As everyone waited for the fierce bandit, Xiao Xing spoke again, "Since there's nothing to do, why don't I show you around the company I founded?"
"And I'll give you each a gift!"
"Hmm?"
Wang Sheng and the others stirred, excitement glinting in their eyes.
Who could refuse a free gift?
Ten minutes later,
The group arrived in another part of the city.
"This is your company?!"
Wang Sheng and the others' enthusiasm immediately cooled. He said,
"Are you sure you didn't take a wrong turn?"
He pointed at the building ahead, where a line of text was displayed at the very top:
'Nanjing Municipal Mental Hospital'.
"That's right."
Xiao Xing remained calm. "This looks like a hospital, but it actually houses a factory that makes hospital gowns. Haven't you heard of the Fierce Bandit brand hospital gowns?"
"Uh..."
Everyone was slightly taken aback, then they understood.
The hospital gown brand founded by Xiao Xing and his associates had become famous nationwide, and they had naturally heard of it. They were just initially intimidated by the name 'mental hospital'...
"You're not going to give us hospital gowns, are you..."
"Of course!"
Xiao Xing said with pride, "The company's latest hospital gowns have just been developed. This can also be considered a specialty of Nanjing City."
"..."
The group stepped into the legendary hospital gown factory and witnessed this unique company in the world.
"No, why do I feel so weird about this..."
Wang Sheng scratched his head, his mind buzzing.
Inside the factory, the employees coming and going were all wearing hospital gowns. Some wore manic smiles, some suddenly burst into tears, and others started dancing as they walked...
Xiao Xing glanced at everyone and said,
"Company culture. Understand, try to understand..."
"Are you sure?"
Xiang Yao swallowed, even as a Golden Beast Tamer, she felt a touch of fear.
"Is this really just an act?"
"Uh..."
Xiao Xing scratched his head and whispered, "Actually... they are patients."
"!!!"
Everyone's gaze sharpened, and they looked at Xiao Xing in unison.
Are you kidding me?!
Not to mention Wang Sheng and the others, even A Liang and Old Xie were stunned.
Although their group of close friends held shares in the company, Xiao Xing handled all the company's affairs. They didn't understand the specifics at all.
They never imagined that this guy would actually hire patients as employees!
"There's nothing to be afraid of. They just have a slightly different worldview than us."
Xiao Xing nodded at the passing employees and then smiled,
"Perhaps, in their eyes, we are the abnormal ones."
"..."
Everyone was stunned for a moment and instantly distanced themselves from Xiao Xing, feeling that he might be a bit abnormal too.
"Why are you afraid of me?"
Xiao Xing's face was covered in black lines. "I'm normal, okay?"
"Who knows..."
Everyone muttered, pulling further away...
"No, I'm really normal."
Xiao Xing's mouth twitched. This wasn't going to be cleared up, was it?
He shook his head, too lazy to explain further, and continued walking towards the depths of the factory.
The others exchanged glances and, summoning their courage, followed.
Gradually, they noticed the employees' strange behavior but saw no signs of aggression, which put them at ease.
"Actually, having them as employees, on one hand, helps their recovery through collective work and allows them to realize their self-worth. It's a charitable act."
Xiao Xing said from the front.
"On the other hand, the hospital gowns they make are considered masterpieces, something ordinary people can't achieve."
Ji Feng, the chuunibyou, muttered, "Familiarity breeds contempt, or in this case, familiarity with illness breeds mastery?"
"..."
Soon, Xiao Xing led everyone to his office. It was empty, but on the desk lay more than a dozen exquisite hospital gowns.
"This is the company's latest product."
Xiao Xing said with a smile, "I've named it Hospital Gown 3.0 Plus!"
"..."
Everyone's mouths twitched. A high-spec version already?
"Try them on."
Xiao Xing said with a smile, "The biggest difference between this and the regular version is that it's only suitable for Beast Tamers to wear!"
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Besides being fireproof, waterproof, and nuclear-bomb resistant, it also has small features like temporary flight and accelerated movement."
"..."
Everyone was slightly taken aback. It sounded like they had a cheat code...
"Of course, these are not the main points!"
Xiao Xing licked his lips and said,
"Its most important function is that it can automatically condense a shield to block the skill attacks of other creatures!"
"Is that so..."
Everyone nodded, not particularly surprised.
There were already similar things in technological equipment, but they weren't widely adopted because they had little effect on high-level Beast Tamers and were very expensive to produce.
"Don't underestimate it!"
Xiao Xing licked his lips and said,
"It uses Beast Taming Power as its energy source. This means the higher your Beast Taming level, the stronger the shield!"
"Huh?!"
Everyone's expressions suddenly jolted, surprise flashing in their eyes.
Xiao Xing coughed lightly, then continued,
"Of course, because this technology is not mature, the energy conversion consumption is quite terrifying. The shield condensed by a Golden Beast Tamer can only withstand one blow from a Silver Rank One fierce beast..."
"..."
Everyone wasn't particularly disappointed. It might be able to save their lives at critical moments.
But more importantly, it used Beast Taming Power as its energy source, which could be considered a pioneering achievement in technology.
But could a clothing company have this kind of technology?
"Actually, this technology was developed by the government long ago, but due to the excessive energy consumption during conversion, it was never given much attention."
Xiao Xing explained, then said confidently,
"However, I believe that if we continue to develop this, this project will definitely have great potential!"
"Could this be the investment project you told us about before?"
A Liang raised an eyebrow. They hadn't received any dividends for the past two years, so they had let Xiao Xing do whatever he wanted. They didn't expect him to be working on this.
He asked, "You didn't invest all the company's profits into this, did you?"
"How could I?!"
Xiao Xing quickly denied it, then sheepishly added,
"Besides the profits, I personally invested an additional hundred billion..."
"..."
Everyone's mouths twitched. You're something else...
Since the government hadn't paid much attention to it, it meant that the investment was disproportionate to the return. But they didn't expect Xiao Xing to be so stubborn...
Old Wang asked from the side, "Where did you get so much money?"
"All the hunting points I earned were contributed to the company..."
"..."
A Liang couldn't hold back either, but then he said, "That's not right, is it? Is there that much?"
"Uh... I also often went solo with Xiao Lei, stealing resources guarded by fierce beasts..."
"Making side income, right? No wonder Xiao Lei is often absent."
A Liang nodded, but then he added,
"Still not right. Without resources, how could your Beast Taming level advance so quickly?"
"Uh..."
Xiao Xing scratched his head and lowered his voice,
"Xiao Lei Bird possesses the bloodline of the Ying Long. In fact, it's constantly getting stronger. As its master, I receive feedback, and my Beast Taming Power has been increasing all the time."
"..."
Everyone fell silent in unison...
From ancient times to the present, it was always the Beast Tamers who diligently earned resources to cultivate their contracted spirits.
This was the first time they had heard of a contracted spirit diligently earning money to support its master's extravagant lifestyle, and also being responsible for increasing the master's Beast Taming level...
You're truly a bloodsucker...