CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50: THE FIRST HIGH-END BUSINESS

Lu Luo, peeking stealthily from the staircase landing, was somewhat shocked. He hadn’t expected Zhou Kai to perform so well.

Brother Kane is so strong, maybe this is just talent, he thought.

Not just Lu Luo, but also You Xiaoqi and Ding Peng, who were crouching behind him, were amazed by Zhou Kai’s inherent bluffing abilities.

"He indeed has a talent for language. We should pull someone like him into our Hunter Team 13," Ding Peng remarked of Zhou Kai. You Xiaoqi agreed.

"He truly has talent, just a bit weak, but that’s no issue. Strength and such things can be improved by taking him beyond the Wall for a while."

Poach him? My ass! After a few days of interaction, Lu Luo had roughly figured out Ding Peng and You Xiaoqi’s ways. When your strength was enough to catch a Hunter’s eye, they weren’t much different from ordinary people. It was a case of ’no fight, no friendship.’

The members of Hunter Team 13 were actually collateral descendants of various families or executives. They were second-generation, but not wealthy and without much power. Unfavored within their own families, they were placed into Hunter Team 13 to serve as slackers.

Some were content to be slackers in Team 13, but others, like Ding Peng and You Xiaoqi, didn’t want to continue that way. They belonged to the core group Ludie had been silently nurturing in recent years; all their training and combat instruction were personally arranged by Ludie. Usually, they hid their true strength, acting like slackers within Team 13.

It wasn’t until Lu Luo mentioned starting a studio that Ludie immediately saw the high feasibility of Lu Luo’s idea, giving You Xiaoqi and the others their chance to step out. Ludie’s real intention was to deploy the truly capable individuals while maintaining the slacker facade of Hunter Team 13.

Lu Luo also discovered from various signs that Ludie wasn’t as much of a slacker as he appeared—or rather, his slackness was an act for certain people to see.

...

The three of them called themselves high-end business personnel, but in reality, they had done absolutely nothing this whole time. Most of Circle Studio’s business, expenses, and recruitment were currently handled by Zhou Kai. Lu Luo and Gu Fangyi had completed a few commissions, finding people or items. As for You Xiaoqi and Ding Peng, they had been playing Fight the Landlord here for almost ten days.

Lu Luo turned to Ding Peng, returning to their previous conversation. He pointed to a newspaper article titled "Cat Turns into Zombie Exotic Species Attacking Humans" and asked, "Brother Pang Ding, you still haven’t told me why Exotic Species keep appearing inside the Wall recently? I thought it was just a temporary thing, but up until yesterday, the news about Exotic Species within the Wall hasn’t stopped."

Initially, Lu Luo had assumed that the appearance of Exotic Species within the Wall was just an experiment by Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals. But now, it seemed the matter was far from simple.

Ding Peng snatched the newspaper, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the trash can.

"How would I know? I’m just a slacker from East Ring Hunter Team 13, not a council member. Why ask me? And I’m warning you, just call me Brother Ding; don’t add ’Pang’ to it anymore."

If it had been ten days ago, Lu Luo would have been nervous. But now that they were all familiar with each other, joking around was normal.

"Okay, Brother Pang Ding."

You Xiaoqi, looking bored, raised his head. "He’s not wrong, though. You are actually quite fat!"

Lu Luo internally agreed wholeheartedly but didn’t say it out loud.

"Fat, my foot! Let’s get back to the game. Four twos and a pair of jokers..." Ding Peng grumbled.

The three of them had been playing Fight the Landlord for several days, and Lu Luo had only won just over 200 yuan from them, which was him being very restrained.

Like boss, like underlings, indeed. No wonder You Xiaoqi dreaded playing Fight the Landlord; with their skill level, Lu Luo reckoned they were even worse than Ludie—barely half-step silver at best.

After a round of cards ended, You Xiaoqi tossed the deck on the table, looking utterly dejected. "Sigh, I thought things would be different after getting out of the Bureau, but now it seems it would’ve been better to just stay put."

"Just think of it as a vacation," Ding Peng said, rather unfazed. For him, eating was eating, no matter where.

Lu Luo also felt somewhat helpless. Expanding high-end business wasn’t something that could be done overnight. His studio model, interfacing directly with Hunters, was likely unique in the East Ring, and so far, no one had copied it. But securing high-end commissions within a few days was a tall order; people were slow to trust new studio models.

With nothing better to do, Lu Luo stood up, ready to bid farewell to the two and head back to school for a bit, when Gu Fangyi ran up, gasping for breath.

His temperament was usually quite calm, so whatever made him this anxious had to be out of the ordinary.

"Lu Luo, I’ve received a commission from a sanitation company. They want us to deal with a pet dog that has mutated into an Exotic Species. This Exotic Species is currently roaming near the garbage dump in the East Ring, repeatedly attacking their garbage trucks, and they can’t handle it. The pay isn’t much, though, only 7,500."

Hearing this, You Xiaoqi and Ding Peng immediately stood up. After exchanging glances, You Xiaoqi spoke first. "Haven’t the local Hunters in charge dealt with this?"

Gu Fangyi grabbed Lu Luo’s cup and, to Lu Luo’s astonishment, downed the water in one gulp before answering You Xiaoqi. "Team 29 is responsible for that area, but the entire team is out on assignment. Other teams sent people to search twice but found nothing. The commission doesn’t pay much, and it’s a hassle. The guards usually refuse to deal with Exotic Species issues directly, so it hasn’t been resolved."

Lu Luo’s gaze still lingered on his cup. Gu Fangyi being so casual was a bit unhygienic! But then again, Gu Fangyi was out drumming up business, and he had worked hard, shed sweat and blood for Circle Studio, so... Oh well, let him use it. Lu Luo silently shifted his gaze from the cup back to Gu Fangyi.

"This task should be considered our studio’s first high-end mission involving an Exotic Species, and we must do it well," Lu Luo said. "I suggest all four of us go. We should take lots of photos and, after completing it, promote it heavily to improve our standing and reputation among the general public."

"Let’s go." Ding Peng and You Xiaoqi both nodded.

Just as the four were about to set out, Zhou Kai also came running up.

"Brother Luo, there’s a tricky missing person commission here. The reward is very generous—15,000! The client is downstairs. Do you want to take a look?"

"15,000?"

This person must be loaded! 15,000 yuan could buy 1,500 kilograms of pork! Unbelievable! The commission price genuinely surprised him. The usual rate for finding people was mostly around 500 to 1,000 yuan; 2,000 was already considered a lot. 15,000 was indeed too much.

Lu Luo didn’t hesitate for long. The reputation of Circle Studio was important, true, but so was money! For them, currently struggling to grow, 15,000 yuan was not an amount they could afford to ignore.

"Gu Fangyi, you go with Brother Ding and Xiaoqi for the Exotic Species dog," Lu Luo decided. "Brother Kane and I will handle the missing person commission. Let’s split up."

"Just Brother Ding, don’t add the ’Pang’!" Ding Peng emphasized again.

"Alright, let’s move out," You Xiaoqi declared, ever decisive. He grabbed his machete and headed downstairs immediately. Ding Peng followed. Gu Fangyi nodded to Lu Luo, then also went out with them.

"Brother Kane, let’s go meet this wealthy client," Lu Luo said. "15,000 yuan, tsk, a fat sheep!"