Lu Chenxing swayed his way to the mayor's office. The office door was open, and Secretary He had been waiting at the entrance for a long time.
Seeing Lu Chenxing arrive, she made a gesturing motion, and after Lu Chenxing sat down, she left again, her long, silk-stockinged legs moving gracefully.
Zhan Wushuang, who had been standing by the window, turned around and, with an unpleasant expression, said to Lu Chenxing, "The Church of the Myriad Gods has fled, leaving behind a few cannon fodder. The Plague Envoy was severely injured and used a sacrificial teleportation method to take several core members to an unknown location."
Lu Chenxing nodded and chuckled, "I guessed as much. After all, only that big fool Liang Shouji came to kill me; none of the others showed up."
"In that case, you are still in constant danger." Zhan Wushuang frowned slightly, "They will certainly launch another attack, but we don't know when that will be."
At this point, Lu Chenxing asked, somewhat puzzled, "Is there some reason why I absolutely must die? Just because of those two blue cards?"
"Yes, but not entirely." Zhan Wushuang gently shook his head and explained, "It's because of the power of rules contained within your two cards."
"The power of rules is very mysterious. For example, the plague virus they released also contains fragments of rules. We can't resolve it by ordinary means; there are only two ways to solve it."
"The first is to develop a healing card or medicine that also contains fragments of rules, to erase the rule fragments within the virus, and then treat the virus. Your two cards serve precisely this purpose."
"The second method is to find the source of this rule, and then... kill him!"
Hearing this, Lu Chenxing was startled, but then quickly reacted and asked, somewhat incredulously, "You mean..."
Zhan Wushuang nodded deeply, "Exactly. As long as the creator of this rule is killed, then this rule will become a water without a source, gradually losing its effectiveness over time!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Chenxing finally understood why the people from the Church of the Myriad Gods absolutely had to kill him. If he died, then the 'Probing Technique' and 'Dispelling Technique' cards would become ineffective!
This was also the main reason why the mayor wanted Shadow One to protect him closely!
Originally, Lu Chenxing had been wondering if having a fifth-rank immortal cultivator as his bodyguard was overkill, but now it made sense.
As he was thinking, the shadow in front of Lu Chenxing writhed for a moment. Shadow One emerged from it, carrying the half-dead Liang Shouji, and respectfully saluted Zhan Wushuang before saying, "Mayor, he has confessed. The one who saved him was the Plague Envoy from the Church of the Myriad Gods, just as you suspected."
Zhan Wushuang slowly nodded, "Take him away."
Watching Shadow One carry Liang Shouji away, Lu Chenxing didn't know where he was being taken, but he understood that from this moment on, this person would disappear from this world.
The office was quiet for a while, with Lu Chenxing and Zhan Wushuang both contemplating their own matters.
A moment later, the sound of high heels echoed as Secretary He, with her long, silk-stockinged legs, walked in, carrying two cups of coffee, which she gently placed in front of them.
Zhan Wushuang picked up his coffee cup and gently stirred it, then suddenly said to Lu Chenxing, "Oh, right, there's one more thing I called you here for."
"Oh, please tell me." Lu Chenxing had just picked up his coffee but put the cup down again upon hearing this, appearing to be all ears.
"Actually, it's nothing major. It's about the commendation for you this time. We've temporarily discussed two plans; would you like to hear them?" Zhan Wushuang said with a smile.
Lu Chenxing's cards had completely eradicated the viral influenza this time, effectively saving nearly ten million people in Loshen City, so he definitely deserved a commendation. However, it couldn't be done too publicly, as he was still very weak, and too much fame would not be good for him.
Lu Chenxing himself understood this, so he smiled and said, "Of course, I will follow the mayor's arrangements."
Zhan Wushuang was very satisfied with Lu Chenxing's attitude. "Then I'll tell you. The first option is for me to privately award you a First-Class Individual Merit Medal, along with a ten-million-yuan bonus. While it's not a huge sum, it's the maximum amount I could apply for."
"And the second?"
"The second is for you to be seconded to the military, holding a nominal rank of Second Lieutenant. The military will award you a Second-Class Military Merit Medal and ten thousand military merits. Of course, this is also private. Which one do you choose?"
Faced with the two choices, Lu Chenxing said without hesitation, "I choose the second one!"
Are you kidding? Is there even a choice to make? The meaning of individual commendation and military merit is completely different! And he could hold the nominal rank of Second Lieutenant and receive ten thousand military merits, which could be exchanged for various items in the military, many of which were unavailable elsewhere!
"So resolute? Think carefully. Although things are cheaper for you to buy in the military, the selling price won't be high either." Zhan Wushuang reminded him, "Didn't Elder Long say you plan to sell a card called Bombardment Art to the military? You might get a low price then!"
"It's fine. It's just a first-rank peak card anyway; it wouldn't fetch much of a price to begin with. I'll stick with the second option." Lu Chenxing said with a smile.
He was very clear in his heart that the benefits a single card brought him were temporary, but the advantages he would gain after being seconded to the military were substantial!
At that time, he could also take on internal card-making orders from the military, continue to earn military merits, and still be free to continue operating his Card Shop, earning two salaries—what a sweet deal!
"Good! In that case, come over tomorrow morning, and I'll take you to the military to get things settled!" Zhan Wushuang's face also broke into a smile when he saw Lu Chenxing firmly choose the second reward.
He himself came from a military background, so he was naturally pleased to see Lu Chenxing's choice. He valued talent greatly, and he had personally negotiated this condition, but there was no need to tell Lu Chenxing these details.
So, early the next morning, Zhan Wushuang took Lu Chenxing to the military headquarters in Loshen City, where he received his military uniform, rank, and military merits. He directly skipped the soldier and non-commissioned officer ranks, going straight to the officer rank.
However, because it was only a nominal Second Lieutenant position, it didn't cause any sensation. After a simple reception, Zhan Wushuang sent him back to school.
"The watch I just gave you, open the Military Merit Mall on it. Your military merits are inside. With your Second Lieutenant rank, you can exchange for all items below the third rank."
"Additionally, if you want to earn some military merits normally, you can also take on some missions from there. I suggest you take solo missions, because you are not a real soldier after all, and team missions might hold others back."
Zhan Wushuang briefly explained how to use it, then had the car stop at the entrance of Super Martial University, and said to Lu Chenxing with a smile, "Shadow One will stay by your side, or if you feel you don't need him anymore, you can let him return."
"Understood, thank you, Mayor." Lu Chenxing also smiled and thanked him. In his heart, he knew very well that without the mayor's intervention, he probably wouldn't have had a second option, so he had to acknowledge this favor.