Chapter 262 216: Face-Changing

In a guest room.

After signing the contract, Chu Bamboo stood up and shook hands with Qian Zai. "A pleasure doing business with you."

"A pleasure doing business with you," Qian Zai replied. With a serious expression, he stuffed the contract into a briefcase, handed it to a colleague beside him, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

Then, he looked at Chu Bamboo and gave him his phone number and WeChat ID. "If you need anything in the future, you can contact me directly!"

"Lao Qian," a man with a buzz cut, who had been tapping away at his phone screen, suddenly said as he walked up to Qian Zai with a frown and handed him the phone.

Qian Zai looked a little confused. After swiping a couple of times, his expression froze, a look of astonishment appearing on his face. He thought for a moment, glanced at Chu Bamboo, then tapped the screen twice more. His tone grew grave. "Mr. Chu, the situation... has changed slightly!"

"Oh?" Chu Bamboo raised an eyebrow. "Is it about that foreigner from before?"

'Could it be that there's a problem with Howard's public identity? If so, that's far too reckless, and far too... interesting!'

'If Howard could be put away, Chu Bamboo would be delighted to see it... He could also use the aftermath to gauge the Golden Dawn's influence within the Divine Continent's system.'

"Yes, his name is Howard Raven!" Qian Zai's brow furrowed. "His current identity is an assistant to the ambassador at the White-headed Eagle's embassy! The problem is, this identity was just officially announced yesterday afternoon..."

Qian Zai trailed off, sensing something was off. 'If he's an ambassador's assistant, why isn't he in Yanjing? Why is he here, chasing celebrities?'

'After all, Jinling... doesn't even have a White-headed Eagle consulate general!'

"Beyond that, we can't find any other background information on him!" Qian Zai rubbed the bridge of his nose. Sometimes, finding nothing is, in itself, an answer.

"However, it's not actually a huge problem!" Seeing that Chu Bamboo hadn't responded, Qian Zai quickly added, "To be honest, this situation is so bizarre... I feel like he might be one of those guys sent over to pad his resume! We've seen this sort of thing before... Maybe he's just some rich kid from a powerful family?"

Generally speaking, a spy's identity is kept secret! It's not that an ambassador's assistant couldn't be a spy... but this identity would obviously be more useful in Yanjing. To come to Jinling, happen to be chasing a celebrity, and then to actually have the nerve to approach them after seeing them—

If he were really a spy, he would have realized something was wrong the moment he saw us. Daring to come over like that would be a death wish, wouldn't it?

Of course, despite saying all this, Qian Zai was still prepared to dig into Howard's background thoroughly afterward.

"I see," Chu Bamboo said, nodding thoughtfully.

'Howard was parachuted into the position of assistant at the White-headed Eagle's embassy just yesterday...'

'Considering the timing of my return to the Real World as a Cultivator...'

'It seems this is the same move as when I was parachuted in as the CEO of Shi Gun...'

'It's just a convenient identity, to make it easier to operate!'

'But if that's the case, it means the Golden Dawn has not only deeply infiltrated the White-headed Eagle's corporate world, but even...'

'To think they can just hand out an identity like this on short notice simply for convenience... that's a whole different ball game from someone painstakingly working for years to establish such a cover!'

'And so quickly, too!'

'This efficiency, the high level of an ambassador's assistant, and the casual way they handle it... The implications are terrifying the more I think about it!'

...

「In the president's office.」

Zhao Shao yawned, watching with utter boredom as Lin Xia and Howard argued heatedly.

"You are wasting Mr. Chu's talent!" Howard slammed his hand on the table, deeply distressed. "Don't you realize he could be a global superstar? You're not a competent entertainment company at all, not to mention that even a competent company from the Divine Continent... is nothing special on the world stage!"

"We don't care," Lin Xia stated firmly. It was precisely because he knew some of Chu Bamboo's secrets that he felt an almost instinctive, immense hostility toward this man from the White-headed Eagle.

He even began to wonder, 'I haven't slipped up and revealed something in the past, have I? Could the White-headed Eagle have noticed something is wrong, and that's why they sent someone to probe us?'

"My God!" Howard's face flushed red, infuriated by this tough nut he couldn't crack. Of course, at the same time, he was secretly sizing up Zhao Shao in the distance, who still had sleep in his eyes and had clearly just been dragged out of bed.

He had tried to draw Zhao Shao into the conversation several times, but President Zhao simply wouldn't take the bait! Even when addressed by name, he just said that anything related to Chu Bamboo should be handled directly by Lin Xia... The man was as slippery as an eel!

It was infuriating... He couldn't even probe him if he wanted to!

"We can draw up a special contract for Mr. Chu, on par with the world's top superstars! Like Taylor Swift, for example." Taking a deep breath, Howard looked directly into Lin Xia's eyes and said, word by word, "This is the biggest concession I can make! You have to understand... just how difficult it is to promote a yellow person in the White-headed Eagle, especially with the current global situation!"

"I know you might have some misunderstandings about us because of the past experiences of some Shen Zhou people! But we're different... I'm Mr. Chu's idol... oh, no, his fan! I would never harm my own idol!"

"I can put all of this in the contract! If it weren't for the fact that I think so highly of Mr. Chu and admire him so much, I really wouldn't need to be so servile!" Howard pleaded earnestly. "Being famous in the Divine Continent and being famous in the White-headed Eagle are two completely different things!"

"Only by making it big in the White-headed Eagle can you go global and truly be called a world superstar... The Divine Continent's status is decent now, sure, but that's all it is. Compared to the world, it's just a small pond."

Lin Xia remained unmoved, stating coldly, "This isn't an issue with the contract..."

"Actually, it's doable!" Chu Bamboo pushed the door open and said casually. He met Lin Xia's astonished gaze with a slight nod, then turned to Howard. "However, Mr. Raven, forget about drafting a contract like the world's top superstars!"

"I don't need such a high-level contract... You can even take a bigger cut of the overseas profits, I don't care! I only have one condition."

Chu Bamboo held up one finger. "You must guarantee my personal freedom as much as possible! If you think one contract means you own all my future songs and whatever, then forget it. That includes the English songs I'm singing now—you only get the distribution and management rights! As for everything else... it's still mine."

"..." Howard narrowed his eyes, clearly displeased. "Are you serious? So, in the future, even if we want to organize a concert for you... you can refuse if you don't feel like it? You do know that a singer only has a few main ways to make big money... And with your looks, I was even considering sending you to Hollywood in the future..."

Lin Xia burst out laughing. Noticing Howard's sharp glare, he tried to compose himself but ended up laughing again. "No, really! Just forget about Hollywood... Hollywood these days..."

"Why not just make some AI movies instead!" Lin Xia said euphemistically. "I think that's more reliable than Hollywood. Besides, you people... no matter how good it sounds! In the end, don't you just make the yellow actors play second fiddle? To prop up your 'Brother Heis'? Like that black Little Mermaid or whatever..."

"...I!" Howard's eyes bulged, and he looked like he wanted to curse, but the problem was, the guy wasn't exactly wrong... The White-headed Eagle's film and television industry really had been lackluster lately. It was hard to argue with confidence!

Of course, Howard was also a bit embarrassed at the moment... because the very trends being criticized were what the organization behind him was pushing for with all its might! In other words, the current situation was exactly what his Golden Dawn wanted...

"Alright! If you don't agree, we can just call it off," Chu Bamboo interjected, giving Howard a way out. He was actually aware that Howard meant no harm. And what he'd said could probably come true...

After all, in their eyes, he was currently a suspected Cultivator! As a candidate for the Golden Dawn's Saint... issues of ethnicity and nationality were simply not a problem for them—

Or rather, those issues would only become a problem if Chu Bamboo were to actually join them and compete for the leadership of the Golden Dawn.

In a way, the Golden Dawn had raised the ceiling for a Saint, even a candidate for Saint, to a level unimaginable for ordinary people!

Howard frowned, taking a moment to process what Chu Bamboo had said. His voice was laced with surprise and uncertainty. "So, you're saying... you don't actually care about the money! You just, simply... want freedom? Fewer restrictions?"

"Yes," Chu Bamboo nodded. "Give me your answer."

"...Since you've put it like that, I can only agree! But no matter what, it's truly a shame," Howard sighed wistfully.

Although Chu Bamboo's request was strange, Howard had encountered plenty of bizarre people in the past, so it wasn't that hard for him to accept...

Then, he gathered himself. "Alright! OK, OK! Since we've reached a consensus on this, then next..."

"Right! I think I get it now." Lin Xia immediately cut in. Thoughts flashed through his mind as he realized, 'Is Chu Bamboo setting a trap for this guy?'

With this in mind, Lin Xia's attitude changed completely from his previous arrogance and hostility. He looked at Howard with a smile. "Well then, Mr. Howard, let's take our time and discuss the specific terms of the contract... And let me be the first to say, I look forward to working with you."

"..." Howard was at a loss for words. At that moment, he suspected the man across from him was from Sichuan Province! He knew that in the Divine Continent's Sichuan Province, they had a special skill called 'face-changing'.