Chapter 340: Call

Lin Jie was stumped. What sort of question is this?

For some reason, it was vaguely like the age-old question of whether he would save his girlfriend or mother if they both fell into the water at the same time.

Lin Jie took a sip of tea to hide the strange expression he had.

But… Joseph and Wilde. Lin Jie thought that these two old friends were close to reconciling, so why did it sound like something bad was about to happen?

Greg was a disciple of Joseph after all. He definitely wouldn't be asking this for no reason. The most likely possibility was that the two were already on opposing sides.

Could it be that the misunderstanding of Old Wil joining an MLM company has not been resolved yet? No, no, no… With Old Wil's personality, he probably wouldn't even bother to explain.

And Joseph with his irritable and straightforward temper... As long as he makes a decision from the facts he knows, he would definitely follow his instincts and not listen to any explanation.

Such a vicious cycle would cause the misunderstanding between those two to continuously worsen...

Assuming that the relationship between the two of them continued to deteriorate, Greg, a kid who had just been accepted as Joseph's apprentice less than a year ago, naturally wouldn't be too aware about the long standing animosity between the two, nor would he care about any misunderstandings.

In fact, even Lin Jie himself didn't know what exactly happened between the two of them in the past. He only knew that Joseph's missing arm was related to Wilde and that the reason Wilde lived in seclusion was also because of Joseph. It was easy to imagine how tragic the conflict between the two could be just based on these.

As for the current question, there weren't any basic conditions, so it was impossible to come to any conclusion.

Therefore, Greg probably wasn't here to ask who would win. He just wanted to hear the conclusion that Joseph came out on top.

Now, Greg had really given Lin Jie a conundrum indeed. The difficult part didn’t lie with the answer.

Based on Lin Jie's understanding of these two people, if the conditions were completely fair, Joseph would definitely lose in a situation that required him to compete with his brain. Of course, if it were a fistfight, skinny Old Wil would probably crumble to a single punch of Joseph’s.

Thus, it was easy to make a simple conclusion. But, to put it bluntly, Greg clearly didn't want a rational analysis but to hear others praise his teacher…

Most of the time, there wouldn’t be any problem abiding by a customer’s wishes. However, both the parties involved knew Lin Jie. Would he still be able to do his business as per usual if any one of them found out about what he said today?

Lin Jie stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, then eyed Greg and asked calmly, "What do you think?"

That's right!

At such a time, the best solution was to place the initiative back in the other party’s hands, steering him along and following whatever he said.

Heh, you're the one who came to these conclusions. What does it have to do with me? thought Lin Jie smugly.

"Eh?" Greg was taken aback. He never expected the question to be thrown back at him.

His heart trembled as he met Lin Jie’s seemingly intense gaze. His plan to uncover the bookstore owner’s opinion had been completely seen through… No, he should have been prepared for this.

The outcome of the battle depended entirely on who this demon wanted to win.

He wanted to try getting an answer for the bookstore owner because he was at the demon’s mercy. However, the demon had thrown the question back at him. Clearly, the ensuing dialogue would be based on this.

In other words, every word Greg said might determine the direction of the battle…

"I, I…" With this realization, cold sweat started to break out on Greg’s forehead once again.

Monster, this monster!

Of course, what Greg wanted and what he hoped was for Joseph to win!

But… What if, after expressing my view, this demon deliberately plays the devil’s advocate and says that he reckons Wilde would win just to toy with me?

Then, can I say that Wilde would win? But what if he goes along with me and really lets Wilde win?! Am I going to say that Wilde would win?

Regardless of whichever answer, it’s all completely in his control. I completely have no say!

The panicking Greg kept rubbing his palms together in regret. He shouldn't have asked… Why did he try to act smart and take matters into his own hands…

Lin Jie noticed Greg’s nervousness and wondered if he had made a wrong assumption. Could Joseph’s disciple have a different view?

Oh… Maybe that’s why he feels so torn up inside?

The understanding Boss Lin smiled and pushed a teacup over. "Don't be afraid. Just say whatever is on your mind. Just like we mentioned, treat me as a tree hollow. Whatever you want to discuss is merely a hypothesis. It’s not like we are really gonna let those two fight to the death, right? Don’t worry. Nothing will happen."

Something’s definitely going to happen! This is surely his revenge for my attempt to test him! Greg howled on the inside. With a trembling voice, he could only utter, “I…I think…"

Lin Jie gazed at the youngster patiently and inched the teacup closer to Greg. “What do you think? How about some tea to calm yourself down?”

Greg felt that the teacup was his lifeline. The pressure building was getting more intense by the second.

Lin Jie sighed. "Actually, the two of them have quite a good relationship. Otherwise, Joseph wouldn't have spent two years looking for Wilde. Although they had some conflicts in the past, I could tell that they both knew each other very well, just that they were unwilling to say it aloud. Had they met, the two might be able to reminisce and relive the past. After all, they were thick friends. If they were to meet each other again, I’m sure they can definitely understand how each other felt…"

Gulp…

The youngster swallowed. Could it… could it be that Sir Joseph is actually fighting with Wilde at present? Back then, Sir Joseph had nearly shattered Wilde to pieces in their previous fight. Wouldn’t “understand how each other felt” mean…n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. With a trembling hand, he picked up the teacup and took a big gulp. "I think…"

Beep beep—

Greg was interrupted by the buzz of the communications device he’d put away.

Greg felt frustration and anger well up as his eyes shot open. And just as he considered just hanging up, he noticed the displayed name read ‘Winston.’

Combat Division’s Chief? Damn it, of all times, why did he have to call now?!

As per Secret Rite Tower regulations, in any situation, unless one’s movements were restricted, subordinates could not voluntarily hang up when contacted by their superiors.

Although Greg and Winston were from different divisions, the youngster was still considered a subordinate. Moreover, Winston didn’t seem to be on good terms with Joseph as of late, so there would definitely be future trouble if Greg chose to leave the call…

No, no, no. If I don’t deal with things properly now and something were to happen to Sir Joseph, there wouldn’t even be a future to consider!

Noticing the conflicted look on Greg's face, the kind and understanding Boss Lin put down his own cup and said, "It’s alright. Pick up the call first. Take more time to think about it and you’ll have a more objective answer."