and placed it casually on a nearby stone block.

"Zhao Wujing, you've got one thing wrong."

Lin Fan looked down at the group of rich kids waiting for a show and said calmly, "I never said I was going to buy their things."

"Since they don't want to make this money, there's no need to buy from them."

No need to buy?

The rich kids looked at each other in confusion.

How are you going to renovate without materials? Generate power with love? Or is this bringer of calamity preparing to back down?

Just as everyone was wondering, Lin Fan reached into his jacket pocket and unhurriedly pulled out a card.

It was a solid black-gold magnetic card with no text on its surface, only a gold-stamped "August 1st" emblem and a relief of two crossed swords.

Under the sunlight, the card emitted a cold and murderous aura.

"Since the Tang Family won't let us buy civilian supplies, we'll use military ones."

Lin Fan held the magnetic card between his fingers and waved it in front of Zhao Wujing. "The Kyoto Garrison Command's No. 1 Scrapped Material Reserve, have you heard of it?"