040: Excited Players-I'm Using This Pose for the Statue!

Aolong stared at the huge L7 printed on his new work badge, his face alight with excitement.

At Black Sun Group, every five job grades marked a major hurdle.

To cross it, an employee needed outstanding results or a significant contribution.

That could mean far exceeding performance targets, bringing the company favorable publicity, or recovering long-overdue debts.

As a result, many employees who coasted along would never rise past L5.

Aolong had once wanted to get ahead, but he lacked the ability and courage. Over time, his ambition had faded.

After all, plenty of people in his department were still L4 in their forties and fifties.

But now he had not only broken past L5—he had jumped straight to L7!

The team leader who had sent him here to die had only been L7!

The female supervisor continued, "There's one more thing. Strongarm Company's business scope has changed."

"From now on, you'll handle trade and investment instead of debt collection and other financial work."

"The company has approved a budget of two thousand Void Abyss Coins and granted you a Black Sun Group franchise license."

"Simply put, transactions through your company account won't need to be reported to the Rootvine City Government for tax purposes."

"You're required to pay the company at least six hundred Void Abyss Coins a month as its share of the investment returns, while expanding its influence in the border region."

Aolong immediately knew Su Yi had arranged this too.

Miss Barrett must think highly of Su Yi to agree to these terms!

"Yes!" Aolong said at once. "Thank you for the company's trust!"

"I won't let the company down!"

After shaking the supervisor's hand with a smile, Aolong left the office, his heart surging.

Outside, he looked up at the blood-red setting sun. It signaled the end of the day, yet suddenly he felt full of hope.

Su Yi, I was wrong about you. I won't forget what you've done for me!

Aolong was no ingrate. He was an ordinary man.

When people treated him well, he treated them well in return.

Su Yi had given him plenty of benefits before, but deep down, Aolong had still looked down on him.

He had thought Su Yi was nothing more than a cash machine.

Without Aolong, someone as lowly as Su Yi would never even have had a chance to make money.

But things were different now.

He was genuinely grateful to Su Yi and admired his vision and ability.

He jogged back to the office and found Su Yi and several others gathered around, studying forms and documents.

An unfamiliar middle-aged woman stood among them, apparently a new employee.

"Su Yi!" Aolong approached, his face flushed with excitement.

Su Yi looked up and smiled. "Boss, thanks for the effort!"

Aolong pulled Su Yi into a bear hug. "Thank you," he said solemnly. "Just call me Aolong from now on."

"From now on, Strongarm Company belongs to both of us!"

"Brother, thank you for everything today!"

Alton and the other two watched with smiles.

Now the company was theirs through and through.

Su Yi laughed. "Boss, you don't have to thank me. I wouldn't be where I am today without you."

Aolong gripped Su Yi's shoulders. "Just call me Aolong."

"And I didn't do much. This is all thanks to your own hard work and ability."

Su Yi did not argue. He nodded. "All right, Aolong. Let's join forces and make a name for ourselves!"

After that brief exchange, Su Yi introduced Sefni properly, along with Alton and the other two, and explained their current assignments.

Aolong nodded approvingly. "Good, good! You've planned this perfectly!"

Then he produced a stack of documents. "This is the decision from above!"

Su Yi read through them. When he spotted the Black Sun Group franchise license, surprise and delight swept over him.

"Perfect! With this, we don't have to keep the cash from those gun sales hidden away."

"We can run it through the company account and make it legitimate!"

Three or four thousand in cash was no small sum, and hiding it was inconvenient.

Before this, Su Yi had not dared deposit it in his account.

If anyone investigated where it came from, he would lose the money and end up behind bars.

Now, though, it was different.

Su Yi could set up a few shell companies and record the money as Strongarm Company's business revenue!

And they would not even have to pay tax.

Then he could pay it into his own account as a company bonus. The money would be his, free and clear.

"We need an accountant we can trust," Aolong said.

"My sister!" Alton said, thumping his chest. "She's studying accounting!"

"She's been helping her classmates' parents and teachers file their taxes since last year to earn living expenses!"

Aolong looked to Su Yi. He did not know Alton well enough, so he wanted Su Yi's opinion.

Su Yi rubbed his chin. "Bring her by in a couple of days. I'll interview her."

"If she's suitable, we'll hire her."

Alton's face lit up. "Okay!"

With the Black Sun Group franchise license, Su Yi was not too concerned about tax filing. What he needed more was someone who could keep the books.

With two pieces of good news to celebrate, everyone gathered happily to plan their next steps and study the information on their targets.

But while they celebrated here, fury was brewing elsewhere.

In the Patrol Bureau chief's office.

Webber, Cairo, Iron Sledgehammer, and the others all wore thunderous expressions.

"That damned stray dog stole our business, and now he's even stealing your spotlight!" Cairo said through gritted teeth.

Webber's eyes widened. "He's the one working with those smugglers who came out of nowhere?"

Cairo nodded. "Yes! He seems to be with the company. I sent Scarface to follow him, but he ran into a mysterious level-twenty expert. Supposedly, the man's a company executive!"

"Bullshit!" Webber snorted. "How could there be a level-twenty company executive in Rootvine District without me knowing?"

"If he really were an executive, why would he need to scare you off like that?"

Cairo started. "You mean he brought in someone else to bluff me?"

Webber nodded. "Of course!"

His expression darkened. "That brat thinks I won't touch him because he's officially on the company payroll as a temp?"

"I won't make a move in public, but there are plenty of ways to arrange an accidental death!"

Webber turned to Cairo. "I'll have the Patrol Police work with you for the next few days. Keep him under constant watch!"

"The moment he does anything, go in and inspect him."

"And bring in all your men. Have them harass him around the clock!"

Cairo looked troubled. "Big brother, I can do the rest, but that last part will be difficult."

"We lost twenty-three of our best men in the stampede at the scene today."

"Even Bell died. We're short-handed."

"Useless!" Webber cursed. "Then get people from the House of Loving Kindness!"

"I'm not helping them for free!"

"If they won't do their part now, they can get lost!"

While the Wolf Fang Gang made its plans, the players had not been idle.

Over the past two days, they had made excellent progress.

Winter and Mountain Dog had gathered almost all the information they needed on the Wolf Fang Gang.

Evil God's little church had also reached the approval stage.

Today, 108 had made contact with Iron Root and His Two Brothers and rescued a noblewoman amid the chaos.

That evening.

Winter, Mountain Dog, and Evil God were discussing their next move.

108, who had stayed at the scene of the disturbance until the end, finally returned.

The moment he opened the door, he blurted out excitedly, "Holy shit, guess what I saw today?"

"The noblewoman wasn't wearing underwear?" Evil God asked.

"Filthy minds, the lot of you!" 108 scoffed.

He pulled out his phone and projected a video.

"At least... save the children!"

Mountain Dog stared at the image in shock. "Holy shit! Is that... our godfather?"

Evil God was transfixed too. "That angle, that pose—they're perfect!"

"Yes, yes! That's the pose! I'm designing our godfather's statue just like this."

"It's magnificent. It's sacred!"

Winter's eyes shone. "Looks like this boss really is a decent person."

"Of course he is," 108 said proudly. "He's our godfather!"

"We players might work for anyone who pays, but working with someone like him? Even if we have to fight him someday, it'll be for the good of the world!"

Mountain Dog slapped his thigh. "A righteous cause! A sound justification!"

Evil God tapped the table. "We can even dress it up as a worthy cause and raise donations."

Mountain Dog chuckled. "Once it's done, we split the proceeds thirty-seventy."

"I swear, this belongs on the world heritage list," 108 muttered.