Chapter Forty-Four: The Con Artist

The room was spacious, equipped with all kinds of fitness gear, sandbags, dumbbells, barbells, and even shooting targets.

Lin Chen felt a pang of astonishment internally. For a corporate entity to have live-fire shooting facilities within its offices showed just how powerful Sky Dome Entertainment truly was.

In the center of the room stood a boxing ring where two burly men were currently sparring, surrounded by dozens of other muscular guards cheering them on.

Every single one of these men had crew cuts resembling steel needles, and their entire bodies radiated a fierce, intimidating aura that instilled dread in onlookers.

The two fighters in the ring were locked in an intense exchange. Their muscles, bulging like reinforced steel, tensed with every flying fist and kick that landed solidly on flesh, whipping up gusts of wind. It looked exceptionally savage and sounded with loud thuds, a spectacle of absolute grandeur that far surpassed any choreographed martial arts competition.

Lin Chen nodded slightly. These men possessed genuine combat prowess, clearly backed by rich practical experience with techniques largely devoid of flashy, useless movements.

However, such formidable combat capability was only relative to ordinary people. To Lin Chen, these individuals were pathetically weak; in his eyes, they were nothing more than walking sandbags entirely covered in fatal flaws.

Upon seeing An Xueyao walk in, the two men on the ring immediately stopped fighting, vaulted over the ropes, and leaped down from the three-meter-high platform.

"Eldest Miss!"

The group of brawny men shouted in unison.

An Xueyao nodded, then turned to Lin Chen with a hint of pride. "These are my bodyguards. What do you think? Are they impressive?"

Lin Chen nodded. "Not bad at all."

"Eldest Miss, is this short and scrawny guy the super expert you hired?"

Among the bodyguards, a giant standing nearly one meter and ninety centimeters tall mocked sarcastically.

Lin Chen was actually not short at all, standing at one meter and seventy-eight centimeters. He possessed a well-defined physique, though not exaggeratedly bulky, but standing next to this giant made him appear remarkably slender and fragile.

The giant had the broad waist and back of a bear, resembling a terrifying humanoid beast.

Lin Chen felt a bit puzzled. Why did these bodyguards seem to harbor such intense hostility toward him?

What he did not know was that these bodyguards had been notified yesterday that a candidate would come in for an interview today. Under normal circumstances, that would have been fine, but Zhao Hong had deeply doubted Lin Chen's capabilities and deliberately emphasized to the bodyguards that Lin Chen’s salary was ten million for half a year—meaning twenty million a year!

This revelation had blown the minds of the bodyguards, making them feel vastly inferior.

They were all veterans from various special forces units with formidable skills, yet even their strongest captain, Xu Gang, commanded an annual salary of no more than two million, while the rest earned a mere one million. This massive disparity in pay fueled a profound sense of animosity toward Lin Chen.

Now, seeing Lin Chen's slender frame and complete lack of the bearing expected of a master—looking entirely like an ordinary person—they felt even more indignant and resolved to teach him a painful lesson.

*We only make one or two million a year, and this punk wants twenty million a year? In your dreams!*

The one who spoke was Chen Li, known for having the most explosive temper in the group. Without waiting for An Xueyao to respond, he had blurted out the question directly.

An Xueyao was momentarily stunned. She had never claimed Lin Chen was any sort of super expert; she had merely mentioned to the bodyguards beforehand that someone would come in for an interview today.

She had no idea that Zhao Hong had told the group about Lin Chen's annual salary of twenty million, and in the minds of these bodyguards, anyone commanding such a wage had to be a transcendent master.

Of course, Chen Li did not believe for a second that Lin Chen was any kind of expert; his remark was pure mockery.

Though slightly bewildered by the situation, An Xueyao replied, "His name is Lin Chen. He's here to apply for the bodyguard position today. Test his abilities."

Noticing the fierce glint in Chen Li's eyes, Lin Chen wondered when he had offended this big guy, but he couldn't be bothered to ask.

"How exactly should we test it?" Lin Chen looked at An Xueyao.

An Xueyao then turned to the bodyguard captain beside her. "Xu Gang, I don't know anything about testing methods. You arrange it; I'll just watch from the side."

Before Xu Gang could speak, Chen Li rubbed his hands together with a cold sneer. "Captain Xu, no need to make it so complicated. Just leave this guy to me. With his weak and delicate appearance, I can finish him with a single slap."

In fact, from the very first moment he laid eyes on Lin Chen, Xu Gang had been sizing him up. He, too, felt deeply resentful regarding Lin Chen's exorbitant salary, and after observing him for so long, he simply couldn't see what made this kid worth such a fortune.

*Could he be a fraud?* Xu Gang thought to himself.

To be on the safe side, Xu Gang addressed Lin Chen, "Little brother, I'm Xu Gang, the head bodyguard here and a veteran of the Blood Wolf Special Forces. I wonder if you are also a soldier? But looking at how young you are, you probably aren't a veteran. Could you perhaps belong to some ancient martial arts family?"

Hearing Xu Gang's words, the rest of the group narrowed their eyes. If Lin Chen truly hailed from an ancient martial family, he certainly could not be underestimated.

Lin Chen shook his head. "I'm not a veteran, nor do I come from any ancient martial family. I'm a doctor, and I happen to know a bit of martial arts."

"A doctor?"

The crowd froze, and then someone failed to suppress a snort of laughter.

Wasn't this guy here as a joke? A doctor applying to be a bodyguard?

Xu Gang clearly had not expected such an answer. He blinked in confusion and looked inquiringly at An Xueyao.

An Xueyao felt a flush of embarrassment on her face. In truth, she had no idea whether Lin Chen actually knew martial arts or how strong he might be.

She hurriedly explained, "Lin Chen is very strong! The other day at the hospital, the leg of a chair was made of steel, and Lin Chen just picked it up and bent it straight away!"

As she spoke, she even cute reenacted the way Lin Chen had bent the chair leg that day.

"Hahaha!"

The group of bodyguards burst into unrestrained laughter.

Suppressing his smile, Xu Gang said, "Eldest Miss, you might have been conned. Even if a chair leg is made of steel, it's usually hollow inside. Even if it's solid, bending it isn't all that difficult. Relying on just that trick is nowhere near enough to qualify as a bodyguard!"

Coincidentally, the leg of the chair right beside Chen Li was made of steel. He picked it up, sneered at Lin Chen, and exerted force through his arms. His muscles bulged, and the chair leg was twisted into the shape of a pretzel as if it were made of soft clay.

"Ah... this..."

An Xueyao was momentarily taken aback. She understood nothing about what constituted a genuine master. Seeing Chen Li pull off such a feat, doubt began to creep into her own mind.

Could it be that Lin Chen wasn't an expert at all, and she had created a massive fiasco?

If Lin Chen were actually made to spar with these bodyguards under these conditions, wouldn't he end up being brutally beaten?

Looking at Lin Chen with a sense of dejection, An Xueyao said, "Lin Chen, I'm sorry, it seems there's been a mistake. Should we just skip the test?"

Lin Chen had remained utterly calm from start to finish. At that moment, he simply said, "Why say that? Whether I can become your bodyguard or not should be decided after we run the test."

"What's the matter, punk? Still not giving up? I advise you to scram while you can and stop overestimating yourself. You might have fooled the Eldest Miss, but you can't fool us!"

The crowd had already concluded that Lin Chen was a fraud, and Chen Li's tone grew even more unreservedly harsh.

Lin Chen furrowed his brow, a look of displeasure crossing his features.

If he hadn't come here for an interview today and wished to avoid trouble, just based on the other person telling him to scram, Lin Chen would have made him regret it dearly.

Glancing briefly at the insolent Chen Li, Lin Chen turned his gaze to Xu Gang and asked impatiently, "How are we testing this precisely? Stop dragging your feet and wasting time with all this nonsense. I'm applying to be a bodyguard; why do you care whether I'm a veteran or from some martial family? Wouldn't it settle everything if I just beat the lot of you into the dirt?"