pjbooks Chapter 297 Tool? No, he's the father now!
Chapter 297 Tool? No, he's the father now!
The top-floor laboratory of the "Scavengers" community.
Lin Tian stood in front of the huge holographic screen, staring intently at the image of the ruins of the Black Forest Manor playing on a loop.
His eyes were sunken and bloodshot, and he looked extremely haggard, clearly having not slept all night.
What happened last night was a huge shock to him.
Chen Yifan used pure mental power to crush everything with terrifying force.
And then there was that white light that descended from the sky, the "cleaner" that judged all things.
Every scene overturned his understanding and filled him with a fear that came from the depths of his soul.
He always thought that Chen Yifan was just a pawn in his plan, a sharp enough tool to help him achieve his goals.
But now he realizes just how wrong he was.
That wasn't a chess piece at all; it was clearly a monster in human skin! A madman who could overturn the entire chessboard!
He now even suspects that Chen Yifan might be the incarnation of some outer god, or simply the reincarnation of some sleeping old monster.
Otherwise, his extraordinary power would be impossible to explain.
"President, he's here." A club member's voice came from the doorway.
Lin Tian's body stiffened abruptly. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
He turned around and looked at the figure slowly walking in.
He still looked the same as always, wearing an ordinary school uniform, with a calm expression, as if the world-destroying demon from last night was just his illusion.
But Lin Tian no longer dared to underestimate him in the slightest.
He now sees Chen Yifan as a walking nuclear weapon.
"You've come." Lin Tian's voice was a little hoarse. He tried to force a smile, but it looked worse than crying.
Chen Yifan didn't say anything, but walked to a chair and sat down, then raised his eyelids and quietly looked at him.
His gaze was calm and devoid of any emotion, but Lin Tian felt as if he had been stripped naked and seen through from the inside out.
Under such gazes, all the words he had prepared overnight—probing, questioning, renegotiating—stuck in his throat, unable to utter a single one.
The atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment.
In the end, Lin Tianxian couldn't hold back any longer.
"Last night...you..." he began with difficulty, but didn't know how to ask.
Ask him why he's so strong? Ask him if he's an agent of the Outer Gods? Ask him how he survived the Cleaners?
He didn't dare ask any of these questions.
"What?" Chen Yifan finally spoke, his tone as calm as if he were asking, "How's the weather today?"
"You...it's good that you're alright." After holding it in for a long time, Lin Tian finally managed to utter this one pointless sentence.
"Of course I'm fine." Chen Yifan nodded. "It's Li Yuantu who's in trouble."
Lin Tian's eye twitched slightly.
Not only did something happen, but even his ashes were scattered.
"I'm not here today to reminisce," Chen Yifan said, leaning forward slightly, his fingers interlaced on the table, his gaze sharpening. "Our deal needs to be renegotiated."
Lin Tian's heart sank.
It's here! The thing he feared most has happened!
"What...what do you want?" he asked nervously.
Faced with absolute power, all the bargaining chips he had prepared beforehand seemed utterly ridiculous.
All he can do now is to meet the other party's demands in order to preserve this hard-won "cooperative" relationship.
"It's simple." Chen Yifan held up one finger. "First, I need all the information you have about the 'Lamp Bearer' and the 'World Core.' Remember, all of it. Don't hold anything back."
"The Lamplighter?" Lin Tian was taken aback, then his expression changed drastically. "How did you know...?"
He suddenly realized what he was saying halfway through his sentence.
Li Yuantu! Chen Yifan must have gotten something from Li Yuantu!
He was inwardly groaning. That idiot Li Yuantu, even in death, still left him with such a huge pitfall.
The information about the lamplighter was fine; he knew some of it and readily shared it.
But the core of the world...
He kept this secret to himself, using it as his trump card against other Outer God organizations.
Now, Chen Yifan is asking for it right away.
"What? You don't want to?" Chen Yifan asked calmly, observing his changing expression.
"No...it's not that I'm unwilling." Lin Tian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with difficulty, "It's just that the information about the 'Lamp Bearer' and the 'World Core' is extremely sensitive. Once it's leaked..."
"That's your problem, not mine," Chen Yifan interrupted him. "I only want the result."
In short, he blocked all of Lin Tian's escape routes.
Lin Tian's hand trembled involuntarily at his side; his fingertips were only centimeters away from a miniature remote control in his pocket.
Just press that button, and the laboratory's highest level of defense will be activated.
The Annihilation Matrix will then be activated.
He was confident that he could break Chen Yifan down into molecules, along with the floor beneath his feet.
This is his confidence, and also his trump card as the president of the "Scavengers" club.
However, the white light that fell from the sky last night resurfaced in his mind once again.
Cleaner.
If the first strike fails...
The other party attracted the cleaners.
All his trump cards, the entire "Scavengers" community, and even the entire Kyoto Martial Arts University would be reduced to ashes under that light.
"Okay... I'll give it to you," he said through gritted teeth, as if he had made a huge decision.
"Very good." Chen Yifan nodded, then extended his second finger.
"Secondly, from today onwards, our relationship is no longer a transaction. It is... an employment relationship."
"A servant?" Lin Tian was stunned again.
"That's right." A slight smile finally appeared on Chen Yifan's lips.
"I employ you and your 'scavenger' to work for me."
"You help me gather intelligence, provide technical support, and handle some troubles that I'm too lazy to deal with."
"As payment..." Chen Yifan paused, then said something that almost made Lin Tian faint on the spot.
"As payment, I can guarantee I won't kill you."
The laboratory was deathly silent.
Lin Tian's eyes widened, his mouth slightly open, and he froze on the spot.
Only one thought was running wildly through his mind.
This is fucking...
This is not an employment!
This is clearly extortion!
He, the president of the prestigious "Scavengers" company, a genius who possesses countless secrets and advanced technology, now has to work as someone else's lackey to save his own life.
humiliation!
An unprecedented sense of humiliation overwhelmed him like a tidal wave!
His fist clenched instantly, his nails digging deep into his flesh.
He wanted to resist, to roar, to tell the guy in front of him that he was not a pushover.
However, when his gaze met Chen Yifan's dark, unfathomable eyes, all his anger and resentment were instantly extinguished by a chilling fear.
He was discouraged.
Like a punctured balloon, all the strength in my body has been drained.
He bitterly realized that he really was a pushover in front of Chen Yifan.
"What? Still unwilling?" Chen Yifan's voice rang out again, with a hint of amusement.
"……willing."
Lin Tian practically spat out those two words through gritted teeth.
He lowered his head deeply, unwilling to look Chen Yifan in the eye any longer.
From this day forward, he is no longer the strategist who planned everything, nor the player who tried to exploit everything.
He became a tool.
No, he wasn't even a tool.
He became Chen Yifan's pet dog.
"Very good, you've made a wise choice." Chen Yifan stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Work hard from now on, and I won't treat you unfairly."
After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the door without looking back.
"Oh, right," he stopped as he reached the door, turning back to say, "You'd better not hide anything about the 'Core of the World,' after all... I've also learned some things from Li Yuantu, and if it doesn't match up..."
"I see."
Lin Tian's voice was extremely hoarse.
Only after Chen Yifan's figure completely disappeared through the door did Lin Tian collapse onto the ground, feeling utterly exhausted.
He was breathing heavily.
After a long while, he finally raised his head, looked at the empty doorway, and a smile that was more like a grimace appeared on his face.
"A tool... Hah... This guy's basically brought home a daddy for himself..."