The next day, Yu Zhung and other 'kings' within Arnold's empire came together for their monthly meeting. This time the main topic of discussion was regarding the revenue generated by taxes. It looked like even with their low taxes, they were collecting way more money than they had estimated.

Also, the difference between the estimated and actual tax was like earth and heaven. They didn't know what to do with the surplus money. So Arnold came up with an idea to pay the taxpayers back through Tax rebates. The idea needed some more work but they decided to end the meeting a bit sooner. Which was a blessing for Yu Zhung as he dragged Arnold away as soon as the meeting was over saying he had something important to discuss with him.

​​

"Don't laugh at me... but do you believe in reincarnation and past life sins?" Yu Zhung asked Arnold while Talos served them drinks at the bar. Arnold didn't know it would become such an attraction but Talos' drinks had become one of the top attractions of the memorial island.

"Where did this came from?" Arnold smiled at him before gulping down his drink. The system didn't allow Arnold to get drunk, but it failed to make Arnold quit trying.

"Ah... just a thought my girlfriend put in my head..."

"First tell me, which one is she? the 69th?"

"No! Not her. I dumped her when I found out she wasn't a she." Yu Zhung almost threw up just remembering about her- him, "Please don't make me remind of her... damn it! Him! Don't remind me of him again."

"Alright, alright, relax. So you got someone new that's cool. At least you don't have trouble moving on like the rest of the people do. Now that's an ability people would die to have." Arnold patted yu Zhung on the back, "Especially the residents of friendzone."

Ever since Yu Zhung's then-fiance left him as he failed to avenge her brother, he had become a bullet train. His dating life was even swifter than a particular singer who did not have Swift in her name. Not that it was a bad thing for her, but it turned out to be a bad thing for Yu Zhung.

Ever since his fiance dumped him, he couldn't help but get attached to people far quicker than anyone should. And that had been hampering his love life. This was also the time Arnold took him under his wings for real and they now shared a brotherly bond.

"Nah, I'm famous in China. I don't get much trouble finding ladies to spend a night with. But when I see you and ma'am being all happy and stuff, I realise what I have been missing till now." Yu Zhung mumbled as he gulped down another shot.

"Perhaps if you stop pushing women onto your bed on the first freaking date, they'll try to stick around for you to have a bond." Arnold shrugged his shoulders, "Try to take it slowly. It can do wonders."

"Oh! That's it then... That's the secret of your happy relationship!"

"Nope. That's not it." Talos finally decided to give Yu Zhung his two cents, "In fact, Master and madame slept together on their first date. If my 2.4 yottabyte memory serves me correctly."

"What?" Yu Zhung looked at Arnold as if he had just stabbed him in the back, "You are one sly basta- person, Lord Deathless!"

"In my defence, I knew her for like seven years before that happened. So... she knew me fairly well-"

"Out of those seven years, you were locked up in that transdimensional dungeon for five years." It looked like Talos had some vendetta against his master as he kept dragging him through the mud, "And one year prior to that you were living in Rio de Janeiro."

"Alright, but at least she knew me for a year... right?" Arnold pointed his hands towards the bloodthirsty automaton.

"Actually it was more like 234 days, 14 hours, 21-"

"Alright! We got it! Geez, dude!" Arnold surrendered to Talos, "Sometimes you really make me want to downgrade your memory. Who the fck remembers that kind of BS anyway?"

"Women."

Talos gave a swift reply that no one could counter. Women indeed have an inbuilt memory larger than yottabyte.

"Either way, I think Talos can give you better dating advice than I can, seeing that I have only ever been with one woman. Also, because he is the biggest Casanova among my summons." Arnold turned around to leave, "The dude legit builds a new girlfriend from scratch if the previous one breaks up with him, and then tells me he made the automaton for me. What a player!"

"Right... Talos... please make one for me as well."

"Well, you know a man's drunk when he starts fantasizing about a robot." Arnold mumbled before opening a portal to his domain, "Talos, take care of Mr heartbreak for me. Meanwhile, I'll be in the domain."

"Sure, Master. As you wish. But forgive me for asking it but, do you have an important business in there?"

Arnold didn't reply. He just lifted his Bionic arm in the air.

"Is there something wrong with the arm?"

"Nope. It's good. But not good enough." Arnold replied while throwing a couple of punches in the air, "I realised it while fighting with Hercules. The Arm is effective against monsters and humans. But I'm afraid it might not be enough in a fight against the gods. Also, I have a ton of materials to experiment on along with more time than I can possibly waste, I thought it was about time for an upgrade."

"I'll take care of everything in your absence. So you can leave without any worries." Talos bowed down as usual.

"Thanks, T. I'll be back in a couple of hours." Arnold mumbled before jumping into the portal, "Now... where is that basta*d Hercules' arm."

***

If you are not reading this at webnovel.com, then sorry, the content you're reading is stolen! Please! Say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime!

=>Link to the original site: https://www.webnovel.com/book/the-rise-of-a-porter_17460195006101205