abnabooks Chapter 19 This business, I know it so well it's heartbreaking.
Chapter 19 This business, I know it so well it's heartbreaking.
Chu Jiang held the warm, golden seed in his hand, feeling as if he had won the lottery.
The Celestial Origin Dao Seed—just hearing its name makes it sound incredibly powerful.
Take it back and use it as fertilizer to water the holy water of merit; maybe it will grow a whole river of KPIs.
He sailed his spirit boat through the underworld, humming a little tune, and returned to the ferry crossing of the Three Paths in a cheerful mood.
However, before the ship even docked, he was stunned by the sight before him.
The ferry crossing is gone.
Instead, there was a huge vortex composed of countless ghosts.
At the center of the vortex, Li, the coder, held the soul-nourishing wood "cell phone," his soul flickering like an old computer about to crash.
"Stop crowding! The server is about to crash!"
"Oh my god! Tuntun, stop smoking! Hang in there!"
In the river, the Soul-Devouring Beast, which had been used as a server, was spewing black smoke from all seven orifices, its huge eyes spinning wildly, looking like a CPU that had been overheated.
Bruher the vampire was pinned to the ground by a group of crazed old ghosts, his suit and vest torn to shreds.
"Let me go first! I'll offer double the amount of ghost money!"
"Get lost! I was a scalper in my past life, ticket scalping is my specialty! This VIP seat must be mine!"
"Make way, everyone! I burned a paper aircraft carrier for Lord Chu! I'm the most sincere customer!"
The entire ferry crossing was a million times more frenzied than the midnight shopping frenzy of Singles' Day in the mortal world.
"Is this... performance art?" Chu Jiang muttered to himself.
He brought the boat ashore and cleared his throat.
"What are you all doing?"
The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every ghost.
The chaotic scene fell silent in an instant.
All the ghosts turned their heads to look at Chu Jiang, who had just disembarked.
next second.
"Lord Chu is back!"
"Boss! You're finally back!"
"Father! Save me!"
Li, the coder, scrambled over, while Bruch struggled to his feet from the pile of ghosts.
Chu Jiang looked at the devastated "company" and his temples throbbed.
He pointed to the "cell phone" that had been polished smooth by the ghosts.
"Programmer Li, explain this to me, what's going on?"
"Boss, the 'Three Paths Fast Crossing' 1.0 public beta version... is a huge success." Programmer Li said with a long face, "In less than half an hour, our server, also known as TunTun, almost burned out due to overload."
Chu Jiang glanced at the Soul Devouring Beast, whose eyes were still rolling back in its head in the river.
"Bruch, what about you? Customer relationship management is just about hand-to-hand combat with customers?"
Bruch pulled up his remaining half of his trouser leg with a look of grievance.
"Great father, they have no morals; they'll use any trick to cut in line. And there's this devil who tried to bribe me with his granddaughter's birth date and time."
Chu Jiang took a deep breath. He felt as if he had not returned to the underworld, but to the startup company that had exhausted him back then.
He's so familiar with this business that it's almost heartbreaking.
"Alright, all of you, be quiet."
Chu Jiang walked to the center of the ferry, and an aura of the Ghost King Realm instantly enveloped the entire area.
All the ghosts quieted down and dared not cause any more trouble.
"Starting today, Santu Ferry Management Co., Ltd. will implement a performance management system."
Chu Jiang's gaze swept over Bruch and the Soul Devouring Beast.
"Bruch, as security guard and receptionist, your task is to maintain order and guide customers. Customer satisfaction will be your core KPI."
"Tuntun, you, the chief security officer and server manager, if you dare to smoke or lag again during operation, affecting the user experience, I will replace your monthly merit water with ordinary river water."
"You two will have a performance review at the end of each month, and the bottom performer will be eliminated. The one who fails..." Chu Jiang paused, "will be transferred to the Bridge of Helplessness to wash dishes for Meng Po until they pass the review."
Bruch and the Soul-Devouring Beast, who had just recovered, shuddered.
Washing dishes at the Bridge of Helplessness? That's worse than killing them!
"I guarantee to complete the mission, my great father!" Bruch immediately stood up straight.
"Roar!" The Soul Devouring Beast quickly stopped smoking and tried to force a flattering smile.
After the workplace reorganization was completed, Chu Jiang finally looked at the group of ghosts.
"The app is temporarily shut down for maintenance. Everyone, please rejoin the queue according to the order of your deaths!"
Just then, an untimely voice came from outside the horde of ghosts.
"What a show of power! A mere ferryman dares to call himself a company and even charge fees?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of underworld officials dressed in gold-trimmed robes and adorned with jewels pushed aside the crowd of ghosts and swaggered in.
The leader was a fat man with a big belly, an oily face, and two walnuts in his hand.
He glanced at the scene at the ferry crossing, then at Chu Jiang, his eyes filled with greed and disdain.
"I am Zhao Sifang, the registrar of the Temple of the God of Wealth. I have been ordered to investigate the accounts of your Three Paths Ferry. Someone has reported that you have set up a checkpoint here to make exorbitant profits."
Upon hearing that it was from the Temple of the God of Wealth, the surrounding ghosts were all frightened and retreated.
Chu Jiang laughed.
"Checking the accounts?" He walked up to Zhao Sifang, looked him up and down, and asked, "Did you make an appointment?"
"What?" Zhao Sifang was stunned.
"Our Three Crossings Ferry is now a key pilot unit supported by the Underworld, and it's very busy. Departments coming to exchange and learn all need to make an appointment in advance, didn't you know?" Chu Jiang said earnestly.
Zhao Sifang's fat face jiggled.
"How dare you! I represent the Temple of the God of Wealth to enforce the law. Do I need an appointment with you?"
"Do you have a search warrant?" Chu Jiang asked again.
"I……"
"Do you have the decree of the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak? Do you have the approval from the Ten Kings of Hell?" Chu Jiang pressed on, "Or, do you have an 'operating license' issued by the Underworld, authorizing cross-departmental joint enforcement?"
A series of questions left Zhao Sifang speechless.
He, a seasoned official who had served in the underworld for thousands of years, had never even heard of these modern terms.
"You...you stop your nonsense!" Zhao Sifang roared in anger. "Today, I'm here to shut down your illegal money-making operation! Men, seize this boat!"
The underworld messengers from the God of Wealth Temple behind him were about to step forward immediately.
Chu Jiang sighed and shook his head.
"Bruch, Li the programmer, explain our company's rules and regulations to this Mr. Zhao."
Bruch and Lee exchanged a glance and immediately understood.
"Yes, boss!"
Li, the coder, floated up to Zhao Sifang and said in his emotionless tone, "According to Article 108 of the 'Santu Ferry Management Regulations,' any unit or individual that attempts to interfere with the normal operation of this ferry without permission will be considered as maliciously attacking the server."
Bruch then cracked his wrists, revealing his sharp vampire fangs, and smiled with exceptional gentlemanliness.
"For malicious attackers, we will carry out mandatory 'asset liquidation' and 'physical isolation'."
"What do you want? I am an official of the God of Wealth Temple!" Zhao Sifang shouted, his voice trembling with fear despite his apparent anger.
"Tuntun," Chu Jiang said calmly.
"roar!"
With a roar, the Soul-Devouring Beast's enormous head suddenly emerged from the river.
It opened its gaping maw, and a tremendous suction force emanated from it.
Zhao Sifang and his men were swallowed whole before they could even scream.
The entire room fell silent.
"Burp~"
The Soul-Devouring Beast let out a burp, and then with a "poof," it spat out a bubble formed from the holy water of merit.
Zhao Sifang and his companions were trapped inside the bubble, frantically pounding on the bubble walls, but they couldn't get out no matter what they did.
Chu Jiang walked up to the bubble and tapped it.
"Lord Zhao, now we can talk about the fines you imposed for your 'illegal enforcement' here."
Just then, the long-lost system notification sound rang in Chu Jiang's mind.
[Ding! The host has successfully defined and defended the authority of the 'Company,' deepening their control over the 'Ferry' law!]
[The primordial energy of the Celestial Realm is activated and merges with the power of authority!]
[Congratulations, host! Your cultivation level has increased to the mid-stage of Ghost King!]
A tremendous force exploded within Chu Jiang's soul.
He felt that his perception of this world had become several times clearer.
Before he could fully experience the power...
The cell phone made of the soul-nourishing wood suddenly lit up with a "ding".
A push notification pops up on the screen.
[VIP user "Neighbor Wang" has logged in and sent you a private message.]
Chu Jiang opened the private message.
[Boy, you dare detain people from the Temple of the God of Wealth? Come to the First Hall, my office. I'll give you three minutes to explain. —King Qin Guang]