Chapter 179: The War Between Two Maneki-nekos
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Everyone noticed the confident smile on Li Yuanfei’s face. His confidence seemed to be emotionally contagious. That was 120% of confidence, no doubt at all.
Why is he so confident? That was a question in everyone’s mind.
Most of the reporters had attended such ceremonies many times. In one hand, they could finish their work; on the other hand, the cash gift was very attractive… They had seen many owners of huge enterprises. They all faked confidence in such situations. The reporters were bright; they could tell who was really confident and who was not.
Li Yuanfei was the real confident one.
After the opening, he looked down to the audience from above, as if he was their majesty the King.
“Welcome, everyone, to this ceremony. This is very important to us. I assure you this is going to be a ceremony full of fun!” There weren’t any notes in his hands. His speech was spontaneous.
“In this ceremony, we are here not only to celebrate our brand-new headquarters building, but also to reveal the new logo of our company.”
Oh? The reporters started whispering.
A new company logo? That was interesting.
The old logo of Stars Pet Chain Supermarket was a big golden star with a line of small stars in a curve. It was not special, but it was a good logo. What would a good logo look like?
“I think,” a reporter said to Yu quietly, “They might pick an animal as a logo. They are a pet store, right?”
Qian Tong responded, “I agree. Is it going to be a cat or a dog?”
“It might be a lion or a tiger, the king of all animals. It is mighty and powerful, a great fit to Stars Pet’s position in the industry.”
Yu said, “It might be a dragon, which is even more powerful?”
Qian Tong and the reporter both agreed that it couldn’t be a dragon.
Li Yuanfei successfully made everyone curious. He smiled, walked over to the red cloth, and landed his hand on the red cloth.
Every reporter and cameraman all focused on the red cloth.
“Here, I present to you… the new logo of Stars Pet Chain Supermarket!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled off the red cloth.
Hundreds of people’s eyes landed on the mascot.
Silence.
After a short period of silence, people started murmuring to each other.
“What the heck is it?”
“Is it a… cat? It looks like a cat…”
“I don’t think it is a cat…”
“This is so difficult…”
The reporters were not the only ones to whom the logo was revealed to for the first time. Many of the lower-level staff members had never seen it before either.
The people’s reactions were all within Li Yuanfei’s expectation.
In fact, this logo was the subject of a heated discussion within higher management because it was not clear what it was or meant.
“Okay,” he looked at his watch, “It is about time. I have to catch a flight. Our PR manager will take care of you guys…”
The PR manager walked up to the podium right away.
Li Yuanfei walked towards his Cadillac limousine.
The driver was waiting by the door and opened the door for the boss.
Li Yuanfei sat inside the car, stretched, and made himself comfortable.
Bang! Bang!
Someone knocked at the window.
At a glance, Li Yuanfei saw that it was the senior manager from the company’s legal department.
He opened up a small gap.
“What is it?” He asked.
“Something went wrong in the franchise store in Binhai city. The owner is a suspect for hiring someone for intentional assault. He was arrested and we are handling this matter,” The manager knew his boss well enough so he was brief and to the point.
“Binhai city?” Li Yuanfei was surprised. Didn’t the game send a tip about detecting an elfin in Binhai city?
Was it a coincidence? It had to be.
He waved, meaning that he got it. He didn’t need to give any instruction. If he had to take care of everything, then many people would lose their jobs.
He closed the window.
“Go to the airport,” he said to the driver.
The Cadillac started slowly. After closing the window, the car was completely quiet; even the PR manager’s speech was blocked outside the window.
Li Yuanfei had more important issues to think about… the chance to meet with the Secretary of Commerce was hard to come by. He had to fetch this opportunity to impress him. Everything could be prepared on the plane.
Turning on his cellphone, he quickly grasped the news.
It was almost Single Day sale festival, the biggest online sale event in the country. Many e-commerce tycoons were getting ready to roll up their sleeves.
Of course, every year, the two big rivals were in a fierce competition.
Since he knew that they were players of the game, he comprehended the news from a brand-new perspective.
There was a sarcastic smile on his face.
Grey dog in the east and black cat from the sky?
Rubbish!
Next to him, a cat was resting on the beautiful genuine leather seat. There was a big smile on its face.
He petted it and then turned on the game.
[Game Tip]: Pet characteristics
[Known As]: Maneki-neko
[Rarity]: Epic/Legendary
[Characteristics]: Jostling and joyous,
The whole world comes after profit;
Racing and rioting,
After profit, the whole world goes!
[Unlocked History]:
On October 1st, 1999, the fifth generation RMB was officially launched. It gradually replaced the fourth generation RMB and had become the major currency in the country. It had become something the Chinese were familiar with.
After more than a decade, someone surprisingly found that there were a few weird-looking cats hiding on the notes.
No one knew how those cat patents appeared on the notes. Maybe it was an anti-fraudulent mark? Maybe it was because of something else…
China was growing more powerful day by day. RMB had become one of the major currencies in east Asia, southeast Asia and even throughout the whole world.
Many people longed for, worshipped and had faith in RMB.
In a short time since the fifth generation RMB launched, the bowing cat collected a stunning faithful power which took other Elfins thousands of years to collect.
Under fanatical faithful and worship powers, the bowing cat turned into an Elfin.
It was the most powerful Maneki-neko in the legendary grade. It was granted a goddess status. However, it was downgraded half a grade due to the unstable nature and uncertainty of currency.
[Unlocked Real Name]: The fifth generation RMB material cat from ancient times
The building with a perfect RMB note ratio was disappearing from the rear mirrors as the car drove far.
He noticed there was a note under his feet, so he picked it up. His shoes were clean so the note was very clean. It looked almost brand-new – in fact, it was brand-new.
There were some more 100 Yuan notes scattered inside the car. Those notes were not there before he got out of the limo. Also, besides him, no one had gotten in the vehicle.
He picked up all the magical notes and rolled them in a black case. He was very familiar with this, as if he had done it a thousand times.
Half-closing his eyes, he started to rest.
In the meeting in Beijing, he really wanted to meet the other two players. He would’ve enjoyed seeing their desperate and terrified faces. He was so ready for that moment.
He didn’t really need to capture other Elfins, which was a waste of his time.
He was not interested in the Pet King Battle, which was hilarious and meaningless to him.
His Maneki-neko was unbeatable because it perfectly represented RMB.
Except…he opened his eyes, pulled out his cell phone and searched something.
Launch date of the fourth generation RMB: April 27, 1987.
Launch date of the fifth generation RMB: October, 1999.
Worries somewhat came up in his heart. He locked the cell phone.
Currency was not stable and was uncertain…
I need to resolve all the problems before that happens…
