After Leisi finished explaining her company's blueprint, a deep silence fell over the assembly.
Though they all understood that once this new era's company was established, it would undoubtedly bring an endless stream of wealth to the family, the immediate concern was their uncertainty regarding the currency used by the "Zha Tian" company for settlements.
If their offered salaries were too low, no one would be willing to join, and given the current devaluation of the currency, hiring even a domestic servant would cost at least twenty thousand Y coins per month.
Sensing the unease among them, Leisi smiled and said, "I know what you're all worried about. It's the currency used for employee payments. Actually, I had already considered this when planning the company, but I didn't expect Miss Shen from Z Country to be so much faster than we anticipated. So, my solution is simple: we'll adopt the same payment system they use."
"Leisi, they are in Z Country, far from us. How can we possibly access their information?" asked a robust young man.
"Calder, I've already thought of that," Leisi replied with a smile, glancing at Meier. "Meier, I heard your people are wanted by the Z Country authorities. In that case, I'd like you to open a branch in East Asia, using their network to develop various small subsidiaries. As for the specifics, I trust you know what to do."
Meier grinned, performing a gentlemanly bow. "Leisi, thank you for your trust. Rest assured, I'll bring glory to the family."
Leisi nodded in satisfaction before turning her gaze to Mand. "Dear Uncle, you have standing in M Country, so I'd like to ask you to open a branch there. Your goal will be to continue cultivating connections with influential figures and bring those who control territory and resources under our control."
Mand nodded and chuckled. "Leisi, don't worry. No one can do this better than me."
As the Chaisfield family council progressed, Leisi addressed several smaller issues, all of which were efficiently resolved by the family members.
Later that evening, Xu Que and Shen Mengchu, exhausted from the day's work, finally returned to the Shen family home.
The past two days had drained them. Although Xu Que hadn't established a Hunter's Company in his past life, he had worked in a similar direction, so he was a bit more prepared than Shen Mengchu, who was now too tired to speak, practically collapsing onto the sofa to sleep.
Seeing her instantly asleep, Xu Que helplessly carried her back to her room.
As he was leaving her room, Shen Tianhe's fierce gaze met him.
"I... I..." Xu Que stammered.
"Enough, I understand," Shen Tianhe suppressed his anger and said, "Come downstairs. I need to talk to you."
Xu Que scratched his head awkwardly, wondering what the conversation could possibly be about, especially since he hadn't done anything wrong.
Unbeknownst to Xu Que, Shen Tianhe's intention for the talk had nothing to do with Shen Mengchu.
As they sat down, Shen Tianhe spoke first: "The officials have been putting in a lot of effort these days. Shouldn't you be telling us about your business model?"
Xu Que paused for a moment, then understood what Shen Tianhe meant.
There was no reason to hide anything from him—if Xu Que wanted better development, he needed official backing. So, he was open about his plans and operational model.
When Shen Tianhe heard about the military's development from Xu Que, he initially frowned, but as the conversation continued, his surprise grew.
He hadn't expected that the young Xu Que had so many ideas.
"You, boy, you're wasting your talents not being a general," Shen Tianhe remarked.
Xu Que scratched his head sheepishly. "I just want to survive. As for titles, I've never cared about them."
Shen Tianhe dismissed it, thinking Xu Que was merely interested in his own benefit.
What Shen Tianhe didn't realize was that Xu Que was speaking from the heart.
Because the true horror of the Abyss hadn't even been fully revealed yet. In a year, once the Abyss stabilized, humanity would understand what it really meant to survive.
Though humanity's mortality rate was high now, it paled in comparison to the horrors of the Abyss that were to come. The real nightmare would start when the Abyss unleashed its full force.
Xu Que remembered that in the first year of the Abyss outbreak, over two hundred million people in Z Country perished, and the numbers were even worse in other countries—places like R and H countries were decimated in the first year, turning into havens for alien creatures.
In the second year of the Abyss, despite preparations, other countries continued to disappear.
He even remembered hunting for resources in L Country back then.
As for the Iron Walls, honestly, they were effective against C-class and lower alien creatures, but against B-class and above, they were practically useless.
Fortunately, humanity was adaptable and had managed to build super fortresses in such a harsh environment.
Although these fortresses couldn't withstand S-class invaders, humans were no pushovers. The moment an alien lifeform above A-class invaded, they would mobilize immediately to stop the massacre.
"Alright, it's late. Get some rest," Shen Tianhe said, picking up his phone.
Since he couldn't remember everything Xu Que had said about the operation model and future plans, he decided to record it and play it for the family the next day.
After watching Shen Tianhe go upstairs, Xu Que hurried back to his room and checked the progress of the spirit beast egg's hatching.
When he saw that there were only twelve hours left, he almost jumped for joy.
After all, this was the first spirit beast that exceeded C-class in power. Its combat abilities were beyond words, and it was enough to make anyone scramble for it on the Beast Master's Leaderboard!
Late at night, just as Xu Que dreamed of reaching the pinnacle of life, the shrill ring of his phone woke him up.
Without even opening his eyes, Xu Que answered.
"Hello?"
His voice was hoarse, clearly from lack of sleep.
"My Xu Ge, what happened to you?" came the puzzled voice of Kun Shao.
"Big brother, do you see what time it is? Am I not allowed to sleep?" Xu Que said, exasperated.
"Oh, right, it's two in the morning," Kun Shao said sheepishly.
"Spit it out. What's so urgent?" Xu Que asked, rubbing his eyes.
"You said before, no matter what time we go out, we need to report to you and submit any resources we retrieve," Kun Shao replied helplessly.
Xu Que then remembered his previous instructions.
"If there's anything that could get you on the leaderboard, just use it directly. No need to report it," Xu Que said.
"We made it onto the leaderboard, but there weren't any valuable items. However, I did pick up two anchor shards," Kun Shao said.
"C-class anchor shards?" Xu Que asked.
"No, two B-class ones. I combined them into one A-class shard..." Kun Shao replied with some hesitation.
Upon hearing that it was an A-class anchor key, Xu Que's sleepiness vanished instantly. This was far more valuable than any A-class equipment—it was the real deal!
"Once the trading hall opens, I'll give you the corresponding resources as a reward," Xu Que said, trying to contain his excitement.
"Xu Ge, is this thing really as dangerous as you say?" Kun Shao asked, confused.
"If you want to try it, I can give you a C-class anchor key to test out," Xu Que said with a mischievous tone.
"Never mind, I'll wait until you take us to a higher-level rift next time, then I'll go see for myself," Kun Shao said.
"Alright, in two days, I'll take you to the dimensional rift in the West District," Xu Que replied.
After a few more casual words, Xu Que hung up the phone.
Not long after, a message from Zhao Xian came through.