Chapter 78: New Business

The guild owned the whole floor. At the lobby, many people were lounging around, playing games on the sofa. A beautiful girl acted as a receptionist. With respect, she bowed toward James.

“Please come this way, Mr. James. We have been waiting for you.” She then led James to his room. It was barely a walk—literally the first room after the lobby.

With all the respect James had been receiving, he thought he would get a five-star hotel room. Apparently not. He got a studio-sized room, a little bit smaller than his previous apartment.

“We have repurposed this office room as a studio apartment just for you, Mr. James. We hope you like it,” the receptionist smiled. “Your pet will stay at the lobby.”

“Is it okay? Won't it intimidate others?”

“I can assure you that it won't intimidate anyone, as long as it doesn't actually attack. Is there anything we should be aware of? Do you need a fence? Will it attack if touched?”

“No. It can't attack unless I’m riding it. Just don't damage it, alright?”

“Of course.” The receptionist smiled. However, the way she behaved triggered him.

“Hm… you’re a bit too eager. Did anyone tell you something?”

“Hm? Well, Mr. Silas said I should persuade you to put your robotic pet on display if possible,” the receptionist said. When she saw James suddenly frown, she quickly added, “Well, he also said that you are free to do as you wish—whether putting it in your room or the parking lot!”

“Nevermind. I no longer care about his antics.” James sighed as he entered his room. He then set up his laptop on the table.

His hulking body proved to be an inconvenience when using the laptop. Since he had money, he first wanted to see some consultants. He had no intention of doing everything by himself. He had money, after all. It was best to pay a consultant for his new business.

“What the heck am I going to sell anyway?” James sighed.

James was in a weird position. He had money, but he didn't really have the ambition to start a business. After several hours moping in his bedroom, James decided to stroll around. However, due to his appearance, he couldn’t help but attract attention wherever he went.

His residence had a restaurant. James frowned at how expensive the food was—each menu item cost almost fifty dollars, even though it was not a high-end restaurant.

“Well, I’m rich now,” James muttered. As he was about to raise his hand, a waitress spawned beside him. She and ten other waitresses had been waiting for him to order.

It was unthinkable for a simple restaurant in an office building to have ten waitresses. Ever since the world was overrun by the system, business owners around the world had developed a weird psychology where they hired more than what they needed out of pity. Of course, the pay was driven to the ground, barely covering their food expenses, but none of the workers even complained. As long as food and their residence were paid, they would gladly take any job.

Several minutes later, his order arrived. James ordered fried rice, bacon, a sandwich, french fries, and soup, costing a total of 200 dollars. James breathed a sigh at the incredulous price. But he ate while savoring every bite. He hadn’t gone so far off the rails that he could waste 200 dollars on a meal without blinking.

After leaving three hundred dollars on the table, he left. All the benches in the park were occupied. Another side effect of the apocalypse. While most tents were gone from the street, some were still built in parks. James decided to sit beside a tree, admiring the scenery.

He could play games or waste his money elsewhere—maybe gambling. But the thrill of the dungeon never left him. A man, seemingly desperate, ran to him.

“Mr. James! Please take me on your next raid.” A man kneeled before him.

“Hm? Who are you?”

“Please! I have nothing else. My wife left me, my mortgaged house was confiscated! I was fired from my job!” The man knelt.

“No. It is dangerous.” James shooed him away. The fact that this man had a house to mortgage meant he was rich before. He probably couldn’t pay the installments or property taxes. In short, he was the sort of guy James hated before. He lived a wealthy life, unknown to suffering. Now the wheels had turned—it was time for him to feel the desperation of the poor citizens.

“I am willing to risk my life! Please!”

“Hm… You know we are fighting monsters there, right?”

“Yes! I am willing to risk my life!”

“In that case, why don’t you register with the military? Without some sort of martial background, it would be extremely dangerous in the dungeon. If you want to suicide, there are easier options. Raiding the dungeon alone, for example?” James said as he recalled his days in a trial dungeon. In total, he had cleared four dungeons now.

“I don’t want to die. I want to succeed! I need money. My daughter is an exemplary student at MIT—I want her to graduate! I can’t join the military! I didn’t pass the health screening.”

“Hm? Health screening? I thought they lowered the bar…” James said as he checked his phone. “There you go. You only need to be a human to pass.”

“Not the physical test. The medical exams. I have diabetes and cholesterol. They didn’t let me pass,” the man answered back. “I can't even become a clerk for logistics with that condition.”

“...Then why should I accept you? You need to fight to the death with monsters in dungeons. If you have a stroke in the middle of a battle, you will die.”

“I can be a mage!”

“You need to be at least level 20 to access a mana core to become a mage, unless you have a unique skill. Before that, you need to swing a sword or other weapons.”

“At least, let me unlock a unique skill! I can be a ranged attacker. You have a gun, right?”

“With those thick glasses? Bullets cost coins, and you need to be in shape to shoot arrows. Listen… entering a dungeon is not like a walk in the park or a hunting trip. You can’t just enter a dungeon, kill a monster, then come out. You need to clear the dungeon to leave safely.”

The man hung his head, dejected. Deep down, he knew he wasn't qualified, but he had to try. He didn't want to be a hero. He only wanted to get some dungeon artifact and sell it to the government. As he was about to leave, James called him back.

“Wait a minute. What was your job before? You only need money, right?”

“Yes. I am Ryan. I worked as a branch director at Privalux Limited before the apocalypse. Three months after the apocalypse, I was fired. I then mortgaged my house, tried to find other jobs, and even founded a new business. But it went bankrupt.”

“What new business?”

“It was a private military company. Once it was known that normal guns can't be carried into dungeons, the sales dropped to zero. Mr. James, I know it might be impertinent of me to ask you this, but could you tell me which dungeons are the easiest? I heard survivors are connected to the system—they know which dungeon is hard or easy.”

When people were faced with this massive economic recession, it would usually lead to massive revolt or plunder. However, there were few revolts happening. The government merely told the public to go and raid a dungeon if they were desperate, and that is what Ryan would do.

“I see,” James smirked. “I won't bring you to the dungeons. But I think I have a job for you. By the way, how much money do you need?”

“Two hundred thousand dollars…” Ryan said.

“Is that all? I thought houses and so forth would cost more…” James said.

“Four hundred if I want to free my house from mortgage.”

“Done. I will transfer you the money. You can build a company, right?”

“Yes! I can found a company. You can leave all matters related to the company to me.”

“Good, I shall give you one million dollars as your first capital.”

“With so much money, I can do anything… Um… by the way, what company are you making?”

“You can make any company you wish. I just need you to find the highest bidder for dungeon goods I am looting from the dungeon. Aside from that, you can make any company. What do you propose?” James said. Despite everything, he had low trust in the guild. If possible, he wanted to have a second opinion.

“Oo! Selling dungeon items is the most profitable business! Even the lowest of spears cost tens of thousands of dollars! Leave it to me, Mr. James! I shall be the vice president of your company!”

“I don't have that many items to warrant opening a specialized company, and I still need many of them to actually raid a dungeon. So, don't focus on it.” James said. His speech was so convincing that James actually wanted to believe in him.

James didn't know he was lying. Certainly, dungeon items were expensive. But the number of dungeons conquered barely reached three dozen in the entire world. Dungeon items were too rare to have a market, except artifacts that clearly exuded magic, like the Sphere of Fethusiane, which he had given the guild.

This confidence in lying was the one skill James never truly had—and refused to learn—that all CEOs or managers had.

“Yes, sir. So, while you’re raiding dungeons, how about if I make a supermarket? Groceries are the market right now. Or would you like to focus on security service? We could do well with your support! Your capital is enough to fund a new office.”

“Didn’t you say your previous company bankrupted?”

James agreed with his idea, but he frowned, since Ryan had a history of bankrupting a company.

“Just do what you think is best. I shall see what you can do.” James answered.

“Yes, sir! Just leave it to me!” Ryan said. "You shall receive the best!"

James knew Ryan had promised too much. But he had a surplus of money. Even if he lost 2 million dollars, he still had another 8.5 million in his bank account. James had so much financial security that not even a CEO of a high-ranking company had.

James then strolled back to his room after he bought some burgers and hotdogs on the street.

A few days later, Ryan called him back, showing his progress.

“Greetings, Mr. James. Here is the supermarket that I promised you,” Ryan said while promoting an empty warehouse. It was more like a mini-mart than a supermarket, but James didn’t complain.

“It’s empty. When will you start?” James said.

“We shall install this room with air conditioning, refrigerators, lights, and shelves, then we can start selling almost immediately. One or two weeks at the latest,” Ryan said. He then smirked. “By the way, there is one room I would like to show you.”

“What room?” James was intrigued. Ryan brought him to the second floor. There, a huge poster was plastered on the wall—animated, probably commissioned from others. However, it was clear that the monster in that picture was James.

“Here it is. Your personal office!” Ryan said.

“I’m still raiding dungeons, you know. I don’t think I’ll come to the office often.”

“Of course! I knew that. This place will also display your merits in the dungeon. You said you wanted to sell the loot you found in dungeons, right? I’ve prepared several pedestals here.”

“I see.” James nodded. Ryan had proved to be extremely helpful. James was a mediocre employee before. He wouldn’t even think to display his loot like that. At most, he would wrap them in clothes or a box.

“The glass cases will be custom-made, so I only have one or two examples here. I’ve tried reaching out to my contacts. Mr. James, are you having a discord with the guild? Should I ban them from entering or buying your loot? I must say that will severely limit our potential customers. But relax, even if you don’t sell to the guild, there are other companies that are actively raiding dungeons like the guild does. The guild merely has the highest amount of success!”

“There are others?” James tilted his head.

He didn’t know there were others except the guild that raided dungeons.