Gao Youliang lowered his head and took another sip of the coffee from his cup. His heart was already on fire.

A stock of top-quality Southsea Huanghuali worth billions… This is something that would guarantee the Imperial Furniture Group a stock of top-quality wood for the next few years. Furthermore… we can even take the business to the next level with this! Expand it to the Nippon, Daehan, Siam and Hindustan markets! The demand for Southsea Huanghuali products there isn’t any weaker than the demand over here! After all, we’re already undefeatable in the domestic market. It’s naturally time to start competing with the global demand for these products!

But such a huge capital outlay would most certainly make life difficult for the Imperial Furniture Group in the near future. It had to be said that it had never occurred to them to maintain such huge reserves of liquid assets. After all, how was it even reasonably foreseeable that someone would be holding onto a stock of such top quality wood such as the Southsea Huanghuali? A transaction worth several hundred millions was already considered a mega deal, much less one that was worth over a billion at once!

It was too much for his heart to bear. Yet the timbre of the name, Southsea Huanghuali, was like a bright orange carrot that was dangling in front of a horse - it had to have a bite no matter how much it had to crane its neck!

“Mr Qin. What if we propose taking the stock in batches?” He broached an alternative suggestion after much deliberation.

Yet Qin Ye flatly refused the offer, “If that’s how things are going to be, I’ll look for another buyer.”

Qin Ye gazed intently at them, “Don’t play these kinds of business tricks with me. Although I’m not a businessman, believe it when I say I’ve got all the means to get anything I want.”

Right then, the three men shuddered at exactly the same time. Gao Youliang’s face immediately grew pale, and his breaths grew somewhat ragged.

That’s frightening…

For a moment there, he had been overwhelmed by a terrifying sensation, almost as though he were standing before a prehistoric behemoth, completely unarmed and naked. He immediately understood that Qin Ye could take their lives at any time according to his whims and fancies!

So that’s what a person from ‘over there’ is like… Gao Youliang took another gulp of coffee and took several deep breaths to get over his initial shock.

“Give me an exact figure.” He licked his dry lips, “I’ll need an exact sum so that we can raise funds on our side.”

Qin Ye looked them in the eye and responded, “I’m giving you a 5% discount on account for the fact that you still need to make a livelihood. Furthermore, I give you my word that if something happens to you in future, I’m willing to lend you my assistance once. Three billion. That’s the total value of the stock right now. And the transaction should be done all at once.”

“Naturally.” Gao Youliang steeled his resolve, and his expressions grew stern and somber - A massive transaction worth three billion RMB… and everything is to be paid at once in cash!

Have you tried asking any conglomerate whether they can fork out three billion in cash at once? Anyone who can do so is ridiculously awesome!

But having made up his mind, his heart thumped wildly at the prospect of what was to come.

“Very well.” Qin Ye pulled out a piece of folded paper and handed it to them, “Apart from that, please acquire these goods for me and rent a warehouse to store these goods as well. I’ll pick them up when the time comes. You can deduct the payment for these goods from the sale proceeds of my stock of Southsea Huanghuali. I’ll deliver the stock to you on time, and I expect to receive my money and goods in exchange there and then.”

“Good.” Gao Youliang breathed a long sigh of relief and shut his eyes.

This was probably the cleanest, largest deal he had ever entered.

The quantum of the transaction involved billions of RMB, and yet the deal was concluded in less than five minutes of negotiations. Most times, deals worth a fraction of the value wouldn’t even be concluded after half a month’s worth of meetings.

His heart gradually regained its equanimity, and he opened his eyes and scanned the contents of the list which Qin Ye had handed to him with a startled expression, “Mr Qin, what’s this?”

The list consisted of a wide variety of items.

Most of them were a variety of construction equipment, implements and building materials. Having developed an entire district before, he immediately knew upon a brief inspection that the items listed were worth no less than four hundred million RMB. This included sufficient materials to construct a large building!

Moreover, the list included some rather peculiar items.

Apart from the tons of wood, plastics, alloys and papers listed, there was still silk, cotton, needles and threads, all of which could be considered materials for daily necessities. And he even sought the establishment of assembly lines!

An assembly line for printing, an assembly line for the production of garments, an assembly line for the manufacturing of shoes, an assembly line for cameras and batteries…

And there were even assembly lines for mahjong tiles and poker chips.

Furthermore, there were some rather sensitive objects, for instance, a money printing machine…

His eyelids throbbed - What is he trying to do here? Why does it look like he’s attempting to construct a county? And it feels like he’s attempting to pull that county out of poverty to boot. These items… are going to set him back four to five hundred million RMB all at once. That’s sufficient funds to sustain an entire poverty-stricken county for months on end!

And what place is this that requires so much apart from food and sustenance? There’s clothing, entertainment, recreational activities, and basically everything you could possibly think of, and more?!

Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Should I be reporting this to the police? Why does it feel like I’ve seen something I really shouldn’t have?

“Don’t ask what you don’t need to know. We’re merely sojourners in each others’ lives. We’re ultimately of different worlds.” Qin Ye blew on his coffee and spoke without any hesitation.

Qin Ye knew that he had no advantage over others in the world of adults. Having consumed the fungus of aeons, he would neither age nor die. However, being too young was a flaw when it came to conducting businesses. Therefore, rather than to hide and conceal his flaws, he chose to present himself inscrutable instead.

It was for this reason that he never concealed the fact that he came from the City of Salvation. There was never a doubt that someone of Gao Youliang’s background and identity would have some appreciation of the different world that lived among the mortals.

As expected, Gao Youliang didn’t say much more. Instead, he quietly folded up the sheet of paper and placed it into his inner pocket, “When’s the deadline?”

“By 30 June.” Qin Ye stood up and offered another handshake, “Well, until then? I hope we’ll have another chance to transact with each other in future.”

“Of course.” Both men shook hands firmly. Then, just before they parted ways, Gao Youliang suddenly remarked, “Mr Qin, although I know I shouldn’t be probing too much, I’m still incredibly curious as to why you’ve suddenly decided to dispose of such a large stock of Southsea Huanghuali.”

Qin Ye didn’t conceal his intentions, “There’s something I’ve got my eye on at Guardian Auctions’ upcoming summer major auctions. The value of this artifact is at least one billion, and there’s a good chance its price might even break the two billion mark.”

He smiled and looked back, “Therefore, you’re free to enter into negotiations with Guardians Auctions for a cheque exchange arrangement or something similar. That’s entirely up to you. All I want is a cheque that can be encashed anywhere in the world. As long as you can meet these requirements of mine, you might be able to find a more flexible arrangement to suit your needs this way.”

Gao Youliang’s eyes lit up, and he heaved a sigh in relief. Then, he abruptly looked up again, and then glanced warily at his surroundings. He suddenly got to his feet, walked to the curtains and drew them tightly shut, before addressing Qin Ye again with a solemn expression on his face, “You’re going to participate in Guardian Auctions’ summer major auctions? Are you after the Obsidian Heaven’s Eye Bowl?”

Qin Ye nodded. Everyone present was a premium, black card VIP account holder with Guardian Auctions, and there was no need to conceal anything from the other.

“Mr Qin.” Gao Youliang gazed intently at Qin Ye for several seconds, before finally closing his eyes, “Although I shouldn’t be saying this right now, but… you might want to reconsider your decision.”

Qin Ye’s eyes narrowed as he acknowledged with a curt, “Mm.”

“You’re not taking this to heart, are you?” Gao Youliang sighed. He took a step closer to Qin Ye, and then continued with some trembling in his voice, “There’s something on your side called the Cultivators Weekly, isn’t there?”

Qin Ye looked up abruptly and locked eyes with Gao Youliang, “How do you know about that?”

Gao Youliang instinctively backed away as soon as his eyes met Qin Ye’s striking gaze. Seconds later, he cleared his throat and continued, “Mr Qin, the Imperial Furniture Group is an industry leader after all, and as an industry leader, we… naturally have our means of access to things inaccessible to others.”

“East Cathay Sea… is unclean.” He practically spoke through gnashed teeth, as though he were releasing the burden of carrying this message from his heart, “This is what I’ve heard from another person from the same world as you. Don’t… don’t go over there. I’ve heard that none of the several members of the special department sent over to conduct investigations have ever returned.”

Qin Ye suddenly recalled something important - something that he had overlooked all this while. Everything had suddenly clicked into place.

He had first read about the incident at the East Cathay Sea back at the First Academy of Cultivators, when Zhou Xianlong first instructed him to distribute the papers to his colleagues.

None of the investigators had returned. All they knew right now was that the ships drifting about on the high seas had all become ghost ships overnight, with nary a living person remaining. He didn’t think too much of such a phenomenon back then. But now, he finally understood everything.

Yomi-no-Kuni, the Nipponese underworld, was setting up a battle formation right there on the high seas!

Just like how the extraterritorial emissaries had failed to leave Cathay’s borders, Izanami was currently preventing those who enter from leaving altogether. She was doing everything within her abilities to prevent Oda Nobunaga from falling into the hands of anyone apart from them!

So that’s how it is! Any underworld that has survived the test of time would most certainly have their own ways of dealing with extraterritorial darkfeathers!

He could now see more clearly than ever the importance of seizing the Obsidian Heaven’s Eye Bowl to the NIpponese underworld!

“I’ve got it.” Qin Ye turned to leave.

“Colour me impressed.” Ming Shiyin’s voice called out softly as soon as Qin Ye departed from the building, “To think you could be weak in the face of the strong, and firm in the face of the feeble. Your disposition earlier was truly terrifying! If not for the fact that I’d personally witnessed your subdued, cowardly nature before our dear Ms Arakshasa, I would’ve bought your acting completely.”

“What do you mean ‘subdued, cowardly nature’?! That’s just called laying low in the face of a tyrannical force!” Qin Ye snorted in dissatisfaction. The longer he lived, the more he came to realize that nothing was more important than life. Therefore, he had never committed to a certain course of action unless he was absolutely confident of seeing it through. Why can’t these people understand something so simple?

It’s only if you survive that you’ll have the chance to reap the rewards and enjoy the fruit of your labour.

“What do we do now?”

Qin Ye sauntered along the path, allowing the gentle night breeze to tousle his hair. He swept his hair to the side, “We wait.”

“We wait for Guardian Auctions’ arrival. The night of their arrival… will most certainly not be a peaceful one.” With that, he suddenly blinked his eyes and cursed aloud, “Shit!”

“What’s the matter?”

Qin Ye grew taciturn. He suddenly realized that he had overlooked an important detail.

The Hojo Clan’s secret ninjas of Renpu would definitely make their move when Guardian Auctions arrived. But with the feeble cultivators they had, it would be a miracle if Guardian Auctions were able to hold out!

Even if they were to call in reinforcements, the forces mobilized by Yomi-no-Kuni this time were still on a completely different level. And if they managed to seize the Obsidian Heaven’s Eye Bowl from Guardian Auctions, how was Qin Ye supposed to go about entering into negotiations with Oda Nobunaga?

Nobody had ever expected Yomi-no-Kuni to be so daring as to set foot directly on Cathayan soil and treat their former ancestral homeland as their own backyard. Their boldness had brought about a great deal of variables to be addressed by Qin Ye.

Right now, the only way forward is for me to step in to stop the secret ninjas of Renpu personally. But doing so would…

He glanced down at his chest, shuddering for fear of the strong and mighty.

“Eh? That gaze in your eyes right now is rather intriguing. Hang on… I know this expression! It’s the same one that you always make when a strong opponent shows up…”

Qin Ye smiled radiantly, “About that, let’s discuss matters further, shall we?”

“Scram! No way! Buh-bye!” He was instantly rejected.

Qin Ye’s expression turned ashen, “Do you even consider yourself a part of Hell or not? What about your pride in the collective identity of Hell? The future King Yanluo of Hell is risking life and limb, and is currently facing an alarming threat, and you have the nerve to simply look on as a bystander?”

“... Alarming threat? Like what?”

“... For instance… Those three ninja Hellguards that have arrived…”

Ming Shiyin completely blew its top, “A future King Yanluo is so afraid of three meagre ninja Hellguards that he’s requesting aid from me?! What about your training? Where has your strength and courage gone?”

On the other hand, Qin Ye was incredibly displeased with Ming Shiyin’s manner of speech.

Didn’t we have a tacit agreement not to embarrass each other like that?

Besides, do you think I would request your aid if I truly possessed these qualities?

Cores must learn to bide their time and endure, even if others blast them with their ultimate skills. That’s how they eventually go on to dominate the late game. I’m a carry, so how could you ask me to participate in fights early game? What do you take me for? A pro player? [1]

Just like that, Qin Ye and Ming Shiyin were locked in an impasse, glaring menacingly at each other under the stifling glow of the moonlight. Ten seconds later, Ming Shiyin finally sighed, “Forget it… I give. I don’t understand how someone decades old could still be acting cute like that… So, tell me, what immature ideas have you cooked up this time?”

1. All the references in this paragraph are to generic MOBA games.