Pretending To Be A Boss

He's low-key, but he's got plenty to talk about with Tang Xian. Some years ago, it was rumored that he'd been to the higher-ups and had always bragged to Tang Xian that an ancestor of his, also named Liu Lang, had once saved the world.

Tang Xian is the kind of guy who, if you speak seriously to him, he will respond seriously, but if you speak saucily to him, he's even saucier. So he told Liu Lang that his own ancestor was also called Tang Xian, and had helped save the world together.

The two of them, both loving to brag, quickly became friends through their exchanges.

Seeing Tang Xian, whom he hadn't seen for some days, Liu Lang smiled and swiftly made a pot of tea.

"You haven't been around for about half a month. Did you get promoted?" Liu Lang passed over a teacup.

Tang Xian took it without any ceremony and said,

"I did get promoted. Why, were you thinking about me?"

"Ha, I don't know about others, but I knew when you got promoted."

Tang Xian glanced at Liu Lang and, possibly catching the hint in his words, said, "Has there been some complaints in the third mining team recently?"

"How could there not be? Song Zhe got demoted back to a temporary worker. All the temporary female workers he'd been flirting with are now causing a stir at his place," Liu Lang said with a laugh.

"That shouldn't have anything to do with me." Tang Xian never interfered with others' flirting, let alone gossiped behind people's backs.

"Actually, it kinda does. Since you left, the mining quantity of the third team has noticeably decreased, and various KPI indices aren't up to standard. With one person's departure, the team's performance has dropped by thirty percent. When the blame comes down from above, they naturally have to find a scapegoat.

Everyone at the bottom knows what that Song Zhe did, and now he's been dealt with," Liu Lang explained with a chuckle.

Tang Xian was silent for a while.

Thinking over Liu Lang's words, it was indeed true that during his time as a temporary worker, he had raised the team's average output. But having worked as a temp for six years, these guys just didn't pick up his techniques. In the end, it was not his fault.

Changing the subject, Tang Xian asked, "How's business lately?"

"Same old, not starving to death."

"I've got a big deal and thought of you first."

"How big of a deal?"

"About a hundred blocks of purple organic ore. I know you've got connections and can trade organic ore for armed ore." Tang Xian promptly took the ore out of his prop bag.

Liu Lang gave a wry smile:

"How do you know everything? You know the gossip from the lower levels, the major events, and even the dealings of little guys like me?"

Tang Xian said, "If you want to know, you'll have to give me a sixty percent discount."

"Then forget it. I'd rather have money than secrets. I won't ask how you got these ores, but you've got to tell me the truth—is this ore hot?" Liu Lang looked into Tang Xian's eyes.

Tang Xian said,

"It's all legitimate. I traded for it with hunting points."

"Oh, you became a hunter? A promotion, huh. Just these ores? Aren't you planning on having me make something for you?" Liu Lang asked.

"You're not skilled in making tools, and besides, that's illegal and doesn't fit my socialist style. I just want you to help me exchange some ore, two-for-one ratio is fine, but the quality must be purple."

Tang Xian found, to his surprise, that the tea was quite good—Liu Lang still knew how to live.

"That's not too difficult. Are you planning to make a weapon? From the sound of it, have you found a smith?" Liu Lang looked at Tang Xian with increasing regard, thinking him an extraordinary person.

Tang Xian nodded; he was even considering forging a weapon himself. Hunters were allowed to equip weapons, which was also within the law.

But this required specialized equipment, which only Ke had.

Having already troubled more than one old classmate, troubling one more made no difference. A lot of things were like that—if there's a first time, there will be a second.

Of course, everyone who dealt with Tang Xian would end up happy in the end.

Liu Lang took the job.

Tang Xian was not surprised at all. The owner of this blacksmith shop was not as simple as he appeared.

...

...

After running around a few places, the last person Tang Xian contacted was Shang Lu.

He asked Shang Lu for some seeds.

"Tomatoes, sweet potato leaves, bok choy? Xian, what do you need these seeds for? There's nowhere to plant them in the lower levels." On the phone, Shang Lu was utterly confused.

"I'm farming in a mining area," Tang Xian said.

"Xian, how come you and Miss Li are the same, always doing things that baffle people? Are you two plotting something? She also asked me for some plants before, but she wanted finished fruits, like papayas and grapefruits," Shang Lu said.

Tang Xian was stunned for a second before quickly coming up with an answer, then laughed and said,

"Next time she asks you for something, just tell her that dietary therapy isn't as good as massage. Some things aren't about eating them in large quantities, but about putting in some effort."

"Okay. I'll pass the message to her," Shang Lu didn't think much about it, and since Xian said it, it must be right.

"By the way, Xian, if you're farming in the mining area, could you help me research the growth cycles and changes in condition of Earth's crops in the mining area? To see if they might mutate, like tomatoes growing as big as watermelons," Shang Lu's point of interest was also rather strange.

Tang Xian said,

"It's worth researching. The soil in the mining area is rich in various organic mineral elements, so it really might produce giant crops. Bogen fruits can't be taken out since they're contraband, but if carrots and cucumbers grow a bit larger, they'd surely be more popular with the wealthy ladies on the third and fourth levels, and sales would certainly be high."

Shang Lu didn't understand why larger cucumbers and carrots would sell better, but he agreed:

"Alright, I'll go down and get you those vegetable seeds in a bit."

"Much appreciated."

Shang Lu was quite efficient, and less than an hour after hanging up the phone, he arrived at the bottom floor and handed a bag of sealed seeds to Tang Xian.

Tang Xian then took out some of his usual notes and gave them to Shang Lu.

Consider it a repayment to Shang Lu.

This time Shang Lu didn't insist. It was just what he wanted to know, to see if Xian's opinions on plants would be helpful for his future research.

The two didn't exchange pleasantries and went their separate ways after they were done.

After running around several places, Tang Xian finally finished some of the things he needed to do inside the Pyramid.

When he returned home, Dong Ran was telling Tang Xiaojiu a story.

The story was short, about how the fox deceived the tiger, claiming that the fox was the most feared animal by all, and if the tiger didn't believe it, the tiger could follow behind the fox for a round of patrol.

In short, it's the story of 'the fox borrowing the tiger's might.'

But little Tang Xiaojiu couldn't understand why it was the fox borrowing the tiger's might, why not the tiger borrowing the fox's might?

So Tang Xiaojiu said, "Big Chest Sister, why is the fox afraid of the tiger? Is it because eating tiger meat causes recurrent vomiting?"

Dong Ran was bewildered; what was this all about?

Just then, Tang Xian came back.

He overheard Tang Xiaojiu's question and laughed, "The 'Medical Forest Compilation' mentions tiger meat as strengthening muscles and bones, aiding digestion, resolving throat obstructions, and tiger penis soaked in liquor even makes a significant contribution to enhancing human sexual relations."

"The 'Other Records' even say that tiger meat is a remedy for nausea and vomiting, it boosts energy and strength, and not only does it not cause vomiting, but it also helps with the digestive system. I'll take you to eat tiger sometime, there's a kind of gemstone tiger in the forest, but they're not easy to catch."

Tang Xiaojiu excitedly jumped up.

Dong Ran felt that the painting styles of Tang and Tang Xiaojiu were a bit off – the gemstone tiger was a perfect level boss creature, much stronger than a hellhound. It was an understatement to say they were "not easy to catch."

Tang Xian said, "It's about time. Get ready to go to the mining area. There's a lot to do this time in the mining area. Be prepared to stay for five days."

He was addressing Dong Ran, who was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Ah, is it going to take that long to kill Yi Niu?"

Tang Xian threw a newspaper to Dong Ran.

Dong Ran didn't understand what it meant, and only after a few seconds did she recall what Tang had said earlier today.

Indeed, most of the news in this world are sensationalist pieces by bootlicking journalists, but Fortress News was like the prime time news of ancient times, written by the finest authors from all over, rationally selecting the most significant events based on priority.

Dong Ran quickly noticed one of the news items:

[Hunter Major Event: The top-ranked team "Scorched Blood Group," number twenty-nine in the hunting rankings, was attacked by a disaster-level creature in Waning Time Valley!]

Dong Ran quickly read the news. The Scorched Blood Group, being a highly reputed team among Huaxia hunters, once had a terrifying record of hunting five perfect level creatures in three months. The biggest contributor to this was the team leader, the most outstanding active physician at Central Hospital of Fortress Twenty-One – Qiao Shanshan.

A doctor with only three talents but an exceptionally strong healing ability awakened.

Dong Ran thought of a possibility and said, "Tang, you're not planning to..."

"Hmm, the report says that the Scorched Blood Group was wiped out, but I think Qiao Shanshan is probably still alive. She kind of fits the persona I have in mind for someone who's tangibly indestructible."