Chapter 79 - What Else Could He Do?
There were things that the CEO could take advantage of and others that he willfully paid with no interest to—one of them was the creature in front of him. The \'Panda\' that was re-delegated to observe his plight. Would such a creature be willing to work against the Heavens if it was given an opportunity to do so? It seemed to be a Being that held a grudge with the other Observers.
And even the Observers gave him points in exchange for an irritated Panda.
"It seems that the others also take delight into your suffering, does it not?"
"So what?" The creature huffed at him. It speared through the notification with its paw and reduced the notification to shards before it finally disappeared. The Panda eyed him with a forlorn look, "It doesn\'t matter at all, mind your own business."
He raised a brow, "I think it matters." But then he shrugged and changed the topic, never letting them dwell on this matter, and instead shifted it to something that could please the creature. "I\'ll take your advice into consideration about Miss Ying Yue He\'s current situation."
.The Panda narrowed its eyes at him. Perhaps catching on to what he said or only becoming defensive. "Well, it wasn\'t advice per se—it was commentary. Anyhow, you\'re starting to get involved in this cultivation thing by a lot, aren\'t you?" It floated past him and returned to his table, landing on it with a definite thump. "You\'ve begun to accept your fate now, haven\'t you?"
Li Yang wouldn\'t say that, but he only nodded. There was no need for him to disagree. He instead glanced at the teapot on his table and then turned back to his laptop.
He began to type.
His schedule was present on his home screen by a sticky note, and thankfully this late afternoon held no meetings with anybody of note. Those were usually in the late morning or early afternoon. Either way, he began to edit and announced his idea to not only the Panda, but the Observers by proxy. "I won\'t tell her right away though. I\'d like to do it at a more proper time, and there will be a need to inform the Shen Society as well."
The CEO had once considered visiting a psychiatrist when the Panda first appeared… how would Ying Yue He react if she were to learn of the situation on hand? He had no plans to tell her about the System, but even explaining the validity of cultivation, the people involved in it and her own state would cause some shock.
"Oh right, that human-spirit diplomacy organization… Huh, if I remember you said you were going to get a bodyguard there?" the Panda raised a brow. "Sounds similar to what Young Masters do, getting themselves lackeys to do all the dirty work for them until they get their thin faces slapped by the person that came from another world."
The CEO turned on his printer and allowed the edited document to be printed. He glanced at the Panda, and it almost felt like he was explaining himself to an inquisitive board member. Except for the last bit, now he wasn\'t sure if the creature was speaking about a web fiction or actually meant someone it knew personally.
He gave his response, "At least until I\'ll learn how to defend and fight on my own, then there is a need for some assistance. It\'s better to think of them as an instructor, someone who I can possibly entrust my training to. You might already know that the Charm Shop offers no such thing as a legendary battle guide that can allow me to learn how to fight in a specific martial arts style upon purchase, isn\'t that correct?"
"You\'re talking about Skill Books, aren\'t you? Well, that sucks because that\'d be too easy for you and boring to watch." The Panda shrugged, "But who knows? Maybe if you level up the Charm Shop then there might be items that\'ll be of use to you—but you don\'t have any Main Quest, do you?"
"I\'m still in the interlude time from the first main quest, I still have twenty-five days… less if I were to exclude my work hours and other things that take my time." This was his opportunity to get stronger before anything else was to occur. He was lucky enough that his initial quest was with someone close to him and he had no competition, but others might be too different.
The qualities that seemed to be a prerequisite to become a \'Harem\' member was cultivation affinity to some large degree. That made some sense since his cultivation method was \'Harem Cultivation\'? Honestly, that didn\'t make much sense to him. But what were the chances that the System or the Heavens decide to give him a dangerous \'Target\' for the fun of it?
"Consider it both a blessing and curse that you have some time on your hands before the next one." the Panda sighed and waved a paw, "There\'s really not that much you can do, I suppose there\'ll be Side Quests now and then to keep the Observers\' attention."
"Is there really nothing I can do?" The CEO opened his drawer and retrieved the Prehistoric Saber-tooth Dagger.
"Wait, where… where the heck did you get that thing?!"
"I opened a Mystery Box to get it."
"You did that while I was gone?!"
"Yes, I opened three boxes to be precise, and it showed me the Achievements Page. If I don\'t have any Main Missions now, or even Side Quests—I do have options."
[ Some of the Observers Are Upset ]
[ The \'Observer\' Seafoam Is Complaining ]
[ The \'Observer\' One Who Slaughters Blames the Panda ]
[ The \'Observer\' Owl Brain Is Lenient ]
He then opened the Achievements Page and finally found what he wanted. There was a weapon badge on the page and contained the following goal:
[ Monster Hunter - I ]
[ Achievement Locked ]
Defeat 1x Monster in your immediate surroundings
"Do you even know how to swing that thing?" the Panda rolled its eyes. "Besides, you couldn\'t even see the spiritual demon beast last time… wait, you\'re basically going to have a \'Bodyguard\' lead you to monster hunting spots and you\'ll be the one who\'ll land the finishing blow, aren\'t you?"
The CEO stood up and placed the Saber-tooth Dagger, the LSO\'s Water Breathing Chewing Gum, and even the ziplock of the Goblin nails in his suitcase. He then procured the printed document from the printer and nodded, "If I can afford my safety, then why would I risk it?"
"You get stronger with actual danger?"
"But the risk of dying is also on your shoulders, and I wouldn\'t risk that." Li Yang returned to his seat and then offered the schedule to the creature.
The Panda snatched the paper and checked it.
Work Week Schedule
Monday to Friday
5:00 am- 5:30 am Preparations for Work
5:30 am- 6:30 am Meditation
6:30 am- 8:00 am Driving to Shanghai
8:00 am- 12:00 pm Work Hours
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch Break
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Work Hours
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Overtime
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Cultivation Work
9:00 pm - 10:30 pm Return Home
10:30 pm - 11:00 pm Preparations for Rest
11:00 pm - 5:00am Sleep
"..."
A silence emerged in the office, the creature possibly once again becoming confused with the sheet of paper in its hand. The man took it as an opportunity to send a Message with the Chat feature.
CEO: Is this private communication secure?
Panda: Wtf are you asking that for?
CEO: Well?
Panda: There are some limitations to the ability of the Observers to observe—this is behind the scenes, unless we were in the Universal Server. Which I had to kick you out from before. That thing is supposed to cost extra for the Observers\' side.
Li Yang cleared his throat and summoned the Charm Shop Screen.
[ Charm Shop Level 1]
[ Charm Points Can Be Used As Currency ]
[ Total Charm Points: 12,161cp points available ]
Attraction Charm (Consumable) 100 CP
Divine Energizer Drink (Consumable) 250 CP
Dao of Attraction 500 CP
Harem Cultivation Qi Condensation - III 4000 CP
Mystery Box 500 CP
Bloodline Awakening 10000 CP
Constitution Refinement 500 CP
Cultivation Method Upgrade 200 CP
He didn\'t think that he\'d actually reach more than ten thousand points, but it was a good accomplishment. He then glanced back at the creature, "Regardless, you are right that I still can\'t see the \'monsters\'. I believe that is the Spiritual Sense that has been described in Miss He\'s status screen, wasn\'t it?"
"Yeah, most cultivators get it after reaching a certain level in their cultivation—"
"That means I\'m buying the next upgrades of Qi Condensation." he said.
"You\'re not going to give it a try with the Awakening of the Bloodline?"
"No. It\'s not a guaranteed win—I\'d take a look at it if it were something that can generate a bloodline on command, but awakening it means that my own ancestors needed to be cultivators in the past. I highly doubt that."
"Tch. So boring."
"Perhaps if I come across more Charm Points, but for now, I\'m purchasing the next levels." the CEO then made his purchases.
[ Deducting 4000 CP from Host... ]
[ You Have Purchased Harem Cultivation Qi Condensation - III ]
[ You Have Reached Three Stages Of Qi Condensation ]
[ You Have Unlocked the Spiritual Sense (common) version ]
[ The Next Stage Has A Bottleneck Due To Late Cultivation ]
[ There Is 50% Chance Failure With Next Purchase ]
"Hmm…"
"Well? Will you buy it or not, Mister I\'ll-buy-the-next-level guy."