339: Chapter 339 I envy your figure, let me first recruit a trusted underling.

“Hello there, friend.”

The young man's voice was clear and gentle, carrying an inexplicable sense of rhythm as it echoed softly in the empty stairwell.

His manners were polite, and his face wore just the right amount of friendliness, as if he were an acquaintance met by chance at some high-end cocktail party.

Fang Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly.

He quickly recognized that this person was his somewhat eccentric neighbor living in Room 1803, right below him.

“What a coincidence, running into you here.”

The young man seemed quite familiar, taking a step forward to close the distance between them.

“I went to visit your place the night before last, but no one answered the door. Are you usually very busy with work?”

“Is there something you need?”

Fang Cheng didn't answer his question but asked in return, quietly sizing him up from head to toe.

The man wore an exquisite pure white shirt and well-fitting casual trousers, standing tall, slim, and straight.

The Patek Philippe watch on his wrist still gleamed with a low-key luxury in the somewhat dim light.

Yet, despite this elite appearance, he wore a pair of blue flip-flops on his feet, the kind easily found in any supermarket.

This highly mismatched combination made his appearance even more bizarre, causing Fang Cheng to secretly raise his guard.

It was no different from facing a patient who had just wandered out of a mental asylum.

“Nothing in particular.”

The young man flashed a bright smile, seemingly entirely unbothered by Fang Cheng's scrutinizing gaze.

“Since we live in the same building, we should drop by more often to foster good neighborly relations.”

His gaze drifted, landing on the bulging shopping bags in Fang Cheng's hands.

Seeing this, he eagerly took two steps forward.

“You bought so many things. Are they heavy? Let me help you carry them.”

“No need.”

Fang Cheng's brow furrowed imperceptibly as he stepped aside to avoid the other's outstretched hand.

However.

The young man seemed completely oblivious to the cold, standoffish attitude.

He still persistently reached out, firmly grabbing the handles of two of the bags.

“Don't be polite. Neighbors should help each other out; it's only right.”

Fang Cheng's movement paused briefly, but in the end, he didn't pull them back by force, letting the man take two of the bags.

“Hiss...”

As soon as the young man took them, he gasped.

The relaxed expression on his face instantly froze, and he grimaced.

“My goodness, these really are heavy! You've got some serious strength!”

He looked with some envy at Fang Cheng's well-defined arms under his short sleeves, then glanced at himself.

“You climbed over a dozen flights of stairs and aren't even out of breath. That's impressive.”

As he spoke, he gave Fang Cheng a heartfelt thumbs-up.

Fang Cheng shook his head helplessly, not responding.

This guy was about the same height as him, but his frame was like Fang Cheng's when he first started working out, looking rather thin under his clothes.

Each carrying two heavy shopping bags, the two of them slowly walked upstairs, chatting casually along the way.

“By the way, friend, my name is Su Zhe. You can call me Xiao Su. How should I address you?”

“Xiao Fang.”

“Xiao Fang?”

Hearing the name Fang Cheng gave, Su Zhe repeated it, turning his head with a trace of curiosity in his tone:

“What do you do for a living? Looking at your physique, are you a fitness coach? Or an athlete?”

“Yeah, I've done both.”

Fang Cheng replied indifferently, showing no intention of revealing any more information.

Soon, they reached the nineteenth floor.

The two of them walked into the semi-open foyer one after the other. Fang Cheng took out his key and inserted it into the keyhole of the security door.

Su Zhe naturally set the bags on the floor and, as the door opened, peered curiously into the apartment.

His gaze was instantly drawn to the large black punching bag hanging in the center of the living room.

Looking at that 'behemoth' which was taller than a person, a deep interest instantly flickered in his eyes.

“Your home's decor style is very unique. Are you a fighter? Would it be alright if I came in for a look?”

He looked at Fang Cheng with anticipation, like a child who had discovered a novel toy.

“No, it's not convenient.”

Fang Cheng's reply was resolute.

“Uh...”

The smile on Su Zhe's face instantly froze.

Clearly, he hadn't expected the other party to refuse so bluntly and ruthlessly, without any regard for social etiquette.

“Thanks.”

Fang Cheng put his keys in his pocket and thanked him.

Then, he picked up the other two bags from beside Su Zhe's feet, turned around, and prepared to go inside and close the door.

“Wait!”

Just as the door was about to close, Su Zhe suddenly called out.

A hand quickly shot out, bracing against the edge of the heavy door.

Fang Cheng turned back, his brows furrowing again, a flash of displeasure in his eyes.

He wanted to see what this eccentric guy was planning to do.

“Lend me some money.”

“???”

Fang Cheng's eyebrows shot up, wondering if he had misheard.

Su Zhe shrugged, then pointed at his feet, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world:

“You see, I can't even afford a decent pair of shoes. I've been unemployed lately, facing financial difficulties, and can only wear slippers when I go out.”

He looked up, gazing sincerely at Fang Cheng with his clear eyes:

“As the saying goes, one good turn deserves another. I helped you, so shouldn't there be some reward?”

“How about... you lend me five hundred yuan first to help improve my quality of life?”

Fang Cheng stared at him for a full three seconds.

Then, he silently set down the shopping bags, pulled his wallet from his pants pocket with his right hand, and counted out six brand-new hundred-yuan bills.

Su Zhe's eyes instantly lit up, as if he had laid eyes on some rare treasure.

“Xiao Fang, your name might be 'Fang', but you're incredibly generous!”

He snatched the money, stuffed it into his pocket, and then waved at Fang Cheng with satisfaction.

“Thanks! See you, friend!”

Watching his back as he skipped down the stairs in his flip-flops, humming a little tune, only two words came to Fang Cheng's mind:

“Freak.”

Withdrawing his gaze, Fang Cheng frowned slightly and smacked his lips.

For some reason, he felt that this over-familiar guy seemed to have a strong interest in him.

It felt... like meeting an old friend he had known for years.

That overly handsome face flashed through his mind.

Fang Cheng suddenly thought of a certain possibility, shuddered, and immediately snuffed out the absurd thought.

No matter who he is, if he dares to mess with me, my fists will do the talking.

Bang!

The heavy security door slammed shut, shutting out the outside world.

Fang Cheng let out a soft sigh and carried the four bags of food into the kitchen.

Then, he lifted the lid of the large freezer.

Cold air drifted up, revealing a storage area already packed with quite a few ingredients.

He began to categorize and organize all the purchased goods.

The top layer consisted of ready-to-eat cooked food and frozen items, such as braised beef, pork pies, custard buns, and dumplings.

The middle layer had rows of milk, freshly squeezed juice, eggs, and various vegetables.

The bottom layer was packed with raw meat and seafood wrapped in layers of plastic wrap: beef shank, pork ribs, chicken breast, chilled large shrimp, and so on.

It was a dazzling and beautiful sight.

Looking at the fully packed freezer, a solid and fulfilling sense of security welled up inside him.

After finishing all this, Fang Cheng casually took a bottle of chilled fresh orange juice from the freezer, unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back, and gulped it down.

He casually tossed the empty bottle backward.

Clang.

The bottle traced a parabola through the air, landing precisely in the black trash can in the corner of the living room.

The hour hand of the wall clock had already passed three o'clock.

The apartment had excellent natural light; even though it was afternoon, the interior remained bright and airy.

Fang Cheng grabbed a chair, sat in front of the wide French windows, and looked out at the scenery.

Looking out from this height, the view was vast and excellent.

Nearly a kilometer away, the golden beach was dotted with tourists.

Further away on the seaside cliff, the white lighthouse, abandoned for years, stood like a lonely sentinel, silently watching over the sea and sky.

After watching quietly for a moment, Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze and picked up a newspaper he had grabbed at the supermarket.

He skipped the front-page political news entirely and flipped to the entertainment section on page three.

The entire page was filled with groundless gossip, with headlines more sensational than the last.

Things like 'A certain director selecting concubines on set' or 'A certain actress's slightly protruding belly, already ten months pregnant'.

Fang Cheng's gaze quickly swept past the headlines he had no interest in.

Finally, he focused on one of the news items.

“Former member of 'Smiling Boys', Cheng Jiashu, mysteriously disappears; suspected to be troubled by love, fleeing with a new flame?”

After reading through the entire news report, Fang Cheng rubbed his chin thoughtfully and muttered to himself in a low voice:

“Six days have already passed...”

He set the newspaper down, his eyes growing deep.

His gaze turned out the window again, but his thoughts drifted back to that stormy night last Saturday.

Everything he had secretly witnessed in the orphanage that night was still vivid in his mind.

With the near-teleportation spatial ability Cheng Jiashu possessed, the Noah Organization trying to catch him was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Fang Cheng could even imagine a scene.

Right now, Cheng Jiashu was probably hiding in some unknown, dark corner, watching the news about himself on TV with a mocking curl of his lips, sneering at those pursuers who were running around like headless chickens.

Of course, the Noah Organization would never let it go.

They were likely planning a more thorough capture operation, or searching everywhere for the mole who leaked the information.

As Fang Cheng pondered, he continued to flip through the newspaper casually.

Inadvertently, his eyes fell on the weather forecast on the back page of the newspaper.

The forecast showed:

“Influenced by southwestern air currents, Dongdu City will experience continuous rainfall accompanied by thunder and lightning over the next two days...”

A thunderstorm?

Fang Cheng's eyes flickered slightly, his fingers gently rubbing the edge of the newspaper as if weighing something.

The next moment, his rubbing motion stopped abruptly, and his gaze suddenly sharpened.

After making a decision, his consciousness immediately withdrew like a tide, sinking into the depths of his mind.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself inside the Memory Palace, where golden light spheres floated.

Fang Cheng's mind locked onto one particularly bright and conspicuous star among the dozens on the dome.

“One-Way Projection.”

As he muttered the words in his mind, an invisible channel instantly bypassed the barriers of space, extending toward the other end of the city.

The scenes in his vision began to flash past rapidly.

Tall buildings, streets, traffic...

It was as if countless camera shots were constantly switching before his eyes.

Finally, his gaze pierced through the layers of light and shadow, landing on a dusty demolition site.

Xiaosa, wearing a tank top with holes in it, was swinging a heavy sledgehammer with both arms, striking a dilapidated wall with all his might.

Debris flew and dust swirled.

He was dripping with sweat, his bronze skin glistening in the sun, looking darker and much thinner than before.

Suddenly, his arm holding the hammer handle trembled slightly, and the sledgehammer almost slipped out of his grasp, nearly hitting a coworker carrying bricks nearby.

“Fuck! Didn't you fucking eat today?”

The coworker was startled and cursed loudly.

“Sorry, my bad, my bad!”

Xiaosa quickly apologized, his expression looking very complex.

He quickly put down the hammer, walked to the side to rest, and wiped the sweat from his face.

Then, his eyes suddenly focused as he cautiously responded to the voice that had abruptly sounded in his mind.

“Ex... Expert? Boss? Is that you? Where are you?”

He murmured in a low voice, his eyes warily scanning the surroundings with a hint of anticipation and a touch of anxiety.

However, on the construction site, besides the roaring machinery and working laborers, there was no sign of the figure he expected.

Fang Cheng's voice sounded in his mind once more, calm and authoritative:

“It's not convenient for me to show myself for now. From now on, you will represent me and contact Chen Chen's side.”

“Ah?!”

Xiaosa cried out in surprise, a look of disbelief on his face.

A few coworkers nearby looked over at the sound, whispering and gesturing at him.

Judging by their lip movements, they all seemed to be calling him an 'idiot'.

“You are unwilling?”

No emotion could be heard in Fang Cheng's voice.

Xiaosa shuddered, seemingly recalling what had happened that night in the Yuanchen Group building.

He quickly covered his mouth and frantically replied in his mind:

“I'm willing! I'm willing! Don't worry, Boss, I'm a hundred percent willing!”

“Just say the word, and I'll do anything! I swear I will never betray you. If I leak even half a word, let lightning strike me down, and may I not...”

“Alright.”

Fang Cheng cut off his excited, somewhat incoherent declarations of loyalty.

“You should have Chen Chen's contact information, right?”

“Tell him that I have agreed to cooperate. You will arrange a meeting with him tonight and have him prepare all the information.”

“Remember, carry yourself with authority. You represent me, so don't let him look down on you...”

Listening to the instructions in his head, Xiaosa nodded repeatedly in agreement.

When the brief secret communication ended, he was still caught in a mix of excitement and tension.

He was excited that the unfathomably powerful expert had actually taken him on as a trusted subordinate!

He was nervous, fearing that he might perform poorly and mess up the very first task the Boss had entrusted to him, ruining the Boss's reputation.

Xiaosa clenched his fists tightly, his eyes becoming incredibly determined.

He had to get this job done beautifully!

Thinking of this, he suddenly turned around and ran out of the construction site.

“Hey! Xiaosa! Where are you going? The work here isn't finished yet!”

Seeing this, his coworker shouted.

“I have an emergency, going to make a call!”

Without looking back, he dashed off and vanished in a flash. (End of Chapter)