Hearing Huan Zixu’s quote, Yu Hua began to seriously consider this marketing director. He knew of Huan Zixu’s excellence in mental abilities, and he was aware that Director Huan was a person who could easily assimilate into the real world. But he hadn’t expected that Huan Zixu’s marketing talents would be far higher than he had imagined. 

This was a talent worth keeping. Though his price had to be cut down. 

“You don’t think that commission is too high, Director Huan?” Yu Hua said. “If you sign a bet-on agreement with the advertising company and your bet fails, we’ll have to bear the loss.” 

“With me here, we won’t fail,” Huan Zixu said proudly. 

“And Director Lian will have to bear responsibility for the quality of the products after sale. We can’t let him do that work for noting,” Yu Hua said, smiling faintly. “My proposal is for the company to take seven parts of the excess 20%. Of the remaining three parts, Director Lian will take one, and you’ll take two.” 

Huan Zixu laughed coldly. “That’s daring of you to say. Do you believe that I’ll keep you from getting any bit of that money, do an under the table deal and stuff it all in my own pockets?”

“Either you take two parts or no one gets any of this money,” Yu Hua said carelessly. “Even if you don’t negotiate, if the company does enough marketing, we can still make quite a bit of money. But you won’t have anything to do with that money. You’ll continue to receive your 1,500 yuan base salary.” 

If Huan Zixu could earn this money, then he temporarily wouldn’t need to use this opportunity to launder money, because they would have earned enough. If Huan Zixu didn’t step in, Yu Hua would personally fix up the accounts and make a few changes, transferring a million of the hundred million from the hundred million secret account into his own account. He would have the money to pay back his mortgage. 

No matter what, Yu Hua couldn’t lose, while Huan Zixu was out of luck. He had to take either the 1,500 or the two parts. There was no room for discussion. 

When two forces confront each other, momentum is the most important thing. Huan Zixu had lost from the very beginning.  

He met Yu Hua’s eyes for a moment. He firmly believed that this person would rather do as much damage to himself as to his enemy than let himself be taken advantage of. 

Huan Zixu thought of Feng Kui still waiting for him at the Protectors’ base and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He needed a suitable place to take Feng Kui after earning the Protection Organization’s trust. He compromised: “That’s doable, but first you have to rent a two bedroom, one living room apartment for me. I won’t stay in the studio.” 

“I’ll take the advance rent out of your commission. If you can’t sell what you promised, you’ll work me for free for half a year to repay it.” As he spoke, Yu Hua’s fingers flew over the computer. In less than five minutes, he had typed up a contract between the company and Huan Zixu. 

“Fine, I’ll let you off easy this time.” Huan Zixu carefully read the contract then fiercely signed his name. 

Lian Yufan, looking on: “…” 

Lian Yufan was rational, a brilliant student, and he had taken part in quite a bit of combat during his trial period. But he had never seen the mutual deception of society. He was a little dumbfounded. He felt that during the dialogue just now, there had been the light of flashing blades. Yu Hua and Huan Zixu had seemed to be smiling, but in reality, blood had been drawn—Huan Zixu’s blood. 

Seeing Huan Zixu looking glum, Lian Yufan said in spite of himself, “I’m not short on money. You can have my one part.” 

Huan Zixu took Lian Yufan to another cubicle, avoiding Yu Hua. Quietly, he said, “I know you aren’t short on money. You may not have any opportunity to spend money in your whole life, but the money isn’t only for you. When you hire people for quality testing and outside legal assistance, are you planning to make them work for free? I know you’re capable of making them work for you for free, but while you can do it once or twice, you’ll still have to collaborate with them afterwards. Who’s going to work overtime for nothing? Money owed has to be paid. Yu Hua is the one who ought to be paying this money, though I can see he isn’t planning on it.” 

Having said this, Huan Zixu covered his heart, looking as though he had received an internal injury. 

Lian Yufan nodded and decided to take the money. He wasn’t planning to keep it. He would divide it all up among the workers responsible for managing the follow-up. 

This gave Lian Yufan a new perspective on Huan Zixu. He said, “You can still make such considerations for me. You have your good points.” 

Huan Zixu rolled his eyes and said disdainfully, “You think I want to give them money? It’s because they’ll work better if they’re paid. There a few devoted and unselfish beings like you people, but the majority of people are selfish and self-interested. If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass. I primarily want to make money for myself. No matter where I am, I first have to accumulate something that can be exchanged for value. This is an unchanging principle of existence.” 

Huan Zixu wasn’t strong. At least, he hadn’t been strong at all during his first hundred worlds. He was different from levelers like Yuan Luori and the bomb freak, whose powers lay in physical strength and combat ability. When these levelers arrived in a new world, what they thought of was always becoming stronger, finding their mission target’s weakness, beating them, defeating them. But every time Huan Zixu had come to a new world, what he had thought of was survival. 

He had managed to become stronger, but after only a few worlds, the System had begun its hunting mode, and he and Feng Kui had been plunged into a nightmare of running for their lives. 

Surviving in the crevices was Huan Zixu’s normal condition. 

If Yu Hua was a leader among the Protectors, that was all right; everything was only a performance. But if Yu Hua really was an ordinary person who spent his days thinking about how to make money and exploit his employees, then if Huan Zixu wanted to improve his life at the studio, the only way was to make money. 

Yu Hua handed over the advertising company’s contact information to Huan Zixu and told him and Lian Yufan to go negotiate those lists. 

Lian Yufan’s initial understanding of the studio had been dancing every day, attracting traffic, drawing the notice of Destroyers, turning the Xuyang District into a Destroyer absorption point, aiding the Protection Organization in immediately discovering Destroyers and minimizing the harm they did to the world. During this process, if he could trace the black-cloaked man’s identity, that would be for the best. 

When he had accepted this assignment, Lian Yufan hadn’t considered his own life and death in exposing himself in front of Destroyers. Naturally he also hadn’t thought of what Zhen Li and Yuan Luori, who had lost their powers and had to survive in this world, could do. 

Lian Yufan didn’t lack for money. His father had been a Protector. The state was responsible for their family’s expenses, including his mother’s high medical costs. He hadn’t needed to spend money to go to school. Even when he flew, it was on special planes provided by the organization. There were people to take care of his clothing, food, housing, and transport, and every month a considerable subsidy was deposited into his account. 

This rationality and detachment from the material world were built on a foundation of having people to take care of all trifling matters for him so the Protector Lian Yufan could focus wholeheartedly on his work. 

But the Lian Yufan in Zhen Li’s studio had to knuckle down and decorate along with Yu Hua. Seeing Zhen Li still living in his dark basement and Yuan Luori with only a folding bed to sleep on, eating primarily instant noodles every day, he had gradually taken on a tint of materiality. 

Lian Yufan was still most concerned about the Destroyers, but Zhen Li and Yuan Luori, who had aided the organization many times in protecting ordinary citizens during this assignment, had to live, had to have better lives. 

At least they had to make enough money to move the studio to a new location. Their studio consisted of five grown men. They couldn’t cram themselves into this crappy little studio full of formaldehyde and dance every day. Though he was a special ability user and his power could automatically remove harmful substances from his body, keeping him from being impacted, smelling it still made his head hurt. 

The members of the show group who had come to do the recording were looking at them with pitying glances. Xiao Fu even especially went downstairs to buy a bag of face masks to give her workers to wear. 

Gradually, from only wanting to force all Destroyers into the open, Lian Yufan had gone to being willing to consider their future livelihoods. 

He would find some acquaintances and hire them to help him complete the follow-up work for this order. 

Lian Yufan and Huan Zixu went out together to run errands. This caused Zhen Li some anxiety. 

This morning, Yu Hua had told him about the natural law spaces. Zhen Li wanted to convey this information to the Protection Organization as soon as possible. But today, first there had been a new employee hired, then there had been the show group’s filming. He hadn’t been able to find an opportunity. 

And now Lian Yufan had gone out into the field and would supposedly be out negotiating business for the next few days. He wouldn’t be coming to the studio for the time being. Then who should he go to to talk about these things?

Yu Hua finished with the purchase order, contacted a broker, and had them find an apartment that fit Huan Zixu’s requirements. The broker sent photographs and asked whether Yu Hua wanted to come see for himself. Yu Hua wasn’t in the mood. It was Huan Zixu who would be living there anyway, and it was his money being deducted to pay for it. He randomly chose a place that was close to the studio and convenient for the Protection Organization to monitor. He misappropriated the deposit that the show group had given Yuan Luori to pay the broker. 

Having finished the trivial work, Yu Hua looked at the time. There were only three hours left until it was time to get off work. He had to pack up his things and get ready to go home. 

Xiao You hadn’t been home for two days. Today he would definitely come home and eat. He had to go to the produce market nearby ahead of time and buy some fresh ingredients to make a sumptuous feast in the evening. 

So he said to Zhen Li, “I’m going out. You stay with the show group to do the filming. Keep an eye on Director Yuan and Director Ha, understand?” 

“I-I understand.” Zhen Li swallowed. It seemed that he had to suppress the fact that Yuan Luori’s special ability had awakened. For now, he couldn’t tell the Protection Organization. 

After Yu Hua left, there were many things Zhen Li had to take responsibility for. There was nothing he could do. He had to turn off the livestream and find an opportunity to spare some time to send a message to the Plain Face Number 1 Protector, use coded language to arrange to see him tonight. He had important information to tell him. 

This was the emergency contact method that Cen Xiao had given Zhen Li when he had been at the base. It was a personal action on Cen Xiao’s part. He had been worried about Zhen Li running into an emergency. If Lian Yufan wasn’t around, Zhen Li would have no way to protect himself. 

Huan Zixu’s actions towards Zhen and Yuan had been merciful. He had only wiped their memories without harming them. If they met a Destroyer more brutal than 192, then Zhen Li wouldn’t be so lucky. 

Zhen Li sent the message. He waited for a while and didn’t see the Plain Face Number 1 Protector respond. The time had come to walk Director Ha. He had to follow the show group as they watched Yuan Luori walk the dog. 

They all went to the estate. Yuan Luori walked Director Ha at a leisurely pace. The cameraman documented it. It was a sweet image. 

In reality, Director Ha was unwilling to resolve its physiological requirements in front of a camera even if it died of it. It refused to go to the bathroom no matter what. And, while Yuan Luori was sitting on the bench, it hit Yuan Luori’s eye with its paw, knocking out his contact lens. 

When Yuan Luori’s contact fell out, with one eye he could see real objects, and with the other eye he could see power. 

He saw Director Ha taking advantage of his flurry to throw off its leash and run off. The bomb inside its body was getting fainter and fainter, while something seemed to have appeared at the ends of those two threads, as though it was dragging something. Though they were also very faint. It was an inactive state. 

The image of the husky hitting its owner in the face and running off was also pretty cute. Zhen Li stayed behind to help Yuan Luori change his contact, while the show group chased the husky. 

The dog knew how to hide. It went around the estate twice and vanished without a trace. The show group chased it for ages and found that the dog was nowhere to be seen. They quickly contacted Zhen Li so he could find the dog. 

While everyone was panicking, Director Ha quickly ran to the place in the estate set aside for dog walking to resolve its physiological demands. There was satisfaction written all over its fluffy face. 

When it was finished, Director Ha walked happily out of the bushes. As soon as it turned, it saw a large-scale Alaskan Malamute staring at it. 

Director Ha: “…” 

The Malamute pounced and held Director Ha down. The big dog’s owner was a young woman who didn’t seem very strong. However she pulled, she couldn’t pull the dog off. 

Director Ha wailed mournfully as the Malamute enthusiastically licked and bit it. By the time its owner had pulled the dog away, Director Ha was on its last gasp, more dead than alive. 

This was intolerable. It would be better if the dog bit it through the throat and it dropped dead, Director Ha thought forlornly. 

Just then, there came a childish voice: “Xiao Ha, there you are! I just saw Yuan Luori-gege looking for you.” 

The little boy Junjun reached out his arms and picked up the little husky. He found that the little dog was trembling all over from being bitten by the big dog. He quickly stroked the husky’s head and back reassuringly it and quietly said to console it, “Don’t be scared, it was just too excited. It only wanted to play with you. I’ll take you to your owner.” 

Junjun accepted the Malamute owner’s apology in Director Ha’s place, pressed the little husky’s head against his neck, and, with some difficulty, went to find Yuan Luori, carrying the dog. 

While he was a boy, he was only eight years old, and a husky over three months old already weighed six or seven kilograms. It was strenuous work for a child only eight years old to pick up that much weight. 

Junjun wanted to put Xiao Ha down so it could walk on its own, but the dog was shaking so much that there was nothing Junjun could do. He grit his teeth and kept holding it. 

Director Ha buried its face against Junjun’s neck, feeling the warmth of the little boy’s body and inwardly despising itself. Once again it had been saved by its foe.

It wanted to struggle, jump out of Junjun’s arms and walk on its own, refuse its foe’s present. But its body was really too weak. It was already an accomplishment that it hadn’t been driven to lose control of its bowels by being bitten. Now its four legs were all weak. It would be hard to run around. It could only let the little boy hold it. 

The soft little hand was stroking its back reassuringly. Instinctively, Director Ha’s body couldn’t bear to give up this solicitude. 

How shameful. Director Ha covered its face with its paws and surrendered to its fate, letting Junjun return it to Yuan Luori. 

---

Author's Note

Huan Zixu: No matter what, I need to get a place to live and think of a way to get Feng Kui there. 

Yu Hua: I’m satisfied. The studio is gradually getting onto the right path.