71: Chapter 71 Black Stockings Girl

Chu Qi was currently sitting at the window of the Supernatural Management Association hall. There were not many people coming to register today, and since it was a slow period, she could space out.

She wore black-rimmed glasses, had her hair in a ponytail, and was dressed in a professional suit—a blazer paired with black stockings—exuding a mix of professionalism and sexiness.

At that moment, she was tapping her foot, looking at the new high heels she had bought; because they were new, they were pinching her feet slightly.

She was planning to take them off to relax.

Just then, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

"Ahem, can you hear me?"

As soon as the voice appeared, Chu Qi jumped in fright, nearly falling off her chair.

She looked around, terrified and bewildered.

However, her colleagues around her were all at their desks, either working or slacking off; no one was paying her any mind.

"Stop looking. I'm not one of them; I only exist in your mind!"

At these words, Chu Qi's body stiffened, and her eyes trembled.

"You... are you... a Mental Energy manipulator?"

Among Awakened Ones, there were those capable of remote Mental Energy manipulation, but such people were rare, and their strength was not great.

Ling Yichen immediately sneered and replied: "Don't compare me to that kind of trash. Frankly, you should have already noticed the traces I left on you. After all, this isn't my first time coming to find you."

Hearing this, Chu Qi's gaze froze; she already had the answer in her heart.

In fact, for days now, she had often felt like she had done something important, but she couldn't remember what it was.

After experiencing this several times, she became exceptionally cautious. Whenever such a situation occurred, she would immediately check her computer records.

And this led her to a shocking discovery.

She found that she had created several fake files and had searched for the data of people she didn't know at all.

This discovery terrified her beyond words.

But she didn't dare report it to her superiors because she had no evidence.

If she dared to report it, her superiors would definitely think she had done it. Once held responsible, it would be difficult for her to continue working here, and she might even lose her head.

Therefore, for the first little while, she lived in extreme torment.

It only improved slightly recently because she noticed she hadn't done anything similar for a while.

She had thought it was all over, until now...

"You... are you Ling Yichen?"

Chu Qi immediately said Ling Yichen's name.

This actually surprised Ling Yichen for a moment.

But on second thought, he felt relieved.

He had once manipulated Chu Qi to handle fake documents for him, and he had also manipulated her to handle fake documents for Ling Yixuan.

As long as she was careful enough, she would be able to discover this.

However, before he could speak, Chu Qi suddenly changed her tone: "Respected sir, you must be a very powerful and great person. If you are willing, I am willing to become your servant, as long as you are willing to take me in and protect me!"

Uh...

Ling Yichen was slightly caught off guard.

She was offering her allegiance voluntarily?

That simple?

But he quickly understood.

This was the Central District, which followed the law of the jungle more than anywhere else; the strong were kings here.

Many people had a tendency to admire strength.

When encountering strong people, they were willing to become the other's subordinate to gain some protection, even if it meant losing some freedom.

But... staying alive was the most important thing.

People without the protection of the strong had a hard time surviving here.

Someone capable of remotely manipulating others' actions was definitely an extremely rare powerhouse.

If she could gain the favor and protection of the other party, that would be a good choice.

So, Ling Yichen understood Chu Qi's thoughts in an instant.

And this made him very happy.

At least it saved him some breath.

"Very good. You are smart, and I do need a subordinate to handle things for me."

"Since you are willing to follow me, I am willing to accept you."

"But the premise is that you must have the courage to face death and a loyalty that will never betray me."

"Of course, I'm not afraid to tell you: if I want to kill you, no matter where you run, a single thought from me can easily erase you!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Qi was not surprised at all.

She had understood this long ago.

If the other party could control her silently, killing her would be as easy as pie. All he had to do was manipulate her into jumping off a building, and her life would end.

So she immediately replied respectfully: "I am willing to pledge my life to you, my lord, and will never betray you!"

Ling Yichen smiled and replied: "Hmm! I have a matter for you to handle right now. Tell me, where in the Central District can I buy the cheapest, highest-quality seven-leaf lotus heart?"

Chu Qi was stunned, but immediately replied: "There are many places in the Central District to buy seven-leaf lotus heart. The various VIP pharmacies under the Six Great Families sell them, but the prices are inflated. The cheapest prices are at the Supernatural Management Association and the military's Quartermaster Department. Among them, the military's Quartermaster Department has the lowest prices, but they require military merit. Therefore, the best purchasing channel is the Supernatural Management Association."

"Of course, there is another place where you can buy seven-leaf lotus heart, and that is the black market. However, the black market is an illegal area, and the prices cannot be determined—they can be high or low. If you need it urgently, the Supernatural Management Association is your first choice!"

Ling Yichen heard this and understood immediately.

"How much does it cost per unit at the Supernatural Management Association?"

"Replying to you, my lord, the external retail price at the Supernatural Management Association is 200 points each. The internal price for regular members is 180 points each, for senior members it is 160 points each, and for top-tier members it is 140 points each. I have a regular membership, so I can buy them at the relatively discounted price of 180 points each."

Ling Yichen heard this and was immediately delighted.

180 points wasn't bad; at least it was 20 points cheaper than 200 points.

Don't underestimate 20 points; if he bought a lot, he could save a lot.

Given his consumption, he would need more and more seven-leaf lotus heart in the future—the amount would be shockingly large.

So, being able to get a 20-point discount was extremely good.

At the same time, he immediately thought: "It seems I need to find an opportunity to improve Chu Qi's status in the Supernatural Management Association, get her to become a senior staff member or top-tier staff member, so I can buy even cheaper seven-leaf lotus heart."

Thinking this, he immediately replied: "Very good. Then after you get off work, go buy 5 boxes for me. You can deduct the points directly from my account!"

"Okay, my lord. Do you need me to deliver it to you?"

At these words, Ling Yichen was silent for a moment.

Chu Qi also suddenly froze, her face flushing, but she was mostly filled with fear.

Her words were ambiguous. If the other party were someone with evil intentions, he might take advantage of her.

If the other party didn't have that intention, or was even disgusted by it, either way, it would be enough to put her in danger.

"I'm sorry, my lord, I..."

Chu Qi apologized hurriedly, her tone full of panic.

Ling Yichen sighed softly. It really wasn't easy for the average person to live; they had to think carefully before answering even the simplest questions.

So he said calmly: "It's fine, I don't mind. You don't need to deliver it. Notify me once you've bought it, and I'll find someone to pick it up. That's all for now!"

Having said that, Ling Yichen directly cut off the connection.

He also let out a long sigh of relief.

Although he had exposed his situation to a certain extent, it wasn't a big problem.

In Chu Qi's heart, she thought he was someone capable of remote Mental Energy manipulation, but in reality, he wasn't.

Regardless, gaining someone who could purchase herbs for him long-term was not bad.

"I'll have to contact Lin Hao later. As a member of the Lin Family, he must also have channels to buy seven-leaf lotus heart, and the prices might be even better."

Thinking of this, Ling Yichen frowned slightly.

"I wonder if this kid has figured things out. If he has, and plans to fight Lin Cong for the position of head of the Lin Family, then I can think highly of him and cultivate him more. If he's just a piece of trash, too cowardly to even have the courage to fight, then I'll just discard him, treating him as a humanoid cultivation tank, and look for a more suitable candidate later."

"And the Xu Family..."

The images of Xu Tiansheng and Xu Hui flashed through Ling Yichen's mind instantly.

Xu Tiansheng was not to be trifled with, and that Xu Hui didn't look like an easy mark either.

However, the Xu Family had already exposed their murderous intent toward him.

Since that was the case, he couldn't be blamed.

Since others had exposed their murderous intent, how could he remain indifferent? He had to take some self-preservation actions, right?

Thinking of this, cold light flashed in his eyes.

At this moment, Ling Yixuan's voice came from Ye Qingzhu's house: "Brother, time to eat!"

Ling Yichen immediately collected his thoughts and got up to walk toward Ye Qingzhu's house.

...

After a quick lunch, Ling Yichen returned to his room to wash up.

After washing up, he immediately received a message from Chu Qi: "My lord, everything has been taken care of."

Seeing the message, Ling Yichen immediately snapped his fingers.

The White Cat at Ye Qingzhu's house immediately appeared at the door.

With a look of exchange between them, Ling Yichen had already given the order to it.

It immediately turned and ran outside.

And Ling Yichen quickly changed his clothes, told Tang Juan, and headed to school.

20 minutes later, Ling Yichen arrived at school and came to the Research Institute.

When Long Daoyi and Tian Yingying saw him, both were shocked.

"Are you okay? Why are you pushing yourself so hard? You're still so young, you have plenty of time. Was the cultivation task the teacher gave you too heavy?"

Long Daoyi said with great concern.

When he heard that Ling Yichen had fainted due to over-cultivation, he went directly to the old man and scolded him for a while.

After hearing this, the old man also frowned and sighed, then gave the jade box containing the seven-leaf lotus heart to Long Daoyi, asking Long Daoyi to have Tian Yingying take it back and pass it to Ling Yichen.

"Here, Master was scolded by me, I don't know where he went. This is the seven-leaf lotus heart he asked me to give to you. Take it and use it to properly restore your Mental Energy!"

Listening to Long Daoyi's words, Ling Yichen didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"No need, give it back to Master. I'm fine." Ling Yichen refused.

seven-leaf lotus heart wasn't cheap, and the teacher's point subsidy was only enough to buy one box; this was also what he needed most himself.

However, Long Daoyi shoved it over.

"I told you to take it, so take it. Master doesn't actually need to use such good things. Later, I'll get him some five-leaf lotus heart, and that will be enough." At this moment, Long Daoyi was domineering and confident.

Apparently, he had made significant progress in cultivating five-leaf lotus heart.

Hearing this, Ling Yichen didn't refuse any further, just silently keeping this favor in his heart.