Chapter 131: The Responsibility of a Dominant President: You, Too, Were My Core Asset!

Night, deep as ink.

Inside Chu Feng’s office, the atmosphere was even heavier than the night outside.

The complete star map, pieced together from two iron fragments, lay quietly on the desk, emitting a faint, ghostly glow, like an eye peering into secrets from time immemorial.

Chu Feng sat in his chair without saying a word, his fingertips trembling slightly.

Ever since crossing over, his greatest reliance had been the business knowledge and insight into human nature in his mind—knowledge that was thousands of years ahead of this world.

He had thought himself the chess player, the pioneer using dimensional suppression to strike at this ignorant world.

Yet this accessory that had been born alongside him turned out to be a key leading deep into a forbidden land of this realm, while the other half had coincidentally appeared on the body of a dead chores disciple.

Behind all this, it seemed as if an invisible giant hand was silently manipulating everything.

That feeling made him experience a chill rising from the depths of his heart for the first time.

What he hated most in his life was becoming a chess piece on someone else’s board!

“Hu…”

After a long while, Chu Feng let out a long breath of turbid air. The rare trace of confusion and fear in his eyes was forcibly suppressed, replaced by an even sharper gleam.

He took out a pile of top-grade spirit stones from his storage pouch and stacked them beside him into a small hill.

The million spirit stones obtained from the auction released such surging spiritual energy that it was almost materializing, making the air in the entire room turn viscous.

He slowly closed his eyes and began circulating his cultivation technique.

The violent fluctuation of his emotions, combined with the stimulation of the massive external spiritual energy, caused the spiritual power within him—already at the peak of mid-stage Foundation Establishment—to surge uncontrollably.

He needed calmness, and even more, he needed power!

Only absolute power could allow him to break free from a manipulated fate and become the true chess player!

“Boom!”

A powerful shockwave exploded outward with him at the center, sending the tables and chairs in the room tumbling in all directions.

The hill of spirit stones beside him dimmed at a visible speed, transforming into an extremely pure torrent of spiritual energy that frantically poured into his limbs and bones.

Late-stage Foundation Establishment!

It succeeded!

Feeling the spiritual power within him, now several times thicker than before, Chu Feng slowly opened his eyes, the irritation and unease in his heart swept away completely.

He stood up and cast his gaze toward the stubborn figure at the doorway.

Murong Xue stood there, neither leaving nor entering.

She had changed into a set of black tight-fitting attire, her long hair tied high. Under the moonlight, her exquisitely beautiful face was filled with complicated emotions.

“Come in.”

Chu Feng’s voice returned to its usual calmness.

Murong Xue walked into the room. Her gaze swept over the spirit stones that had turned into powder on the floor and the aura around Chu Feng that had not yet fully withdrawn. A trace of surprise flashed through her phoenix eyes, but she did not ask any questions.

“You’ve seen it. The origins of this thing are far more complicated than I imagined.”

Chu Feng pointed at the star map on the desk and got straight to the point,

“The danger level of the Ten Thousand Souls Cavern may be more than ten times higher than what Zhao Wuji’s ‘due diligence report’ described.”

“Then you should bring me along even more.”

Murong Xue’s voice was cool and firm,

“As the Chief Risk Control Officer, the higher the project’s risk level, the less reason I have to be absent.”

“You’re wrong.”

Chu Feng shook his head. He walked up to Murong Xue, looking straight into her eyes, his expression more serious than ever before.

“Chief Risk Control Officer, what I need from you for this S-rank project is the worst-case risk assessment—not to stop it, and certainly not to put yourself in danger.”

Murong Xue was stunned. In Chu Feng’s eyes, she saw none of his usual flippancy, only a pure, unquestionable seriousness.

“Leng Yanran is the group’s Chief Product Officer, the core technical safeguard we rely on to survive. Her current situation is equivalent to the company’s core server crashing. I must repair her at any cost.”

Chu Feng’s voice was deep and powerful,

“From an asset valuation perspective, she is the group’s No. 1 core technical asset, irreplaceable.”

Hearing this, Murong Xue’s gaze dimmed, a trace of self-mockery appearing at the corner of her lips.

As expected, in his eyes, everything was nothing more than cold assets and value.

“But,”

Chu Feng abruptly changed the topic, causing Murong Xue to freeze again,

“You, Murong Xue, as the group’s Chief Risk Control Officer, as the only moral brake pad in our ‘wolf-like team,’ are likewise an indispensable core management asset.”

“Core… management asset?”

Murong Xue chewed on this unfamiliar term.

“Yes.”

Chu Feng nodded,

“A group cannot rely on technology and execution alone.”

“Without risk control, without bottom lines, it’s like a carriage charging blindly with its eyes covered—the faster it runs, the more miserable its death.”

“Your existence marks the direction and boundaries for Ascension Group’s crazy war chariot.”

“None of my decisions can result in the permanent loss of core assets.”

“Leng Yanran cannot be lost. You, likewise, cannot.”

Chu Feng’s gaze burned intensely:

“So you cannot go. Because your safety is also a hidden, top-priority KPI of this project.”

Murong Xue was completely stunned.

She had imagined Chu Feng using ten thousand twisted arguments to refute her, but she had never expected him to affirm her value in this way.

Placing her on the same level of importance as Leng Yanran.

That feeling was very strange.

It was like she had always been desperately trying to put reins on a rampaging beast, only for that beast to suddenly stop, turn its head, and say to her:

Actually, I also need you to guide the direction.

Her Dao heart was once again shaken to the brink by this man’s outrageous maneuver.

“I…”

For a moment, she did not know what to say.

Chu Feng did not give her much time to think. He took out a warm jade pendant from his robes. Engraved on it was the Ascension Group’s logo, and it was still wrapped in a trace of his divine sense.

This was the token of authority he held as the group’s chairman.

He solemnly placed the jade pendant into Murong Xue’s cold hand.

“While I’m away, the group will be fully under your control.”

“I’ve already informed True Lord Xuantian. He will fully cooperate with you.”

“Wu Hao will handle daily operations, Zhang Daniu will be responsible for security, but the final decision-making authority rests with you.”

“Your task is not to go on an adventure with me, but to guard our base camp. This is more important than anything else.”

Chu Feng said each word clearly,

“Stabilize our ‘rear market’ and wait for me to return with ‘core technology’ and ‘new growth points.’”

“I…”

Murong Xue held the jade pendant that still carried residual warmth, feeling its weight like a thousand jun.

What it represented was unconditional trust and entrustment.

She raised her head and looked into Chu Feng’s deep eyes. The anger, grievance, and unwillingness in her heart all transformed at this moment into a complex, indescribable emotion.

“Alright.”

She took a deep breath and nodded,

“I’ll stay.”

She accepted the arrangement, but did not leave immediately.

She took out a protective talisman she had personally sewn from her own storage pouch. On it were embroidered intricate calming array patterns with golden thread.

She handed the talisman to Chu Feng. Her gaze flickered as she did not dare meet his eyes, and she only said in a low voice:

“There’s a strand of my divine sense inside. At a critical moment, it can help you block one soul attack.”

“Don’t misunderstand,”

She hurriedly added,

“This is also part of the risk assessment.”

“If you die, your group will collapse. That’s the highest-level risk.”

“So, come back alive.”

After saying that, she turned and fled, leaving only a valiant and heroic silhouette, along with the talisman that carried a faint, delicate fragrance.

Chu Feng held the talisman, sensing the faint yet resilient divine sense within it. The corner of his mouth finally curved into a smile that came from the bottom of his heart.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep