Stronger with More Jobs-Chapter 279 - 181: Golden Body Surges Again

Fang Qingyu was slightly stunned.

"Captain Lin?"

"Mm." Lin Kang responded, his gaze sweeping over Fang Qingyu, and then landed on Jiang Wei, who was just jumping off a high stool and walking over. "Come with me, I’ll take you to grab a bite."

No explanation, no pleasantries.

After speaking, Lin Kang turned and led the way out, his steps steady.

Fang Qingyu and Jiang Wei exchanged glances.

There was no ripple on Jiang Wei’s small face; she simply silently crunched the last bit of her lollipop before jogging a couple of steps to catch up with Fang Qingyu.

Lin Kang didn’t drive the Divine Management Bureau’s iconic off-road assault vehicle.

Instead, he drove a somewhat worn but not old black civilian sedan, its engine hum deep.

The car drove out of the Divine Management Bureau’s underground parking lot, merging into the nighttime traffic of Qingjian City.

Neon lights flickered, car headlights intertwined.

Lin Kang drove the car but did not head towards the brightly lit commercial areas or upscale restaurants.

Instead, he took a series of twists and turns, finally stopping at the side of a relatively quiet, dimly lit old street.

At the street corner stood a simple plastic canopy.

Under the canopy were a few folding tables and a few plastic stools.

An elderly man with graying hair, wearing an apron, was hunched over, tending to a steaming hot pot, from which rolled a thick white bone broth base, its rich aroma drifting in the cool night breeze.

This was just an ordinary street-side noodle stand.

"Boss, three bowls of noodles, extra meat, extra egg."

Lin Kang familiarly pulled out a plastic stool and sat down, speaking in a low voice.

"Alright! Captain Lin! Just a moment!"

The old man clearly knew Lin Kang, revealing a genuine smile and quickly started cooking the noodles.

Fang Qingyu and Jiang Wei sat across from Lin Kang.

The small folding table, with a dim incandescent bulb hanging overhead, swayed slightly in the night wind, elongating and shortening the shadows of the three.

Soon enough.

Three steaming bowls of noodles, covered with soy-colored braised meat and golden poached eggs, were brought over.

The noodles were chewy, the broth rich, the braised meat tender, the edges of the poached eggs crispy and browned.

Simple food, exuding a warm aroma that soothed the heart.

Lin Kang picked up his chopsticks, stirred the noodles in his bowl, but didn’t start eating right away.

The dim light fell on his angular profile, casting deep shadows.

He ate a few bites of noodles in silence, moving slowly, as if organizing his thoughts, or perhaps reminiscing.

"Back in the day," Lin Kang’s voice broke the silence, low and somewhat blurred amidst the rising steam of the noodle soup, "I mentored someone in the bureau."

"His name was Chen Feng. Exceptionally talented, just like you, he came from an ordinary background, very ambitious, quite relentless in martial arts. When at the Micro level, he dared to chase after Life Ghosts at the initial tier of Profound; that kind of tenacity was rare in the bureau back then."

"Later, like you, he was selected for a project similar to the ’Hidden Dragon’ initiative, and went to Shangjing."

Lin Kang picked up a piece of braised meat, dipping it in the noodle soup but not putting it into his mouth.

"When he first arrived, he was high-spirited, and every time he sent back news it was about his rapid progress, being noticed by some Martial Saint, acquiring resources, shining in contests... we were all happy for him, thinking Qingjian had produced a True Dragon."

Lin Kang’s voice grew lower, carrying a trace of unnoticeable regret.

"Later on, the news changed in tone. He began to complain about unfair resource distribution, about others using their backgrounds to snatch his opportunities, about the arrogance of the scions of noble families... his words were full of discontent, scheming, all showing an impatience for quick success."

"The last mission was a cleanup of a large group of Life Ghosts in a pollution zone on the outskirts of Shangjing. For the sake of stealing the glory, even when explicitly ordered by command to proceed cautiously and work collaboratively, he acted on his own, breaking away from the team, relying on his body technique’s speed, forcibly charging into the densest core area of the Life Ghosts, intending to kill the Peak of Profound leader in one go."

Lin Kang set down his chopsticks, the steam from the noodle soup blurring his expression.

"In the end... he underestimated the cunningness and power of that mutated Life Ghost, and underestimated the crazed counterattack of the agitated horde. He got trapped. To save him, the team he was with was forced to change plans, launch a hasty assault, resulting in three dead and five seriously injured... just to drag him out of a pile of corpses, himself half-dead, his foundation damaged, unable to make any further progress."

Under the dim light of the noodle stand, Lin Kang’s voice carried a kind of cold heaviness.

"Afterwards, when accountability was sought, he became the target of everyone’s criticism. He desperately argued, shifting the blame to incompetent command, to teammates’ insufficient support, to the exclusion by the noble families’ offspring... yet he never mentioned his own heart, which had been soaked and rotted in the vanity fair of Shangjing."

Lin Kang lifted his head, his gaze like a heavy block of lead pressing on Fang Qingyu’s heart.

"Qingzi, Shangjing is vast, and the waters of the Hidden Dragon run deep. The resources, the status, the faction struggles, the recruiting by noble families there... every one of them can easily magnify one’s ’discontent’ and ’desires’ countless times over. Just like the little oil slicks in this noodle soup, they look enticing, but too much clogs the eyes, clouds the heart, making one forget who they truly are and why they picked up the knife in the first place."

Lin Kang’s eyes were sharp as a blade’s edge, piercing deep into Fang Qingyu’s soul.

"Chen Feng forgot. He forgot why he held the knife. In his eyes were only the rankings on the merit list, only the meat in others’ bowls, only that seemingly golden, yet actually perilous shortcut. In the end, the knife was ruined, and so was he."

Lin Kang lifted the bowl, drinking the last bit of the noodle soup in one gulp, his Adam’s apple moved, making a dull sound.

He set down the empty bowl, his gaze heavily fixed on Fang Qingyu.

"I’m telling this story not to make you timid. Fight for what is worth fighting for; don’t compromise on anything! Without a strong fist, you can’t stand firm anywhere."

"I want to tell you, no matter how high you ascend in the future, how far you go, or how strong your fists become..."

Lin Kang’s voice was firm and carried an undeniable power that penetrated the heart.

"Never forget why you embarked on this path, why you gripped this knife."

"Don’t let the dazzling lights of Shangjing wash out your heart. Don’t let others’ gazes and evaluations distort your path. And above all, don’t let those tempting shortcuts, which seem easy, blind your eyes from seeing afar."

Under the dim streetlights, the steam from the noodle soup rose steadily.

Lin Kang’s words, like stones thrown into a deep pond, stirred ripples in Fang Qingyu’s heart.

It wasn’t meant as preaching, but as a warning to a younger generation about to venture out, using a witnessed downfall to serve as a reminder.

Fang Qingyu looked into Lin Kang’s eyes, eyes that had absorbed too many stories.

He remained silent for a few seconds.

Then, he picked up his chopsticks, slurping the last bite of the chewy noodles into his mouth, chewing, swallowing.

His actions were crisp and decisive.

Fang Qingyu lifted his head, meeting Lin Kang’s gaze, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up into a smile.

That smile was devoid of confusion or wavering.

"Captain Lin, rest assured."

Lin Kang looked at the familiar light in Fang Qingyu’s eyes...

The lines on his face seemed to soften for a moment, nodding ever so slightly.

He didn’t say anything more, just picked up the vinegar bottle on the table and poured a little more into his half-empty bowl of noodles.

"Boss, another bowl!"

"Alright!"

On the side, Jiang Wei had already finished her own bowl of noodles.

At this moment, she was quietly sitting on the plastic stool, her small hand unknowingly producing another lollipop, slowly unwrapping it.

She placed the shiny tangerine-flavored candy ball into her mouth, her little cheeks puffing up.

Her clear big eyes squinted slightly, reflecting the silhouettes of those two silent men eating noodles under the dim light.

The night breeze blew through the simple canopy of the noodle stand.

Bringing distant, indistinct noise from the city.

The air was filled with the warm fragrance of noodle soup and a hint of the sweet tangerine candy.