Death Progress Bar Chapter 11 - Promotion

Feeling really powerless, s.h.i.+ Jin gave it sincere advice: “Next time, you should say only the last part, okay?”

The atmosphere thawed instantly, and Gua Two’s expression returned to normal. He reached out and patted s.h.i.+ Jin on the shoulder, saying, “You say you’re out of practice and yet you can still do so much… Kid, I had no idea you’re actually a genius.”

s.h.i.+ Jin quickly waved his hand and said that he was just an ordinary high-school dropout.

Gua Two snorted and grabbed him, forcefully rubbing his head in punishment for showing a fake modesty.

s.h.i.+ Jin got back at him by clawing his hand and calling him a child molester.

Lian Jun knocked on the armrest of his wheelchair to make them quiet down and gestured for Gua One to continue, so everybody shut up and obediently turned their attention back to the TV.

s.h.i.+ Jin’s skills had been properly explained, therefore Gua One closed the edited video and turned on the complete version, beginning to a.n.a.lyze s.h.i.+ Jin’s tactical choices after entering Lian Jun’s courtyard.

Firstly, he highly affirmed s.h.i.+ Jin’s decision to shoot Gua Four from the crack in the door and remind Gua Two to check Gua Four’s car; secondly, he criticized s.h.i.+ Jin for failing to subdue the enemy completely after he had stopped him, suggesting that such carelessness may have very serious consequences while acting alone. Finally, he concluded by stating that s.h.i.+ Jin was a newcomer worth training—he had enough talent and only lacked experience.

After that, he gave everyone a blank sheet of paper and asked them to mark s.h.i.+ Jin’s performance, with the pa.s.sing score of 60 points out of 100.

s.h.i.+ Jin was dumbfounded. He watched Gua Two and others return their papers to Gua One and felt as if he came back to school and was about to be publicly shamed by the teacher.

Gua One took them back without reading, handing them directly to Lian Jun.

Lian Jun received them, glanced at the scores, then looked at s.h.i.+ Jin and said, “One last question: how did you realize that there was something wrong about Gua Four?”

s.h.i.+ Jin thought that his examination has already finished, so he hadn’t expected to be asked this question. His heart beat faster and his brain began to work furiously, but the expression on his face hasn’t changed. “Because… because I know very well how the false care and love look like, so after seeing Gua Four yesterday I immediately noticed that his remorse and worry about Gua One were both false, and his refusal to look at the stretcher was a sign of guilt. If I’m not wrong, Gua One’s wound should have been caused by Gua Four, no?”

Gua One’s eyes darkened when he heard these words, as if he had remembered something unpleasant—obviously, s.h.i.+ Jin was right.

“Also, Gua Four’s insistence on speaking with Jun-shao by himself was suspicious. In this kind of situation, normal people wouldn’t have reacted the way he had,” added s.h.i.+ Jin, trying to make his explanation more credible.

Lian Jun nodded and folded the papers in his hand. “That’s all for today’s review. s.h.i.+ Jin will accompany me instead of Gua Three. Gua Three, you will take over Gua Four’s duties for the time being, until his replacement could be selected.”

Gua Three nodded respectfully: “Yes, sir.”

With Lian Jun’s command, the atmosphere in the car quickly became lighthearted. Gua Two and Gua Five laughed and congratulated s.h.i.+ Jin, Gua One also gave him a rather friendly smile and sat back in his seat.

s.h.i.+ Jin looked dazed. “Why are you congratulating me? And Jun-shao, are you really going to let me stay close to y—”

“You don’t want to?” Lian Jun asked coldly, cutting him off. The expression in his eyes was severe, as if trying to say that if s.h.i.+ Jin talked nonsense again, his end would not be pleasant.

s.h.i.+ Jin repressed a shudder, promptly shaking his head and saying that no, he wanted to, really. Remembering the reaction of others, and their clearly more friendly att.i.tude, he came to a realization—was he promoted? From a newbie being taken care of by Gua Two to a trusted subordinate of Lian Jun? So the review just now was his promotion evaluation?

Xiao Si was pleasantly surprised:

For a while, s.h.i.+ Jin didn’t know what he should feel. After a moment, he raised a hand to cover his face and breathed a long sigh—it was a very exciting day.

They arrived at the airport shortly after. After getting off the car, Gua Three voluntarily gave way to s.h.i.+ Jin and asked him to help push Lian Jun’s wheelchair.

s.h.i.+ Jin looked at Lian Jun’s handsome, expressionless face, accepted his fate and grabbed the wheelchair handle.

Lian Jun’s special ident.i.ty made it impossible to travel like ordinary people, so in order to ensure Lian Jun’s safety, Gua One contacted the authorities and chartered a plane directly. Following Gua One’s lead, s.h.i.+ Jin pushed Lian Jun onto the plane and helped him into his seat. His movements were extremely gentle and careful, so careful that they seemed somewhat stiff.

Lian Jun glanced at s.h.i.+ Jin and asked abruptly, “Am I very heavy?”

“You call this heavy?” s.h.i.+ Jin frowned while thinking about his physical condition, feeling worried. He blurted out, “You’re too thin, you should eat more from now on.”

“I don’t have any appet.i.te.” Lian Jun covered his legs with a blanket, then pulled out a magazine and opened it, not looking at s.h.i.+ Jin. His voice was faint: “I like salty, heavily flavored dishes, but I can’t eat them because of my health.”

s.h.i.+ Jin: “…” Boss, you’re the type of person who will hold a grudge, aren’t you?

Translator’s Notes:

“Pampered little fatso” – I translated 四体不勤 as ‘pampered’ (mostly because I couldn’t find a way to include it while not making s.h.i.+ Jin sound as if he was high), but Baidu coughed up this oh so poetic phrase: ‘like a parasite whose four limbs do not toil’. LOL.

Those of you who were afraid our friends from underworld would notice something unusual about s.h.i.+ Jin were right~

He still managed to fast-talk his way out of trouble, thankfully.