New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 208: The First Signs of Real Business Warfare

At 4:15 PM, Yuan Zhu left the bus and his feet touched the ground of Running again, a process that took a total of five days.

Excluding the travel time on the first and last days, he only stayed in Taixi for a total of 3 days, much shorter than the planned week to 10 days. But the experience was so abundant and rich that it completely overwhelmed him and he lost all interest in continuing.

"Sigh, looking back now, it's still a bit of a regret that I didn't even get to go up to the Heavenly Palace Garden."

Looking back on the three days, there were activities such as watching a beauty pageant, visiting the "Knowledge School" experimental building, enjoying the night view, experiencing a 3-hour limited-time "bank robbery" experience, receiving a free medical check-up from the Security Bureau, and a beach vacation. Although it was impossible to visit all the famous attractions in Taixi, the experience was still quite rich.

Snake comforted her, "Let's go again next time. I think this trip was a great experience, and I learned a lot."

Besides the free knowledge she gained from the Misty Mountains, she also received a legacy from the Star Core, a large number of Little Pumpkins, and made the acquaintance of 'Miao Miao'. In her opinion, this trip was an absolute steal!
Just as Yuan Zhu was about to argue a bit more, the [Rat] that was resting in his bag suddenly had its mechanical eyes flashing red and made a rapid call, signaling him to 'answer'.

Snake, who had control of the mouse via Bluetooth, immediately alerted, "It's Lü Rang."

Yuan Zhu gestured for her to connect the signal, then asked, "Lu Rang, what's the matter?"

The other person asked urgently, "Brother Yuan, are you back?"

"Yes, I just arrived. Otherwise, how could you have contacted me?"

The other person's voice immediately turned to relief and joy: "Great, Brother Yuan, come back and take over the goblins! Some time ago, I met quite a few 'hunting teams' in the sewers, buying up old, weak, sick, and disabled goblins at high prices. After a period of preparation, I slowly built up a 'reputation'. In the last few days, many people have treated me like a sucker for collecting garbage, sending me a lot of dying trash."

"I've lowered the price, but people are still sending me severely injured goblins. Now, the abandoned building that houses them is about to burst again. And I don't have the energy to manage them, so some have died. Plus, they're unhygienic and defecate in the same spot, the smell is too pungent, and the street management committee has warned me. They said if I don't deal with it, they'll contact a cleaning company to burn them on the spot... But I have nowhere to move them."

In Lü Rang's eyes, the number of goblins under his control had exceeded his management limits and was still expanding wildly. Now, he didn't even have the energy to hunt and forge swords in the sewers. Instead, he was constantly running around in the back alleys of the snack street, trying to steal enough swill to feed the crippled goblins who would come without hesitation.

Those shameless goblins had no bottom line whatsoever, treating the abandoned building like a retirement home, living a life of leisure and luxury. Even their gazes towards him had lost their hatred and malice, leaving only a burning desire. If he could bring back a few more buckets, he wondered if these goblins might even become his followers?

Yuan Zhu looked surprised upon hearing this: "How many goblins are there on your side now?"

Lu Rang said with a long face, "It's almost 130! And that doesn't even include those who died from illness. I didn't even have time to report to the Security Bureau today. I was busy with these stinking creatures. They were either looking for food or dumping corpses in the river. Don't even mention it, I dream about the smell they give off."

Yuan Zhu comforted her, "You must be exhausted. Are you all alone?"

"Yes, I've already left my old circle. These past two days have made me consider hiring a few helpers?"

Yuan Zhu had already left the station and was walking towards the bus stop: "I'm going home first, and I'll deal with these goblins tonight."

Lü Rang: "That's great! Should I continue accepting more orders, or should I suspend this business?"

Yuan Zhu was also troubled by this, never expecting that the recycling business of the 'old, weak, sick, disabled and mentally challenged' would be so popular?
He couldn't help but ask, "That's not right! I knew before that the pharmaceutical company had been acquiring 'goblins,' how could you have so many?"

Lu Rang has been doing this side business for over half a month. From being completely clueless at the beginning to now being a junior expert in the industry, he knows more than Yuan Zhu: "The main problem is that if your physical condition is too poor, pharmaceutical companies simply won't take you. They need healthy male goblins with all four limbs intact, who are in their infancy, adolescence, or adulthood, as well as female goblins who are in their adolescence or adulthood. Pregnant goblins are the most expensive."

"What I was forced to accept were all substandard products that did not meet the acquisition requirements, including a large number of disabled, seriously injured, and diseased goblins... In particular, some bastard maliciously mixed a few carrying infectious diseases into the disabled goblins that were forcibly submitted, and even anonymously reported them to the [Management Committee] the day before yesterday, which led to the warning of being burned at the stake."

Yuan Zhu frowned. Such straightforward business competition? It's only been a few days since Lü Rang built his reputation and started acquiring large quantities of goblins? And these were all scraps and substandard products, yet they've already been maliciously targeted, poisoned, infected, and reported?

"How vicious! How could they go to such lengths? This so-called 'management committee' you mentioned actually set fire to the goblins inside the building?"

Lu Rang: "Brother Yuan, this is the lowest-cost way to handle it. According to the seniors I met at the Security Bureau, locking a large number of goblins in the abandoned building like this could very well lure monsters to attack and feed on them at night, causing the spread of 'contaminated monsters'..."

"Don't worry, it'll be cleaned up today. I won't be going out anymore, you can keep collecting! Is the money enough?"

"That's enough. I'll keep trying to lower the price tomorrow!"

After ending the call, Yuan Zhu waited for his bus. There weren't many passengers on the bus, so he randomly found a seat and sat down, feeling a strange sense of emotion.

Originally, he thought he was a mastermind behind the scenes, acquiring 'goblins' for experimental purposes. But now it seems he's not even up to the level of a "cleaning company," being seen as a foolish, rich garbage collector, and being maliciously targeted?

Snake suddenly spoke up: "Boss, I'm suddenly not optimistic about your various businesses in the Spirit Realm Project. You should focus on developing the 'underground world' and monopolizing the business. I think Running is too complicated."

Lu Rang's simple business of recycling old, crippled, and secondhand goblins has been poisoned and reported. Who knows how intense the competition is for a legitimate business?

Yuan Zhu also replied, explaining that all his current plans involved unilateral spending and consumption. It was either hoarding supplies or renting warehouses… there were no profitable projects at all. The small quantities of 'blood eggplants' and elixirs' sold externally were all through the private channel of the [White Feather Society].

He had never actually experienced real business warfare on Duling Star, and the pressure inexplicably increased.

...

Fifty minutes later, as darkness fell, Yuan Zhu returned to his familiar home.

Walking up the dark stairs, past the damp and smelly washroom, and through the narrow corridor thick with the stench of cooking fumes, Yuan Zhu's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. Having grown accustomed to the modest hotels of Taixi and witnessed the bustling scenes of top-tier cities, returning to the backward Running and looking at his own dilapidated and cramped old building filled Yuan Zhu with intense discomfort and resentment.

"This environment is terrible! How can a man live a miserable life in a dilapidated building? I want to move! I want to live in a mansion! I want leather sofas, a luxurious bed, a bathroom, chandeliers... I want maids!"

Snake: "That's awesome! I've wanted this for ages!"

"Brother? You're back?"

Hearing a commotion outside the door, the mentally challenged younger brother saw Yuan Zhu push the door open, pull the light switch, and unleash a torrent of nonsense on the cramped but clean living room. He described things like a mansion, a bathroom, leather sofas, and maids… leaving Yuan Su completely bewildered.

Is this still the same hardworking, striving, frugal older brother who was always so motivated to work? Has he really gone astray outside?
Seeing her younger brother's worried and concerned expression, Yuan Zhu rolled her eyes. Her predecessor was good in every way, except for her narrow-mindedness. Despite having accumulated a considerable amount of money, she wasn't generous to herself or her brother, only wanting to amass a fortune to seize control of the factory and defy fate.

From Yuan Zhu's perspective, it wasn't exactly wrong; in fact, it was quite inspiring. But for him, it was incredibly foolish. He believed that spending money should be lavish, and that he worked so hard to earn so much just to enjoy himself.
So he said to his mentally challenged brother, "Have you spent all the allowance I gave you?"

Yuan Su was stunned, her eyes wide as she retorted, "Huh? So much money, how could I possibly spend it all?"

"Can't spend it all? You're such a waste! I'll get you a card later, and you have to reach a certain spending limit every month!"

"Brother, what's wrong with you? Why have you become more and more unfamiliar these past two months? Are you really okay? Have you gone astray outside?"

Yuan Zhu scoffed, "What could I possibly have? I'm just seeing the world for the first time. Don't worry, your brother is absolutely fine. This time in Taixi, I even went to the larger [Security Bureau] for a medical checkup. Want to see my report? Right now, I'm cultivating a more correct consumption concept in you. Also, I've decided to move. This lousy place is far worse than Taixi. Do you want to live in a detached villa or a high-rise in the future? Do you want to live near your current school or move to a better one? Think it through carefully and tell me."

"I...you..."

At this moment, Yuan Su clearly felt that her elder brother resembled a brain-dead nouveau riche in a novel, whose mind had been corrupted and was on the verge of destruction. Is this the style of a frugal and austere "Sanctuary Ascetic"? Brother, have you wasted all your "holy light" on dogs? How can you be so extravagant and depraved? You've only just begun, and you're already starting to fall into depravity?
Last weekend, Yuan Su, who had secretly gone to the Grand Library to study the Sanctuary and the Holy Light, felt that her older brother's behavior was completely out of sync with the descriptions in the book. The drastic change in her brother's personality was practically a case of "reverse cultivation of the Holy Light," a deliberate descent into demonic possession.

He still refused to give up, saying, "You...you really have that much money? It's only been a short time."

"Ha!" Yuan Zhu sneered disdainfully, "You know nothing about making real money! Your brother has already grasped the true nature of 'working for someone else.' In the past, I was just doing hard labor and useless work, being exploited and oppressed by the factory. Now, I abide by the law and make big money with my talent!"

Why do you think the great "Mao Mao Wang" is so great and noble? She's just a complete idiot who doesn't care about anything and gets ripped off by her employees!
Because [Mao Mao Wang] was so lenient and generous, [Happy Home] was truly a newbie zone. This led him to believe that the extraordinary circle of the Spirit Realm was easy to navigate, resulting in his operations expanding far and wide. Only today did he realize that even a mere overpriced acquisition of scrapped goblins would be met with malicious poisoning and reports. So how did [Mao Mao Wang] manage to establish herself in [Gods' Space] without being eliminated? Is her background really that powerful?

Spicy Strips sensed the impending crisis and urged, "Boss, we have to make a killing at Happy Home before [Mao Mao] goes bankrupt and gets wiped out!"

Yuan Zhu: "I think [Mao Mao]'s family must be very rich, and they should be able to support her for a long time! But from now on, we must go all out and take advantage of her!"

At this moment, the younger brother said weakly, "I... I'm used to living at home and don't want to move out."

"Stop being coy, I've made up my mind. Otherwise, I'll move out to a bigger house, and you can live here alone?"

The younger brother, who had never lived independently before, was completely dumbfounded: "Huh? Is this even possible?"

Seeing the other party's silly appearance, Yuan Zhu was too lazy to waste words. He took out a small pumpkin from his bag and threw it over: "This is a gift for you. Use your mental focus to perceive its interior, and you will be able to see the internal space and take out the things inside."

Reaching out to take the heavy little pumpkin, Yuan Su, who had never heard of such an item before, stared at it with curiosity, trying to feel it. Then, she opened her eyes wide in shock, as if she had seen an unbelievable scene.

Yuan Su, who had used her spiritual sense to perceive the internal space of the [Little Pumpkin], was now trembling in her hands and speechless with astonishment: "This...this..."

"It's just a defective piece of storage equipment, only 0.3m in size, enough to hold a few odds and ends. You won't need to carry a schoolbag anymore; this is a complete set of school supplies that I picked out for you in Taixi."

As the saying goes, "poor students have a lot of stationery," and while he was sighing and picking out a gift for his younger brother, Meng Xiyue dragged him to a large shopping mall to buy "stationery." Yes, Meng Xiyue was that poor student with an extraordinary amount of stationery, and Yuan Zhu followed her, buying a super luxurious set of "established brand stationery" on her recommendation.

From gold-plated pens to gemstone ink bottles, and crystal rulers and set squares... these are enough to give any top-performing underachiever endless vanity and self-confidence.

Although I am ranked last in the class in terms of grades, when I show off this pair of deluxe stationery, I instantly become the coolest kid in the class. How will you deal with that?
At that moment, the mentally challenged younger brother was stunned: "I...I...I..."

"Hesitating and stammering is embarrassing!"

Yuan Su was both amused and exasperated: "Brother, I dare not take this out to use!"

Yuan Zhu said meaningfully, "There's a regular version next to this. You can use that one. I'm giving you these so you can see my strength clearly. Don't feel inferior, and change your mindset. I'm fucking rich! If you can't keep up with me, you'll become a burden to me sooner or later."

The younger brother, feeling slighted, chose to remain silent and began to ponder his older brother's words. It seemed that, aside from the arrogance of someone suddenly rich, his older brother was truly different; was he using this kind of provocation to help him change his mindset?

"I have work tonight, so I won't eat."

After sitting down and drinking a glass of water, Yuan Zhu, worried that things might get complicated if he waited too long, decided to first harvest the 'bloated goblins'. He didn't want any hidden diseases causing a bunch of them to suddenly die, resulting in losses.

Completely unable to keep up with her brother's pace, Yuan Su stared blankly while clutching the [Little Pumpkin]: "Ah, then be careful."

(End of this chapter)