Despite being somewhat prepared for Shang Jianyao's reaction, Long Yuehong still felt a pang of panic.
This is Initial City… Our mission has only just begun… Wouldn't it be bad to make trouble rashly? He wanted to say that, but in the end, he held his tongue.
He glanced left and right, noticing that the team leader and Bai Chen hadn't stopped Shang Jianyao. They silently stood up and followed, while Genaeva displayed a hesitant reaction. However, Long Yuehong wasn't sure if he had analyzed the situation and thought it was the right thing to do, deliberately mimicking the appropriate behavior to make himself seem more human.
The team leader and Little White seem to be more inclined to do something, but they consider the consequences and analyze the pros and cons, so they're both very hesitant… Shang Jianyao is the one "responsible" for making decisions on actions that require taking risks… Long Yuehong muttered to himself, checked his weapons, and headed towards the door.
The target location wasn't difficult to find. Relying on the intermittent howls of "mother wolves," the Old Task Force arrived in front of an eight-story building in just over ten minutes.
A glance revealed a large sign hanging on the roof, written in Red River language:
“Gray Earth Wolf Den”
“The seventh and eighth floors are both…” Long Yuehong said, trying to break the silence that had descended upon the team along the way.
Jiang Baimian hummed in agreement, watching Shang Jianyao enter the building and press the elevator button.
One of the three elevators quickly descended, and the five members of the Old Task Force stepped inside in sequence.
Genaeva was the last, and as he entered, the elevator sank heavily and shook a few times.
Long Yuehong looked around the interior of the elevator, finding the walls old and mottled.
Its surface was also covered with pieces of white paper, some with drawings, some with photographs, the content of which was very consistent – different women, either posing seductively or revealing certain parts of their bodies, with facial features that clearly belonged to Gray Earth people.
Long Yuehong withdrew his gaze and silently exhaled.
Before long, the elevator arrived at the seventh floor, and the landing door and car door opened one after another.
As soon as Long Yuehong stepped out, he saw four men with pistols on their sides. They were all Red River people, with different hair colors, wearing the same black short-sleeved t-shirts, and their arm muscles were bulging.
To their sides, on the walls of the corridor, were murals with vivid colors, depicting different positions of male and female intercourse.
“There’s a clear worship of male genitalia.” Jiang Baimian also saw the murals, not paying attention to Long Yuehong's blushing face, and made a brief comment.
At this moment, a guard stepped forward and said in Red River language:
“Sorry, we don’t accept female guests here.”
“You don’t have the authority to say that. Get your boss.” Shang Jianyao raised his chin slightly, putting on an arrogant look.
After looking at the robot behind them, the guard who had spoken earlier retreated into the corridor and entered the Wolf Den.
In just a minute or two, a slightly obese man arrived at the elevator lobby with the guard from before.
He was holding a "United 202" in his right hand, and his height was only about 1.7 meters. He had short, slightly curly chestnut hair, a slight puffiness around his eyes, and a thick stubble of a beard around his mouth.
“Gentlemen, what exactly is the matter?” the man in the disheveled black shirt asked in a deep voice.
“Are you the boss here?” Shang Jianyao asked politely.
The man nodded:
“You could say that. There are other partners too.”
“What should we call you?” Shang Jianyao asked with a smile.
The man frowned slightly and said:
“Ogg. What exactly do you want to do?”
Shang Jianyao smiled unchanged and said:
“Mr. Ogg, I’m here to give you some advice.
“Your business isn’t doing very well. Why not spend some time training them in cutting vegetables and preparing ingredients and turn it into a hotpot restaurant?”
Ogg raised his left hand, the one not holding the gun, and picked at his ear.
He deeply suspected that he had misheard.
What a joke? He couldn't help but curse inwardly.
He originally thought this group was here to cause trouble, thinking that if he could get them to leave with money, he would. If that didn't work, he would find an opportunity to escape, then gather manpower and hire a team that could deal with robots to take revenge.
Who knew they looked like they were drunk?
After a moment's thought, Ogg chuckled:
“The female slaves I bought with money, I can make them do whatever I want. It's none of your business!
“Speak. Who exactly sent you here to make trouble?”
As he spoke, the four guards at the door called out to their comrades inside the Wolf Den.
Ten seconds later, four or five people with submachine guns rushed out, aiming at Shang Jianyao and the others.
They were also wearing black short-sleeved t-shirts.
The prostitutes inside the Wolf Den also noticed the anomaly at the door, and some of them gathered numbly, looking towards the elevator lobby.
They were all Gray Earth people, scantily clad, with little expression on their faces, their eyes slightly vacant, lacking the natural vitality of teenagers and those in their twenties.
Shang Jianyao laughed and said to Ogg and the others:
“Look:
“They live here, and you live here too;
“They’re human, and you’re human too;
“So…”
While Ogg and the other eight guards were bewildered, they suddenly turned around and rushed back to the Wolf Den's reception hall, rushing to the side of the Gray Earth prostitutes.
They poked their heads out of the windows and howled:
“Awoo!”
It was as if packs of male wolves were courting.
The only guard who wasn't affected was stunned.
Although the Gray Earth prostitutes didn't understand Red River language, they could see what their normally fierce boss and guards were doing.
Their eyes began to move, and their numb faces showed surprise.
Jiang Baimian turned to look at Shang Jianyao and switched to Gray Earth language:
“Have you thought about how to clean up the mess?”
Shang Jianyao first said to the remaining guard:
“Come with me.”
Then, as he walked into the Wolf Den, he answered Jiang Baimian's question with a smile:
“I already said it, turn this place into a hotpot restaurant or some other restaurant.”
Are you sure it can be run successfully? Jiang Baimian couldn't help but lament Shang Jianyao's train of thought, and was about to say that subconsciously.
At this moment, a Gray Earth prostitute who understood their conversation took a few tentative and eager steps forward and said:
“You, are you here to save us?”
Her face was relatively clean, and she could be called pretty, but she looked tired and was often distracted.
“No, we’re here to discuss a partnership with you.” Shang Jianyao said seriously, “How about jointly running a hotpot restaurant or some other restaurant?”
Jiang Baimian resisted the urge to cover her face and asked:
“What should we call you?”
The Gray Earth prostitute hurriedly replied:
“My name is Suna.”
As she spoke, other Gray Earth prostitutes slowly gathered around, their eyes no longer so vacant.
“Suna, right…” Jiang Baimian considered and asked, “Can a hotpot restaurant or some type of restaurant be run successfully here? Can it support so many of you?”
…The team leader has also been infected by Shang Jianyao… She’s actually considering the feasibility of opening a restaurant… Long Yuehong tried to seek Bai Chen's approval, but found that his scarf-wearing, petite companion was lost in thought.
She seemed to be considering how to arrange the future of these Gray Earth prostitutes.
Suna looked at her companions blankly and said hesitantly:
“It definitely won't work here. If it’s on the first and second floors, and we can get cheap grain, we can still run it. This place is close to the port, there are many sailors. They don't have much money, but they're willing to spend it on women, food, and alcohol. Um, many merchants and their guards also often live in the port area.”
“You’re very observant.” Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully.
Suna pursed her lips and said:
“The guests we attract mainly come from the port.
“But Ogg doesn’t allow us to learn Red River language, afraid that we’ll communicate with the guests and mess things up for him.”
At this moment, another girl interjected:
“He’ll make us cook, so he can save money on hiring a chef.”
Her eyes were more spirited than before, and she eagerly wanted to prove that they had basic cooking skills.
Jiang Baimian hummed in agreement:
“Don’t worry about the source of ingredients needed for the restaurant, we have channels.”
This referred to the Zhao family's estates.
If they couldn't drive away the Anti-intellectualism Church for a while, they could contact Xu Liyan, who also had estates in Initial City.
Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and asked with some curiosity:
“Can Ogg afford so many thugs just by relying on your business?”
“This building belongs to Ogg. He also sells, also sells something that makes people feel very excited when they inhale it.” Suna truthfully said what she had observed.
Upon hearing this, Shang Jianyao turned to look at the remaining guard amid the howls of male wolves.
The guard explained “obediently”:
“Marijuana and some new products from Paradise Island.”
“Do you guys use it?” Jiang Baimian asked Suna and the others.
At this time, the Gray Earth prostitutes who hadn’t come out before also flooded into the hall. A few customers followed in a daze and were politely ushered aside by Genaeva and Long Yuehong.
“No. He wouldn’t be willing to let us use such expensive stuff.” Suna shook her head.
She couldn’t hide her eagerness and asked:
“Opening a restaurant is fine, but what about them? What do we do with them?”
She was referring to Ogg and the others.
Shang Jianyao smiled, so much so that the remaining guard was terrified.
“Leave this to me.” He pointed to a room deep inside the Wolf Den and said, “Come with me for a bit.”
The first half of his sentence was in Gray Earth language, and the second half was in Red River language.
The guard put on a long face:
“Please, no…”
Even though he said that, he didn't dare refuse.
And just like that, Shang Jianyao brought Ogg and the others into the room one by one, completing the new Reasoning Clown and forming a circular argument for them.
Suna and the other Gray Earth prostitutes were surprised to find that their fierce boss and terrifying guards had become sheep, so obedient to them.
“Now they are your servants.” Shang Jianyao said as he looked at the paper in his hand. “Um, persuade everyone on the list one by one, and there won’t be any problems in the short term. Wow, it looks like a pretty big gang.”
“What about after the short term?” Jiang Baimian asked what was on Suna and the others' minds.
Shang Jianyao took the "United 202" from Ogg and handed it to Suna.
He said sincerely with a smile:
“Seize the time to master it. Later, if anyone shows any abnormalities, just give them a bang.”
“This…” Suna and the others were a little stunned.
Shang Jianyao’s smile grew even brighter:
“I said, we’re here to discuss a partnership.
“In the end, the only ones who can save you are yourselves.”