Chapter 1670 - 859: Stir It Up

One could say that overnight, Ling Shuo's name had spread throughout the entire present world, from the Thousand Islands on the Endless Sea to the Central Earth, and even the Federation and the Empire.

From a nobody to a renowned figure.

Although places like Tian Yuan didn't really bother to care, basically ignoring it, at the very least, every Desert Market branch had received the news and was paying some attention to it—after all, he was about to become a new Dragon Head, which represented not only himself but also the vast market, channels, and power of the unified Seven Cities behind him.

There's now an extra seat at the table, and the Desert Market cafeteria welcomed a brand new member.

Will there be a chance to eat a bit more, or less? Is there a possibility to forge new financial paths, or should one seize the opportunity to snatch back a piece of juicy meat?

Everyone's little schemes had quietly started to turn.

Some people had already made plans, while more were grabbing a stool, taking out some sunflower seeds, peanuts, and dried fruits, getting ready to watch the show.

Hey, it's really buzzing with excitement!

You Thousand Islands always have so many tricks...

By now, what Ling Shuo lacked to truly become the Dragon Head was merely the title.

The allegiance of the Seven Cities and the admiration of thousands.

Internally, he could reconcile conflicts and end fruitless disputes; externally, he could act with autonomy, shouldering the responsibilities of the Desert Market.

After that birthday banquet, he was already the factual leader of the Seven Cities' dark side, even though he didn't have half a title up to now.

Tian Yuan places importance on names and titles; without a title even if you do much, it's useless, you're not considered anything.

But the White Deer doesn't care about this.

In the world, what matters is having many brothers, a big territory, and broad influence. As long as you can have two of these, you're capable, even just one is enough.

If you can win the people's approval, even if you kill the previous Dragon Head in broad daylight and take the position yourself, the Desert Market wouldn't care.

Right, exactly, that's how free we, the White Deer, are!

Before dawn, the application from Ling Shuo and all related intelligence about what happened had already reached the core of the Desert Market, inside a Crack Realm.

There was none of the blood and strict sinister aura outsiders imagined; the hubs over countless Desert Market branches, the gathering places of the shadows of the present world, looked just like some big company's industrial park.

In each office building, many efficient staff bustled around, and the number of Chosen Ones was even less than accountants, actuaries, and investment managers.

By comparison, it seemed more like a large investment bank or a new internet industry.

Everyone worked by checking reports, writing summaries, making plans, clocking in from nine to five, and most dealt with mundane, boring data; salaries were fixed, with slight bonuses and performance incentives. The Desert Market even provided medical insurance and pensions from Yongji Bank.

In summary... it's a legitimate business!

Yes, from start to end, it was very official, so much it looked almost bizarre.

Inside, the most bustling and complex area was actually the lobby resembling a customer service center; noisy sounds filled the air as numerous operators listened to the reports from another end, made records, uploaded to the system, waiting for approval from the upper level.

Yet above the sixth floor, it was all desolate and silent, countless unoccupied offices were quiet, making one wonder if the cleaning staff was slacking, and whether a layer of dust had already settled.

"Listen to Old Deng say, in earlier years, there were originally sixteen floors here, bustling upward and down, mail tubes in the vacuum tube zooming back and forth.

People queued and couldn't wait for the elevator, they ran the stairs instead, the whole stairwell was lively all day, never a quiet moment."

"Now?"

"Now it's all paperless for who knows how long, even answering machines are on duty. You call the headquarters, and it still tells you to press 1 for the Federation, press 2 for the Empire, press 9 for hiring a killer, press the asterisk for a human operator... might even tell you the operator is busy, call later."

"Is there music while waiting?"

"Just that same crappy piano piece playing over and over, utterly tasteless."

"Indeed."

In the lounge outside the conference room, the twin brothers, idle and yawning, chatted away, sitting in their chairs, folding paper planes or crumpling paper balls from discarded documents and throwing them around, hitting their targets every time.

An De Guangsha tens of thousands and An Neng Conquers Eyebrows to Bow to the Mighty.

Still wearing flowery T-shirts, baggy shorts, slippers, and big sunglasses, lying like two piles of muddy messes on their chairs.

Out of sheer boredom, An De looked up, shaking his head at the middle-aged man across them, who looked like an office supervisor in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses.

"Psst, psst, Old Yuan, what's the deal, calling us over to wait in vain?" An De squinted, "Who is it that needs killing this time? You're stationed here, can't you give your brothers a tip-off?"

"What are you two dogs playing at?"

Yuan Xing rolled his eyes, counter-asking, "Why did the leader call you guys over, you really don't have a clue?"

"How would I know?!"

The two brothers replied synchronously, shaking their heads, frustrating Yuan Xing to the extent he threw a stack of documents at them: "Read it yourself!"

The folder opened, and the two brothers leaned in, glancing at briefing sheets inside; first and foremost, was a picture of a young boy.