Chapter 4615 — Recommended Candidates

"Mm, off you go. You've done well lately—the nascient-soul-stage biochem potion is finally finished. The stability still has a few minor flaws, but such things are unavoidable; at worst we lose a few more hands. That is a price we can bear." A rare trace of relaxed amusement crept onto Miss Luan's face.

"Thank you for your praise, Miss Luan. It is only my duty." The mysterious man lowered his head slightly.

"Heh, neither arrogant nor rash—that is precisely what I admire in you. Far more dependable than the rest of those mediocrities. If I had a few more like you, our Center's great cause would be assured!" Miss Luan's smile deepened, and then she said, "The nascient-soul-stage biochem potion is only the first step. The next target is the mystery-ascension stage. That breakthrough will be far harder than the nascient soul stage, and there can be not the slightest mishap. Those two fools in the Demonic Cold Sea are useless. You had better choose two more people and send them over."

"Then how about Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou?" the mysterious man proposed after a moment's deliberation. Of all the candidates, these two were the ones he thought most highly of, and they had the rare quality of complementing each other. Cultivated properly, they would surely become his right and left arms in days to come. Since Miss Luan wanted to replace the overseer on the Demonic Cold Sea side, this was a rare chance for the two of them to temper themselves—and at the same time it would neatly keep them clear of Wei Zhao. Two birds with one stone.

"Let me recommend someone to you instead. That Zhong Yongliang is not bad—promote him and let him serve as a minor chief over there." Miss Luan thought for a moment, then said suddenly.

"Hm?!" The mysterious man was startled. A personage as lofty as Miss Luan paying attention to a bottom-rung nobody like Zhong Yongliang was truly hard to fathom.

Zhong Yongliang had joined the Center as well—not long, not short, nearly two years now—but he had never truly entered the mysterious man's field of vision. At best he counted as a cannon-fodder-grade underling; if not for his good memory, the man might not even have remembered the name. Even he had needed a moment just now to recall it—so how much less Miss Luan?

"What? Do you object?" Miss Luan glanced at the mysterious man.

"No, no—your subordinate obeys." The mysterious man nodded hastily. Though her proposing Zhong Yongliang had caught him off guard, such a trifle could not affect the larger picture. People were needed now in any case; there would be no shortage of posts from which to promote Meng Zhou and the others.

"Oh, by the way, I hear Little Paozi is about to come out of seclusion. When he does, I will have him come assist you. The two of you can discuss and handle all matters, great and small, between yourselves. And before long, I may have to set out for the Eastern Continent." Miss Luan said.

"Junior Brother Pao is out of seclusion? Excellent—I have been waiting for him a long time!" The mysterious man's eyes lit up at this. True, once Junior Brother Pao arrived, he would inevitably have to part with a share of the power now in his hands; but if he could use the occasion to build a good rapport with this man, in the long run the advantages would outweigh the drawbacks.

"Mm. This Zhong Yongliang I just mentioned—he was in fact recommended to me by him earlier. Just keep an eye on him, that is all. You and Little Paozi are both core pillars whom the Center values greatly. When the time comes, you must cooperate wholeheartedly. I do not want the two of you falling out. Understood?" Miss Luan admonished.

"Your subordinate understands! Junior Brother Pao and I were already on good terms, and he is a man who considers the larger picture, putting the Center's great cause above all. I will certainly work with Junior Brother Pao to manage all affairs of North Island properly, and leave Miss Luan no worries behind." The mysterious man pledged solemnly.

"North Island is only of secondary importance. In time you can gradually hand the management here over to the likes of Xu Lingchong and Zhong Yongliang. The two of you must place your focus on South Island. I have matters to assign to you there." Miss Luan shook her head slightly.

"Yes!" The mysterious man nodded heavily. Though inwardly he wondered what task on South Island could warrant such solemn instruction that he and Junior Brother Pao undertake it together, he only pressed the doubt down into his heart. Do not ask what should not be asked; do not look at what should not be seen—that was the foremost rule of survival within the Center.

"Very well. If there is nothing else, you may withdraw." Miss Luan's gaze returned to the top-tier computer. Any biochem potion required countless rounds of calculation and evolution; only once the formula took shape could it enter formal experimentation. And right now she was making preparations for the next biochem potion—the mystery-ascension stage.

"Yes. Your subordinate takes his leave." The mysterious man bowed at once and withdrew from the room. Only after he had passed the door did a trace of puzzlement and doubt surface on his ordinarily placid face. Even now he was still wondering why Junior Brother Pao would suddenly recommend Zhong Yongliang.

Given his influence and control over North Island, nothing in any quarter escaped his surveillance. And so far as he knew, ever since Zhong Yongliang joined the Welcome New Pavilion, the man had never shown anything out of the ordinary; he gave the impression of being merely one of Kang Jingming's hangers-on. That he later came under Xu Lingchong's wing was likewise because of Kang Jingming. Beyond that, he had no other network of connections.

As for Zhong Yongliang himself, his talent was decent enough, but to call it outstanding would be a stretch—at least, he could not remotely compare with a freak of nature like Wei Zhao, who kept rising miraculously. He had always kept quiet and made no noise, and had never done anything earth-shaking. By all reason, he ought to have had no dealings whatsoever with Junior Brother Pao...

Could it be that they had crossed paths in the mortal realm? The mysterious man was suddenly startled. To his mind, everything about Zhong Yongliang was far too ordinary. Thinking it over, the only place he could possibly have encountered Junior Brother Pao seemed to be the mortal realm.

Yet while he could cover the sky with one hand on North Island, of affairs in the mortal realm he knew nothing at all. Still, even with his suspicions, he would not act against Zhong Yongliang on that account. Since Junior Brother Pao had named the man for promotion, he would naturally not offend anyone over such a trifle. It was no more than pushing the boat along with the current, a lifting of the hand—and incidentally it would earn him a favor. By any reckoning, he could not lose.

The reason the mysterious man regarded this Junior Brother Pao so highly was, apart from the man's deep background, one more crucial point: he had heard that Junior Brother Pao had obtained the core inheritance of the ruins of the ancient sect Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow. His strength was formidable in the extreme now—quite possibly even the mysterious man was no match for him!

On Cloud Terrace Island, strength was king. If this Junior Brother Pao had merely possessed deep background, the mysterious man might have valued him but would not have taken him so to heart—at most he would have made use of him. But if the man possessed both strength and background, that was a different matter entirely, and well worth the effort of cultivating a proper friendship...(To be continued..)