Chapter 112: A Stream of Fortunate Events Unfolds

“This year marks the centennial of the New Era. The Tumubao City Hall has declared this year the Year of Culture and is launching a series of cultural events. Among these, a major one is the Citizen Calligraphy Competition, organized by the City Hall’s Cultural Department. This competition is quite large in scale, with generous rewards, and—most importantly—the judges are highly professional.”

“It’s said that Tumubao spared no expense and invited renowned calligraphers from the Inner Solar System!” Tao Zhongming said with admiration. “I’m somewhat of a calligraphy enthusiast myself. Although I don’t know exactly which master has come, the calligraphy experts from the Inner Solar System are universally recognized as top-tier. If it weren’t for my own terrible handwriting, I’d register just to witness it firsthand!”

Calligraphy masters from the Inner Solar System?

A large-scale, highly desirable event?

Shi Tiexin pondered deeply. With expert judges and hefty prizes, such a competition would surely carry great credibility. Winning here would bring both fame and fortune.

Just as Xiaogou Danzi said, if one truly made a name through this competition, the price for writing business cards surely wouldn’t be a mere one point for ten cards anymore.

So, where exactly does one register for such a wonderful competition?

Just as Shi Tiexin was about to ask, the workshop door slammed open. Turning around, he saw Old Wei bursting in, his face flushed with excitement.

“Brother Shi, hurry, come with me! There’s good news!”

“Good news?” Shi Tiexin wondered. Lately, there seemed to be an endless stream of good news.

“Yes! Time’s tight. Come with me first, we’ll talk on the way!” Old Wei grabbed Shi Tiexin’s arm and tried to pull him out. But Shi Tiexin, cautious as ever, asked, “If I leave now, will it be a problem with covering my post?”

“Don’t worry about such trivial things. Come with me first. Captain Chen is still waiting for you!” Old Wei patted Shi Tiexin’s shoulder enthusiastically. “Captain Chen is personally mentoring you—you’re in for something great! But time’s short, come on!”

Captain Chen?

Mentoring?

Something good?

Could it be that “related matter” after all...? Shi Tiexin’s forehead broke into a slight sweat.

“Don’t worry, big brother, I’ve got your back!” Si Chongtian cheerfully waved his hand. “After this is over, we’ll get in touch. Hey, can I come back with you today? Let’s sleep with our feet touching!”

*Pfft!*

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Outside the meat processing plant’s gate stood a car, muscular Captain Chen by its side. He glanced at Shi Tiexin without a word and beckoned, “Get in.”

Shi Tiexin sized him up; Captain Chen didn’t give off the vibe of a profit-driven middleman. Since this was a formal summons via Old Wei, it couldn’t be too absurd. He opened the door and got in.

Two men, both about two meters tall, settled into the car, causing the chassis to sag more than an inch.

Silently, the vehicle started, then accelerated rapidly, zooming away.

Even in the centennial of the misty age, with advanced technology, ground vehicles—especially in Tumubao with its flat terrain—still primarily used circular tires. Environmental standards were high, so no internal combustion engines like in alternate timelines were seen; instead, all vehicles ran on silent, emission-free clean energy. Thanks to miniaturized energy and power modules, vehicle designs differed greatly from those in other realities.

Still, the speed was impressive.

Large, heavy sky rails were limited to 80 km/h to prevent issues. But small, light, and aerodynamic personal vehicles had their speed limit raised to 110 km/h.

Captain Chen drove fiercely, reaching top speed in the blink of an eye.

Silence filled the car.

The scenery outside blurred rapidly as Shi Tiexin realized they were heading toward the upper city district. The clattering noise came from above; the car had overtaken a sky rail from underneath and quickly left it behind.

Up to this point, Shi Tiexin still had no idea what the “good news” was.

But his nature was steady and cautious, so he kept silent.

At that moment, Captain Chen finally spoke.

“How do you know the young master of the Si family?” he asked, glancing at Shi Tiexin. “I heard you’re quite close.”

Ha. So that’s it.

No wonder Captain Chen thought of me when there was ‘good news’. Even if Xiaogou Danzi hadn’t actively looked out for me, his own influence was enough to affect my life significantly.

Perhaps this is a glimpse of what it means to be powerful.

Of course, the power here referred not to Xiaogou Danzi himself, but to his father—or rather, the ‘old Xiaogou Danzi’. Because of his father’s high status, the son enjoyed privileges everywhere. I’m just one rung below, yet still feel these effects.

Such stature truly inspires envy!

If I acknowledged this relationship, surely more and greater fortunes would come my way. Yet after a moment’s silence, Shi Tiexin said expressionlessly, “We’re just ordinary acquaintances who happened to meet.”

Captain Chen snorted. “Believe that if you want! Old Wei just privately told me that the young master of the Si family even plans to stay with you tonight—sleeping with feet touching. Ordinary acquaintances, huh?”

“Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. What matters is this: I’ve found you a good job. Don’t say I didn’t look out for you,” Captain Chen explained simply. “In two hours, the Tumubao provincial exam will be held at Tumuyi Academy. Our Xiong’an Security company has taken on the ceremony, escort, and protection duties. I plan to put you on that.”

Provincial exam?

Today is the day of the provincial exam?

Shi Tiexin was filled with longing, then puzzled. “Shouldn’t the teams have started training long ago? Why are they recruiting people at the last minute?”

“It was planned, but one person suddenly couldn’t make it. So they needed a substitute,” Captain Chen explained. “That guy had a secret realm duel yesterday. Didn’t see that the opponent was at the Sharpness Realm. He got smashed into three pieces. Sent to the hospital immediately after the secret realm—and still unconscious.”

Shi Tiexin suddenly understood.

Smashed into three pieces inside a secret realm? My goodness, sharpness experts are no joke. Liu Qi is at the peak of the Sharpness Realm; when he said he could crush my head with one palm, he really wasn’t exaggerating.

“The provincial exam duties only last two hours, done by noon. You’re free in the afternoon. Consider it a full day’s work. For this special task, the company will give you an extra thirty points as a bonus. Do your best,” Captain Chen said, looking at Shi Tiexin. “Wear the security uniform for now, forget about the rental fees. And be sure to mention this to the young master of the Si family—don’t forget!”

As he said this, Captain Chen’s usually stern face softened noticeably.