Chapter 88: Chapter 2: Ultimately, I’m Just a Poor High School Student (Part 2)
"Got it!"
The cunning Dragon Blood holder lazily added his voice to the chorus from within the crowd.
Then, school let out.
When the semester first began, Su Zhou would get mobbed after school, with students gawking at him like he was some kind of monster. But it had been over a month now, and everyone had more or less gotten used to the fact that a once-in-a-century genius was walking their halls.
Besides, Su Zhou had never been a nobody to begin with. His parents and friends all seemed to have readily accepted the notion that ’my son is a hero of this world’ and ’my son, Su Zhou, has the makings of a Great Emperor.’ So, his daily life had returned to normal... mostly.
"See you later, then... Huh?"
Su Zhou was about to say goodbye to Shao Qiming and head home to continue practicing his Sacred Geometry and Spear Technique, but he noticed his friend giving him a look.
—Let’s go talk somewhere private.
Confused, Su Zhou followed him to a rarely used emergency exit.
Then, before he could even ask, "What’s up?" Shao Qiming held out his phone, displaying a pre-typed note.
[I think I might have found it—the mysterious organization that cursed my mom and me.]
"Oh?"
That first sentence alone made Su Zhou’s eyes turn dangerous.
After reading the full report, Su Zhou had to admit that Shao Qiming’s private investigation was incredibly thorough. He thought, ’Even with my Retrospective Magic, I probably couldn’t have put together something this detailed.’
The Blue Gold Foundation.
This was the public face of the Mysterious Organization—a progressive foundation that had poured vast sums of money into various new energy sectors.
About ten years ago, as the Shao Family began developing new energy technologies like solar power with the support of the local Hongzhou Academy and the government, the Blue Gold Foundation started extending its tentacles into related industries at nearly the same time.
Of course, being a large foundation, they also funded new materials science, high-energy physics, and some related fields of biology. In Southern Zhengguo, the Blue Gold name was very well-known, with its tentacles spreading across all sectors of new industry.
Shao’s Photovoltaic should have been one of the companies they funded, but faced with their offer of a massive investment, Shao Nantian—Qiming’s father—chose to refuse.
This apparently involved some sensitive factional struggles among the various Academies—a complicated issue for another time. In short, sometime after that, Shao’s Photovoltaic competed with a similar company backed by the Blue Gold Foundation for a large military contract, and Shao’s Photovoltaic won.
"The dates are very close. I made a point of looking up the relevant records."
Right now, Su Zhou and Shao Qiming were strolling along the banks of the Fuhe River. They had told Shao Qiming’s driver they wanted to go for a walk, which gave them a chance to talk about these things.
Shao Qiming’s gaze dropped to the grass by the river, his voice flat. "Not long after my dad won that contract, I fell ill. My mom got sick a little later—then again, she’s an adult, so her immune system is much stronger than mine."
"The world of the Extraordinary is broadly divided into official and private factions. They might not have dared to make a move on my father, given his official backing, but taking a swipe at his wife and child wouldn’t have been a big deal."
Su Zhou didn’t respond. As perhaps the strongest Transcendent in Hongcheng right now, the point hit close to home.
’It’d be simple for me now to kill an ordinary person without a trace. I’d just need to send my Spiritual Qi into their body and use it to enhance or alter parts of their internal organs. Their body would go haywire, they’d get seriously ill, and then die. And the more active the Spiritual Qi in the environment, the faster they’d perish.’
’And a Transcendent with a Yin Attribute would only need to find one chance to strike someone with their Spiritual Power. It would be like a persistent Curse—a constant stream of resentful spirits and evil spirits would be drawn to them, instinctively worsening the damage.’
The person who did it wouldn’t even have to be as strong as him; an ordinary Awakener could have done it. Before the Spiritual Energy Revival, a spontaneous Awakening without a lineage was a precious Talent. But for a Mysterious Organization with a legacy, or for the government, it was entirely possible to spend ten years cultivating a proper Awakened Level Transcendent.
Su Zhou shook his head at the thought. The gap between Transcendent and ordinary people was enormous, which was why the world’s major powers were desperately trying to make Cultivation Methods widely available.
Even achieving just the most basic Spirit Awakening would allow someone to fend off many forms of malice that a complete mortal couldn’t, rendering petty tricks like the ones above totally ineffective. It would prevent a complete Tearing between the two classes... All of it was necessary to maintain Order.
Meanwhile, Shao Qiming was still explaining. "The Blue Gold Foundation is very loosely structured, with many internal factions and conflicts. The one that clashed with my father is a company in Hengcheng City called the ’Hengcheng Safety Energy Development Company.’"
"It’s a family business. I had someone look into local Classics and records. The family’s ancestors were part of a locally renowned ’Ghost Witch Family’—so-called Sacrificial Lords. They surrendered when the previous dynasty was overthrown and the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Soldiers were sweeping the land, toppling mountains and smashing temples. Because of that, they still have some power in the area and have likely preserved a significant part of their heritage."
At this point, Shao Qiming raised his head. He looked at Su Zhou and said earnestly, "This is too dangerous, Azhou."
"If this were some messy debt from one of my dad’s romantic affairs, or some private Warlock looking for revenge because their family was ruined when my dad crushed them in business, I’d be thrilled for you to help me get payback. I know your strength very well. For you, it would be a trivial matter, just like how you wouldn’t think twice if I treated you to a meal."
"But a Ghost Witch Family with a centuries-long heritage, one that’s now a massive corporate group, is completely different. We don’t know how many Transcendent they have, what ancient treasures they possess, or even how strong the enemy is. But they’re definitely not weak. To put it another way, my mom and I aren’t dead yet. This grudge isn’t at the point where you need to risk your life for revenge."
All the way home, Su Zhou could still hear Shao Qiming’s earnest words, and his own angry response.
"—We’re still young, and with your Talent, you’re a Seed for the saints of the future. There are plenty of ways for us to get revenge on this family; there’s no need to rush... So, Azhou, let’s just drop it for now."
"—You’re telling me to drop it?! We can’t just drop it!"
"I know Qiming is right about everything. Taking a step back opens up a whole new world." Back in his room, Su Zhou threw his backpack onto his bed and flopped down on top of it. Frowning, he muttered to himself, "But I just want to crush them! To hell with the danger and what-ifs, I want to dump their ashes in the Nanjiang River right now!"
"Then go dump them," the Snake Spirit said calmly, slithering out from the hair at Su Zhou’s temple. "Do you need any other reason to get revenge for your friend?"
"But I know I might not be strong enough," Su Zhou said. "Qiming wouldn’t lie to me, and I know it myself."
Su Zhou shot bolt upright. He grabbed the Long Spear he kept by the window—disguised as a cosplay prop with some foam board—and gave it a few swings, stirring up a fierce gale.
His voice was frustrated. "I know I’m strong. I could take on seven or eight ordinary Awakened Level opponents, no problem. But what if they’re fully armed with melee weapons, modern firearms, and even exoskeletons? What if their compound has RPGs, anti-materiel sniper rifles, and all sorts of motion-sensor mines for defense? And don’t tell me I’m being paranoid. For a modern corporate family with a several-hundred-year-old legacy, even if they don’t have military-grade gear, they’ll have the civilian equivalent. I at least have to be prepared to face that stuff."
"So how am I, a poor, helpless high school student with nothing but a single weapon to my name, supposed to take on an entire corporation head-on and win?"
Yara: "...?"
