162: Chapter 162 My Super Wisdom Tells Me Not to Recklessly

However, this hustle and bustle did not belong to Lu Cheng and Su Wan.

Su Wan stood by his side, the brim of her hat pulled very low, half her face hidden in the shadows.

"What do you plan to do?" she asked.

Lu Cheng did not answer immediately.

He watched a reception motorcade from the Qian Family not far away.

Black hovering limousines were neatly parked along the dedicated lane. In front of each vehicle stood reception staff in uniforms, wearing golden "Qian" character badges on their chests, with smiles that were just right.

There were two choices at the moment.

First, force their way into the Qian Family.

Second, find a suitable identity to enter the Qian Family and wait for the right moment to make a move.

The first option had a low probability of success.

Not to mention that the Qian Family openly had a War King Realm bigwig sitting in charge, just the current security intensity of the entire Nanling City was already beyond what an ordinary family could achieve.

Patrol teams were everywhere: at the airship port, main roads, hotel districts, and the perimeter of the Qian Family Manor.

These people were not necessarily all from the Qian Family, but all of this indicated that the Qian Family had already pre-deployed control over the entire Nanling City.

For something that looked so conspiratorial, it was impossible for it to be as simple as just one War King Realm expert behind it.

Lu Cheng rubbed his temples.

My super intelligence tells me that I should use the second option.

Then the problem arose.

How could they sneak in?

They couldn't just find a waiter, knock them out, and change into their clothes to get in, right?

That method might work in a TV show, but in a place like the Qian Family, they would probably be swept out before even reaching the entrance.

Just as Lu Cheng was thinking, his terminal suddenly vibrated.

He looked down.

It was a message from Zhou Jinan.

"Brother Lu, I guess you have a headache right now, thinking about how to enter the Qian Family's banquet."

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know?"

The reply came back quickly with four words.

"Look behind you."

Lu Cheng paused.

He turned around slowly.

On the other side of the airship port lobby, Zhou Jinan was standing next to a silver-white pillar, wearing a well-tailored light gray formal suit, with gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking even more like a noble family young master than he usually did at the academy.

Two middle-aged men were standing next to him.

Neither of the two deliberately released their aura, but Lu Cheng could tell at a glance.

They were Hua Hai Realm bodyguards.

Zhou Jinan waved at him with a familiar smile on his face.

"Brother Lu, long time no see."

Lu Cheng walked over, looked at him, and then at the two bodyguards beside him.

"Why are you here?"

Zhou Jinan pushed up his glasses.

"To be precise, I was temporarily sent here by the academy."

"The academy?"

"Yes," Zhou Jinan nodded. "It just so happens that my family received an invitation from the Qian Family, and we were originally going to attend this centennial banquet tomorrow.

Director Shen contacted me, so since it was on the way, I came to pick you up."

Lu Cheng was silent for a moment.

Zhou Jinan looked at Su Wan and nodded politely.

"This is not the place to talk; let's get in the car first."

He didn't waste words and followed Zhou Jinan out of the airship port.

A black luxury hovering car was parked outside. The car body had no exaggerated decorations, but it was low-key and expensive.

After the car door opened, the interior space was much larger than it looked from the outside. The seats were soft dark leather, and there was tea and refreshments on the small central table.

After Lu Cheng sat inside, the car door closed automatically.

The noise outside was instantly cut off.

The car slowly drove into the night of Nanling City.

Zhou Jinan picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for each of Lu Cheng and Su Wan.

"Let's talk about business first."

He pushed a transparent light screen in front of Lu Cheng.

On the light screen was the information about the Qian Family's centennial banquet.

"This Qian Family banquet is ostensibly a centennial celebration, but in reality, there is a more important purpose."

Lu Cheng looked at the information... and replied,

"Selecting the next generation core?"

"Yes," Zhou Jinan said. "The Qian Family's ancestral lineage is in Rong City, which is your hometown.

It was only after they expanded that they established their headquarters here.

Over the past ten years or so, they have grown very large, and various branches have developed their own industries.

Some do source energy investment, some do transportation, some do medicine, and some even have collaborations with military projects."

He paused and continued: "The Qian Family is too big, so big that they must re-establish the next generation core figure, otherwise internal resources will sooner or later split."

Lu Cheng's gaze deepened slightly.

"So Qian Shuying must also come back."

"She is the eldest legitimate daughter of one of the branches, and she has good talent, having entered the Navigator Academy." Zhou Jinan glanced at Lu Cheng,

"This identity carries a lot of weight within the Qian Family."

Lu Cheng was not reassured by this statement.

On the contrary, he was even more worried.

Such a person... being taken back, and the news sent by Chu Xiuxiu was actually... that Qian Shuying is getting married?

Lu Cheng leaned back on the seat, fingers gently tapping the armrest.

"In other words, the seemingly prosperous Qian Family might now need to rely on marrying off a daughter to accomplish something."

Zhou Jinan did not answer immediately.

He looked at Lu Cheng's expression before slowly saying: "There is currently no evidence; I can only say it is possible."

"The Qian Family is not short of money, people, or resources.

The problems that would require them to use a marriage alliance to solve usually only fall into two categories."

"First, internal power balance."

"Second, excessive external pressure."

The carriage was quiet for a few seconds.

Su Wan suddenly spoke: "If it is external pressure, the other party is at least not weaker than the Qian Family."

"That's right," Zhou Jinan nodded. "That's why the academy asked me to come over, to first ensure you can enter the venue, and as for subsequent matters... Director Shen said it like this."

Zhou Jinan spoke, imitating Director Shen's tone.

"Do what you need to do, the academy will back you up."

After saying this, he took out two gold-red invitation cards from his pocket and placed them on the table.

"These are my family's accompanying spots. You will go in with me tomorrow night."

Lu Cheng picked up the invitation card and took a look.

There was no name on it, only "Accompanying Guest" written.

"It's that simple?"

Zhou Jinan laughed.

"For ordinary people, of course, it's not simple.

But for invited noble families, it is very normal to bring two accompanying members.

As long as you don't draw your sword at the door, you basically won't be stopped."

Lu Cheng looked at him.

"Then what happens after we get in?"

Zhou Jinan put away his smile.

"After we get in, we'll see."

Lu Cheng nodded.

The car drove through the financial district and finally stopped in front of a riverside hotel.

The hotel's outer wall was a solid dark blue glass curtain wall, a red carpet was laid at the entrance, and concierge staff stood on both sides. The lobby lights were soft, the air had a faint fragrance, and most of the guests coming and going were dressed in extraordinary attire.

Zhou Jinan had already arranged rooms in advance.

Lu Cheng and Su Wan each had a room, and Zhou Jinan lived on the same floor.

That night, Lu Cheng tried to check for news about the Qian Family through various channels.

Zhou Jinan also used his family's connections to have people inquire about the situation inside the Qian Family main residence.

But until late at night, there was no substantial gain.

The Qian Family's news was kept very tightly sealed.

Outside, it was brightly lit, lively, and noisy, but not a sound came from inside.

Lu Cheng stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the hotel room, looking at the distant Qian Family Manor.

That manor was located on the hillside north of Nanling City, and even from a long distance away, the golden lights could still be seen.

Motorcades were constantly entering and leaving on the mountain road, like flowing ribbons of light.

Lu Cheng sent another message to Qian Shuying.

"Reply to me when you see this."

The message still showed as delivered.

But there was no reply.

It was the same with Chu Xiuxiu, as if both people had been muted from this world at the same time.

Lu Cheng threw his terminal onto the bed, his eyes growing cold bit by bit.

Time slowly reached twelve o'clock at night.

The lights in the room were very dim.

The next second, a familiar system prompt popped up before Lu Cheng's eyes.

[Weekly Hextech refreshing...]

[This week's Hextech has been generated.]

[Audience Donation (Gold): The more people watching you, the higher the temporary bonuses you gain for "Strength, Physique, Speed, Source". For every 100 valid viewers, increase by 0.1%.]

Lu Cheng frowned slightly. This Hextech was actually gold, but a 0.1% bonus didn't feel like much...

Then he thought again... No, not to mention anything else, just the high school student competition with 150,000 people, that would be an increase of 150%...

The ceiling for this kind of thing was far higher than imagined.

Meanwhile.

In the next room.

Su Wan had just finished showering, wearing loose pajamas and sitting by the bed. Her wet hair had already been dried with Source Qi and hung softly behind her shoulders.

A panel that only she could see also appeared in front of her.

[Task settling...]

[Task Name: You are the Master, I am the Servant]

[Current Satisfaction: 90%]

[Evaluation: Extremely High]

[Rewards being distributed...]

[Obtained Reward: soul-calming glazed lamp]

A small glazed lamp appeared in her palm.

The lamp body was no larger than a palm, translucent throughout, as if polished from the purest ice crystal. A wisp of pale blue flame burned at the wick, but it had no temperature at all, instead emitting a quiet, cool aura.

Su Wan's eyes moved slightly... This thing had finally arrived...

[soul-calming glazed lamp]

[Grade: Special]

[Effect 1: Soul-Calming - Can stabilize mental fluctuations, reduce abnormal influences such as mental pollution, hallucination erosion, and memory disruption.]

[Effect 2: Nightmare Illumination - After lighting, can illuminate some hidden mental traces and soul pollution within a certain range.]

[Effect 3: Lamp Guard - The holder can entrust a wisp of mental imprint into the lamp, automatically blocking one mental impact when encountered.]

[Effect 4: Soul Refining - Can significantly increase the holder's soul cultivation speed.]

This thing came very timely. If the Qian Family's matter was really related to Black Seed, pollution, or some kind of mental control, this lamp might come in very handy.

With a thought, she opened the 'Work' log.

The previous few entries were all scattered, small-scale improvements.

For example, cooking.

For example, accompanying.

For example, handing water promptly after a battle.

When Su Wan scanned through them, her expression was still calm.

Until she saw the last record.

[Key Satisfaction Increase: Yesterday, you took the initiative to express a "friend" stance and chose to share the risk. The target's inner sense of security increased significantly. Satisfaction +18%.]

Su Wan's fingers stopped.

She looked at that line of text, not moving her gaze for a long time.

She didn't expect to get such a high satisfaction increase because of this...

She didn't know what this had to do with master and servant...

In her past life, she had walked for too long and had seen too many people die on the road.

So long that she was used to not truly putting anyone in her heart.

Because if you put them in, it would hurt. In that future, the more important a person was, the easier they became a weakness.

But this life seemed different.

Lu Cheng, Qian Shuying, Chu Xiuxiu, and those noisy people.

She closed her palm and put away the soul-calming glazed lamp.

"Friends, huh..."