Pretending To Be A Boss

Tang Xian didn't intentionally mean to tease or leave any suspense.

He just felt it was more natural to let the other party call him, rather than calling himself?

Shortly after sending out the text, he did not receive a reply, so he lay down for a little nap. Not long after, the vibration of his cell phone woke him up.

He glanced at the incoming call number, realized it wasn't from Ke, but answered it anyway.

"Sir, I'm with Atlantic Life Insurance, and we have a new insurance product…"

Advertising. Sales pitch.

Tang Xian didn't feel averse and said,

"Young man, whatever Atlantic is paying you, I, An Ping, will pay you three times that."

"…"

Tang Xian's nonsensical reply rendered the person on the other end speechless.

Waiting for Ke to finish analyzing the new alloy composition would probably take a little while, so to kill time, Tang Xian decided to register for a WeChat account.

The fact that this social software had survived the calamity of lost human civilization proves that aside from eating, socializing really is the second most important thing in life.

However, Tang Xian wasn't very interested in this.

Tang Xian's WeChat ID was named Tang Wuliao.

After completing the registration and just filling in some fictional personal information, a cute female avatar with the ID name "Your Cute Little Girl" sent a friend request to Tang Xian.

Tang Xian was somewhat surprised.

It turns out that the rich folks above the third floor can be so idle, idle enough to be adding friends on this app at any time.

"Hello, Wuliao Brother. I'm so bored too. What a coincidence, hehe."

"Hmm, yes, you really are quite bored."

"…"

The person on the other end was choked up once again.

Tang Xian turned off the messages and started to read the news.

The news was almost uniform in reporting on the preparations related to the hunting festival.

There were also a few reports on some anomalies in the northern mining regions, suspecting the awakening of some sort of super powerful creature, with some animals only found in the north now appearing in the south.

Tang Xian frowned.

These news pieces were only from some minor media outlets, and judging by their sensational rhetoric, they lacked substantiation and were mostly clickbait.

But thinking about the Nvwa Snake showing up in Waning Time Valley, and the ongoing war between the fox and snake people, Tang Xian believed the author of those news articles might be onto something.

Indeed, there were some issues with the biological chain in the north, but not to the extent of some super powerful creature awakening.

A few more minutes passed, and after reading some academic stuff which was of little interest because most required privileged access he didn't have, he found the experience dull.

He glanced back at WeChat and saw his screen flooded with messages.

They were mostly from the "Your Cute Little Girl" he had encountered earlier, with content that was suggestive and blunt, with a hint of showing off wealth.

For instance, she talked about her identity as a wealthy heiress.

She claimed to have a close relationship with the Li family's second daughter, usually hanging out as best friends.

This line made Tang Xian feel a sense of imprisonment through the internet.

Had he just registered on WeChat, only to be discovered by Li Xiaoyu?

He continued reading and realized he had thought too much, while also holding back from telling the person that her "best friend" was an idiot.

This "Cute Little Girl" went on to say a lot, mainly that she's traveling across bastions currently.

She found that the tea from Bastion No. 54 was excellent and was considering investing in tea. Currently, she had some collector's edition teas and thought Tang Wuliao Brother was an interesting person, so she planned to sell them to Tang Wuliao at a low price.

In addition to the tea, it could also secure the friendship of a rich young lady.

Only then did Tang Xian realize,

It wasn't just WeChat that was powerful; WeChat businesses and tea-selling girls were equally robust, existing tenaciously for over a thousand years.

Tang Xian politely inquired about what kind of tea it was, and some other questions he considered quite mundane, such as—

Which land in the mining area was it cultivated on? What kind of water source and soil were used, and was it close to the cold marshes of the north or near Dragon Serpent Bay in the south? There are differences in acidity between these two, so what kind of influence would that have on the taste of the tea? Approximately what temperature was it grown at? What's the harvest cycle?

How's the local weather? Would overly humid weather affect the taste of the tea? How does the soil there compare to that of Red Earth Forest?

Tang Xian really wanted to buy. Experience more content on empire

But then the other party fell silent.

There was no way to speak up. The tea seller from the remote Fortress Fifty-Four, relying on pretending to be a wealthy girl, had sold quite a bit of inferior tea leaves transformed from organic minerals. Anyway, people nowadays couldn't tell the difference.

Naturally, he also encountered many customers who were serious about details, asking about the quality of organic minerals, inquiring about the quality of the boilers used for the tea leaf transformation. He had ways to deal with them.

But the one he met today actually asked if the tea was manually planted in a mining area. Was he insane? Which tea company's product wasn't converted from organic minerals these days? Who the hell would, for the sake of taste, plant tea leaves in dangerous mining areas?

Tang Xian still planned to continue asking. After all, he was capable of guiding Shang Lu to work at the Hua Science Academy's Botanical Research Institute, so he should have some understanding of tea leaves.

But the other party blocked Tang Xian.

The messages Tang Xian sent all came back with red exclamation marks.

It was somewhat unexpected.

"Are these young people not serious about doing business? Who blocks customers, especially those with purchasing power?"

Tang Xian didn't mind. He could just ask again next time he encountered them.

After casually browsing for a while, Ke finally made the call.

Tang Xian looked at the incoming call number and pressed the answer button without haste.

"Which fortress's designer are you? You're a genius! Where are you? Let's meet right away. Have you applied for a patent for this type of alloy? Is this knife-like weapon designed to deal with some kind of special creature?"

Right off the bat, it was a barrage of questions, not even asking who he was. Tang Xian couldn't help but smile bitterly. Ke was also gaining a bit of Shang Lu's temperament.

Tang Xian answered seriously,

"Thanks for the praise. I'm from Fortress Thirty-Nine, not a weapons designer. I haven't applied for a patent; this was just a makeshift combination I put together. Also, it's not designed like a kitchen knife; it is a kitchen knife. I'm now a hunter, hoping to revive the chef profession in the future, so could you tell me how much military ore is needed for you to help craft this knife?"

Ke Ye was stunned.

A hunter? Such a perfect alloy formula came from a hunter's design? Reviving the chef occupation, what the heck?

Ke Ye felt something was quite off but couldn't remember what it was for the moment.

"Do you mean to tell me that you're giving me this formula just to craft a kitchen knife?

"Yes."

"You're joking with me."

"Not at all. If possible, please do it quickly; there are still several mouths waiting for meat in the mining area."

"..."

Tang Xian realized that today he seemed particularly adept at leaving the other party speechless. Ke Ye fell silent too.

"Would you sell me this formula?" Ke Ye asked after being silent for over ten seconds.

"Of course not, I'm giving it to you. After all, making a trade with me shouldn't result in a loss for you. But rest assured, I'll provide the military ore. You just need to be responsible for the crafting."

"Do you mean you're trading the formula for the cost of making this knife?" Ke Ye felt she couldn't keep up with this person's train of thought. Was he playing dumb? Or did he truly not realize how much the alloy formula was worth?

Wait a minute, it was strange from the beginning, this voice sounded so familiar.

Ke Ye felt her heartbeat quicken.

Her breathing became a bit rushed.

Tang Xian replied,

"That's right, that should be enough, don't you think? You're known for being economical with materials when making weapons, surely you wouldn't find it too little, would you?"

Ke Ye finally remembered, and her eyes instantly reddened.

"You are… Tang Xian?!"

Tang Xian had always been a person of subdued emotion, whether in dealings with Shang Lu, Yu Xiaozhe, Dong Ran, or the old temps he had encountered in the past six years.

He rarely showed excited emotions.

Just like with Ke Ye now.

But hearing Ke Ye's somewhat choked voice, Tang Xian suddenly felt a bit of satisfaction.

He smiled and said,

"I am, can an old acquaintance get a discount?"