Dragon Raja: Dragon Slaying Begins with System Hosting

Page 36

He took a few steps closer to the coffee table, and after seeing the knife clearly, he couldn't help but ask in confusion, "This is...?"

“After Panpan came back, I started teaching her alchemy, otherwise it would be a waste of her talent for the power of Samadhi Fire.”

Lu Mingfei calmly told Chu Zihang, "She picked it up very quickly and successfully entered the beginner level of alchemy, so I tried to get her involved in intermediate alchemy. Then, it was just an accidental try, but I didn't expect her to succeed."

If the credit for making the knife is attributed to Panpan, will it cause Chu Zihang to develop a stronger liking for Panpan but become disloyal to Lu Mingfei?

The system already had the answer: [...If Chu Zihang chooses to side with Panpan because of this, then the host only needs to manage Panpan well, which can also indirectly ensure Chu Zihang's loyalty...]

After a leader is promoted, who will they promote to succeed them in their original position?

The candidate could be the most capable, or the most loyal. The candidate's exceptional ability is undeniable, but promoting a loyal subordinate whom the leader can control means that even though the leader is promoted, they still firmly maintain control over the core of their former power base… The system analyzes and deduces based on this theory.

Even Lu Mingfei didn't know when he had gained these insights, but they certainly made a lot of sense.

At this moment, Xia Mi stood up, drew the Japanese longsword from its sheath, and wiped the blade with a tea-soaked tablecloth.

She wrung out the damp cloth, and a lot of brown tea dripped onto the coffee table. Even a smooth glass surface would surely be left with water stains after such a wipe.

However, in Xia Mi's hands, the blade that had been wiped did not leave any water stains. All the water stains that tried to remain on the blade dripped off smoothly, leaving not a trace on the blade.

After wiping the knife, she held it in one hand and with the other, she brushed a strand of hair from her chest, gently touching the blade of the long knife to the tip of the hair, causing the hair to fall instantly...

Xia Mi said with a face full of emotion: "It can cut through copper and iron without dulling its blade, sever a hair with a breath, and kill without shedding blood. When I read the part in 'Water Margin' about Yang Zhi selling his knife, I thought Wu Cheng'en was just bragging."

Lu Mingfei reminded Xia Mi, "Wu Cheng'en wrote 'Journey to the West,' while Shi Nai'an wrote 'Water Margin.'"

"Oh? Really?"

Xia Mi chimed in, "I've read too many books and gotten confused, but Shi Nai'an really did a great job writing Water Margin. Some passages are so realistic. I almost suspected that he personally had someone try it out when Wu Song pulled out his heart."

"Shi Nai'an was a military strategist at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, so witnessing killings must have been extremely commonplace for him..." Lu Mingfei said.

Seeing the two chatting idly, Chu Zihang knew they were putting on an act for him.

But he did lose his composure this time.

He remembered Chu Tianjiao's knife; it truly didn't get wet during that torrential rain...

But Chu Zihang, who was usually taciturn, didn't know how to respond. After pondering for a moment, he chose to speak directly: "Is this knife for me?"

Xia Mi grinned so wide her teeth were showing, and turned to Lu Mingfei happily, saying, "I knew Senior Chu Zihang wasn't good with words and would just ask for it directly. Boss, you lost!"

"Wait a minute." Lu Mingfei couldn't deny the bet. "I didn't say which side I was betting on. Actually, I was thinking of betting on the other side."

Xia Mi just said she was betting on whether Chu Zihang would ask for the knife immediately upon seeing it, and the bet was for a meal. He agreed, but didn't actually say whether he would or wouldn't.

Xia Mi's eyes widened, but as she recalled their conversation, Lu Mingfei hadn't actually had a chance to say whether he would or wouldn't gamble...

"Boss, you can't go back on your word! It's just a meal..."

"That's right, it's just a meal..."

The two were arguing, and Xia Mi put down the knife, while Chu Zihang picked it up and examined it carefully.

Chapter 67 Could the system possibly harm me?

Chu Zihang silently accepted the counterfeit Murasame sword and said to Lu Mingfei, "Thank you."

This time, without Panpan reminding him, he naturally blurted out what he wanted to say.

The word "thank you" is a common everyday expression, but it's not so common for Chu Zihang because he rarely needs help from others.

This made it even more difficult for him to utter those two words.

Lu Mingfei, who was grateful for the thanks, wanted to pat him on the shoulder and tell him to work hard so that he could get a boss lady next year.

However, the little girl had just taught him a lesson a couple of days ago about how too much talk can lead to mistakes and how careless words can cause trouble, so he just smiled and didn't say anything.

Chu Zihang didn't say anything more and silently took the knife upstairs to look through books.

Xia Mi sat down, took a sip of tea, and casually picked up a rag to wipe up the tea that had spilled on the coffee table. She asked, "Boss Lu, we've almost finished reading the books. What's next?"

Lu Mingfei looked at her strangely and asked, "Isn't it good to just get paid a living?"

"I earn more than 10,000 a month. If I don't do any work, it feels like I'm burning my hands with this money."

Xia Mi looked at Lu Mingfei and met his gaze, saying, "I'm very afraid that the company will go bankrupt because I don't work. Then it will be hard to find such a good job again."

“There will be survivors, but not now.” Lu Mingfei got up and went to the front desk, turned on the computer, and casually browsed through the system analysis logs, looking for previous system analyses.

The system is unwilling to waste time; it usually acquires knowledge first and then analyzes and deduces it.

Even when Lu Mingfei is sleeping, it keeps working non-stop.

For example, in the stock market, the system identified many targets and generated an expected return.

Lu Mingfei checked the stock market charts and found that, amidst the fierce battle between red and green, the stocks he had bought were all moving according to the system's plan.

Lu Mingfei looked at the system's analysis again and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

It's not because he himself lost money or earned less, but because he pities those retail investors in the stock market... Investing is risky, and luckily I'm one of the harvesters.

Xia Mi leaned closer. "Boss, you play the stock market? How much have you made?"

The two heads were huddled together watching the screen, their ears even touching twice. Lu Mingfei felt that her ears were cold.

“To earn some extra money.” Lu Mingfei suddenly remembered something and said to her, “Investing in the stock market is risky. It’s impossible for everyone to make money. According to statistics from a financial institution last year, unless it’s a bull market and most stocks are rising, about 90% of stock investors will lose money throughout the year. Most of the stock investors who make money only make a small profit.”

Xia Mi is quite clever; once she has money, she might try her luck in the stock market and perhaps even make some money. But what truly plunges stock traders into the abyss is not the despicable market manipulators fleecing them, but rather their own greed.

Although Xia Mi is smart, who knows if she might become greedy and go all in...

Hmm... and then Xia Mi became even poorer, and could only cling to her own powerful backer? Lu Mingfei subconsciously thought of this.

Oh no, I've been corrupted by the system.

Xia Mi replied matter-of-factly, "Well, it's impossible for everyone to make money, right? This money isn't printed and distributed to everyone."

Lu Mingfei could tell at a glance that this kid treated stocks like gambling and didn't understand the underlying mechanisms.

"Boss, show me the stock charts of Tencent and Taobao. The internet is reaching into every corner of society. I feel that with the continuous development of technology, these internet companies definitely have a bright future."

Xia Mi expressed her opinion: "When Watt improved the internal combustion engine, no one would have thought that this machine would bring such a great change to the world."

The use of the internet is still very limited, you could even say it's just getting started. Why don't we make the internet our company's foundation? Maybe we can board the ship of this new era and get a piece of its pie?

“This idea is feasible…” Lu Mingfei showed her the stock information of Tencent and Taobao.

The system is also figuring out which industries can make big money, and completing task 3.() can assist other tasks.

Light industry and heavy industry each have their own advantages for the system.

Light industries like finance and the internet don't need to send people there, which makes company management easier. But how can you easily get firsthand local information and "slay dragons" without sending people?

Without a local rapid response team stationed there, if a dragon incident were to occur, there's a high chance we wouldn't even be able to get a decent meal...

"The stock is currently trading at around HK$50, down from a high of HK$72 in October. It's dropped a lot, it seems like it's been declining recently..."

Xia Mi took the mouse, stretched her little head forward a bit, and typed on the keyboard with her other hand, searching for information related to Tencent's business, her eyes focused on the information displayed on the screen.

Lu Ming impolitely stepped aside slightly, but the system advised him to squeeze back in.

A respectful but distant way of interacting does not necessarily help to quickly deepen a romantic relationship...

The system definitely wants to break the ice through more physical interaction; holding hands and putting an arm around the waist will then be a natural progression.

Lu Mingfei never expected that before the enormous benefits were even offered to him, before his conscience could even be put to the test, his conscience would start fighting with the small gains.

These are just some necessary tactics for winning over girls...

From the system's perspective, it's just a minor indecisiveness, nothing serious. Once you take down Xia Mi, she'll be yours, and you can just touch her however you want.

It doesn't even qualify as a loan or overdraft; it's more like an advance on a small, insignificant benefit.

"Trusted out!"

When Lu Mingfei felt a pang of conscience and faced a conflict of interest, he immediately logged off and logged back into the system.

He knew he had a problem with indecisiveness. Where had he reminded himself before, in some situation, to consult the system when unsure what to do?

Could the system possibly harm me?

Once logged into the system, he immediately squeezed back into the space where Lu Mingfei had previously retreated, and the two of them were crammed together, shoulder to shoulder and ear to ear, in front of a computer screen.

Xia Mi seemed oblivious to this and made no attempt to back away, her gaze still fixed intently on the computer screen.

She flipped to Tencent's year-end summary of future plans and business development, and thought it was quite good. She immediately said thoughtfully, "Big companies are indeed big companies; it makes a lot of sense. Boss, what do you think about us copying Tencent's future business development plan?"

The system also analyzed the feasibility of the plan, but abandoned it after only analyzing and speculating on three stages.

“Since Tencent has said it wants to develop in this area, it must already be doing it. But given Tencent’s size, if we follow behind it, we’re destined to miss out. We need to innovate. Only in a new arena where no giants can block our way can we take off.”

Chapter 68 The Rescuer, or Another Rescue?

"I hope to create a business model that can be rolled out to various locations, making it easier for our staff to participate in local dragon-related events..."

“But that would make the company very large, which doesn’t align with your lean development strategy, Mr. Lu.”

"..."

The two talked while operating the computer, their faces so close that they could feel each other's warm breath even in the dead of winter.

If someone has even the slightest bit of bad breath, the other person will definitely be able to smell it clearly.

The system didn't mind telling Xia Mi about its business model.

The development of asset-heavy industries takes time, while asset-light industries cannot afford to deploy manpower. Without a good solution, the only option is to first pursue rapid development of asset-light industries and then fill the gaps with manpower by introducing asset-heavy industries later.

What? You can pay someone to support you?

No, no, the system wants to slay the dragon, but it's not a charity. Slaying the dragon by simply spending money is not an option unless you can directly defeat the Dragon King and accomplish the mission of saving the world in one fell swoop. Otherwise, no matter how big the company is, it can't withstand the financial drain in the long run.

Xia Mi breathed a sigh of relief when she learned that her boss wasn't just starting the company as a hobby; at least she wouldn't have to worry about her job for the time being.

The two discussed the company's business for quite a while, but couldn't figure out what to do. It wasn't that they didn't have any ideas, but they were all rejected in the end because they were ultimately not quite suitable.

A blue ocean market, one that can soar to new heights, while also taking into account the advantages of both heavy and light assets... Xia Mi smiled and said, "Boss, if I could think of such a market, I would definitely do it myself."

The system remained calm. "Once the industry is discovered, if the future is promising, there will definitely be a lot of capital wanting to get involved and get a share. In this respect, I have an advantage over you. As long as I am sure I want to do it and can do it, I can get a lot of funds to start."

The first-mover advantage is significant, but the advantage of capital should not be underestimated.

"It's also..."