“So, about what you said initially, was it true? Do you still plan to show various ministries the portal.” Jin asked, and as they both continued to enjoy the meals.
“You do know that giving it to the military is the fastest way to earn money, right? China’s budget expenditure for defence is still one of the highest in the world and given the vast amount of territory we have to cover, this will, without a doubt, benefit the Chinese military.” Ke Loong argued while Jin began to wonder if this was another test.
“No, no, no. No more tests. After that intense murderous intent from I don’t even know what, I am inclined to believe you have some serious tricks under your sleeve and I definitely do not plan to reencounter them.” Ke Loong stated assuring Jin that he would be honest and forward with the dungeon supplier as much as he could.
“If that is the case, then yes. Of course, I would love to make more money, but not this way. My researchers who I employed do this for the good of the people and not for death and destruction.” (Ayse would be rolling on the floor laughing if she watched Jin saying this.)
“If we use it for medical purposes, for disaster evacuation or rescue purposes, then it would be my greatest pleasure to share it with the world. However, we both know that the world is different shades of grey, not a true black and white.” Jin stopped to take a drink, and after he had emptied his glass, Ke Loong offered to pour more for him.
“As much as possible, I want to keep it off the hands of the government though we can sell to them at a lower price for those purposes I had mentioned. Sure, I am not naive to believe they won’t try to replicate. It’s in our blood to do so, but on the other hand, I’d like to see them try deciphering it. I have faith in my researcher’s products that they won’t be cracked that easily…at least for another five years or so.” Jin replied with slight hesitation.
“Heh! Let’s have a bet, shall we? If they really fail to make the very same top quality standard that we have, I will treat you to a grand meal with no limits.” Ke Loong offered, and Jin laughed at that.
“How about we take it up a notch? Let’s agree to broaden it to include all of each other’s employees as well.” Jin challenged Ke Loong to another level who gladly accepted the bet. (If only he knew how many ’employees’ Jin had and would have in the future…)
“Anyways, am I correct to assume that the demonstration you’ve promised them will be to use us for the upcoming ‘training exercise’ up north?” Jin tried to link the dots together.
“Yeah, I believe that’s my bad. While I knew that they would be interested in it, I did not expect them to order us to use it for ‘that’ situation or in any case, for operational use.” Ke Loong grumbled.
“What’s really happening up north? I hardly have any details on it, even though I’ve been ‘asked’ to help out.” Jin tried to probe yet Ke Loong shrugged his shoulders while chewing.
“All I know is that it could possibly be a giant monster horde, like those sudden ones around the world recently. Not sure why it is happening that way. I heard some rumours, mainly attributing it to climate change. Others go wilder and have some conspiracy theories that some terrorist organisation must be handling the monsters.” Ke Loong told him what he knew.
“Whatever the case, I did not have much care for all this, until those idiots in the government decided to use us. But it’s not wise to go against them, especially since allowing them to use it means more business interaction with them.”
“Which also means a bulk load of money.” Jin sighed.
“Unfortunately, that is true. Given how all the ministers up there are from the various Royal Clans, having extra contact with them equates to more very lucrative opportunities for us.”
“Do you mean to join one of them in the future?” Jin wanted to know his new ally’s modus operandi if possible.
“Join them? Hell no! Have you ever interacted with those pretentious swine? They pretend like they don’t think each one of their clans is the best of the best, and you can clearly see it in their eyes that they plan to use you till the day your foot is two steps into the graveyard. They do not know how much shit and effort we have to go through to get where we are right now.” Ke Loong banged his fist on the table to show his defiance.
“Hahaha, I’m glad you think so. That makes two of us.” Jin raised his cup in honour of Ke Loong’s words.
“Really? Last I heard, you were quite mushy with the Royal Zodiac Tigers.” Sea Mesh’s CEO hinted at the honorary clan member title that Jin had been awarded with.
“Haha. Me disliking them does not mean I won’t use whatever chance I can get to benefit.” Jin replied without any pause making Ke Loong realise that the young man had what it took to become a successful businessman.
“Good. Good. I like that attitude of yours. They might be our rivals in business, but that does not mean we cannot earn favours from them. Then if you are not joining them, what are you trying to achieve?” Ke Loong’s curiosity about Jin’s ambition peaked.
“Earn a sufficient level of reputation to become the number one dungeon supplier in China. After that… probably the best one in the world. Who knows, maybe with enough clout, I can even start a clan enterprise of my own.”
“Big dreams. Big dreams. But creating a brand new clan is considered suicidal these days. Starting one is not an issue but making it famous takes a hell of a lot of effort. And once you are famous… well, no one likes to share their pie.” Ke Loong seemed to advise against it.
“But there are other successful clans out there, right? Like the infamous Fivecents company by the Cat Clan. All I need to do is be something similar, and my best chances for that is to have a specialised tradecraft.” Jin wanted to use his dungeon supplying skills as the trademark speciality of his clan enterprise.
If possible, he would like to rebuild what his ancestors had done and reached their former glory. Even if it could not be done in his lifetime, though Jin believed it should be possible with the aid of the System, he would at least lay a foundation and pass it to those willing to go that extra mile.
“If that is the case, I suggest you look into creating a brand new company to handle all your miscellaneous stuff while promoting Dungeons and Pandas. Right now, you seem to have a bit of everything going for you, but it is too scattered to my liking. There is not much organisation structure within it.” Ke Loong was honest in his criticism.
“So you’re telling me to create a parent company so that if I expand later, it will be easier to handle all the various groups?”
“Something like that. But yes, it would be the best way to go forward if your ultimate goal is to create a Clan Enterprise. With the tree mall, you can create this particular parent company, and it would be easy to associate with you in the future.”
Suddenly the System interjected into the conversation with a name.
“Panda Inc.”
