5 days had went on in a flash.
The Blue Wave restaurant was slowly forgotten on the internet, replaced with newer and fresher gossip. 
Other than learning up on F&B Knowledge and fervently upgrading his skill, Si Chen was keeping to a daily exercise routine. 
He could still see some visible improvements from doing this, albeit not much, but it still contributed.
His F&B Business Expertise has managed to upgrade to Level 3 after his efforts.
The Hui Yuan Drink Store and the Seafood Restaurant were both doing well. 
Unknowingly, he had already completed his mission tasks. 
[Mission Task 2 & 3 has been completed]
[Rewards are being distributed]
-       $10000 credited to System issued Credit Card
-       Business Management skill upgraded from Level 1 to Level 2
-       F&B Business Expertise skill upgraded from Level 3 to Level 4
[Host upgrades from Level 6 to Level 7]
[Host gains 2 Free Attribute Points]
 
Host: Si Chen
Level: 7 – (168500/200000)
Net worth: $100500 => $168500
Cash – [$36000] => [$63500]
90% Shares -- Hui Yuan Drink Store [$50500] => [$55000]
85% Shares – Seafood Restaurant [$20000] => [$50000]
 
Host Attributes:
Charm: 7.0
Strength: 10.3
Wisdom: 10.0
Free Attribute Points: 2
 
Skills:
Business Management – Level 2
Host gains knowledge of the intricacies of business management, and can navigate more smoothly within the business world.
Passive Effect: 15% Increase in profits; 15% increase in customers.
 
Food & Beverage Business Expertise – Level 4 (180/400)
Host gains knowledge of the secrets behind the Food & Beverage Industry, and can develop better tasting food and more flavourful drinks.
Passive Effect: 4% Increase in profits; 4% increase in customers
[Only applies to F&B related Businesses]
 
The levelling up of his Business Management skill was the best reward from the completion of his tasks. The 5% increase would be a great help to his businesses, both now and in the future.
The F&B Business Expertise skill was also further upgraded, and the passive effects were similarly boosted.
Although the passive effects were not as great as the Business Management's skill, however, an increase was still an increase.
This was still very beneficial towards his business.
The main benefit of the levelling up of this skill, was the knowledge that came along with it, which will allow him to create even better tasting recipes.
Si Chen was not as dense as to think that the recipes he had created were already at the peak of the world standard.
He still had a long way to go before he reaches that, and with every upgrade of his F&B Business Expertise, he goes one step forward to reaching that goal.
Now, the next thing he had to do was the allocation of his attribute points.
He decided to go with the Wisdom and Charm stats.
Wisdom, because it could help him learn faster, deduct and analysis things more thoroughly, and make it easier for him to innovate and create new things, such as recipes.
As for Charm…just because he felt like it.
He pressed the addition button, and relished in the pleasure. It felt as if he was indulging in the soft and gentle spring winds caressing him in the higher heavens.
His brain shined with a glow, as stronger and more connections were being made, activating a higher portion of his brain potential.
His features became more defined and sharp, giving him a more attractive appearance.
He then sat back down on his chair and entered his mind space yet again.
He had already completed two missions, the one with the Hui Yuan Drink Store, and the other with the Seafood Restaurant. Now, he had a hint of anticipation and expectation for what mission was to come next.
[New Mission Task Issued]
The System is…not surprised by the rate at which you are completing the tasks. Absolutely not at all. For the Host to manage to reach more than $150000, the System will like to remind the Host do not be haughty or arrogant, because there are many others there are better than you in Host's world.
The System has determined that Host has achieved…satisfactory results for the second mission. Since the Host has investments in both Food, and Beverage businesses, it is time to venture out to other retail sectors.
Mission Task 1: Invest into a retail industry business (Ot\her than F&B) – At least 40% of shares
Mission Task 2: Raise profits of the business by 30%: 0/30%
Note: (Passive effects of Host's skills do not count)
Extra Mission: Gain a 100% return on investment within a month of investing: 0/100%
Time Limit: 2 months 
To Si Chen, this mission seemed rather reasonable to him. After investing within F&B businesses, it looked like he was on the way to the Retail businesses.
Going by this trend, he could even open his own shopping mall in the future and place his branch shops within it.
The thing that Si Chen had to contemplate on right now, was which specific part of the retail industry should he invest in?
Businesses within the retail industry were businesses that provided goods and services to the customers.
There were two main choices for him, which was either clothing stores, or convenience and grocery stores.
Clothing stores seemed more like a practical choice to him, because they did not require as much funding for the stores to open up, in comparison to convenience and grocery stores.
Of course, this was only in general, and did not apply in all cases.
Si Chen felt more inclined towards the clothing stores as an investment target right now. He had distinctly remembered that he had chanced upon something on the internet.
It was something by the name of "Online shopping", where there would be websites created online for consumers to see, check and buy products on the internet.
This was still a new thing within the internet, and there was not much popularity for it yet. However, Si Chen could see that this could be the next great prospective asset.
If he were to invest into online shopping, would this be considered as investing into a retail business since he was selling goods online?
[Yes. No matter the platform, as long as Goods or Services are being sold for cash, it is determined as Retail]
This cold robotic voice within his mind cleared his doubts, and the idea within his head started to sprout.
For this idea to work, first, he had to invest into a store that sold clothes, then in the business who created an online shopping website, since he had no knowledge of how to create such a platform online.
During this period of time, since online shopping did not gain much attention yet, the businesses who created the websites would most likely still be in a profit deficit.
Because of this, Si Chen was confident that it would be must easier to invest into a suitable online shopping website with the current cash he had on hand.
And Si Chen figured that the idea of online shopping would take some time to get on fire, which was why he wanted to invest into a storefront to sell clothes in the real life first so that he could gain some instant profits, while waiting for the online shopping idea to become popular.
After all, if he solely relied on the online shopping platform, Si Chen predicted that the profits would take a much longer time before it could start coming in, and before that happened, the online shopping platform would be nothing but a liability.
Although this liability will not stay a liability for long, however, this would still affect the speed of his mission completion.
With all these thoughts within his mind, Si Chen washed his face with water to liven himself up, before he went online to search for suitable businesses to invest in.
And while he was focusing on his current mission, he also had to deal with the matter on the Hui Yuan Drink Store and Seafood Restaurant's branch stores.
The Hui Yuan Drink Store's branch store at the Riverside Avenue would be done with the moving in process, and will be opening up in a few days. When it does open, he had to take a trip there to examine the branch store.
Meanwhile, regarding the Seafood Restaurant, the place would always be packed with people, and the popularity and reputation it had quickly garnered because of the high quality of the dishes was enough for them to start considering a branch shop.
Since the Seafood Restaurant mainly sold Seafood, Si Chen wanted to find a location near to the beach to have the branch shop at, so as to allow the sea scenic to better suit the theme of the restaurant.
The rent for shops having a full view of the beach was definitely going to be more expensive than usual, but this difference in rent compared to the prospective profits that the restaurant was going to bring was not even worth mentioning.

A youth, desolate and bleak. 
He had no parents, and his life was enveloped in darkness
The only brightness in his life, was his sister. 
Yet, he was unable to even give her a comfortable life. 
He had no money. 
Until a System descend onto his brain. 
And he abruptly rose like a Phoenix, and roared as mightily as a Dragon, making his presence known to the world, sending the entire business world trembling in fear. 

As a God of Investment, he shall singlehandedly build up his own business empire, and dominate and oppress the world.

\
\\
...

Filipino VS American Shopping Habits:

1. Filipino shoppers go out in search of the particular product and stop when they find in American shop to shop.

2. Filipinos are traditional shoppers and may choose to go to the malls to stop.  American prefer to shop online.

3. Filipinos shop for "their wants".  American shop for "their needs".


*Needs:

(-) Convenience:
--->Online Advantage:  
         *No travel
         *Availability in 24/7
         *Featured in automatic replenishment

(-) Price Value:
--->Online Advantage:
          *Avoid crowded stores for check - out

(-) Choice:
--->Online Advantage:
         *Easy price computation
         *Access to deals and coupons
         *broader product range


*How does an American shop:

- convenience
- resources
- price
- sale events
- unlimited online stores


*How does a Filipino shop:

- few trust online 
- shopping or do not appreciate the convenience
- not all having credit cards, internet connection or computer

 
\
\\
...
-END-

Lists of thoughts... Random thoughts... (considered as communion to God Almighty!)

Hey Guys, Realm Monarch Here!

First of all, I just want to deeply apologize about me just suddenly disappearing for 3 weeks after i released my 4th chapter. The reason being is I was too busy preparing my 2 Online Stores so that it can finally go online and after that I was also busy advertising it, so that it can at least have a small name on the community but unfortunately I haven't had a lot of traffic coming to my Stores and maybe I'm probably doing something wrong. So I just decided to finally continue my Novel here that i left hanging but of course I'll still continue working on my 2 Stores and also write at the same time.

I can't promise you guys that i can post chapters everyday but I can at least say that I can released 2-3 chapters a week and worst, if I'm preoccupied about my Stores and they really need a lot of attention, I can probably only release 1 chapter. Let's hope that my Store gains a great following of Customers so I can let someone handle it and just manage it from time to time and fully immersed writing my Novel. So that's explanation to those disappointed readers, No worries now I'm back and I'll start posting Next Week. Thank you for your understanding! God bless to us!

PS: If you're wondering where you can find my Stores are: empressjewelry.ecwid.com | hobbyist.onlineweb.shop - this is a Store for people who loves fishing/angling.

Update: Changing the Novel name from Star Athlete to Super Athlete instead. :D

John Steve, who's already in 3rd year in his University. 

He dreamed that one day he can become a Superstar in Sports. 

He joined the Basketball Team of his University but he faced the reality that he has no talent regarding Sports. 

Then accident happened that changed his life. 

"System! Make me the best player in Sports History! Woohoo!"


I can only release 2-3 chapters a week depending on how busy my time is and of course if I have a lot of free time maybe I can even release 5 chapters for that week.

Note: All chapters will be release by the end of the week so that you guys won't suffer from cliffhangers by only reading a single chapter. We will follow my timezone (ex. USA residents would probably read at Saturdays instead of Sunday)

Support the novel and unlock extra chapters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/realmmonarch

2025.
A new age, a new era for gaming .
They did it, you could now use VR in your sleep, without having to move around, without exceptionally damaging your eyesight. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me introduce Michael, (The main charracter)
He is a freshman, 15 years old.
Obsessed with gaming.
Average student, nothing in particular.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
5th May 2025.
"Today, is a big day for the gaming community," announced the TV broadcast crew, "A game which was known all over the world, which broke records in popularity, Celestial Online, is coming to VR. We have all waited long for this, an RPG MMO hit that left a mark in history,  Game Developer Darrel will explain more."

"Thank you," he said, in his low-pitched voice, "Celestial Online will be available on VR, we have decided upon selling only 150,000 copies at the moment, to make sure the servers are running fine. Unfortunately, the PC version of Celestial Online is shutting down. When will the 150,000 copies hit the stores? You may ask..

Ill give you a straight answer, they are going to hit the stores tonight, they are only available in U.S.A and G.B. at the moment, but that will soon change, at exactly 12:00, they will be sold at only specific stores which are pinpointed on the app "Celestial Online Tracker," so gaming fans should queue in line quick, before others get ther-"

Micheal paused, and within a second, he was downloading the Celestial Online Tracker, he was late, already two million downloads, his hands moved in a flash, his eyes widened, this was the day, only 150,000 copies of the actual game, luckily, he lived in Britain, so he was able to see stores which sold them. Or would sell them later on tonight. Fitting his shoes on and grabbing his savings, he rushed outside, grabbing a taxi and zooming off. The closest store which would sell the game tonight was only 2 kilometers away from him, it was a game stop. He gave the money to the driver and within a second he sprinted down the busy road, he was going to get the game, he was going to get it, Micheal thought. The store came into view and so did the queue, he was late, but he was used to that. In frustration, he dashed over and joined the medium sized queue. He sighed, not in relief and not in worry. Cars pulled up behind him, footsteps rattled.
He turned around and a horde of people struggled to get in the queue, it was truly a sight.
The app was badly organized, it never mentioned exactly how many copies of the game where going to be sold in each store. The queue became longer and longer, until he could barely see the end of it, and it was only the first few minutes. 
It was currently 6:47, now time for the big wait.
7:00
8:00
9:00
Not only was it pitch-black, it was starting to get chilly, the people that rushed to get the game and where first in the queue, all forgot to bring coats / any type of jacket.
It wasn't pleasant, and the crowd at the back of the line slowly dispersed.
10:00 
11:00 
By now, it was freezing, some people nodded off, others played on their iPhone's, Micheal had nothing, well he did bring his phone with him, but it was low on charge and he had no 4G.
You can make it through this, he thought to himself over several whimpers, his parents should be worried by now, he forgot to tell them he was going out. But he had to wait the line, he had to-
11:40
A crimson red truck drove past the line, into the back of the game stop, Micheal couldn't see the writing on it, however, he knew out of instinct that the letters read "Celestial Online," this got his hopes up and people started to slowly rise, they could feel it too.
11:50 
Time passed slowly, it was as if he waited all his life for this moment, he just couldn't understand the concept of selling the game at midnight, without a beta.
12:00
The doors of the store where unlocked and everyone rushed in, it was chaos, whoever grabs the game first gets to buy it, the shop's staff tried to calm everyone down, but it was no use, people searched the store for the game, the one game they wanted to buy.
Micheal rushed in, scanning the store, and he noticed a crowd at the edge of the store, he ran towards it with instinct and I saw them, all sold in bright red cardboard, without thinking Micheal barged someone and got one of the last copies, immediately rushing to the counter, buying it, and running home, as fast as he could, checking to make sure he wasn't getting followed.
When he got home he sighed in relief,
He made it.

Welcome, Player
A virtual reality mmorpg story

---

this is the tale that will never grow old. 
theirs are the name that will forever live.
this is the  legend that will be passed down generations to generations.

this tells the story of how the most popular game, Everett Online, Vanish in a blink.

are you prepared for the tale to  finally be told?

---

[Start]

Everything and everyone relies on the technology now. From a simple purchase to a life machine. Flying cars. Automated doors everywhere. A simple identification card that is equivalent to your own whole life.

And weirdly, people became so addicted with online games.

they're not the simple single-player games anymore. Now, its more larger in population and more promises of an adventure. People buy NerveGear everyday. Companies launch games every 2 months and update every week. The talk of the town are always about the newly launch game or the worst reviewed game ever.

and the world exploded when the top game maker, Neon tech, launched their biggest game of all time: Everett Online.

The game was already announced a year ago and everyone was excited. Especially since Neon Tech's previous game, Project Power, became a hit. People became excited with trailers, sneak-peeks ad when a snippet of the game design was posted online. Everybody went crazy.

For a year, The news spread fire. Every posts the company makes on social media became viral. People then started to earn or save money. To buy the latest NerveGears and stuff so that their gameplay would be smooth.

And finally, after 22 years of waiting, Everett Online was launched.

People waited outside main stores. Five hours after the launch, more that 100 stores already lost stock. A day after the launch, it was sold out.

Everyone was excited. Because it was the start of their new adventure. A chance to make their own legacy.

[DO YOU WANT TO BE THE KING OF EVERETT?]

[WELCOME TO EVERETT ONLINE. THE CROWN IS WAITING FOR YOU AT THE THRONE.]

[A VIRTUAL REALITY MMORPG STORY]

Set in the future where the world relies a lot in technology, online games became a hit. From kids to seniors, everyone owns a gear. Everyone plays. But not Cooper. He hates it. He would rather die than play one. That's why imagine he was shock when his movie gear welcomed him into a game.

[Everett is now online. Welcome, Player!]

Primo, headquarters.
In front of the spacious and clean garden-like store, a dense crowd of at least a few thousands had gathered. The customers stood in several lines. Some were looking at their phones and some were standing on their tiptoes to check out the ferocious beast by the door.
The beast had a heinous look. It was one of the best pets of the demon family.
It was hard for them to see such a pet in real life. Usually, people could only search for some images online or to watch some CG-generated clips in movies to satisfy their curiosity. But that day, they could stand there and see this pet with their own eyes at a close range. 
Eight Hell Beast!
It was just as rare as the Inferno Dragon!
"Have you heard this? The Pixie Pet Store never issued another announcement."
"Tell me about it. They only claimed guaranteed admission to the Top 10 but Primo is aiming for the Top 5. No way can Pixie compete against Primo now."
"True. The Pixie Pet Store is reaching its limit to say that they can take people to the Top 10. Compared to Primo, the Pixie Pet Store is still too weak. After all is said and done, Primo is a time-honored store. I have come here several times. The price is higher than other stores but the service is top-notch."
"If you ask me, the Pixie Pet Store had it coming. They closed so early yesterday. They even took the dragon back so that people could not see it. How ridiculous."
"Right. I went there specifically for the Inferno Dragon. Only my trip was in vain. I heard that nothing about them is posted online. My guess is that they're going down."
Customers were discussing in a low voice.
During the past couple of days, the competition between "Pixie" and "Primo" was a trending topic online.
If it involved other pet stores, people might have paid less attention. But there was something different about the two stores. Primo was an old and famed store in the base city, always at the center of attention. 
The Pixie Pet Store was an emerging store with less fame but they did hire a popular star to advertise them. Also, there was a rare dragon, the Inferno Dragon. The Pixie store had built up its name quickly.
The competition between the two stores amused the onlookers. They were curious to know who would win
But based on the current status, Primo was winning and that was certain.
After all, being an old store chain, Primo was resourceful. Someone broke the news that Primo's backer was the Liu family.
Anyone who had been born in the Longjiang Base City would have heard of or used the products of the groups and companies affiliated to the Liu family. None of the citizens were strangers to the Liu family's products.
Primo alone was well-known to all.
Some nosy people were educating the public about the wealth of the Liu family. Only then did people become fully aware of Primo's strength.
Primo was relying on a formidable giant!
No wonder the night Pixie placed the Inferno Dragon on display, Primo was able to invite a top-level pet of the demon family, the Eight Hell Beast, to keep up a strong front. That was because of the Liu family's power!
Hence, many people were viewing the Pixie Pet Store unfavorably at the moment.
…
"Sir, nothing is happening there."
"Well, I suppose he's still asleep."
"I think they didn't see it coming. Last night was the last highlight of their business. They were so full of themselves and closed the door early. So funny!"
"All glory to our boss. He goes there and he gets the Eight Hell Beast and he wins over someone like Liu Jainxin. We can take this chance and teach the other pet stores a lesson. We must let them know that, when it comes to pet stores in the Longjiang Base City, Primo makes the rules!"
"Hear, hear!"
"All hail the boss!"
In the meeting room, many executives were worked up.
Previously, all of them had turned desperate when Pixie placed the Inferno Dragon on exhibition. However, good fortune came after a long spell of bad luck. Soon, things changed. At the moment, they had gained the upper hand and victory was within their grasp. They just needed to sit here and watch Pixie perish on its own.
Liu Yuan smiled at those buttering up to him. The fact that he could ask the family head to lend him the Eight Hell Beast did save the day. That was the benefit that came with a powerful patron. If Liu Yuan had to deal with the competition by himself, he would have already lost to that small store.
"Listen, we need to strike the iron while it's hot. Contact all the channels and get the word out. We must leverage this change and show Primo's actual strength to the public. Our family head lent us the Eight Hell Beast. This is a once in a blue moon chance. We won't have this opportunity again in the future." Liu Yuan tapped the table. He was serious.
The executives put away their smiles and nodded.
"Also, keep an eye on Pixie. Do not ignore them. They should be open for business. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. I am eager to see how they're going to fight me back this time." Liu Yuan sneered.
"Yes, sir." His assistant nodded.
All of a sudden, his assistant heard a ring.
He lowered his head to check and looked up in shock.
"Well?" Liu Yuan noticed the change of his assistant's expression. "What is it?" Liu Yuan frowned.
His assistant had to reply honestly, "Sir, those who are monitoring Pixie told me something is up and asked me to get online right now."
While saying so, the assistant was wondering what else had happened when Pixie's doom was inevitable.
Liu Yuan raised his eyebrows.
The other executives looked at each other speechlessly. Someone laughed out loud and some went online to check the news immediately.
…
…
The Longjiang intranet crashed!
Just a minute ago, before the release of a piece of news, the intranet was running smoothly and many netizens were still keeping a beady eye on the competition between Pixie and Primo. Many discussions were related to Primo.
People were dwelling upon, with great relish, Primo's package for the Top 5, the Eight Hell Beast, and their master trainer. 
The Pixie store, which had recently built up a name, seemed to have dropped off the internet. Only some "residual" fame of the store was still worthy of discussion. After all, Pixie had the Inferno Dragon. Some dragon fans felt sorry that they could no longer find Pixie on the news.
But, on a major platform, a piece of advertisement popped out abruptly.
It was Pixie's advertisement.
—We will make the champion of Longjiang's competition!
The simple words had the effect of a nuclear bomb that turned the lively Longjiang intranet into a place of dead silence.
Countless people that saw this advertisement were stunned still.
No one had read it wrong. Soon, the website was on the verge of collapsing!


What’s not to love about my new life after transmigrating into a Pet-centered world?
There are mighty creatures that come in all shapes and sizes. They can either be cuddly companions, helpers in your daily life, daring scouts or strong fighters. Or all of the above. Not bad, huh?
I have a family, but the fact is completely overshadowed by my younger sister. She thoroughly hates my guts, and she makes sure that I know this. Every. Single. Day.
Did I mention that she’s disgustingly talented while I am a bottom feeder? A terribly handsome one at that.
I have free rein to run the family business on my own. A small and quaint Pet Store. It should have been great if not for the fact that the previous owner of this body was born with ZERO affinity to handle Astral Pets…
It wouldn’t be a proper transmigration without a gimmick or a system to pave my road to greatness, don’t you think? I have one, but I don’t know if I would be better off without it…

Welcome to the World of Astral Pets!

Since the five gold flame-level men were killed in a single hit, the store owners and visitors, who were ready to watch an exciting show, returned to the stores. They proceeded to do what they were doing and pretended not to have seen anything. Besides showing his stunning ability off, Lin Huang had just sent everyone a message that he was a crimson flame-level genius who had the ability of an immortal-level. Everyone knew that such a genius must be a core member of a top organization. People who dared to touch him would suffer a horrible death.
Lin Huang brought Yao Huanhuan deeper into the alley. As soon as they disappeared, a few people dashed towards the dead bodies. In less than a second, the bodies were taken away, and there were even two individuals who fought each other for a dead body. To ordinary people, a dead human body was useless. However, to many of the business owners in the black market, it was something valuable that could be sold to puppeteers or witches. A complete gold flame-level human body could be sold at a higher price than a gold flame-level monster carcass.
Of course, Lin Huang had no idea about all that. Even if he did, he had no one to sell the bodies to. As they entered the alley, they soon arrived at the main street of the black market. There were more stores there, but business was slow. Including Lin Huang and Yao Huanhuan, the number of visitors were less than half of the number of stores that were available.
"It's so quiet." Yao Huanhuan was upset as she walked into the alley. She did not speak until she saw the actual black market.
"Most of the trading is done online now, so fewer people are shopping at the brick and mortar stores," Lin Huang turned around and explained to her.
"Then, why didn't you do it online?" Yao Huanhuan asked.
"There're many scammers online who sell fake stuff and fake information. I prefer to shop at the stores. There are fewer scammers here," Lin Huang explained patiently.
"But what if there are scammers at the stores? They might just close their stores and leave after scamming you." Yao Huanhuan was determined to get to the bottom of this.
"If that happens, I'll try to look for the scammer when I have the time and make him pay for the price." Although Lin Huang's tone was calm, Yao Huanhuan could sense that the cold tone in it. She recalled the dead bodies at the entrance of the black market.
"Do you… always kill?" Yao Huanhuan asked after a moment of silence.
"If I don't kill, they would've killed me." Lin Huang did not answer her question directly.
"Is this why you refuse to tell me your real name? Are you afraid that I'm here to kill you?" Yao Huanhuan knew the name that he had given her was fake. She had just been pretending earlier.
"Too many people want to kill me, so I have to be careful," Lin Huang admitted that he had his guard up against Yao Huanhuan.
They became silent after that conversation. Soon, Lin Huang finally found the store selling information that Sun Ba had told him about.
"Wait for me at the hall. Don't run around and create trouble. There are many people like the five men in the black market, and there are even more powerful people than that," Lin Huang reminded Yao Huanhuan again as they walked into the store.
Lin Huang then followed the female staff into a room. There was a lady who was in her early 30's in the room. She had a voluptuous body, but she was not fat. Her combat level seemed to be hidden using a relic, so Lin Huang could only sense that her aura was just like an average person's.
"Dear Sir, what would you like to know?" The lady sounded extraordinarily sweet which made Lin Huang feel comfortable. She did not use any bewitching skills, but her voice was distinctive.
"I want to know all the details of holy fire-level and immortal-level triple mutated monsters that are located in Division 3. Also, I need all the details of the danger zones and forbidden lands as well as the monsters in them," Lin Huang requested directly.
The lady raised her eyebrow and smiled.
"Not many people ask for such information. It's a massive amount of data, and I'll need some time to put them together. Could you come back tomorrow?"
"Sure." Lin Huang nodded.
"Is there anything else that you need?" The lady asked.
Lin Huang thought about it and nodded. "All the details of the organizations in the Division 3 footholds."
"That's tough. I can only provide you info on A- to C-grade footholds although the C-grade foothold data is just a tough one, let alone the D-grade. But it seems like no organization wants to take over the D-grade footholds," the lady explained.
"A- to C-grade are good enough." Lin Huang nodded.
"If you're not in a hurry, you can collect all of them tomorrow." The lady smiled at Lin Huang.
"Sure!"
After transferring the fee, Lin Huang gave her Lin Xie's contact number.
"Just send everything to this number tomorrow."
"Please come back soon!" Lin Huang left after hearing the lady's sweet voice. He soon noticed that Yao Huanhuan was no longer at the hall. He frowned and asked the staff who had brought him into the room, "Do you know where the lady went?"
"She went into another trading room after you left," the staff explained.
Soon, Yao Huanhuan returned.
"Didn't I ask you not to leave?"
"I heard from the staff that they sell information here. I happen to have something to ask. Moreover, I didn't leave this store. That's not considered leaving!" Yao Huanhuan denied.
Lin Huang did not want to argue with her.
After leaving the store, Lin Huang shopped at the black market with Yao Huanhuan just like he promised. She would stop whenever she saw something interesting like a curious kid who stopped to look at fun things. After shopping at most of the stores, Yao Huanhuan bought many peculiar things that Lin Huang did not know about. She said she spent all her money on items that she had never seen before as collectibles. Lin Huang did not bother to tell her that some of the odd pots that she had bought were spittoons from the olden days.
They finally got out of the black market when it was past 6 p.m. Yao Huanhuan projected the map, pinned the location, and summoned her Tweedle Bird. She then waved at Lin Huang.
"Let's go! I'll bring you somewhere good!"


Lin Huang was a 15-year old boy from Earth, on a path to live his life in a world full of monsters. With his younger sister in his care, and given only 91 days to live, the odds were not in his favor at all... That is until, he killed a vicious vampire, purely by accident. With a twist in his tale, his life was changed completely. As he fought his way through this world with the help of his troops made of men and monsters, the boy sets his sights on a much larger ambition of becoming the greatest monster hunter in the world!

After half a month of military operations in the Belém Devon region of Somalia, NATO successfully captured the warlord-controlled area. At the same time, the United Nations was pressured by various parties to eventually issue a controversial document.
The zombies were defined as unnatural deaths, allowing the army to kill zombies.
Interestingly, when discussing this issue, many countries stubbornly voted against it for strange reasons. For example, the reason why France voted against it was because there was no death penalty in the country. Therefore, it wouldn't vote on this solution involving the death penalty. But India was even odder - their reasoning behind their vote was because they thought the living dead were servants of Shiva...
In any case, even if it was controversial, this long-overdue document was passed through the efforts of all parties.
NATO sent two tank companies and cleared out the zombies from the infected area on the border between Somalia and Ethiopia with the help of drones. At the same time, far on the other side of the world, the self-defense forces and UA troops stationed in Napon began to enter the quarantined Shinagawa area of Yoto and cleared out zombies there.
The vaccines launched by 11 global pharmaceutical companies in cooperation with Future Biology had fully entered the market. It was expected that in the next four months, it would be sufficient to popularize in the world's major countries. Based on the patent fee of 1.50 per vaccine, it was expected that in the next four months, Future Biology would receive 5.7 billion US Dollar in revenue.
The figure was almost equivalent to four years of Future Biology's net profits.
However, as a cost, granting the licensing of the technology meant overdrawing the potential profits of the T virus vaccine. After all, other pharmaceutical companies were more dominant in terms of production scale; even if the cost had an additional 1.50 in royalties, this cost could easily be made up elsewhere.
In the past few days in Yoto, Jiang Chen headhunted a professional manager and formed a professional real estate management team to manage the 11 billion USD of real estate he acquired in Yoto. He was responsible for the maintenance of buildings and leasing of shops.
At Yoto International Airport, Qian Xia waved at Jiang Chen emotionally.
The day before leaving Yoto, Jiang Chen eventually showed his claws to Qian Xia in her maid uniform. At first, she resisted somewhat, but it didn't take long before she obeyed while incoherently murmuring some words.
Maybe it was because the pain of the first time was unforgettable, or maybe it was because of other reasons. After that night, Jiang Chen felt that she looked at him with eyes containing a different glory.
"Will master still come back?" Qian Xia buried her head and whispered in a low voice.
"Occasionally perhaps."
"Then...when I graduate, could I go to Xin to find you?"
"Of course."
Jiang Chen tousled her head and didn't say much in terms of a farewell. He then turned and boarded the Gulfstream G650 private jet at the airport.
Under her watchful gaze, the plane disappeared into the distant horizon.
Soon after Jiang Chen returned to Xin, Future Technology and Amazon, eBay, Taobao, Jingdong and many other e-commerce giants published announcements on their official websites simultaneously.
<The arrival of an incredible technology! VRstore is now online and you can shop without leaving the comfort of your home>
At the same time, the Phantom Helmet also welcomed its second system update. After the update, an application management program appeared on the interface. Just like Apple's App Store and Android's Android Market, Phantom's Helmets also allowed users to download apps freely.
However, at present, although Future Group announced VR program development tools and provided server rental services, no company could demonstrate the advantages of the VR platform. They had been investigating how to transfer existing applications to the VR platform.
So, for now, aside from the web browser, only two applications existed in the application management program.
One was the Godly Land, and the other was the newly launched virtual reality online shopping platform – VRstore.
The newly launched VRstore currently had two modes.
One was a simple mode combining plane images and VR images. Users could search for items just like on traditional e-commerce stores and find what they wanted in the shortest amount of time. The only difference was that the searched items could be held directly in hand, and the searched clothes could be directly worn.
The other mode was the virtual mall mode. After entering this mode, the user would appear on a virtual street designed by Future Technology, which referenced New York's Times Square and other famous commercial streets. According to a certain algorithm, the goods and decorations in the shops were randomly processed, so that the user could experience and enjoy randomized products with their friends.
According to the news released by Future Technology, there were seven e=commerce giants that joined the VRstore. On the first day of the VRstore launch, all the top shops of the seven giants were made available with a grand total of 800,000 products available.
Many users who tried the VRstore experienced the joy of VR shopping. While the sales volume continued to rise, this powerful VRstore was also positively rated by users.
"The skirt I purchased is already here. It's amazing. It's exactly the same as I saw in the VRstore!"
"I used to be unwilling to buy expensive clothes online. Not to mention size, but what I wear and what models wear seem completely different. Now it's okay, I can try clothes in a VR environment and find things that really suit me."
"It's crazy, how did Future Technology do it?"
"It's a pity there's no tasting function. If the taste of food could be replicated, I'd be able to eat in the virtual mall... I wonder if you can be full in the virtual world?"
"My God, my wallet! How did I spend so much money! Oh..."
For technical reasons, VR images of products were currently produced by Future Technology. Therefore, images of these 800,000 products were randomly selected, sent to Future Technology's headquarters, and scanned using special equipment, producing high-resolution VR images.
As for the VR image production fees for products, Jiang Chen didn't scam them and charged them a cost of 1,000 US Dollar per item. And for the products registered in the VRstore, a monthly data management fee of 10 US Dollar was charged.
Compared with the profits gained from the VRstore, the investment was definitely worth the money.
Phantom helmets had reached hundreds of millions of active users worldwide, and VRstore was one of the only two applications which created strong exposure. Controlling such a large amount of traffic, the price could double and shops would still be willing to pay.
In addition, advertising and other costs were calculated separately and were quite pricey. If the product was on VRstore's homepage recommendation list, the revenue of the shop would have to be divided equally with Future Technology. Even though the price was a bit high, there was still a stream of shops that applied for front page exposure.
These charges, together with data management fees, were the two major revenue streams for VRstore.
Some analysts realized that the launch of VRstore would signal a new period of downward trends for physical stores.
For example, the British "Observer Daily" had thoroughly analyzed this issue.
"We had optimistic thoughts that online shopping would never replace physical stores and would affect the spending habits of some people at the most. Physical stores have an advantage that online shopping can't replace, such as intuitively touching the products you want to purchase, and the fun in shopping itself. These are elements not available in online shopping."
"Now, VRstore seems to have done it - everything that online shopping was unable to do. Maybe this will be a start to completely rewriting the landscape of the global retail industry."


After the nuclear war, ruins stretch across the landscape in the apocalypse.
If you accidentally survived on the wasteland, then you must be ready to face the endless hunger, ceaseless dangers, the mad zombies at night, and the peculiar mutant creatures that are the aftermath of constant radiation.
But for Jiang Chen, this place is heaven.
Mansions standing tall, luxurious cars parked on the street, high tech products and gold abandoned everywhere.
What? You were the president of a game development company before the war? You were responsible for the development of the 3D virtual reality online multiplayer game? Well, that’s great, why don’t you come work for me. Your salary is two pieces of bread a day.
iPhone? Ultra thin design? Don’t you see that the phone I invented is thinner than a condom?
Aircraft carrier? Fighter jets? Oh, I have those things as well, but they are designed for space combat.
Watch the story of Jiang Chen, who possesses the ability to travel through space and time, as he witnesses the creation of an empire stretched across space and time... 


"And they're off!" an announcer's voice bellowed over the loudspeaker. "And on the inside, we have Piano Bar, with Grey's Anatomy coming up on the outside...."
Liam sighed trying his best to tune out the announcer's voice droning on as he entered the Royal Enclosure at Ascot Racecourse. He adjusted his top hat and pulled down slightly on his vest as he looked for his uncle, George Meres. Liam hated the hype and formal attire of the racecourse, but his uncle loved it. Liam had a plan and wanted to run it by his uncle, or he wouldn't have been there.
"Here, here! Liam, my boy!" His uncle motioned toward him as a few stuffed shirts frowned, turned up their noses, and turned their attention back to the race and their tickets. 
"Hello, Uncle," Liam replied, taking the seat that his Uncle George had indicated. He had taken him under his wing when he discovered Liam was going to college for business. Then he had hired Liam to help him with his clothing manufacturing business. He, too, stated that his clothes were eco-friendly, but Liam knew better. Some of the things Liam had seen since he went to work for his uncle led him to believe otherwise.
"Liam! You're just in time!" George stood, preoccupied with the race.
"Uncle, there's something I'd like to discuss-"
"Just a moment, my boy!" He clutched a ticket tightly in his hand. "Today's my lucky day! I know it!"
"That's what you always say," Liam mumbled under his breath. 
"Go, Piano Bar! Go, go!" his uncle shouted. But he wasn't the only one. Some shouted for Grey's Anatomy, while others shouted for Piano Bar.
What a name for a horse, Liam thought to himself. Who would name a horse Piano Bar or after a television show? A horse racecourse was the only place Liam knew of where no one would judge for shouting out silly names. On second thought, an elderly woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sporting gloves gave him a dirty look, and then looked through her opera glasses at the race.
"I stand corrected," Liam mumbled. 
"And Grey's Anatomy comes up from behind, passes Piano Bar, and wins it by a nose! It's the upset of the season!" the announcer shouted as if it was the best thing since the discovery of fire.
George wadded up his ticket and threw it onto the table. "That's the second time I've received a bad tip this week!"
"Shush!" Liam held his finger to his lips. Although he didn't agree with his uncle getting insider racing tips, he didn't want him to go to jail for it, either. "Someone will hear you!"
"Well, let them!" George yelled at the top of his lungs, attracting attention. "Unless you have another idea!"
Liam guided his uncle to the chair before they got thrown out. "What are you talking about, Uncle? You're a great businessman-"
"Whose company is going downhill," George cut him off.
"What are you talking about?" This was the first time that Liam had heard of this. "What about your investments?"
"What investments?" George downed his signature Scotch on the rocks and let out a deep breath, leaning back against his chair. "Investments don't do a lot of good when you lose on the ponies."
Liam knew his uncle had a bit of a gambling problem, but he had no idea it was getting this bad.
"So, if you have another idea, my brilliant nephew," George said a bit louder than he should. "I'm all ears."
Liam sighed. On one hand, he wanted to marry Ava. But on the other hand, his uncle would be sure to try and use it to his advantage.
"Well, for one thing, you need to stop 'betting on the ponies'," Liam instructed. "But what about your online eco-friendly clothing line? Isn't it doing well?"
Marcus stared into his empty glass, shaking his head. "Nope. It hasn't taken off at all."
"Well, I may have a solution."
His uncle's head snapped up.
"I may be able to take over the online part of the business for you... if you let me." 
George laughed. "And you suppose you'll do better than Roscoe?"
Liam's eyebrows rose almost into his hairline. "Well, for one, Roscoe Colbert has been your best friend for years."
"So?"
Liam held up a finger. "And secondly, he's eighty years old!"
The woman with the wide-brimmed hat gave them a dirty look again. 
"Come along, Uncle," Liam said, helping him to his feet. "Let's get out of here before we get thrown out." 
George must had had more to drink than Liam had thought because he barely got him into the elevator without taking out a well-dressed elderly woman. 
"I beg your pardon!" the portly woman exclaimed, highly offended.
"Oh! Pardon me, madam." George tipped his hat, smiling broadly as the couple passed.
Outside, George wheeled on Liam. "What does age have to do with business?"
Liam laughed without humor. "Well, with business, quite a lot. Have you ever seen the movie The Intern?"
"What?" George scrunched up his nose. 
"Never mind." Liam half carried his uncle to his waiting limousine. "The point is that we need to attract the young, hip online market. If we do that, we'll have more business than you'll know what to do with."
"And how do you propose we do that?" George asked, sobering. If there was one thing that sobered his uncle up fast, it was talk of business, his first love. Maybe that was why he never married.
Liam leaned forward. He hadn't felt this excited in a very long time... about anything. "Well, a friend of mine is very savvy with the online market. I could go to work for her and learn all I can. Then I can apply it to your-our-online business. It would be a good move, uncle."
"Ava?" George looked into his eyes, now completely sober, a crease forming between his eyes. "Are you speaking of Ava Preston? Archibald Preston III's daughter? Owner of Preston Enterprises?"
Liam sighed, sitting back. "Yes, that's her."
"I don't know...."
Liam hated to play this card, but he had no choice. "Well, I'm in love with Ava."
"You what?"
Liam nodded. "Yes, and I want her to fall in love with me, too." Liam looked out the window. He would have poured himself a drink, but he knew his uncle would want one, too, and Liam needed him sober for this conversation. "Her father gave her an ultimatum."
"Oh?" George's eyebrows rose almost into his hairline. 
"But you can't tell a soul what I'm about to tell you."
"Yes, of course." George leaned forward, all ears. 
"Her father has agreed to help her...." Liam hated to do this, but he felt that he had no choice. If she didn't marry him, she would marry someone, and his chance would be gone forever. "Her father will give her the capital she needs to expand into brick and mortar stores... if she marries."
"What?"
Liam nodded. "Ava is great with online business and wants to expand to brick and mortar stores. I have a lot of experience with brick and mortar stores. So, I propose that I marry her so we can have the best of both worlds. I will help her with her physical stores, and then I can also learn from her about the online business."
"Brilliant, my boy!" He leaned close. "Do you think you can do it?"
"Well, I'm in love with her, uncle, and I want you to help me to get her to fall in love with me, and accept my proposal."
George patted his nephew's hand. "Son, marry her, yes, but don't allow yourself to love her. But I can't deny it would be a good match." The limo stopped in front of Liam's townhouse, but he made no attempt to get out. "But you marry her, son, and then we can find a way to sabotage her business."
"No!" Liam yelled, his voice a bit louder than he had intended. "I want to learn from Ava and to help her, not sabotage her."
George leaned forward and folded his hands, leaning against his knees. "Do you want my business to succeed?"
"Yes, but-"
"No, buts!" George cut him off. "In business, you must learn to be ruthless, my boy! Eliminate the competition!"
"But uncle..."
"If you do this for me, Liam, I'll help make sure that she chooses you to marry." He patted his nephew on the arm. "As for getting her to fall in love with you... well... that's your department."
Liam sighed. If Ava would agree to marry him, maybe eventually, he could persuade her to fall in love with him. That is, if she didn't discover that his uncle wanted him to sabotage her business first. But one problem at a time.


Ava has always been all about business. She is too busy building her fashion empire to make time for love.

But her father just wants to see her happily settled down, and gives her an ultimatum. He will give her the loan her company needs—if she gets married.

Then Liam, an old love from college, waltzes back into her life with a ring. Ava doesn’t trust Liam—or the underhanded rival company he works for. But she is sure that she can outsmart him and come out on top.

Can Liam and Ava make it through a web of deception and dirty business—and find love?

All's Fair in Love and Business is created by eGlobal Collaborative, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

- Huaxia -
- Shangcheng -
Lin Dong was eating at the dining table at his home.
A housemaid was placing food onto the table when Lin Hu came back, looking tired.
He walked over to the dining table and saw his parents looking at his online store on the computer, so he smiled and asked, "Mom and dad, are you guys not eating dinner?"
Lin Han waved his hands. "You two eat first, we're busy."
Lin Hu: "Busy with what?"
Mother Lin: "The Mandala Lab's Revitalization series was just officially released for sale across the globe. Your father and I used our savings to sign a wholesale contract with Little Dong at the purchase price, and we used up all of our savings at once; how can we not be worried?"
Lin Hu smacked his lips."You guys are too risky, don't you think? That's for your retirement savings. What if it doesn't generate any revenue? The cosmetic market is very deep and not easy to get into."
Having said that, he looked at Lin Dong disapprovingly and said, "You know that our family has no money, yet you still used Mom and Dad's money to fill in the gap."
"Don't worry, if they can't sell it, they can return it to the company, and I'll take it. If we can't sell it in Huaxia, then we can take it to other global markets to fill the need. It's all the same." Lin Dong smiled and said, "Mom and Dad, there's no need to look. Come over for dinner. Didn't you hire people to look after the operation of the online store? What else are you afraid of."
Father Lin: "I'm optimistic about your company's cosmetics, I have a feeling that it will become a hit."
Lin Dong: "You're the wise one dad."
Father Lin walked over with a smile and stared at his youngest son as he asked with a smile, "Little Dong, I don't know about anything else, but in terms of appointing us as the unofficial store selling this product, won't your master be mad at you?"
Lin Dong said, "We keep the good things within the group. You could repay the franchise operation fee when you earn enough, and it's understandable that you have no money right now."
Father Lin asked, "Then how much should I pay for this franchise operation fee?"
Lin Dong: "500 million a year for the online stores."
Poof!
Lin Hu spewed out a mouthful of soup. "Your company is screwing people around, right?"
Lin Han nodded. "This price is indeed within an acceptable range, there must be a limit to number of operators, right?"
Lin Dong: "That's for sure, the price wouldn't be so high if there was no limit. "
Lin Hu's eyes widened. "Dad, how are you going to earn this 500 million later on to fill in the gap? This 500 million is enough for me to get another project started."
"Although I'm an old man, you're still a bit too young for business." Lin Han snorted and looked at his youngest son Lin Dong. "Little Dong, how many limited spots were there in Huaxia?"
Lin Dong: "We signed off some operation rights in developed cities, so about fifteen in total and, it's 300 million per year for each. However, the fee for online stores is higher; ACat and Dongdong, these two online operators, have to pay 1 billion in the first year. So I could only let Mom and Dad open a store through Taobao. However, since we have the official license notice, you also count as an official store and 500 million is considered way too little. This must be kept as a secret and you and mom must not tell anyone about it."
Sh*t, they've collected 4.5 billion at the very beginning? No, with the online operating fee, it's 6.5 billion in the first year!
Lin Hu didn't know whether he was swallowing soup or his saliva, but he was particularly greedy in this opportunity. He had underestimated how Lin Dong's Mandala Lab's project turned out to be. He had researched about their products, and they were all too expensive!
It was so expensive that it was hard for consumers to purchase it. With his insight, he was afraid that the Revitalization series by Mandala would fail to make any sales.
"Little Dong, what's the purchase price you gave Dad?"
"Obviously according to the market, I can't mess around with that, can I? The purchase price must be the same price for all licensed operators. The gold bottle has a $1,288 market price, so the purchase price was $1,200, with a profit of 88 US dollars; platinum is $29,888 market price, and purchase price is $29,000 with a profit 888 US dollars; while diamond bottles have a profit of $8,888."
Lin Hu shook his head. "This profit is too little. This principal is there already and if it doesn't sell well, the profit earned won't even be enough for keeping it in the inventory. If more than a third of the goods doesn't sell, then the profit would simply be not enough to add up to the operation fee."
Lin Dong laughed and didn't take Lin Hu's advice seriously as he continued to eat his dinner.
Father Lin glared at his eldest son. "So according to you, those who would rather spend 10 billion on the licensing operating fee are fools? You're missing the most important point about this product, and that's efficacy! The Revitalization series can be said that they have a leading technology around the globe in dermatology. It's hack-level technology and if you're unsatisfied with the price right now, you should do some research on how much rich women spend in the beauty salon per year for their face and body. And those are all lies, just ask your mother."
Mother Lin turned her head at this time and said, "Those annual membership fees alone cost $10K! And that's not including the facial or oil massages, those cost tens of thousands of dollars per month, which would be hundreds of thousands per year. However, those are all temporary and not effective in the long term; all it does is to make us look more spirited. If we do it for a long time, then even the pores become enlarged and the face starts to look stiff with an unnatural smile like a zombie face. I've asked my friends in the beauty salon, this Revitalization series is a must-have product in all the beauty salons. Think about that, a high-end club would not be considered as 'high-end' if it doesn't have the Revitalization series in stock. How many beauty salons are there in Huaxia? Just by supplying these stores, the amount of supply Mandala has really wouldn't be enough for the market demand."
Lin Hu couldn't defend his point, but he stayed in his position. "You'll see. The price is there, I don't think that all women are crazy are they?"
Mother Lin laughed. "That's why you are not a woman, and you don't understand the needs of women. International luxury brands like Chanel and Hermes, which one of their products don't cost more than the Revitalization series? Yet, they can still sell them. Anyways, I won't convince you, the sale time is almost here and I need to connect with the store to see what's going on."
Mother Lin ran over to the computer and put on headphones as she called her shop assistant to ask about the situation.
At 10 O'clock on the dot, all the online stores opened for sales at the same time, and there were only a total of three websites where the products could be purchased; two major domestic retailers and a privately owned store in Taobao.
As soon as ten o'clock hit, Mother Lin refreshed the number of a hundred thousand bottles stocks of the gold bottle on the website. A minute later, the data became: 84,591 bottles remaining in stock.
After two more minutes had passed, the number jumped to 71,188 bottles.
Mother Lin's body shook out of excitement.
"Old Lin, come here quickly."
Lin Han held his bowl and chopsticks as he couldn't care less about his image and left the table to look at the sales amount after just 7 minutes: 53,338 bottles remaining.
Lin Han's body shook.
This was even more exciting and thrilling than when he had opened his factory and got his first bucket of gold in his life from his first order. He felt that this project could give him a second chance.
"We're earning! We could easily make up the 300 million for this year." Lin Han grinned.
Mother Lin nodded.
Lin Hu saw how excited his parents were and he couldn't eat at his own pace anymore as he held his bowl and walked over as well. "Mom, how's the sales going?"


There’s SIS in great Britain, CIA in the US. In Huaxia, there’s Dragon Division, known as the mysterious power of the East.
When a soldier that originally failed to be selected to join, appeared on the Dragon Division’s list again, no one noticed, that this inconspicuous and humble-looking guy was actually the Dragon King of the division, the one that’s most difficult to deal with.
Mercenary: “Report, our squad is under attack, suffering heavy casualties!”
Commander: “How many enemies are out there?”
Mercenary: “Just… just one! There’s a joker card in his hand.”
HQ: “What?! Hurry, retreat!”

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