Chapter 9: Gu Tong
Chapter 9: Gu Tong
Talk?
Ling Yi looked at Gu Tong with some confusion. He was sure he had never met this person before. Was the City Guard Army always this easygoing?
But he nodded in agreement anyway.
He also wanted to know what the other person wanted to discuss.
Street corner café.
The two of them sat by the window. Outside, people who had gotten up early for work or school kept walking by.
“It’s a bit strange to have coffee with a grown man like me so early in the morning, right?” Gu Tong showed a smile as he looked at Ling Yi.
“It’s fine. Captain Gu must have something to tell me,” Ling Yi said.
“Is that house under your name?” Gu Tong nodded and got straight to the point.
Ling Yi nodded. “Yes, it’s under my name.”
Gu Tong showed a thoughtful expression, then shook his head. “That’s not good.”
Ling Yi looked at Gu Tong curiously and also started thinking, wondering what exactly was not good.
Soon, he raised his head and smiled wryly. “It really isn’t good.”
“It seems you’ve figured it out,” Gu Tong said, looking at him.
“A lot of things happened too suddenly, catching people off guard, leaving no time to prepare.” Ling Yi sighed, then looked at Gu Tong. “But Captain Gu seems quite concerned about me…”
Gu Tong smiled. “Want to know why?”
Ling Yi looked at him.
Gu Tong said, “Eight years ago, I graduated from Zongwu.”
Ling Yi was slightly taken aback. “You are my senior?”
Gu Tong smiled. “Call me senior brother!”
Feeling pleasantly surprised, Ling Yi stood up and gave Gu Tong a formal salute. “Hello, senior brother!”
Gu Tong also stood up and returned the salute. “Hello, junior brother!”
Ling Yi sighed with emotion. “I didn’t expect to meet a fellow alumnus in Spring City. But senior brother, you didn’t seek me out today just to chat about our school ties, right?”
Gu Tong nodded. “Principal Shen was a man of great integrity. In terms of public duty… he was one of the people I admired most.”
Gu Tong sighed softly. “If he hadn’t voluntarily given up everything at the Military Headquarters to join Zongwu back then, his status and position today would far exceed what they are now!”
“And… this recent disaster might not have happened.”
“Of course, if he hadn’t come to Zongwu, Zongwu, which was ranked outside the top ten nationwide back then, wouldn’t have achieved its current status either.”
This was extremely high praise for his Adoptive Father, Ling Yi thought to himself. If he were still alive and heard such praise, he would be very happy.
“On a personal level, Uncle Shen was also my elder. My father and Uncle Shen were old friends for many years. Before Uncle Shen entered Zongwu, I could see him several times almost every year. Each time, I would pester him to teach me martial arts.”
A look of reminiscence appeared in Gu Tong’s eyes, and he said somewhat sadly, “This incident indeed happened too suddenly, leaving everyone unprepared.”
Looking at Ling Yi, who sat silently with his head bowed, Gu Tong said, “The dead cannot be brought back to life, junior brother. You must accept it.”
Ling Yi nodded. “Thank you for the consolation, senior brother.”
Gu Tong said, “Alright, let’s not discuss this matter for now. Let’s talk about you first. From what I know, those people framed you and pinned three hundred million on you through false accusations. They also filed to freeze your personal accounts and blacklisted your credit. Is that correct?”
Ling Yi nodded.
Gu Tong said, “Then that property under your name is in danger.”
Ling Yi said with some frustration, “I just thought of that too. But is there still time to deal with it now?”
Gu Tong nodded. “Of course!”
Then, right in front of Ling Yi, he made a phone call.
Not long after, a slightly chubby man in his thirties rushed in from outside, sweating profusely.
He trotted all the way to Gu Tong, a big smile on his face. He wanted to speak but was a bit out of breath.
“Sit down. Why run so fast? Didn’t I tell you there was no rush?” Gu Tong scolded gently.
But the man immediately looked honored, replying breathlessly, “No can do. Brother Gu’s business must be urgent. What do you need? Just tell me.”
“It’s like this. My brother here, due to some reasons, has his credit blacklisted and his accounts frozen. But he still owns a property in our Spring City. I want to transfer it to someone else’s name as quickly as possible. Can you look into this…”
“Leave it to me!” The man patted his chest and complained half-jokingly, “I say, Brother Gu, for such a small thing, you could have just told me over the phone. Was there any need to meet here for instructions? My legs almost ran off…”
“I’ll treat you to drinks later!” Gu Tong laughed heartily and said, “Then this matter… I’ll entrust it to you.”
“Say no more. I’ll handle it right now.”
As he spoke, the man turned to Ling Yi with a smiling face. “Little brother, I’ll have people come over right away. We’ll handle the procedures on the spot! What you need to do is provide your documents and the documents of the person you’re transferring the property to… Of course, if that person can do a video verification online, that would be perfect!”
“Right here?” Ling Yi asked in surprise.
He remembered when the Old Principal transferred the house to him back then, it seemed like he had to personally go to the property center too, right?
“That’s right! Aren’t you in a hurry? With these things, even a minute’s delay can lead to changes. I’ll make my calls, and you contact the person you’re transferring the property to!” The man was absolutely swift and decisive, his speed incredibly fast.
And from start to finish, he didn’t ask a single question about the reason!
By the time Ling Yi finished contacting Su Qingqing, the man had already arranged everything.
Then Gu Tong asked a server to change to a private room.
In less than twenty minutes, two uniformed staff members hurriedly arrived. Seeing the man, they greeted him with a look of respect.
“Hello, Director!”
“Hello, Director!”
The man waved his hand. “Thank you for your hard work. Process it as quickly as possible!”
The two staff members didn’t ask any questions. They took out a computer and started the on-site procedures right away.
Over there, Su Qingqing didn’t even fully understand what was happening before she inexplicably became the owner of the old house in Spring City.
During the video verification, she still looked completely confused.
Ling Yi looked at Gu Tong, who sat there calmly the whole time, not saying a word and leisurely drinking his coffee. In his heart, he could only feel a big “WOW”.
And he knew that this time, he owed his senior brother a huge favor!
Things like old bonds from shared ties—you could say they exist, or you could say they don’t. It all depends on whether you’re worthy of the other person using that favor on you.
After the two staff members left, Gu Tong stopped the man. He asked thoughtfully, “Right now, this information… is it real-time?”
The man was definitely sharp. He grinned at Gu Tong. “Brother Gu, do you want it to be real-time or not? Anyway, the transfer is complete now. Legally, it takes effect immediately. And everything was done according to regular procedures. Others can’t find any fault with it. After all, frozen accounts and blacklisted credit have nothing to do with our office, unless we receive a notice from above… you understand.”
Gu Tong nodded and said, “Then find a way to delay this information for some time. Can you manage half a month?”
“Half a month…” The man frowned.
“Ten days would work too,” Gu Tong said.
“Forget ten days, since Brother Gu asked, it must be half a month! Alright, I’ll go back now and initiate a major system upgrade and replacement!”
The man chuckled, grinning as he said, “We’ll replace all the equipment too! And the database! Yeah, right, the current database is almost unable to handle the huge data flow. We need a new one! This replacement… should take about half a month, right?”
Gu Tong’s mouth twitched. “Just keep it reasonable. So, longest half a month, shortest one week.”
The man understood immediately. “Alright, when you need it restored, just notify me. I’ll restore it immediately!”
Gu Tong grunted in acknowledgment. “We’ll have drinks together later!”
The little chubby guy looked overjoyed. “That would be my honor!”
Before leaving, he even shook Ling Yi’s hand warmly, acting like they were old friends who had known each other for years.
Ling Yi watched the entire scene in stunned silence.
His Adoptive Father had always preached to him over the years—people, especially men, must cultivate a noble and righteous spirit!
Although what Ling Yi had cultivated was mostly laziness, honestly, in his over twenty years of life, he had never even heard of such smooth, behind-the-scenes maneuvering as he just witnessed.
He imagined that when Zhao Tianping’s lackeys fabricated the evidence about him “causing major property damage to the academy,” they must have been just as skilled and practiced.
So, he really should despise this kind of behavior.
But why did he only feel immensely satisfied right now?
He quickly figured it out!
When the other side tried to frame him, that was a real, malicious setup.
But when Gu Tong asked the chubby guy to delay the data, it looked like he was trying to set someone up. However, in reality, if no one used this to attack Ling Yi, then these actions would have been useless.
Gu Tong’s methods would only take effect… if the other side actively attacked him first!
So, this wasn’t a deliberate scheme to harm others.
It was just defense and counterattack!
Long after the little chubby guy left, Ling Yi still hadn’t snapped out of his daze from the shock.
After a good while, Gu Tong finally spoke with some amusement. “Are you confused?”
Ling Yi nodded.
Gu Tong said, “Do you kind of look down on these behind-the-scenes moves of ours?”
Ling Yi shook his head. “No, I think it’s awesome.”
Gu Tong immediately gave a thumbs-up. “Kind-hearted but not foolish, gentle in dealing with matters but with a sharp sword hidden in your heart. Not bad!”
Ling Yi blushed a little from the praise, thinking to himself, Am I really that good?
When facing real enemies, I’m not that magnanimous!
Gu Tong looked at Ling Yi. “I’m serious. A person can be upright, but they shouldn’t be rigid.”
“Senior Brother, thank you so much for today!” Ling Yi looked at Gu Tong and thanked him sincerely again.
His current situation wasn’t good. Most people avoided him, and not many were willing to get involved with him.
Especially someone like Gu Tong, whom he had never met before, who helped him just because of their shared connection—that was a huge favor.
“Great Qin soldiers are family!”
Gu Tong said softly, then looked at Ling Yi. “Also, don’t think I’m completely selfless. I have my own intentions toward you too…”
What kind of phrasing is that…
Gu Tong continued, “You saw what happened just now. That little chubby guy actually had no idea about my real identity. Just because of my position as a small leader in the City Guard Army, he was willing to befriend me. Me asking him to do this somewhat irregular thing today was practically a dream come true for him. Because only through something like this could he really build a connection with me.”
Ling Yi nodded. What had just happened was indeed a bit shocking to him, a guy who just graduated from university.
Something that seemed incredibly difficult in his eyes was treated like child’s play by others…
“So, join the City Guard Army!” Gu Tong looked at Ling Yi seriously. “Once you enter the City Guard Army system, things like a negative credit score, or a three-billion debt… you don’t need to worry about them. We’ll unfreeze your account and pay you in cash later!”
Ling Yi gave a wry smile. Before, Su Qingqing wanted him to join the Military Headquarters. Now, Gu Tong wanted him to join the City Guard Army. But he didn’t want to go to either place.
The City Guard Army might be a bit more relaxed than the Military Headquarters, but only a bit. The City Guard Army system, also under the jurisdiction of the Military Headquarters, was a place with strict discipline!
It wasn’t suitable for someone with a lazy nature like him. Not to mention he now had his Adoptive Father’s revenge to pursue. Once tied down, how could he investigate the truth?
He might even end up dragging many innocent people into it.
That was even less what he wanted.
Seeing Ling Yi’s conflicted expression, Gu Tong smiled. “There’s no hurry. You don’t need to decide right away. Look, that family hasn’t moved out yet, right? Staying in a hotel isn’t convenient. Let me find you a single dorm in the City Guard Army first. You can stay there for a few days. How about that?”
“Senior Brother, you’ve already helped me so much. Wouldn’t this… be too much trouble?”
Honestly, if he had a better choice, Ling Yi definitely wouldn’t stay in a City Guard Army dorm.
It was obviously a way to pull him into that circle!
“No trouble at all! There are plenty of empty single dorms!”
Gu Tong spoke grandly, but he was actually lying through his teeth. Single dorms, not the shared kind—how could there possibly be many of those available?
But to rope in this junior brother whose name he’d heard so much about, he’d willingly give up his own dorm for Ling Yi, let alone arrange a single one!
He didn’t care at all about whether it was a waste or not!
In the City Guard Army system of Spring City, high-level martial arts talents were already scarce.
A martial artist like him, at the Second Stage Acupoint Activation, seventh layer, was considered a genuine expert in Spring City.
Most City Guard Army members hadn’t even reached the First Stage of skill training!
The First Stage of skill training might seem ordinary, but in the era before spiritual energy flooded in, that level was already close to a grandmaster in martial arts!
To reach the First Stage, one had to master at least one martial skill to perfection!
So, even today with abundant spiritual energy, it wasn’t that easy for people, even those naturally strong and healthy, to reach that level.
And Ling Yi’s mastery in martial skills, in Gu Tong’s eyes, was simply a genius!
Talk about a talent seen once in fifty years… maybe not even once in five hundred years would someone like him appear!
Breaking through to the Second Stage Acupoint Activation at age fourteen was shocking and a rare achievement seen once in fifty years, but in Gu Tong’s view, it was far less impressive than being proficient in all kinds of martial skills.
The former only showed a person had great talent, but that was just personal achievement.
The latter was completely different!
The latter could teach others, impart knowledge, and solve their doubts!
Ling Yi could handle any martial skill effortlessly. Sabers, spears, staffs, axes, dagger-axes, hooks, forks… there wasn’t a weapon among the eighteen traditional types he wasn’t good at!
A normal student qualified to stay and teach at the school had to be at least at the graduate level. Yet Ling Yi had started mentoring students in his second year of university!
The key was, any student he taught showed huge improvement!
So, Ling Yi didn’t know Gu Tong, but Gu Tong had long been familiar with his junior brother’s name!
If he could keep such a talent by his side and have him train his City Guard Army subordinates, he dared to guarantee that in less than three years, Spring City’s City Guard Army could become the strongest unit in the entire Qin State!
Zhao Tianping and his group, for the sake of power and profit, had reached a point where they were blind in both eyes and heart!
A bunch of fools!