Chapter 27 - Chapter 27 - Debt (Bonus chapter)

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Chapter 27 - Debt (Bonus chapter)

The atmosphere in the conference room became tense, and all the participants looked at the horrific scene on the screen with solemn expressions.

Silence, dead silence.

They didn't have any idea why it happened, as it just happened so suddenly.

Representative Dr. He frowned and still pointed to the screen, he spoke: "During the mine disaster, our defense system completely failed, and all the AI War Police collapsed amidst the roar of the dragon. According to the wreckage investigation report of the and the front-line troops..."

As if he didn't dare to say something, he seemed to hesitate to speak.

Taking a deep breath, a red light flashed through his mechanical pupils.

"We should be... suffering from the riot of an Epic Ka."

"Everyone, tell me."

"What kind of monster have you provoked?"

Dr. He put down the laser pointer and turned to look at the representatives of various powerful forces below the podium with a somewhat accusatory expression in his eyes.

Epic Cards are equivalent to mini nuclear bombs in Fortress Wars. They are used more for deterrence, like "Don't mess with me, or we'll have this explode on you."

Completely activating a Ka will destroy the Magic Card, making it a disposable item, inflicting damage on the enemy while suffering a smaller, but still comparable amount of damage.

Who would casually crush an Epic Card just to cause chaos?

What family were they from?

For Epic Cards, just the transfer price alone is calculated as more than a billion, and the transaction price is even higher.

Faced with the question "What kind of monster have you provoked?", the representatives still frowned and looked solemn.

They really can't think of anyone they have offended.

"Could they be an agent from Tazna Fortress?" Representative Ou Jian tried to open the topic.

Bianyuelong and Tazuna have a long history of conflicts. Two hundred years ago, Tazuna borrowed the "Fortress Treasure"———– The Epic Card: from Bianyuelong and has not returned it to this day.

From time to time, Bianyuelong arranged for special agents to steal it back, resorting to theft if unable to locate the Fortress Treasure, taking some items to pay off the debt.

The conflict between the two fortresses has become increasingly fierce, so much so that in the last match of the Duelist League, when the two teams met, Tazna spent millions to invite Zhou Gu, a member of a Level 6 Fortress, just to win that round.

"You think too highly of Tazna." Representative Ji Cheng sarcastically remarked.

"Could you think before you speak? Even the chief agent of a Level 6 Fortress can't afford an Epic Card, Manager Ou."

Ou Jian wasn't angry but smiled instead: "Ah, yes, yes, you're the smart one after all. Smart enough that I heard your Card Hunters died tonight, including one with a Gold rank, hehehe..."

"You!" Ji Cheng's face was ashen and he gritted his teeth.

and have always had different philosophies.

It can be seen from how one group focuses on Card Masters and the other focuses on Card Hunters.

"How much was the loss?" Representative Zhu Mani ignored the daily quarrel between the two groups and asked about the damage caused by the riot.

"78 casualties..." The reporter just responded.

Hearing his response, Zhu Mani retorted sharply: "Who the heck asked about the casualties?"

"Gold points! How many gold points were lost?"

"An estimate of... about 54 million." The reporter's whole body trembled, and he lowered his head and whispered.

As soon as the loss figures were announced, the faces of all the representatives turned pale as if they had been hit hard, a sense of frustration boiling up inside them.

's riot took less than half a minute and resulted in a loss of 54 million.

"On the bright side, it's fortunate it happened in a mine." Representative Nanyang Yi said solemnly.

If this had happened aboveground, the casualties and losses would be even more immeasurable.

"So you really didn't offend anyone?" Dr. He brought the topic back.

"Do you have any impression of someone who has mastered Spatial Teleportation technology?"

"No suspicious person was found at the scene. The Card Master who controlled the black dragon disappeared out of thin air.

After this reminder, Ou Jian pinched his chin and suddenly murmured: "Void Shuttle? Is it a Legendary Card Master?"

As soon as the word "Legendary" came out, the atmosphere in the conference room became more solemn. The table was filled with various documents and reports, and a dark cloud filled the foreheads of the representatives.

[BEEP]

Everyone's thoughts were interrupted by a crisp beep, which came from Ou Jian's supercomputer ring.

"We're having a meeting, can't you at least turn your notification volume off?" Ji Cheng complained quietly.

Ignoring him, Ou Jian glanced at the message he received, his expression turning urgent. Without lifting his head, he spoke: "Even if the sky falls, this person's call is something I must respond to."

"You discuss the matters here by yourselves, I'll step out first."

As he spoke, he stood up from his seat.

"Send me a copy of the results of the discussion tomorrow, thank you."

After that, without waiting for anyone else to say anything, he hurriedly walked out of the conference room.

He's afraid that if the reception is a second late, his job will be lost.

The headquarters' heiress is visiting the Bianyuelong branch!

If not handled properly, his position as a "manager" might be in jeopardy.

The world may be destroyed, but he can't lose his job!

After the first joint meeting was hastily ended, the representatives of the major forces left the conference room and started to implement their respective plans.

On the other hand...

Luo Bai was in a frantic battle with the Tabletop Program's AI, his keystrokes filled with the aura of a veteran LOL player.

"What I'm asking is how to increase the Store Manager's authority?"

He found that many things were restricted by his current permission level, so upgrading his permission level should be crucial.

[Reach 2000 Ba points to unlock Silver-rank Permission Level]

"I know that already!"

"So, how can I improve my Ba points?"

The Store Manager's authority is the same as Biantana's Card Master level. They are divided into seven levels based on the level of Ba points in their bodies: , , , , , and .

[Exercise the body.]

[Use more Ba to improve proficiency.]

This response from the Program's AI really fits his stereotypical view of AI.

Did it answer? Yes, answer it did. However, it was an answer that answered your question.

"Is there a more specific action I should be doing?"

[Table Program is currently typing...]

[Unable to parse Store Manager's current status]

[Specific Behavioral Operations can't be provided at the moment]

[After all...]

[I'm just a cute AI]

Luo Bai: "...You're such a cutie."

[However...]

Just when Luo Bai wanted to continue scolding, Tabletop Program's AI suddenly replied.

[You can open the Staff Interface.]

[Quickly improve your cultivation through "debt collection".]

[However, Tabletop Program doesn't recommend that you do this.]

Staff Interface?

"Let's see~~ Ohh~~"

Luo Bai suddenly remembered that he had contracted a staff, and the third interface of the Tabletop Program should be unlocked.

Sure enough!

The third interface: is much more complicated than the other interfaces, Personal Panel and Online Duels.

The overall structure is like a control room.

There are 5 rows and 5 columns, with a total of 25 monitoring screens.

Currently, Melonica is the only Staff.

At the moment, she was walking under the rain holding an umbrella, wearing an exquisite black and white lolita dress, stepping lightly on the street, her feet making splashes in the puddles of water around, seemingly integrated with the night.

He can't manually operate the surveillance camera.

The black umbrella hid her face, and only a few strands of her blonde hair could be glimpsed. The raindrops make a clear clicking sound as it makes contact with the umbrella.

She was walking step by step towards the card shop where he was.

Inspecting the panel, he could see a button on the lower right side of the monitoring screen. After clicking, an analysis prompt popped up:

"If the Store Manager successfully returns or sells a Magic Card, they will form a Debt Relationship with the Staff. The Manager can at any time deprive the Staff of their , , , , , and as debt repayment."

"That's a bit animalistic..." Luo Bai sighed, before his lips turned up a cunning smile.

However, he did notice something very unusual.

In the monitoring screen, the name of that vampire lady isn't that long Melon-something name she had told him earlier.

Instead, it was a name with just two syllables——— "Sherry".

What's even stranger is that she has another label to her name———— .

It was as if she had been to the Alterlife Shop before and had a contract with him before but...

She forgot... and he forgot about it too.

"Thank you."

"I owe you this time."

As Melonica's murmur as she left the shop rang in his mind, Luo Bai felt a chill run down his spine.