Invitation / Body Pillow

She originally thought Chen would wear the uniform with her, after all, Chief Chen was indeed a serious person. But in the end, she was the one who got tricked.

Chen was originally going to wear her uniform, but then she was stopped by Lady Wen-yue... Unfortunately, Miss Swire had no one to stop her.

"What an adorable kitten," Specter chuckled gracefully.

To be honest, putting aside the madness and frenzy she displayed during the Specter's battle, this nun was actually quite like a refined young lady.

"I was originally planning to buy a piece of clothing, but unfortunately, the taste and styles here are terrible, I just can't stand them..." Swire continued to complain.

Next, she and Specter discussed fashion sense and clothing styles, while Skadi listened quietly, though it was unclear whether she understood anything.

On the contrary, after Bai Ye and Chen finished discussing business, they had nothing left to talk about. When they came to their senses, they found that Swire and Specter were chatting happily.

"Uh... they've actually started chatting." Bai Ye found it somewhat amusing.

"Bai Ye, don't you think I'm weird? I don't usually talk about such feminine things, and my hobbies are pretty strange too..." Chen suddenly asked softly from the side.

"Oh, you mean your hidden little hobby?" Bai Ye teased with a smile.

Both Lady Wen-yue and Talulah had told him about Chen's hobbies. She had loved reading martial arts novels since she was a child, and she seemed quite interested in playing the role of a chivalrous hero. She always dreamed of a martial arts world filled with "beautiful women, fine wine, and wonderful stories."

Ultimately, she chose to become a police officer, mainly because of Talulah, but this hobby probably also played a role.

"Don't tell anyone, especially Swire." Chen panicked when she realized her little secret had been exposed. Her face flushed, she grabbed Bai Ye's collar and whispered in Bai Ye ear.

If Swire found out about her little secret, her arch-nemesis, the little tiger, would definitely mock her chuunibyou (delusional) tendencies every day. That kind of thing is absolutely unacceptable.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Bai Ye blinked his right eye.

Then, he slowly said, "Actually, I don't think you need to change yourself. In my eyes, Chen is very charming right now."

Chapter Six Invitation

Bai Ye's straight shot caught Chen off guard.

The girl blushed and stood there stunned for a moment before she came to her senses. She looked at Bai Ye, about to say something, when she suddenly saw a catgirl Feline land behind Bai Ye.

The conversation was thus interrupted.

Bai Ye turned around and saw the tall, silver-haired Feline running towards him.

"Who are you?"

Bai Ye glanced at the sniper crossbow on her back; she was probably a pretty skilled guy.

"You are Mr. Bai Ye?"

Feline asked.

"I am Bai Ye."

"Do you have a moment? Mr. Herman would like to see you."

With that, Feline placed an invitation in Bai Ye's hand.

Bai Ye took the envelope and then looked at Feline standing in front of him. For some reason, since transmigrating, most of the people he had met, apart from people like Old Wei, were young girls.

Swire, Talulah, Chen...

There were even children, like Amiya.

The person in front of him was also young, although he might look a bit older than him, he was still considered young.

"You're the Black that Ceylon was talking about?" Bai Ye quickly guessed her identity.

"Yes, Schwarz," Black nodded slightly.

"I understand." Bai Ye opened the invitation, which contained a respectfully worded invitation.

Unfortunately, the messenger sent seemed rather Tai He; he was straightforward, taciturn, and his invitation was rather abrupt.

However, Bai Ye didn't care about these things and didn't pay much attention to Herman's invitation.

He would only take it seriously if it was Wei Yenwu or the Speaker of the Ursus Empire who wanted to see him.

As for the mayor of Siesta, there's nothing particularly noteworthy about him.

"Um, wait a minute..."

Bai Ye suddenly remembered something.

The crisis in Siesta City is not yet over.

Although he personally delayed the volcanic eruption, the crisis was only postponed. After all, Catastrophe like a volcanic eruption is not compatible with Bai Ye's powers, as Bai Ye does not have the ability to stop the movement of tectonic plates.

After the Catastrophe strikes, this place will become a dead city and ruins, but it will also give birth to something very precious.

Originium.

To say that Catastrophe bring nothing but harm is a one-sided view. At the very least, Catastrophe will bring abundant mineral resources.

This stuff is like oil on Earth. Although humans no longer need to rely on this fossil fuel, there have been many conflicts over it in the past.

It even nearly sparked World War III.

If Bai Ye could acquire the mining rights to these minerals, it would be a good thing for him.

With her thoughts racing, Bai Ye put away the invitation and nodded to Hei: "I understand, I will attend. Please give my regards to Mr. Herman."

"Hermo, can't I go over there?"

The little dragon looked at Bai Ye chatting with someone in the distance and puffed up its cheeks unhappily.

"Mr. Bai Ye is on important business, don't disturb them," Hermo said, patting Ifrit's head.

"Then try my skewers..." Little Fire Dragon had no choice but to give up, but she quickly recovered and picked up a skewer of barbecue and placed it in front of Hermo.

"Forehead--"

Hermo looked troubled; the string of flowers in front of her was clearly overcooked and charred.

However, refusing doesn't seem like a good idea?

Just as Hermo hesitated, Ifrit moved her hand away.

Hermo breathed a sigh of relief, but was curious as to why the child had suddenly changed his mind. She subconsciously turned around and saw that Bai Ye had walked to their side.

"Setting up a barbecue stall... um..."

Bai Ye had noticed Himeru and Ifrit long ago. Speaking of which, there are quite a few Rhodes Island operators in Siesta City. Besides the "family of three"—Doctor, Amiya, and Kal'tsit—that he had seen before, there are many other familiar or unfamiliar people.

However, Bai Ye spent far too little time on Rhodes Island, mostly running around outside, so he didn't actually know many people there.

Ifrit and Hermo were his neighbors, so he was more familiar with them than with the other operators.

However, Bai Ye was still startled by Hermo.

How should I describe it? Hermo's turn of the head was literally a literal one; her entire head turned 180 degrees, creating a rather startling scene that frightened Bai Ye.

Liberi's human body is amazing, isn't it!

"Bai Ye, Bai Ye, want some grilled skewers? I made these."

Ifrit waved the skewers of barbecue in front of Bai Ye.

Bai Ye subconsciously took the skewers, but Hermo acted as if nothing had happened and turned his head back. To be honest, if an ordinary person turned their head 180 degrees, they would most likely be dead.

Hermo breathed a sigh of relief. Although she didn't say anything, she silently gave Bai Ye a thumbs up; he had arrived just in time.

Even Ifrit's "mother" wouldn't dare eat this stuff.

Bai Ye took a bite and then realized something was wrong.

The barbecue was clearly overcooked; some parts were burnt. However, seeing Ifrit's expectant gaze beside him, Bai Ye had no choice but to grit his teeth and eat the barbecue.

"How was it? Not bad, right?" Ifrit looked smug.

"Hmm, it's already very good. If you pay a little more attention to the heat, it will be even better..."

Even Bai Ye himself didn't believe this, but Ifrit was very happy.

Bai Ye didn't dare linger in front of the barbecue stall, and after chatting for a few minutes, he ran away.

"Hermo, there's more here, you should try some." Encouraged by Bai Ye, Ifrit's confidence soared, and she handed another skewer of barbecue to Hermo.

It's safe to say that ultimately, there's no escaping it. How terrifying, Ifrit's barbecue.

Bai Ye bought some food from a roadside stall to fill her stomach before heading to her appointment.

Normally, one can't enjoy such an invitation to a banquet to their heart's content, and Bai Ye was hungry, so he ate something beforehand.

At Herman's private residence, Bai Ye met the middle-aged mayor.

Herman personally greeted him at the door, exchanged pleasantries, and then led him into the restaurant.

Ceylon waved to Bai Ye at the restaurant entrance, then was dragged away by Hei to avoid interfering with Herman and Bai Ye's meeting.

"My daughter has caused you trouble." Herman was good at communication and used his daughter's acquaintance with Bai Ye to better build rapport and get into the conversation.

"It's alright. Although it's a bit troublesome, it's not a particularly difficult problem," Bai Ye smiled.

In his mind, he compared Herman and Wei Yenwu.

Both are shrewd and cunning old foxes, but for now, Wei Yenwu is perhaps the more difficult to deal with.

Chapter Seven: Body Pillow

"What's wrong?" Skadi and Specter looked at Bai Ye, who was standing by the roadside in a daze, somewhat puzzled.

"Ah, I was just thinking about something."

Bai Ye snapped out of his daze, rubbed his stomach, and looked at the two girls in front of him.

"You promised to go shopping with us, so why did you run off with someone else as soon as we came out?" Specter raised an eyebrow, somewhat displeased.

Bai Ye couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He had indeed planned to go out for a stroll with Specter and Skadi, but he hadn't walked more than a few steps when he was invited by Herman, so he had no choice but to leave the two of them behind and go to the banquet.

"So, how did the talks go?" Specter put away her resentment and transformed back into her usual composed and smiling lady.

Bai Ye shook his head. "He's still hesitating and observing, but there's a basis for cooperation."

During the private dinner earlier, Bai Ye and Herman discussed many business matters. According to Herman, the city of Siesta currently needs to be abolished, and Herman will relocate all citizens and industries to a newly built development zone.

That will be a new Mobile City, full of opportunities.

Bai Ye had a pretty good idea: whether it was the old town destined to be destroyed by Catastrophe and turned into a mining area, or the emerging Mobile City, he wanted a piece of the pie.

However, Herman was clearly not the penniless Talulah, nor the doting father Wei Yenwu, nor even the eccentric Penguin Emperor and Aak. He was certainly not the SilverAsh Boss who greatly admired Bai Ye.

Bai Ye's social circle and connections could not reach Siesta City, so business cooperation negotiations that had been successful in the past were now ineffective.

In fact, Herman had a rather favorable impression of Bai Ye, who had saved the city, and greatly admired Bai Ye himself. Bai Ye was not only a young and promising authoritative scholar, but also very handsome. His constant passive aura naturally increased others' goodwill towards him, making the atmosphere of the banquet quite pleasant.

Unfortunately, the cooperation was too important for Herman to make a decision on his own in a short period of time, so the deal ultimately fell through.

What's even funnier is that Herman didn't originally want to discuss business cooperation with him at all; he just... wanted to recruit him.

"Pretty boy charm isn't working anymore..." Bai Ye rubbed his cheeks, wondering why his charm seemed to be losing its effectiveness.

In the past Bai Ye thought that if the charm attribute was ridiculously high, it could charm everyone. However, in practice, he found that this value didn't seem to have much effect. Putting everything else aside, the only person he's managed to fool so far is Skadi, that silly Aegir.

'I wonder how this silly/goofy attribute was generated...'

Bai Ye sighed. If he were truly shameless, he could try to win over Miss Ceylon. That girl was a genuine heiress, and quite beautiful and with an interesting temperament. Reaching an agreement with Herman through her connections would indeed be effortless.

However, such thoughts are best left unsaid. While Herman's offer is certainly appealing, there's no need to go to such lengths to acquire it. Besides, Bai Ye felt that with his limited abilities, he should just wash up and go to bed.

It was only because Skadi was naive and easily fooled that he succeeded. If it were a rich young lady like Ceylon, who had the time to seduce others, Bai Ye would rather just start operating and take over Herman's new city.

However, on the other hand, if it were truly a business war, then they would definitely have to bite the bullet and start with Ceylon as a breakthrough point. Only a fake business war involves back-and-forth deception and intrigue. Real business wars are mostly more direct, like directly picking locks and stealing company seals...

"But it wasn't all for naught... I invited him to sit in on the multi-party cooperation meeting that will be held in the Core City next month."

Bai Ye had rested enough. Although he had thoroughly enjoyed Skadi's advances during this time, Bai Ye was not going to let himself sink into depravity.

Although he still appears powerful, that's only in comparison to the ordinary people of this land. Even though he can now go toe-to-toe with the current Patriot, Bai Ye is not satisfied.

First of all, he can't compare to Patriot at his peak. That guy is undoubtedly the pinnacle of mortals. According to the official description in the previous life, Patriot at his peak was "the ceiling of the Arknights world view, a figure like a war god."