Chapter 1464 Becoming Deeper and Deeper
There was a glint in Meng Chao’s eyes. “What project?”
“A very, very small, insignificant project.” Shen Yulin said, “I swear to G.o.d, I really didn’t do anything that would harm the interests of the company or the family. That project was not the focus of Universe Corporation’s work in the first place, and there were dozens of people handling it. Everyone had detailed information on it a long time ago. Even the higher-ups didn’t think highly of the project, and it could be shelved at any time.
“Under such circ.u.mstances, it didn’t matter whether I was willing to help or not. The other party had a hundred ways to get detailed information. Moreover, ninety-nine of those ways would be much cheaper than going through all the trouble to find me!”
“That’s true.”
Meng Chao nodded. “If you had been asked to seriously damage the interests of the group and the family right from the start, you definitely wouldn’t have given in.
“First, he made you take a few insignificant projects that don’t violate the principles. At most, it would be a side project that would make you lower your guard and sink deeper and deeper. Only then would you completely sink.
“So, you fell for it?”
“I couldn’t not fall for it!”
A few scarlet blood spots formed on Shen Yulin’s pale face. “I’m not a three-year-old child. Although the other party’s tone in the anonymous letter was gentle and he told me to be at ease, claiming that all the evidence had been destroyed, how could I really relax?
“I can guarantee that if I hadn’t done as the other party said, this anonymous letter would have appeared on the home pages and forums of all the major media and self-media in Dragon City the next day. I would have become the shame of the Shen family, the shame of Universe Corporation, and the shame of the entire circle of superhumans in Dragon City!
“I, I could only follow that person’s orders!”
“Understood,” Meng Chao said.
“What happened after that?”
“On the second day after I helped that person obtain information on the project, he sent me a gift that I couldn’t refuse.”
Shen Yulin said, “It was the poison stinger of a mutated silver rattlesnake.
“Back then, in order to treat my internal injuries, I was concocting a gene reagent. I urgently needed this ingredient. “It’s true the silver rattlesnake’s grade is lower than that of its close relative, the golden rattlesnake. However, the problem is the number of silver rattlesnakes is even lower than the latter, more so when it comes to the mutated version.
“I searched for a long time in the Supernatural Tower and the black market, but I still couldn’t find such the ingredient. I could barely use the poison stingers of ordinary silver rattlesnakes to replace it, and the effects of the gene potion that I concocted were always unsatisfactory.
“In the end, the mysterious person somehow heard about my plight and directly left the poison stinger of a mutated silver rattlesnake by my bed!” “Wait…”
Meng Chao said, “By your bed?”
“You didn’t hear me wrongly. It was by my bed!”
Shen Yulin revealed an extremely terrified expression and said in a trembling voice, “Can you imagine how I felt when I woke up and found that a mutated silver rattlesnake’s venomous stinger had been neatly placed on my bedside table along with a ‘pa.s.sionate’ thank-you letter underneath it?”
“You must have felt a chill down your spine.”
Meng Chao said, “Since that person had the ability to place the poisonous stinger on your bedside table while you were asleep without anyone’s knowledge, he obviously had the ability to stab it into your heart too.”
“Therefore, I had no choice,” Shen Yulin said dejectedly.
“After that, I helped him a few more times. It was just as you said. It was not important, it did not violate my principles, and it did not hurt anyone. They were just minor matters.
“And that person gave me an extremely generous reward every time. Of course, it wasn’t sent to my bedroom, but to a public warehouse that we had agreed upon beforehand.
“Whoever it was even took the initiative to help me deal with a compet.i.tor in the family, allowing me to get a position that I yearned for day and night.
“Don’t misunderstand. ‘Deal’ doesn’t mean killing the compet.i.tor. Instead, it entails exposing the other party’s scandal. That way, the other party would have no choice but to leave the scene miserably—no man is rich without a windfall, and no man is fat without fodder. If superhumans want to reach the peak, they need to have more cultivation resources than others. In the process of fighting for resources, who can remain clean and never be reprimanded by others?
“When I saw what happened to my compet.i.tor, I was both delighted and terrified.
“I couldn’t help but wonder if my compet.i.tor received the same anonymous letter as I did, and he made a different choice than I did. Is that why he ended up in a situation where his reputation was ruined? “After the incident… no, you could say that from the very beginning, I didn’t know how this matter should end. “There were many times that I wanted to reprimand that person in a righteous manner, break away from him, and never listen to his orders again.
“But I couldn’t make up my mind.
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“Every time that person asked me to do something, it was something that didn’t go against my principles or betray my conscience Moreover, the rewards that I was given were too generous.
“When I got stuck in my latest dilemma, the other party took the initiative to ask for my help for the final time. Since I was always so loyal, that person wasn’t willing to make things difficult for a precious friend. From now on, he would completely disappear and never bother my life again.
“Of course, if I ran into any difficulties and wanted to ask for help, that person would definitely do whatever he could to help me.
“At first, I thought that I was mistaken. How could it be so easy to talk to a mysterious fellow like that? “I was already a fish on the chopping board, but they let me off at the last moment. How could this be possible?
“I was on tenterhooks for months, but whoever it was kept his promise and never showed up again
“It should have been a good thing.
“But for some reason, I, I—” “You missed the mysterious and powerful
guy?”
Meng Chao asked, “Do you miss the life where you were rewarded handsomely by helping that person a little?”
Perhaps because the spirit energy that Meng Chao had injected into his body had helped him recover some of his vitality, the red spot on Shen Yulin’s face spread into a cl.u.s.ter of red spots. He spoke with a flushed face, “I would never have taken the initiative to look for him.
“But, I needed money, a lot of money! “At that time, I was barely in the middle level of Universe Corporation.
“Before I climbed to this position, I looked at the ‘supervisors, managers, and directors,’ all of whom were so well-behaved and glamorous.
“Only after I really reached the middle level did I realize that this was an unlucky position where I had to suffer at both ends.
“The higher-ups would only press the target regardless of how many monsters were killed. If the target was to kill a set number of monsters, it would still be possible to complete through gritted teeth. However, it was stipulated that a brand-new crystal lode should be discovered every month. How was that possible?
“The employees below were not good either. At most, everyone would only spend 30% of their energy on their work. The remaining 70% would be spent on training. Only a fool would think of working wholeheartedly for the corporation and the family. Smart people… no, normal people would invest their time, energy, and resources into themselves. They would continue to train and become stronger! “You can’t hit or scold such an employee. If you dared to give him a hard time today, tomorrow, he would train to a higher level and rebuke you until you were drenched in blood in front of everyone. Then, he would leave without a word. In the end, he won’t be the one to take the blame. Instead, it would the so-called middle-level people who were proud on the surface!
“I had enough, and I told myself that if I wanted to do it, I needed to be the biggest person in Universe Corporation. At the very least, I had to be the biggest person in a subsidiary company. I needed to be a high-ranking official who could say whatever I want!
“Of course, it was not easy to sit in such a position.
“First of all, the hardest, most important target is the cultivation level.
“At that time, although I had already stepped into the Heaven Realm, if I wanted to stand alone, I would still be required to cultivate crazily.
“Plus, to not be exhausted or even go crazy during my crazy cultivation, I needed resources that were a hundred times more abundant than others.
“I am a member of the Shen family, but the Shen family is full of talented people. There are many experts, and the internal compet.i.tion is very fierce.
“Among my peers, there are already many talented people who have stood out and soared to the sky.
“Even among the younger generation, there are many who have shown astonishing cultivation potential. They are known as the future of the family.
“The limited resources and opportunities in the family have to be invested into these brilliant geniuses and rising stars. When it’s finally my turn, even dog sh*t will be cold.
“The path of cultivation is like sailing against the current. If I don’t advance, I will retreat. As I get older, the path ahead of me will become darker and narrower.
“If I don’t find a way to break through, I’ll probably have to stay in my position and realm for the rest of my life. No, I can’t stay there for the rest of my life. In three to five years, at most seven to eight years, I will be pushed down by the new generation who are getting increasingly aggressive!
“I, I had no other choice but to partic.i.p.ate in the gambling
“I wanted to win back a lot of cultivation resources from the black market and try to break into a new realm.
“I didn’t expect to lose.
“Not only did I lose all my a.s.sets, but I also lost some of the company’s money.
“At that point, I was completely panicking. “The company was about to have a debt. Where was I supposed to find such a large sum of money to fill the hole in one or two weeks?
“Once the scandal of embezzlement of the company’s a.s.sets was exposed, I wouldn’t even have a chance to guard the doors of Universe Corporation, let alone the warehouse!
“I could only brace myself and take the initiative to contact that guy.
“It was the first time that I had taken the initiative to contact him.
“I thought that he would make things difficult for me.
“I didn’t expect him to be so straightforward. He didn’t bother with any details. With a wave of his hands, he helped me fill the hole and even supported me with a large amount of cultivation resources.
“That person even criticized me for not treating him as my friend. Why was he gambling? Couldn’t I just ask them directly?
“Since he was so straightforward, it was only natural that I would do him a small favor.
“This time, that person invited me to deliver a letter to the office of a certain big shot of the Universe Corporation.
“The request is to deliver the letter directly to the big shot’s desk without anyone noticing.
“I used to be this big shot’s subordinate, and trusted and appreciated me geatly.
“To be more precise, this big shot was one of my backers in the group. Therefore, I was very familiar with his office layout and his schedule. Even if I appear around his office, it won’t arouse suspicion.
“The mission wasn’t too complicated.
“There was no need to go against your principles and betray your conscience.
“Without much effort, I placed the letter neatly on the big shot’s desk and pressed it gently with his favorite monster Fang paperweight.
“At that time, I did not know what I had done.
“In fact, until today, I don’t know the specific content of the letter.
“But, but, that night, this big shot killed himself in his own practice room!”