Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"The person who gave you this USB drive, which company does he work for? No... someone with this kind of skill wouldn't need to be someone's slave, right? He either owns his own company, or a bunch of companies are willing to give him outsourced work, or even beg him to do their work."

Kuroba Akira was stunned for a moment. He was right. Uncle Yu really did work from home.

After hearing what he said, Kuroba Akira realized that Hijikata Isamu's skills were indeed very valuable.

Because the world has never experienced an era of isolation, working from home is only a means of preventing accidents, not a normal practice.

Especially in Japan, where business culture and etiquette are emphasized to an almost pathological degree, office workers have to learn to adapt to suffocating office environments. Want to work from home? Dream on!

Even when Hijikata Isamu is staying at home, he never has trouble getting work, and he's so busy that he barely gets any sleep, which shows that large companies are willing to compromise for him.

Only the most powerful and influential figures have this privilege, just like Togashi, who can freely decide the serialization time. It is a 'privilege' that belongs only to the powerful.

Nishimura Ryuya also highly praised Hijikata Isamu's skills and forward-thinking vision, saying with a touch of dark humor.

"I thought all the people with this kind of technology were on the other side of the ocean, and that people in this country would still be using outdated things like fax machines twenty years from now. Computer technology is practically half-dead. But isn't there still a really capable guy here? Oh, could this guy have immigrated here too?"

Does "the other side of the sea" refer to the free (hypocritical) country across the ocean, or to the great (Eastern) country separated by a strait?

But he was right. Both Kuroba Akira and Hijikata Isamu were indeed 'forced immigrants', only they came not just from a foreign country, but from a foreign country in another world.

Before Kuroba Akira could answer his question, Nishimura Ryu shrugged and said nonchalantly.

"Fine, forget I asked. How this person got here is none of my business. Anyway, he's in Tokyo now... So, you and he are planning to start a danmaku video website together. It's in its early stages and you're short-handed, so you've come to me looking for free labor, right?"

"Uh……"

Kuroba Akira gave an awkward smile.

Nishimura-senpai is a bit too clever. He guessed almost everything just by showing him the USB drive, and even saw through my little schemes...

You can't fool this kind of person at all!

Okay, since we can't fool them, we'll have to 'trade' it.

Uncle Yong's USB drive successfully piqued his interest; now it was up to him to use his persuasive skills...

"Sure, I can work for you."

"what?!"

Why isn't this person playing by the rules?

Since he has such a bad temper and a foul mouth, shouldn't he be a very difficult person to persuade? Why did he give it away for free?

No! We can't be too happy yet. There's no such thing as a free lunch. His initiative must be suspicious!

"So, what are the conditions?"

"The conditions are that meals and accommodation are provided, and there is a private toilet."

Too cheap!

These conditions are too easy to meet... No, they seem a bit too easy.

Kuroba Akira thought about it again and realized that Nishimura Tatsuya's condition was essentially asking him to provide a 'private room,' which was actually quite difficult to meet in Tokyo where land was extremely expensive.

Although buying a house wasn't necessary, renting a room for him would have been enough, but the extra expense still troubled Kuroba Akira.

The main reason was that at this time, both Kuroba Akira and Hijikata Isamu were penniless. If Hijikata Isamu's debts were taken into account, it would be a complete disaster from the start.

If he could move into Kobayashi's house, there wouldn't be a problem, but he's not qualified.

Non-time travelers are not qualified to live in Kobayashi's house.

Granny Kobayashi reluctantly took in Shion out of respect for her father, Uncle Shinomiya, and also because Shion was sharing a room with her, so it was barely within the rules...

Are we going to make him share a room with Uncle Yong?

You'd never guess that living under the same roof with Ziyin has developed into an intimate relationship where you help each other with pleasurable massages...

Letting Nan Niang and Uncle share a room... uh... will there really be no problem?

Seeing that Kuroba Akira was taking so long to think, Nishimura Ryu was quite puzzled. Was this guy really trying to get something for nothing? Did he think he could find a computer technology guru just by fooling him? What a joke!

Wait a minute, this guy doesn't even know anything about the news department. Did he really just stumble upon this place by accident and have no idea of ​​his own worth?

The more Nishimura thought about it, the more he felt that Kuroba Akira was just a lucky idiot. But Nishimura Tatsuya didn't bother to prove his worth in front of him. If Kuroba Akira was someone who didn't even have 'vision', then there was really no need to continue the conversation.

However… Nishimura Ryuya glanced again at the document he had just copied from the computer. The fact that the person who wrote this 'super-foresightful' document chose to collaborate with Kuroba Akira was enough to show that Kuroba Akira was 'someone with some talent'.

So even though Nishimura Ryūya was proud, he suppressed his temper and asked, quite puzzled.

"Hey, seriously? You're taking this long to think about such a simple request? What are you hesitating about? This isn't even a 'friendship price,' it's a 'fire sale'!"

He continued to ask, sounding annoyed.

"Don't you have any extra rooms at home? Or doesn't this person have any extra rooms at home? I don't care about the size of the room, as long as there's a bed, enough space for a computer, and good ventilation, that's enough!"

Kuroba Akira scratched his cheek and said.

"Well, to put it simply, he and I share an apartment, but the Kobayashi Apartment we live in has certain conditions for occupancy..."

Anri Hitomi listened intently to these words, as she was also very interested in them.

She knew that not just anyone could live in that house, but she didn't know the specific conditions.

Moreover, he knew that his qualifications were definitely different from those of Kuroba Akira.

After hearing this explanation, Nishimura Tatsuya asked in return with a strange expression.

"Kobayashi? You wouldn't happen to be one of Kobayashi Tokuman's men, would you?"

"Uh!"

Now it was Kuroba Akira's turn to be stunned. He never expected to hear Kobayashi's grandfather's full name at school, and he never expected that Nishimura Tatsuya would know about Kobayashi's grandfather's existence.

Anri Hitomi, who was behind him, also widened her eyes, revealing an incredulous expression.

Fujiyoshi Michio's reaction of "Who is that?" shows that for ordinary people, not knowing is normal.

Seeing the expressions on Kuroba Akira and Anri Hitomi's faces, Nishimura Ryuya had already gotten a definite answer.

"The big shots who manipulate the fate of the nation from the shadows of history... You're on the 'left,' no wonder you have this kind of thing..."

It is clear that Nishimura Ryu has also come to believe that this is a scheme orchestrated by some important figure.

Then he looked past Kuroba Akira at Anri Hitomi, revealing an even more meaningful expression.

"I see, no wonder the Anri family was with you..."

At this moment, Anri Hitomi was terrified. She was really afraid that Kuroba Akira would turn around and ask her with a questioning expression, "Class monitor? You haven't been hiding your identity all this time, have you?"

If he were to actually ask her that question, Anri Hitomi really wouldn't know how to respond, because she had indeed been hiding it all along.

The reason for concealing it was very naive; she simply hoped that her relationship with Akira Kuroba could be simpler, because Hitomi Anri was pursuing pure feelings.

However, it's also true that I've been keeping it from my best friend... How would he see me if he found out?

They'll definitely think I have ulterior motives... No matter how I explain, resentment will still arise.

No, no, Myungjun... I just... don't want you to think I only contacted you because of the Anri family...

Previously, those who knew her other identity were all people she knew, so she could ask them to keep it a secret for her. But this time, her identity was discovered by strangers, and she couldn't stop Nishimura Ryuya from talking.

So at this moment, Anri Hitomi panicked, which was unusual for her. She thought that if Nishimura Ryu continued to say 'unnecessary words,' she would use physical methods to shut him up.

Fortunately, Akira Kuroba didn't immediately turn around to ask, and Ryu Nishimura wasn't particularly interested in the young couple's marriage, so they didn't continue the topic.

He simply understood Kuroba Akira's reason for hesitation. If he were a member of the Kobayashi family, he would indeed need to be careful to avoid encountering spies from the opposing side.

After learning about this background, he felt that it was more likely that Kuroba Akira was not joking.

"So, who proposed creating a bullet-screen video website? Was it you? Or this person?"

Nishimura Ryuu pointed at Kuroba Akira, then at the computer screen, implying that he was asking Kuroba Akira and Hijikata Isamu who was in charge.

"it's me."

"It's you... I understand now, you are Liu Bei."

"what?"

Kuroba Akira felt very confused, thinking that he was not a royal uncle at all. Maybe if you break him down, he fits the description, being royal enough, but deep down he's an uncle.

Tatsuya Nishimura then went on to explain his metaphor in detail.

"Although he was a good-for-nothing, he was very lucky and had a good eye for talent, so he was able to build up his own power."

"..."

This is a way of indirectly insulting himself, but Nishimura-senpai has always liked to be sarcastic, so maybe this is already considered a very 'gentle' way of putting it.

Moreover, his words were actually a roundabout way of comparing himself to the legendary Crouching Dragon.

That's incredibly arrogant... but I'm not going to go to his house three times to seek him out.

"In short, I can help you, but I want my technical expertise as equity, and I hate wasting time on management work, so..."

Akira Kuroba stretched out a hand, interrupting Ryuya Nishimura and taking back the momentum from him.

"Wait a minute, Nishimura-senpai, I haven't decided to collaborate with you yet."

Seeing that Kuroba Akira didn't fawn over him like the others, but only offered flattery, Nishimura Ryu wasn't angry. Instead, he felt that at least the screws in Kuroba Akira's head were turning.

No wonder he's Dolph's friend... He might be a bit weak, but he's not stupid.

"Okay, then what else do you need to confirm?"

"I want to know what you really want, Nishimura-senpai. It can't be money or benefits, right?"

At the same time, Akira Kuroba also wanted to know whether Tatsuya Nishimura was truly a 'controllable being'.

Even if he is a unique genius, if he has a terrible personality and is so self-willed that he doesn't listen to anyone's orders, he definitely can't be allowed to join.

Even someone with much less skill but who is very obedient would be a better fit than him.

Nishimura Ryuya chuckled and said.

“Hey... I know what you’re worried about, so I’ll tell you what I’m after.”

He pointed his index finger at Akira Kuroba and declared.

"What I want... is the perfect wife!"

"what?"

Old, wife?