“In that case, I suppose it would be appropriate to discuss it in a more private place. Our new High Class Option in the Restaurant Instance should be the perfect place.” Another Jin suggested as he informed the System to contact Original Jin to meet Xue Ping.
After Operation Pompeii, Lynn had created another train car to accommodate more private or special occasions. She had received feedback that some of the cultivators were willing to pay extra for a more comfortable, luxurious and intimate setting. Jin had casually reviewed the proposal and gave her the go ahead, though he emphasised that the service instance was ultimately hers to take control.
Xue Ping acknowledged and headed in first as Another Jin excused himself, stating that he needed to tend to a few things. However, the moment she entered, Xue Ping already saw Original Jin waiting for her as if he had been doing that for a very long time. “I erm…weren’t you just..erm..nevermind.” Xue Ping guessed he just teleported to the place while she had to wait a while for the train to arrive at the platform.
“Would you like something to drink? It’s on the house since you helped us resolve that previous ruckus.” Jin asked as he placed the menu in front of her. Meanwhile, he took a closer look into the interior decoration of the place. It did feel grand with what Lynn had done to the place.
She created a couple of rooms within the train car, each with its own national theme. The one they currently stayed in featured a Traditional Japanese Theme (Washitsu). The traditional Koto (Zither) and Shamisen (Three string instrument) were being played in the background contributed to the feeling of serene tranquillity within the tatami room.
The sliding doors were there to cover the view of the train and at the opposing side, to allow waiters to enter and serve them. Even the penguins’ outfits fit the theme room they served as they saw a penguin with a kimono wearing a traditional hair ornament (Kanzashi) entering from the side. It was truly a testament to all the effort Lynn put into designing it.
“I will get the usual, Black Ivory with additional milk and sugar. Thanks.” Xue Ping answered and the penguin bowed to acknowledge the order before waddling away. Xue Ping sighed before looking at Jin who was already enjoying a cup of hot Japanese tea. “The harassment was just the start. From what we heard, Ruby Rat Boss, Wo De Tian had appointed Ong to be the one overlooking these erm ‘activities’ according to our sources.”
“…Wait, Ong? Wasn’t he killed back then…?” Only when Jin saw the expression on Xue Ping’s face did he realise what had happened. “His boss paid to resurrect him? That Ong is such a big shot for the boss to be concerned about him?” Jin was baffled as he had no explicit knowledge of the Ruby Rats’ organisational hierarchy nor what position Ong exactly had. All he knew was that he had been a pain in the ass to fight against and would be harder in the future.
Like video game villains, they would only get stronger with their hatred and desire for revenge. Either that or he was bound to have his boss, or Big Brother trying to take revenge for him, the next time they met. Jin could already see Ong laughing at him the moment they meet again. (That typical an eye for an eye, ‘I will return my debt’ kind of scenario was already playing through Jin’s head.)
“Yes, and it’s not just that. Your sudden sales tactics in recent days not only plummeted their sales but even managed to affect their stocks to a certain extent.” Xue Ping said as she showed Jin the Ruby Rat’s entertainment industry stocks.
“Wait, this is a bit too far fetched. To be frank, I am just one small dungeon supplier store. While I may be successful on an individual level, King’s Monster is a franchise. There should be no way their stocks can plummet just because we got some new customers!” Jin rebutted. Luckily as things might have gotten heated up, the penguin waitress entered to bring in Xue Ping’s order which allowed Jin to calm down a bit.
“True, it is not you that their shares dropped drastically. It is indirectly because of you. Take a look at this article here.” Xue Ping swiped her phone to the right, seemingly prepared for Jin’s reply. He read the article with an intense focus which he then found out it was regarding Sea Mesh and their cooperation.
The company whose CEO he made a deal with to create the remote portal device had made an official declaration. In the article, it was reported that by the end of the year, they would be developing a prototype of a Dungeon Instance Remote Portal Device in exclusive partnership with Dungeons and Pandas. Suffice to say, various major dungeon suppliers had been vying for a partnership spot with Sea Mesh for a very long time.
Some had even offered millions of Yuan for their research budgets but yet, none had managed to secure that spot… Until Dungeons and Pandas that is. A newly opened startup supplier store in Tiangong Shopping District which was rumoured to boast many exceptionally high quality and realistic dungeons. The article stated that many cultivators who went once, never bother to enter another dungeon supplier store again.
“Oh my god, so Ke Loong advertised my shop as he fits… Maybe he genuinely had good intentions despite what is happening because of it.” Jin had been unaware that his partnership with Ke Loong would be this impactful so soon.
“Take a look at where that article appeared. People’s Daily Newspaper. They are also the ones to publish the infamous Cultivation Monthly. And it seems congratulations are in order. Your store received a full six page coverage in their latest issue.” Xue Ping took out a copy of it and showed it to Jin.
He noticed that his Panda billboard was at the corner of the front page. When he briefly went through it, the reporter was very detailed and had information on almost every instance available before the Goblin Raid instances. There were even pictures taken of familiar Pandawans fighting on the Big Screen of his shop instances. The reporter never failed to mention about the service instances like the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring, Panda Muscles and the Reservoir of Deep Fishing too. He even told the readers to watch out for more updates on this supplier.
“You stole the spotlight from any other store. I am sure you roughly understand now why De Tian is doing this to you and where this conversation is heading? While you may have been an annoyance before, you have suddenly become more than a thorn by his side. And someone of his stature will do anything in his position to crush you before you develop into even more of a threat to his business.” Xue Ping explained, with a tone of sadness.
“The police will naturally try our best to do what we can in order to prevent chaos and havoc in the district, but we fear things like today may repeat. Even worse, they might escalate to the point where a street war could occur. We do not want such a catastrophe to happen, nor do we wish this kind of infamous reputation to blemish our district. And since you are in this district, you are partially responsible for this incident.” Xue Ping commented. Jin did not like the way the conversation was going one bit. It was as if there was a particular motive behind those words.
“I am obviously oblivious to all this. Heck, I did not even know where that reporter got all his information from. I am simply trying to make a living here. Would you be so kind as to explain what you are implying?” Jin decided to act innocent and see what Xue Ping was getting at. She sighed and took out a stack of papers from her storage ring, before passing them over. Jin took a quick glance at the papers and slammed them on the table.
“NEVER! This is out of the question!” Jin summoned his Panda Black fire at his fingertips and burnt that stack of papers right in front of her. Even as the fire burnt the last bit of the documents, Jin continued to hold on to it and crushed the reminding ashes in front of her. “I will NOT sell my shop to the Ruby Rats. If you are colluding with them, I ask you to pick up your badge, take your coffee and kindly leave. You are still welcome to join us for dungeons but this conversation is over.” Jin answered in a stern voice and he threw the ashes to the side as if to indicate he would do anything to protect this particular shop with his life.
Xue Ping smirked at the dedication and determination against the Ruby Rat Triad. “We figured as much. Then how about this?” Xue Ping took another stack of papers and placed it on the table. “Please. At least take a closer look at this before you even consider about burning it. I had to offer you the easiest solution, even though it would have been a surprise if you had actually accepted.” Xue Ping pleaded to Jin and he could see that her hands were slightly shaking when she placed the papers down.
Despite his anger, he decided to give Xue Ping one last chance as he looked at the new set of papers. He read through it once, but since a lot of it was written in legal terms, he would need Xiong Da to help him not overlook anything. “This is…?” Jin was a lot more interested in this particular contract.
“In short, you will allow us to officially conduct police training in your dungeons. In exchange for your services, you will become one of our authorised training partners and enjoy every advantage, which includes” Xue Ping pointed at her badge, half indicating that he could potentially be approved for the use of lethal action in the name of self defence.
“…if you get my drift. We will also definitely pay a certain monetary sum from our budget but do not expect a lot of profit. However, in return…” Xue Ping smiled and let Jin figure out part of the benefits.
“In return, you will have policemen stationed here. If any gangsters decide to trash this place again, we will have the right to protect ourselves without any major consequences?” Jin tried to guess, but Xue Ping laughed heartily.
“Well, not quite, but something like that. At the very least, the police will be able to respond in time. Should they mess with our fellow officers, we have valid reasons to take action against not just the goons but the Ruby Rat Triad as a whole, giving us the possible jurisdiction to stomp their building.” Xue Ping commented and this suddenly gave Jin a bright idea.
“Say…this Tiangong shopping district…it is not owned by any Triad or Royal Zodiac Clans, right?” Jin asked and Xue Ping furrowed her eyebrows at where his question was going.
“While the Royal Zodiac Tigers partially own this particular region of Shenzhen, the Tiangong District itself is directly under Grandma Yuan’s protection. In a way, she has some district influence that may overrule the local police once in a while unless Central Police Station decides to step in. If you are wondering, the Ruby Rats operate under their own influence circle, so do not even think of venturing into their territory. The police there works for them too. Have you forgotten your last stint? Please don’t make us arrest you again. If you are apprehended again, it won’t be as easy as paying your bail. I am sure they have made preparations to detain you a lot longer if not worse.” Xue Ping warned him, but she answered Jin more than he needed to know and he thanked her for the information.
“Would you mind coming back soon? Let me go through this with Xiong Da and I will get back to you… say in about two days? Don’t be surprised if there are changes or disagreements with the contract. ” Jin said as he extended his hand towards Xue Ping.
“We understand, I will liaise with the HR department and our lawyer. I shall accompany her two days later to assess any changes to the contract. See you then. Oh and eh about the damage…those Ruby Rats gangsters had done a lot, but I am afraid there is not much we can do. Of course, we will fine the remaining culprits heavily. However, if we are unable to collect bail from the gang members, which is very likely given the nature of the gang, we won’t be able to aid you with those damages. You can try with the city council and maybe have them assess you for the amount of compensation. Alternatively, if you have insurance…” Xue Ping said but Jin stopped her. She sighed a little before she returned the handshake.
“I will handle that. It’s a small matter. Have a good morning detective. Thank you for coming in the middle of the night.” Jin said and asked the penguins to teleport her out directly to the main entrance in order for her to avoid Another Jin.
“A contract with the army and now the police. I had always wondered how to best contact them. But it seems like the Ruby Rat managed to help me out, without them knowing it. And If I play things correctly… I might be able to earn some unexpected allies and reinforcements for my Dungeon City Fortress.” Jin thought to himself.
“And of course, more money. System must warn User, the budget indicated by the contract from the police is rather whimsical. System advises User to push for more profit.” The System complained.
“Sometimes, it’s not just about the money. Sometimes…it’s more about the relations we can gain from this partnership.” Jin replied as he continued to read the details of the contract and messaged Xiong Da with regards to it.
“Speaking of relations, I need to ask Qiu Yue when we can expect the Goblin army to be up and running,” Jin noted mentally as he wondered how Qiu Yue was faring after the fight.
“User probably needs to give Sub System User Qiu Yue a day or two to rest after her power up. System also estimates the goblins require a similar amount of time to prepare everything. After time conversion that is. Given their situation, it could also take longer. User can consider putting up the Deep One Dungeons in the meantime to increase revenue.” The System suggested and Jin acknowledged the idea.
“We have won a war not too long ago, yet not much seems to have changed. The work is never ending.” Jin bitterly laughed to himself.
