Apocalypse Circular

"Alright, whether the Nightmare Demon is male or female doesn't matter. Have you ever thought about what its purpose might be in doing this?"

"Is she still okay?"

Ludie suddenly seemed distracted, answering a question with a question.

Lu Luo paused, then used his finger to sketch the figure of the bride on the ground.

"She looks okay, has a nice figure, and pretty white skin, but there's a mask on her face, so I can't see any details."

With the Observer's record, Lu Luo casually drew a rough sketch of the bride, which wasn't very difficult to do.

Looking at the drawing on the ground, Ludie let out a sigh.

"That's good then!"

Hearing Ludie's murmur, Lu Luo didn't continue, deciding to let this be the older man's time for emotions.

Smoke swirled, obscuring Ludie's face so that Lu Luo couldn't see his expression clearly.

After a while, Ludie used the smoke to erase the drawing on the ground and stood up, knocking on the railing of the rooftop.

"This Nightmare Demon, it has a purpose, right?"

"Definitely. I've researched a lot of materials, so I have some understanding of higher Exotic Species. Every Eighth Order Exotic Species, for some special reason, launches an attack on humans after they are born. The target seems to be the Inner Ring; there must be something there that draws them."

"The Nightmare Demon is also an Eighth Order Exotic Species. Although it possesses human-like intelligence and will, an Exotic Species is an Exotic Species. I don't think it just came here to host a simple Dream Wedding game. If it really came, it must have other motives."

Lu Luo and Ludie both got serious, putting away their previous attitudes.

And they didn't imagine the Nightmare Demon as just a child who loved to play around.

Exotic Species are Exotic Species; they are naturally purpose-driven and hostile to humans. This is not slander, but a fact.

In his heart, Lu Luo speculated that the goal of these Eighth Order Exotic Species might be the Dawn Disc, which is why they attack humans.

"Do you think it will launch a Black Tide? Based on what you said, the Nightmare Demon should have a very powerful driving force. With the Dream World, it could easily control other Exotic Species, creating swathes of Black Tide."

"I'm not sure about that; I have never experienced a Black Tide war. No matter what, one thing I am certain of is that its target this time definitely includes you!"

Ludie nodded, his expression not fearful but rather showing a hint of anticipation. He definitely wasn't looking forward to the Nightmare Demon's horse; the only thing he could be anticipating was Qiu Guling.

"When is it happening?"

"I was outside the wall for 20 days, so now, it should be about five months from now."

"Who said that?"

"It did."

"Do you believe it?"

"Whoever believes it is a dumbass."

「Somewhere in the Inner Ring.」

"Boss, there's a call from the East Ring."

"A call from the East Ring?"

"Song Hana is dead."

"I see. Dead... that's probably for the best."

"The situation in the East Ring is quite complicated. Don't we need to handle it?"

"No need. Song Hana was very reliable. She would have taken care of everything cleanly before she died. The main manipulator behind this is the Church; when the time comes, we just need to appear as victims."

"Understood!"

「The next day, in front of Circle Studio's entrance...」

Gu Fangyi and Qi Xinzhu had already returned with the supplies they had obtained this time.

"Brother Kane!"

Gu Fangyi was very excited as he picked up Zhou Kai, relieved that he was okay!

However, when he was holding Zhou Kai, he immediately realized that something was off.

"Brother Kane, your hand!"

"Ah, Bai Yuetong made me a mechanical arm. It feels pretty good. I should thank her."

Zhou Kai raised his right hand, which indeed looked like a mechanical arm.

But both Lu Luo and Bai Yuetong were well aware that the mechanical arm was just a disguise. Inside, there weren't any circuits or steel, only plants.

"The problem isn't too big; I've already solved it for him."

Bai Yuetong was tinkering with the mecha that Gu Fangyi and Qi Xinzhu had brought back, but her expression suggested that she wasn't very satisfied with it.

"This is a Hongtu Steel 3, such an old model, and you actually dragged this treasure back? I'm really impressed. In my eyes, it's basically just a pile of trash, isn't it? I don't know why you brought it back; the wiring's outdated, the machinery's stiff, and it's especially troublesome to modify. BLAH BLAH BLAH..."

Bai Yuetong's mouth was firing off like a machine gun. With every word she said, Lu Luo's face turned a shade darker.

This damn girl, did she have any idea how difficult it was for him at that time? This thing wasn't transported back; he carried it back.

"Alright, can you say something useful?"

Lu Luo looked really angry, even fierce.

Bai Yuetong paused, and her eyes started to well up with tears. Of course, it was all an act, and quite a compelling one at that.

"You're yelling at me."

Why are you arguing with a woman? You can't even win a direct confrontation, and now you have to apologize.

"Ah? This..."

Lu Luo suddenly realized that Bai Yuetong wasn't a Little White Flower like Qi Xinzhu; this woman was cunning.

And sure enough, as soon as she cried, some members of Circle Studio started shaking their heads. The boss was bullying someone again, a terrible capitalist, picking on Miss Bai Yuetong.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I was too harsh just now. But this thing is really important to us. It's the company's first mecha. Please talk about the practical stuff."

"Practical stuff? Well then, I'm out of money. And shouldn't the company relocate too?"

Critical hit!

Lu Luo hated discussing money the most. If he had money, who the hell would carry a mecha all the way from Rotten Valley inside the wall!

Just as Lu Luo was about to refuse, Gu Fangyi unexpectedly spoke up, surprisingly agreeing with Bai Yuetong's suggestion.

"Brother Luo, we really should change places!"

Zhou Kai also came over.

"Yeah, Brother Luo. Not to mention anything else, the company can't even accommodate this mecha anymore. We now have Bai Yuetong as our own manufacturing department. So I think it's necessary for the company to rent a warehouse or something as a new base."

"A new base?"

Lu Luo's first thought was of the base in the slum area, belonging to Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals. It was spacious, huge, well-equipped, and well-situated.

But that place belonged to Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals, which was currently under investigation and unlikely to be made available for use. Even if it were to be sealed off, the final decision would still depend on whether Blue Sky Biotech wanted the place.

If Blue Sky Biotech didn't want it, then it would go to auction or division. So the idea of taking over that base would probably have to wait. Even if it went to auction, money would still be needed.

"Forget it. Let's just rent a warehouse for now. Bai Yuetong needs a place to fix the mecha, and this place is ultimately too small."

Circle Studio moved, but they didn't give up their little storefront here; instead, they kept it as a service point. This place was Lu Mengna's former studio, where she used to live. Now that she's protecting Bai Yuetong, it wouldn't be good to just let the studio go!

In the following days, Lu Luo's life once again regained its calmness!

The high-quality fake of the little red bottle was renamed by Lu Luo as the Circular Little Blood Bottle. Its appearance couldn't simply be said to be similar to the Blue Sky Little Red Bottle; it was exactly the same.

Even though Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals was overwhelmed dealing with Song Hana and the East Ring slums, they still couldn't tolerate such blatant infringement by Lu Luo.

Zhou Kai handed the court summons to Lu Luo.

"Brother Luo, Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals is suing us!"

"Suing us? That's great news!" Lu Luo said with a happy face.

"How is that good news?"

Zhou Kai's eyes widened, but Lu Luo's eyes were even wider.

"Hmm, we have neither fame nor publicity right now, let alone money for advertising. If we don't piggyback off Blue Sky's Little Red Bottle, how will we get known? How will we promote ourselves? The Circular Little Blood Bottle is useless on its own! Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals is a century-old shop. Same price, why would people buy yours?"

Zhou Kai may have already made achievements in the motivational speaking area, but in terms of marketing and promotion, he was still a newbie.

"It does seem to make sense! So what should we do now?"

"Our Circular Little Blood Bottle is a product that even Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals is worried about; it has unmatched effects. Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals, fearing that they cannot compete with our Circular Little Blood Bottle in terms of product quality, can only resort to the low-level act of initiating an infringement lawsuit against Circular. But I believe that Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals' behavior amounts to industry monopoly. The people of the Alliance should have more choices, and the Circular Little Blood Bottle should exist."

Lu Luo spoke these words with an air of righteous indignation, as though he were a guardian of justice, truly serving the people.

"Well, though I don't know if it will work, it really seems quite impressive. But will this actually work?"

"Absolutely. Where else would the traffic come from if we don't stir up controversy? Do you have money for advertising? Take what I just said and have your people spread it around the densely populated areas of the East Ring. Let people in various schools, communities, and companies know about this. Do it like this, and the buzz will build!"

"What about the lawsuit?"

"Lawsuits are just about haggling, right? We'll fight them on it. Also, spend 50,000 to hire an online army to relentlessly slander Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals. Remember, it's Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals, not Blue Sky Biotech."

"50,000?"

"Yes, 50,000. Keep smearing them for over three months, continuously until the case involving Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals is resolved. I want everyone in the East Ring to know that Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals is utterly despicable, they are the embodiment of sin, and using products from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals is like funding crime."

Lu Luo detailed the plan for the online army to Zhou Kai, who was astounded as he read it.

"We're just selling medicine. Do we need to go this far?"

Lu Luo patted Zhou Kai's shoulder.

"Brother Kane, Brother Kane, you're still too young. Medicine? How much is medicine worth? What I want is Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals' base!"

The relocation of Circle Studio took several days. During this time, Lu Luo scraped together the 750,000 required for the three-party contract.

Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals was in chaos; it was a time when they were leaderless.

Lu Luo thought it was a good opportunity to settle the contract matter to prevent future troubles.

Withdrawing 750,000 in cash from the bank, Lu Luo changed into a black studio uniform.

"Qi Xinzhu, come out with me this afternoon. Brother Gu and Brother Kane, you should also get ready. We're all going together this afternoon."

Bai Yuetong, who was eating a takeout meal with Zhou Kai and Gu Fangyi, was somewhat dissatisfied.

"All day long it's just Qi Xinzhu, Qi Xinzhu. Wherever you go, you bring Qi Xinzhu with you. Is she your wife, that you're always with her? Why don't you bring me?"

Qi Xinzhu lowered her head and remained silent, but Lu Luo had already snapped back for her.

"I just gave you 200,000 for research, and you're whining here?"

"You know you're repairing a mecha, not some tractor. 200,000 is nothing!"

"Alright, alright, stop whining. Once this is over, I'll take you all to the Southern Ring amusement park for some fun."

"Really? Yay!"

「In the afternoon, Lu Luo and Qi Xinzhu took the rail train to Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals.」

If the Lu Luo of the past rode the rail train because he was poor, now he did it to enjoy the envious glances of others. Yes, he was that shallow.

Today, Qi Xinzhu was dressed in a black studio uniform. The uniform seemed a size too small, and with Qi Xinzhu's chest size, there was no way the zipper would close.

Don't ask why it was a size too small; Lu Luo had intentionally swapped it for a smaller one.

The weather was getting hot, so for the bottom half, Qi Xinzhu wore a short black pleated skirt and black stockings.

Qi Xinzhu herself was strongly against such attire, but Lu Luo's reasoning was, "A secretary should look the part. You're my secretary now. Wearing a church robe all day makes our Circle Studio seem as if we're in cahoots with the Church, and that's not good!"

Qi Xinzhu didn't like the term "in cahoots," but she couldn't win against Lu Luo. So she had no choice but to dress to the whims of a certain pervert, sporting the tight black silk.

As for Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai? Zhou Kai had already driven Gu Fangyi there.

Lu Luo didn't want to take a car, even claiming it was capitalist and utterly despicable.

Thus, there was the scene of two people taking the train and two driving.

Lu Luo stood next to Qi Xinzhu, righteously soaking up the envious and admiring glances from the other males on the train.

His only regret was that Qi Xinzhu, under her little black skirt, was wearing safety shorts, which were decidedly unexciting.

How did Lu Luo know Qi Xinzhu wore safety shorts? Of course, it was because of the Observer—it was the Observer's fault for peeping that Lu Luo accidentally found out.

You damn dog, drop dead!

"Come on, we've arrived at Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals."

"Oh!"

Qi Xinzhu didn't appreciate those men's brazen gazes, but she liked how close Lu Luo was to her. So overall, her mood was quite good that afternoon.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals, the security guard stopped them.

"The company is on high alert right now. What are you here for?"

"I'm a sponsored student of Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals. I've come today to deal with our scholarship contract."

The guard nodded. Normally, sponsored students would join Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals later on, serving as the company's continual lifeblood.

Under normal circumstances, he naturally wouldn't trouble them too much.

"It's an exceptional period right now. We need to check what you're bringing in. What's in the suitcase?"

"It's money."

The guard was taken aback by Lu Luo's answer. Coming to Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals to deal with contracts, what was the money for? A bribe for the executives? But why bring a big suitcase for that? Could it be filled entirely with one-dollar bills?

"Why are you bringing money to deal with a contract? Could it be you're thinking of bribing the leaders? Open it up, let me see."

The guard was jesting, but when Gu Fangyi indeed opened the suitcase, the guard found himself speechless.

Piles of crisp, new 100-unit blue Wasteland Alliance paper money bills, a full 750,000 in cash. The visual impact left the guard's mouth trembling.

Were these people here for trouble? It didn't seem like it with just four young folks.

Although Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals was currently in a special situation and under Alliance investigation, it was still a top-tier large enterprise and could maintain normal operations.

And if they really were here to cause trouble, they would be carrying weapons, not so much cash.

"What are you doing with all this money?"

"Dealing with the contract! Didn't I just say that?"

"You guys...?" The guard suddenly realized something.

"Yes, we're here to terminate the contract."