His words were spoken.
The assistant froze, as did everyone else.
"Does the President think someone in our country has refined a national-level artifact? That's right, with this commotion, the President would have to know. Assistant, what should we do?"
"What can we do... we can only tell the President the truth. He'll find out sooner or later."
The assistant looked troubled.
Finally.
After much hesitation, knowing he had to face it sooner or later, the assistant got up and headed to the hospital.
...
Soon.
The assistant and the others arrived at the hospital. Upon entering the President's private room, they saw that the President had already changed out of his hospital gown and into a suit. Seeing the assistant, he smiled and complained a little:
"Why are you so slow? I've already changed and waited for over ten minutes. Never mind that, have you investigated clearly? Who refined the national-level artifact? We need to congratulate them quickly."
As the President spoke, he excitedly walked towards the assistant, intending to go out and congratulate them.
It was at this moment.
The assistant stopped the President, hesitated, and then said with a forced smile:
"Um... Mr. President, I've investigated the refiner of the national-level artifact. That person is not a ghost exorcist from our country, it's... Zhang Wei."
As soon as he said it.
The assistant and the others clearly saw the President's smile freeze. He was momentarily stunned, then looked as if he thought he had misheard, and frowned:
"What did you say? Zhang Wei? Are you sure? Are you joking?... Is the news reliable? Are you sure there's no mistake??"
The President spoke halfway, disbelieving. He knew Zhang Wei was powerful, but no matter how powerful, he shouldn't be able to refine artifacts, let alone a national-level artifact. But then, he suddenly remembered the semi-national-level artifact he had given away.
Instantly.
His heart skipped a beat. He had thought of an unbearable idea... Could it be that Zhang Wei had repaired and even upgraded the damaged semi-national-level artifact he had given him?
Then.
The President saw the assistant nod and respond by picking up a phone:
"...Mr. President, the news is 100% reliable because we watched Zhang Wei's refinement process the whole time. Look, the artifact Zhang Wei is holding now is that national-level artifact."
The phone screen showed Zhang Wei's current situation. It could be seen that some leftover materials from the refinement were placed around him.
However.
The President no longer had time to care why Zhang Wei could repair and refine, or how he did it. His gaze was fixed on the artifact in Zhang Wei's hand. It was a fan, and it looked exactly like the semi-national-level artifact the President had given Zhang Wei.
Seeing this.
The President's smile was gone. He felt like he had been struck by lightning. All his congratulatory remarks were gone, replaced by a single thought... I deliberately gave Zhang Wei a damaged semi-national-level artifact, and he repaired it and upgraded it to national-level.
For a moment.
There was a deathly silence in the private room.
The President stood there blankly, not speaking, not moving, just standing there, lost in thought. Although it was only a few seconds, it felt like years to the assistant and the others.
Then.
After a few seconds, the President silently turned around, walked to the wardrobe in the private room, took off his suit, and took out the hospital gown.
Now that he knew the national-level artifact was not refined by someone from his own country, and it was refined by that Zhang Wei, there was no need to congratulate him.
Just then.
The assistant's voice came again.
"Mr. President, are you alright?"
He was a little nervous, looking at the silent President, afraid that the President might do something rash. Even though he was the President, this blow was not small. But he thought that he still had something about Zhang Wei that he hadn't reported to the President. If the President found out later, wouldn't he be blamed?
"I'm fine, what could happen to me? It's just that Zhang Wei refined a national-level artifact. I can only say that Great Xia has produced a good talent."
The President tried to remain calm, putting on the hospital gown as he casually replied:
"Alright, assistant, if you have nothing else to report, you can leave. I plan to rest for a while and return to the Blasphemy Association in a few days."
"Um... Mr. President, I have something to report to you."
"What is it?"
The President was a little surprised. He had casually told them to leave, and they actually had something to report?
Then.
The assistant hesitated for a moment before revealing that Zhang Wei had allegedly used the semi-national-level artifact given by the President a couple of days ago to eliminate the Italian ghost forces that had secretly come to steal from their country. He added that the news should be reliable because it was being spread on international forums, and even the well-known forum user 'Xiao Xuan' in Great Xia claimed that Zhang Wei had done it single-handedly.
However.
Not long after he finished speaking, the assistant noticed that the President had no reaction. He just stood facing the wardrobe, his back to them, making it impossible to tell if he was angry or something else, as if he had turned to stone.
"President?"
The assistant couldn't help but ask:
"President, you're not... Holy crap, President!!"
"President!!!"
"Mr. President!!"
Along with the assistant's exclamation, everyone else present saw the President, whose back was to them, could no longer hold back in the face of this shocking news. He felt the familiar sensation of suffocation returning, accompanied by two thoughts constantly echoing in his mind... Zhang Wei used the artifact I gave him to destroy a ghost force, and he also repaired and upgraded the artifact I gave him to national-level. What the hell have I done?
The thoughts kept swirling in his suffocating mind.
Finally.
The President's breath hitched, his vision darkened, and he fell backward.
For a moment.
In the corridor of the first hospital ward in Shou'er, shouts erupted from a private room:
"President, President, are you alright! Wake up!!"
"Quick, call a doctor, hurry!!"
"Doctor, where is the doctor? Quickly press the emergency call button next to the bed!"
"Where is he, damn it, where are the doctors, come quickly!"
"Pinch his philtrum, quickly pinch the President's philtrum!"
...
On the other side.
Zhang Wei was unaware that the refinement of the artifact had caused the President to faint again, and even more severely than last time. However, even if he didn't know, he could probably guess. After all, he had chosen to upgrade the national-level artifact on the spot in the stealing country, not only to obtain a national-level artifact but also to retaliate against the President.
At this moment.
Zhang Wei was packing up the materials with Zhang Chao and the others, chatting about preparing to return.
"Damn, I'm so envious. Zhang Wei actually owns his own national-level artifact. I want one too. Why don't you refine one for me, Zhang Wei?"
Zhang Chao stared at the national-level artifact fan, then seemed to think of something and chuckled:
"What do you guys think? If that President of the Blasphemy Association knew that Zhang Wei had upgraded the fan artifact he gave him to national-level, would he be furious? I feel like if it were me, I'd be so angry I'd be constantly pinching my philtrum and never want to hear anything about Zhang Wei again, haha."
Nian Wen put his hands together and said:
"Amitabha, this humble monk is not speaking ill of the President, but frankly, if the President knew about this, he should... forget it, Buddha bless, Namo Amitabha~"