The Adventures of My All-Rounder Wife

Time passed quickly. At around three in the afternoon, Assistant Bai Xing walked in to brief Yun Zhijuan on the progress.

"Boss."

Bai Xing held a transparent, ultra-tech tablet in his hand, displaying a variety of data.

"Nine commanders have all arrived on Bailu Island and passed certification. The voting channel will open promptly in an hour, and the inauguration ceremony will take place tomorrow at 9 a.m. You'll need to personally hand over the Black Mask and the Leader's Authority Card..."

Bai Xing reported matter-of-factly, line by line.

Yun Zhijuan listened absentmindedly.

While Bai Xing couldn't see his boss's expression, the look in his eyes and his fidgeting posture clearly showed that something was off about Yun Zhijuan today.

He paused his report and asked with concern, "Boss, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Nothing," Yun Zhijuan waved it off. Abruptly, he asked an almost ridiculous question.

"Bai Xing, do you think..." Yun Zhijuan hesitated before continuing, "Could I, alone, take on both Team One and Team Two?"

Bai Xing burst out laughing. "Oh, I see, you're worried about those two clashing, aren't you? Don't worry, Boss. No matter how heated it gets between Team One and Team Two, they'd never lay a finger on you. At worst, it'll just be hard to mediate..."

Everyone within IEG knew that Team One and Team Two had long torn off all pretenses in their scramble for the leadership position. They couldn't stand the sight of each other.

Who knows what might happen when they meet face-to-face?

Because of this, Yun Zhijuan had even deployed additional security forces, worried that any incident would spiral out of control between those two heavyweights.

Yun Zhijuan felt helpless—maybe, just maybe, the situation might turn into a combined attack on him...

"And besides, there are still seven other commanders around," Bai Xing added.

"Sigh..." Yun Zhijuan remained deeply concerned.

Bai Xing noticed two fishing rod cases by his side. The logo on them indicated they were limited-edition sets Yun Zhijuan had long been itching to buy. Smiling, Bai Xing remarked, "Boss, you finally got those fishing rods? Congratulations!"

"Ah, someone else got them for me," Yun Zhijuan replied.

"No wonder there are two sets. Who knows you so well?"

Yun Zhijuan lightly dusted the cases. "One set was from my junior disciple and his wife. The other is from my protégé and her husband."

Bai Xing didn't quite understand the relationships but offered a polite compliment. "They sure are thoughtful toward you."

Yun Zhijuan: o(╥﹏╥)o

With a wave of his hand, Yun Zhijuan dismissed Bai Xing from the room.

As Bai Xing left, he added another piece of information. "By the way, Boss, typically commanders on Bailu Island wait in seclusion in their allotted rooms. But it seems like Team Four and Team Five have been unusually chummy. Should we activate secondary surveillance?"

"Ignore them. With Team One and Team Two here, they won't be able to cause any trouble!"

——

Lu Mian entered the room assigned to her, set down her black backpack, and pulled out her laptop.

The thought that someone had put a price on her head had been gnawing at her. She needed to get to the bottom of it.

Opening her laptop, she quickly navigated to a programming interface and began typing a string of code. Soon, a progress bar popped onto the screen.

While waiting for the search to complete, Lu Mian took a cold shower.

The cool water trickling over her body brought her clarity and composure.

She mentally went over one possibility after another, analyzing who within the organization might have hired someone to kill her.

Team One?

He was already the widely anticipated favorite for the next leadership role. There was no need for him to resort to such an underhanded move.

Or was it Team Three?

Team Three frequented under-the-radar strategies, presenting a harmless, non-confrontational image. But that might very well be a smokescreen. If she were to have an "accident," the first suspect would naturally be Team One. Team Three could then swoop in and profit as the dark horse.

What about Team Four?

She didn't have a strong impression of him, only remembering that his Tarot Identity Card was "The Tower."

"The Tower" didn't carry a positive connotation—it symbolized upheaval, disaster, destruction, and chaos brought from above.

If Team Four harbored ambition, it wasn't impossible that he might try to eliminate the three eligible contenders ahead of him in line.

Standing under the cold shower, Lu Mian pondered briefly. Hearing her phone vibrate outside, she turned off the water and draped herself in a bathrobe before stepping out.

Grabbing a towel, she casually dried her hair.

The message was from Team Three.

Team Three: [Team Two, you've arrived, right? Should we meet up first?]

Lu Mian wasn't interested. [No.]

Team Three: [Alright, then I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the ceremony. But rest assured, at the four o'clock vote, I'll definitely pick you!]

Lu Mian didn't reply further.

Her attention veered back to the computer screen, where the progress bar had reached 99%. Moments later, a location pinpoint appeared on the screen.

Leaning closer, Lu Mian looked at the coordinates on-screen and let out a wry smile, both surprised and unsurprised.

Her sharp, black-and-white gaze gleamed faintly. She had formulated a plan.

——

Inside Team Four Commander Gao Ta's room.

Gao Ta was already geared up. He welcomed Team Five Commander Yueliang into his room, motioning for him to sit. The two, both masked, couldn't see each other's faces—only their eyes.

Sitting down, Gao Ta adjusted his voice changer and spoke for the first time.

"I support Team One. I'll fully back him to ascend as the leader."

Yueliang nodded in agreement. "Same here. After all, there's no better candidate."

The two shared a decent rapport and occasionally chatted privately.

Yueliang glanced at Gao Ta with a tinge of pity. "It's a shame, though. You're the fourth commander, incredibly capable, yet you don't even qualify to compete for the position."

It's like someone scoring zero on a test never dreaming of getting a perfect grade.

The ones who most yearn for perfection are always those scoring 99.

Gao Ta was that 99 scorer. He could have been the third commander, but Team Two had parachuted in as a power-play appointee, demoting the original second commander to third place and leaving Gao Ta at fourth.

It was downright miserable.

Yueliang offered a suggestion, "Brother, maybe you should consider switching your Tarot Identity Card? That card of yours isn't lucky—seems like it's cursed with misfortune."

"Heh." Gao Ta's eyes darkened. He didn't buy into such superstitions.

Luck or not, he refused to believe he'd always be on the losing end.

Some things had to be fought for with one's own hands.

They were both commanders in the same organization. Why was it that only the top three could run for leadership, while everyone below was left on the sidelines to watch?

Of course, this was something he couldn't voice—he kept it to himself.

"I'm used to it," Gao Ta said dismissively. Just then, his phone buzzed with a canceled transaction notification from the Mercenary Alliance.

His pupils contracted. What was going on?

A ten-billion-dollar order rejected?

Immediately, he placed an order with another assassination outfit, only for it to be returned moments later.

No one would take the job?

This succession conference was his one and only chance to unseat the Team Two commander—and the prime opportunity to strike. How could no one accept his requests?