Chapter 114: Aesthetics
Jin left Zhen Qing to do her work in the kitchen and he believed that the system disguising as a sentient AI would only help her when necessary. Jin now had a few things to do. One was to take a look at Xiong Da and perhaps participate in the training for a while since he had yet to do his daily morning training.
The second thing he needed to sort out was the street stall improvement that Jin had told Zhen Qing about. There was nothing wrong with the current mobile stall that Zhen Qing was using, it was just that Jin could improve the seating area surrounding the street stall, modernise the street stall so it would look more eye catching while not losing the traditional look that his store had portrayed.
Speaking of his store, it was about time he put up the store house sign and perhaps redecorate the shop a little to suit the panda theme to the place was rocking. "I have about 10 Thousand and 300 hundred Yuan in my earnings account right now courtesy of Xiong Da as well as roughly 4000 dungeon dollars.
With the exchange rate of 100 Yuan to 1 Dungeon dollar, I would have about an additional of 1000 dungeon dollars if I convert everything. Hmm. That is not a really good idea at all. I should only convert the Yuan when I really need it." Jin was looking at his phone's calculator and found there was an exchange button that showed him the conversion rates and the total amount of money he would receive.
"Judging from what I have previously built from the Dungeon maker, I guess I will set the improvement for the street stall and the store's internal renovation a budget of 500 Dungeon Dollars. That should be more than sufficient." Jin realised that he could not be a lazy boss like he used to be. Back then, the financing of the store was all supported by the system, and he did not have to worry a single thing. All he did was serve the customers when need be and continue his daily life as per normal.
Now he had to keep a tight watch on the amount of money he had. Sure, the upgrades to the mobile stall and the internal decorations may not be worth the amount of dungeon dollars he was spending since they were only for aesthetics rather than for function.
However, the image of the shop, especially in the era where the look and feel of the products would determine the success, was equally as important as what the shop could actually do. Sensory or even subliminal effects would be essential competitive tools against other dungeon suppliers.
Jin already noticed the effect the system created when using Pandas in the shop. It made both male and female customers coming in feel relaxed and comfortable, compared to other dungeon suppliers, whose atmospheres were all about anger, rage, fights and power. The dungeon supplier "King's Monster" had figments of various monsters all around their shop.
Jin also remembered the feeling he experienced when he was on the third floor of his store. He noticed that a lot of his customers did not dare to enter because they could feel the tranquillity of the area and felt like they were disrupting the peace. However, Jin still did not understand the rationale of a tranquil gallery when the statues would teleport them to a place of excitement.
"This is just my conjecture but I think the system wants the customers to know and experience something incredibly unique in this day and age. I think the system wants our customers to know that there can be a place of tranquillity even within our fast-paced world of chaos. Besides, this could also allow the customer to transition properly into something different." Yun came from out of nowhere and poured herself a coffee to drink. Jin then realised Yun had disappeared when Xiong Da and Zhen Qing came into the store. Perhaps, she did not want the others to misunderstand her relationship with Jin.
"If you have not noticed, the Zen gallery kind of gives you the 'Alright, let's try again. I can do this.' kind of vibe?" Yun added a few pieces of sugar cubes and some milk.
"I realised too. Still, that third floor needs more promotion and more service instances. " Jin replied back.
"Well, its either you make more money or you do more missions," Yun commented as she sipped her coffee.
"Enough missions for now. I have yet to complete the Baby Panda mission and a few other things are still lined up on my plate. Getting more missions will just complicate things." Jin shook his head.
"Maybe the system might give you a helping hand once in a while you know? It would not harm you to check periodically." Yun smiled at Jin, which incidentally gave Jin a sense of apprehension.
"Yeah, I will check it later." Jin had enough with the system making his life miserable a moment and Yun chuckled at his reply.
———-
Xiong Da entered Panda Muscles as Jin instructed to him and found that he was surrounded by various gym equipment in a warehouse that was void of people.
"Mister Xiong Da?" Xiong Da heard his name and turned to look, only to find that it was a red panda receptionist. He did not know that Jin had now made all the service instance receptionists excluding the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance red pandas. "Yes, I am Xiong Da." He replied to the innocent looking red panda.
"Your instructor is waiting for you at the other end of the warehouse. Just follow the illuminated path which I am about to show you now and you will find him. Your instructor also said to reach there in 2 minutes or he will not teach you anything. The distance you need to cover is 800 metres."
"800 metres in 2 minutes?!" Xiong Da's jaw dropped. Commoners' average timing was roughly 3 -4 minutes. He knew some cultivators could definitely do better than that but his cultivation style was focused on power not speed. So, in terms of speed, he was no different from a commoner and all he could do was rely on his stamina and willpower.
"I am starting the timer in 5….4.." The Red Panda ignored Xiong Da's expression and started to count down. Xiong Da wanted to curse under his breath but he guessed this was what he needed to defeat Lan Ji Ao.
"2…1…go!" The Red Panda pressed a button on her counter and a starting pistol shot was fired off, which made Xiong Da frantically run while following the green arrows on the floor that was illuminated just for him to follow.
Xiong Da did not pace himself in any way and started sprinting the moment he started. He could not think of anything since it was too quick for him to process anything. Fortunately, he knew how much he had to push himself as the arrows not only showed the direction he had to move within this enormous warehouse, numbers were also illuminated to indicate the distance he had already run.
However, in 400 metres, he was already gasping for air, but Xiong Da knew he needed to push himself forward. If he stopped here, the instructor that was waiting for him would refuse to help him. Hence, Xiong Da gritted his teeth and told himself to not think and move forward.
While waiting for Xiong Da to arrive in two minutes, Zeru was reading up on Xiong Da's personal profile created by the system, since every action Xiong Da had carried out and every word he said was recorded by the system. The system then compiled everything for Yun and Jin in case they need to use it to improve customer satisfaction.
For example, Yun would personally 'whisper' information about a certain customer that returned to play at Jin's store. This would make that particular customer feel more appreciated and would he/she would then be more inclined to return to Jin store a third time. However, Yun would only be able to relay this information. How Jin used it would be a separate matter.
As Zeru was a little old fashioned, the system had created physical books for him to peruse. The moment Zeru agreed to 'take care' of Xiong Da, he started to read up on Xiong Da's profile. Milk also came by and told him what she had taught Xiong Da but obviously, she was just pushing him to be competent at his current skills and suggested to him which skills were more useful.
"Well, at the very least, this guy is now motivated enough to want something." Zeru closed his book and checked the timer when he heard rapid breathing come from the side of the ring arena that Zeru was in.
"You are 4 seconds late. I do not wish to teach you anything." Zeru folded his arms as he stood in front of Xiong Da with menacing authority.
"Sir! I have no excuses, Sir! But please give me a chance to prove myself." Xiong Da was trying his best to get those words out of his mouth.
"What chance? You squandered your chance when you were late by 4 seconds. You could have run immediately before the timer started and that would have given you a 5 second head start. In a fight, you have to use everything at your disposal to win." Zeru tried to test Xiong Da's resolve.
Xiong Da then stared intensely at Zeru. "Lawbreakers. I dislike them. Scrap that! I detest them! Why must I lower myself to their level just to win a fight? Why can't I be righteous in an unlawful fight? I do not wish to fight dirty like that bastard Ji Ao!" Xiong Da shouted.
"So you want to win with overwhelming power and not with trickery?" Zeru asked.
"Yes, so that I can be that selfish knight that protects his one and only princess in his heart!" Xiong Da shouted as he started to get up.
"Now I see your resolve." Zeru extended his hand and Xiong Da grabbed it to climb up into the ring arena. Xiong Da then realised that he was not supporting himself properly because he was still weak from the 800m sprint and therefore, he nearly fell.
However, Zeru held on Xiong Da well enough to prevent the fall with only one hand, which made Xiong Da feel astonished! He weighed over 300 kilograms but the master instructor in front of him stood steadfastly and supported him with ease.
"What are you blanking out for?" Zeru's question snapped Xiong Da back into attention and he quickly got into the ring arena.
"Spar with me, give me all you got and in the meantime, entertain me with your current situation. Every single detail." Zeru gestured Xiong Da to come at him and Xiong Da did.
"Oh, I have a brain full of details and I hope I am more than just entertaining." With his weapon in his hands, Xiong Da charged towards Zeru with no regards to his life.
"I do not think you should think that highly about yourself." Zeru chuckled as he faced Xiong Da with no weapons.