Chapter 31 - Support
A few minutes later, Fang Ping walked out of 201.
He closed the door behind him, the black plastic bag still hanging from his hand.
He had not taken the cash or the bayonet. All he had with him were six bottles of pills.
These pills sold for exorbitant prices, so Fang Ping could not rest easy if he just left them here. There would be no use crying over spilled milk if a thief swiped them.
Huang Bin, on the other hand, had been gagged and stuffed under the bed again.
…
When he walked out of the compound, Fang Ping frowned slightly.
‘I’ve taken the pills out, but they don’t count toward my Wealth yet.
‘Is it because I haven’t fulfilled the conditions yet, or is it because these items don’t count as part of my Wealth, and only cash does?
‘I don’t think it’s a matter of the cash, though. After all, I picked up all that cash earlier too.’
After a moment’s consideration, Fang Ping guessed that the money and pills did not officially belong to him just yet.
After all, if he was not careful with these things, they may still end up in someone else’s hands.
His Wealth did not increase, but Fang Ping was not too bothered just yet.
The most pressing matter now was to deal with the mass of trouble that was Huang Bin.
Fang Ping had captured the man, so if he was to proceed as planned, he just had to send Huang Bin to the cops.
Now, however, Fang Ping did not like the idea of just handing him over for nothing.
Huang Bin was no mute, after all. He could easily spill everything once he was arrested and say that Fang Ping had taken all the goods. Right now, Fang Ping could not deal with any pressure from the police.
Fang Ping mulled it over and decided that he needed someone’s help. He had to share the burden.
In the worst-case scenario, they could split the profits too.
If Fang Ping could settle everything on his own, judging by his personality, he would naturally take everything for himself.
The problem was that he could accomplish that as he was right now.
For now, he just had to give up some of his earnings. It was better than ending up with nothing, at any rate.
‘Who should I share this burden with?’
Wang Jinyang’s image flashed through Fang Ping’s mind.
There was no helping it. It was not that Fang Ping knew Wang Jinyang was hunting Huang Bin.
It was simply that Fang Ping did not know any other martial artists!
Those who were not martial artists could not withstand the pressure, be it his parents, the teachers at school, or anyone else Fang Ping knew.
Of everyone he knew, the only one who had a hope of retaining these goods was Wang Jinyang.
Besides, and just as importantly, Wang Jinyang was also a student at the Martial Arts University.
Fang Ping had spent some time with him, but he did not know Wang Jinyang very well.
Judging from their conversations, however, Fang Ping could kind of tell that Wang Jinyang probably was not too bad of a guy.
Even if they could not split the earnings evenly, the most Wang Jinyang would want was all of the profits and not Fang Ping’s life.
He was a Martial Arts University student, after all. That meant he was a legitimate martial artist with a bright future.
It was not likely that he would kill Fang Ping just to try and monopolize a few million.
At the very worst, Wang Jinyang would just take all the goods.
In a slightly better scenario, Wang Jinyang might take most of it and leave Fang Ping some scraps.
If Fang Ping was even more optimistic, they might split it evenly as Fang Ping had initially intended. To him, this was the best-case scenario.
…
By the time he thought everything through and made certain that his life was in no danger, Fang Ping made up his mind.
Right now, the only thing in Fang Ping’s mind was that he was still too weak.
If he was slightly stronger, if he was a martial artist, who could stop him from taking everything for himself?
He caught a wanted criminal man, and if he accidentally killed the man, he could call it self-defense. What could the Sun City officials hold against him then?
Sun City did not have many martial artists, and each of them had an exalted status.
Even if they knew he had taken all the goods for himself, they would not make a fuss over it.
That would not fly right now, though. Now, he was merely an ordinary high school senior. No one would take him seriously.
Whether Huang Bin died or was sent to the station, once they saw that Fang Ping was involved in this, Fang Ping could kiss all his profits goodbye.
At the most, they might give him a token of appreciation for his valor.
The reward would be nothing compared to the millions’ worth in Wealth, though, so Fang Ping was not interested.
…
More than ten minutes later, it was past eleven in the morning.
At Sun City No.1 High School.
The final class was over.
Wu Zhihao had just walked out of the classroom when he saw Fang Ping, who had taken the morning off, waving at him outside.
Wu Zhihao walked over to him and said somewhat curiously, “Fang Ping, are you sick? The teacher said you weren’t feeling well in the morning.”
“I’m fine, I just went overboard with the training. A little rest fixed me right up.”
Fang Ping cut to the chase and said immediately, “When the two of us picked up Brother Wang earlier, you had his number, right? Do you still have it?”
“Of course!”
Wu Zhihao had a mobile phone, and when they picked Wang Jinyang earlier, the school had given him Wang Jinyang’s number too for convenience’s sake.
Remember, Wang Jinyang was a martial artist! It was not easy for anyone to get his number, so naturally Wu Zhihao saved it.
“Good! Could you lend me your phone for a bit?”
“You…”
Wi Zhihao said somewhat uncertainly, “Are you trying to call Brother Wang?”
“Yeah, I need his help for something.”
Wu Zhihao was shocked, and he said hurriedly, “Fang Ping, Brother Wang is a martial artist. Sure, he was polite to us before, but we shouldn’t… out of nowhere…”
Fang Ping knew where he was coming from, so he said with a laugh, “Don’t worry, it’s good news.
“If you’re worried, you can just give me his number, and I’ll call him myself.”
“I…”
Wu Zhihao was somewhat hesitant, but in the end, he still took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Fang Ping. “Call him if you want, but be polite.
“If Brother Wang doesn’t wanna help you, just let it slide. No matter what you do, don’t offend him.”
“Do you really think I’m that stupid?”
Fang Ping burst out laughing and accepted the phone, flipping through the contacts quickly.
When he saw the entry noted as Senior Wang Jinyang, Fang Ping hit ‘Call’ right away.
…
White Mountains.
The Sun City Mountain Entrance.
Wang Jinyang had entered the mountains on the afternoon of the 9th, and by the night of the 10th, he had practically gone through every mountain inside Sun City’s range.
His efforts were all to no avail, of course.
He still had to return to the school, so while Wang Jinyang was reluctant to leave, he had no choice but to exit the mountains.
Having just exited the White Mountains, Wang Jinyang looked slightly tired and rather frustrated.
He had wasted three days in total. While he had some minor results at the No.1 High School, he never caught the big fish.
Since he did not get the five hundred thousand in reward money, it would take him quite some time to gather the resources he needed on his own.
That meant it would be difficult for him to reach Rank-3 by the end of this semester.
He sighed deeply, but Wang Jinyang was not the type of person to get hung up on things he could not help. At the most, he just had to accept a few more quests.
Carrying his backpack with him, Wang Jinyang planned to go home first and then take a bus back to school at night.
When he reached the road outside the Mountain Entrance, the phone in his bag began to vibrate.
He did not use this phone often, and he had entered the mountains to catch a criminal, so Wang Jinyang had kept the phone in his bag the entire time.
The vibration was so faint that he would not have sensed it if he were not a martial artist.
If he was still in the mountains, Wang Jinyang would definitely not be bothered to pick up. After all, those who knew this number were of no great importance.
He had nothing else to do right now, though, so Wang Jinyang unzipped his bag and took out the phone.
A glance at the number told him it was a Sun City local number. Was it the school or the bosses of some Sun City businesses looking for him?
After a moment’s thought, Wang Jinyang accepted the call.
“Brother Wang?”
As soon as the call went through, Wang Jinyang heard the voice on the other side and frowned slightly.
He was not that forgetful. It had just been a couple of days, so even though the call distorted his voice somewhat, Wang Jinyang could still identify the speaker.
It was that young junior of his who had turned his misfortune into a blessing and earned a great boost in his Vitality.
“That’s me. Are you Junior Fang Ping?”
Fang Ping went straight to the point. “Brother Wang, sorry to disturb you, but if it’s convenient for you, could you make a trip back to Sun City?”
“Hmm?”
Wang Jinyang frowned slightly but did not say that he was still in Sun City. Instead, he said with a small smile, “May I know what you need me for, Junior Fang Ping? If it’s alright with you, why don’t you tell me over the phone?”
“The situation is a bit troublesome. I don’t really know if you could help either, Brother Wang.
“But you’re the only martial artist I know.
“I can’t tell you all the details on the phone, but the gist of the story is I encountered a guy who seems to be a wanted criminal, and I hurt him by accident.
“It’s a little problematic for me now. I don’t know if I should just hand him over to the cops.
“Besides, I hurt him, and that might take some sorting out. I mean, the Gaokao is right around the corner, and if I mess it up…”
Fang Ping summarized it briefly. If he did not say anything at all, there was no way Wang Jinyang would agree to help.
Nevertheless, Fang Ping did not give too many details, either. In the end, it was still largely a plea for help.
This was also Fang Ping’s way of testing the waters. He wanted to see what Wang Jinyang was like, and see if he had the ability to settle these problems.
When Fang Ping finished his explanation, Wang Jinyang’s brow twitched suddenly.
He was now extremely sensitive to the words, ‘wanted criminal’.
In an instant, he thought of Huang Bin.
On second thoughts, however, it was not quite possible. Huang Bin was a Peak Rank-2 Martial Artist, and even Wang Jinyang had to be careful around him.
When Fang Ping said that he had harmed the culprit, Wang Jinyang subconsciously excluded the possibility of Huang Bin.
If Wang Jinyang had returned to River City and Nanjiang Martial Arts University, he would never get involved in this. It was not like he was all that close to Fang Ping either.
Nevertheless, he was in Sun City now, and Fang Ping had a decent amount of Vitality, which meant he had a hope of entering the martial sciences.
If everything went well, Fang Ping could enter Nanjiang Martial Arts University this year itself. Wang Jinyang did not mind doing him an easy favor.
With that in mind, Wang Jinyang said cheerfully, “I think I get the gist of it. Why don’t we do it like this? I’m still in Sun City, so let’s meet somewhere and you can tell me all the details.
“If it’s not too troublesome, I can put in a word for you.”
He had to go to the Department of Investigation Services anyway. Although he did not apprehend the target, he still had to drop by for a word.
If Fang Ping’s problem was not unmanageable, he could put in a word with that fatty. With the fatty speaking for them, the aftermath of harming a mere criminal would not amount to much.
Of course, if the matter was too difficult to handle, Wang Jinyang would not get too involved either.
He was not so close to Fang Ping to begin with, so putting in a word for him would be more than enough.
…
At the stairwell in No.1 High School.
Fang Ping hung up, a small smile on his face.
He had not expected Wang Jinyang to still be in Sun City. That made things considerably easier.
Besides, he had not mentioned the Wealth and only asked for a favor, but Wang Jinyang had still agreed without hesitation.
Right now, Fang Ping was feeling much more at ease.
Wang Jinyang’s attitude meant that even if he did take the lion’s share of the booty, he would probably still give Fang Ping a taste of the goods. That may already be as much as Fang Ping could hope for.
“I wish I didn’t have to give anything up, though…”
Fang Ping murmured to himself and shook his head. There was no helping it. With the way he was now, nothing good would come out of trying to monopolize the goods.
The thought made Fang Ping grit his teeth. He had to make it into the martial sciences this time!
Otherwise, he may see many more repeats of this same result.