"H-hello there~"
The girl stared at Lin Bei's handsome face, stars in her eyes, a trickle of drool sliding unconsciously from the corner of her mouth.
"Uh… h-hello."
Lin Bei's brows lifted instinctively; he half-stepped back, as though ready to bolt out of the shop.
The girl was pretty and well-proportioned, but… the way she looked at him was downright predatory.
It felt as if she'd marked him as prey.
"Hey, don't leave! My shop has loads of cheap, top-quality gear—absolute bargains! For someone as handsome as you… I-I'll give you twenty percent off—no, thirty!"
Seeing him about to leave, she blurted out in a panic.
In a flutter she spread the crystalline wings on her back; a strange energy rippled outward.
In the blink of an eye the shabby store turned brand-new, the space expanding a hundredfold.
Exquisite shelves floated everywhere, laden with items glowing in every hue—every one of them purple at minimum.
From the light alone, everything here was at least excellent quality.
In other words, the goods started at excellent quality.
"Eh?"
Lin Bei's retreat halted; an unseen force blocked him. He glanced back—the doorway had become a violet Barrier sealing the shop from the outside world.
"Planning to force a sale?"
He frowned. Newcomer or not, if someone tried strong-arm tactics, he wouldn't mind teaching a lesson.
"Oh no, handsome, you've got it wrong! I'd never force you—I just wanted you to stay! Honest! If it helps… I'll give you sixty percent off!"
"That's the absolute lowest I can go—I buy stock at thirty percent, so I still make a tiny profit. You don't mind, right?"
She batted her eyes, pleading cutely.
Lin Bei was at a loss.
The beautiful shopkeeper looked adorable, yet every word out of her mouth felt scatter-brained.
Besides, his War God skill's razor-sharp intuition showed no hostile intent; the girl meant him no harm.
"I'm not here to shop—I'm here to hire staff."
To avoid further misunderstanding, he cut straight to the point.
He'd already scanned the shelves; though some dozen items were of Transcendent Quality, they still didn't interest him much.
And every one of those Transcendent items cost kings medals—far from cheap.
All he had on him were brave badges, so he quickly looked away.
"Huh? Hire staff? What do you mean?"
The girl was blank.
His words had struck a blind spot in her knowledge.
To her, Survivors were customers; how could this handsome fellow be the one hiring?
Yet if he became her boss… wouldn't that let her get close to the water first?
Looks are justice!
"No problem! I-I'm willing to be your employee! Just… just you…"
"Oh, you mean pay—don't worry, I'll treat you fairly."
"N-no, not that! I meant… if I become your employee, could you give me some… um, warm boss-to-subordinate care?"
She gazed up at him, wide-eyed.
"…"
Lin Bei fell silent a moment.
After a pause: "…Such as?"
"Like giving me an unwashed shirt of yours, or an encouraging hug—of course, if the boss wants to reward me more, I-I'd be thrilled."
She finished with scarlet cheeks, head lowered like a ripe apple.
"…"
Lin Bei lapsed into silence again.
He saw it clearly now: beneath that innocent, cute exterior lay a 100% pure, unadulterated deviant.
"A-hem… cough—how about I pay your salary in medals instead?"
He coughed, embarrassed.
"…Fine."
The girl pouted.
But when she thought about how, once she became an employee, she'd have plenty of chances to get closer to her boss, she cheered up at once and nodded.
"Handsome, I'm Bailing—used to be the Little Princess of the Elf Clan! What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Beiming."
"Wow, Brother Beiming, you're so dreamy! I adore you!"
"A-hem… maybe tone it down a bit? And I haven't officially hired you yet."
"So what do I have to do to become official?"
"Pass my assessment."
"Say the word, Brother Beiming! I'll nail it!"
"Mm… it's not hard. I need you to buy star stones from other Survivors—quantity… the more the better—but you mustn't reveal I exist."
"You have three days. I'll come to inspect; if you do well, I'll hire you as a full-time employee."
Lin Bei looked at the girl Bailing, who kept batting her big eyes at him, and spoke with a headache.
Sure, a love-crazed girl was intense, but… she was also easier to control.
After weighing it up, Lin Bei decided to give her a shot and see if his plan would work.
"Right, during the three-day trial I'll pay you in badges."
"I don't have any kings medals on me, but your price list says ten thousand brave badges swap for one kings medal, so I'll pay the equivalent of one kings medal per day—ten thousand brave badges."
"If you perform well, I'll throw in extra rewards."
Lin Bei laid it out straight.
Ten thousand brave badges meant nothing to him now—he could trigger Hundredfold Critical Hit at will, and here in this kings-level Instance Dungeon any Regional Boss he casually killed would drop plenty of kings medals.
He was confident.
"O-one day, ten thousand brave badges? R-really? Boss… you're insanely generous!"
"That's just the base pay during probation; if you pass, the full-time package is even better."
Lin Bei smiled.
Exactly the effect he wanted—dangle enough profit and this girl Bailing would work like mad.
In her shop a Perfect-grade item cost only three to five kings medals, and when Eighth-Level Great Gale had first seen Perfect-grade Liquor he'd almost lost his mind. Lin Bei could bet that even in Phase Two of the Survival World Perfect-grade gear was still hot, ultra-rare stuff.
Ordinary shoppers couldn't afford it.
Add to that her tiny, run-down stall compared with its neighbors, and her income had to be lousy.
He'd clearly seen her nodding off when he walked in—proof foot-traffic was pathetic.
Ten thousand brave badges a day for a trial? Not low at all!
"Thank you, Boss! I'll give it my all! Also…"
"Also what?"
"Also… do employees get special perks? Like, original-flav—"
Boom—!
Before she could finish, Lin Bei casually punched a huge hole through the Barrier behind him.
He grinned at her. "Dangerous line of thought, but… not impossible—if you've got the strength."
"Think you can handle a punch like that?"
He shook his head and walked off. "I'll be back in three days—don't disappoint me."
His silhouette shrank, the shadow on the ground stretching longer.
Bailing stared after him, eyes glazed.
Drool trickled unconsciously from the corner of her mouth.
"Wow… the boss is so strong—slurp, slurp… I-I love it!"
"My heart, dormant for years, is on fire again!"
"Get stronger? For the boss's body? I swear—I can do it!"
Bailing's eyes blazed with fighting spirit… "All set—we can head for the Dark Forest."
In the square the team gathered; at Eighth-Level Great Gale's order they set off toward the gates of Tianjian City.