Trillionaire's Slice of Life

With a light sigh, looking at Fang Lihu's troubled expression and thinking about how he had just come out of the hospital, Chu Mo didn't want the tall man to be too distressed, so he waved his hand and said:

"Since that's the case, then call all forty-nine female bodyguards here. I'll assess their qualifications and then decide who stays and who goes. Ugly words first, if any of these people are just here to make up the numbers, I might not even keep twenty of them."

As Chu Mo finished speaking, a smile immediately flashed across Fang Lihu's honest face, and he said with utmost seriousness:

"Mr. Chu, please rest assured, these forty-nine individuals have been meticulously selected from more than ten thousand applicants. Each one of them is truly one in a thousand, and there's no question of having any duds. If you find anyone unsatisfactory, feel free to dismiss them, and we'll recruit a new batch!"

The tall Fang Lihu immediately turned and left. All the female bodyguards were currently at the headquarters of the detective agency, and he had to gather them together and then bring them to the Emperor's Pavilion for the big boss to review.

After a session of exercise, Chu Mo was fully warmed up, basking in the sunlight, he naturally felt clear in mind and body. At this moment, he naturally wanted to go back for a hot shower. Suddenly catching sight of the tall figure standing guard nearby, he beckoned to her. When the woman named Chen Yue came to his side, Chu Mo, with a trace of curiosity in his eyes, softly said:

"Head coach, how long do you think it would take for me to reach your level if I started training in martial arts from now?"

Chen Yue, with her long hair coiled high on her head, still had an icy expression. She seemed like a robot devoid of emotions, unacquainted with mood changes. Upon Chu Mo's question, the woman replied in a bland tone without any hesitation:

"If Mr. Chu can withstand an amount of exercise ten times greater than what you're doing now, perhaps there's a fifty percent chance to reach the level of the Twelve Golden Phoenixes. Of course, that would require at least three years of persistence.

As for reaching the threshold of Grandmaster, with all due respect, even if you increased your training by twenty times, it's unlikely you'd have any chance of achieving that level, even until death."

Chu Mo, looking at the earnest tall woman before him, and especially observing her emotionless, indifferent eyes, could only give a wry smile and shake his head.

He had only asked casually, with no real expectation of reaching the level of Fan Gao or Jiang Tao, but to have his hopes so ruthlessly dashed left a hint of bitterness in his heart.

Escorted by the maids to the bathroom, and after enjoying a comfortable hot shower, he settled down in the living room to read for a while, until the noise at the door caught his attention.

Shortly after, Fang Lihu reappeared. The towering man approached Chu Mo and said, full of hope:

"Mr. Chu, they've all been brought here."

Having forty-nine female bodyguards crowd into the living room would make it congested. Besides, the living room of Villa No. 1 was filled with various valuable items, such that even an inconspicuous little porcelain vase might be an antique worth tens of millions. It would be bad if something were damaged.

Thus, Chu Mo put down the book he had in hand, stood up, and walked outside the living room with Fang Lihu.

Upon reaching the entrance to the hall, he saw seven neat rows of the forty-nine meticulously selected female bodyguards standing before him in an imposing manner.

Most of these women were taller than one hundred sixty-seven centimeters, their faces not necessarily stunning, but certainly delicate and pretty, without any unsightly appearance. As for their strength and how it measured up, being able to survive the selection from tens of thousands of candidates, they should each be at least up to the standard level required of a regular bodyguard.

Of course, these were just Chu Mo's initial impressions. The true test would be in actual combat. After scanning over the forty-nine female bodyguards and feeling the subtle aura of pressure they emanated, he casually pointed to the woman with short hair in the front row's center and said in an even tone:

"You, step forward!"

The short-haired woman called upon didn't show any stage fright. She immediately looked up, chest out, and strode forward. Her bright eyes also stared straight back at Chu Mo.

Chu Mo gestured to one of the tall male bodyguards standing next to him, speaking plainly:

"Stop when I give the signal!"

The six personal bodyguards around Chu Mo all had towering figures over two meters tall, making the approximately one hundred seventy-centimeter tall short-haired woman in front of him appear like a delicate doll.

And with Chu Mo's command, both parties assumed defensive positions. The next moment, Fang Lihu shouted, "Begin!"

A man and a woman immediately became entangled in a fierce fight.

It was clear that the short-haired girl understood her disadvantage; her strength was negligible compared to that of the male bodyguard. She knew that if she were caught or landed a direct punch, she would likely be out of the competition instantly. So as the match started, she used nimble movements to evade the opponent's probing attacks several times.

As for the towering male bodyguard, standing at two meters tall, facing a girl who was but a small figure, he too abided by Chu Mo's rules. Each time he threw a punch he held back a portion of his strength, never going all out, which allowed the opponent to hold on for a few rounds.

However, just because the male bodyguard was holding back didn't mean the short-haired girl would do the same. She quickly spotted the loophole in him not using full strength and, after nimbly dodging his attacks, landed several solid punches on the bodyguard's ribs, even forcing him back three steps with a chopping kick.

Chu Mo watched for a moment and as the male bodyguard, with a serious expression, prepared to launch another attack, Chu Mo waved a hand to stop the fight. Clearly, the man who had been struck several times could no longer hide his frustration. If the fight continued, there was a high likelihood of injury as he would certainly use full force, which could lead to one of them getting hurt.

Having seen the desired outcome, there was no need for Chu Mo to let the match continue.

In Chu Mo's view, if the level of these female bodyguards were all like the short-haired girl before him, then most of them could compete with average professional bodyguards. They were second to the Twelve Golden Phoenixes and a notch below the six towering personal bodyguards who stood at two meters tall, let alone Chen Yue, who was close to Grandmaster level.

Of course, considering the physical limitations of their female bodies, this strength was already not weak. At the very least, they could handle three to five ordinary people with ease, and were much stronger than most ordinary men.

These forty-nine individuals had basically met the requirements of professional female bodyguards, yet they were still far from truly powerful. In that moment, Chu Mo seemed to understand Fan Gao's intention.

To once again weed out these forty-nine individuals and ultimately form an elite team of twenty would probably leave most of them unfit in Fan Gao's eyes.

Of course, this could also be related to personal strength. As someone close to Grandmaster level, Fan Gao's own formidable power meant he would naturally find this group of female bodyguards too weak.

As the acting team leader with strength inferior to Fan Gao, Fang Lihu felt that these female bodyguards had already met the requirements.

This likely reflected the limitations brought about by one's own strength and perspective.

Chu Mo now leaned more toward Fan Gao's decision to cull these forty-nine individuals again and eventually retain an elite group of twenty.

He turned his gaze toward Fang Lihu at his side, his voice neutral as he said,

"Proceed with the elimination according to Captain Fan's requirements!"

Upon hearing this, despite a flicker of regret flashing across his face, it was now an order directly from Chu Mo, the big boss himself. Even if Fang Lihu had many reservations, he had no choice but to carry out the command.

Just as Chu Mo turned to head back to the hall, the short-haired girl he had just watched fighting suddenly said,

"Hey... I don't know how to address you, but I still have to say something. A bodyguard's duty isn't just about confronting enemies head-on. We also have to deal with all sorts of emergencies based on different terrains. Your big, strong bodyguards may be powerful, but they are too simplistic in their thinking. If it were a real protection mission, we women would definitely not be inferior to them!"

Originally turning away, Chu Mo halted his steps. He looked back at the competent short-haired girl and, for the first time, noticed that when she spoke, the pair of dimples on her cheeks was particularly adorable!

A hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, Chu Mo firmly planted his feet again.