Chapter 23: Why are the Great Lords so… to Jian Tang?
What?
Jian Tang was stunned, unable to react for a moment. What did he mean by “raised by humans”? He had that backward—he had never been raised by humans; in fact, he was currently in the process of raising a human wife…
After dropping that cryptic remark, Duke Fila didn’t offer any further explanation. He scanned the room, as if just noticing the monsters kneeling on the floor, and let out an exaggerated “Oh my.”
“My apologies, everyone. This was our first attempt at a projection, and we didn’t quite gauge the power correctly. We’ve disturbed you all,” he said with a smile.
As he finished speaking, every monster felt the oppressive, tyrannical pressure lingering in the town weaken significantly. They were finally able to stand up, albeit with difficulty.
The Octopus Boss scrambled up, looking at Jian Tang—who had been standing perfectly fine the entire time—with a mixture of surprise and suspicion. He didn’t believe for a second that Jian Tang had the strength to resist the pressure of three World-Lords on his own. The only logical explanation was that the three World-Lords had shown him special favor and hadn’t tried to intimidate him.
But why?
Could it be because Jian Tang had a perfect human form, and since the three World-Lords liked humans, they found him pleasing? Impossible! Taskers were humans too, and he’d never heard of the World-Lords showing any kindness to the Taskers who entered their dungeons.
Not just the Octopus Boss, but the other bosses didn’t dare underestimate Jian Tang anymore, suddenly finding this seemingly weak F-rank little monster to be unfathomable.
The Mayor nervously adjusted his bowtie and approached the three World-Lords, trembling, to pay his respects. “Lord Fila, Lord Agne, Lord Heramis, good day to you all.” He squeezed out a flattering smile. “It is truly an honor for our Wei-Five Town to welcome you. You’ve traveled such a long way, we have prepared some…”
“Spare us the pleasantries.” Hell’s Eye Agne interrupted unceremoniously. Its projected avatar was a dense fog, with shadows shifting inside like a kaleidoscope. “Let’s get straight to business.”
“Agreed.” The Evil God Heramis spoke as well. Her avatar was wrapped in a black robe; one couldn’t see her face, but her upper body was outlined into a slender woman’s form, while the hem of her robe bulged and heaved as if something moist, sticky, and massive were breathing and wriggling inside. “Business first.”
The Mayor froze. He knew the topic of this meeting involved a massive order in which six factories were participating, but he hadn’t expected the World-Lords to be so enthusiastic about business—they hadn’t even caught their breath before diving straight in.
“Yes, yes, right away,” the Mayor said, hurriedly yielding his position. “The meeting room for business is already prepared. I’ll let the bosses lead the way.”
The bosses hurried forward, showering the World-Lords with flattery as they led them toward the prepared conference room. Jian Tang’s original task had been to provide service as a small follower to one of the guests while the Mayor gave them a tour of the town. With those plans disrupted and three workaholic titans heading straight to a meeting room, there was clearly nothing left for him to do.
But out of a sense of responsibility, Jian Tang found a chance to slip up to the Octopus Boss and whisper, “Big Boss, do I still need to follow you into the meeting room?”
The Octopus Boss rolled his eyes. Follow along, your head! This is a business deal—what do you, a tiny shrimp, have to do with it!
But thinking of the “extraordinary care” the three World-Lords had shown Jian Tang, the fat octopus’s face twisted, and he forced a friendly smile. “Wait for orders for now.”
“You got it!”
As the cavalcade of monsters left, Jian Tang, who had been trailing at the end, changed direction and slipped back into the factory. The factory floor was buzzing with activity, even more lively than usual. Since the town tour had been canceled, the employees who had been acting as the “atmosphere squad” along the streets were dispersed, and they immediately switched to enthusiastic gossip mode upon returning.
“Oh my god, I still can’t believe it! It was the World-Lords who came!”
“Mommy! I actually saw World-Lord tycoons! And three of them! My life is complete!”
“Duke Fila is even more handsome in person than in his photos! Lord Agne is so mysterious! Lord Heramis’s voice is so sharp and cool! Ahhhh, I’m becoming a fan!”
“Wait, wasn’t that just a projection? But how did their projections bypass the System restrictions? Did they find a System loophole?”
“Hehe, who knows? Why don’t you go over and ask?”
“…Never mind, pretend I didn’t say that.”
Jian Tang didn’t usually read the Monster Weekly and wasn’t into celebrity culture; his knowledge of the three World-Lords was a blank slate. He mingled in the crowd of monsters, listening intently as they dug into the legends of the three titans, feeling like he was listening to an epic story.
Just as he was getting into it, a loud Bang echoed as the factory gate was slammed open. The Octopus Boss rushed in, panting, emitting a piercing, explosive sound.
“JIAN TANG!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!”
In the sudden, deafening silence, a small, vibrant green vine rose shakily from the pile of monsters, trembling timidly. “Uh… I’m here?”
The fat octopus lunged over with a sliding sprint, grabbed Jian Tang, and ran. “Quick, quick, quick! Real business!”
Jian Tang: “???”
What surprised Jian Tang even more was that the other five Big Bosses were waiting outside the door. Seeing Jian Tang come out, they all let out a collective sigh of relief.
Jian Tang: “?”
Jian Tang: “Bosses, weren’t you just talking business?”
“We finished,” Lady Butterfly Orchid said, constantly wiping cold sweat from her flower branches with a tiny handkerchief. “Now we have to take care of ‘real business’ for the three Lords.”
Jian Tang: “?”
In that short time? You didn’t even have time to warm the seats in the meeting room, and you’re already done?? And isn’t talking business ‘real business’? Could there be anything else?
The bosses began to talk all at once, explaining the situation. Jian Tang’s expression shifted from confusion to shock, from shock to a dazed state, and finally, to expressionless numbness.
“…In short, that’s how it is.” Lady Butterfly looked at Jian Tang, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, looking pathetic. “Little Tang, I’m counting on you from here on out.”
Jian Tang remained silent for a moment, then turned and started to walk away.
“Jian Tang!!” The bosses scrambled to hold him back, almost begging. “You can’t just stand by and watch us die!!”
“You want me to take the three World-Lords sightseeing on the surface—that’s just sending me to my death!” Jian Tang was anxious too. “With their powerful aura, if they go onto human turf, it’s no different than standing in front of the Investigation Bureau’s gate with a megaphone screaming, ‘Shoot me!'”
“We already asked them! We told them there’d be risks!” the bosses explained quickly, clutching Jian Tang’s sleeves and refusing to let go. “The three Lords said they have ways to hide their aura—they won’t be exposed! Absolutely not!”
Jian Tang was skeptical: “Really?”
“Really, really,” the Octopus Boss said hurriedly. “Actually, it’s not that hard. The three Lords have been ‘in prison’ in the public dungeons for too long; now that they’ve finally come out, they just want to see a lively place. You just need to take them around for a bit!”
“Yes, yes,” the other bosses chimed in. “Actually, the World-Lords aren’t that scary. They’re very easy to talk to, very amiable. You just need to be a simple tour guide…”
Jian Tang chuckled to himself and started to turn away: When are you going to stop treating me like a fool? The BOSSes of public dungeons with a top-five mortality rate—you’re telling me they’re amiable?? If the Taskers heard that, they’d come over and slap you eight hundred times.
Seeing Jian Tang insist on leaving, the Octopus Boss closed his eyes, hardened his heart, and played his trump card.
“A RAISE!!!” the fat octopus shrieked, every syllable causing him physical pain. “I’ll give you a raise! Another 500!”
Jian Tang’s departure remained steady.
“800! I’ll give you an 800 raise!!”
His footsteps hesitated slightly.
“1,000!!!” The Octopus Boss was genuinely on the verge of vomiting blood. “Jian Tang! I’m begging you! I’ll raise your monthly salary by 1,000, just take this job! I beg you!!”
This was the maximum sincerity the Octopus Boss could muster—in the hundreds of years since the factory was built, he had never once given an employee a 1,000-point raise at once. No, counting the raise from this morning, this was a 1,580 increase at once! That was 1,580! 1,580! It felt like 1,580 knives were carving away at his heart!
But things had come to this. Aside from bleeding out to beg for Jian Tang’s help, there really was no other way—they all said “it’s easy to invite a god, but hard to send one away.” The six bosses hadn’t expected the ones arriving this time wouldn’t be agents, but the three original World-Lords, each with a terrifying reputation.
Jian Tang was currently the only monster in Wei-Five Town with a perfect human transformation and an understanding of human society. If he wanted to coax the three titans into having fun on human turf, Jian Tang was the only one for the job. If they weren’t satisfied, forget the orders for the six factories—they were afraid they might not even keep their lives!
Faced with such generous conditions, Jian Tang finally stopped walking.
“…”
He truly needed the money—he had loans to pay off, a wife to raise, and he needed to buy System tools that could help his wife extend his life, along with all sorts of other household expenses. But accompanying three World-Lords on a three-day tour of human turf was truly a miserable job. Not to mention the anxiety of watching out for the Investigation Bureau’s attention, just following behind those three unfathomable titans was a severe test—hadn’t he seen how terrified these experienced Big Bosses were?
Such a hot potato was not easy to pick up.
After weighing the pros and cons, Jian Tang spoke slowly.
“Two thousand,” he said. “I want a 2,000 salary increase, plus doubling the monthly performance bonus.”
The Octopus Boss let out a death-rattle shriek: “Impossible! Your appetite is—”
Before he could finish, the other bosses swarmed him, beating the fat octopus to the ground. The five bosses frantically nodded at Jian Tang while pummeling the fat octopus.
“Done, done, done! Deal! It’s a deal!”
Fifteen minutes later, the fat octopus, now beaten to a pulp, reluctantly signed the salary increase agreement. With the System contract as an endorsement, the agreement couldn’t be reneged on once effective. Jian Tang read the agreement over and over, then tucked it into his pocket with great satisfaction.
Jian Tang, F-rank little monster, day five of raising a wife, successfully obtained two raises, now with a monthly salary of 5,080 and substantial increases in performance bonuses. The future looked bright!
Hee hee, the Book of Destiny was right. A little monster who has a wife will just get luckier and happier! (^o^)/
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