"Yes, but just because it doesn't exist now doesn't mean it never will. The Lungmen Top 100 Food Guide would target nearly all out-of-town tourists. To get their own food ranked higher, merchants' bidding fees for advertisements would only grow more expensive. That would make far more money than selling odds and ends!"
Shi Lei understood her grand plan. Being able to connect a customer's simple needs to a way of making money proved that Croissant really did have a head for business.
"You really do have an extraordinary talent for business. No wonder you're destined to make big money."
The plain but sincere praise embarrassed her a little, and she modestly explained:
"Hehe, I'm not that amazing. My family has been in business since I was little, so I've picked up some experience. Do you have any other needs? Just tell me."
Since she had told him not to stand on ceremony, Shi Lei naturally spoke his mind without hiding anything.
"I need to rent a place lately. I'm looking for a small or medium-sized warehouse like yours. Do you have any recommendations?"
"For finding a place, you can ask Tailless Cat Real Estate, but their agency fees are pretty high. I can keep an eye out for you first and recommend something if I find a suitable one."
"Sure. Then I'll wait for your good news."
Shi Lei stayed in the warehouse for over an hour before walking back to the Safe House close to five o'clock.
Exusiai and Texas would be getting off work around this time, so he could invite them to dinner.
Croissant was now completely preoccupied with the Lungmen Top 100 Food Guide and only wanted to get it underway as soon as possible.
After promising to treat him to dinner once she made money, she hurried off to seek advertisers and sponsors.
When Shi Lei arrived downstairs at the company, he spotted a familiar little tiger in the distance. Not the tiger-headed and dragon-brained Waai Fu, but Beatrix Swire, wearing black thigh-high stockings and garters.
She was still dressed like a wealthy Eldest Daughter today. Carrying a designer handbag, she walked up to him.
"Mr. Shi, thank you so much for what happened that day. I only learned at noon that my Third Uncle was stripped of his position by the Commercial Union for causing trouble that night. Could you do me the honor of letting me treat you to a simple meal today?"
While they spoke, Exusiai and Texas stepped out of the elevator. Hearing someone mention treating them to dinner, Exusiai grinned and teased him.
"Zhongli, I'm seriously jealous of you. Someone's treating you to food again. Can you bring the two of us along this time?"
Beatrix knew the identities of this Sankta and Texas, so she politely extended an invitation.
"Of course. If you two are willing to come along, I'm sure Mr. Shi would be happy as well."
Swire was usually very careful with money, but she was never stingy when it came to expenses that needed to be made. Spending money on social connections was very necessary.
Seeing Exusiai arrange the dinner for him, Shi Lei had no choice but to agree.
"Miss Swire, dinner is fine, but let's get one thing straight first. Don't order anything too expensive. We can just find any restaurant nearby."
"Sure. I remember there's a pretty good Eastern Cuisine restaurant in the nearby shopping center. How about there?"
After deciding on the restaurant, the four of them crossed the road, chatting and laughing as they headed over.
Surrounded by three beautiful women, Shi Lei was extremely eye-catching on the street and drew envious looks from passersby.
Eastern Cuisine was only considered mid-range food in Lungmen, costing just a little more than barbecue. Seeing the customers enter, a waiter warmly came forward.
"Welcome, honored guests. What would you like to eat?"
As the guest being treated, Shi Lei tactfully handed the menu to Beatrix and let her order.
"I don't eat fish. You can decide on everything else."
Exusiai rarely ate Eastern Cuisine, so she treated today as a chance to enjoy herself thanks to him. After looking over the menu, she ordered several dishes in a row.
Texas remained silent throughout, not saying a word.
With winter lately and little exercise, she had gained a little weight. But bringing up dieting at a time like this would be a mood-killer, so she gave up on ordering. She would simply eat however much everyone ordered and watch her portions a little.
Before long, the waiter brought out the dishes.
They were mostly rice balls, natto, and burdock rice, without any of the signature fish dishes.
After several cups of sake, the atmosphere gradually became livelier. Sitting beside Shi Lei, Beatrix lightly breathed into his ear and asked:
"Do you have any plans to go out during the New Year?"
"I probably don't. Why?"
She flashed a grin and pulled five vouchers from her bag.
"The Commercial Union recently invested in a chain of hot spring resorts, and I received several internal trial vouchers. But I've been a little busy lately and don't have time to go. I thought I'd give them to you so you can go relax."
"Ooh, hot springs! Hot springs!"
Exusiai's eyes lit up, and she seemed extremely excited.
However, Shi Lei did not reach out to accept the vouchers. Instead, he lowered his voice and asked Texas for help.
"How does our company's New Year vacation work?"
"The holiday starts the day after tomorrow and lasts until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Logistics operations will be suspended during the New Year period. If there are bodyguard-type orders, you can take them on your own. The company won't take a cut, and the extra earnings will count as overtime pay."
Seeing that he was still hesitating, Beatrix directly stuffed the hot spring vouchers into his hands and smiled with pursed lips.
"Mr. Shi, don't be so polite with me. If you don't go, I won't have time to use them either. Wouldn't these five internal trial vouchers just go to waste?"
Shi Lei did not care about that. He had his own principles. "Miss Swire, this has nothing to do with wasting them. One thing is one thing. I can accept this favor and take everyone to have fun with the vouchers. But if there is ever a power struggle between the families, I still won't get involved."
A contract was a contract.
He could not change his stance just because of a few small favors. What was what, remained what.
"Come on, Mr. Shi, you're taking this too seriously. I just don't have time to go, so I'm giving them to you. There's no other meaning behind it. And I certainly won't use something like trial vouchers to force you to pick a side later."
Some things were better said openly.
The dinner atmosphere did not weaken because of this. Exusiai was skilled at livening things up, and the four of them toasted one another, chatted about everything under the sun, and enjoyed themselves immensely.
After Beatrix paid the bill and left, Exusiai quickly took the internal trial vouchers to inspect them. They could be used at five different hot spring chains and covered all expenses.
The nearest hot spring was located in southeastern Ursus. Exusiai and Texas estimated the distance and figured they could get there in a little over ten hours.
The problem now was that there were six people in total: the three of them, Croissant, Emperor, and Isu. But there were only five internal trial vouchers, which meant either someone would not go, or the boss would have to pay out of pocket. Either way, there were not enough tickets.
January 2, Year 1095, 10:00 a.m.
Upon learning that Shi Lei had obtained internal discount vouchers to take everyone to the hot springs, Emperor was overjoyed.
Shi Lei was practically his lucky star. Not only had he brought the company huge profits, he had also solved an urgent problem.
With the New Year approaching, the company had yet to decide where to go for team-building. Maybe Jiangqi City, or perhaps the Mobile City of Chernobyl. Who would have thought Shi Lei would directly provide a plan and save them a huge sum of money? With an employee like that, a boss could laugh in his dreams.
Penguin Logistics had entered its slow season recently, with no business underway. Emperor was the same, not even having the inspiration to record new songs. The moment he heard about such a good opportunity, he immediately made the decision: they were heading for Ursus!
Croissant was busy writing her book and seeking sponsors. She had no desire to go and even tried to sell her spot to Isu.
But the boss gave a strict order: everyone had to participate. Miss Kong had other arrangements with her agency, so she was not included in the team-building roster.
At nine o'clock the next morning, everyone gathered in front of the company.
Croissant drove the pickup truck, carrying Exusiai and Isu. Texas drove the other car, carrying Shi Lei and Emperor.
Exusiai even brought out her motorcycle and loaded it onto the back of the pickup. It was foreseeable that the motorcycle might not return in one piece.
The two vehicles drove out of Lungmen one after the other.
This was also Shi Lei's first time leaving a densely populated city and venturing deep into the uninhabited wilderness.
The Mobile City of Lungmen grew farther and smaller within his field of vision until it finally disappeared altogether.
The wilderness ground was uneven, making the vehicles jolt from time to time. Along the way, they passed many rolling hills and gullies, displaying a primitive, untamed beauty.
They set off at nine in the morning and did not enter the Ursus border until the sun was about to set.
The blazing sun spread across the mountains like a thin new garment draped over the earth. Verdant coniferous forests lined both sides of the road, their branches bent beneath the snow.
The wilderness of Terra was not safe. They encountered several groups of wild beasts along the way, but dealt with them easily.
Texas and Croissant both had extensive experience driving in the wild. At around seven in the evening, they finally reached the designated hot spring resort.
There were not many tourists today, and only a few attendants could be seen inside. The group checked in, ate dinner, and rested until around nine before heading to the hot springs.
Men on the left, women on the right. There was no mixed bathing.
While changing clothes, Shi Lei suddenly heard an indescribable penguin scream.
He quickly wrapped himself in a bath towel and ran toward the men's bath, where the sound had come from. There, he saw Emperor sprawled on the floor, with a bloody hole in his forehead where a light sword had pierced him.
First Encounter with Mudrock
Seeing Emperor stare blankly before kicking his two little legs and toppling straight onto the ground beside the bath, Shi Lei frowned and shouted a warning toward the adjacent room.
"The boss has been attacked! Watch out for an enemy assault!"
Just as he was about to search for the culprit, Emperor unexpectedly sat back up as though nothing had happened. He picked up his hip-hop-style clothes and pulled two waterproof bandages from a pocket.
What was going on?
He was fine even after getting a hole poked through his head?
Emperor lowered his head without a word, tore open the bandage wrappers, and stuck them over the wound on his forehead. The two bandages overlapped in an X shape, making him look like a three-eyed penguin at first glance.
"Boss, you're not dead?"
"I'm fine. Don't make such a fuss."
With that, Emperor picked up the light sword from the floor and threw it back into the women's bath next door.
Shi Lei noticed that the light sword was Texas's usual weapon. Yet it had somehow ended up stuck in the boss's head. Clearly, he had tried to peep and gotten stabbed instead.
Served him right.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Emperor did not mention the attack again. He submerged most of his body in the hot spring and stretched out a flipper toward Shi Lei.
"What are you standing around for? Get in already. This weather is perfect for hot springs."
Seeing the farce end just like that, Shi Lei gradually lowered himself into the water from the other side of the pool and looked around.
"Where's Mr. Isu? Why don't I see him?"
"Don't worry about him. He's probably working in his room right now. He'll come soak once he's done."
They could still hear Exusiai laughing next door, as though she were splashing around with Texas and the others. By comparison, the men's bath was much quieter.
Feeling the warm currents in the pool freely envelop his entire body, Shi Lei felt deeply relaxed. If I switched to Immortal Body Mode, wouldn't I fill an entire swimming pool?
"Blub, blub..."
Suddenly, a string of bubbles rose beside Emperor.
Seeing that, Shi Lei immediately abandoned his previous thought.
Some secrets could not be casually shared with others. They were best buried in one's heart forever.
For example, the boss seemed to have an immortal body, Texas had a past involving the mafia that she did not wish to mention, and Exusiai's wings were broken for some reason. As long as they did not bring up such matters themselves, it was better to know not to ask.
Shi Lei got out after soaking for half an hour, lest he stay too long and suffer from oxygen deprivation in his brain. He did not see Isu during that time, so he was probably still busy in his room.
There were no other guests at the hot spring resort today. The person responsible for receiving them was a middle-aged Ursus man in his thirties. He introduced himself as Ivan. He had light brown bear ears and a burly build, and he probably did physical labor often.
Ivan stood by at the front desk, beside which was a small fireplace. The burning wood crackled, providing warmth while casting a red glow across his rough face.
"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
Shi Lei did not particularly like being addressed that way, but they had called him that from the start, so it was not easy to correct them.
"Could you take me to the room that was arranged for me?"
"Of course, sir. This way, please. I'll be on night watch tonight, so if you need anything, you can come find me at the front desk anytime."
After returning to his guest room, Shi Lei did not lie down. It was only ten at night, and he was still full of energy.
He took out his phone, intending to play a game to pass the time. Unfortunately, the signal was atrocious, so he could only give up.
Not long after, Exusiai and Croissant came to Shi Lei's room to hang out. Texas had heard that soaking in hot springs helped burn fat, so she arrived ten minutes later.
Three women and one man sat in the room with no internet signal. They could only stare at one another. In the end, Exusiai broke the awkward silence and suggested:
Before you continue