Chapter 10 Unknown Coercion
Giving Luxell another glance, Ceid pretentiously sighs.
"It's all great and sounds perfect."
"But it would cost a hefty sum of expenses. And I planned to have the elevator access modified."
"You know, an exclusive elevator that directly connects the parking lot and ground floor to the top floor. I want that."
"But, with the cost of modifying the special penthouse elevator, sealing off said elevator's entrance on other floors, and sealing the fourth floor's entrance, the cost added would be huge."
"Not to forget, we need to block the other elevators from going to the top floor," Ceid said while giving Luxell a meaningful glance.
Of course, Luxell would notice it when he was given such a blatant hint.
Don't look how happy they were chatting.
If Ceid rescinds his interest, who knows how much money he would stand to lose?
For some years, he had owned this building without making a profit. Its proximity to the city walls and the frequency of beast attacks made it an unsuitable location for mid and large-scale businesses.
After all, the wall is constantly at risk of being breached.
If it happens, the beast will wantonly destroy the surroundings.
Unlike the residents, who may easily migrate and small businesses that suffer minor losses, larger enterprises would face more risks if the region was destroyed.
Compared to the risk and pressure they had to withstand, it is much more reasonable to establish their enterprise far away from the city wall.
Just look at the lavender building on the other side. His competitor shared the same headache in dealing with the twin buildings.
After some deliberation, Luxell gritted his teeth and made a decision.
"Absolutely. We'll reconfigure and modify one of the elevators as your exclusive elevator as part of the building renovation."
"In addition, I will ensure that the penthouse has the highest level of security and privacy. Other than through the exclusive elevator and emergency exit, no one can gain access to the penthouse."
Hearing Luxell's guarantee, Ceid immediately showed a wide, bright smile.
He even directly faced Luxell and patted him on the shoulders, saying, "Alright, Luxell, I'm starting to see the potential in this place. Let's talk about the numbers now."
"I'm willing to pay in a lump sum, but I need a better price for the building, considering all the renovations we've discussed."
-
Soon, after a bit more bargaining, Ceid managed to secure the property at 10% lower compared to the original stated price.
It was a price Luxell gave after taking into account several points.
First, Ceid would pay a lump sum directly to the realtor company once the ownership of the building had been successfully transferred.
Second, Broadleaf Realtors would take up the order for renovation and refurbishing. This allowed the company to retain some of its profit.
Lastly, Luxell himself is free to contact any recommended contractor for installing, modifying, and reconstructing the security system, the elevators, the cafe, and the penthouse.
Of course, this last agreement was under the guarantee that Luxell would ensure these contractors would provide satisfying results.
After calculating the price of the building, the whole cost of renovations and refurbishing, the total amount was a staggering amount of MZD 5.5 million in Meza Dollars.
Truthfully, it was a bit on the expensive side. According to Wyd's information, a seven-story building in the business precinct, with a similar total floor area, was only MZD 8 million on average.
And the business precinct was the busiest area near the city center, where every inch of land was gold.
But since Luxell was such a cooperative person, he didn't mind splurging his money a bit.
This was his first experience with the nouveau-riche lifestyle. The feeling that he could spend his money carelessly was fantastic.
Soon, the two returned to the realtor's office to process the purchase.
-
Compared to the calm and peaceful atmosphere inside the city, the situation had become tense in various outposts along the walls and the vanguard camp outside in the wilderness.
The scouts sent by the armies had reported back the latest news.
The movement of the beast was unusual compared with the typical one.
The beasts seemed more enraged and agitated than usual as if something had provoked their nest.
Because of this report, the armies had sped up their preparations.
More detached scouts were sent to explore the way.
The large vanguard army was also sent in to clear the way first and reduce as many threats before the actual beast tide's arrival.
They aimed to reduce the beast numbers as much as they could.
Following the start of the disaster, various nations' governments maintained communications. They shared critical information and news on the dungeons and beast movement.
Because of this, they noticed one of the most effective ways to minimize damage during beast tide threats.
That was to reduce as many beasts as possible along the beast tide path.
Initially, many of the beasts maintained their reasoning and instinctive faculty. Without the beast tide, they would continue their lives without endangering the people.
That's why the residents of this world would go out of the city's protection and make a living. The people of this world also had an ordinary life like any other world.
They cultivated their lands, mined the ores, harvested fruits, and so on.
Of course, there are also the new era's occupations, such as breeding beasts, exploring dungeons, and gathering precious beast parts from the beast's carcasses.
And this wouldn't have been possible if the beast in the wilderness were constantly threatening the people.
In the end, regardless of whether the Aura Qi had recovered, there's not much difference between a beast and wild animals living in their habitat.
The beast tide caused such a catastrophe because the monsters involved had lost their reason and mind.
They were pulled into the beast tide's wave, unwillingly entangled. In their fear, many of their younglings died in the stampede, which grieved them and fueled their rage.
Instinctively, to survive, they ran in the opposite direction of the incoming beast tide, effectively joining the large beast tide army.
In this way, the snowball effect occurred, enlarging the danger.
After understanding this, the best way to control and reduce the threat level is to direct and guide nearby beasts.
By temporarily relocating them to a safe place before the first beast tide wave arrives, the army can control the size of the beast tide. This way, the danger level can be controlled below the Yellow Level.
It was even possible to reduce the threat to Azure Level!
-
Deep in the jungle, a Canine Race warrior was occupied in directing his 12-man squad.
His name was Ren Ya, nicknamed Blade Fang, the commander of this reconnaissance squad.
As a capable warrior, despite commanding a small company-sized army, he decided to lead his most capable elites to scout the area.
At the moment, he was tasked to lead his squad to scout deep into the jungle.
To do this, the squad needs to keep a high level of vigilance and caution as they stealthily explore the front.
They were constantly coordinating with other squads. They regularly kept their coordinates and situation abreast to avoid unexpected situations and help each other when needed.
At this moment, Ren Ya, who was at the front, had abruptly stopped.
Looking at his reaction, his adjutant, Ying Zhao or Shadow Claw, immediately gave the 'stop' sign to the others.
He immediately heightened his alert and tried to find any possible enemy attack. And yet, after looking and sensing around, he still couldn't discover anything.
Looking at his leader, he cautiously asked, "Captain, are there enemies ahead?"
However, Ren Ya was still looking in a direction attentive with a furrowed brow.
Although Ren Ya had not responded, Ying Zhao and the rest of the squad kept quiet while enhancing their vigilance. They all can see that Ren Ya is concerned about something in the direction ahead.
As a scout and capable warrior, usually, he should be prepared to survey the situation.
But Ren Ya remained stopped in his tracks.
What does it mean?
There could be a lot of uncertainties. But the worst possible scenario was that the threat from that direction could endanger Ren Ya and the rest of them.
As the time continued to tick, the squad members became more nervous. They didn't dare to voice their doubt, afraid of attracting whatever danger that lies ahead.
After what seemed to be forever, Ren Ya finally spoke, "It's alright now."
With his words, the others finally relaxed their tight muscles.
At this moment, a tall black-furred Canine Race warrior spoke, "What was it just now?"
He was Du Zhao, the team's most agile warrior.
Don't be fooled by his current scared look. Usually, his eyes were twinkling mischievously. His sly grin fully showed his witty and playful nature. He was the funny but cunning guy on the team.
"Why are you afraid of?" A burly and muscular warrior rolled his eyes at Du Zhao. "I never saw you being afraid when dealing with the berserk Ziyan beast before?"
This bulky masculine guy was Lei Zhao, nicknamed Thunder Claw. He was a rowdy guy with a straight personality. With his bold attitude and love for action, he was always eager to dive headfirst into any challenge or adventure.
Du Zhao was speechless and decided to ignore this careless guy.
Ying Zhao was also not in the mood to be entangled with these two guys. He was waiting for Ren Ya's response.
Ren Ya didn't immediately answer Du Zhao's question. He continued to remain vigilant for any possible changes.
After waiting for a little longer, Ren Ya finally relaxed his vigilance. He was exhausted right now, owing to the heightened sense and tension. After easing his body muscles, he walked to a boulder and sat down.
Looking at the team members waiting for his reply, he finally said, "I'm not sure either."
When the members were confused, Ren Ya continued, "When I was walking in front just now, I felt tremendous pressure coming from far in the distance."
"That suffocating coercion aura was so intimidating that I couldn't move. I'm unsure if anyone in the Meza Republic could release such a coercion aura."
They all believed what Ren Ya was saying. It was known to the whole battalion that Ren Ya's senses and intuition were among the best. So even if they didn't notice that coercion, they believed in their captain.
"Then, do we need to report back to the army headquarters?" Ying Zhao asked.
"Of course. We need to inform them as soon as possible," Ren Ya answered.
"We may not know who that powerhouse was, but for it to release such coercion indiscriminately so blatantly, we might have missed something."
"Regardless, by releasing such a show of power, even if there's no beast tide, the beast would still be running away in fear."
"I'm afraid that we needed to hasten the army preparation. We might be dealing with more than just mere Yellow Level threats."
"And it is coming sooner than expected."
Ren Ya said with a dignified look.