GAMMT - Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Bottom Line
The exams in Jingyang City were about to begin, so the Education Ministry called a meeting. The three Green Blood noble families and the leaders of various other factions were all summoned.
The so-called meeting was simple: speak nicely, listen carefully, and that would be all. Don't do what you're not supposed to do. Let the examination process run its course without any shenanigans. Otherwise, when the clear water comes to a boil, all the river shrimp inside will be cooked. Understood?
Xie An was a master of social graces, far more approachable than the Lan Clan's firecracker of a patriarch or the Teng family's cold, wolfish old leader. Throughout the venue, he was the picture of sophisticated charm, effortlessly navigating every interaction.
The Lan patriarch snorted softly and said to the Teng patriarch beside him, "If you hung up a few red lanterns, I'd think this place was a red-light district and its top courtesan was drumming up business."
Was that a pleasant thing to say?
Xie An pretended not to hear.
The Teng patriarch said coolly, "Then would you pay?"
The Lan patriarch paused. "I definitely wouldn't. It's not worth it."
Xie An took a deep breath, his face darkening as he shot them a cold glare.
Sparks flew as the three patriarchs looked at one another, until the Lan patriarch let out a mocking laugh.
"I hear you've found another son? Ah, Lao Xie, it's a good thing we don't have a tradition of throwing a banquet every time a lost child is found in Jingyang City. Otherwise, the gift money would bankrupt us all."
Only men of their rank dared to make such cutting remarks, and only some dared to laugh. Everyone else remained silent, because the look on Xie An's face was truly ugly.
To this day, it wasn't just the outside world that considered a certain person a disgrace to the Xie Clan; the clan itself felt the same way.
A garbage star, a woman of ill repute—what kind of child could be born and raised in such an environment, by such a mother?
Later, it was proven that he was indeed worse than mud, because mud could at least be slapped on a wall, even if it was useless.
But this Xie Keli…
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, someone from the Education Ministry arrived. Before the meeting could even begin… a brilliant light appeared outside the door.
A bird with two wings of light flew through the window.
It landed on the table, lowered its beak to preen its glass-like light feathers, and then addressed them. "I am Divine Temple Guard Number 13. I am here to report a case of robbery and assault that was just apprehended outside the Divine Temple. In accordance with the rule that cases involving offenders under the age of twenty are to be handled by their legal guardian, I have come to notify said parent."
"Xie An, your son's name is Xie Keli."
The light bird looked at Xie An.
Xie An's face turned green. He was utterly fed up with this son and was thinking it would be best to just get rid of him.
But the Lan patriarch was amused. "Well now, Lao Xie, don't tell me your son got into trouble. Those from the garbage star really are different, so ignorant. No parents to teach them… ah, how pitiful."
The light bird turned to the Lan patriarch. "So, Lan Clan Head, did you teach your son to rob people?"
Lan Clan Head: "?"
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.
At that moment, sounds came from the light bird.
A young man seemed to be crying, "Dad, where are you? Save me! I really didn't mean it! I was wrong, you have to come save me! Grandpa~~"
Another young man called out weakly, "Dad, where are you? Come quick, I was robbed and beaten up. My face hurts so much. Can you come to the station and get me out?"
Unbeknownst to the two fathers, Xie and Lan, two other fathers were also present.
The four fathers stared at each other.
The perfectly fine meeting hall had turned into a live version of "Where Are We Going, Dad?"
But now, they all certainly had to go to the same place to bail out their sons.
Inside the Arcane Palace, four youths were squatting in a row against a white wall. Passing students would cast a few glances, pointing and whispering.
Fu Chuan said, "Sir, can I get up? I'm the victim who got beaten up."
Guard Number 13 glanced at her. "I almost forgot. You can stand."
Fu Chuan stood up, but after seeing the looks from the people around her, she squatted back down.
Number 13: "What's wrong?"
Fu Chuan: "It seems even more shameful to be standing. Makes me look like I'm in cahoots with them, part of the same den of snakes and rats."
The three snakes and rats beside her: "???"
Number 13 scanned her but didn't pay much mind. After a while, representatives from the Teng Family and Xie Clan arrived to collect their people.
Xie An had even come personally. The two families had to go through the procedures.
Number 13 looked at them and stated flatly, cutting to the chase, "There are two ways to handle this. First, let the Divine Temple handle it. Compensation will be paid according to our rules, covering both economic and physical damages. Economic losses are calculated at one hundred times the value, physical damages at ten times. Furthermore, this punishment will be recorded in their identity performance records, and their dungeon performance scores will be reduced by a coefficient of -5.55 for one year."
They weren't top-tier talents to begin with, their levels mostly boosted by resources. If their performance scores were reduced, would their levels drop too?!
The fathers present looked grim. The three sons were on the verge of tears, constantly crying out for their fathers to save them.
The Lan patriarch wanted to slap his idiot son, but he still had to ask, "And the second option?"
"Second, the Divine Temple will not be involved. It will be treated as a criminal case. We'll drag them over directly, and they'll be sentenced according to the law."
So how would they be sentenced?
It depended on the amount stolen. Anything over 500,000 copper coins could be subject to a criminal investigation; otherwise, it would be treated as an economic dispute.
But the sentence for a criminal case depended on the value. The estimated value this time was in the tens of millions, enough to land these three idiots in prison for life.
Everyone fell silent, except for a certain country bumpkin from the garbage star, who rubbed his injured face and muttered, "It's that serious… Does that mean they'll have to go inside and work the sewing machines?"
In this world of steampunk and high technology, prisons still favored good old-fashioned labor reform.
Lan Chenguang was stunned. He never imagined it would be this serious and was about to cry from fear.
The Lan patriarch's face turned even greener, but he realized there was no negotiating with the Divine Temple. The only way out was to have it treated as a criminal case and then deal with the Xie Clan indirectly. As long as the other party didn't press charges, the matter could be minimized.
But!
This was no longer a children's squabble. The two families had already torn off all pretenses. The matter of Xie Yong and the other man's deaths hadn't even passed yet. The Teng Family was already at a disadvantage, and if they bowed their heads now, the Xie Clan would bite off a huge chunk of their flesh.
The Lan patriarch felt incredibly aggrieved, but did he have a choice?
"Honestly, the kids are still young. It was just a little squabble between them. There's no need to blow it up like this, right, Lao Xie?"
Xie An almost laughed. "Lao Lan, I understand you feel wronged. After all, just a moment ago you were pitying me for my second son being useless mud, and now your own well-raised child has gotten into this mess, his future all but gone. Of course you're anxious. But we have to handle this according to the law."
The other two fathers also pleaded their cases.
But Xie An just played for time, wanting to let the bullet fly for a while and make the three fathers sweat.
Xie An's shrewdness was on full display.
Number 13 couldn't be bothered with their bickering. "You have ten minutes to consider. Give me your decision in ten minutes."
He left to get a drink, leaving them alone in the room.
The Lan patriarch gritted his teeth. "What do you want?"
Xie An smiled, adjusted his sleeve, and glanced at the clock. He didn't want to delay the Divine Temple personnel outside.
Even though he was just a minor guard captain, the temple he represented was massive. They couldn't afford to offend him.
"I want that piece of land in the southern suburbs."
The three fathers' faces turned green. The Lan patriarch laughed in anger and was about to refuse.
Xie An said, "Gentlemen, don't forget, the new policy from the Education Ministry this time is no small matter. You only have two or three sons each. Lose one, and he's gone. Isn't a man's life all about building an empire for his sons? This child of mine, he's had a hard life, wasn't raised by my side. I finally found him, only for him to suffer such a great injustice…"
At first glance, his words seemed reasonable, but they were actually dripping with hypocrisy and reeked of falsehood. Fu Chuan felt a wave of disgust and turned her face away.
Did the three patriarchs agree?
They did.
Although the land in the southern suburbs was worth tens of millions of green coins—or a hundred billion copper coins—it was far from enough to shake the core interests of their families. At most, it just made them feel disgusted and that it wasn't worth it.
But compared to their children's futures?
They had to give up this piece of flesh. They had to swallow this bitter pill.
An agreement was reached. Number 13 said nothing and simply let them proceed with the paperwork…
Fu Chuan spoke up. "What about my compensation? If I don't press charges, will they retaliate against me later? Do I still retain the right to file a criminal complaint? Sir Number 13, will you be archiving this file and the confession?"
Number 13: "We will."
That was the key point. The Lan patriarch and the others were old foxes. They immediately looked at Xie An. A flicker of light passed through Xie An's eyes before he said, "Of course not. We're all friends. Ah Li, come here. In a way, these three are your younger brothers. You two should get to know each other."
The moment Fu Chuan heard Xie An's overly familiar and cloying tone, she knew her interests were secured. Otherwise, she could file a complaint at any time, and the Divine Temple would have the records on file.
If she went back on her word, their agreement would be void.
Number 13 held his thermos and watched as the people who were just trading barbs and sarcastic remarks were now calling each other brothers.
It was nothing new. This kind of thing happened all the time. Nobles loved this sort of drama.
Once interests and face were satisfied, what couldn't be forgiven?
Right then and there, in front of the Lan patriarch and the others, Xie An transferred a sum of money to Fu Chuan.
One billion copper coins.
It was a signal that he had tied up his loose ends, and they needed to hurry.
Fu Chuan feigned ecstatic joy, and the others thought her reaction was normal. After all, she was from X5. Aside from her affairs on X5, the farm was also generating income, so Xie An was well aware that it was normal for this illegitimate son to have a few tens of millions. Besides, Zhou Linlang might have given her some benefits as well.
The contract was naturally signed.
With the money in hand, Fu Chuan excitedly requested to go shopping.
Xie An said dotingly, "Go on, buy whatever you like. We'll go home together with Dad later."
Fu Chuan knew very well that beneath Xie An's facade lay scrutiny, vigilance, and an indescribable coldness.
He suspected her.
Xie An was a man with a strong need for control. He trusted no one and would test them repeatedly until he could completely manipulate them, squeezing out every last drop of value for his current or future interests.
"Okay, Dad."
After leaving, Fu Chuan maintained her smile and ecstatic expression, shopping like a nouveau riche.
Once everything was settled, the Lan patriarch and the others left with their dejected sons. Xie An turned to thank Number 13, saying he had been a bother.
He was very polite.
Number 13's response was measured. He gave him face but wasn't overly friendly.
Finally, Xie An said, "I must thank Captain 13 for going out of your way to save my foolish son. Otherwise, he would have been harmed."
Number 13 replied, "It wasn't on purpose. He bought a low-grade reaction furnace and dropped the manual. That furnace has caused a lot of trouble; most people can't handle it. The Palace was planning to delist it. Seeing how he looked like a total rookie, I was afraid he'd get himself killed, so I chased after him to give him the manual. That's when I ran into them."
The muscles on Xie An's face visibly relaxed. "Is that so? That silly boy, so careless. I'll teach him a lesson when we get back. Thank you so much."
As soon as Xie An left, another guard approached. "This Xie An is an interesting one, investigating even his own son. No wonder the Xie Clan hasn't fallen, even with the Teng and Lan Clan secretly allied against them. But was his son doing it on purpose? Such a coincidence?"
Number 13 thought for a moment. "At first, I thought it was intentional. But if he had the ability to detect those three kids tailing him in advance, his talent definitely wouldn't be low. And if he's that cunning and sharp, he would have been better off luring them to an arena. He could have scammed more money and made a name for himself. With the exams coming up, wouldn't he want to perform better to gain his family's favor and more resources? Why take such a roundabout way, needlessly offending several families and putting himself in danger? Isn't that just foolish?"
That seemed right.
"But you seem too certain."
Number 13 raised an eyebrow and turned, walking away slowly. "Outside the Divine Temple, we're not exactly forbidden from checking on people."
It was illegal, but who would know?
And he had seen that the kid's attributes, while trash on the surface, were actually quite unusual underneath.
"What, is he very strong?"
"Level 9, average attributes over a thousand. Nothing special. But from their conversation and the files, this kid seems to have just returned from the garbage star with no educational background. So, it's actually quite good. At least he'll have no problem making a living in their family in the future. But for him to be so good at pretending, he must have realized his old man doesn't think much of him. He's biding his time."
"The rise of the useless young master? This kid has read too many novels."
"Who knows? Kids are always a bit naive. Once the exams start, he'll know how cruel it is. For someone with an inadequate foundation, the probability of climbing back up after being weeded out is zero."
Fu Chuan was certain that the combination of her pet locust merging with her, the disguise of the "Low-Key Breather," and the barrier from the Devouring Scroll had indeed fooled the eyes of these guards. That meant it could also fool people like Xie An.
"The pet-master contract rules plus the Devouring Scroll's barrier are indeed enough to deceive people up to level 40."
But even before confirming this, she had confirmed something else much earlier: those three local thugs had seen her in line and recognized her. Given their arrogant style and the fact that she had previously undermined their families' interests with the farm, they were bound to retaliate.
In that case… she was heading to the shopping center anyway. If they followed her, they couldn't blame her for taking action.
Of course, she hadn't originally planned to make a big deal out of it. But then she found herself short on cash.
So… she decided to borrow a little money and, while she was at it, be a filial child and help her cheap father score some points.
The exams were coming. That spot was still available, right?
Xie An was an absolute egoist. When it came to a family quota, he wouldn't possibly give it to someone from a branch family again. Besides, since she had caused the Teng and Lan Clan to suffer setbacks, didn't her cheap father now have a reason to suppress the branch families? It would logically fall to her then.
Hopefully, this old dog wouldn't disappoint her.
Fu Chuan clutched the freshly acquired 1 billion copper coins, but her heart was calm.
She really disliked Xie An. He was too stingy.
Even if she were a salesperson closing a deal, this commission rate was far too low.
He had pulled off a risk-free con, and this was her cut?
If you kept a dog by the door and tossed it a meat bun, there would at least be some meat inside.
For a family head who was clearly cunning, calculating, and capable to be unwilling to share a reasonable cut of the profits—and to only do so after she prompted him—could only mean that in his eyes, her persona was still disposable, even something to be suppressed.
She had no doubt that if it were necessary and he was confident he could clean up the mess, this man would kill her without hesitation.
But first, she had to see if there was an airship waiting to pick her up outside.
Fu Chuan quickly placed an order for one billion, spending one hundred million on a top-tier green-grade reaction furnace and keeping the remaining nine hundred million in reserve for the exam period.
With her business concluded, she left the Arcane Palace. As soon as she stepped outside, she saw an airship waiting.
She watched it for a moment, then lowered her gaze and smiled.
Xie An, oh, Xie An. He really knew how to keep up appearances.
She boarded the vehicle and returned to the Xie residence. The moment she walked in the door, she learned something.
The selection for the family's Gene Pool was about to be announced.
The Gene Pool?
Fu Chuan followed the guard, a hint of anticipation in her heart.
"Second Young Master, this way. That's the clan elders' meeting hall over there, and this is the young masters' area."
But when the doors to the ancestral hall opened, she saw two green cypress trees in front of the main and branch family areas in the front hall. Behind them were two orange trees… the bright yellow oranges were growing well. And at the long table, there were a total of seven chairs.
Four people were already seated. Interestingly, all four looked quite similar.
Their expressions varied when they saw Fu Chuan.
You could read the situation from their faces. They probably knew she had been beaten up, but not the full extent.
Soon, one of them with a buzz cut gave Fu Chuan a friendly greeting.
"Second Brother is here."
"Second Brother, the rule in our family is to be seated according to age."
"So…"
The buzz-cut youth extended a long leg and used it to pull out the seventh chair beside him. "Please, Second Brother, take a seat here."
Humiliation, pure humiliation.
Fu Chuan figured they didn't know the details yet. They had judged her based on the fact that she had been beaten, assuming her to be weak. To be so passive right before the exams meant she was either truly useless or truly pathetic. So they looked down on her and felt they could provoke her. At the very least, this buzz-cut youth had been tacitly approved to test her.
Fu Chuan rubbed her nose, walked over, and pulled the seventh chair back. Just as she was about to sit, Sixth Brother Xie stuck his leg out again and hooked the chair away.
Fu Chuan froze for a second, then turned to look at him.
Sixth Brother Xie grinned. "Second Brother, this chair is dirty. There are new ones in the warehouse. Why don't you go get one?"
Fu Chuan scanned the expressions of the others.
Some were indifferent, some pretended not to see, and some…
Fu Chuan thought for a moment, glanced at the list about to be refreshed on the wall, and pulled the chair back with one hand. With the other, she took out a vial of potion. After quickly downing it, in the instant her agility and strength surged, she gripped the chair.
Bang!!!
The wooden chair blossomed with blood on Sixth Brother Xie's forehead, and fragments of the chair splintered.
Splinters of wood even embedded themselves in his shoulder.
He collapsed to the ground with a thud, his head covered in blood, without even time to react.
Then, before the other brothers, guards, and servants could react to their shock, Fu Chuan tossed aside the broken chair, pulled Sixth Brother Xie's chair over, and sat down. At the same time, they all received news from their sources in the Arcane Palace.
To be honest, the Lan Clan and the others had suffered a terrible misfortune.
And this Xie Keli seemed to be toxic; whoever got close to him had bad luck. But since he had now made a mistake, it was the perfect time to discipline him. The other three instantly stood up, ready to deal with Fu Chuan according to clan rules.
But at that moment, three names suddenly appeared on the screen.
Xie Qingyan, Xie Hezhou, Xie Keli.
The expressions of the others changed instantly, but Fu Chuan smiled.
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
But then footsteps were heard. Fu Chuan's brow twitched, and she looked up towards the inner room.
A young man appeared in the doorway, standing there quietly. From across the threshold of the inner room, his gaze fell upon her.
Their eyes met.
Fu Chuan had a thought: the legitimate heir truly appeared more noble and distinguished than the illegitimate ones.
He was cool and stern, like a stone sculpture.
This Xie An was good at producing offspring.
Then, with a flick of his finger, the snow-white handkerchief held by a servant flew through the air and landed on her hand.
"Wipe the blood. Go back and prepare. Gather here at six in the evening to enter the Gene Pool."
"All of you, go back and rest early. Do not neglect your studies for tomorrow's exam."
Fu Chuan had already registered, but she hadn't expected this eldest legitimate son of the Xie Clan to have such a big-brotherly demeanor, treating these illegitimate sons impartially.
It seemed he treated her the same way.
After sending his younger brothers away, Xie Qingyan returned to his residence, lit incense, and paid respects to the memorial tablet before him. The young attendant behind him couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Young Master, this Second Young Master doesn't seem like an easy one to handle."
"A person can't be lucky forever. If they are, they must have something extraordinary about them."
"Then won't you deal with him beforehand?"
"No. We are brothers. It won't come to that. This is my bottom line as an older brother."
He closed his eyes and bowed his head in reverence.
Elsewhere, Fu Chuan sneezed as she walked, rubbing her nose and thinking to herself: Xie An had suddenly compromised so easily, directly giving her a spot, as if he was afraid she would cause trouble and prevent him from getting that piece of land. Perhaps that land was worth more than the tens of millions of green coins she had assumed. Something felt strange.
Xie An was not one to make a losing deal.
With this thought in mind, Fu Chuan returned to her residence and opened the real estate exchange platform.
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