Chapter 134: Impenetrable Shamelessness

On the floor where Cao Fusheng was staying, many Upper Citizens had gradually gathered. They stood around without moving forward, watching the confrontation at the door with keen interest.

The daily work of the Enforcement and Inspection Department did not frighten them so badly that they dared not approach at all. They merely remained a dozen or so meters away, while the growing crowd gradually swallowed Bai Qingchu among them.

No one noticed that this reclusive director of the Research Department had also blended into the crowd.

The Enforcement and Inspection officers were relatively courteous toward Upper Citizens. Their superior bloodline was one reason, and some of them were employees of the Sky Pillar, or even relatives of middle- and lower-ranking administrators.

So long as no laws of survival were being violated, the officers would not resort to breaking into an Upper Citizen’s home. Everyone was entitled to a certain degree of private freedom.

This applied not only to Upper Citizens. Even Lower Citizens possessed the same autonomy. But once you stepped outside your own home, you had to pay attention to your conduct and appearance.

Although many people did not recognize the powerful Xun Xin, how could the Enforcement officers patrolling and stationed on this floor fail to recognize their immediate superior? They hurried over of their own accord to disperse the crowd, lest it interfere with their leader’s business.

“Director Xun, there’s one thing I particularly hate: having a gun pointed at me. It always brings back some unpleasant memories. So you’d better have your people lower their weapons. I’m not looking for trouble—I’m giving you a word of advice.”

Cao Fusheng spoke softly.

But to Xun Xin, those words sounded entirely different. What was this supposed to mean? He was the director of the Enforcement and Inspection Department, one of the eight most powerful figures beneath the Boss—and now, in full view of everyone, someone had actually threatened him?

Where was justice? Where were the rules? Where was the dignity of a department director?

No matter how flippant Xun Xin usually was, he could not swallow this humiliation.

“Teach him a lesson. Don’t go too far.” Xun Xin pointed at Cao Fusheng and said sternly, “Does he really think he’s some big shot? Let me tell you this: apart from the Boss and Big Shot Qiu, no one in the Sky Pillar has ever dared threaten me!”

Inwardly, he excluded Ruan Luoluo from that statement. A man ought not to argue with a woman.

Cao Fusheng had already displayed many abilities that astonished him. Whether it was knowing how much energy remained in the Sky Pillar or restoring energy that had been completely depleted, everything about this man fascinated him greatly.

But that did not give Cao Fusheng the right to do whatever he pleased.

After all, this was the Sky Pillar.

Cao Fusheng shook his head in disappointment. As the five or six Enforcement officers holstered their guns and charged in for close combat, he remained utterly unmoved.

At such close range, even firearms posed no threat to him, let alone hand-to-hand fighting.

They were courting death.

Still, he obviously could not treat these men like true enemies and beat them mercilessly. If he actually injured them—or worse, crippled them all—the aftermath would be difficult to manage.

Gao Yi widened his eyes and was about to act, but Cao Fusheng casually extended one finger and pressed the sandbag-sized fist back down. He gave him a look that said to remain calm.

A fist came toward Cao Fusheng’s stomach. The space by the doorway was already cramped, and now there was nowhere to dodge unless he retreated into the room.

But retreating had never been his style. Ever since he had made his name, he had never backed down from another person—not even once. The only exception had been when facing predators.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang…”

Five dull impacts rang out in succession. To the bystanders, the man’s punches were too fast to follow.

Far too fast.

They were nearly fast enough to leave afterimages. Even from five or six meters away, Xun Xin could hear the fierce rush of air produced by those blows. Apart from the members of the Third Division of the Action Corps and Bian Qiu himself, he had never seen anyone produce such an effect with their fists.

What he did not know was that Cao Fusheng had deliberately restrained his strength. If he struck an ordinary person with his full power, a single punch would be enough to take a life.

As expected, each of the Enforcement officers took a punch before being hurled away as effortlessly as dolls.

Cao Fusheng straightened his clothes and smiled faintly. “What is it, Director Xun? As their chief, would you like to set an example?”

“Heh heh… Mr. Cao, you’re joking. I’ve certainly learned my lesson today. Now, let’s get down to business. About the infected-person issue I mentioned earlier… the main problem was with the blood tests… Let me explain everything in detail. It happened like this…”

Watching her immediate superior, Xun Xin, walk away shoulder to shoulder with Cao Fusheng, his private secretary A Li felt her face burning. She quietly pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed.

“There’s really no one in the entire Sky Pillar with skin as thick as his… Get up, all of you. The director said he’ll pay the contribution points for your medical treatment. He also said you should train more whenever you have nothing to do. What kind of skills were those? You were beaten before you could even see the man’s fists.”

After saying this, A Li stamped her foot and hurried after the director.

Those words had not been dictated by Xun Xin. They were A Li’s own attempt to clean up after him. In truth, many of the ideas implemented by the Enforcement and Inspection Department had been hers; they merely came out of Xun Xin’s mouth.

Willingly serving as the director’s little secretary behind the scenes—that was A Li.

“Sis-in-law… I really wanted to beat that man just now. What a bastard…” Gao Yi stared blankly at the two departing figures, speechless for a moment.

In his imagination, Xun Xin, as the department director, would surely set an example for his men and avenge them by engaging Captain Cao in a clash between two powerhouses—a passionate, blood-pumping battle.

That was the only way to preserve the director’s prestige. Who could have expected the whole matter to end so hastily? It was outrageous!

Han Shuqing nodded in agreement. Fortunately, the matter had not escalated too far. As a woman, she tended to view things more carefully than men and was less likely to let so-called hot-blooded impulses drive her into rash action.

Moreover, given her temperament and experience, she would never act recklessly.

If one had to describe her, she was more resolute than ruthless.

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“Let me introduce you. This is the director of our Research Department, Director Bai Qingchu.” Xun Xin solemnly introduced the middle-aged man in his forties beside him.

At first glance, Bai Qingchu did indeed look somewhat older than his age. His hair was nearly half white, and even his complexion was unusual.

Just like his surname, Bai—he was exceedingly pale, with the pallor of someone in poor health.

“Heh heh… So you’re Director Bai. A pleasure to meet you.” Cao Fusheng smiled and greeted him.

Bai Qingchu smiled faintly in return. He was extremely curious about Cao Fusheng, but the matter at hand was more urgent.

“Mr. Cao, you’ve heard what happened just now, so we hope you’ll cooperate. We’d like to take you to the Medical Department for a comprehensive examination. If they still can’t find anything wrong, then we’ll have no choice but to ask you to visit the Research Department.”

Cao Fusheng secretly kept his guard up. Were these people planning to dissect him? First the Medical Department, then the Research Department.

Still, his body had an extremely high resistance to drugs. If they wanted to do anything to him, they would first have to knock him unconscious. And if he detected anything amiss, he could react immediately.