Chapter 51 This Woman Who Knows How to Do Business

After the Tongren Road incident, the Keepers of the Qingfu District finally no longer needed to work overtime.

Because the case involved massive ramifications and caused quite a stir, it was difficult for the district-level Keeper unit to handle the follow-up work. Consequently, Old Huang directly handed the criminal Player and the case files over to the Shanghai headquarters and washed his hands of the rest.

That night, after returning to the unit, Ren Ye only had a brief exchange with his father and younger sister before falling into a deep sleep.

He had been too exhausted lately. Whether in the Star Gate or the real world, his sleep was measured in weeks. When his body hit the mattress, a strong sense of sudden death overwhelmed him.

……

Thinking of nothing, sleeping facedown until noon, Ren Ye finally drifted back to consciousness.

After freshening up a bit, Ren Ye called his father and sister, originally intending to invite them out for a meal, but unexpectedly, the two of them had already returned home.

Well, that was fine either way. There wasn't a single normal person in this unit—sellers of fake medicine, cultivators of venomous creatures, utter lunatics… they were a dime a dozen. If his father and sister stayed here long enough, it was hard to guarantee they wouldn't discover clues.

As for safety, it should be well guaranteed. After all, the people the Bell Society sent to Shanghai had been completely wiped out, and after last night's events, Tongren Road had also quieted down.

Coupled with the Keepers' extreme emphasis on security, the safety coefficient wouldn't drop whether they were inside the unit or outside.

Over the phone, his father told Ren Ye to come home for a "calming dinner" in the next couple of days, and Ren Ye readily agreed. As of now, only a little over thirty hours remained before he would enter the Star Gate once again.

This time, he wanted to go home to gather with them and have a proper meal with his two closest family members.

At noon, Ren Ye grabbed a quick bite at the Keepers' cafeteria, then headed straight to the first-floor office area, awaiting Huang Wei's summons.

To his surprise, however, as soon as he stepped through the doors, he saw Gu Nian sitting at her workstation, resting her chin in her left hand, her eyes fixed intently on the computer screen as she muttered under her breath.

Today, Gu Nian was wearing a pair of ultra-short shorts, her long, slender legs crossed. Her fair skin was crystal-clear and translucent, seemingly as delicate as it could be broken by a breath. Her hair was coiled up, her still posture looking somewhat adorable and foolish, her full breasts perked up and resting almost entirely against the edge of the desk…

"Nice assets!"

Ren Ye couldn't help but exclaim in appreciation.

"Huh?"

Gu Nian turned her head to look at him, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

"The Red Devils played a great match last night," Ren Ye added, looking slightly awkward, and waved at her. "Good noon, Magician."

"Good noon."

Gu Nian gave a silly nod before withdrawing her gaze.

Ren Ye bent down and sat in the vacant workstation nearby, casually pulling out his phone and fiddling with it.

Before long, Gu Nian cupped her chin with her small hand and started muttering to herself again: "Mortgage 12,000, shoes 900, medicine 3,200, phone bill, food expenses… Oh crap, property management fees are due again tomorrow, and I need to buy sanitary pads… Heavens, just kill me, it's in the red again this month."

Hearing her words, Ren Ye wore a look of mild surprise. He had learned from Xu Peng that the Keepers' compensation was quite good, consisting of both cash and Star Source subsidies, but judging by Gu Nian's words, she seemed to be living in dire straits.

Heh, this must be another woman obsessed with vanity and comparing herself to others.

Ren Ye secretly glanced at her, only to notice that the clothes she wore were actually very ordinary—the kind of heavily discounted, dirt-cheap items you got from bargain shopping apps.

"Tap, tap!"

Just then, Xu Peng, the merchant of the Qingfu District, stepped inside and casually grabbed a bottle of drink from the private refrigerator. "Nian, I'm taking a bottle of your water!"

"Six yuan," Gu Nian said without even turning her head.

"…No way, we just fought side by side last night," Xu Peng said, standing behind her. "What harm is there in treating me to a bottle?"

"Six yuan."

"How about I trade you for some pills?" Xu Peng asked tentatively.

"…Do you believe I'll report you?!" Gu Nian turned her head back and commanded unquestionably, "Transfer the money, hurry up."

"Fine, fine!"

Xu Peng nodded helplessly and actually transferred six yuan to her via his phone.

This scene left Ren Ye dumbfounded. At first, he thought the two of them were just joking, but he hadn't expected Gu Nian to actually charge him six yuan.

Good grief, was this girl stingy or what?! Did she have any grasp of office etiquette at all? The fake medicine seller was practically a "divine doctor"—what would you do if he refused to help you up when you fell down the road in the future?

"Thanks for your patronage," Gu Nian said cheerfully after receiving the money.

"You're welcome," Xu Peng replied smoothly, bending down to sit next to Ren Ye. "Waiting for the boss?"

At that moment, Gu Nian leaned over like a ghost and asked Ren Ye, "Did the headquarters promise to assign you an apartment? And they're going to cover your father's medical expenses too?"

"Oh, Director Yan brought it up on his own initiative, I haven't agreed yet," Ren Ye replied, crossing his legs and bragging. "That matter is still up for discussion."

Hearing this, Gu Nian ground her pearly white teeth, stamping her feet in frustration. "Unfair! That is so unfair! Why don't I get treatment like that? I risk my life in the Star Gate too!"

"It's different. Ren Ye entered halfway through as an ordinary person, and his risk coefficient is much higher than ours," Xu Peng said with a blank expression. "To be honest, as long as the boss lets me sell medicine, I'm quite satisfied."

Gu Nian rolled her eyes and ignored him, suddenly turning to Ren Ye. "…Hey, dear comrade-in-arms, do you have any Star Sources?"

Ren Ye froze. "Why?"

"I have two self-drawn magic talismans, do you want to buy them?" Gu Nian seemed even more obsessed with commerce than Xu Peng. "One can cast a fireball, and the other can conjure a carrier pigeon to act as a scout. It's super cool, do you want them?"

This transaction came too abruptly, leaving Ren Ye somewhat dazed.

"Boss, you don't have a professional heritage yet. Walking the martial world requires a unique skill to rely on," Gu Nian raised her arm, revealing two magic talismans in her hand. "Take two, you won't lose out, you won't be fooled."

"Oh, cut the crap…!" Xu Peng pointed at the magic talismans with utter disdain. "Buying those is worse than buying some poison from me. Those flashy things are useless. Just buy my deadly poison that wipes out whole families. Spot your chance and slip it in, and I guarantee a whole household will lie down neatly."

"Hey, are you looking for a beating?" Gu Nian glared at Xu Peng with wide eyes. "Don't you have any sense of first come, first served?"

Watching the two of them put on a double act, Ren Ye blinked and asked, "Do the two of you think I'm an idiot? I don't understand anything and I'm easy to scam?"

"No, no, I'm mainly considering your safety…" Gu Nian waved her hands.

Ren Ye thought for a moment, pointed at the two magic talismans, and asked, "So how many Star Sources do you want for them?"

"At most one Star Source for both, absolutely at most!" Xu Peng urged impatiently.

The girl thought about it. "Fine, one for each, then."

"Alright, I'll take two." As if making a great resolution, Ren Ye raised his arm, and two Star Sources materialized in his palm.

These windfall assets were looted from the Bull Terrier, and besides, Gu Nian hadn't suffered little while protecting his sister over the past few days, so he decided to patronize her business.

The transaction was completed smoothly, and two magic talismans appeared in Ren Ye's conscious space. He wondered if these things could even be brought into the Cool Breeze Mansion Star Gate.

Gu Nian happily accepted the two sources, stood up playfully, and executed a magician's exit bow. "Thank you, Boss."

"Don't mention it, I'm going to grab a bottle of water," Ren Ye replied with a smile.

"That'll be six yuan, Boss. Thank you," Gu Nian replied, folding her hands in front of her with a sweet smile on her pretty face.

"Big sister, two Star Sources right there, and I can't even drink a bottle of water?!" Ren Ye was shocked.

"Six yuan, thank you," Gu Nian smiled on.

"Too stingy to have friends!"

"I've been poor since I was a child, please pardon my ways." Gu Nian cupped her fists in a martial salute.

"Damn it!"

Ren Ye had never seen anyone so stingy. As he left the office area, he specifically asked Xu Peng, "Is she… has she always been like this?"

"…Sigh, you'll slowly understand her family situation," Xu Peng shook his head and sighed, rhyming smoothly, "She saves all her smiles for the unit, which is why I'm willing to spend money on her."

……

In the afternoon, Ren Ye followed Huang Wei to Dodo's Pet Paradise.

Entering Yan Dodo's office, the three exchanged pleasantries before taking their seats.

Yan Dodo wore a small white suit, his legs crossed, wearing a proud, narcissistic expression that screamed 'I am a pretty boy'. "Ren Ye, how much longer until you enter the Star Gate?"

"Tomorrow night at eight," Ren Ye glanced at his watch. "There's still… about thirty hours left."

"Mhm," Yan Dodo nodded thoughtfully.

Ren Ye rubbed his palms, suddenly remembering an important matter. "Oh right, Director Yan, I can bring another person into the Star Gate this time. Has our unit chosen someone?"

"We'll talk about that in a moment," Yan Dodo waved a hand, his expression turning serious. "I read your Star Gate report. You mentioned multiple times that there appears to be a Player-like entity in the Cool Breeze Mansion Star Gate who harbors no malice toward you?"

Ren Ye paused. "Right, my beloved concubine. I suspect she's a Player, though I don't have solid proof…"

Hearing this, Huang Wei immediately chimed in, "However, based on Ren Ye's account, he successfully killed Old Xu Dao's physical avatar in the Meditation Hall because he replicated the Consort's ultimate move. That would make the Consort's combat power a bit too formidable. If she's a Player, I feel that violates the Star Gate's balance mechanism."

"No, no, you missed a detail," Ren Ye waved a hand. "The Consort told me herself that the Soul-Gathering Technique she taught me is something she cannot use herself for the time being. When I asked her why… she answered very vaguely, only mentioning some kind of Star Gate suppression."

"Then why can you use it?" Huang Wei asked, puzzled.

Ren Ye replied truthfully, "The Imperial Brush's ability is to replicate all divine manifestations present in this Star Gate, but that doesn't mean I can bring that ability to its maximum potential. Simply put, I only learned the superficial basics, you understand?"

Yan Dodo grasped the point instantly. "The Consort can't use it herself because if she used such a forbidden technique… she would become so powerful that she'd be suppressed by the Star Gate. But you're different; you only learned thirty percent of her skill, or perhaps even less than ten percent?"

"Right, exactly that." Ren Ye nodded.

"That's strange, then." Yan Dodo wore a look of genuine shock. "If she's a Player, she shouldn't possibly be this strong. The invitation mechanism for the Cool Breeze Mansion Star Gate is already very clear—it only invites ordinary people or first-tier unordered heritage Players… Simply put, this is a first-tier Star Gate with infinite potential. Yet to say the Consort isn't a Player… Ren Ye's intuition is awfully strong."

After careful consideration, Ren Ye asked, "What are you implying?"

"Your primary objective this time you go in is to probe the Consort's identity," Yan Dodo frowned as he looked at him. "I have a hunch that if you win her over, your chances of winning will increase significantly."

……

Inside the Cool Breeze Mansion Star Gate.

Lian'er arrived at the Consort's bedchamber and whispered to the maid Xue'er, "Please announce me to Her Highness, I have an urgent matter to see the Consort."

"Apologies, Her Highness has been away for several days now…" Xue'er smiled and shook her head.