Chapter 258: The Hero Wouldn’t Have Liked Someone Else to Take His Job
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
[The System is evaluating…]
[The System is evaluating…]
[The System has decided to uphold justice…]
Fang Ning urged, “Go, go now. Don’t waste time.”
The System said, “Hm? It’s only the second day of the meeting, there must still be plenty of things to work on, why would you agree to it so quickly?”
Fang Ning replied, “Oh, nothing is more important than your acc.u.mulation of experience points. We’ve already delayed it for an entire day yesterday, so I feel bad, that’s why I decided not to stop you now.”
He was thinking, ‘Hoho, what would you know? I’ve been working for more than ten years, the beginning of an organization would always bring the most ch.o.r.es. Whoever wants to take them can take them, I’ll stay right in here, thank you.’
The System said, “You’re bulls.h.i.+tting me again… It’s like when you first started cultivating the Dragonization Ability, you lose your enthusiasm easily, and you don’t like laboring. Now that all the boasting was done, only the trivial things were left, so you decided to urge me to leave.”
Fang Ning rolled his eyes. “You are really learning. So less talk, more fly. You must have known the saying ‘some things are better not exposed’…”
The System replied, “I don’t…”
On the morning after the a.s.sembly, people noticed their newly-minted leader had already flown away without a sound or a notification…
He walked away with such swagger, it was like the events of the past day, the holy a.s.sembly, the divine gift, the pa.s.sionate speech, the future of humanity, it was like none of those mattered to him…
Everyone was calm about it. Their leader’s animal followers, like Sky Eagle, the two dogs, and the white hamster all said the Venerable One must have gone off to fight injustice and save the world.
There was a great green insect forest of fruit trees that the rest had yet to hear about.
“Sour apple, sweet lychee, banana is the yummiest to me…”
However, from the song that it sang, it could be said that the sudden departure of Vigilante A did not make that much of an impact on the great green insect who seemed to rely on him a lot.
“Mm, leave the trivial things to us, our leader only needs to handle the things that we could not…”
That was the first consensus that was established after the alliance had been founded.
Officer Zhang and other people from the Truth Department followed up with the rest of the ch.o.r.es like choosing a location for a headquarters, appoint six sentinel elders, draft an organization structural chart, as well as the rules and regulations for members.
All of those matters were c.u.mbersome and long-winded, and all of them required some form of arguments and compromise.
No matter how close relations.h.i.+ps were and how agreeable they were, they would surely fight till they were red.
Fang Ning would not have urged the System to leave otherwise, he had had his share of chaotic situations like this.
The headquarters of the alliance was set on the mountainous region in the western countryside of Qi City.
Vigilante A’s farmhouse mansion was on its eastern countryside. It matched nicely how they were placed on the east and the west respectively.
Were there other places safer than Qi City? As far as the public was concerned, there was none.
It was believed that the market would observe Qi City as its housing price skyrocketed due to the settlement of the Alliance of Justice and Order in Qi City. Everyone had wanted to see if Qi City would attract demonic attacks first.
…
On the street of New Netherlands, USA.
Vigilante A casually vanquished two sludge demons who terrorized the pa.s.sersby by climbing out of the sewer, then left the scene, leaving the paparazzi behind as they snapped away.
At that moment, in the System s.p.a.ce.
Fang Ning was not cultivating, but he was also not playing.
He was catching up on administrative work as he read up on Anderson’s and Zheng Dao’s reports.
Having just been appointed the leader, Fang Ning was in high spirits and wanted to be productive. If he understood himself and the enemies alike, he would be able to win all battles.
“Mm, that’s nice. Anderson’s salary in Team Tianyuan had been increased to… Annual salary… how many zeros are in this? A hundred million, after tax deduction, and an early release?! Dammit, just how many months had he been doing this? Spiritually-controlled mechs arena can really make money!”
Fang Ning yelped out loud but immediately covered his mouth and looked around sheepishly.
The System said, “I heard it all, Rich-o-rich-o-man. It really doesn’t matter if you said it. I’ve been following up on your bank account anyway…”
Fang Ning feigned a few coughs and reprimanded, “Sir System, you’re just a kid. So stop jumping for joy every time you hear about money, this will stunt your growth.”
The System said, “You’re wrong. Only with money can I grow up big and strong. You promised before, when you have a good amount coming into your account, you would lend me some.”
Fang Ning said helplessly, “Alright then, how much do you want to borrow?”
The System said, “Up until yesterday, your account has $1,234,542,334, all of which are the salaries and rewards earned from the game by the spirit inmates of the Draconic Penitentiary.”
Fang Ning had no comeback. He said, “You actually remembered to such detail… That’s right, you’re a system after all. Would’ve been nice if you were that great green insect who required the use of its legs for even simple arithmetic.”
The System quipped, “For shame, because I’m not it. Don’t switch the subject. I want to borrow $1,234,540,000, and the return date will be… a hundred years later, how ’bout that? I’m a hero who keeps my promise, so I will definitely return the full amount to you, I wouldn’t keep even one cent from you.”
Fang Ning was not sure if he should laugh or cry. “But you definitely wouldn’t give even a cent extra as well, and one hundred years later… Ah well, I won’t argue with you. Just take the money, but remember to return it to me when you’ve earned a huge enough amount.”
The System said, “It can be done. I knew you would understand the importance of this. Now that the demons had started to hide, there shouldn’t be that many chances that a large amount of money would come in, I shall depend on you to survive in the future, Richman Host.”
System Notification: [$1,234,540,000 was transferred out of the Host’s account.]
Hearing that notification, Fang Ning was calm. He knew that another sum of money would come in after a while. It was just the salaries of Anderson and the others, the bonus for each win was a handsome sum.
However, having seen all the ways the System had defeated its enemies within seconds, Fang Ning was bored with the clumsy-looking spiritually-controlled mechs and could not be excited about them.
It was why he only watched it casually like it was soccer matches but no longer controlled a mech himself.
Of course, he could understand the excitement regarding matches like this. For most other people without the talent to cultivate, their best way to follow the fad and become an Extraordinaire would be to start at the spiritually-controlled mechs.
As long as they mastered the Basic Cultivation of the Spirit, they would be able to control these machines. To gain better dexterity in controlling these mechs and wield a stronger power, they would have to advance in Spiritual Sense and cultivate their bodies.
This would include spending a lot of money to purchase cultivation methods and their specific vitality ingredients, and most importantly, to study about cultivation in cla.s.s. The Truth Department had already issued plenty of warnings to prohibit individuals without legacies to cultivate on their own as they would be fully responsible for what happened to them.
This had provided a big advantage to the individual powerhouses. It meant that controlling the mechs spiritually had little danger in it as the Truth Department had already set up defensive measures to allow pilots to retreat before it was disengaged.
This led to many parents being willing to invest in their children maturing into that path rather than becoming an Extraordinaire even though they might like the prospects of the latter better.
…
While Vigilante A was roaming the United States, in a huge, decorated mansion in the countryside of Eastern New Netherlands, trees grew into shades which provided a place for laughter and entertainment to spread.
The owner of the mansion was a blond white man. His face was as though carved out of marble, a charming smile hanging constantly on his face as he met with plenty of beautiful ladies on the green gra.s.s.
White tables were set up with flowers and fruits accompanying all kinds of high-quality sweets and desserts. Hired helpers walked up and down as they provided the highest quality service to their employer.
Pretty ladies sat around the blond man, finding opportunities to sing praise at him.
“William, your company went on the New Netherlands Times again. Your new designs are so stunning, it was, like, the best on Earth. I wonder if I’ll get a chance to try them out?”
“Harmony, you will see it when you appear in my bedroom.”
“I look forward to seeing it tonight.”
A flirty white lady winked at the blond man.
Among the entire list of attendees, almost all of them were women, there were only the blond man and another middle-aged white man shoving down food a few tables away.
The middle-aged white man was a bulky, muscular man. His face was scarred, and he smelled faintly of gunpowder. Even if he had changed into an expensive suit, it did not cover up his dispirited look.
Several ladies tried to flirt with the strong man, as the rivalry at the younger man’s side was getting a little too intense for them. From their looks, the middle-aged man could be very closely related to the blond young man.
However, the middle-aged man did not say even a word. He turned a blind eye toward the many ways in which the pretty women tried to flirt. This was uncommon among the American men.
After a mixed woman failed attempt, she walked to the young man’s side in annoyance and taunted, “William, who’s that mannerless man over there? Is he one of your relatives? He looked like he hasn’t eaten in half a year.”
The blond William smiled without answering, but as he beckoned, a butler appeared by his side.
“Mr. Smith, please accompany Miss Colette home, she should be exhausted for the day.”
Colette the mixed woman was stunned hearing that and silently cursed herself in regret. She had sacrificed a lot to gain access to this gathering!
With the company of the old butler and two burly bodyguards, the beautiful, but tactless mixed lady left the gathering dejected.
William Robert was the chairman of an uprising American fas.h.i.+on company, Tino Fas.h.i.+on. He was 24 years old, handsome, humorous, and generous. Starting from scratch, his business-savvy intellect had led him to acquire hundred millions of US dollars in a.s.sets, his company was valued at 16.2 billion dollars with an annual profit of 1.2 billion dollars.
However, unbeknownst to most people, he was actually a really powerful Extraordinaire with a robust attack skill.
If Vigilante A can be said as the Eastern Pharos of the new era, William would be the winner at life of the new era.
The middle-aged man who was gobbling down food was one of the people who knew.
Half an hour later, he had finally full and stretched satisfactorily. He stood up spiritedly and strolled over to the blond man’s table.
“h.e.l.lo, sweethearts, I’m gonna borrow your honey for a few minutes.”
He greeted them casually and said to the blond, “William, follow me.”
As he finished his sentence, he turned toward a quiet, deserted woods.
“Oh, excuse me, loves. My Uncle Lobo-tada… whom I’ve not seen for half a year was calling me. My dears, please come again at night, I have a small surprise for each and every one of you then,” said the blond man as he stood up, winking.
The ladies nodded and watched as his charming silhouette sauntered out.
William followed the middle-aged white man into the desolate woods.
“Oh, say it, Uncle… Lobo-tada, why is it that you’ve come this time? Please stop with the son-of-Heaven, savior-of-the-states thing. I have the freedom to decide on how I want to live. I am a truly successful man, a winner at life, I am entirely honorable to our family.” Surprisingly, William was speaking fluently in the Mandarin language.
“Hmph, the power of money is so terrifying, you even found out about that. Remember, stop calling me Lobo-tada. The last one who called me that was an old man who liked smoking tobacco, and now his body was nowhere to be found…” David Robert’s face darkened as he warned similarly in Mandarin.
William acted scared and waved his arm around. He said, “Oh, that’s scary. Alright then, dear Uncle Robert. I’ve spent a pretty huge amount of money to bring you home safely from China, you can’t repay my kindness with ingrat.i.tude.”
Robert shook his head and said, “William, I didn’t want to interfere with your life, but in the half-year I was at the Truth Department of China, they’ve told me a lot of secrets, and I’ve read up on a lot of information. Our country is actually in grave danger, and she needs every single one of us to sacrifice and work hard for her…”
“Oh my G.o.d, not again,” William scratched his head and said in a helpless tone. “Uncle, I understand that you’re one of the most patriotic American I’ve ever met, but I love this country as well, it’s just that we love it differently. Look, I have a really powerful ability, but I never used it to harm other people, I only used it to create riches for this country. Those elegant dresses and brilliant jewelry were all enchanted with my ability.”
Robert looked at his nephew and made a sniping motion. “I understand completely. If it were not for that, I would’ve shot an armor-piercing bullet through your evildoing tool…”
“So what are you trying to get me to do today?” William felt a sensation in his groin area. He turned around to see the beauties who had yet to disperse and said, “If you wanted me to become like Captain America or something, just drop it. I like cuddling with women to sleep, not spent decades frozen in an iceberg.”
Robert interrupted him, “Well, you can become Ironman instead. You have the power, you have the brains, and those wouldn’t interrupt your fondness of having fun.”
William still shook his head. Without looking, he pointed at the sky. “That’s too tiring. I have said before that the world doesn’t lack heroes. Sooner or later, someone would arise and do a better job than I will ever do. Look, there’s someone right above our heads, and after his appearance, reports of gunshots on the street had lessened according to my employees.”
As he said that, Vigilante A flew past the sky above them on his flying sword. He even glanced down at them for a moment…
Robert looked up. As he saw the contour of Vigilante A, a chill ran down his spine. ‘It is him!
‘It’s the one who had insisted to chase after the villains even as he spat blood in the mountains of China last year!’
He shuddered immediately after. Even as his nephew was wasting away his life, his strength had increased by so much. If he could just focus on the cultivation of his own power, he could easily take the t.i.tle.
Robert could not even sense Vigilante A who was flying hundreds of meters above them, but his nephew could easily point him out.
“Why must people be so different? If you were even a little bit like Vigilante A and had done righteous deeds, I believe your strength would not be at your current level.” Robert pretended not to care and continued exhorting his nephew.
William laughed, “Haha, it’s because of heroes like him that I can party all I want and not have to worry about the world ending. Also, I believe the hero wouldn’t have liked someone else to take his job, just like my employees.”