"Miss Bai, if you insist on a technical shareholding, it’s not impossible. I personally hold 70% of Circle Studio’s shares. I’ll take a small loss and give you 1% as your technical shareholding."
1%? Bai Yuetong bit her lip. Does this idiot know what kind of offers other companies are making her?
"Lu Luo, if I join a company like Hongtu Force now, they would at least offer an annual salary of several million, plus nearly unlimited research funds. Now I want to contribute technology for shares, and you’re still raising all these objections? Do you even understand what technological barriers are?"
Lu Luo curled his lips. Good grief, her attitude stinks worse than my athlete’s foot. Does she not realize how much purchasing power a few million from the Wasteland Alliance actually has? A decent house in the Fourth Ring can be bought for just 100,000.
However, Lu Luo was quite keen on keeping a technologically talented person like Bai Yuetong. Putting everything else aside, her design for the jet-propelled aerial maneuvering device alone was worth a fortune and perfectly suited for him. If he could get his hands on the jet-propelled aerial maneuvering device, his chances in the Child-Mother Marsh would be much greater.
"Little Bai, Circle Studio is also facing difficulties right now. You have to understand the situation in the Fourth Ring; it’s different from your Inner Ring. How about this: I’ll take a loss and offer you 5% for a technical shareholding. Hey, don’t be so quick to refuse; I’m genuinely inviting you. Why don’t you co with to the studio and see the harsh realities of life? Then you can make your decision. How about that?"
Lu Luo appealed to her emotions and reasoned with her, speaking non-stop, his movents naturally bringing him closer.
His proximity had a considerable impact on Bai Yuetong’s senses. She wasn’t as stoic as Qi Xinzhu; her previous lack of interest in n was simply because those n hadn’t been able to pique her interest. But Lu Luo was different. Bai Yuetong found Lu Luo very intriguing. For a man she found so intriguing to approach her like this, it was natural for Bai Yuetong to feel sowhat nervous.
Looking at Lu Luo, who was now so close, Bai Yuetong twitched her nose slightly. He was so close she could even sll his scent—the sll of sweat. In the Inner Ring, no man would ever dare to get this close to her. Bai Yuetong lowered her head, flustered.
"Well, alright then. Let’s go together later."
"That’s more like it!"
Lu Luo smiled when Bai Yuetong nodded. Just then, Qi Xinzhu, dressed in a blue believer’s robe, ca down from upstairs. She glanced at Bai Yuetong, seemingly already aware that Bai Yuetong was going to Circle Studio. Even so, she had to ask; it was a matter of attitude.
"Is she also coming with us to Circle Studio today?"
Lu Luo didn’t quite understand. Usually, Qi Xinzhu was amiable, so why did she seem so aggressive now?
"Yeah, she is. She’ll co with us later."
"Okay then. Um, Lu Luo, what are you staring at?"
Looking at Qi Xinzhu’s attire, Lu Luo shook his head. He didn’t like this outfit; it only served to conceal all of Qi Xinzhu’s best features. Lu Luo wanted to tell Qi Xinzhu that the robe was unflattering, but he couldn’t find a suitable way to bring it up.
Just as Lu Luo was feeling a bit regretful, his wingman arrived with an assist.
"Qi Xinzhu, that outfit is truly ugly. It completely lacks character, making you look like a country bumpkin."
"Uh."
Qi Xinzhu was taken aback. What’s wrong with a believer wearing a robe? She looked at Lu Luo, only to find him subtly looking down before giving a slight, almost imperceptible nod.
"To be fair, it really is."
...
With Bai Yuetong’s assist, Lu Luo got his wish: Qi Xinzhu changed into a different outfit. A beige long dress paired with a white, close-fitting sweater she had never worn before perfectly outlined Qi Xinzhu’s captivating curves.
Lu Luo couldn’t help but sigh. Now *this* was what clothing should be. Though not revealing, it was far more pleasing to the eye than the believer’s robe.
The three of them first went to the market in Siping District to sell the Dark Spirit Stones they had for cash. Now that he had broken through to the Second Tier, the costly Qi He cultivation could be put on hold for the ti being. It was more practical to bring the liquid funds back to the studio as soon as possible and expand its capabilities.
In a market like Siping District, Bai Yuetong was very animated. She would occasionally pick up a piece of equipnt from a shop, declare it "trash," and then excitedly move on to find other gear. In contrast, Qi Xinzhu was much quieter, silently following Lu Luo.
After spending over two hours thoroughly exploring the Siping District market, the trio boarded the train back to Circle Studio.
Sitting on the rail train, Bai Yuetong was sowhat dissatisfied. "Why do we have to squeeze onto this? Can’t we just take a taxi?"
"Taxis are too expensive. We have to save wherever we can."
"Haven’t you ever heard the saying ’ti is money’?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Luo imdiately put on an expression that all n would understand, but won wouldn’t. "Of course I’ve heard it. ’An inch of ti is worth an inch of gold, but an inch of gold can’t buy an inch of ti.’ In this Wasteland Era, supposedly teeming with won, this saying is also a golden truth."
"I’m talking about ti. What does that have to do with won?" Bai Yuetong didn’t understand what Lu Luo was on about. Anyway, she still had strong objections to taking the rail train. "The ti we’re wasting here could have been used to earn money, far exceeding the cost of a taxi."
Bai Yuetong could never understand taking public rail trains, but Lu Luo actually enjoyed it; he liked the feeling of being on the train. "Well, actually, even if they saved this ti, most people wouldn’t use it to make money! Besides, life in the Fourth Ring is too intense. They’re constantly under pressure—expensive water, housing, food. Tough work, reprimands from superiors, trivial family matters—for those sitting on the train, life is already a chaotic ss. So, this ti on the train is many people’s true mont of freedom, a period they can enjoy for themselves."
This response surprised both young won. They had experienced neither oppression nor exploitation. They probably wouldn’t understand what it ans to be forced by circumstances, what the final sliver of leisure in a 997 work schedule feels like, or what it ans to have ti that truly belongs to oneself.
"Alright, you’ve said a lot. I’ll listen to you." Seeing Lu Luo go on for so long, Bai Yuetong didn’t argue further and obediently followed him to Circle Studio.
"Circle Hunter Affairs Office? Why is this place so small?" Bai Yuetong was quite blunt in her assessnt of the studio. Lu Luo simply ignored her, pretending not to hear, and let her look around on her own.
When they reached Zhou Kai’s office, Lu Luo took out more than 60,000 yuan from his clothes and handed it directly to Zhou Kai. "Brother Kane, we’ve got money now!"
"Brother Luo? Did you sell the house?"
"Get lost! This is leftover from the previous job. How have things been these past few days?"
"Things are alright, but we have a significant backlog of high-level commissions. There are many commissions we can’t handle right now. There are two main reasons: unclear task grading leading to low commission fees, and insufficient manpower."
"Have any Transcendents joined recently?"
"Yes, three at Entry Level, all recruited from the academies."
Lu Luo briefly looked at the business report Zhou Kai handed him. Circle Studio’s recent developnt wasn’t bad; they could now handle basic and interdiate commissions without any issues. However, they still had significant shortcomings when it ca to high-level tasks. Moreover, with the increasing frequency of Exotic Species incidents in the Fourth Ring, all organizations and companies were aggressively headhunting. Recruiting was indeed difficult for them at the mont.
Lu Luo nodded. These things couldn’t be rushed. Circle Studio hadn’t been developing for long, and he was already quite satisfied with their progress.
"From today, Qi Xinzhu officially joins Circle Studio. Her position will tentatively be my secretary," Lu Luo said.
"Secretary?" Zhou Kai glanced at Qi Xinzhu. He didn’t know what reasons Lu Luo had used to persuade her to join. But was it really okay to have a Church mber like her?
"Yes, Qi Xinzhu will report directly to . You don’t need to concern yourselves with her movents. Also, the white-haired woman outside, Bai Yuetong, is an important figure from the Inner Ring. First, make her comfortable. Give her a room and let her do as she pleases. Just rember, never offend her—the risk is too high. Her role is chanic—a very skilled one. She’ll be manufacturing and providing us with so practical equipnt later on. So, if finances allow, you can allocate so funds to her. I’ll leave that to your discretion."
Zhou Kai, seeing the seriousness in Lu Luo’s tone, nodded with equal gravity. "I understand, Brother Luo. Anything else?"
"With Qi Xinzhu joining, our inco might significantly increase, but that will have to wait until our second trip beyond the Wall. In the anti, you can start accepting so commissions for outside the Wall, scheduled for about a month from now. Accept all commissions up to Third Tier difficulty. If possible, I’ll handle those outside-the-Wall commissions as well."
Zhou Kai was okay with most of what was said, but when he heard Lu Luo was willing to accept Third Tier difficulty commissions, he suddenly felt uneasy. He thought Lu Luo was doing this because Circle Studio was too poor and he felt forced to risk his life.
"Brother Luo, there’s no need to push yourself so hard! Actually, we’re not that poor. As long as the green hills last, there’ll be wood to burn! Taking on suicidal jobs isn’t worth it!"
"Nonsense! When have I ever undertaken a suicide mission? If you don’t know how to talk, then shut up." Lu Luo was annoyed. This kid actually doubted his strength.
"Brother Luo, what level would you say your strength is at now?"
"About average for soone my age, I suppose."
Hearing Lu Luo say this, Zhou Kai’s eyes lit up, and he suddenly felt reassured. ’Average level’? What kind of ’average’ is that? It’s like those people who say, ’Oh, I’m just average,’ and it turns out they’re third in the world! Or, ’Nah, I’m not that good,’ when they just missed being national champion! An ’average level’ Brother Luo like that is incredible! Third Tier commissions? Piece of cake! We should just accept every single one, no holding back!
"Brother Luo, speaking of which, there’s actually a high-level commission at the academy right now that you could handle. No one else has taken it."
"A commission at the academy? It better not be another fight or sothing, right? That kind of commission won’t do. If I get into another fight and end up expelled, it could be troubleso." Lu Luo genuinely didn’t want to fight his classmates anymore. If he fought now, it wouldn’t just be like shooting fish in a barrel; if he went too far, the academy authorities might intervene.
However, Zhou Kai imdiately shook his head. "It’s really not that this ti. It concerns a girls’ dormitory. For the past two years, Dormitory Number 5 for second-year female students has reportedly been haunted. Normally, this wouldn’t be our concern, but the guards have investigated multiple tis and found nothing. And since no actual harm occurred over this long period, they dismissed it as the girls pulling pranks."
Lu Luo listened attentively to Zhou Kai’s account. The situation indeed sounded like a prank, but if Zhou Kai was bringing it up specifically now, it surely wasn’t as simple as just a prank. "And then? There must be more to it."
"The upshot is, after these disturbances happened repeatedly, no one paid attention anymore. So, so of the girls from Dormitory Number 5 started actively seeking help. Forget Hunters, even the guards ignore them now, so they ca to us. We didn’t initially intend to take this case, but eventually, more than ten girls sought our help. Furthermore, these were separate commissions from various individuals and departnts, which is why the case was kept active."
Lu Luo took the report Zhou Kai handed him. If this was just a prank, these people wouldn’t have needed to go to such lengths to find help. They had already approached the guards, and now they’ve co to us. Eleven individuals filing commissions ant there was definitely sothing to it.
"Alright, I’ll take Qi Xinzhu to check it out this afternoon."
Throughout their conversation, Qi Xinzhu remained silent. Since Lu Luo possessed the Dawn Disc, her choice was simple: stay by his side at all tis, protect his safety, and obey his commands. Of course, she would be cautious. Lu Luo was still very weak and needed ti and space to grow.
"Lu Luo, this place is too small! Ugh! It feels about the sa size as our bathroom at ho." Bai Yuetong twirled around, swinging her arms as she complained, interrupting the conversation between Lu Luo and Zhou Kai.
"Our studio is just starting out," Lu Luo said. "There’s plenty of room for future growth. Being small now isn’t a problem, as long as we don’t stay small."
Lu Luo had taught Zhou Kai this art of making grand promises. When it ca to empty boasting, Zhou Kai was now Grade S, while Lu Luo himself would at least rate an A.
"Hmph, anyone can say nice things. But so things can’t be improved with just pleasantries. You don’t have enough space here, nor the infrastructure. Setting up a proper chanical lab will be very troubleso. How about this: give one million upfront. I’ll figure out how to set up a lab, which should be enough to start producing so basic equipnt." Bai Yuetong slamd her baseball cap on the table and plopped down into Lu Luo’s executive chair.
Zhou Kai looked at Lu Luo, then at her, and said nothing. Lu Luo also remained silent until Bai Yuetong’s eyebrows gradually began to furrow.
"Don’t tell you don’t even have one million?"
Lu Luo was puzzled. Why could she so brazenly say sothing so unreasonable? "It’s not that I don’t have one million; I don’t even have one hundred thousand. One million isn’t like one hundred bucks. This is the Fourth Ring; you need to get that straight."
Bai Yuetong’s original idea had been to bargain. She’d ask for one million, Lu Luo would counter-offer, and after so haggling, they’d settle on five hundred thousand for funding. That’s how it always plays out in TV dramas! Why is it different here? How could a company survive if it didn’t even have one hundred thousand?
"But research and developnt always requires funding, right? So, tell , how much funding can I get?"
Lu Luo and Zhou Kai began to communicate with their eyes.
Lu Luo glanced: *How much is appropriate?*
Zhou Kai’s eyes flickered: *5,000?*
Lu Luo’s expression: *I have a feeling she’ll call the police on us.*
Zhou Kai: *We haven’t committed any cri. On what grounds?*
Lu Luo: *On the grounds that her dad is an official, a very high-ranking one.*
Zhou Kai, after a mont: *Then let’s make it fifty thousand.*
Lu Luo, impressed: *Brother Kane, you’ve really stepped up! So generous!*
After this profound exchange of glances, Zhou Kai took charge and solemnly said, "Miss Bai, after discussing with Lu Luo, we’ve decided to allocate 70% of our operating funds to build Circle Studio’s own independent chanical equipnt room."
"70%? Can you give a more specific number?"
"Uh, fifty thousand."
Bai Yuetong had initially wanted to tease them, but seeing Lu Luo’s furrowed brow and Zhou Kai’s earnest expression, she ultimately refrained. Perhaps she sensed their sincerity.
"Alright. From today onwards, I am a mber of the Circle Hunter Affairs Office."
"Good. The base salary is 200. Hey, hey, hey, don’t get agitated! There’s also commission, and it’s uncapped."
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