127: Chapter 127 Building a Team: Hiring Agents and Security

Section 1: The Urgent Need for Team Building

The heat from the livestream where a hundred thousand sets of traditional martial arts protective gear sold out in seconds had not yet faded when Chen Wu's Martial Arts Advancement Base was overwhelmed by a flood of affairs. Lin Mo's tactical tablet received over 3,000 collaboration offers every day, ranging from sports brand endorsements to traditional martial arts-themed variety shows, and from overseas teaching collaborations to film and television IP development. The dark circles under the youth's eyes were so heavy they looked like they had been painted with ink, and his fingertips trembled as they flew across the keyboard: "Brother Chen Wu, I can't hold on much longer! I was still filtering collaboration letters at three o'clock yesterday morning, and today another 500 overseas agency applications have been added. If this continues, I won't even have time to practice my boxing!"

Even more troublesome were the security risks. The Technical Department's "Qi Energy Warning System" had captured abnormal signals for three consecutive days: drones from overseas counterfeit organizations were circling the perimeter of the base, trying to film the production process of the protective gear; a mysterious account was frequently testing the donation account of the Traditional Martial Arts Universal Benefit Plan, suspected of trying to steal public welfare funds; there were even unidentified people disguised as fans trying to sneak into the training area to get close to Chen Wu—while patrolling the high-altitude Qi Energy corridor, Zhang Hao had intercepted a suspicious person carrying a "Qi Energy Detector." The person claimed to be delivering a gift, but the device was hidden in a secret compartment of the gift box.

"We must form a professional team." Chen Wu stood atop the Hard-Soft Tower, looking at the busy but chaotic scene in the base, the Qi Energy core at his Dantian glowing with a solemn light. "Lin Mo cannot handle so many affairs alone, and safety issues cannot rely solely on our own patrols—we need a manager who understands operations and a security team that understands Qi Energy. Only then can we focus more of our energy on the traditional martial arts Legacy."

Elder Wang's dry tobacco pipe made a dull thud against the side of the tower, the sparks from the pipe bowl particularly striking amidst the pale gold earth vein Qi Energy. The old man pulled out the tombskeeper team records left by his grandfather, with yellowed pages containing the "Tomb Guardian Team List" from 1949: "Your great-grandfather had a 'Civil Assistant' (responsible for clerical affairs) and a 'Martial Guard' (responsible for security) back then." The pipe bowl pointed at the names on the list. "The traditional martial arts Legacy has never been a solo effort. Professional people doing professional things is the only way to go far!" Two bronze plaques suddenly flew out from the camphor wood chest, engraved with the words "Manager" and "Security." Pale gold Qi Energy spread along the bronze pieces, drawing a "Team Architecture Map" on the ground, clearly marking the core responsibilities of "Manager," "Security Captain," and "Administrative Assistant."

Flower Girl's inheritance grass bloomed beside the architecture map, its eight-colored petals unfolding toward the collaboration offers on the tablet. Dewdrops rolled on the leaf surfaces, reflecting the cluttered categories of offers: there were high-quality brands that truly wanted to help traditional martial arts, and speculative merchants who wanted to use the hype to make money; there were public welfare collaborations that could promote the Public Welfare Plan, and unreasonable terms demanding Chen Wu give up public welfare to focus on commercial interests. The young girl dripped "Resonance Dew" onto the petals, and the seven-colored light merged with the invitation letters, automatically marking "High Compatibility" collaborations—these brands either promised to invest 15% of their profits into traditional martial arts public welfare or were willing to produce teaching equipment for impoverished areas for free. "Elder Zhou said that when choosing a team, one must first look at the 'heart'," her fingertip lightly touched the bronze plaque. "A manager must identify with the traditional martial arts philosophy, and security must know how to protect the Legacy; otherwise, no matter how professional they are, it's useless."

In the comments of the global livestream, fans had already begun spontaneously recommending candidates. "Watcher of Huangtu Slope" Lao Zhao left a message: "I have a veteran brother at the construction site who has practiced Baji Fist and served in the special forces. He's perfect for security!" Nurse Emily from London recommended: "There's a volunteer at our hospital who used to be a manager for sports stars and helped athletes with public welfare projects. He's very reliable!" Amir from Egypt sent an "Overseas Security Resource List": "There's a Qi Energy security team near the pyramids that can identify ancient martial arts Qi Energy threats. I can help you connect with them!" Real-time data from the Technical Department showed that in just 24 hours, the number of candidates recommended by global fans exceeded 1,000, including 320 manager candidates and 680 security candidates.

The Section Chief of the Special Incident Response Department also sent support: "Government departments have screened 10 top managers and 5 professional security teams." She projected the candidate profiles onto the stone wall of the Hard-Soft Tower. "They all have experience with cultural heritage projects. For example, this Su Qing previously handled the commercial operations for a non-material cultural heritage paper-cutting project, bringing the art of paper-cutting into primary and secondary schools. And then there's this 'Jinwei Security' team; all members have practiced traditional martial arts and participated in operations against Hydra, so they have rich combat experience."

Section 2: Manager Screening: Philosophy Is More Important Than Ability

The Chen Wu team's "Manager Interview" was held in the Martial Arts Lecture Hall at the training grounds of the Martial Arts Home. Ten candidates sat at a long table next to the Qi Energy Pyramid, with a "Question Bank" compiled by Lin Mo in front of them—but the first question of the assessment exceeded everyone's expectations.

"Please tell us your understanding of 'traditional martial arts livestream sales'." Chen Wu didn't ask about past performance, but instead fixed his gaze on the first candidate. The other party was a well-known entertainment manager in the industry who had made three traffic stars famous. Upon hearing this, he immediately began to talk eloquently: "Of course, it's about expanding commercial value! With your current popularity, you can completely take on high-priced endorsements and then open a traditional martial arts-themed livestream room. Sales commissions could triple. As for public welfare, just do a symbolic amount; the main thing is still making money..."

Before he could finish, Elder Wang's dry tobacco pipe slammed onto the table with a "thud," sparks from the pipe bowl splashing onto the candidate's documents: "We are looking for assistants for the traditional martial arts Legacy, not profit-seeking merchants!" The old man flipped through the tombskeeper team records and pointed to the "Civil Assistant Guidelines": "Your great-grandfather's Civil Assistant back then saved on food and clothing just to help poor students scrape together tuition, not even willing to buy new clothes for himself. With your mindset, you don't deserve to sit here!" The candidate's face turned the color of pig liver as he grabbed his documents and left in a panic, while the comments section filled with a flurry of "Well said."

It wasn't until Su Qing walked into the lecture hall that the atmosphere finally softened. This lady, dressed in an elegant cheongsam, didn't bring a flashy resume. She only held a handwritten "Traditional Martial Arts Public Welfare Operations Plan," with a "Public Welfare Sales Process" she had designed for her previous heritage project pasted on the title page: "Teacher Chen, my understanding of traditional martial arts sales is as a bridge for 'commercial feedback for inheritance'." She opened the plan, which detailed "Collaboration Screening Standards" (public welfare proportion ≥ 10%, products matching traditional martial arts needs), an "Affairs Division Table" (brand connection, public welfare implementation, fan interaction modules), and even took "Lin Mo's schedule" into account. "When I was managing the paper-cutting heritage project, I insisted on 'culture first, commerce second.' In six months, I brought paper-cutting teaching into 200 primary schools while also achieving profitability—traditional martial arts operations should also follow this path."

Lin Mo's eyes instantly lit up. He pointed to the most troublesome "Overseas Agency Applications" on his tablet: "Sister Su, half of these overseas applications don't mention public welfare and even demand exclusive agency rights. How would you handle them?" Su Qing took the tablet, her fingertips sliding quickly, and she categorized them into two types within three minutes: "Those marked in red demand exclusivity but are unwilling to invest in public welfare; reject them directly. Those marked in blue are willing to cooperate with the construction of local traditional martial arts teaching sites; we can negotiate further, such as having them provide protective gear for the teaching sites for free in exchange for regional agency status." She even drafted an "Overseas Agency Collaboration Template" on the spot, where the "Public Welfare Clauses" were marked in bold red, requiring agents to submit quarterly teaching site construction reports or face disqualification.

Flower Girl's inheritance grass bloomed at Su Qing's feet, its eight-colored petals gently brushing against her shoes. Dewdrops rolled on the leaf surfaces, reflecting Su Qing's Qi Energy fluctuations—steady and warm, without a trace of utilitarian restlessness, highly consistent with the Qi Energy trajectory of the Traditional Martial Arts Universal Benefit Plan. The young girl dripped "talisman power dew" onto the petals, and the seven-colored light spread along Su Qing's pant legs, forming a miniature "Martial Arts Totem" in her palm: "Elder Zhou said, 'Qi Energy cannot deceive people'," she looked up and smiled. "Sister Su's Qi Energy matches ours very well; she truly wants to help traditional martial arts."

In the global livestream comments, fans had already begun "cloud voting." "Nurse Emily" left a message: "Ms. Su's public welfare philosophy matches our hospital's traditional martial arts rehabilitation project perfectly! Support her!" "Amir" gave a thumbs up: "The overseas agency plan takes teaching sites into account; that's so thoughtful!" The Technical Department's "Philosophy Compatibility Test" showed that Su Qing's answers matched the core demands of Chen Wu's team by 96%, far exceeding other candidates—Chen Wu reached out his hand: "Sister Su, welcome to the team."

Section 3: Qi Energy Assessment of the Security Team

With the manager confirmed, the recruitment of the security team became even more urgent. When the "Jinwei Security" team recommended by the Special Incident Response Department arrived at the base, it happened to be just as the Technical Department captured a new abnormal signal: in an abandoned factory three kilometers away, there were five black Qi Energy fluctuations, identical to the characteristics of the previous overseas counterfeit organization, suspected of planning a raid on the training area.

"Our people must not only know modern security but also understand traditional martial arts Qi Energy." Zhang Hao stood at the entrance of the base, the Mystic Water Energy on his iron arms glinting coldly as his gaze swept over the five security team members who had come for the assessment. "If you can't even see a Qi Energy trap, how can you protect everyone?"

Lu Feng, the captain of Jinwei Security, took a step forward. He wore a black combat uniform and stood tall as a pine, with pale brown Xingyi Energy condensing in his palm—this was a rare "military-traditional martial arts Fusion" Qi Energy, possessing both the ferocity of military combat and the flexibility of Xingyi Fist. "Senior Zhang, rest assured," Lu Feng's voice was steady and powerful. "All five of us in the team have practiced traditional martial arts. I have practiced Xingyi Fist for ten years, the vice-captain practices Baji Fist, and the three team members practice Taiji, Wing Chun, and Tongbeiquan respectively. We have previously participated in missions to dismantle Qi Energy traps for anti-Hydra operations and have guarded the ancient book archives for the Xuanshui Pavilion."

The assessment was divided into three stages: Qi Energy identification, practical defense, and crisis handling. The first stage was in the Qi Energy Waterfall Training Area. Flower Girl had set up 10 "miniature Qi Energy traps" (using talisman power dew to simulate traces of poisonous energy) in the surroundings, requiring the security members to find all of them within five minutes. Lu Feng's Xingyi Energy spread from his fingertips, and he quickly locked onto the first trap—a dark red mark on the inner wall of a cooling tower. He tested it with the "Qi Energy Test Paper" he carried, and the paper immediately turned purple: "It's simulated Seven Despairs Poison Energy, medium concentration; it can be neutralized with Energy-Severing Dew." The other team members were not to be outdone. Vice-captain Li Meng used Baji Energy to shake the ground, finding the second trap hidden under a brick; the member practicing Taiji discovered the third one hidden in the waterfall's flow through Qi Energy movement—just as the five minutes were up, all 10 traps were marked with 100% accuracy.

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The second stage is practical defense.

Zhao Lie volunteered to be the "assailant," and the old man's Baji Energy, carrying the sound of wind being torn apart, slammed toward Lu Feng—according to the rules, security team members could not attack actively and could only defend.

Lu Feng did not dodge or evade; he condensed his Xingyi Fist into a "Bear-Shape Defense Shield" in front of him. When it collided with Zhao Lie's fist energy, a ripple spread through the light-brown Qi Energy circle, and he actually withstood the move head-on!

"Good lad, you've got some skills!" Zhao Lie's eyes lit up. He increased his intensity, raising his Baji Energy to 70%. Although slight cracks appeared on Lu Feng's defense shield, it still wasn't broken. He even took the opportunity to use the "Alligator-Shape" of Xingyi Fist to dissipate the force, causing Zhao Lie's fist energy to veer off course and smash into the sandbag beside them.

"The third stage: responding to sudden crises."

Lin Mo suddenly played a simulated scenario: an overseas imitation organization raided the training area, simultaneously using a "Qi Energy Jammer" to block the perception talisman signals and holding the children who were practicing martial arts hostage—Lu Feng's team immediately divided the work: Li Meng led two team members to form a "Defense Circle," using Baji Energy and Taiji Power to block the assailants' attacks; the team member practicing Wing Chun quickly evacuated the children, using "Sticky Hands" techniques to avoid the effects of the jammer; Lu Feng circled behind the assailants, and his Xingyi Fist precisely struck the core of the jammer, instantly restoring the signal—the entire process took only 2 minutes and 15 seconds, twice as fast as the Technical Department had expected.

Grandpa Wang's dry tobacco pipe tapped out a dull sound beside the assessment area. The old man tapped Lu Feng's combat uniform with the pipe bowl: "Did you sew a 'Qi Energy Protective Layer' into this clothing?"

Lu Feng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and lifted his collar, revealing the light golden lining inside: "It's blended with traditional martial arts 'Dragon Vein Fabric.' It can block 30% of Qi Energy impact. When I was carrying out a mission at Xuanshui Pavilion before, it helped me block a hidden weapon with poison energy."

The bronze heart protector in the camphor wood box suddenly flew out. The light golden Qi Energy resonated with Lu Feng's Xingyi Fist, and the two characters "Martial Protection" on the mirror lit up, as if acknowledging this new guardian.

In the global live stream chat, fans cheered for the security team's performance.

"Watcher of Huangtu Slope" Old Zhao commented: "Captain Lu's Xingyi Fist is even more authentic than the martial arts masters at my construction site! With them here, we can rest easy!"

Amir from Egypt sent an "Overseas Security Cooperation Plan": "I have contacted the Qi Energy Security Team at the pyramids. In the future, we can support each other for overseas teaching points!"

The Technical Department's "Security Capability Assessment" showed that the Jinwei Security's Qi Energy recognition accuracy, practical defense capability, and crisis handling speed all reached the "Top-tier traditional martial arts Security" standard, fully capable of dealing with current security threats.

The New Team's First Collaboration

On the first day that agent Su Qing and security captain Lu Feng joined, they were met with a "practical test."

At 9:00 AM, just as Lin Mo handed the organized cooperation letters to Su Qing, an alarm came from the Technical Department: "A five-person squad from an overseas imitation organization has broken through the perimeter warning and is moving toward the protective gear display area. Their goal is to snatch the samples of the custom protective gear!"

"Captain Lu, take two people to the protective gear area to set up defenses, focusing on protecting the display stand under the Gangrou Tower; Li Meng, you take one person to guard the high-altitude Qi Energy corridor to prevent them from breaking through from the air; team members practicing Taiji Power, cooperate with Zhang Hao to reinforce the entrance defense."

Su Qing's voice was more urgent than usual, but she showed no signs of panic. While handing Chen Wu the location map of the protective gear samples, she quickly operated her tablet, "I have contacted the assault team from the Special Incident Response Department; they will arrive within 10 minutes. What we need to do is stall for time and don't let the samples be snatched."

Lu Feng's team acted immediately. When he and his team arrived at the protective gear area, two men in black had already pried open the glass of the display stand and were reaching for the custom wrist guards—Lu Feng's Xingyi Fist suddenly erupted, and light-brown Qi Energy shot out like an arrow, precisely striking the wrists of the men in black. The wrist guards clattered onto the stand.

"If you want to snatch things from traditional martial arts, you have to get past me first!" Lu Feng's Xingyi Fist unfolded; his Bear-Shape defense blocked the opponent's counterattack, and his Alligator-Shape dissipated the force to neutralize the sneak attack. His movements were smooth and flowing, making the global live stream audience exclaim that it was "cool as hell."

On the other side, Li Meng intercepted the other two men in black at the high-altitude Qi Energy corridor.

The opponents were carrying "Qi Energy Thrusters," attempting to break through quickly along the track, but Li Meng's Baji Energy was faster than them—the old man smashed a fist onto the thruster, and the device made of dark iron instantly deformed. The men in black lost power and fell from the track, where they were pinned down by Zhang Hao, who arrived shortly after, using his iron arms.

The last man in black saw that the situation was bad and tried to disguise himself as a fan to slip out, but he was seen through by a team member practicing Taiji Power.

"Your Qi Energy fluctuation is wrong," the team member's Taiji Power spread along the opponent's arm, "An ordinary person's Qi Energy is stable, but your Qi Energy hides traces of Spirit-Devouring Energy. You still want to pretend?"

The man in black suddenly pulled out a "Qi Energy Bomb," but the team member gently pushed it away with Taiji Power. The bomb fell to the ground and was frozen by the assault team, who had arrived just in time, using power-breaking dew.

The entire process took only 8 minutes, even shorter than the time Su Qing expected.

When the assault team escorted the men in black away, Su Qing was organizing the "Crisis Handling Report" on her tablet. It detailed the response time for each segment, personnel assignments, improvement suggestions, and even noted details like "the protective gear display stand needs to be equipped with a Qi Energy lock."

"This is the follow-up security upgrade plan," she handed the report to Chen Wu, "I suggest adding a 'Qi Energy Induction Electric Grid' to the perimeter of the base, installing 'Fingerprint + Qi Energy Dual Unlocking' in the protective gear area, and establishing a 'Security Linkage Mechanism' with global traditional martial arts teaching points so that if there are any anomalies, we can support each other."

The Flower Girl's inheritance grass bloomed beside the new team, and its eight-colored petals unfolded toward the security plan on the tablet.

Dewdrops rolled on the leaves, reflecting the "Qi Energy Security System" in the plan: combining Lu Feng's team's traditional martial arts Qi Energy defense with the Technical Department's modern warning equipment, and then integrating the inheritance grass's "Poison Energy Warning" capability to form a "Triple Defense Line"; Su Qing was responsible for combining the security plan with public welfare projects, such as letting volunteers at overseas teaching points also learn basic Qi Energy recognition to become "distributed security sentries."

"Elder Zhou said, 'The power of a team is not addition, it is multiplication,'" the little girl's fingertips lightly tapped the petals, "Now that we have a professional team, the path of traditional martial arts inheritance will be walked more steadily."

The New Journey of Team Empowerment

In the first week after the new team was formed, the Martial Arts Advancement Base underwent earth-shaking changes.

Su Qing divided tasks into three major modules: "Commercial Cooperation," "Public Welfare Operations," and "Fan Interaction," with a dedicated assistant for each module. Lin Mo was finally able to unload his heavy burden and spent two hours every day practicing Baji Fist with Zhao Lie; Lu Feng's security team replanned the patrol routes, setting up "Qi Energy Sentry Posts" at key locations such as the Gangrou Tower, the Qi Energy Waterfall, and the protective gear area. The number of warnings from the Technical Department dropped from 10+ per day to 0, and the sense of security in the base visibly improved.

What was even more surprising was the launch of "traditional martial arts IP Systematic Operation."

Su Qing selected 10 high-quality partner brands, including the "traditional martial arts Universal Benefit Custom" protective gear launched in collaboration with "Wu Hu Jia" (donating 5 yuan for every set sold to rural teaching points), the "Xingji Fist Training Suit" in cooperation with a sports brand (the design incorporates Gangrou trajectory patterns), and even the "traditional martial arts Universal Benefit Story Collection" in cooperation with a publishing house (collecting stories of traditional martial arts from ordinary people like Old Zhao and Nurse Emily)—these collaborations not only expand the influence of traditional martial arts but also continuously provide blood for public welfare projects.

Lu Feng's security team became "traditional martial arts Security Instructors."

They opened "Qi Energy Security Classes" at the base, teaching ordinary Martial Artists to identify abnormal Qi Energy and respond to raids; they also produced the "traditional martial arts Security Manual," which was distributed for free through the global live streaming platform. The manual contains both modern security techniques and traditional martial arts Qi Energy defense methods, such as "Using Xingyi Fist to identify traps" and "Using Taiji Power to dissipate force and escape"—Amir from Egypt took the local children to study the manual and successfully identified a suspicious person disguised as a tourist once.

The global live stream camera recorded the daily life of the new team: Su Qing was connecting with public welfare organizations in the Traditional Martial Arts Lecture Hall, and the large screen behind her displayed the donation progress in real time; Lu Feng was teaching team members to identify poison energy beside the Qi Energy Waterfall, and his Xingyi Fist intertwined with the waterfall's Qi Energy into a light golden net; Lin Mo was finally able to practice martial arts with a smile, his Baji Energy more powerful than before; Chen Wu stood at the top of the Gangrou Tower, looking at the orderly scene in the base, and the Qi Energy pellet at his Dantian gave off a relaxed glimmer.

Grandpa Wang's dry tobacco pipe tapped out a brisk rhythm beside the lecture hall. The old man flipped through the "tombskeeper team records" and added the names of Su Qing and Lu Feng to the new team list. He tapped the list with the pipe bowl: "If your great-grandfather knew that there is now such a professional team helping to pass on traditional martial arts, he would definitely tap his dry tobacco pipe with a thunderous sound!"

The two bronze plaques in the camphor wood box—"Agent" and "Security"—were hung on both sides of the base's main entrance. The light golden Qi Energy resonated with the earth vein Qi Energy of the Gangrou Tower, as if "consecrating" the new team's journey.

The Flower Girl's inheritance grass bloomed beside the main entrance, and its eight-colored petals unfolded toward the direction of the global live stream camera.

Dewdrops rolled on the leaves, reflecting the blessing messages from global fans: "With Sister Su and Captain Lu here, traditional martial arts inheritance has more confidence!" "Looking forward to the 'traditional martial arts Universal Benefit Story Collection,' I want to give it to my children!" "The security class is so practical, I learned how to identify Qi Energy traps!"

The little girl dripped "vitality dew" onto the petals, and the seven-colored light merged with the global bullet chat Qi Energy, forming a huge "Team" totem above the base, symbolizing the perfect Fusion of professional strength and the traditional martial arts spirit.

The final frame of the global live stream stayed on a group photo of Chen Wu's team and the new members.

Chen Wu stood in the middle, with Su Qing holding the "traditional martial arts Universal Benefit Story Collection" on the left, and Lu Feng holding the Xingji Fist training suit on the right. Lin Mo, Zhang Hao, Zhao Lie, and others stood on both sides, with the Qi Energy Pyramid and Gangrou Tower behind them. In the training area in the distance, ordinary Martial Artists practiced safety lessons under the guidance of security team members—the bullet chat finally scrolled a neat line of text: "Professional team empowerment, security defense lines fortified; a new journey of traditional martial arts universal benefit begins, and the road of inheritance is wider!"

This message was lit up by 72 billion viewers simultaneously, like a warm and firm river of light, illuminating the Martial Arts Advancement Base. Chen Wu knew that with the help of a professional team, they could make the inheritance of traditional martial arts deeper and more solid: letting more children wear protective gear to practice martial arts, letting more ordinary people benefit from traditional martial arts, and letting the light of traditional martial arts, with the blessing of professionalism and passion, illuminate every corner of the world. And this is just the beginning of the new journey.