Chapter 317: Chapter 172: Red River Starfall Fisherman Li Ming_2
Li Ming clicked his tongue, safety is relative, one must at least have the ability to protect oneself.
"So, opening this shop is basically painting a target on our backs for the Star Hunters," Ya Ro said helplessly.
Li Ming ignored him, and they began cleaning the room.
With "Intelligent Assistance" activated, Li Ming even scraped out dried pieces of meat from numerous crevices, as well as surveillance devices that he wasnât sure were still functional.
"Iâm really starting to like this place," Li Ming shook his head, crushed the surveillance probe in his hand, and then opened the doorplate manager, adjusting it.
"Azure Dragon Mechanical Store."
Seeing Li Ming seriously picking a name, Ya Ro felt a pang of toothache, "Are you really planning to do business here?"
"Whatâs the matter? Is there any other rule?" Li Ming puzzled.
Ya Ro, feeling helpless, "No, itâs fine; with your skills, you shouldnât lack for business."
"The Collector does have a liking for mechanics. I heard he has plenty of broken stuff and often hires people to fix them. If you make a name here, you might catch his eye," he added.
Although he said this, Ya Ro obviously wasnât hopeful, as the Collector usually dealt with top mechanics.
"Youâve reminded me," Li Ming reopened the doorplate management system and added a few linesâ
"Only accepts C-class and above weapon customization and repair."
The lower levels donât earn much, merely a waste of time.
"Hiss~" Ya Ro inhaled sharply, "Donât you want to set an upper limit?"
"Youâve reminded me again." Li Ming quirked an eyebrow and added another line, "If not fixed, double refund!"
Ya Ro gaped, astounded, "What if someone challenges you with an A-level weapon?"
"Let them come if they want," Li Ming didnât care, big bait catches big fish.
The opening of the new store hadnât attracted many people initially.
However, after adding that line, it did draw the attention of numerous interstellar scoundrels who stopped to point and talk in some unknown interstellar slang, followed by hearty laughs.
People from the stores to the sides and opposite also came out, their expressions quite surprised, then shaking their heads.
"This kind of gimmick is dangerous," warned Ya Ro, unable to contain himself, such stunts could attract attention in a normal civilization.
But in the Land of Stars, playing too big could lead to trouble.
And Li Ming seemed not to hear, other than the six rooms distributed over the two floors above ground, he could freely modify during the lease.
Li Ming directly opened up the entire third floor, while the second floor was designated for Ya Ro and Kay to reside in.
Kay helped clean, sweating profusely due to the gene inhibitor. After hesitating for a while, he still approached Li Ming, "May I ask, sir, what plans do you have for me?"
Having followed them here, he had already realized that Ya Ro didnât have much say, everything was decided by this person called Azure Dragon.
But this person, seemed not to be from the interstellar alliance.
He hardly saw him on the spaceship, which left him uneasy all day, now he finally had a chance to ask.
Li Ming casually said, "My new store lacks a waiter, youâll temporarily take on that role."
Kayâs expression stiffened, "Waiter?"
"Three thousand five hundred Star Coins a month, how does that sound?" Li Ming asked with a smile.
"This..." Kay forced a smile, "Sir, just tell me straight what youâre thinking, I see you donât plan to let me go."
"Indeed," Li Ming candidly admitted, causing Kayâs expression to stiffen.
"Iâm a man motivated by profit, it wasnât easy rescuing you..." Li Ming said with a gentle smile, which almost made Kay lose his composure.
"You should know, Iâm a displaced noble, I donât have much money," Kay said helplessly.
"No, you are quite wealthy," Li Ming smiled, "The gene sequence for a Golden-eyed Celestial is calledââJudgement Holy Bladeâ, right? I want the Evolution Theory."
"Evolution Theory?"
Though Kayâs Mimic Mask had two eyes, it lacked any covering, so it felt very hollow and emotionless.
But his heightened tone revealed his turbulent emotions, he firmly refused, "I canât possibly tell you."
Unexpectedly, the other party didnât get angry but laughed instead, "So you do actually have Evolution Theory memorized, impressive."
Kayâs face turned pale as she struggled to speak, "Even if you get âEvolution Theory,â itâs useless, your gene seeds and Judgement Holy Blade donât match up at all."
Li Ming chuckled lightly, knowing that this matter couldnât be rushed, and said, "No hurry, the room to the right upstairs is yours. Also, Taipo will be with you, so donât try anything funny."
Kay felt a surge of frustration but was helpless to act.
Li Ming did not want to let him go just yet, this guy still had secrets on him; that golden vertical pupil he found, what exactly was it for, he still hadnât figured it out.
Moreover, the anti-looting organization from the Interstellar Alliance also seemed quite interested in him.
Li Ming was already calculating how to squeeze out as much information from this toad as possible.
Ya Ro kept glancing over frequently, his expression hesitant and flickering, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
Ya Ro didnât expect that, just a few hours later, some lifeforms would visit, several humans wearing crude armor.
"Gentlemen, weâre opening tomorrow, no guests today," Kay said expressionlessly.
"How come thereâs someone who drives customers away?" one of them sized up Kay, "Your shop sure is interesting, not just the big talk, but this waiter even has a gene inhibitor?"
On hearing this, Kay frowned as Ya Ro walked over and said, "Folks, we really arenât open yet, look, thereâs nothing on this first floor, not yet operational?"
The scar-faced burly man sneered, "I donât care about that, weâre here to inform you, if you want to do business here, a third of the net profit must be handed over to us."
"Remember, itâs net profit, not gross revenue, weâll have someone watching; donât try any tricks."
Ya Roâs expression grew stern, "Who are you? People from the Collector?"
The scar-faced burly man sneered, "The Collector, His Grace, doesnât have time to deal with these trifles. If you want to do business here, you have to follow our rules!"
"Otherwise, do you know how the original owner here died?"
Ya Roâs face turned cold.
"No problem," a voice came from upstairs, Li Ming slowly walked down, "A third, huh, I got it."
The few men looked at each other, gauging Li Ming, and satisfied, said, "So, you are the boss? Not bad, quite sensible."
Having received a satisfactory answer, the men left, cursing and swearing.
Li Ming casually cast a âLocator,â covering a range of ten thousand meters, enough to confirm in which direction the men had gone.
Ya Ro frowned, "This doesnât make sense, on the Collectorâs turf, how dare someone collect protection money?"
"Protection money?" Li Ming shook his head, "What they are collecting is a âno-troubleâ fee; if they canât protect, they can always cause trouble."
Ya Ro was taken aback, "Yeah, shit, I just used to come here to shop, never realized all the tricks involved here."
Then, he couldnât help but ask, "A third of the net profit, just like that youâre giving it away?"
Li Ming was noncommittal, "Weâll see, theyâre probably not the first group."
Ya Ro looked skeptical and waited about half an hour more when, indeed, another group came, sub-species Lizard Men.
Like the previous people, they too demanded a third of the net profit.
After going back and forth with three groups in total, Ya Ro finally cursed,
"Each wants a third, even if we give it all to them, it wouldnât be enough. Collecting protection fees should also be done bit by bit, how can there be so many people?"
"Ha..." A low laugh came from outside the door; it was an almost skeletal old man, with a messy beard, bald on top, hunched back, and a sinister glance.
"You..." Ya Ro stared at him, "Are you the owner of the neighboring pharmacy?"
"Saber," the old man introduced himself, his voice hoarse, "Considering weâre both human, Iâll give you some advice, better to close up shop early."
"Who are these people exactly?" Ya Ro asked, not offended but rather inquiring.
"Colleagues," Saberâs words stunned Ya Ro for a moment: "Colleagues?"
Saber scoffed, "Right, mechanical repair, weapons customization, only taking on Class C and above, such big talk, itâs strange if the mechanics in this area didnât band together to squeeze you out."
"You guys are smart, no conflicts happened; donât judge their fierce looks, if you guys dare fight back, believe it or not, theyâd just lie down on the ground and have the Collectorâs guard come to punish you."
Ya Ro grinned, "Figured as much, they sure wouldnât start a fight."
He tentatively asked, "Is there a solution?"
"Yes." Saber let out a âheheheâ laugh, "But I donât feel like telling you."
Ya Roâs expression hardened slightly, and Saber already turned to leave.