Aviloya asked indifferently, "Is there a problem?"

Liang He said excitedly, "Of course there's a problem! The military conscripted him under urgent military conditions, yet he went to compete in a contest. This is the military abusing public resources for personal purposes! It's a violation that offends the entire world! This is our chance to strike at the military and punish Chen Gu, that degenerate..."

Aviloya interrupted, "What if the military says Chen Gu had already completed his mission, which is why he then went to the contest?"

"How could that be possible!" Liang He exclaimed, "How could urgent military conditions be resolved so easily?"

"Why couldn't it be possible?" asked Aviloya. "The military took Chen Gu away in the morning. There was an entire day in between."

Liang He knew it was impossible that the military was just exploiting their power to help Chen Gu, but if they really argued like that, logically there wouldn't be any issues.

Liang He was not willing to give up. "Director-General, Chen Gu used an outsider to resist the Bureau's orders—are you really going to let him off just like that?"

Aviloya fell silent for a moment. Just as Liang He thought he had persuaded her, Aviloya spoke again, "Liang He, you'll hand over your duties tonight and return to the special prison first thing in the morning to continue with your previous job. As for the base, someone else will replace you."

Then, before the dumbfounded Liang He could react, Aviloya had already hung up the phone.

Liang He couldn't understand why things had turned out this way. Even if the Director-General felt the military was too powerful and did not want to conflict with them, there was no need to punish him by sending him back to the special prison.

But he knew he was finished. The second chance he'd painstakingly waited years for had been ruined just like that. He was also very aware that he probably wouldn't get a third chance in this lifetime.

At least not during Aviloya's term as Director-General. Aviloya was at the Ninth Energy Level while he was only at the Seventh Energy Level. Since he was also older than her, she would likely still be Director-General long after he was gone.

At the very top floor of the Bureau's main building, after Aviloya hung up the phone, she shook her head disappointedly. "Liang He has messed up."

Liang He's failure was not good news for her. She had promoted Liang He, only to have him fill the base with grievances. Then she personally removed him, which looked a bit like she was contradicting herself.

But that was all there was to it.

From now on, I must never use someone with such low EQ unless absolutely necessary, Aviloya reminded herself.

She suddenly revealed a cold smile. Bai Yunpeng, I'm not stupid. I won't let you succeed.

Though Aviloya was reluctant to admit it, she knew deep down: For the Bureau of Mystic Security, Chen Gu was of utmost importance, far exceeding a Seventh Energy Level individual.

The Bureau had multiple individuals at the Seventh Energy Level, but Chen Gu was the only precedent-setting multi-profession pathfinder.

After the multi-profession path was researched, Chen Gu's importance seemed to have decreased, but that was not the case. These newly minted multi-profession individuals all needed the guidance of Chen Gu, the trailblazer.

The Bureau of Mystic Security wanted to assemble a special operations squad made up of multi-profession individuals, and Chen Gu was indispensable.

Once the Bureau had a sizeable number of multi-profession practitioners, it could completely surpass the professional organizations of the other three Star Nations.

In the face of such a grand goal, Aviloya could completely set aside any personal grudges.

Moreover, she was not oblivious to Liang He's actions at the base. His targeting of Chen Gu certainly annoyed Aviloya. However, what truly made her decide to send him away was that his attempts to target Chen Gu had severely delayed the progress of the entire project.

This project was almost as important as Chen Gu himself.

「...」

After the competition ended, Chen Gu returned to his box and celebrated with everyone, but throughout the process, he couldn't help but feel distracted.

Bai Yunpeng knew what he was worried about and, taking advantage of the alcohol, wrapped an arm around his shoulders and said, "What are you afraid of? I've got your back! If Aviloya wants to turn on you, it's the perfect opportunity for you to leave the Bureau of Mystic Security and rid yourself of these restraints!"

Chen Gu forced a smile. Chen Jixian, Gao Mengjiu, and Man Suling all worked for the Bureau of Mystic Security. He could walk away, but they couldn't. This was especially true for that blockhead, the freelancer who'd been recruited; he now truly belonged to the Bureau, dead or alive. If Aviloya wanted to control him, it would be incredibly easy!

So Chen Gu stuck to his principle, unwilling to leave the Bureau unless absolutely necessary.

He finished the night of revelry with a heavy heart and went home to sleep until the next morning, yet he still hadn't received any message from the Bureau.

They say the calm before the storm is the quietest, and this had Chen Gu feeling even more anxious.

Once Great Actor Chen started feeling guilty, he looked for more protection, so he went back to school very seriously to listen to his mentor's teachings.

However, when he got to the school gate, Chen Gu was puzzled: Is this the Huai Shan Branch School?

Although he knew the school had been rebuilt, this change was too drastic!

If the previous school was "Daming Palace," then the current school was "Efang Palace"—grander, more splendid, and much more expansive.

The headmaster's personal life was very "simple," because at his level, though unwilling, he must appear modest to set an example for others—but in reality, the headmaster was a very "extravagant" man.

After the last accident, the headmaster had said during the reconstruction that he wanted to build it even better, "to show those lurking in the shadows that they could never defeat us. They would only make us better and stronger!"

Listen to that—how inspiring, how chicken soup for the soul.

But in the entire school, only two old-timers, Zhong Yuanbei and Shentu Lu, knew the truth. The headmaster had long felt the school was "old" and not "majestic" enough. He had always wanted to rebuild it but had never found an excuse. This time, he could be said to have turned misfortune into a blessing.

Chen Gu downloaded the new school map and then followed it to find the new "Yuanbei Hall." Man, it's three whole sizes larger than before...

BEEP—

The access control system emitted a long warning tone but didn't open the door!

Chen Gu was puzzled. New place, did the teacher forget to give me access? He rang the doorbell repeatedly, seven or eight times, after which Zhong Yuanbei's impatient voice came out, "Who is it!"

Chen Gu put on a smile and said in a drawn-out, sugary voice, "Master! I've come back to listen to your teachings!"

"Scram!" Zhong Yuanbei cursed. "Go do whatever you want; don't disturb me until we recruit a junior brother next year."

Chen Gu: "..."

Plastic mentor-mentee relationship, confirmed! 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Chen Gu left Yuanbei Hall in dismay, planning to return to the dorms—that's when he remembered: After the school was rebuilt, this is my first time back. Where is my dorm?