Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

If Lin Ran truly needed to rely on his martial arts talent for cultivation, he might just agree.

Unfortunately, he was a cultivator, so while his martial arts talent wasn't unimportant, it was utterly meaningless.

"I'm still going to prepare for the martial arts exam and give it a shot."

What he meant by "struggle" was not the same as what Bai Xingzhou imagined, but his attitude of rejection was already very clear.

Having said all that, Bai Xingzhou couldn't offer any further advice.

So he pulled a pen from his uniform pocket, tore off a piece of sticky note, and wrote down a contact number.

"If you change your mind, contact me directly." He stood up and handed the note to Lin Ran.

Seeing this, Lin Ran took the note, folded it, put it in his pocket, and said seriously, "Okay, I'll consider it."

Bai Xingzhou nodded and went out the door.

He greeted Lin Zhixia in the living room and left the Lin family home with two investigators.

Watching the three leave, Lin Zhixia looked at Lin Ran and asked, "How did the meeting go?"

"He wanted to invite me to join the Special Affairs Bureau, but I refused," Lin Ran said, shrugging.

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhixia frowned, her tone clearly showing confusion: "You refused? Why did you refuse?"

She had always been proud of her identity as a special intelligence investigator, and she had put in so much effort to get the job, only to have Lin Ran reject it with just a few words.

"I'm very busy and don't have time to carry out missions." Lin Ran walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and took out a bottle of water.

Lin Zhixia's gaze remained fixed on him: "Do you know that if you join the Special Affairs Bureau, those who target you will have to stay far away?"

"If I don't join the Secret Service, they'll avoid me like the plague."

Lin Ran unscrewed the bottle cap, took a sip, and slowly walked back: "Oh, not necessarily. They might not have a chance to back out."

"I really don't know what you're thinking." Lin Zhixia took a deep breath, opened the bracelet's contact list, and found Bai Xingzhou's number.

"I'll contact the White Team for you right now and tell them you're willing to join the Secret Service."

"Hey, hey, hey? We agreed not to interfere with each other." Lin Ran put down the bottle in his hand and raised his hand to stop her.

Lin Zhixia's finger hovered above the bracelet screen, her brows furrowing slightly: "I...I'm doing this for your own good!"

"Really, no need. Thank you for your kindness!" Lin Ran said solemnly.

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhixia was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but say in annoyance, "You're simply unreasonable!"

Lin Haozhe quickly came over from the side, a gentle smile on his face: "Second sister, don't be angry. Brother Ran probably has his own reasons."

Although he didn't know why Lin Ran had refused the Special Affairs Bureau's invitation, it was a good thing for him!

Since Lin Ran was ungrateful, he naturally couldn't let Lin Zhixia salvage the situation.

"What could he possibly be considering?" Lin Zhixia suddenly turned to him.

"This..." Lin Haozhe opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to answer.

He couldn't understand why Lin Ran refused to join the Special Affairs Bureau.

Will joining the Secret Service affect his inheritance of a billion-dollar fortune?

The door was pushed open from the outside, and Lin Hongbo walked in.

He was carrying a briefcase in one hand and loosening his tie with the other.

Following behind were Song Yishu, Lin Zhiwan, and Lin Zhiyao.

Song Yishu kicked off her high heels, slipped on slippers, and casually asked, "What happened? I heard you arguing before I even came in."

"Lin Ran rejected the Special Affairs Bureau's invitation." Lin Zhixia stood up from the sofa, her tone still tinged with anger.

"What?" The four people exclaimed almost simultaneously.

Lin Zhiyao took off her headphones, walked a few steps to Lin Ran, and looked him up and down.

"Why? Why would the Special Affairs Bureau invite an F-rank good-for-nothing like him instead of an A-level genius like me?"

Song Yishu walked over and gently patted the back of her head: "How can you talk like that? Xiao Ran is just a little less talented, how does that make her a good-for-nothing?"

"I wasn't targeting him, I just slipped up." Lin Zhiyao stuck out her tongue.

Lin Ran's lips curled into a slight smile: "Heh... I wonder if you, this genius, dare to accept the challenge of a good-for-nothing like me?"

"I'm not falling for that." Lin Zhiyao rolled her eyes, shrank back, and sat down next to her.

Lin Zhiwan took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose: "Xiao Ran, you're too impulsive. An invitation from the Special Affairs Bureau is extremely rare; how could you so easily refuse?"

"Stop!" Lin Ran crossed his arms and made a restraining gesture.

"We had an agreement not to interfere in each other's private lives, so what you're doing is a bit of a cross line."

Lin Zhiwan paused slightly. It was he who had proposed this agreement, but now Lin Ran was using it to appease her.

"Aren't your eldest and second sisters advising you all for your own good?" Lin Zhiyao peeked out from behind Song Yishu, resting her chin on Song Yishu's shoulder, and wrinkled her nose.

"How about this," Lin Ran said seriously, "If you really care about me, why not give each of you ten million? As for trying to persuade me to join the Special Affairs Bureau, let's not mention it again."

The goal isn't to get money; it's to distract them.

For Lin Ran, 30 million was nothing more than a hundred or so Tier 3 mutants.

Song Yishu turned her head, her eyes filled with confusion: "Are you short of money?"

I gave Lin Ran ten million a few days ago, but I haven't seen him buy anything. How come he's short of money?

"No, that's not it." Lin Ran shrugged. "I just wanted to give them a chance to express their concern."

"Pah, you're so shameless." Lin Zhiyao pouted.

Lin Ran spread his hands: "See, even if I gave you a chance, you still couldn't do it."

"I don't even get ten million in pocket money in a year," Lin Zhiyao said indignantly. "I'd rather not care about you anymore."

Lin Zhixia on the other side also waved her hand: "The Special Affairs Bureau's annual salary is only one million. Your concern is too expensive, I can't afford it."

"I can afford it, and I can even give them both their share. But I still hope you can consider joining the Special Affairs Bureau."

Lin Zhiwan opened the holographic bracelet, found the transfer page, looked at Lin Ran, and waited for his answer.

Seeing that Lin Zhiwan was really going to give him the money, Lin Ran had no choice but to use the same reason he had used to fool Bai Xingzhou: "I want to compete for first place in the national martial arts exam."

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Lin Hongbo, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly became interested.

"Are you confident?" He leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on Lin Ran.

Lin Ran leaned back on the sofa, looking relaxed: "I'm more than confident."

"Tell me more," Lin Hongbo pressed.

"Why not just take down all the enemies?" Lin Ran raised an eyebrow. "That's something I'm good at."

It would be somewhat unfair for him to use his current cultivation level to deal with students in the Body Tempering and Qi Opening stages.

However, Lin Hongbo disagreed with his statement: "Don't underestimate the heroes of the world!"

"While being number one at Xinhai No. 1 Middle School carries some weight, it's not a reason for you to look down on others!"

Among the many high schools, Xinhai No.1 High School is considered one of the top schools.

When Lin Ran first went to the school, he saw a news broadcast at the school gate announcing that Xinhai No. 1 Middle School had won third place in the martial arts competition.

Since it's third place, it means there are even stronger schools.

Therefore, Lin Ran was not surprised by Lin Hongbo's attitude.

"I don't look down on anyone; I just despise everyone equally." Lin Ran raised his neck, his face full of arrogance.

Lin Zhiyao rolled her eyes: "I really can't stand this! You're just too arrogant!"

"Would you like to experience my strength?" Lin Ran turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Lin Zhiyao's face with disdain.

"You... Hmph!" Lin Zhiyao pouted and shrank back behind Song Yishu.