Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

“Five minutes, Dark Slug. If you can buy my men five minutes, I guarantee they won’t have anything left but the building.”

"Yelena, don't go too far. Prioritize destruction and data collection. Don't kill anyone, and if you hurt someone, try to stop short of causing harm. Retaliation and confrontation are one thing, but don't let yourself get tainted."

Xia Lin stopped White Rabbit from trying to learn Patriot's "Big Daddy" tactic, saying that it was suitable for Ursus but not for Lungmen.

"You'd better listen to An Suo in this regard. Don't make the situation of the infected worse. It's best to make it look like those pharmaceutical companies are selling counterfeit drugs and persecuting innocent people, causing them to unfortunately contract Oripathy, and then they are besieged by the infected. Make yourself as the victim as possible..."

This is an absolutely irrefutable accusation; to refute it, one must provide evidence that their drug is indeed effective.

If their medicine were effective, they would have already gone to work for the Brahmins with Rhine Life, instead of having to stoop so low as to squeeze the few cents out of Dalit's hands.

"Boss Xia, do me a favor!" Just as the senior executives of Xia's Group and several middle-level key cadres were discussing a series of shady methods in the second-floor lounge of the pharmaceutical company, Shi Huaiya, with a bright yellow hat with the "Safety First" logo on it, rushed in with her honey-gold hair flowing, her tuft of hair stretched into a straight line to maintain her balance.

"Huh?" Old Xia was stunned for a moment, not knowing what Officer Swire was doing, and then he was pulled over, face to face. "Smile, smile normally, smile sweetly. Oh, and move over a bit, so I can take a better picture of the company logo..."

"Crack!"

"Thank you so much! I'll treat you to dinner later to repay your kindness!" Until the tiger-striped tail with the golden ring disappeared outside the door, neither Old Xia nor Yelena had reacted. "What was she doing here?"

"Taking promotional photos?" Old Xia thought for a few seconds before saying, otherwise why would he want to take a picture of the company logo? But the actions just now were a bit too intimate, weren't they? He could have kissed her if he had just turned his head.

"Isn't that a bit too reckless?"

"Haven't she always been like this... lively? Haven't you seen her giving orders?"

Unlike Chen, Swire focuses more on command, but her Originium Arts are basically zero, only enough to operate drones. To make command easier, she installed a high-powered speaker on the drone.

When they were cleaning up the night market and spontaneous markets before, Lao Xia and Yelena had seen another side of this little tiger who seemed like a well-behaved girl in front of others. Her voice echoed throughout the market and was full of local flavor.

A woman with high emotional intelligence would be described as a warm, lively, and spirited girl; a woman with low emotional intelligence would be described as a fiery, impulsive, and reckless tomboy.

"Hmm, that makes sense—" The white rabbit nodded. At first, she thought the girl was a rich young lady, the kind she couldn't compete with.

Once you get to know them, their true nature comes out and you realize there's nothing particularly special about them. Of course, there's a big difference between being lively and impulsive and being stubbornly honest.

“Phew… all done—” Swire patted the camera. “Now that pink-faced dragon’s uncle won’t bring over any more ‘young talents,’ right? As a reward, we must help Mr. Xia secure a reasonable agency fee for his distribution business.”

"Char Siu Cat, what are you doing?" Old Chen asked curiously, looking at Swire sitting in her seat with a flushed face. "Why is there so much sweat on your face?"

"I just did some exercise, inspected the construction site, and took some photos. Hey, someone come and help me develop these photos!" The little tiger had barely settled in for a few minutes when she grabbed her hand again and rushed off to help her develop the photos.

"This char siu cat has been acting strangely ever since his failed blind date. Could it be that..."

Old Chen glanced at the handbag she had placed on the seat, his hawk-like gaze sweeping over the miscellaneous items inside, glancing at the cosmetics and trinkets. "Strange, nothing seems out of the ordinary... I'll ask her what's going on in a couple of days."

The two people may have their squabbles and conflicts, but they still have a sense of camaraderie.

“Uh…” Old Wei looked at the table in front of him, put his hands in front of him to support his chin, and fell into deep thought. On the table was a newly developed photo. The background seemed to be the break room of the newly built Sanlian Pharmaceutical Company. Half of the logo could be seen.

The little tiger and Lao Xia huddled together, the latter with a slightly silly and adorable expression, while the former had a honey-sweet smile on his face. Their faces were pressed together, looking very close.

"So, what does this mean?" He rushed in, slammed the photo on his desk, and then ran away in a hurry. "A...demonstration of what I did before?"

The decision to sabotage the marriage was a spur-of-the-moment one by Old Wei. After all, if the Taikoo Group and the Xia Group reached a strategic cooperation agreement in Longmen, and even merged in the future, Victoria's influence would be fully extended. At that point, it would be hard to say whether Longmen would still belong to the Wei family.

However, while it might seem like a sabotage, it can't be made too obvious, otherwise the big tiger won't be easily fooled, let alone Boss Xia. So, what does this little tiger mean by sending such an intimate photo?

Just as he was thinking, Lao Wei received a message from Tiger: "Old Bug... no, Lao Wei, you're a true friend. If you ever need my help in the future, just let me know. Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I won't let Longmen suffer any losses..."

"Oh, no, it's alright, don't mention it, it's nothing, we're friends." Old Wei hung up the phone, completely bewildered. What big news had they gotten themselves into that he didn't know about?

"I always thought that old bug was a seemingly loyal and righteous person who was actually a heartless and liar. I never thought I was so wrong."

Swire put down the phone and sighed, "Indeed, you can only tell whether a friend is reliable or not when it matters most."

“Since Old Bug has gone to such lengths, I can’t let him down. He’s a friend who doesn’t want it, so I can’t refuse to give it to him.”

I originally thought that even if Lao Wei didn't interfere with this marriage, he would still extort some benefits from me.

He was truly impressed that the other party not only did they put in their best effort, but also gave up such a huge profit as pharmaceutical distribution without taking a single penny.

A few days later, the distribution contract with the Xia Group and the first exclusive fee of 150 billion Lungmen coins were sent over. Prior to this, a close-up photo was also sent back from Lungmen. The big tiger used this to persuade the family board of directors to undertake the distribution work at a fairly fair proportion - after all, they are family members, it's just a matter of transferring money from one hand to the other.

"Officer Swire, I really owe you a huge thank you for helping me get such a great price..."

The fact that her family members were high-ranking executives in the Swire Group was never hidden from the beginning; it's just that Lao Xia didn't know exactly how high-ranking they were.

"No need to thank me, you've helped me a lot, so we're even..." Swire waved her hand, knowing that the old man probably wouldn't be arranging any blind dates for her anytime soon.

That's to be expected, because that old man had even planned out his grandson's name, which school he would attend, and where they would buy property in the future. Next, she would face something even more terrifying than being pressured to get married.

"Besides, Swire Group also profited from this, it's just a matter of how much. And distributing this kind of medicine would also benefit our business network. By the way, those people seem to have quieted down a lot lately. I was just saying I'd help you coordinate something."

Otherwise, given the rate at which public security is deteriorating, she'd be lucky if she didn't become the most incompetent regional head in the history of the Guard Bureau, let alone take over.

Fortunately, the situation calmed down considerably soon, mainly because... about one-third of the companies had been driven to give up and withdraw from the alliance by Lao Xia's ruthless and indiscriminate methods.

Fake business competition: spreading rumors, outwitting each other, employing military tactics and tricks, and coming up with all sorts of strange and ingenious schemes.

Real business competition includes: using one's own resources to harm others, hiring people to commit violence, stealing information, setting fire to warehouses, kidnapping the chairman, blowing up factories, and besieging headquarters.

Aside from concerns about his image, he did everything except hire someone to commit violence, set fire to the warehouse, or kidnap the chairman. Ironically, the most violent method he used was the seemingly least violent act of injuring someone with his own money.

Although Lao Xia doesn't have a production line for conventional drugs, Swire has one, Rhodes Island has one, and they both have large stockpiles of medicines.

He bought them for 200 LMD each and resold them for 30 LMD each. He sold whatever type of medicine those pharmaceutical companies sold, slashing the prices in half. Before long, people couldn't keep up and begged for mercy.

Everyone knows that Lao Xia can't bankrupt everyone; his funds aren't unlimited, and neither are the supplies from Swire Group and Rhode Island.

However, he can definitely bankrupt the most enthusiastic group of people, just like a gun with only one bullet can't kill everyone, but no one stands up to resist, because no one wants to be the only one to be killed.

Especially since these companies were originally competitors, and the alliance was only formed temporarily to avoid a big crocodile jumping into the fishpond, it is impossible to expect them to have enough mutual trust.

In other words, they are now in a prisoner's dilemma, where no one can be sure they won't be betrayed by the others.

However, the opponent does indeed have a gun capable of killing someone. Therefore, in the prisoner's dilemma, the optimal solution is to betray one's accomplice first in exchange for one's own survival.

Chapter Nine: Foolish and Rich, Come Quickly!

Chapter nine

The old city renovation plan is progressing steadily. The ground has been completely cleared, leaving only bare, rusty decks. Workers are still dismantling the shacks, pipes, and illegally constructed wiring of the poor, and widening the lower structure.

Terra's engineering technology is clearly out of sync with their actual technological and even military capabilities. For example, Xia Lin saw cleaning drones darting around inside the pipes.

These quadcopters skillfully flew through the various compartments and passageways, clearing out all kinds of trash and debris. Some of them were even equipped with welding torches and cutting machines, allowing them to perform cutting and welding work.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—" The heavy Originium-driven cutting machine slowly cut open the deck, removing the rusted and old deck modules to reveal the power compartment below.

The four old Originium engines have been shut down, and workers are gradually dismantling the surrounding pipes and wiring. These four engines are still worth some money as scrap.

Due to technical issues with the Originium Engine, there was a significant amount of dust pollution at the dismantling site.

Therefore, the workers responsible for dismantling the equipment were all infected, since they were already sick, which saved a lot of money on protective equipment.

"Wow, these people are really skilled. But if they can build such a heavy-duty cutting machine, why can't they even make a gunpowder weapon?"

“Because these machines all require high-level sorcerers to operate,” W explained in a low voice. The larger the Originium device, the more specially trained sorcerers are needed. “This is the technical standard set by Columbia.”

"Wet component main unit..."

"what?"

"It's nothing." After glancing at the robotic arms and equipment at work, Xia Lin turned her attention back to the blueprints and buildings in front of her.

Are you sure you want to inspect it now?

"Yes, yes." The bald middle-aged man in front of me wiped his sweat. The temperature in Lungmen is relatively high (urban heat island), but it's not this hot.

"W" noticed the other party's nervousness and shook her head. The demon girl dressed as a female secretary next to her took out a strange black object that could be held in one hand from her ample front armor. Before the greasy middle-aged man could see what it was, she grasped it in her hand again.

"I'll ask you one more time, did you really meet the requirements for the parameters you submitted in the bid?" Xia Lin looked at the Qingshui Building in front of him, which was still under construction and located near the outer edge of Longmen.

It functions as a navigation lighthouse and docking guidance facility, extending outwards to guide the docking of land-based ships and urban modules.

"Of course, we use the best materials and the best..." But when the demon girl saw what was in her hand, she couldn't continue.

"Click—" W, the smirking man, pressed the button. "Sorry, the boss said if it doesn't collapse, he'll deduct my bonus."

"Boom!" A series of explosions rang out throughout the building. After a brief silence, the newly built tower collapsed like shattered building blocks, with smoke and debris flying everywhere. Workers who did not know what had happened cried out in terror.

“Look, it’s clearly substandard—” W chuckled, while Old Xia picked up a small piece of debris that had flown in front of him. “I remember the construction standard used a carbon fiber honeycomb structure, right? Is my understanding of carbon fiber a little… different from your understanding of carbon fiber in your design book?”

"This……"

"There's no C60 spherical structure, nor any carbon nanotube structure; this is just ordinary carbon fiber material. Mr. Liu, can you explain where the carbon nanomaterials I provided went?"

With a massive 400 billion yuan operation and continuous investment, it's clear to anyone that there's a huge business opportunity involved. That's why all sorts of strange things have been happening lately.

They used inferior materials, either by removing or reducing the amount of the high-grade materials that Lao Xia had obtained, and then secretly sold them at a high price. In order to win the bid and lower the price, they also paid for the materials themselves. When their cash flow dried up, they had no choice but to find ways to cut corners in order to maintain their profits.

As for the countless instances of subcontracting for profit and cashing out, some can be resolved through commercial means, some can be reported to the police, and some... can only be suffered in silence.

This time, Old Xia planned to teach them a lesson. He didn't release a single word of the information that the Rat King had sent as a gesture of goodwill, nor did he cause any trouble. Instead, he had W install the bombs according to the design specifications, preparing to deliver a blow when they thought they had gotten away with it and were ready to accept the payment.

Encouraged by the generous reward, W and the explosives expert she found among the Sarkaz used all their skills over the past two days. The detonation points were tricky and unpredictable; any loophole that could be exploited would be blown to smithereens.

Some of the shoddy workmanship was still within reasonable limits, but the contractors who cut corners at the very edge needed to do repairs and rework.

More often, people are like this guy, watching helplessly as months of hard work are instantly reduced to ruins, without receiving a single penny, and having to rebuild everything from scratch.

Of course, he could argue that the bombs Old Xia planted were against regulations, since it wasn't like building a military bunker; he could increase the yield and destroy any building, and demand payment from Old Xia for the project. But the problem lies in…

This was the first time these people had realized that Boss Xia wasn't just a business talent; he was a professional technician himself.

They immediately found the shoddy stuff they had crammed in from the ruins, and then took this evidence to the Guard Bureau. Everyone knows what kind of relationship he has with the head of the Guard Bureau in District 16. This guy is basically the Pizza Hut of the Old Town. Pizza Hut isn't scary, what's scary is that Pizza Hut can actually produce decisive evidence that guarantees victory.

The contractors and foremen, who had initially thought that Lao Xia only brought bodyguards, a secretary, and an adopted daughter, plus the Yeti team that later strengthened security, and that there were no managers or technicians, were shocked to discover that Boss Xia himself was a highly skilled technical expert.

“Cutting corners, this level of workmanship… is too poor,” Old Xia shook his head. “I knew these tricks when I was seven, and I could assemble a jet engine from scrap parts salvaged from a junkyard when I was twelve. These guys are so arrogant, thinking I can’t see through them.”

"Who told you to look like a fool with too much money, especially when you were renting out properties in the outer commercial pedestrian street? You were practically offering a three-fold rent after paying one month's rent upfront..."

Paying a month's rent in advance allows you to rent for three months. Now that everyone sees the old city area is bound to be successfully renovated, people naturally come with their money and hand it over, afraid that Old Xia, who has "gone crazy," will change his mind.

It's important to know that although the old town or lower town of Lungmen has the word "old" in its name, it also means that it is the earliest urban area of ​​Lungmen, and it is separated from the most prosperous central control area and Lungmen Port area by a moat less than 10 meters wide.

Once the renovation is successful and the connecting pier is built, this will be the prime real estate of the "Dragon Gate Second Ring Road." If you don't take advantage of the land prices before they skyrocket and "pay one and rent three," what are you waiting for?

The very fact that so many merchants were eagerly participating made others believe that the property would appreciate dramatically in value.

So even though Lao Xia's rent changed every day, countless people still came with money, and there were also people with connections through various channels.

For example, a girl who called herself Lin Yuxia rented half a street of shops from Lao Xia at an 85% discount on behalf of the Rat King. The underground forces also need to make a living. They work hard to earn a little protection money, but it's not as fun as collecting rent. Not to mention, this can also provide for those old guys who can't fight anymore and give people in the organization something to look forward to.

These shops and streets were still on the drawing board when Lao Xia had already recouped the money for the repairs. According to the capitalists' usual practice, the money recouped should not be given back.