344: Chapter 343 The Hunt Begins

Mayor Fang Dingbei's words sounded very high-sounding, yet Wang Shuo did not find them hypocritical.

Ever since he took office over half a year ago, the atmosphere in all of Hanzhong City had changed significantly; even organizations with a shady reputation had obediently tucked their heads back into their nests.

No one was a fool.

They all knew that the backers who used to shield them from the wind and rain were nothing in front of this man. As long as he caught them in the act, no one's intercession would be of any use.

This was not without precedent; this mayor's most formidable achievement occurred just three months after he arrived at his post.

That time, he directly mobilized police from outside the region and wiped out a mafia-style criminal syndicate that had been entrenched in Hanzhong City for ten years in one fell swoop—clean, efficient, and without any hesitation, shocking the entire Huaxia.

It was said that the cash seized from the crime boss's villa alone amounted to hundreds of millions.

The saying "a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake" simply did not apply to him.

Therefore, those words might truly be the most sincere thoughts of Mayor Fang sitting before him.

Wang Shuo raised the teacup in his hand.

"Thank you, Senior Brother. I'll toast you with tea instead of wine."

Mayor Fang Dingbei smiled, raised his teacup, drained it in one gulp, and then patted Wang Shuo on the shoulder.

"Work hard, and don't let your Senior Brother down."

Nodding heavily, Wang Shuo thought of his recent plan and said, "Senior Brother, there is one more thing I would like your help with."

Mayor Fang Dingbei gestured for him to speak.

"It's like this, I have a plan..."

After roughly explaining his idea, Wang Shuo looked at Mayor Fang Dingbei, waiting for his response.

"The idea is quite good."

Mayor Fang Dingbei pondered for a moment and asked, "But for cybercrime, gathering evidence has always been extremely difficult. Junior Brother, are you sure you can find sufficient evidence?"

"I am sure."

Wang Shuo smiled and said, "Senior Brother, have you forgotten my old profession?"

Mayor Fang Dingbei couldn't help but laugh. "I did forget; you started out in the cyber industry. In that case, I will put in a word for you with Director Jiao of the Police Station, President Gao of the Municipal Procuratorate, and President Qin of the Municipal Intermediate Court. As long as there are no issues with the evidence, they will all adopt expedited procedures for the trial and strive to announce it to the public as soon as possible."

Just as Wang Shuo was about to thank him, Mayor Fang Dingbei waved his hand and said, "Don't rush to thank me yet. I came here today not only to discuss cooperation with you, Junior Brother, but also to urge you on behalf of someone else."

Wang Shuo immediately thought of someone.

"It seems you already know."

Mayor Fang Dingbei shook his head helplessly. "Director Jiao hasn't been singing your praises to me, but Junior Brother, the government has given you tens of millions in funding; you cannot just ignore it or cast it to the back of your mind."

Wang Shuo chuckled sheepishly. "I've been quite busy these past two days, it's really..."

"I understand, I understand."

Mayor Fang Dingbei said understandingly, "Working with Huaneng Group, how could you not be busy? Their product specifications are high and their requirements are meticulous. Of course, you need to be careful and diligent, but the Sky Eye System for Hanzhong City cannot wait either. Junior Brother, give me a definitive answer: how long will it take to build the system you envision?"

"This..."

Wang Shuo thought about his concept and hurriedly shook his head. According to that standard, it wouldn't be built for years. He revealed an awkward smile. "This might be a bit difficult."

Mayor Fang Dingbei raised an eyebrow.

"However, Senior Brother, rest assured. You have already paid the funds for the first phase. If it's just to build the first phase..."

Wang Shuo held up a finger. "One month, at most one month, and I will definitely give you a complete, first-phase Sky Eye System."

"The first phase?"

Mayor Fang Dingbei had a mind to ask more, but his phone vibrated gently. He glanced at the message and put his phone away without changing his expression.

"In that case, that would be for the best, and I can give Director Jiao an answer."

As Mayor Fang Dingbei said this, he stood up and apologized to Professor Zeng and Ding Congsheng. "Teacher, Principal Ding, something has come up that needs to be handled, so I must take my leave."

Professor Zeng nodded with a smile, and Ding Congsheng stood up and said, "Mayor Fang, I'll see you out."

Wang Shuo didn't dare to be negligent either. He stood up, and just as Mayor Fang Dingbei was about to walk out the door, he impulsively said, "Senior Brother, is there one more thing I could trouble you with?"

Mayor Fang Dingbei's footsteps paused.

"Go ahead."

Thinking of the matter Liu Yemei had arranged, Wang Shuo quickly said, "Senior Brother, our company wants to change our business scope and organizational structure, but it's too troublesome to handle at the Municipal Service Hall, so you..."

Mayor Fang Dingbei looked black-faced, but he didn't stop walking out of the office, leaving only one sentence behind.

"Find the director of the Administration for Industry and Commerce; I will make the call."

Wang Shuo shouted happily, "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

No one responded; Wang Shuo only saw Mayor Fang Dingbei's back as he hurried downstairs.

Returning to the office, still feeling unsatisfied, Wang Shuo looked at Professor Zeng and said, "Teacher Zeng, this Mayor Fang is truly a good person."

Giving money, giving land, and even helping him solve many problems he couldn't solve himself—this made Wang Shuo very touched. Indeed, the officialdom wasn't necessarily filled with deceit, and officials weren't all selfish; look at Mayor Fang Dingbei, what a good mayor he was.

Professor Zeng looked at him helplessly and said, "Although Mayor Fang Dingbei let you call him Senior Brother, he himself is not a student of our school; he only came a few times while attending advanced studies, so don't make too many demands of him."

Wang Shuo was stunned for a moment. "I thought he was your student."

"He is considered half a student of mine."

Professor Zeng shook his head slightly. "Let's not talk about this anymore. It's rare for you to come to school, let's go."

"Go where?"

Professor Zeng looked at Wang Shuo dimly.

"Your students have been waiting for you for a long time."

Wang Shuo: "..."

The subsequent events were very simple. Wang Shuo, who dove headfirst into the classroom, received a warm welcome. Looking into pairs of eager eyes, Wang Shuo had no choice but to waste another four precious hours of his time.

After eating a free lunch at the school, Wang Shuo returned to the dormitory. After conquering the battlefield with the eldest and the third, he lay on his long-lost bed, looking at the ceiling and relaxing his mind.

For some time now, he had been truly exhausted.

Only in this small room did he feel a moment of tranquility.

It was as if time had stood still, and the air was filled with a lazy atmosphere everywhere. This feeling was familiar to Wang Shuo; it was almost exactly the same as the feeling he got from the eldest.

"Number Two."

Zheng Jun asked in a muffled voice, "I haven't paid attention to you these past few days. How is your company doing?"

Big Brother, Frontier Technology has been on the hot search list so many times; just how oblivious are you to not know anything about it?

Wang Shuo really wanted to retort, but he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have only told the few people in the dormitory that he had started a company, but hadn't told them the name of the company.

Hmm... That makes sense. Never mind.

"It's okay."

Wang Shuo spat out the bubblegum in his mouth, watched it land precisely in the trash can under the bed, and then said, "Made a little money, and I'm just preparing to expand the scale of the company."

"Impressive."

Zheng Jun said enviously, and then sighed, "I really envy you for being able to do your own thing. I just can't."

"What's wrong?"

Wang Shuo asked curiously. In his dormitory, the eldest had always been the most carefree one; he hadn't expected him to suddenly become sentimental.

"It's all because of my sister."

Zheng Jun said irritably, "I don't know what kind of madness she's suffering from. It's been a full two months, and she's still staying in Hanzhong City, doing nothing all day but supervising me and reporting to my dad. I'm really... I'm about to get depressed!"

"Uh..."

Wang Shuo was speechless.

If he told Zheng Jun that his sister was staying in Hanzhong City possibly because of him, would he be beaten to death?

"Ahem. Maybe she has something to do."

Wang Shuo said vaguely.

"Probably."

Zheng Jun sighed, "I hope it's not too dangerous a mission."

Wang Shuo's heart tightened inexplicably, and he hurriedly asked, "Will your sister's mission be dangerous?"

"I was just saying."

Zheng Jun said irritably, "In her line of work, what doesn't she encounter? Isn't it normal to encounter dangerous missions? Our Zheng family has no cowards."

If it weren't for the injury on his chest that hadn't fully healed, he would even have wanted to pat his chest to prove it.

Wang Shuo didn't speak, and the third didn't speak either, just lying quietly on the bed, not knowing what they were thinking. The atmosphere became quiet for a while.

After a while, Zheng Jun's voice sounded again.

"Number Two, Number Three, after this semester ends, we might not see each other next semester."

Zheng Jun's voice was low.

This time, the third spoke up, and in unison with Wang Shuo, said, "Why?"

"My old man is very dissatisfied with my grades."

Zheng Jun sighed, "I chose this major back then because I wanted to walk my own path, but I didn't expect..."

Thinking of Zheng Jun's disastrous grades, Wang Shuo and the third mourned in silence simultaneously.

"My old man said that I should finish this semester, and if I fail the final exams, he'll make me go back to be a soldier."

The third managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Being a soldier is pretty good."

"What are you thinking? It's conscription!"

Zheng Jun said indignantly, "My old man said my physical fitness isn't up to par and told me not to apply for special forces, so as not to embarrass him!"

Snorting heavily, Zheng Jun said, "I refuse. I'm going to join the special forces, and I'm going to let him know that there are no cowards in the Zheng family!"

"Firm ideals, a bright future." Wang Shuo gave a thumbs up. "If you really go to be a soldier, tell me before you leave, and I'll go see you off."

The third also said, "Me too."

"Definitely." Zheng Jun grinned. "But it's a pity that Number Four isn't here; otherwise, we would definitely have to make him treat us again."

The three of them were clear about Number Four's family background; he was a standard rich second-generation, the kind of rich second-generation that made people feel ashamed just by looking at him.

"Number Four isn't here, so no one is going to treat us?"

Wang Shuo revealed an expression of a villain who had gotten his way. "I'll treat you guys. Order whatever you want. I won't go unless it's a luxury restaurant, so you don't say I'm stingy."

"Yo."

Zheng Jun revealed an expression of surprise. "Number Two, did you strike it rich?"

"Just a little pocket money; it's enough to treat you guys to a meal."

Wang Shuo smiled very sincerely, and just as he was preparing to brag a little more, his phone suddenly vibrated. The strange ringtone made Zheng Jun somewhat confused.

"Number Two, what's that sound?"

Wang Shuo took out his phone, looked at the message on the screen, gently put the phone back into his pocket, and said with a smile, "It's nothing, just a spam call. Let's continue talking about the treat."

And in his pocket, on the screen that had just been turned off by Wang Shuo, lines of information appeared.

"Order received."

"Dispatching Guard No. 1, tracking the mission target."

"Target confirming... Target confirmed, hunt mode initiated."