Xicheng Hotel.
Morning.
Bai Pu silently passed by the security personnel at the stairway entrance and arrived in front of the presidential suite on the top floor.
"What do you want?"
At the door, two strong bodyguards with earpieces stopped Bai Pu's path.
"Excuse me, I'm here to see Mr. Bladon for important business." Bai Pu replied in a deep voice.
"Mr. Bladon is entertaining important guests, please leave!"
"Wait a minute, how did you get in here without being announced?"
The two bodyguards spoke almost simultaneously, one expelling, the other questioning.
These two are not Awakened, but Trial Takers who failed to awaken.
The success rate of awakening for Trial Takers is really low, faced with the complex and unknown environment of the Spirit Realm and highly difficult trial tasks, the probability of failure is too high.
Each failure increases the difficulty of the next trial task for the Trial Taker, a form of punishment from the Spirit Realm Will. Basically, those who fail three times in trials should not expect to pass in this lifetime.
Of course, even if they fail in the trials, they won't starve. They still have a total of 20 four-dimensional Total Attributes, their Physique is three times that of a normal person, allowing them to find other survival paths.
Becoming a bodyguard is a relatively common career change route.
Bai Pu slanted his body and slipped through the two of them with incredible speed.
The two bodyguards turned to chase him, one reacting quicker, throwing a punch at Bai Pu's back.
With a thump, it landed squarely on Bai Pu's back.
Bai Pu's body didn't even shake; instead, he used the force to burst through the suite's door directly!
Inside the suite, several gazes simultaneously turned towards him from the meeting table.
Bai Pu immediately saw Bladon sitting at the head, a chubby, bald old man, just like in the news.
Behind Bladon, a tall Black man strode over, shouting in English, "Who are you? Get out!" As he spoke, he reached to grab Bai Pu.
This Black man should be a seasoned Awakened, far stronger than Bai Pu! His grasp contained changes from multiple angles, leaving no room to dodge. Without an advanced Level 4 Fighting Specialization, it was impossible to achieve.
Bai Pu immediately opened his personal Attribute Panel, setting two lines to exhibition status and loudly said, "Mr. Bladon! I've come to request joining the Balance School, I have sufficient value!"
The Balance School is the core organization of the Byrons Chamber of Commerce. Put another way, the entire Byrons Chamber of Commerce exists as an external organization attached to and serving the Balance School!
When the Attribute Panel is in exhibition status, it appears in various forms of text to others. In the eyes of native Chinese speakers, it's in Chinese characters; for native English speakers, it's in English, causing no understanding barrier.
"Alchemist?"
"Enhanced Elite... Tank?"
An English word and a Chinese phrase were spoken by Bladon and the person sitting opposite him respectively.
"Hold on a minute, Benny." Bladon spoke kindly.
The Black Awakened, Benny, had already grabbed Bai Pu's collar, prepared to throw him out, but hearing Bladon, he let go.
"Young man, your name is Bai Pu, right?" Bladon had already seen part of Bai Pu's exhibited information, knowing his name, smiled and said in Chinese, "You want to join the Balance School; I personally welcome you. But, can you tell me why? Someone as rare as you, a Basic Awakener, shouldn't have trouble joining any Superpower Group."
"Thank you."
Bai Pu tidied his clothes, took a few steps forward, and sat at the end of the meeting table: "Your secretary should be checking my background right now, and will soon inform you of my reason to join the Balance School. Her words should be more credible than mine."
The female secretary standing next to Bladon hesitated slightly before nodding. She was indeed searching for Bai Pu's name using a handheld computer, just not expecting Bai Pu to be so perceptive.
Soon, the female secretary's expression changed slightly, she handed the handheld computer to Bladon and whispered a few words in his ear.
"Bai Pu, a clinical patient contracted with the Superpower Group, has been missing for about twenty days... suspected of stealing a Spiritual Marvel, of great value, already reported to the Huaxia Police Department."
Bladon nodded slightly,"I understand your reason for wanting to join the Balance School now... Please allow me to refuse."
"I must be going." Bai Pu turned and walked away.
Bladon, who originally wanted to explain his refusal further, was stunned. Was he really so decisive?
Actually, from Bai Pu's perspective, the reason for leaving right away was simple.
He found out that the Byrons Chamber of Commerce was involved in the Spiritual Potion industry, externally purchasing large quantities of Spiritual Herbs, and had business competition with the similarly deep-rooted Superpower Group.
This kind of Superpower Group was most likely to accept him.
However, the relationships among Superpower Groups are intricate, not only conflicting interests but also cooperative interests! The other party's refusal to accept him is not surprising.
The Balance School is not Bai Pu's only option. Since this semi-public appearance, he should not waste time and must quickly find another backer.
Bai Pu is unwilling to fall into the hands of the Superpower Group. If he cannot find an organization to accept him, he would rather leave the base city and enter the vast Wilderness Area, to become a wanderer, roaming the mountains.
"Hold on!"
A female voice rang out, coming from the woman sitting opposite Bladon. She had a healthy wheat complexion, wore tea-colored glasses, a black leather jacket, and slim-fit jeans, with a crisp white shirt underneath, giving off an air of vigor and charm.
The tea-colored glasses-wearing lady swiftly stood up and blocked Bai Pu's way.
Her speed was even faster than Bai Pu's! Clearly, this tea-colored glasses-wearing lady is also an Awakened.
"What, don't recognize me? Last night you were fixing your hair in my car window." The tea-colored glasses-wearing lady smiled confidently.
Bai Pu had already noticed her upon entering the conference room, but he neither had the time nor the reason to greet her. He managed a smile and said, "Hello... sorry, I'm in a hurry."
"In a hurry to find another prospect? Why not consider us instead."
The tea-colored glasses-wearing lady reached out and handed over a business card.
Bai Pu glanced at it, seeing the words "Great Tang", "Divine Strategy", and "Li Ling" written on it.
"Great Tang Group, Divine Strategy Army?" Bai Pu was slightly surprised. He had heard of the Great Tang Group, also a renowned enterprise in the Spiritual Potion industry. But as for the Divine Strategy Army, which is the core organization of the Great Tang Group, it was not so well-known, only occasionally mentioned, and couldn't be considered a Superpower Group.
"Our Divine Strategy Army's club hasn't penetrated the super league yet, so it's not very famous among ordinary people." The tea-colored glasses-wearing lady named Li Ling coughed, "However, the strength of the Divine Strategy Army is absolutely guaranteed."
"I need an organization daring enough to oppose the Superpower Group." Bai Pu emphasized.
"You're referring to the core organization of the Superpower Group, the Superstar Alliance, aren't you?"
Li Ling laughed, saying proudly: "The Superstar Alliance indeed is a long-established, profound aristocracy, we do not compare to them in the Spirit Realm strength. But in the real world, the situation is quite the opposite, do we agree?"
Bai Pu nodded slightly, his gaze narrowing.
What she held was an officer's certificate!
Good heavens! An Awakened organization with a military background, no wonder they're so confident.
"I've seen the allegations against you from the Superpower Group. To me, the important thing is not what they say," Li Ling smiled with pride. "So, you believe I'm innocent?" Bai Pu asked.
"I'd like to believe you, mainly for another reason."
Li Ling eyed Bai Pu, noting his appearance, and said somewhat firmly, "This is an old garment from the community aid venue, right? Given your status, you could have easily stolen new clothes, right? The fact that you didn't—shows some principles. You are worth giving a chance."
[Uh, this is actually second-hand clothing from the community welfare recycling station…]
Bai Pu thought to himself. He didn't correct Li Ling's assumption, but he did smile.
"Join the Divine Strategy Army. With your foundation, you could easily become the tactical core Tank (MT) of a large team with some training—there are limitless possibilities," Li Ling said.
Bladon, seated nearby, was growing restless. He rubbed his face, his expression turning gentle, walked up, "Actually, Bai Pu... please grant me the chance to refuse."
Bai Pu glanced at Bladon.
This old fox! At first, he said 'please allow me to refuse,' but it turns out it was a case of playing hard-to-get, probably expecting Bai Pu to plead twice more before offering additional conditions, pretending to relent and agree.
"Please allow me to refuse." Bai Pu shook his head.