Chapter 2735: The Artifact Maker’s Ultimate Masterpiece

Seeing the two off, Mr. Dong returned to the study on the second floor, "Do you need me to provide you with reasonable advice?"

Xu Huo looked at the information on the terminal, "Can you manage it personally?"

Mr. Dong’s lips twitched slightly downward, "Even the most capable person cannot handle everything; you are putting me in a difficult position, sir."

Xu Huo placed the information aside, "Let’s hear your suggestions."

"In the business of noble families, important positions are basically held by those with the same last name. Apart from ensuring no outsiders commit fraud, more crucially, family members can communicate anytime, anywhere, minimizing information errors. The Tal and Mirel families are good choices, but their involvement in key positions should not be excessive; otherwise, it becomes them managing your assets, rather than you distributing your family wealth to them."

Upon finishing this advice, Mr. Dong added, "Of course, if they do so, you could eliminate them. But I think it’s unnecessary."

"Let’s not talk about Mirel, the Tal family has some heritage. They do not get along well with the Werna family. Apart from profits, they are more concerned about whether the family has backing." Xu Huo said, "Clements has a different idea. They find it hard to stand out in the main area, so they focus on external channels. Besides making money, their focus is on being irreplaceable."

"However, there are already enough nobles in Zone 011, so others deserve a chance as well."

He opened the resumes that were sent. Besides those who came personally, some who had submitted visiting cards didn’t even get in line. Even though Mr. Dong had already screened them once, there was still a surplus.

After spending two days, he picked out some candidates. Lady Lily and Roy’s sides were also decided.

People from the Tal and Mirel families could help manage several mines, but aside from appointing their personnel, each mine would have three talents recruited by Xu Huo. People from the Tal and Mirel families could act as general managers, but accounts must still go through these individuals. Of course, both families could also bring their own finance staff.

Roy also secured a berth in the third section, but he had a probation period. Moreover, people Xu Huo recruited would accompany him to work in the third section.

As for the vacant positions remaining, Xu Huo distributed half to the nobility, and half to residents of Zone 011—both included non-playing players and ordinary people whose focus is business acumen. He selected some with specialty knowledge for the laboratory side and also hired a professional manager named Helena Conner to mainly maintain the lab’s normal operations, handle budget allocations, procure equipment, and manage patent applications.

Some secret laboratories he inspected and then handed over to Dr. Deng. Input and output of these laboratories directly connect with Mr. Dong.

Of course, all industry accounts must be submitted to Mr. Dong here.

After handling some major income sources, there were other miscellaneous assets, relatively complex. Former staff from Rose Castle like Angel and ladies who frequently attended charity galas received opportunities to showcase their talents.

Xu Huo didn’t concern himself with how people from the Helta family were ultimately dealt with. After finishing these matters, he still had to entertain guests from the Werna family and some heavyweight nobles from Zone 011.

Werna family members repeatedly came to apologize, sending gifts each time, but consistently couldn’t meet him. They were left hanging for a while, now it was about time.

The Werna family holds a superior status, with numerous talents in the family. Originally, they wouldn’t lower themselves this much, but after Hua Han’s visit, the family finally sent heavyweight figures—Ashis Verna’s father, the household patriarch, Quinto Werner.

He was also originally a player, not particularly gifted, so later devoted himself to managing family affairs. Talented players in the Werna family retained their player identities and seldom showed up.

Quinto Werner adopted a low posture, first apologizing for the Werna family’s shortsightedness, then seeking pardon for his younger son, stating that if Xu Huo agreed, Ashis could humbly request forgiveness to resolve the misunderstanding between the two families.

They only aimed to resolve misunderstanding and clear old scores, without addressing future interactions, nor mentioning marriage ties again.

Werna family players are numerous; they actually needn’t be so deferential. Clearly, Xu Huo would not become another Hua Han Werner, and given their family power, even if they retreated in future, they needn’t currently kowtow to Xu Huo. Ultimately, Xu Huo is not a madman, would he rashly slaughter families?

If he really dared do this, it would be tantamount to severing relations with Zone 011; a Super Player and a district are complementary and interdependent.

Xu Huo understood that Hua Han compelled them to bow their heads. Although neither mentor nor apprentice formally, in practice, they were. Naturally, he wouldn’t miss this stepping stone.

Once old scores were cleared, the Werna family members could leave.

Other heavyweight noble members merely came to nurture relations, highly restrained, in no rush.

In the past few days, most trivial matters were completed. During remaining time, apart from occasionally receiving and checking his personal assets, the rest focused on training to control Time Force.

He was already able to successfully introduce Time Force, so Hua Han mainly taught him how to manipulate it precisely—controlling the coverage area and reasonably drawing close to Time Force—after all, not every enemy could stand at a distance to be killed.

After some learning, Xu Huo made small achievements; currently, he can control Time Force within a one-meter radius. This distance means that extending one’s legs might be affected, so precision in scaling Time Force is essential. Additionally, the key to wide-range Time Force activation where Evolvers can walk within lies in ensuring no paradoxical situation of forming a safe zone around oneself—being a laughingstock?

Meanwhile, Hua Han conveyed an important fact to Xu Huo: Once penetrated by Time Force, especially high-speed time, it’s not simply about time accelerating on the human body. At the moment one is pierced by Time Force, they lose agency, becoming mere dust swept along by Time Force. This is akin to being controlled via Psychic Power or strongly manipulated by Spatial Power. Theoretically, the occurrence of different Time Force within one space inherently exceeds current human survival dimensions.

No new messages had been passed from the Suitcase Man side; Xu Huo took the opportunity to organize the props he had just acquired.

What he anticipated most was the Rank A spatial attack prop crafted by Mr. Xi.

[Hand of Space-Time: Born of the collaboration between two outstanding artisans and serendipity, a top-tier Rank-A prop that perfectly combines manipulation of Spatial Power and Time Force, the highest Masterpiece of Artifact Maker.]