Chapter 54: Conditions!

Li Chang'an nodded, signaling that he understood the situation perfectly.

Principal Wang had poured his heart out, speaking with earnest gravity for a long while, but the core message, stripped of its eloquence, boiled down to nothing more than finding a wealthy patron to rely on.

Yet, as a transmigrator endowed with his own cheat system, how could he possibly engage in such a shameless, thick-skinned endeavor?

After whispering together for a few more moments at the entrance, the two of them finally stepped back into the information registration center.

Upon their return, all the staff members had been cleared from the room, leaving only Su Ruobing lost in furrowed reflection.

The two walked up to the long table and took their positions once more, prompting Su Ruobing to lift her clear, icy eyes, staring intently at Li Chang'an with an immense, stifling pressure.

After a prolonged silence, she exhaled a breath of turbid air and spoke in a chilling tone, "Since Student Li is reluctant to state his terms, then I suppose I must be the one to lay down the chips first!"

Clearly, during the time Principal Wang had led Li Chang'an away, she too had done some homework.

Organizing her thoughts, Su Ruobing continued, "I can allocate a territory for you in the suburbs of Linjiang City, the exact location of which you may choose yourself. Furthermore, I will offer an annual salary of one hundred thousand reincarnation points. If you can make other contributions to the overall development of Linjiang, an additional three thousand catties of spiritual grain will be granted, along with two... no, three extra reincarnation privileges!"

She spoke deliberately, and with each condition she laid out, her gaze locked onto Li Chang'an, attempting to pry into his inner thoughts from his facial expressions.

After all, negotiating terms was a psychological game in itself; if one could grasp the other party's psychological expectations during the negotiation, one could secure a tremendous advantage.

Yet, quite clearly, her hopes were dashed.

Li Chang'an's expression remained devoid of any fluctuation throughout the entire process, making it impossible to tell whether he was satisfied or displeased with the terms.

Having heard all the conditions, Li Chang'an was just about to say something.

However, at that very moment, an aggressive, youthful male voice suddenly echoed from outside the door, saying, "My fellow student, I can arrange a territory for you in Kyoto or Demon City. Whatever compensation Ruobing has offered you, I can double it!"

The young man was barely in his twenties, draped in an expensive fur coat, walking with a majestic, stride that gave him a rather handsome appearance.

Yet, the insolent arrogance exuded by his very presence caused everyone in the room to involuntarily furrow their brows.

The young man strode inside as if no one else existed, his gaze sweeping the room before bypassing Li Chang'an entirely to land directly upon Su Ruobing, who sat poised in the primary seat.

The depths of his eyes were filled with an unvarnished, possessive desire.

The moment the young man appeared, the expression on Su Ruobing's face shifted repeatedly, and only after a long while did her voice emerge, sounding as though it were squeezed from between her teeth, as she spoke, "Gu Ruilong? Who permitted you to enter?"

"I came to find my fiancée, who would dare stop me?" Although the frigidity and anger on Su Ruobing's face were almost dripping like water, the young man addressed as Gu Ruilong clearly paid it no mind.

He even walked up to the long table with practiced familiarity, intending to sit beside Su Ruobing.

However, Su Ruobing would never give him such an opportunity.

Seeing him approach, she immediately stood up and retreated a few steps, offering a skin-deep smile as she said, "Heh, who is your fiancée?!"

Seeing her face dark as water, Gu Ruilong hastily raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, yet his lips wore a smiling expression as he said, "Hasn't the wager between us concluded yet? You needn't be in such a hurry to deny it."

At the mention of the word 'wager,' Su Ruobing's face flushed with a mixture of pale and dark hues. After taking several deep breaths, she ground her teeth and said, "So you resort to these methods to compete with me?"

Gu Ruilong smiled with an air of absolute entitlement, saying, "This is merely legitimate commercial competition. You wish to recruit this outstanding student under your banner, and so do I, so let us each rely on our own capabilities!"

Su Ruobing's teeth ached with suppressed rage, and she took several more deep breaths before managing to calm her emotions.

With a cold snort, she directed her gaze straight at Li Chang'an, saying earnestly, "I cannot match the conditions this fellow is offering. If you wish to leave with him, I cannot stop you either. You must choose for yourself!"

Su Ruobing's words were entirely candid, yet anyone could see that her fury toward Gu Ruilong's unreasonable and despicable tactics had accumulated to the very brink of eruption.

But even so, she did not paint false pictures for Li Chang'an, nor did she deign to disparage Gu Ruilong's villainous behavior in front of him.

Clearly, she was proud, like a peacock standing atop an icy mountain, possessing her own bottom lines and convictions.

Principal Wang wore an expression of hesitance, subtly tugging at Li Chang'an's sleeve several times from the side, as if he had something to say.

However, Li Chang'an paid him no heed.

He had no interest in the grievances or entanglements between Gu Ruilong and Su Ruobing; moreover, he was entirely unfamiliar with Demon City or Kyoto, and he would absolutely never go there.

Possessing the talent of defying natural comprehension, he believed he would thrive regardless of where he developed, and thus had never considered relocating to other cities.

The reason he had maintained a detached posture before Su Ruobing ultimately stemmed from a single core demand.

At this moment, he no longer hesitated and spoke directly, "President Su, I find the conditions you offered quite acceptable, but I have one additional condition. I wonder if you would be willing to hear it?"

Originally, Su Ruobing had resigned herself to the belief that Li Chang'an would defect to Gu Ruilong. Her heart was currently bleeding over missing out on a genius and handing him over to her most despised rival.

Now, suddenly hearing Li Chang'an's words, her immediate reaction was to think she had hallucinated, prompting her to let out a slightly bewildered sound, "Hmm? What additional condition?"

Li Chang'an spoke, "I require an extra temporary reincarnation privilege, but my current citizen rank and evolution rank are insufficient. Could you help me procure one?"

Upon hearing the words 'extra temporary reincarnation privilege,' a flash of bewilderment crossed Su Ruobing's face.

After a moment of contemplation, she spoke with an uncertain tone, "Are you referring to the temporary reincarnation privilege that allows a designated ordinary person to enter the reincarnation world?"

Li Chang'an nodded.

"Why do you want such a useless thing?" Su Ruobing sized him up for a few moments, though she didn't pry further, continuing, "While that item isn't expensive, the prerequisites for purchasing it are exceedingly high. I do not have one on hand at the moment, but I can make inquiries for you; there is a high probability I can obtain one!"

Hearing this, Li Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief, "Then I must thank the President!"

"Are there any other requirements?" Su Ruobing inquired.

Li Chang'an shook his head, "None!"

This attitude of his left Su Ruobing feeling somewhat unconfident, and she asked tentatively, "Then shall we sign the membership contract?"

Li Chang'an nodded.

Su Ruobing immediately broke into a smile, rising from her seat to produce the membership contract she had prepared long ago, throwing a provocative glance toward Gu Ruilong.

Seeing that matters were unfolding in an entirely unexpected direction, Gu Ruilong, who had previously been filled with complacent satisfaction and believed everything was within his grasp, saw his expression instantly darken.

Ever since he stepped into this place, his gaze had been fixed solely upon Su Ruobing.

This was the first time he turned his head to look at Li Chang'an, his tone sharpening as he said, "My fellow student, I can also procure the privilege you spoke of for you, and all other conditions will be double what Ruobing offers. This level of treatment is extraordinary even for top-tier geniuses. Are you truly certain you won't reconsider?"

...

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