Chapter 28

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The outstanding graduates from the war orphan school have one thing in common: they are all very intelligent but lack emotional intelligence. Du Qian is like this, Lei Ming is like this, and Yao Jing is also like this.

The analysis was completed in less than half an hour. Du Qian and the second miss had some chemistry, which Sima Yi would never allow. Du Qian asked for five hundred spirit horns, which on the surface seemed unreasonable, but in reality, he was very reasonable and got a good deal.

But in Sima Yi's eyes, this good deal was a loss. A patrol officer who knows when to advance and retreat, and is willing to risk his life, should not be given such a small reward. High-ranking officials can disregard the lives of low-ranking ones, but he could not disregard his own face.

Since the reward was not enough, he had to compensate in other ways, and this compensation fell on himself.

She knew Du Qian, as they were both war orphans, classmates, and graduated at the same time. Just these facts meant their relationship was not distant. Du Qian dared to refuse a grain of rice, showing both personality and intelligence. He remained calm in the presence of a high-ranking official, showing courage.

Meeting these requirements was already quite good, but there was more that satisfied Sima Yi: at just eighteen years old, Du Qian had a combat power of 220,000, which was impressive.

Du Qian was capable, perceptive, and brave, and they were classmates and of the same age. What was missing? Power and status. What he lacked, Sima Yi could easily provide, and that was the identity of an Iron Guard.

She would be the guardian that Sima Yi placed by Du Qian's side. They could live their own lives normally, but when needed, she would step forward to protect Du Qian.

At the same time, this identity of an Iron Guard was also a reward for herself.

Understanding the cause and effect, and then looking at Sima Yi's methods, Yao Jing felt like a fool.

She usually thought she was smart, being the best among the 1,200 war orphans in her class. It took her about an hour to figure out the relationship, but Sima Yi, in just a few minutes, not only understood it but also found the best solution. How could she compare?

No wonder he was one of the Nine Ministers, no wonder he could sit in the position of Energy Minister. One cannot underestimate the people in high positions; none of them are simple.

It was this mindset that led to the previous phone call. To her surprise, Senior Brother Du Qian actually said he was busy?

War orphans don't have time to focus on romance, but the mutual admiration between young men and women is a natural instinct, a result of hormone secretion. Even if they don't say or do anything, the affection still exists.

Yao Jing was quite confident in her appearance, not a beauty, but enough to be alluring.

This senior brother was a bit hard to understand.

"When will Senior Brother be free?"

"Tomorrow, but you have to work, and I usually don't have time in the evening." Come on, I need to practice martial arts in the evening, where would I have time to have dinner with you? And it's embarrassing to let a girl pay for the meal.

"See you at noon tomorrow at the branch office entrance." She hung up directly. Phone bills cost money, and like Du Qian, Yao Jing had just started working and hadn't received her salary yet, so they were both not wealthy.

Looking at the disconnected phone, Du Qian was puzzled for three seconds.

He couldn't understand this junior sister. Du Qian wasn't so self-centered as to think Yao Jing liked him; she was a war queen, and he was just a nobody.

Putting down the phone, he reached out to open the storage box.

What the hell, the phone rang again. This phone had never rung since he got it, and now it wouldn't stop.

"Hello, who is this?"

No response, damn it, who was it this time? It wasn't Du Qian's fault he didn't know who was calling. The phone he got from the patrol team had only the patrol team's number in it, so he couldn't tell who was calling just by the number.

"Which junior sister? I'll hang up if there's nothing."

"Are many junior sisters calling you?"

"Ah... of course not." It was actually his cousin Zhang Xiu, who was indeed resourceful. Getting his phone number was too easy.

"Knowing you're fine is enough, I'll hang up." His cousin hung up even faster, not even asking how he was doing, just hanging up after hearing his voice.

Sighing at the phone, his cousin seemed even colder, almost more chilling than Junior Sister Yao Jing. But why did this coldness make him feel warm inside?

Putting down the phone, he raised his hand and turned to look at the phone again. No one would call again, right? After doing this twice, Du Qian smiled to himself and opened the box.

The only people he had any connection with were his cousin and Lei Ming. Lei Ming wasn't around, and Yao Jing's call was unexpected, let alone anyone else.

Without a phone, he longed to have one, and now that he had one, he hoped someone would call. War orphans, don't set your expectations too high. Even if you want to pretend to be busy, you have to wait a few years.

Loneliness is not scary; low combat power means no future.

His body twisted easily, and in less than a minute, he completed the spirit induction posture. He didn't rush to take the spirit horns but closed his eyes and slowly felt it. Today's experience told him that when he couldn't see, he heard and thought more.

They say that when God closes a door, He opens a window. Yeah, that makes sense, but I live on the 28th floor; would I dare jump out the window?

Soon, spirit energy entered his body from the top of his head, and his desire rose at the same time, progressing much faster than usual. Could it be that practicing in the daytime was better than at night?

Du Qian had almost never practiced during the day before; he used to have classes during the day and now had to work, so he only had time at night. A night of practice could replace sleep.

Today's practice was surprisingly good, making him wonder if the time of day made a difference.

When Du Qian woke up again, it was already dark outside. Looking down, the street lights were on, and it was almost seven o'clock.

"Damn, it took so long."

According to his original plan, after absorbing one spirit horn, he would take the box to the bank, rent a storage locker, and keep it there for safety. Although the bank's storage lockers cost money, the price wasn't high, and most importantly, they were safe.

But it was already seven in the evening, and the bank had closed, so he couldn't deposit it. He would have to wait until tomorrow. Fortunately, he had a three-day leave, and he decided to stay in the house and guard the box until it was sent away.

Eating? He was really hungry. This was no problem for Du Qian; there was a profession called food delivery. It was more expensive and not very tasty, but it was convenient.

Twenty minutes later, he paid through the door crack, received the boxed meal, and started eating. He had eaten something in the morning and had no time for lunch. Du Qian was in his growth period, and his appetite was huge. He ordered a meal for three people and finished it in a few minutes, feeling seven-tenths full.

Damn, his combat power didn't increase much, but his appetite sure did.

Thinking of his combat power, Du Qian's heart itched. He had just absorbed a complete spirit horn, which looked much better than the new recruit gift he had received before. He wondered how effective it would be.

He really wanted to go to the commercial district to test it, but that would cost money, and what about the box in the room? If it was lost, he would be devastated. No, it was safer to wait.

Continuous practice was not a good choice. His teacher at school had explained this in detail, and the possibility of error in the basic knowledge of martial cultivators, which humans had studied for thousands of years, was almost zero. Knowing not to do it was enough; there was no need to know the details.

Before graduation, Du Qian had no confidence in becoming a martial cultivator, let alone spending time studying what he considered completely useless knowledge.

After practicing all afternoon, he had used up one spirit horn and had eaten. Looking at the bare walls, Du Qian found himself with nothing to do.

If he wanted to practice again, his teacher said the shortest interval should be no less than four hours, which would be around midnight. How to pass these four or five hours?

If you asked any normally grown-up young person how to pass the time, they would give you countless answers. Even if Du Qian couldn't leave the room, there were many ways.

Du Qian was a war orphan, not normal, but not abnormal either. He knew what he should know and had learned what he should learn.

How to pass these few hours was a dilemma. The reason was simple: there was no TV at home, but there was a phone on the bed, which could connect to the internet.

At the orphan school, the opportunity to go online was rare, considered a high-end subject. War orphans could learn the most basic operations, which was a kind of welfare.

Virtual reality was just a fantasy; ordinary internet access was no problem. But using a phone to go online cost money, and it wasn't cheap.

Du Qian was thinking: this phone was borrowed from the bureau. Who would pay for the internet? Would the bureau reimburse it, or would it be deducted from his salary?

After ten minutes of hesitation, he looked at the box under the bed and suddenly realized. To hell with being poor, I'm rich now. Internet fees are nothing. If the bureau reimburses, great; if not, I'll pay myself. Selling a spirit storage box would cover two months of internet, and it's even a monthly plan.

His handsome face turned a bit red. What a poor man's life. He had hesitated for three minutes over a ten-yuan phone internet fee, which was embarrassing.

He lifted his head, puffed out his chest, and decided to act like a rich man.

He forgot that in the morning, he had hesitated over spending ten yuan on a spirit fragment, thinking it was too expensive and wouldn't last long.

He grabbed the phone and called the service desk, ready to sign up for a yearly plan. Wasn't it just 120 yuan? Six boxes, that's all.

"Sorry, your account balance is insufficient." The sweet voice of the operator came from the phone.

Damn...

Du Qian had forgotten that he had spent too much recently, and the spirit bones and bone marrow in the storage tube hadn't been sold yet. The items under the bed were worth 50,000 to 60,000, but his identity card had only about 70 yuan, which was not enough to pay for the yearly internet plan.

He slapped his thigh. What a fool, what a fool. Fortunately, he hadn't signed up. This phone and number belong to the police bureau...

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