Chapter 581 – Precedents? Just Create One

The atmosphere in the room became extremely tense as the two men locked eyes in silent contemplation.

Mu Chen was feeling particularly unsettled at this moment. Had he known right away that this man was Ling Mo, he might have resorted to some drastic measures—like, perhaps, a fight.

In his mind, Ling Mo was a considerable threat. The fact that Ling Mo had killed an insignificant Level nine member like Jian Qi didn’t mean much to Mu Chen.

But being capable of injuring Number 0 was an entirely different matter.

The existence of Number 0 could be said to ensure the normal operation of the Niepan Branch. If anything were to happen to Number 0, the whole branch could potentially be paralyzed.

Although they had prepared some contingency plans in advance, those were only for emergencies.

Number 0, however, was exceptionally special. The effort and energy spent to cultivate it were almost incalculable.

Ling Mo was the first mental ability user who posed a threat to Number 0. Mu Chen hoped to extinguish this danger before the flames could rise.

But now, Mu Chen’s thoughts were in conflict with his initial plans…

Despite his disdain for Ling Mo, Mu Chen had to admit that after spending some time together, he realized that their relationship didn’t have to be a life-or-death struggle…

It all came down to interests, the most critical factor.

Where exactly was the balance point of interests for both parties?

Mu Chen was completely at a loss. He didn’t know what Ling Mo wanted.

“Damn it! It’s all because the enemy is too cunning!” Mu Chen roared inwardly.

Before setting off, Ai Feng had told him to act according to the situation, but now…

Mu Chen glanced at Ye Lian, who was staring at him intently, and he couldn’t help but smile bitterly in his heart, “What kind of situation is this? This is outright coercion…”

“Jian Qi was killed by you, wasn’t he?” Mu Chen organized his thoughts and broke the silence.

“Yes,” Ling Mo nodded.

“And you’re the one who hurt our people?” Mu Chen pressed on.

This time, he was clearly referring to Number 0. As soon as he mentioned it, Ling Mo involuntarily thought of the baby’s cry he had once heard.

“So it counts as a ‘person’…” Ling Mo mused aloud.

“Nonsense! Of course, it counts as a person!” Mu Chen exclaimed angrily, but after a pause of two seconds, he uncertainly added, “Mostly…”

“Oh…” Ling Mo drew out his reply, then curiously probed, “Which part doesn’t count?”

“Well, of course…” Mu Chen started to respond but then suddenly clamped his mouth shut and glared at Ling Mo, “Stop trying to trip me up with your questions!”

“Tsk…”

“What are you ‘tsking’ at! Do you think I’m stupid!”

Mu Chen watched Ling Mo with a complex look for a long while, then suddenly sighed deeply and began massaging his temples with both hands.

He was genuinely suffering from a headache, especially with this feeling of being led around by Ling Mo, which he found particularly awkward: “How much do you know about our Niepan?”

“Not much, but it’s enough,” Ling Mo replied, his expression unchanged.

“I…” Mu Chen felt somewhat powerless, Ling Mo’s straightforwardness left no room for threat or pretense…

At the very least, Mu Chen could be certain of one thing—Ling Mo didn’t immediately take them down, which meant that he, or rather Niepan behind them, held some value to Ling Mo.

But what kind of value could it be that would sway Ling Mo so significantly?

Resources? Information?

No… Ling Mo already had Team F and Falcon Second Camp at his disposal. As a survivor, that was enough for him to get by.

So what was it about Niepan that caught Ling Mo’s eye?

Mu Chen stared at Ling Mo for a moment, then suddenly his face lit up with an epiphany, while he quickly shifted his position to the back of his chair.

“What are you doing?” Ling Mo sharply noticed the detail.

“You’re not thinking… that I’m going to work for you permanently, are you? Let me make it clear, although I’m from Niepan, I’m not tied down there, and I won’t sacrifice myself,” Mu Chen warned seriously. “I suggest you get that idea out of your head…”

“Who said I was interested in you…” It was Ling Mo’s turn to be speechless; Mu Chen certainly had a wild imagination!

The idea of Mu Chen working for him was only temporary. Now that Miracle Team was initially formed, Mu Chen no longer had much use. Otherwise, Ling Mo wouldn’t have chosen this moment to lay his cards on the table.

Relieved to hear Ling Mo didn’t want him, Mu Chen’s eyes darted around before he suddenly said enthusiastically, “Actually, Xia Zhi isn’t bad… Xu Shuhan is also okay. Don’t judge them by their appearances; they are actually very good at training people… How about it? Buy one, get one free, consider it?”

After rambling a bit and noticing Ling Mo’s lack of response, Mu Chen sighed helplessly, “Or… how about you join Niepan?”

This was what Ai Feng meant by acting according to the situation—either eliminate Ling Mo or win him over, both methods would remove the threat.

This was also where Niepan differed from other organizations; as long as the person taken out wasn’t a core member, former enemies could become allies.

Of course, this was due to their unique operational methods. In places like Falcon Camp or Team F, such a thing would be impossible.

The more centralized the personnel, the more certain things needed to be considered. It’s unthinkable for someone who killed a team member one day to be welcomed into the team the next.

But Niepan could do it; their people were scattered everywhere. Besides the executives, who knew someone like Jian Qi?

However, proposing to win someone over in such a situation made Mu Chen feel quite helpless.

“Go on, speak,” Ling Mo said, crossing his arms.

“Speak what?” Mu Chen was taken aback.

“Don’t you have to give an introduction when recruiting? Aren’t you going to introduce the company background?” Ling Mo looked at Mu Chen as if he was an idiot.

“Damn!”

Mu Chen was furious. Many people wanted to get into Niepan, and he wouldn’t even consider them. Yet now, here he was, a high executive personally inviting someone, and this person was actually asking him to introduce the background!

He supposed the introduction was just a ruse, a way to fish for more information.

What troubled Mu Chen the most was that even though he knew exactly what Ling Mo was up to, under the current circumstances, he had no choice but to play along with Ling Mo’s demands.

“Alright… let me give you an introduction…” Mu Chen was thoroughly defeated.

…

The next morning, when Xu Shuhan and Xia Zhi were separately brought to Ling Mo’s room by members of the Miracle Team, Mu Chen’s gloomy mood finally got a bit of healing.

Seeing the surprised reactions of his companions twice in a row… even the stoic Xia Zhi’s eyes twitched.

His companions’ awkwardness made Mu Chen feel much more balanced…

Indeed, just like himself, they had not expected this greedy troublemaker to be Ling Mo!

But this shock was just the beginning…

When Mu Chen told his two companions about the conditions Ling Mo had proposed, the expressions on their faces changed just as his had when he first heard them.

In two words: awkward.

Recruit him? Ling Mo decisively refused.

Take him out? They were now fish in a barrel; what could they use to take him out?

So, under these circumstances, Ling Mo proposed a Plan C that they had never considered…

Cooperation!

Niepan could look at the partnership model between Falcon Camp and the Psychics, establishing a mutually beneficial and equal relationship with Ling Mo.

“There’s no precedent for this…” Xu Shuhan frowned and said.

Mu Chen let out a bitter laugh: “Exactly…”

“…” Xia Zhi silently nodded.

“Precedent can be set.” Ling Mo sat at the other end of the table, calmly saying, “Why don’t we create one?”

Mu Chen glanced at Xu Shuhan and Xia Zhi, gritted his teeth, and asked, “Can you be more specific?”

…

Nowadays, the Miracle Team was an absolutely unique entity within Team F.

Four of them, except for Ye Kai, were once considered useless by others.

But now, even Skinny Monkey dared to walk with his back straight, and sometimes when encountering members of Team F, they would courteously greet him.

This made Skinny Monkey quickly fall in love with the activity of “walking,” and he no longer resisted the brutal daily training that used to torment him.

What’s the harm in a bit of suffering if it meant always being able to hold your head high?

Zhang Xincheng, as always, kept to himself, heading to the training room and then leaving quietly.

On the other hand, Ye Kai and Gu Shuangshuang, whenever they had free time, would go looking for Ling Mo…

Gu Shuangshuang wanted to learn from Ling Mo about mental abilities, while Ye Kai? After a period of training, this troublemaker had become obsessed with challenging Ling Mo every day…