Searching for someone in northern Myanmar, and you call that earning tuition fees?

By the end of August in Jiangcheng, the chill of autumn could already be felt.

Su Ming sat under the old locust tree in the backyard of the orphanage, with a book on macroeconomics spread out on his lap and a half-pencil in his hand, making notes in the blank spaces of the book.

In the courtyard, several children were playing hopscotch, their laughter echoing throughout the room.

"Brother Su!"

A little girl with pigtails ran over, her eyes sparkling, and tilted her head back to ask, "Are you really going to college?"

"Hmm." Su Ming rubbed her head and said, "School starts in a few days."

"Will you come back to see us?"

"certainly."

The little girl then ran off satisfied.

Su Ming looked away and continued turning the pages. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the paper, creating a peaceful and beautiful scene.

He really liked this feeling.

There were no gunshots, no smell of blood, and none of those deadly traps that could kill you at any moment in the jungle.

Just living an ordinary life.

"Ding-dong—"

My phone vibrated.

Su Ming took out his Nokia phone, and a new message popped up on the screen.

From: [Zhongxun Official Operations]

He raised an eyebrow and clicked on it.

Dear "Scholar" user, hello.

In recognition of your outstanding performance in missions in the Angla region, the platform extends an invitation to you to accept the following SSS-level commission.

Mission Codename: Subnautica

Mission Objective: Locate the missing cargo ship "Far Voyage"

[Mission Level: SSS (National Security Level)]

[Reward Amount: 1000 million (negotiable)]

[Note: This task involves key national scientific research equipment, and the commissioning party's background has been verified by the platform's highest-level authentication. Given your special status, the platform promises to provide you with comprehensive technical support and legal exemptions.]

Do you wish to accept this call?

Su Ming stared at the screen for a few seconds.

Ten million.

SSS level.

It still has an official background.

He slowly exhaled, his finger hovering over the screen.

To be honest, he didn't really want to accept.

Having just returned from northern Myanmar, he was still quite tired. More importantly, school was starting in a few days, and he was thinking of scouting out the area around the school to familiarize himself with the environment and see if there were any part-time work opportunities.

After all, he had donated 50 million, and although he still had 100 million in his account, he still felt uneasy.

Money is something you feel more comfortable spending when you earn it yourself.

Just then, my phone vibrated again.

This is a voice call request.

Caller ID: [Zhongxun - Senior Operations Specialist]

Su Ming hesitated for a moment before answering the call.

"Feed?"

"Hello, Mr. Scholar. I am a senior operations specialist on the Zhongxun platform, employee number S-007. You can call me Xiaoqi."

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded very young, polite but with a hint of nervousness.

"Hmm." Su Ming leaned against the tree trunk, his tone calm. "What's up?"

"It's like this." Xiao Qi took a deep breath, as if organizing her thoughts: "Regarding the SSS-level mission I just sent you, I need to explain a few things to you."

"you say."

"The Yuanhang is a 10,000-ton cargo ship that went missing last month after encountering a hurricane in the marginal waters of the South China Sea. It was carrying core components of a deep-sea drilling rig independently developed by my country, the value of which is... incalculable."

Su Ming raised an eyebrow: "Since it's so important, why not have the authorities intervene?"

"Because the situation in the area where the disappearance occurred is complicated." Xiao Qi paused, "That area is nominally international waters, but in reality, it is being watched by multiple forces. If the authorities conduct a large-scale search, it could easily trigger diplomatic disputes, or even be used as an excuse by certain countries."

"So you want me to go."

"Yes." Xiao Qi's voice carried a hint of sincerity. "Scholar, your performance in Angla has been seen by the platform's higher-ups. You not only have top-notch reconnaissance capabilities, but more importantly... your methods of action are flexible enough not to be restricted by rules and regulations."

Su Ming didn't say anything.

Xiao Qi continued, "Furthermore, the party commissioning this mission is willing to provide you with all the necessary support. Funding, equipment, intelligence—whatever you need, we can coordinate. The bounty is also negotiable; ten million is just the starting price."

"I'll think about it," Su Ming said calmly.

"Wait!" Xiao Qi exclaimed anxiously. "Sir, could you please express your concerns? I can report this to my superiors and see if we can resolve it for you."

Su Ming remained silent for a few seconds.

"School starts soon."

"……What?"

"I said, I'm about to start school." Su Ming repeated seriously, "Jiangnan University, Department of Finance, registration is on September 1st. I don't want to miss school because of taking on this mission."

There was a full ten seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

Xiaoqi probably never imagined that this "scholar" who single-handedly dismantled a criminal syndicate in northern Myanmar, extorted 150 million, and struck fear into the hearts of the entire Southeast Asian underworld would actually refuse a multi-million dollar mission because "school is about to start."

"Um..." Xiao Qi's voice was a little unsteady, "Scholar, how old are you this year?"

"eighteen."

"..."

Another silence followed.

After a long pause, Xiao Qi seemed to have made up her mind: "How about this, Mr. Scholar? The time window for this mission is one month. You can go to the school to register first, familiarize yourself with the environment, and then decide whether to accept it. Also..."

She lowered her voice, as if she were talking about something confidential: "The platform's higher-ups said that if you're willing to take this job, they can grant you 'priority exemption rights.' That means you can take leave at any time during the mission, and we'll help you coordinate with the school."

Su Ming frowned slightly: "Can you coordinate with the school?"

"The shareholder background of the Zhongxun platform... is rather complicated," Xiaoqi said vaguely. "Anyway, this little thing is no problem."

Su Ming seemed to be deep in thought.

It seems that the "Zhongxun" platform is much more complex than he imagined.

"Okay, I'll think about it." He didn't agree immediately. "I'll talk about it after I've settled in for the start of the semester."

"Okay, okay!" Xiao Qi breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I'll send the task details to your email first, you can take a look when you have time. By the way, Mr. Scholar, there's something I'd like to remind you of..."

"Um?"

"You'd better keep a low profile lately." Xiao Qi's tone turned serious. "Although the authorities haven't revealed your true identity regarding the Angla incident, your codename has already spread in certain circles. Especially those... less-than-clean organizations overseas, they might be interested in you."

Su Ming smiled and said, "I've always been very low-key."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at the newly popped-up email icon on the screen but didn't open it.

Ten million.

To be honest, it's quite tempting.

But right now he just wants to go to school quietly and experience the life of a normal college student.

Dating, skipping class, eating in the cafeteria, playing basketball...

These things, which seem ordinary to others, are luxuries to him that he has never had the chance to experience growing up.

"Never mind, we'll see when the time comes."

Su Ming put away his phone and reopened the book.

The sun was still warm, and the children were still laughing and playing.

everything is fine.

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