Chapter 208: True Commercial Warfare Begins To Emerge
At 4:15 PM, when Yuan Zhu got off the bus and his feet touched the ground in Running again, the round trip had taken a total of five days.
Excluding the travel time on the first and last days, he had only stayed in Taixi for 3 days, far shorter than the planned one week to 10 days. But the experiences were so abundant and rich that they hit the threshold, completely eliminating any interest in continuing to play.
“Sigh, looking back now, I didn’t even go up to the [Heavenly Palace Garden], which is a bit regrettable.”
Recounting the three days’ experiences: watching the beautiful girl sea selection contest, visiting the [Knowledge School] experimental building, touring the night scenery, the 3-hour limited [Bank Robbery] experience, Security Bureau free checkup, beach vacation… Although he didn’t visit all of Taixi’s famous attractions, the content was quite rich.
Snake Snake comforted: “Just go again next time. Anyway, I think this trip was great, and I gained a lot of knowledge.”
Besides the knowledge freebie from the [Misty Mountains] White Feather Association, he also obtained an inheritance from the [Star Core], plus a large amount of [Little Pumpkin], and got to know ‘Miao Miao’. In her view, this outing was simply a huge profit!
Just as Yuan Zhu was about to argue a bit more, the [Mouse] resting in his shoulder bag suddenly had its mechanical eyes flash with red light, emitting an urgent calling sound, signaling him to ‘answer’.
Snake Snake, who had Bluetooth control over the Mouse, immediately reminded: “It’s Lu Rang.”
Yuan Zhu signaled her to connect the signal, then spoke: “Lu Rang, what’s up?”
The other party’s voice asked urgently: “Brother Yuan, are you back?”
“Yeah, just arrived. Otherwise, how could you contact me?”
The other party’s voice instantly turned to relief and joy: “Great, Brother Yuan, hurry back to take over the goblins! Some time ago, I got to know quite a few ‘hunting squads’ in the sewer, doing high-price recycling of weak, sick, and disabled garbage goblins. After some brewing, I slowly built up ‘reputation’. In the past few days, quite a few people have treated me like a sucker scrap dealer, sending over many near-death wastes.”
“I lowered the price, but people still keep sending severely disabled goblins my way. Now, the abandoned building for housing them is about to burst at the seams again. Plus, I don’t have the energy to manage them, some have died, and they don’t keep clean, defecating everywhere on the spot. The smell is too stimulating, and I’ve already been warned by the street management committee. They said if I don’t handle it, they’ll contact the [Cleaning Company] to burn them down on site… But I have nowhere to relocate them.”
In Lu Rang’s eyes, the number of goblins on hand had already exceeded his management limit and was still expanding wildly. Now, he didn’t even have the energy to hunt and refine swords in the sewer, instead constantly running around the back alleys of the snack street, figuring out ways to steal enough swill to feed the come-one-come-all disabled goblins every day.
Those shameless goblins had no bottom line at all, treating the abandoned building like a nursing home, lounging around eating and waiting to die, feasting lavishly. Even the way they looked at him had lost all hatred and malice, replaced entirely by desire. If he could bring back a few more buckets, he suspected these goblins might even start worshiping him?
Yuan Zhu was astonished upon hearing this: “How many goblins do you have there now?”
Lu Rang wailed: “Almost breaking 130! This doesn’t even count the ones that died of disease. I didn’t even have time to report to the [Security Bureau] today, all busy with these stinking creatures. Either finding food for them or dumping corpses in the river, don’t even mention it, I dream of their smell.”
Yuan Zhu comforted: “You’ve really worked hard. Are you handling it alone?”
“Yeah, I already quit my old circle. These past couple days have made me consider hiring some helpers?”
Yuan Zhu had already left the station and was heading to the bus stop: “I’ll go home first, and tonight I’ll deal with this batch of goblins.”
Lu Rang: “That’s great! Should I continue collecting next, or pause this business?”
Yuan Zhu also felt a headache about this; he hadn’t expected the recycling business for ‘weak, sick, and disabled goblins’ to be so popular?
He couldn’t help asking: “That doesn’t make sense! I looked into it before; pharmaceutical companies have been acquiring ‘goblins’. How are you still getting so many?”
Lu Rang had been in this side business for over half a month. From initial ignorance to now a small elite in the industry, he knew more than Yuan Zhu: “Mainly because their constitutions are too poor; pharmaceutical companies won’t take them. They need healthy-bodied, fully-limbed male goblins in juvenile, youth, or prime age periods, and female goblins from youth to prime age. Pregnant ones fetch the highest price.”
“While the ones forcibly shoved at me are all substandard rejects that don’t meet acquisition criteria: a ton of disabled, severely injured, diseased goblins… Especially some bastard who maliciously mixed in a few infectious disease carriers among the forcibly submitted disabled goblins, and anonymously reported to the [Management Committee] the day before yesterday, leading to the fire warning.”
Yuan Zhu frowned; such straightforward commercial competition? It had only been days since Lu Rang built reputation and started bulk acquiring goblins? And all scraps and rejects, yet already maliciously targeted with poisoning, infecting, and reporting?
“Too vicious! To go that far? That ‘management committee’ you mentioned would just set fire to burn goblins inside the building?”
Lu Rang: “Brother Yuan, it’s the cheapest disposal method. According to a senior I know at the [Security Bureau], our kind of locking large batches of goblins in abandoned buildings could lure demonic creatures to attack and feed at night, causing the spread of ‘polluted monsters’…”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be handled clean today. Next, don’t go out anymore; you keep collecting! Is the money enough?”
“Plenty, I’ll keep lowering the price tomorrow!”
After ending the call, Yuan Zhu also waited for his bus. There weren’t many passengers on board; he casually found a seat and sat down, a strange sentiment rising in his heart.
Originally, he thought of himself as a behind-the-scenes black hand accumulating goblins as experimental materials. But now it seemed he wasn’t even at the level of a [Cleaning Company], treated by others as a dumb rich scrap dealer, and maliciously targeted?
Snake Snake suddenly spoke: “Boss, suddenly not optimistic about your various businesses in the Du Ling present world plan. Better focus on developing the ‘underground world’ for monopoly management; I think the water in Running is too deep.”
Even Lu Rang’s little business of recycling old, broken, second-hand disabled goblins could get poisoned and reported. Who knows how intense the competition pressure is for legitimate business?
Yuan Zhu reflected too; all his current layouts were one-sided spending and consumption. Either stockpiling supplies or leasing warehouses… No profitable projects at all. The small amounts of ‘Blood Eggplant, pills’ sold externally were all through the private channel of the White Feather Association.
He really hadn’t experienced the real commercial warfare of Du Ling Star; the pressure suddenly mounted inexplicably.
…
50 minutes later, as the sky gradually darkened, Yuan Zhu returned to his familiar home.
Walking up the pitch-black stairs, passing the damp and smelly water room, passing the narrow corridor thick with oil smoke, Yuan Zhu’s frown deepened.
Having gotten used to the not-so-luxurious hotels in Taixi and seen the prosperity of a super first-tier big city, returning now to the backward Running and seeing his own rundown cramped old building, Yuan Zhu felt a strong sense of discomfort and unwillingness inside.
“This environment is too bad! How can a great man born between heaven and earth dwell miserably in a broken building for long? I want to move! I want a mansion! I want leather sofa, luxury big bed, bathroom, chandelier… I want maids!”
Snake Snake: “Awesome, I’ve thought that for ages!”
“Bro? You’re back?”
The dumb younger brother heard a commotion at the door, then Yuan Zhu pushed in, pulled the light cord, and unleashed a defy-fate output toward the cramped but cleaned living room: mansions, bathrooms, leather sofa maids… leaving Yuan Su completely stunned.
Was this still his diligent, striving, frugal big brother full of motivation for working? Had he really gone bad outside?
Seeing his younger brother’s worried and concerned look, Yuan Zhu rolled his eyes. His predecessor was good in every way except having too narrow a vision; he’d saved quite a bit of money but was stingy with himself and his brother, only wanting to save up a ‘big sum’ to then swallow and seize the factory, defying fate.
From Yuan Zhu’s perspective, it wasn’t really wrong, even quite inspirational. But for him, it was too stupid. Spending money must be done lavishly; all his hard work making so much was for enjoyment, right?
So he said to his dumb younger brother: “The pocket money I gave you, spent it all?”
Yuan Su was stunned, eyes wide as he retorted: “Huh? So much money, how could I possibly spend it all?”
“Can’t spend it? Total waste! Later I’ll get you a card; you must hit the standard monthly spending limit!”
“Bro, what’s wrong with you? Why have you become more and more unfamiliar these two months? You really have no issues, haven’t gone bad outside?”
Yuan Zhu scoffed: “What could be wrong with me? I just opened my eyes to the world. Relax, your bro is absolutely fine. This trip to Taixi, I even specially went to a bigger [Security Bureau] for a checkup. Want to see my medical report? Right now, I’m cultivating in you a more correct consumption mindset. Also, I’ve decided to change houses; this dump is way worse than Taixi. In the future, do you want a standalone villa or high-rise? Live near your current school or switch to a better one? Think it over carefully and tell me.”
“I… you…”
Yuan Su clearly felt at this moment that his big brother was like a brain-dead nouveau riche in novels whose mind was bewitched and heading for destruction. Was this the style of a [Holy Church ascetic cultivator]? Bro, did you cultivate your [Holy Light] to the dog? So extravagant and degenerate? You’ve just started and already getting the Fall Seal?
Last weekend, secretly going to the [Grand Library] to study [Holy Church] and [Holy Light], Yuan Su felt his big brother’s behavior didn’t match the book descriptions at all. The drastic personality change was like [reverse cultivating Holy Light], actively entering the demonic path.
He still unwillingly said: “You… really have that much money? It’s only been how long?”
“Heh!” Yuan Zhu sneered disdainfully, “You know nothing about real money-making! Your brother has comprehended the true form of ‘working’. Before, it was just selling bitter labor for useless work, being exploited and squeezed by the factory. Now, I make big money lawfully with talent!”
You think why the great [Mao Mao King] is so great and noble? She’s basically a fool who doesn’t manage anything, getting freebie’d by her employees!
Just because [Mao Mao King] is too lenient and generous, [Happy Home] is truly a newbie zone. That’s what made him think Du Ling’s extraordinary circle is easy to mix in, resulting in his operations expanding bigger and bigger. Only today did he learn that even premium acquiring scrapped goblins gets malicious poisoning + reporting, so how did [Mao Mao King] establish herself in the [Space of Gods] without being eliminated and crushed? Is her background really that huge?
Little Spicy Stick also sensed the crisis at this moment, hurriedly urging: “Boss, must cash in hard in [Happy Home] before [Mao Mao] goes bankrupt and gets done in!”
Yuan Zhu: “I think [Mao Mao] family must be very rich, can sustain a long time! But next, definitely go all out to squeeze her!”
At this time, the younger brother weakly said: “I, I’m used to living at home, don’t want to move out.”
“Don’t hem and haw; my mind’s made up. Otherwise, I’ll move out to a big house, and you stay here alone?”
The younger brother, who had never lived independently, was directly stunned: “Huh?” It can be like that?
Seeing the other’s dumbstruck look, Yuan Zhu didn’t bother with more words, took out a [Little Pumpkin] from his bag and tossed it over: “Gift for you. Focus your spirit and perception on its interior with mental intent, and you’ll see the internal space, take out the stuff inside.”
Catching the hefty [Little Pumpkin], Yuan Su, who had never heard of such an item, looked curious and dumbly stared at the Little Pumpkin, sensing intently, then shockingly widened his eyes, as if seeing an unbelievable sight.
Yuan Su, perceiving the [Little Pumpkin]’s internal space with spirit, now had trembling hands and a slack jaw, too shocked to speak: “This this this…”
“Just a defective storage equipment, only a measly 0.3m, good for a bit of daily sundries. You won’t need to carry a schoolbag to school anymore; inside is the full set of study supplies I picked for you in Taixi.”
As the saying goes, bad students have lots of stationery. When picking gifts for his brother in Taixi, he was dragged by Meng Xiyue to a large mall to buy ‘stationery’. Yeah, Meng Xiyue was that bad student with tons of stationery; Yuan Zhu just followed her and, on her recommendation, bought a super luxury set of ‘old brand stationery’.
From gold-inlaid pens to Gem ink bottles, to crystal straightedges, set squares… enough to give any top academic slacker infinite vanity and confidence.
Though I’m class first (from the bottom) in grades, but when I show off this pair of supreme luxury stationery, I instantly become the flashiest in class—how do you cope?
At this moment, the dumb younger brother was shocked: “I I I…”
“Hesitating, stuttering, embarrassing!”
Yuan Su laughed wryly: “Bro, I don’t dare take this out to use!”
Yuan Zhu said meaningfully: “There’s a regular version next to it; you use that. I gave you these to make you see clearly your bro’s strength, don’t be inferior, change your mindset. I’m fucking really rich! If you can’t keep up with my pace, you’ll eventually become my burden.”
The younger brother, hit by this, chose silence and began pondering his big bro’s words. It seemed, besides the cocky arrogance of a poor guy suddenly rich, big bro was really different, using this stimulation to help him change mindset?
“I have work tonight, so I won’t eat.”
After sitting down for a cup of water, Yuan Zhu, worried about delays breeding trouble, decided to first harvest the ‘bursting goblins’. To avoid any hidden diseases suddenly wiping out a bunch, causing losses.
Yuan Su, completely unable to keep up with big bro’s rhythm, clutched the [Little Pumpkin] in a daze: “Ah, then be safe.”
