In Shrek City, inside the Vice-President's Office of the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce, the air was still until a grey doorway opened without a sound. Kong Mingan, wearing simple white robes, stepped out of the portal with Meng Hongchen following close behind him.
Ju Zi was sitting at her desk working on a pile of paperwork, but she quickly looked up when she heard them. Her chestnut hair fell over her shoulder as she gave them a surprised look that soon turned into a professional smile. She stood up to greet them respectfully, and her uniform was quite tight, showing off her figure as she moved.
"President, you are finally here," she said in a soft voice. She then turned to the young woman standing next to him and bowed again. "Miss Meng, it has been a long time since we last saw each other."
"It really has been a long time, Sister Ju Zi," Meng Hongchen replied with a polite greeting. Even though she was smiling, she felt a bit suspicious about how Ju Zi was standing. It felt like Ju Zi was trying to look her best on purpose.
To make a point, Meng Hongchen took a small step forward so that everyone could clearly see that she and Kong Mingan were holding hands. "Are you still very busy with work, Sister Ju Zi?" she asked in a bright tone.
"I am just doing my duty for the company," Ju Zi answered calmly. She picked up a folder from her desk and looked at Kong Mingan. "President, would you like me to give you a report on how the Chamber of Commerce has been doing lately?"
"There is no need for that right now. I am only here to show Miss Meng around the area," Kong Mingan said. He looked at Ju Zi and noticed that she looked very tired. "Have you been working too many hours lately?"
Ju Zi paused for a moment before answering. "Heaven Dou City is going to host the next Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament soon. The royal family of the Heavenly Soul Empire has asked us to help with some of the event planning. Because it involves the palace, I have to sign every single document myself, and it is taking a lot of time".
"I understand," Kong Mingan said. He reached into his Storage Ring and pulled out a small jade bottle. Inside the bottle was a green liquid that glowed with life energy. He placed it on her desk. "This is life extract. It will help your body feel less tired. As for your mind being tired, you should just go get some sleep".
Ju Zi looked at the bottle for a long time. "Thank you, President," she whispered.
"It is just a benefit for being a good employee," he said with a small smile. "We are going to leave now. Take your time with your work, Sister Ju Zi".
"Yes, President," she replied. After they left and the door closed, her smile disappeared. She stared at the glowing green bottle with a serious look on her face.
Outside the office, Meng Hongchen looked at him with a bit of jealousy. "You are a very kind boss, aren't you? Giving out expensive gifts like that?"
Kong Mingan looked at her with surprise and then shook his head. "I just don't like making my workers suffer too much".
"Hmph," she snorted. She knew he didn't mean anything by it, but she still felt a little worried. Kong Mingan was handsome and powerful, and she knew other women would notice that. Her list of people to watch out for was getting longer, which made her sigh.
They soon left the building and walked into the busy streets of Shrek City. Meng Hongchen decided to stop worrying and enjoy their time together. She looked at small shops and watched people performing on the street. Shrek City was the richest and most exciting city in the whole Douluo Continent.
As they walked, Kong Mingan looked up at a teahouse balcony. He saw Zhang Lexuan sitting there with a cup of tea. She looked very tired and was watching a restaurant across the street. When their eyes met, Kong Mingan gave her a polite nod and a small smile before walking away with Meng Hongchen.
Inside the teahouse, Zhang Lexuan gripped her cup a little tighter. She recognized him from before. The last time she saw that handsome boy, he was with a girl who had purple hair, and now he was with a girl who had silver hair.
"He certainly changes partners quickly," she thought to herself with a frown. She quickly stopped thinking about it, though. Shrek City wasn't that big, so it wasn't strange to see the same person twice.
She finished her tea and went back to watching the restaurant. She was there to catch a worker from the academy who was caught stealing and selling supplies. She felt very tired and had to rub her eyes to stay awake. She didn't like that there were dishonest people inside Shrek Academy, but she was determined to fix the problem.
"Some problems are just too deep to fix easily," Kong Mingan whispered to himself. He felt a bit sorry for her. He knew that if you try to save a tree with rotten roots, the whole thing might fall on you. He stopped thinking about it because he wanted to focus on his time with Meng Hongchen. They spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the city atmosphere.
Later, they went back to the Chamber of Commerce to use the portal to return to the Capital City. Just as they were about to leave, Ju Zi ran into the room looking very excited.
"President!" she said while bowing. She nodded to Meng Hongchen and then looked at Kong Mingan. "We finally found something that was on your list of rare items".
Kong Mingan had given her a list of very rare things to look for, like the left arm bone of an Ice-jade Scorpion or profound ice marrow that was ten thousand years old. But Ju Zi looked even more excited than usual.
"Our branch in the Star Luo Empire just got something amazing," she said. "We have found a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast embryo!"
Kong Mingan was about to take a drink of tea, but his hand froze in mid-air. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. A Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast embryo was one of the rarest treasures in the entire world.