Chapter 124: Revealing the Bellators...?
"Yo, guess it's the reverse now. Hahaha" Bu Dong passed a can of Bamboo Juice to the recently awoken Yue Han in the recovery bay instance.
"Ah…" Yue Han stared at Bu Dong before he laid his head heavily back down on the comfortable pillow. "Gosh..this bed is so much better than the one in my bedroom." Yue Han took the Bamboo Juice that Bu Dong had opened for him and sipped slowly… at least until he was reminded of the sweet refreshing taste of Boss Jin's juice.
"Ah! Patient Yue Han! You should not be too hasty! Drink slowly!" A nearby Nurse Panda became flustered as she saw Yue Han gulping down the can of Bamboo Juice.
"He should be fine! He's tougher than he looks." Bu Dong tried to reassure the Nurse Panda but the Nurse Panda insisted on checking Yue Han's condition.
"Let the nurse do her job." The beautiful and elegant Yun popped by and both the boys just nodded their head in unison. Yun smiled back at them and walked towards Yue Han's bed to check his vitals.
"You did well, Yue Han. Not many cultivators would have continued fighting if they had lost an arm in the middle of the battle. Truly commendable!" Yun commented as she scrolled through the digital tablet that contained the information on his vitals.
"Yeah Bro, that was awesome. I was checking out the video stream on my phone and Dayum! You performed way better than I expected!" Bu Dong did not hold back his praises for Yue Han, which made him flush red in embarrassment.
"Your compliment means a lot to me." Yue Han smiled as he closed his eyes and tried to remember the last time he ever received a praise. Regardless, it felt tremendously wonderful.
"Alright, rest up a little more and then get going. Do not hog my beds." Yun's commanding tone made her even sexier, so much so that the patients surrounding them envied at the two boys because of the attention they were receiving from their goddess.
"So… How many panda medal coins did we get in total?" Bu Dong could not help but ask for his rightful rewards.
"Hahaha, do not worry, even if I wanted to keep your share, the coins seem to be digitally marked under your name. Maybe that is why Boss Jin emphasised on having a personal account for Pandamonium." Yue Han finished his Bamboo Juice and Bu Dong offered to dispose of it for him.
"I got a total of 75 bronze medal coins, your share from the first round was 25 medal coins. Hey, nurse, not sure if you know the answer but can I use the Panda Medal Coins to buy food too?"
"At the moment, you can only use Panda Credits but I can suggest that to Boss Jin and he might consider changing it." The Nurse Panda replied.
"In any case, I should treat you to some Tonkatsu Curry Rice. You did great." Bu Dong laughed but Yue Han refused. "No, let me." Yue Han smiled as he closed his eyes to rest for a while. Bu Dong could not help but admire the newfound bravery and boldness his best friend was displaying.
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The day passed by in the blink of an eye and it was nearly night. Jin yawned and felt extremely tired. The gruelling events that he had gone through throughout the day felt like a bad nightmare and a passing dream combined.
"Boss Jin, I will be taking my leave soon." Zhen Qing thanked Jin as she saw him packing up the area. He had asked her to close her store forty five minutes earlier than him so she had the time to pack up and clean the kitchen caravan. It was true that the system would probably be able to do the cleaning for her and probably do it better too, so Jin wanted her to rest early and said he could do the cleaning for her.
However, Zhen Qing refused. Her teacher had a saying and it went like such: "A dirty kitchen will not produce good food." Zhen Qing repeated it to Jin and he found no way to refute her in any way. Her hardworking attitude, the guilt of the previous him not working to be what he truly wanted continued to pluck the strings of Jin's heart.
"I will change for the better. For her. For me. For my monsters and bellators." Jin thought to himself as he continued to pack up the store.
Zhen Qing was finally done with her cleaning just before 11 pm so she hurriedly returned home on her motorbike. It was then that Xiong Da rolled down the stairs from overexertion. He looked at Jin with pitiful eyes that clearly expressed his desire for food. Zeru also walked down the stairs with pride that was akin to an esteemed master.
"Did I say that you are allowed to eat?" Zeru spoke with a straight yet harsh tone. Upon hearing those words, Xiong Da immediately went to his knees and faced Zeru. "Nooo, Instructor!" Xiong Da shouted extremely loudly, so loudly, in fact, that if Jin had not pulled his shutters down previously, the surrounding neighbourhood might had complained.
"Is it okay to show yourself that readily outside of the dungeon instance?" Jin sent a voice transmission to Zeru and he grinned. "Xiong Da has more or less already figured out that I am real. Besides, the AI instructor thing does not suit my role." Zeru replied to Jin's voice transmission as he stared at Xiong Da.
"It's fine, Zeru. Let him rest for now." Jin prepared a plate of Xiong Da's favourite Tonkatsu Curry Rice and asked him to stand up. Despite this, Xiong Da did not dare to move even though he had received permission from Jin. "Get up and rest for the day. Boss, give me a plate of Tonkatsu Curry Rice too." Zeru also gestured for a bowl with his finger and Jin readily agreed. Xiong Da immediately got up with renewed vigour and began to gobble down his curry rice.
"Boss Jin, I cannot believe you. You have such talented people working for you yet you call them AI instructors." Xiong Da commented as he asked for a jug of spring water to quench his thirst.
"This is because these are the few people I have found that are not only talented enough to just teach but also willing to work with me in certain 'experiments'. Remember how Instructor Milk was able to spread herself through multiple dungeons? It's a trade secret that I can't disclose yet but what I can say is that I'm currently utilising a prototype technology that allows her consciousness to be spread through multiple instances." Jin tried to lie and reason with Xiong Da.
"I wanted to pose them as AI instructors to test that initiative. While it has achieved its desired effect, not many people like the idea of using AI instructors. So perhaps you are right! I'll think about properly employing them as actual instructors." Jin discussed with Xiong Da on the possibility of his bellators being around the shop in person.
"But still, it is quite unprecedented to use these 'talents' to instruct people. Not many dungeon suppliers have instructors and that is mainly because of the unfounded theory that it would show that the Supplier's dungeons were not optimised or that the Supplier could not provide a proper dungeon and required instructors to guide people. Besides, they are all acquaintances of mine that I have known for some time. Therefore, I can confidently tell you that those who instruct here, such as Milk, all work whenever they have free time and that they are not working full time here. The dungeons are traditionally meant to train your own body and soul so I believe that you cannot force someone to do things in them." Jin explained to Xiong Da his own personal rationale.
"That is quite true. Then how about this way? Maybe something like mercenaries for hire?" Xiong Da would like a powerhouse like Zeru with him.
"It will defeat the purpose of dungeoneering." Zeru knocked Xiong Da's head with the back of his spoon.
"Speaking of Instructor Zeru, he looked really similar to the famous historical figure, Samurai Z." Xiong Da asked for another plate of curry rice, which Jin willingly gave to his top customer.
"I just so happened to be quite a passionate fan of him. But trust me, the scar is 100% real." Zeru smirked and that was when Milk appeared out of nowhere too. "Xiong Da! How's your training?"
Xiong Da nearly spits out all the rice in his mouth when Milk accidentally grabbed him a little too tightly. "Ah Big Sister Milk! Instructor Zeru was extremely strict and I abhorred his training. However, I do admit that he really pushed me to my limits, all for my own good." Xiong Da had already deduced that both Milk and Zeru were real. He also realised that Jin was making them act as AI instructors to protect their identity.
Jin smiled as Milk and perhaps even Peppers (if she could control the urge to fry everyone with her explosions) could eventually interact with the customers…and maybe, just maybe, they might be the hands that he would need in the future since they were capable of defending themselves and also knew the system well enough.
"Yes, you can command them however you like, I was starting to wonder whether you would ever let them out into the open." Yun relayed her thoughts to him.
"If they are able to wear normal clothes, I think they would be able to blend into the store's atmosphere quite nicely." Jin never had never thought about that until now. He always assumed that they were just there to help him fight. Jin had nearly forgotten that they were real and all those interactions he had with them were just the interactions between a master and his servant, and not between friends.
If not for Ke Mi opening his mind and helping him out of his unknowing compliance to the system, he would never have realised that each and every monster and bellator were his companions in his journey to becoming the number one dungeon supplier.
"I am really ashamed of myself." Jin thought to himself as Xiong Da was laughing merrily with Milk and Zeru. "I will think of a way to let them work and enjoy themselves instead of just being locked up in my phone or some alternate dimension all the time," Jin promised that he would add this onto his to do list.
Talking about his to do list, he remembered he had yet to create a training plan for his beloved Hungry Hippo customer. "Xiong Da, I finally know what kind of training will boost your spirit force tremendously. Not only that, I am also sure that you will love this plan."
"What is it?" Xiong Da suddenly turned around and a serious expression appeared on his face.
"Your love for good food." Jin hinted this to Xiong Da regarding the upcoming plan and he immediately displayed his puppy eyes to Jin. "Boss, if you can really pull this off, I, Xiong Da, promise that if you need any legal help, I will be there to help you."
Jin chuckled and said, "Give me a day or two. Right now, follow Zeru's training and build your strength and stamina up." Xiong Da acknowledged Jin's orders before he returned to a nearby hotel for some rest.