Wanting to get his part of the bargain for this week over with, Long Hua arrives on the fifth floor of the Lan Si Restaurant.
There, at the large wooden table with a glossy red finish sits Wu Xiao, and—
"Hm?"
Walking over, Long Hua also sees Yu Ji and Li seated at the table.
"What's the occasion?"
Asking this, Long Hua takes a seat with Tian Cheng—with one chair of space separating them from Wu Xiao.
Glancing at Long Hua, Wu Xiao says—
"Don't mind me, just get on with your conversation."
Raising her head, Yu Ji stares at Long Hua, and says—
"…A bit ago, Li and I encountered surnamed Duanmu."
"Oh? Did you do him in?"
Twitching her lips in an awkward manner, Yu Ji ignores the question, and replies—
"…He didn't attack us—since he had his children around, but I'm pretty sure he already saw through our guise."
Shrugging his shoulders, Long Hua uncaringly says—
"If you can't bring yourself to do him in, then it might be time to move out of this city, or you can choose to stay inside a building all day like a hermit."
Putting on a helpless expression, Yu Ji replies—
"Dainsfield has associates all over the globe. My grudges against him aside, I don't see the point in doing just a single surnamed Duanmu in, since it won't resolve the root issue. Also, Li doesn't want to stay inside of a building all day."
"Sorry…"
Muttering this apologetically, Li knows that she is making matters difficult for her elder sister, to which, the latter replies—
"No need to apologize, Li. Being stuck inside of a metal casket for so long, it's only natural for you to want some fresh air."
"…Un."
(…)
Watching the two's exchange, the Tai Xuan Emperor can't help but recall her past, as she reminisces the days that she had spent with her younger sister by her side.
Raising a soft smile, Wu Xiao remarks—
"What a heartwarming scene between two siblings, don't you think, my dearest?"
Chuckling in a dispassionate manner, Long Hua simply answers—
"So? Surnamed Yu, what do you want from me?"
Despite knowing that this is a bit shameless, Yu Ji can only endure the awkwardness, and asks—
"…I was hoping that, Long-laoban would have a solution to this, maybe?"
"Hmm."
Taking out his calabash, Long Hua downs a mouthful, and answers—
"I do have a solution."
"Really? What is it?"
Having been informed of the details, regarding the next ruins excavation ahead of time, Long Hua says—
"The next ruins excavation is sponsored by the Long Yue family and NPI. In the first area of this ruin, they found a colossal tree. The leaves that fall from this tree, they contain droplets of Spirit Extracts in them."
Despite being shocked by this reveal, Yu Ji merely blinks her eyes—confused as to how this ties back into her and Li's situation.
"They'll be giving out all the official details tomorrow, but basically… The entirety of the next excavation will be livestreamed to the world."
"Uh?"
Ignoring Yu Ji's confusion, Long Hua continues along by saying—
"With Spirit Extracts to be had, all the Guilds will be sending in most of their associates for certain. And every single accident that occurs in the ruins will be livestreamed and showed to the world. Behind the scenes, the bigwigs will be throwing money around—deciding on which organization to invest in. Stock prices of various Guilds throughout the entirety of the livestream will fluctuate like crazy."
Catching on quickly to Long Hua's solution, Wu Xiao snatches the calabash from his hand, and pours herself a drink.
Looking forward to this event greatly, there is an intense gleam emanating from Wu Xiao's amber-colored eyes.
"So then?"
In response to Yu Ji's confusion, Long Hua gets to the point—
"So then, what happens if—most of Dainsfield's associates get plucked off during the excavation? What would happen to their stock prices, and their public image?"
Leaning back in his chair, and putting on a venomous smile, Long Hua continues to ask—
"What happens if most of their investors withdraw their money because of this?"
As a bolt of lightning flashes outside, the ominous glow in Long Hua's azure-colored eyes becomes much more evident—causing him to give off an extremely sinister air.
Sucking in a deep breath of air, Yu Ji's lips twitch.
"A company never keeps enough money in their vaults to pay back their investors—when their business fails. Assuming no one else is willing to purchase their stocks ever again after this hypothetical incident, then they'll eventually go bankrupt. At that point, whether or not they manage to bounce back… It's really up to luck then."
"Correct."
Snatching his calabash back, Long Hua downs a mouthful, prior to asking—
"Hey, surnamed Yu, how much money do you have in your savings?"
"Uh?"
"You're leaving this world—when Wen-xiong arrives, so you don't really need them anymore, right? Why not just spend it all on hiring other Guilds to screw Dainsfield over?"
Faster than Yu Ji can reply, Li says—
"Big sis, let's do it."
"Li…?"
A light of hatred emanates from Li's deep blue eyes.
Due to being kept in a cryostasis unit for so long, physical appearance wise, Li still appears to be about ten years of age; hence, seeing such an intense light emanating from the eyes of a child can only be thought of as unnatural.
"It's not like that company is of any decency! After everything they've put us through—getting payback is well within our rights! If we just leave without getting revenge, this sour feeling in my chest won't go away! Also, since everything is going to be livestreamed, we can also take this chance to reveal any dirt that we have on that Jing Yuandong! Once the entire world knows what he does behind the curtains, no one will ever want to work with him again! That way, even if Dainsfield does miraculously manages to bounce itself back, he can't possibly be the person to sit in his current role!"
Laughing aloud, Long Hua remarks—
"Surnamed Yu, your little sister has the right idea."
"…"
Despite feeling somewhat conflicted, to hear such a vicious idea come from Li's lips, Yu Ji's deep blue eyes also gave off a light of hatred—when she thought of Jing Yuandong, who was most likely sitting in his office on the 50th floor of Dainsfield's main building.
"How are we going to gather dirt on him?"
Towards Yu Ji's question, Long Hua directs a thumb at Tian Cheng.
As one of Yu Ji's eyes turns gold, Wen Qing speaks through the former, asking—
"I assume, I'll be the one to pay for this later?"
"…"
Taking out a storage pouch, Long Hua tosses it towards Yu Ji.
Contained inside of the pouch is an unknown amount of NWDs. Since he's leaving this world as well, Long Hua also has no needs for this currency.
"Naturally, Wen-xiong."
"Ai, looks like some of my precious herb collections will be gone when I come find you."
A pleased smile appears on Long Hua's face.
Using mortal realm currency to purchase practitioner circle resources is always a good bargain.
As Wen Qing withdraws, Yu Ji says—
"Doctor Jing wants you to visit her when you have time."
"Hm?"
Raising an eye, Long Hua finds the suddenness of this invite odd.