Chapter 114

Chapter 115: Love and Rivalry

In the end, the Dungeon Association did cooperate with IKD. As soon as the news broke, housing prices around First Cloud Mountain Dungeon shot up. Qian Qi sold the places she had bought and suddenly became a nouveau riche worth hundreds of millions.

Sitting on the sofa in the IKD chief executive’s office with her fingers laced, she looked thoughtful and said: “It’s hard to believe. A few months ago I was a farm student at school. Now I’m a sudden rich person worth hundreds of millions.” Of course, she had to thank Chen Tong, her “good boy,” for his early efforts that let her buy more houses and earn more money.

She patted the System and opened her Light-Brain, saying grandly as she transferred a huge sum of five thousand: “Here, a reward. I’m this awesome. Stick with me and you’ll never go hungry.” The System was speechless. Five thousand? Shouldn’t she have tossed it a few million?

Just as the System prepared to fling the five thousand back and claim it didn’t care, Sheng Qing Hong hurried in from the hallway outside. Smiling, he said: “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” then poured tea for her and asked: “Where do you plan to go next?”

Qian Qi skipped his question and asked her own: “I’ve noticed your aviation group builds hovercars that can resist Magibeast attacks. The materials must be expensive, right?” Sheng Qing Hong nodded: “Yes, but the profit on hovercars is high. The real cost is not as scary as people think. Maybe that’s exactly why those two groups tried to crush IKD. If we had gone along with them, we would have taken fewer hits and ended up just another forgettable flight company. But if IKD wants to be the third top aviation group alongside the two giants, we have to hold the line and win with prices. Business competition is cruel. If we lose, we can only blame ourselves.”

Qian Qi leaned forward and spoke a little more seriously: “Then can you do me a favor? Do you take outside jobs? I want a safe basement built. Even if a B grade Magibeast shows up, it shouldn’t be able to break in. It doesn’t need to be big, about forty square meters.” Sheng Qing Hong understood at once and asked: “You want a safe shelter under your house?” Qian Qi smiled: “Yes.”

She wanted to leave Bright Light Orphanage a place that could keep them safe. In case one day she died suddenly like in her last life and left her “family” with nothing at all, at least this time she would be ready. She would feel better traveling if there was a solid plan.

“This is no problem,” said Sheng Qing Hong. “I’ll hire a reliable architect to build the shelter.” Qian Qi exhaled in relief and leaned back into the sofa, saying: “Then give me a price.” Sheng Qing Hong did some figures and finally said: “At cost, it will be three hundred and thirty million.”

Qian Qi’s eyes went wide. “How much?” She stared at the numbers on the paper, then at the three hundred and thirty million left in her Light-Brain account. One second she was a rich woman. The next, a broke one.

Sheng Qing Hong glanced at her face and asked carefully: “What’s wrong? Is the price hard to accept?” “I… it’s fine,” she said, heart aching. “Three hundred and thirty million it is. I’ll send you the address. Please find someone reliable to supervise.” “No problem,” he promised.

Leaving IKD, Qian Qi looked at her balance of 3.74, squatted by the street, and let out a deep sigh. She gave the System a pleading look and said: “System, can we talk?” It asked, [What?] Qian Qi chuckled shamelessly and said: “About that five thousand I gave you when I walked in… can you give it back?”

The System smiled sweetly and wrote, [Qian Qi is so amazing. If I follow you, I’ll never go hungry.] Then it added, [So Qian Qi definitely won’t reach into my tummy and pull out what I’ve already digested, right? ?_?] “I will,” Qian Qi said flatly, “hand it over.”

The System had underestimated her shamelessness. It spat out two hundred and said with a blank face: [A coach ticket home costs two hundred.] Then it cheered her on, [You can do it, Qian Qi. Keep showing off your money-saving, stingy ways. ?_?] Qian Qi stared. [Why did a penny-pincher like me bind to a stingy System instead of a rich one?] Clutching the humiliating two hundred, she set off for home by long-distance bus.

Work started fast. In only a few days, the underground shelter for Bright Light Kindergarten broke ground. Qian Qi farmed a little in Dungeons and checked the site each day, living easy and free, though the pain of being broke clung to her like a shadow.

Inside the vegetable-garden Dungeon, she wiped sweat off her brow with the handle of her hoe. The flatland soil was rich and plants grew fast. Tomato seedlings had sprouted, scallions were thriving, and some Magiplants had already been harvested twice. She squinted under her straw hat, a blade of grass in her teeth, and scrolled her System panel, murmuring: “Let’s see which E grade Magiplants the new formula still needs…” After noting the last few names, she sent them to Li Hong Sheng with a message from her handle, I Am Your Grandpa: “Send these Magiplant seeds to Bright Light Orphanage.” He replied from his handle, For the Rise of Magiplants: “You made another new formula?” She wrote back: “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t. Be careful or your butt will fester.” He answered: “What?”

She shut off the Light-Brain, slung a long blade over her shoulder, and headed for the Black Forest. Over the past month, she had cleared the vegetable-garden Dungeon fourteen times. To avoid wasting her Analysis Skill charges, she had explored more than half the Black Forest too, stripping a lot of new Magiplants for seed. As she walked she muttered: “After I gather all the E grade Magiplants for the Berserk Potion, I still need to prepare medicine for Si Kong Wang’s mom. When my Strength reaches C grade, I can plant the C grade materials for the Psychic Power Healing Formula. In the meantime I’ll make some Hemostatic Potion and Defense Fruit.” She casually cut down a passing Three-headed Thunder Lion with smooth, practiced moves, then kept hunting for new Magiplants to analyze and seed for the plains field.

By afternoon she returned to the plains, pack full, ready to keep opening up her little plot. Suddenly she saw something and went pale. Her voice shook as she shouted, furious as if someone had ruined her most precious treasure: “Who did this? Which jerk ate every single one of my scallions?”