Chapter 4434 — You May Leave Now
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Many were already watching with dry mouths and parched tongues, wishing they themselves were among the competing escorts on the floor—one casual nod and they could walk away with a full fifty thousand spirit jade, with the promise of the five great agencies besides, and not a shred of risk to bear. Where in the world could one find such a windfall?
"Fifty thousand spirit jade, of all things..." Qi Wenmo was struck dumb on the spot, and the expressions of the other escorts nearby were, to varying degrees, rather subtle.
In the previous two rounds, every round had been a struggle for one's very life. The best outcome for a competitor was, even if they were lucky enough to survive, to be left at least half crippled—and even so, the bounty Qi Wenmo had offered was a mere fifty thousand spirit jade.
Yet now, for the same fifty thousand spirit jade, those escorts chosen at random need do nothing at all, bear no risk whatsoever—one nod and they could easily pocket it. If that did not move them, then one would truly have to be a ghost!
Even the other escorts off the floor felt a sudden pang of unfairness. A pie falling from the heavens—such a fine thing, why had it not come their way?
"Very well. Everyone now knows what they need to know. It is time to see how each competing escort makes his own choice." Hai Wuliang faced the crowd and announced in a clear, ringing voice, "By my command: any competing escort who wishes to take this fifty thousand spirit jade and live free and easy from now on, step forward three paces. Any competing escort who does not want this fifty thousand spirit jade and wishes to remain loyal to his agency, step back three paces. Begin now!"
As the words fell, the atmosphere in the hall turned abruptly tense. Every eye swept back and forth over those three hundred and twenty escorts; whoever made the slightest move would at once become the focus of the entire hall.
At this moment, the greatest pressure fell not on the competing escorts on the floor, but rather on Qi Wenmo and the other heads of the various agencies.
After all, faced with fifty thousand spirit jade, a competing escort need only weigh his own gain or loss, whether he took it or not—he had only to judge clearly whether this fifty thousand spirit jade was worth betraying his agency for, and then make his choice.
But Qi Wenmo and the other agency heads had to face the gain and loss of the entire agency. If this round went well and only a few escorts walked away, well and good—but once the number of escorts leaving grew large, the trouble would be enormous.
When that time came, the crisis they faced would by no means be merely a simple loss of fighting strength; the more thorny problem was that the reputation and standing of the whole agency would take a tremendous blow.
Reputation is the very foundation upon which an escort agency stands. For any agency—including the five great agencies with the deepest roots—losing the public's trust would be nothing short of a catastrophic disaster!
Staring fixedly at the movements of the competing escorts on the floor, especially the ten from his own agency, Qi Wenmo was so tense that cold sweat broke out. From what he knew of these ten, most of them should be no great problem, but those remaining few—it was truly hard to say. After all, the temptation of fifty thousand spirit jade was not to be underestimated.
At last, under the gaze of the entire hall, someone was the first to make a choice—a competing escort from a small agency, who stepped forward three paces.
"Good. You may leave now." Hai Wuliang at once had a staff member hand a chest of spirit jade to the man! (To be continued...)