“You what?”
“Exactly what I said. Well, a bit less underworld but more of secretive in nature. I was thinking if we could keep this as a secret from Jin. A shadow task force in case Jin ever needs help if you get what I mean. In return, I can aid you in getting a bigger instance to you know…gather people and such.” Qiu Yue began to whisper her intentions to her.
“But I do not think you will want mere lackeys, right? I mean there is surely some of your cultivators who are so loyal to you that they could potentially aid whenever possible.” Man Tang asked.
“While I do agree with you, it will be better to have a force that could be used at any time possible. And yes, I do not want just worthless lackeys. If need to, I can provide the fees for training in Jin’s dungeons.”
“That means something like ex-police and military, people who have cultivation experience but possibly needed a better paying job or more flexible work time.” Man Tang started to see where this is going.
“Yeap. Given your connections, I am sure you scout some people out, and you refer them to me for an interview. In return, I will provide you with the upgrading of your shop instances for free as well as a scouting fee. If you do manage to gather them, I will provide the salary and a bit of management fees for you too.” Qiu Yue stated, but Man Tang started to be a bit suspicious.
“You aren’t just an employee? I thought Jin was the only one creating the instances.” Man Tang asked with furrowed eyebrows.
“Hahaha! I’m not just some employee. Its a tad complicated but things will be done.” Qiu Yue replied as she placed her hands on the Karaoke Boss to comfort her.
“You can be sure that I have the ability to exert some level of influence to ensure that our shadow force is secret. As for the upgrade instances, don’t worry too much. Despite his erm… attitude towards you, Jin will be more than happy to create more business. Because in the end, a part of the profit does go to him.” Qiu Yue said, and Man Tang roughly understood what she meant.
“I see, well the deal is not set until I find someone for you, so I shall at least agree to this dealing for the moment.” Man Tang said, and they both shook hands as a sign of agreement for the spoken trade.
Separately, Jin met up with Yu Xiang who seemed to be holding onto a few plastic boxes and filling them with food.
“Ah, Boss Jin. Good evening to you there and Merry Christmas.” Yu Xiang said with a huge smile on her face, as compared to the last time when Jin spoke with her. Yet, she looked less dejected but seemingly more haggard.
“You okay? Your black eyes seem worse than mine.” Jin said, and they both laughed.
“Boss, you sure? It seems yours seem blacker than mine even though it’s smaller. Or are you becoming a Panda?” Yu Xiang said as she inadvertently took a bite of the mini pastries.
“I am packing some food for my friends back in the lab. They are working overtime because they seem to find a minor breakthrough with regards to the chi potion you loan us.”
“Seem to find? You not there with them when they found it?” Jin asked too blatantly, and Yu Xiang immediately rolled her eyes, wondering if the remarks were genuine or slightly sarcastic in nature.
“I can’t find it when I am here, right?” Yu Xiang said, and Jin gave a bitter smile. “Sorry Boss, I get cranky once in a while when I delved too deep into my work. And they made the discovery the moment I stepped out to represent the store for Si Fang’s gather. There and then, they called me and told ME to bring extra food to them to celebrate. At least Si Fang was able to loan me these plastic boxes.”
“Heh, I can empathise with that to a certain degree. Erm..I mean the work. Don’t like to be disturb when I working on my dungeons. So how’s the working condition and the machines? I did try to procure the items you asked for.” Jin questioned, but that statement somehow brightened Yu Xiang a lot.
“Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant! Seeing that we have a chance to do research unhindered and with sufficient funds kind of scare my friends a little. It was a deal too good to be true. Especially when I told them, I can get whatever machines they want except their desired salary. Still, they flew to me like vultures hunger for a fresh corpse.” Yu Xiang replied with a lighter tone.
“And those machine orders, we did not expect to be in so quickly, allowing us to proceed to what we want to research almost as swift as possible.”
“Have you met my personal research staff as well or at least my Head Research?” Jin asked as he helped Yu Xiang to get to fill the boxes with more food.
“Oh, ehh Ayse was it? Also, kind of curious why you need me when you have your own research stuff but meh, you paid our bills and research so no complaints here.” Yu Xiang grabbed another bite of the sweet tasting chocolate cake fondue before giving her impression of Ayse.
“That employee of yours is a terrible distraction to my male colleagues. But other than that, I find her insights rather interesting. Exchanged a few pointers and even systematically solve a dilemma question that we like to pose when meeting new researchers. It’s like a kind of litmus test to learn their intellectual level.” The Lady Boss for Chinese Medicinal instance said before looking at Jin as he tried to formulate a proper response. “Sorry, if I offend you in any way, Boss.”
“Nope! Not at all. I think if you give me that question, I probably fail terribly at that litmus test of yours.”
“That’s great to hear. Usually, our sponsors will like to ehhh… ‘playfully’ try this question when we brought it up as a conversation, and we have to entertain them. Thank goodness you aren’t that kind.” Yu Xiang said with a gentler smile.
“Hahah. I kind of know the extent of my ability and do not wish to humiliate myself in front of you.” Jin smiled back and hope that the minor breakthrough could lead to more. “Other than the research, how’re your parents coping with the new store?”
“Ah, they know that the Chinese medicinal store is a niche area. They aren’t expecting much business. Thankfully, my friends and I were there to manage the western medicine front of the shop. Together, we earn decent enough, though it was definitely better than in that terrible alley.” Yu Xiang replied as she finally finished packing the boxes and decided to chat with Jin a little while.
“And before you ask if I need any help on that aspect, given the nature of your …helpfulness, we do not need any help. In fact, that storefront could be considered as a breather for us whenever if we feel that the research was taking a toll.” Yu Xiang replied before Jin could answer anything.
“Erm… Then I shall not keep your hungry friends waiting. Guess I await the good news in time to come.” Jin said as he thanked Yu Xiang again for the update.
“No. Thank you.” Yu Xiang took a step backwards and gracefully gave a half bow as a sign of gratitude before telling Si Fang that she was taking her leave first.
Eventually, the supper party went without a hitch, and everyone returned with a stomach full of good food. Yun was satisfied with the meal while Lynn brought back a few handy tips back home.
Qiu Yue no doubt had achieved something which she did not expect while Jin had an overall understanding that the Tree Mall was doing significantly well without him meddling. He even got some great feedback in his notes which indirectly expanded the list of objectives by the System.
Thus, with him back at his Dungeon Maker room, it was time to clear those said objectives. The first thing that Jin did was to summon Qiu Yue in order to understand the current situation of the Dungeon City Fortress and its future.
At first, she thought her hidden plot was found out by Jin, but later she realised it was an excellent opportunity for her to get some things done for Man Tang. (Although she did get a bit irritated since Qiu Yue was about to lie on her bed to rest after such a great meal.)
