Chapter 225
The National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities
The news about Delice buying adult comics hit the headlines, and the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities was buzzing with discussions around the topic.
“Miss Shen, do you think we should send some adult comics over to the Crescent Group?”
Shen Yuxing frowned. “No need for that.”
Sending adult comics for no reason at all would be far too abrupt.
“Many factions have already sent them.”
Shen Yutong: … To curry favor with Chu Feng, some factions really had no shame at all!
Shen Yutong rested her chin in her hand, hesitating. If all the major factions have sent them, would it look bad if our National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities didn’t?
After weighing it over, Shen Yuxing still decided not to send anything.
Their relationship with Chu Feng was already good—no need for unnecessary gestures.
Besides, it seemed like the Crescent Group was already drowning in adult comics. Reading through them all might take quite a while…
*
Yangfan Group
Zhuang Feilei looked at the various news reports about the Crescent Group, feeling conflicted.
The Crescent Group’s “adult comics incident” was stirring up a storm, but surprisingly, it hadn’t attracted much negative criticism.
Originally, many people saw the Crescent Group as a bit aloof and unapproachable. After this incident, it actually came across as much more down-to-earth in the public’s eyes.
In chaotic times, people with strength were always respected.
If one was powerful enough, even doing something unconventional could be more easily accepted by the masses.
The office door was suddenly pushed open, and Zhuang Ming walked in casually.
Zhuang Feixu glanced at her and silently criticized her lack of manners— barging straight into the office without knocking.
“What are you doing here?” Zhuang Feilei asked coolly, suppressing her displeasure.
Zhuang Ming flopped onto the sofa with a touch of arrogance. “Grandfather asked me to come. He wants to borrow Yangfan Group’s research lab.”
Zhuang Feixu frowned. “The lab is in constant use. I’m afraid we can’t lend it out.”
Zhuang Ming gave her a lofty look. “Aren’t you going to ask Second Uncle’s opinion?”
Zhuang Feixu said flatly, “The lab has always been under my management.”
Zhuang Ming sneered. “Yes, you’ve managed it, but it hasn’t produced much, has it? Just a waste of funds. Second Uncle is too lenient—if he’d replaced you earlier, maybe the lab would have already achieved great results.”
Zhuang Feixu’s voice sharpened. “What are you implying?”
Zhuang Ming rolled her eyes. “If it weren’t for you, Second Uncle’s relationship with Chu Feng wouldn’t be so strained. If Chu Feng were willing to hand over even a small formula, it would be enough for the lab to make a name for itself. Isn’t it you who’s holding them back?”
Zhuang Feilei’s face flushed, fists clenching. She didn’t want to admit it, but there was some truth to Zhuang Ming’s words. No matter how much money she invested or how many experts she poached, it couldn’t compare to the value of even a tiny piece of knowledge from Chu Feng.
The Crescent Group could casually launch something like “snake wine” and cause a massive stir. Meanwhile, her lab—despite heavy funding—still hadn’t produced any standout product.
“If no one had meddled and caused that baby-swap incident back then, things wouldn’t be like this now.”
Zhuang Ming scoffed. “Why are you acting like the victim? If the baby-swap hadn’t happened, how would you have ended up as the Zhuang family’s daughter?”
Zhuang Feixu bit her lip, feeling a pang of embarrassment.
Although her authority in the company was the same as before, she could feel that the way employees looked at her had changed. Even she no longer had the same confidence she once did…
Zhuang Zhenyang pushed open the meeting room door and entered, interrupting the quarrel between Zhuang Feixu and Zhuang Ming.
“Second Uncle,” Zhuang Ming greeted warmly, completely different from her cold tone toward Zhuang Feixu.
Zhuang Zhenyang glanced at her in displeasure. “Why are you here?”
“I came to see you, Second Uncle.”
Zhuang Zhenyang waved his hand. “That’s kind of you, but there’s nothing to see here. If there’s nothing else, you should go back.”
Zhuang Ming pursed her lips, feeling a little sulky. After the earthquake, the Zhuang Group’s headquarters had suffered heavy losses, their cash flow was broken, and lately the company had been barely staying afloat.
Zhuang Zhenhua had no choice but to seek help from Zhuang Zhenyang. Since the relationship between the two brothers was tense, Zhuang Zhenhua couldn’t bring himself to come personally and sent Zhuang Ming to test the waters instead.
Being a younger female relative, she was supposed to be easier to talk to.
Zhuang Ming thought it was embarrassing, but she still understood the importance of the bigger picture.
Now that Zhuang Zhenyang was basically showing her the door, she felt rather awkward.
Her sharp eyes caught a glimpse of his phone screen—it was open to a post about the Crescent Group.
“Second Uncle, you sure are interested in the Crescent Group! My own phone feed is completely flooded with news about their adult comics incident,” Zhuang Ming said with a smile.
Zhuang Zhenyang awkwardly switched off his phone. “It’s nothing.”
Since Chu Feng’s abilities were exposed, his fame had skyrocketed, and many fans were digging into his past.
Out of curiosity, Zhuang Zhenyang had even joined a fan group. People there had shared stories from Chu Feng’s old days as a deliveryman. Now that he was famous, those bitter struggles had been rebranded as an inspiring tale of hard work. Learning about his past experiences, Zhuang Zhenyang felt a pang of guilt toward this son of his.
Zhuang Feilei’s expression shifted, her heart sinking. Does father still care about Chu Feng deep down?
She felt that, at some point, her adoptive parents had begun treating her more coldly.
“Second Uncle is really lucky—having such a capable son. Whenever trouble comes, he can solve it for you,” Zhuang Ming said, her voice tinged with sourness.
Zhuang Zhenyang gave a bitter smile. His relationship with Chu Feng was so tense that even if he did have trouble, he wouldn’t have the face to ask him for help.
That said, when it really came down to a life-or-death situation, Chu Feng probably wouldn’t just stand by and watch.
“Second Uncle, who exactly are those people around Chu Feng? Why does he let them run wild like that? Just buying a little yellow book caused such a huge commotion,” Zhuang Ming said, shaking her head.
Delice and Gray were hailed as the little princess and little prince of Crescent, which made Zhuang Ming feel a twinge of sourness.
Zhuang Zhenyang thought to himself: Illya’s background is unknown, and Delice and Gray seem to be people from Illya’s side. Perhaps out of affection for Illya, Chu Feng also takes special care of her people. Still, they’re just some random girl and boy from who-knows-where, yet they’re being treated so highly.
Zhuang Zhenyang glanced at Zhuang Ming and said, “They’re still young, and don’t understand many things.”
Delice and Gray seemed to have always lived in seclusion, isolated from the world, and knew very little about many matters.
In truth, Delice hadn’t done anything particularly outrageous. When it came down to it, the paparazzi were just watching her too closely, and the fans were overly passionate. Reportedly, the Crescent Group had received so many little dirty books that their storage was overflowing—several idle offices at the company were now piled full of them.
“You can see a person’s nature by the age of three. You can’t just let them run wild because they’re young!” Zhuang Ming said.
Zhuang Zhenyang shot her a glance, waved impatiently, and said, “Niece, no need to probe. Even as his father, I don’t hold much sway with Chu Feng.”
Zhuang Ming gave an awkward smile. “Second Uncle, you’re being too modest.”
Zhuang Zhenyang waved her off. “I still have a lot to deal with here. If there’s nothing else, you should go.”
Seeing his cold expression, Zhuang Ming felt reluctant but said, “Alright, Second Uncle, I’ll go now.”
Meanwhile, Delice sat in a break room filled with books, looking troubled.
“What should we do with all these books?” Delice asked.
Gray looked at her. “Why not burn them?”
Delice puffed out her cheeks. “Wouldn’t that be a waste? We went to so much trouble to get them, and now we’re going to burn them? Besides, burning things casually is bad—it pollutes the environment.”
Chen Chao blinked. “We could sell them to a recycling station!”
Chen Chao and his group had been controlled by human traffickers since childhood. When they weren’t begging, they sometimes collected scrap books, soda cans, and other recyclables to sell for money.
Delice turned to him. “Will a recycling station take them?”
Chen Chao nodded. “Sure, lots of them will.”
Delice’s eyes lit up. “That’s great! Not only can we get rid of the books, but we can make money too. Chen Chao, how much can we get for this many books?”
Chen Chao puffed out his cheeks. “Old books go for fifty cents a jin right now.”
“There must be tens of thousands of jin here,” Delice counted on her fingers excitedly. “That means we can make a lot of money!”
“Probably,” Chen Chao said.
Delice clapped her hands, delighted. “If that’s the case, then perfect! Problem solved, and we can earn a bit too. Chen Chao, you’re so smart!”
Chen Chao scratched his head. “Not really.”
It did feel a bit of a waste to sell the books as scrap, but the top priority now was getting rid of them.
The boss had been quite distressed about these books.
Delice had Chen Chao call over a few recycling dealers and asked some staff to help. Soon, the warehouse full of books was cleared out.
Delice held a stack of red banknotes and counted them three times—each time getting a different total.
Jin Jie watched the girl scratching her head in frustration and thought: maybe God is fair—He gave Delice extraordinary beauty and special powers, but didn’t give her a clever brain.
Gray looked at her. “Can you even handle this? Didn’t you say you could count from one to a hundred thousand?”
Delice waved the bills in her hand. “There’s too many, I can’t count them all at once. Do you think it’s over a hundred thousand?”
Gray scratched his head. “Doesn’t look like it.”
“Whatever. This is more than enough for a while. Sister Jin Jie, want to go shopping with me? I’ve got money now, I can treat you to dinner.”
Jin Jie quickly shook her head. “No, no.”
She secretly rolled her eyes. Last time Delice went out for a stroll, it caused such a big mess—she wasn’t eager to repeat that.
“Alright then.” Delice stuffed the cash into her bag.
“Sister Jin Jie, I heard the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities has someone with a cooking ability?”
Jin Jie nodded. “Yes, there’s a Spirit Chef. He used to be a famous chef, and after awakening his ability, his cooking became so delicious you’d want to swallow your tongue.”
What was even rarer was that he could prepare mutant beast meat, bringing out its full nutrition and boosting physical fitness. Lately, the queue to book a meal with him was nearly endless.
Delice’s eyes sparkled. “I heard his food is amazing—let’s go try it!”
Jin Jie shook her head helplessly. “That Spirit Chef charges at least a million per meal.”
Delice blinked. “That expensive?”
Jin Jie nodded. “Yes.”
Delice sighed in frustration. “We’re both ability-users—why is it so easy for others to make money, and so hard for me? Is my ability really that useless?”
Jin Jie: “…It’s not that your ability is useless, it’s just that you haven’t found a way to use it to make money yet. Honestly, you don’t even need to rely on your ability—you could just live off your looks. The calls online for you to debut are already overwhelming.”
