Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Prestige
Chu Bamboo was stunned. ’Could it... No, probably not. Maybe... That’s impossible, right?’
’Whatever. I have to investigate him in the dream anyway.’ Chu Bamboo stuffed his phone back into his pocket, his mind racing. ’I should see if I can get in touch with him in reality, too.’
...
Inside the office.
Professor Chen took a sip of his tea, looking at Chu Bamboo with a strange expression. "You’re saying you want Zhao Shao’s contact information?"
"That’s right!" Chu Bamboo said, his expression unchanged. "I’m a bit interested in AI. After listening to you last time, I looked up Senior Zhao online after class... I feel I should ask him for a lot of advice."
"Hmm... you!" Professor Chen opened and closed his mouth a few times. He would have given the information to any other student, but... ’Aren’t you in sports? Why the sudden interest in AI?’
’If-if you really go and study AI and let your athletic training fall by the wayside, the chancellor will be breathing down my neck every single day!’
"Don’t worry, I’m just a little curious, that’s all." Chu Bamboo paused briefly, then added, "I saw Senior Zhao’s schedule online... He looks incredibly busy, so I’m not sure I’ll even be able to reach him. Even if I do, he probably won’t be willing to say much to me!"
Professor Chen thought for a long while before finally nodding. "Alright, then!"
’It dawned on Professor Chen. This AI stuff isn’t something you can master just because you want to! Letting Chu Bamboo hit a wall and realize his real talent is in sports might actually be a good thing!’
"Here’s his WeChat ID and his phone number. Hang on, I’ll give him a heads-up... If nothing else, he should at least accept your friend request!"
After getting the contact information, Chu Bamboo left the professor’s office.
"Hm?" Chu Bamboo was on his phone as he walked, sending a friend request and waiting for the confirmation. Suddenly, his tutor sent him a message.
Tutor Qian: I’ve got some answers! Of the items you gave me, I’ve pretty much identified two of them... But this stuff is seriously weird, and very rare. You almost can’t find it for sale anywhere.
Tutor Qian: To be honest, if I send you what they are, you probably won’t even believe it! This stuff actually exists.
’He had to agree, it was indeed hard to believe. But he’d found two of them? Looks like Tutor Qian, or rather, the traditional Chinese medicine professor Tutor Qian found, is pretty capable after all.’
He gave it a quick glance but didn’t pay it much mind. After all, he already knew the answers. He sent a thank you to Tutor Qian, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and returned to his off-campus apartment.
...
Chu Bamboo slowly opened his eyes, the roar of a movie still blasting in his ears.
"Nuwa No. 17, report the current time!"
"It is now 6:01 AM, Imperial Capital Time!"
"Excellent." Hearing the words "Imperial Capital," Chu Bamboo instantly breathed a sigh of relief. ’I finally managed to switch it back!’
He didn’t let his guard down completely, though. Following his usual routine, he had Nuwa turn off the movie, erase the logs, and open the gateway. Then, he stepped out.
’The familiar women’s restroom!’
Chu Bamboo went out, turned left, and arrived on the second floor.
"Officer, I need to use the landline," Chu Bamboo said to the guard with a serious expression.
Noticing the doubt and wariness on the officer’s face, he immediately added, "I just started yesterday. I was hired by Captain Li Kang as a consultant and Honored Guest Elder for the special ops team! My credentials haven’t been issued yet."
"...Huh? Oh!" The guard was taken aback for a moment, but then recalled that he had heard something about this. He nodded immediately and stepped aside.
Chu Bamboo expertly dialed a number.
"Is there an emergency?" Li Kang’s serious voice came from the other end of the line.
"It’s me," Chu Bamboo said calmly. He could clearly feel Li Kang’s breath hitch on the other end. "...What kind of mess have you gotten into now?"
"I get the feeling you think I’m a walking disaster," Chu Bamboo rolled his eyes, then his tone turned grave. "Something big has happened in the shantytown district! Zhou Ze and five senior officers have been assassinated."
Li Kang: "?"
"Wait, just hold on a second!" Li Kang tried to process this, his pupils slowly dilating as a storm raged in his mind.
"There’s no time to delay!" Chu Bamboo said calmly. "Please pass on a message—no matter what happens next in the shantytown district, as long as it doesn’t spill into the city proper, the officials should stay out of it as much as possible! Also, some blood might be shed... the Factory Directors’."
Li Kang: "...Are you kidding me?!"
Li Kang’s scalp went numb. The Factory Directors were already considered part of Jinghai City’s wealthy elite. And behind every single one of them were connections that reached the city’s highest levels—
’You think you can open a factory without someone powerful backing you? Don’t be ridiculous!’
’You wouldn’t even be able to cover up the fatal accidents that happen in the factories every year.’
’In this kind of situation...’
"Go straight to Governor Lu," Chu Bamboo said, his voice unhurried.
"? I understand... But, to use that connection now... Forget it. It’s your decision!" Li Kang opened his mouth to argue several times but ended up just sighing.
’What a waste. The value of a connection to that man was unimaginably high... especially since he was still on the rise!’
’The earlier you cash in a favor like that, the more you lose out!’
"You’ve got it wrong, haven’t you?" Chu Bamboo laughed. "If I really coordinate to get this situation under control, then he should be the one owing me an even bigger favor. Besides, favors are meant to be used. It’s the give-and-take that makes them favors... An unused favor is just stagnant water."
"?"
Chu Bamboo didn’t say anything more and hung up the phone.
’Was he really going to explain that Governor Lu’s main policy initiative, after taking his new post, was precisely the renovation of the shantytown district? That it was about improving the treatment of factory workers?’
’Chu Bamboo knew without even thinking that in the previous timeline with the union riots, Governor Lu had taken a huge hit... It didn’t directly threaten his position, but it damaged his prestige.’
’Was Chu Bamboo trying to cover things up for his own sake?’
’Dead wrong!’
’He was helping Governor Lu suppress the issue. He was helping the group of public servants under Governor Lu who were in charge of the shantytown renovation project.’
’When you broke it down, they would be the ones who owed him more! And it wasn’t just Governor Lu, but his entire faction...’
’Otherwise, why would he use this brand-new connection when he had plenty of others in Jinghai City?’
Closing his eyes to think for another moment, Chu Bamboo walked out of the phone room and glanced at the wall clock at the end of the hallway.
’Six-ten! There’s enough time.’
Chu Bamboo took a deep breath, opened the window, and leaped out.
The guard standing post outside the phone room: "???"
His eyes glazed over. ’Wait, this new Honored Guest Elder for the special ops team knows Kung Fu?!’
’No, no, no, the special ops team is full of Martial Arts Masters to begin with! Considering that, for him to be appointed an Honored Guest Elder directly, he’s probably some top-tier figure, like a grandmaster from the Martial Arts world, right? But he’s so young... Is it like in those novels, where they practice some youth-preserving Kung Fu? Or is he the young master of some martial sect?!’ Although the guard’s back was still ramrod straight, scenes from countless novels were running wild in his mind.
