New Colleague, New Fun-What Was Jiang Yu's Elation?

Sampo looked down at the boy before him, who seemed to be a fellow colleague, and sensed his cheerful optimism.

For a moment, he genuinely could not figure out what Jiang Yu was trying to do.

His wealth of experience and everything he had been through had put Sampo on full alert. This was a showdown between Fools, and whoever lost would become the entertainment.

He certainly could not let the boy's appearance fool him.

But...

Sampo's gaze lingered on Jiang Yu's face as he studied his eyes, his expression, and the slightest twitches of his muscles. He could not detect even a trace of pretense.

It was as though the boy truly radiated the blazing warmth of a furnace.

Sampo could not help marveling inwardly. With acting skills like these, he's blended right in with the Nameless. If the Elation God hadn't given me a heads-up, I probably would've fallen for it too...

In a way, it's even more impressive than Sparkle's shapeshifting disguises.

No wonder he had become a colleague at such a young age.

For no apparent reason, Jiang Yu's threat level in Sampo's mind kept climbing. After less than half a system hour together, Sampo was already close to breaking into a sweat trying to protect his stage.

He felt as though he were single-handedly tackling a mathematical problem that would take a whole group of Genius Society geniuses several days to solve.

But how could old Sampo have guessed that Jiang Yu was not pretending at all?

Aside from wanting to get some screen time and boost his popularity, his curiosity about adventure was genuine, his fondness for the Astral Express Crew was genuine, and his desire to pet Pom-Pom was genuine too...

As far as Jiang Yu was concerned, creating an additional persona wildly different from his own personality would be far too exhausting.

There was absolutely no need for it.

Only a few seconds had passed, but a storm had already swept through Sampo's mind, filling it with countless thoughts.

Sampo used his clever Fool's brain to guess Jiang Yu's intentions, but every attempt came up empty.

March 7th, meanwhile, was quite excited.

After hearing Jiang Yu's proposal, the pretty girl's imagination-filled mind immediately caught up with his train of thought.

March 7th looked over excitedly and said, "Exactly! Whether something sells has a lot to do with advertising! The Express radio plays ads for the Interastral Peace Corporation all the time. I've wanted to place an order more than once!"

Stelle spread her hands beside March 7th, resignation showing in her golden eyes. "But we lack the funds. We're not exactly poor aboard the Express, but we don't have spare money to buy decorations that are advertised well yet turn out to be completely useless once you give them a little thought."

Stelle's tendency to parrot others seemed to be continuing. Her tone and the way she looked at March 7th were identical to Dan Heng's beside her.

"But the heater Jiang Yu made is different!"

March 7th traced a circle with both hands as she gestured and continued:

"Never mind how obviously Jarilo needs something like this-the universe is huge, and there are so many planets. Plenty of them have environments just as harsh!

"Besides, even on planets without harsh environments, something this convenient would still be popular, right?"

Jiang Yu nodded at March 7th's words, then added:

"For example, it would make taking hot baths much easier. Just toss it in, and the water heats up. Of course, you could also use it to start a fire.

"Although it's a Fragmentum creature, as an elemental crystal, it's clearly all-natural and pollution-free.

"And we could use them to improve or even rebuild piping systems based on Fragmentum creatures, making life much more convenient for beings throughout the universe."

Jiang Yu raised a finger and spoke with confidence, pride written all over his face. Sometimes, he really did think he was a genius.

"On top of that, these Fragmentum creations would have to be captured to serve as raw materials. So many planets are affected by stellarons and plagued by Fragmentum creatures. Capturing them would help ease local tensions to some extent.

"And if we wanted to mass-produce these products or even build piping systems, we'd definitely need more Fragmentum creatures. Increased demand for Fragmentum creatures means increased demand for labor.

"That would inevitably create a large workforce specializing in capturing Fragmentum creatures. From another angle, that means providing plenty of jobs and sparing people the crisis of being unable to find work!"

Listening to the two of them, Stelle nodded too and summed it up:

"So, if we promote Fragmentum Creature Products, not only can we earn Credits, but the products themselves won't cause any harm.

"On top of that, their popularity would stimulate economic growth and ease the shortage of jobs across the universe.

"It's all benefits and no drawbacks!"

March 7th put her hands on her hips and nodded solemnly, seemingly already imagining that wonderful future.

"We can ask Herta to handle the technical issues, then use her to get in touch with people at the Corporation for advertising and the actual construction! That way, we'll have more Credits than we can spend!"

Dan Heng stood with his arms folded, quietly listening to their discussion. A thoughtful look crossed his face, and he nodded in agreement.

The whole thing sounded pretty good.

When negotiating with Herta and the Corporation, he, Himeko, and Mr. Welt could put some extra care into considering the details. They could leave the rest to these three.

Then Dan Heng opened his eyes, took out his phone, and added an entry titled "Fragmentum Creature Products: Related Matters" to his notes.

By now, old Sampo had completely forgotten about figuring out what trick Jiang Yu was trying to pull.

He had to admit, his young colleague's idea was genuinely appealing.

Just listening to these Nameless envision the future made him want to join in.

As for the plan's chances of success, a conservative estimate put them above eighty percent. After all, the Nameless had an excellent reputation throughout the universe, with more friendly organizations backing them than anyone could count.

The mere mention of Herta and the Corporation by that pink-haired girl was enough to make "reliable" spring to mind.

As a member of the Genius Society, Herta certainly had the ability to develop the necessary technology. And advertising, sales, and construction-weren't those exactly what the Interastral Peace Corporation did best?

Now this was a business worth getting into!

It'd make far more than old Sampo earned rummaging through crates in the snow!

At that thought, Sampo could not help stealing another couple of glances at Jiang Yu.

How could I think so poorly of my new colleague?

Even if he's a Fool, he's still a kid!

That innocent face hardly looks like someone out to trick people.

Besides, while turning Fragmentum creatures directly into raw materials for merchandise is certainly entertaining, it hasn't ruined my stage...

In that instant, everything clicked for Sampo, leaving him refreshed and clearheaded!

The blue-haired Fool once again wore a businessman's smile as he said, "Absolutely, absolutely! Please be sure to count old Sampo in on this venture!

"Of course, we can't discuss business out here in the freezing snow.

"'The City of Preservation,' 'the City of Everwinter,' 'humanity's last bastion against the Eternal Freeze'-our Belobog isn't far from here! Follow me!"