Chen Gu felt quite regretful. It wasn’t because of Man Suling, but because he had been on the verge of prying information about Professionals out of Ossosa when the Gorilla interrupted him. Now, he would have to find another opportunity.
He returned to his residence, unaware of the tremendous psychological trauma he had inflicted on the four fawning superfans.
Lying in bed, Chen Gu mused, "Brain Domain Hacker can treat the human brain like a computer and carry out invasions on a technical level... The Prophet Wei Jiangqi of True Knowledge Sin turned out to be a Professional. And right after I was released from prison, people from True Knowledge Sin attacked the prison trying to rescue him, but accidentally killed two Soul Imprisonment offenders. Could there be a connection?"
Groggily, Chen Gu fell asleep. In the morning, he underwent the pre-training for the second phase of Star Battle Instructor, and in the afternoon, he joined the military sports students for high-intensity training. His physical potential was pushed to the extreme, which was why he slept so soundly. However, in another part of the city, four individuals in four separate bedrooms tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
During the physical skills class the next afternoon, when Chen Gu saw Darkray and his group again, he noticed their gazes were strange—filled with a hint of resentment, yet also with envy and admiration.
When Chen Gu wanted to use a particular piece of equipment, Mao Yisheng, who was exercising on it, immediately yielded. "Great One, please, you first," he said.
"Huh?" Chen Gu was puzzled. Teacher Ouyang witnessed this and nodded with a smile. "These muscle-brained military sports students have finally learned some manners and mutual respect under my guidance."
When training ended for the day, Chen Gu invited everyone to dinner. He didn’t flaunt any newfound wealth—no "Your daddy has a billion" attitude—and simply chose a regular restaurant near the university, a common haunt for student gatherings.
At the dinner table, Darkray and the other three frequently toasted Chen Gu. It wasn’t until the end of the meal that their true motive surfaced. Mao Yisheng, rubbing his hands together sheepishly, asked, "Brother Chen, could you possibly... um... help us get a few autographed albums from Man Suling?"
In this era, music was typically purchased and downloaded digitally, but singers still released physical albums for dedicated fans to collect.
Chen Gu was a little puzzled. "How do you know I even know Man Suling?"
Mao Yisheng and the others exchanged glances. Just listen to him! The Great One is so modest! They were seen leaving a hotel together, and he calls it ’just knowing’ her? We can’t expose the Great One’s act; the autographed albums depend on him. Since he’s choosing to be discreet, we’ll pretend we haven’t seen through it.
Mao Yisheng finally said, "We... we saw you at the Hemansway Hotel yesterday."
Chen Gu simply said, "Oh." He figured it wasn’t a difficult request; a phone call to the Gorilla should sort it out.
"Alright, leave it to me."
The four were overjoyed. "Thank you, Brother Chen! We’ll down three shots each to show our gratitude!"
Chen Gu, on the other hand, felt a bit embarrassed by their enthusiasm and decided to call the Gorilla right then and there. "Get me a few of Man Suling’s autographed albums."
"...No, it’s not for me; my classmates want them."
"Now? Okay, I’ll wait for you for a bit. Tell them to hurry. I’m at Xianwei Residence, behind my old university."
The Gorilla replied, "Alright, alright. Come on over, and I’ll treat you. You’re such a big shot now, still trying to fleece me?"
"Fine. I’ll call Ossosa over too, and Zhao Ji. But definitely no Qiao Ayin, don’t even think about it!"
Twenty minutes later, the Gorilla arrived. He still felt somewhat guilty towards Ossosa but was too stubborn to admit it, so he’d asked Chen Gu to help mediate. As a gesture, he had brought a batch of expensive, limited-edition autographed vinyl records.
When these records were presented, Darkray, Mao Yisheng, and the other two were dumbstruck. Among the four, Mao Yisheng came from the wealthiest family; his father had once considered buying him a car, but it was just an ordinary maglev vehicle priced around fifty thousand Starshields. The others were from more average backgrounds.
A single one of these limited-edition vinyl records cost a staggering thirty thousand Starshields, and that wasn’t even factoring in the value of Man Suling’s autograph.
"This... this is too valuable! A regular autographed album would have been fine," Mao Yisheng stammered, and the other three clearly didn’t dare accept them.
The Gorilla waved his hand dismissively. "They’re from my own company. We mark up the price for the public, but they don’t actually cost much to produce."
Chen Gu also insisted, practically forcing the records on them. Suddenly, Darkray’s eyes widened in recognition. "You’re... Gao Mengjiu, the musical genius? You’re Man Suling’s boss?"
The Gorilla nodded with a smile. At this confirmation, the four students practically jumped out of their seats. They were in the presence of a bona fide music industry legend! These young admirers of the Star Battle Instructor were internally freaking out.
Darkray, thoroughly intimidated, mumbled an excuse and quickly ushered his friends away.
A little later, Ossosa and Zhao Ji arrived. As soon as Zhao Ji walked in, he boisterously made the Gorilla down nine penalty drinks.
Their revelry continued until eleven o’clock that night. As they were leaving, Chen Gu stopped Ossosa. "You can give me a ride home."
Zhao Ji looked puzzled. "Didn’t I arrange a car for you?" Indeed, a car and bodyguards were waiting nearby.
Chen Gu waved dismissively. "I have something to discuss with Ossosa privately."
Zhao Ji was mystified. The Gorilla, however, assumed Chen Gu was about to mediate on his behalf with Ossosa, so he quickly made his exit with Zhao Ji.
The first thing Chen Gu said upon getting into the car was, "So, when are you planning to kick the bucket, old man? When you do, you can entrust your niece to my care..."
The two immediately started roughhousing in the car.
Ossosa really had it rough. Of his three best friends, one lusted after his wife, and another after his daughter... Hmm, what about Zhao Ji then? What was Zhao Ji after?
When they reached Chen Gu’s residence, they got out of the car and found a quiet corner. Ossosa then asked in a low voice, "Are you really sure about this? From what I know, the process of becoming a Professional is incredibly dangerous. Even if you succeed, you’ll face countless bizarre and terrifying enemies throughout your career..."
Chen Gu nodded. "I’ve made up my mind."
He had transmigrated to this world, and it had to be connected to *The Past of Four Hundred People*. To unravel the mysteries of that book, he absolutely had to become a Professional. He couldn’t just passively accept his situation, telling himself he’d simply ’arrived.’ This was soul transmigration—an event with an infinitesimally small probability and extraordinary difficulty. Why him? If there wasn’t some hidden reason, if it was all just a stroke of "damn good luck," Chen Gu wouldn’t believe it for a second. Could he be a pawn in the game of some powerful entity? A pawn that could be discarded at any moment? And what about his father in his previous world? Would he ever be able to return and fulfill his filial duties? His father had lost his wife in middle age and now, in his old age, his son. How utterly desolate he must be... Lately, he constantly felt like an insect trapped in fate’s web, struggling to break free from its invisible, controlling threads. Becoming a Professional was the first small step toward that freedom.