Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Let’s find someplace quieter…” said Hong Dali, depressed. “It’s uncomfortable to attract so much attention wherever we go. I just want to be a quiet, handsome, prodigal…” Actually, as a prodigal, it was okay to be a little more high profile. He did not really care. But when the entire street behaved like that, it was annoying…
Jiang Qianxue was embarrassed. The reason they were getting so much attention was because of her status as a Galaxy Aristocrat. Under normal circumstances, people would give way when they saw an Honorary Aristocrat, but they would not line up on both sides of the road bowing. This was the treatment accorded only to true-blue Galaxy Aristocrats.
This situation reminded her of something—the super genius who managed to pass level thirty had chosen to hide his identity. He must be a low-profile person who did not like to be in the public eye. But her status… she bit her lower lip gently and gave it some thought. She soon came to a decision and said softly, “Dali, wait for me a moment.”
She ran straight into a shop selling women’s clothing. Before long, Jiang Qianxue emerged from the shop a completely different person.
She was wearing a beautiful white chiffon dress. The beige waistband made her waist look exceptionally slim. Her slender legs were the color of white jade. The pair of silver sandals on her feet with the cute white hairpin on her head made her look like a vixen who could steal away a person’s soul. Although she was a Galaxy Aristocrat, it was obvious that Jiang Qianxue was adept at dressing up. At least, after taking off the cloak of the Galaxy Aristocrats, Jiang Qianxue looked even more like the princess of a kingdom.
“Wow!” Tang Muxin gaped in surprise. Before she realized it, she blurted out, “Sister Qianxue, you are so pretty!”
“Do I look pretty like this?” Jiang Qianxue made a turn in front of Hong Dali and asked. “Do I look okay?
“Yes, yes. Pretty.” Hong Dali nodded. “As pretty as my Xinxin!”
“That’s good, then.” Jiang Qianxue smiled. “I’m contented.”
Jiang Qianxue had taken off the cloak that marked her as a Galaxy Aristocrat, so Hong Dali, too, was unwilling to flaunt his own cloak—when they got back to the spacecraft, Hong Dali said, “Hahaha, since everyone is in such high spirits, let’s go back to the restaurant and take off our cloaks, pick up Little Quentin and go shopping!”
They all managed to report their well-being to their family and friends and everyone was in a good mood!
…
Shenluo City, the Lord’s Office, the Jiang Family Regional Office, the Inspection Office for the advancement of Honorary Aristocrats.
“Next, Ace!” The clerk called for the next person who had come for the test.
This was a young man who was about twenty-years-old. He had cute freckles on his face and jet black hair that hung down past his ears. He wore a strand of red prayer beads around his neck and a brown cowboy hat on his head.
He walked slowly forward without any trace of anxiousness on his face when he heard his name being called.
The clerk pointed to a stone tablet next to him. “Just put your hand on it.”
“Understood.” Ace gently lifted his hand and put it on the stone tablet. Soon, the stone tablet displayed his Tower of Trials results: King P. Ace from the planet Red Saturnian, level twenty-two of the Tower of Trials, cleared on the fifth attempt.
“Great!” The clerk’s eyes widened and he cried excitedly, “King P. Ace from planet Red Saturnian, level twenty-two of the Tower of Trials, cleared on the fifth attempt. Directly advanced to orange-level Honorary Aristocrat! Directly advanced!”
“It’s nothing.” Ace smiled. He was not excited at all about having become an orange-level Honorary Aristocrat. He waved his hand nonchalantly and said, “Alright, no need to waste time. I’m going out for a walk.”
“This…” The clerk hesitated. He wanted to object, but the other party was an orange-level Honorary Aristocrat and he dared not offend him. He quickly said, “Lord Ace, let me issue you a certificate, and you can collect your orange-level Honorary Aristocrat entitlements whenever you please.”
“Alright.” Ace shrugged. “Make it quick. I have other matters to attend to.”
Soon, the clerk issued the certificate and Ace turned to leave after collecting it. When he had exited the Inspection Office for Honorary Aristocrats Advancement, a young man with half-opened eyes approached him and said, smiling, “You are so free to actually come here for the Honorary Aristocrat Advancement. What are you thinking?”
“Haha, I was bored, so I just joined for fun.” As he put the certificate the clerk had issued him into his pocket, Ace smiled and said, “They are giving money away for free. If I don’t take it, wouldn’t that be a loss for me?”
“I don’t think it matters.” The young man pouted. “We are not in need of this bit of money. All right, let’s set off quickly. Pops is missing again. I heard that he was last seen here in Shenluo Main City. Let’s find him first.”
“No problem.” Ace smiled and said, “Is there any news as to where Pops is now?”
“Star Harbor.” The young man looked at the spacecraft in the distance. “Let’s go take a look.”
…
Star Harbor.
Double Honorary Aristocrat Huaqing sat in front of Hong Dali’s accessory shop on level thirty-five, deep in thought.
“I know Hong Dali came up with this to generate publicity. The problem is, after he gets enough publicity, how is he going to make money?” Huaqing had been sitting here thinking about it for quite a long time. After all, he had the talent to run a business as a Double Honorary Aristocrat, but he still had to learn from others. As a Double Honorary Aristocrat, if all of Hong Dali’s businesses showed losses when it came the time for advancement, pulling strings would not help him. The most important thing now was to figure out how Hong Dali was intending to make a profit.
“The generating publicity part is working well, but what comes after? Can he make a profit? Will he sell other equipment in this shop to increase sales? Will that cover his capital?” Huaqing frowned. “He has so many shops, they should have cost him at least a few million. Even if he makes a 50% profit on each piece of equipment, how much will that add up to? It’s obvious the profit margin on those gems are not that high. If he manages to sell each piece of equipment for two hundred thousand, he’s lucky if the profit is two thousand. How long will he take to earn back his capital of millions?”
The advancement assessment for Honorary Aristocrats was highly competitive and cruel.
If you made it, you would trample over the bodies of your competitors and come out ahead. If you did not make it, you would be the one trampled underfoot by others. Most importantly, your level would be decreased!
That meant, even if you were a string-puller, if your performance during the advancement exam was not up to standard, your level would still be decreased. If that happened, it would be totally disgraceful!
Huaqing was certain that even if Hong Dali was a string-puller, he would not dare take things lightly. He must have some plans.
The question was, what were these plans? He simply could not figure them out.
“Forget it, I’ll just walk around and take a look. Perhaps I can get some inspiration.”
…
Hong Dali and his group had taken off the cloaks signifying their positions as Honorary Aristocrats. They were standing in front of Star Harbor with little Quentin on a leash.
Quentin had already grown to a length of five meters, about the size of a small spacecraft.
After all, he ate Dali beans every day. His rate of growth was bound to be exceptionally fast. With such a ferocious armor-clad tiger, they attracted a sizable amount of attention. However, this type of attention was different from the kind they attracted as Honorary Aristocrats.
The kind of attention the Honorary Aristocrats attracted were respectful bows. That was fear.
The kind of attention that Quentin attracted was that people would stare at Quentin from afar. On Earth, there was even a special phrase for such a feeling—envy, jealousy, and hate…
As he watched the people who took a second look at them, Hong Dali said, satisfied, “This is much better. All the bowing is annoying and it makes me feel like those rich tyrants mentioned in history.”
After he said that, everyone laughed. Tang Muxin almost doubled over from laughing so hard. She said, “Didn’t you always say that you are a tycoon? Why are you not happy?”
“I am a tycoon, not a tyrant!” Hong Dali sniffled vigorously. “They are not the same! Don’t mix them up!”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Everyone laughed. Jiang Qianxue asked, “Dali, what floor do you intend to go to?”
“Hmm?” Hong Dali rubbed his chin and thought about it. Then, he smiled and said, “Let’s go take a look at my shops first. I wonder how Pops is doing. Anyway, we are just walking around. If we come across anything interesting, we can just buy it.”
Everyone unanimously agreed. “Okay!”
They went upstairs. Level eleven, the equipment had been sold, the door was locked. Level twenty-three, the equipment had also been sold, the door was locked. Level thirty-five, the equipment was still there, and there was a huge crowd in front of the door!
Hong Dali looked at the scene and nodded, grinning. “Hehe. It seems the effect is not bad. This is the kind of ‘FEEL’ I wanted!”
Jiang Qianxue finally could not resist it anymore. She asked softly, “Dali, are you trying to generate publicity by doing this? It seems that your idea is working well. I was very curious when you bought these shops, but now I realize that you are very clever. You are getting a lot of publicity from this. I just wonder, after this, how are you planning to make a profit?”
It was natural that she would have a problem with this.
Although they were only experimental lovers, Jiang Qianxue had quite a good impression of Hong Dali. No matter what he was, he was her first friend and she did not want to see him make a loss.
As it turned out, Hong Dali sniffled and grinned. “I just want to squander, I didn’t think so much!”
“You!” Jiang Qianxue huffed angrily and turned away. “I’m ignoring you!”
