When his assistant, Guan Shen, came in, Qin Chuan had just hung up the phone. He seemed to be in a good mood.

Sure enough, as soon as he saw him, Qin Chuan said, "The meeting time has been set. June 13th, which is around the same time as our company's usual team-building events. Tell the HR people to bring everyone from each department over and arrange for them to stay in another hotel. The department heads will attend the meeting with me then."

Guan Shen immediately understood what he was talking about and said fittingly, "This is an excellent start. Shengming Company will surely go further and further in the future!"

Qin Chuan's lips curved, not denying it.

A regional real estate industry conference, led by the municipal government, was about to be held locally, and Shengming Company was one of the organizers.

This was what the two of them were talking about.

The conference level wasn't top-tier, but it was Shengming Company's first time co-organizing such an event. Qin Chuan took it very seriously and was personally following up on it.

Guan Shen knew that his boss didn't want to rely on the Qin Group for his entire life, living under the shadow of a large tree.

While it was nice to enjoy the shade of a large tree, it ultimately meant less autonomy, having to steer according to the group's overall direction at any time.

A person like Qin Chuan would certainly not be content with the status quo and stop here. Even though he was born with a higher starting point than most people, people strive for greater heights, and the peak is limitless.

However, at any time, only with one's own strength does one have the right to call the shots. If Qin Chuan wanted to be independent, he had to demonstrate corresponding strength.

Just as Guan Shen had said, this conference was an excellent start—to build a reputation, expand his network, and increase opportunities for cooperation.

Qin Chuan lifted his chin, gesturing at the documents in his hand.

"What are you holding?"

Guan Shen: "These are the project reports from various departments. The department heads might need to speak at the breakout sessions. However, the Customer Service Department Head, Yao Yan, is about to be promoted and needs to go to the head office for training. The timing might conflict with this conference. I will ask her to recommend a substitute."

Qin Chuan gave a slight nod.

Guan Shen asked again, "Li Xi's resignation report has been submitted. Among the people HR internally recommended to replace her, Tang Mi is the most suitable. What do you think?"

Qin Chuan could tolerate Li Xi's ineffectiveness at training new staff, but her sneaking in a recommendation for her own person was something he absolutely could not stand. However, considering she had been with him for two years and her work performance had always been good, he didn't issue an internal notice of criticism or fire her directly. Instead, he prepared to transfer her to an unimportant position at the head office—a promotion in name but a demotion in reality.

At this point, Li Xi probably didn't have the face to stay on and directly submitted her resignation letter. Qin Chuan didn't try to keep her and approved it without a second thought. However, Li Xi's position was crucial, so she couldn't leave right away. She could only depart after a replacement was found to take over her work.

If he wanted to save time and effort, it was naturally best to pick someone from the President's Office. Tang Mi was very capable at her job. Without HR's recommendation or Guan Shen's words, Qin Chuan knew her evaluation score would surely be the highest.

Qin Chuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Handling both internal and external affairs... Tang Mi isn't at that level yet. Look for someone else. If there's really no one, then find someone from the headquarters."

Guan Shen was very efficient. By noon, he had already sorted out the results of several matters.

"Regarding Li Xi's replacement, I discussed it with my colleagues in HR and we've finalized two relatively suitable candidates. One is Fang Ying from the President's Office, and the other is a candidate from the last social recruitment for assistants, named Shi Yu. However, both have their shortcomings. Xiao Fang has a rather rigid personality. Although she's familiar with the company's situation, she would have a hard time with internal coordination. As for Shi Yu, she's a newcomer, so it's probably impossible for her to get up to speed immediately."

With that, Guan Shen handed over their files.

Qin Chuan opened them, skimmed them quickly, and came to a conclusion: "Xiao Fang won't do."

Guan Shen nodded. "I suggest letting Shi Yu start as an assistant's assistant, which was Bo He's former position. After Li Xi completes the handover, we can assess her work ability and then decide whether to make her an official employee."

Reaching this point, he paused. Seeing no change in Qin Chuan's expression, he continued.

"The second matter is about the Customer Service Department. Yao Yan recommended Bo He to attend the conference with us."

Qin Chuan frowned. "Her again? Does Yao Yan have no one else under her? Out of so many people, she can only put forward Bo He?"

From the word "again," it was clear his impression of Bo He had already soured to a certain degree.

Guan Shen's expression remained unchanged. "Yao Yan's deputy is on maternity leave. Also, Yao Yan said that when this project was assigned, she gave everyone a fair chance. Among the proposals submitted, only Bo He's was based on detailed research and written with the most care. Yao Yan herself later revised the parts where she lacked experience, but if she can't go, Bo He is the person most familiar with the proposal."

Qin Chuan said without thinking, "Have Yao Yan find someone else! Any normal person could memorize the proposal backward and forward within a week without a problem."

"Okay." Guan Shen obviously wouldn't contradict his boss for Bo He, with whom he had no relationship.

"Boss, one last thing, unrelated to business. I just received news about the matter you asked me to investigate. A few days before your last meeting, someone saw her manager having dinner with the editor-in-chief of <A Fresh Look at Entertainment>. It was also the people from this weekly magazine who were the first to expose your news. Also, I had someone pull the surveillance records from the parking lot that day to check. They found that after the driver left with Chi Yun, a man in a duck-tongued cap left from nearby. He walked with his head down the whole time, so the camera couldn't capture his face. But based on his attire, he probably wasn't someone from our building, nor did he look like a driver or a delivery person."

Qin Chuan was silent, his thoughts unknown.

Guan Shen waited for a long while, but seeing no new instructions from his boss, he put down the documents in his hand and turned to leave quietly.

Just as he gripped the doorknob, he heard Qin Chuan speak.

"Wait."

Guan Shen stopped and turned back.

Qin Chuan: "No need to talk to Yao Yan. We'll go with the person she recommended."

Although his words were calm, Guan Shen could detect a hint of reluctance.

…

That evening, Qin Chuan logged into the game an hour early.

He had arranged with "Peppermint Tea" and "Eight Whiskers" yesterday to challenge a high-difficulty group dungeon.

This dungeon required twenty people. "Peppermint Tea" had temporarily recruited another seventeen people, including many high-level players at the Nascent Soul stage.

Someone saw Qin Chuan and raised an objection.

"How did someone with such low combat power get in here?"

Qin Chuan wasn't on his main account but was still using his female character account named "Chuan Chuan". Her realm was at the peak Foundation Establishment stage, just meeting the requirements for this dungeon.

But it was just barely. Although the officials set an entry threshold for the dungeon, generally, only players one realm higher than the threshold had a solid chance of clearing it.

At this moment, "Peppermint Tea" typed a reply: She's my disciple.

No one spoke. The person who had raised the objection also fell silent.

With "Peppermint Tea's" fame in this server, who could say he wasn't qualified to bring his own disciple into this dungeon?

What's more, he was the raid leader.

Furthermore, this dungeon was heavily reliant on the Archer class. It was nearly impossible to pass without an Archer. An Archer like "Peppermint Tea" wasn't top-tier in terms of cultivation, but his skills were excellent, he had studied the dungeon in advance, and he could lead everyone to clear it.

Bringing along a low-combat-power alternate character was thus insignificant.

The dungeon was indeed very difficult.

"Peppermint Tea" had explained the strategy to everyone beforehand. "Eight Whiskers" had run it with him last time and was serving as the voice commander for this run.

The average number of team wipes for this dungeon was five times, but with ample preparation this time, the team cleared it smoothly after wiping only twice. This was already considered an excellent result.

Especially since a drop at the end was an item, The Kaleidoscopic Spirit Bloom.

This was a top-grade, rare item used for upgrading equipment in the game, something you couldn't seek out but only stumble upon. On this server, only the number one player at the Nascent Soul stage had one, and he had bought it from someone else for a hefty price.

And this item was randomly rolled by the system to Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan's message list quickly started blinking non-stop.

Several Nascent Soul stage players from the team sent him messages, asking if he was selling the item.

Others were more direct, telling him to name his price.

Qin Chuan didn't reply to a single one.

The team had not yet disbanded. Everyone seemed to be immersed in the shock of Qin Chuan obtaining this rare item, wanting to linger a bit longer to soak up some of his European luck.

A player who didn't get a reply from him was the first to lose patience and said in the team channel: You can't use this item anyway, why not sell it to us? We'll offer the market price, we won't let you take a loss. How about it?

Qin Chuan: I'm not selling.

He had originally planned to save it for his main account, but just now, everyone else in the team had asked for a price except for his master, "Peppermint Tea." Qin Chuan thought about how much the other had helped him in the game and changed his mind. He decided to wait until later, when everyone had left, to ask him about it.

With "Peppermint Tea's" skills, plus this item, it would undoubtedly be adding flowers to a brocade, like giving wings to a tiger.

But the person who received his reply was not happy.

A player named Ning Lu said: You're the one with the lowest combat power in the team. We fought tooth and nail to carry you through. You didn't contribute anything and even died several times. Do you have the face to take it?

Eight Whiskers cut in with a sneer: Why shouldn't he have the face to take it? It's not like he snatched it; the system gave it to him. If you've got the ability, go get the system to give you one!

The two quickly started arguing, neither willing to back down.

In the team, aside from Peppermint Tea and his two companions, and two random unaffiliated players, the rest were all friends with Ning Lu or from the same guild, so they naturally started speaking up for Ning Lu.

The gist of what they were saying, both directly and indirectly, was that they felt Qin Chuan shouldn't monopolize the benefits of The Kaleidoscopic Spirit Bloom.

Just then, the player with the highest combat power in the team, the Nascent Soul stage player "Shield of Zeus," finally spoke up.

He asked Qin Chuan: Brother, this item is indeed useless to you. How about I offer 10,000 RMB?

Qin Chuan's reply was even more direct, almost without hesitation.

Not selling.

Shield of Zeus: Fine then.

The moment those two words were said, "Shield of Zeus" left the team.

Before anyone could react, his name had turned red, and he charged toward Qin Chuan, swinging his sword