Chapter 161: Sorry, Too Bad!

I think we should negotiate.

Lin Hao squatted with his hands on his head in front of the desk, his gaze sweeping over the poor grandmother who had been stripped of her spines, suppressing the rising fury in his heart and forcing a servile smile.

At this moment, the former prince who once owned immense wealth and entertainment empires spanning three regions seemed to finally understand why his grandmother had always said that sometimes compromise was a gecko's tail-dropping strategy for survival.

Sometimes, being strong really doesn't help.

Because one day, you will encounter a violent thug stronger and more ruthless than you—even if you don't, you'll eventually weaken and grow timid as your body declines, and ultimately be replaced.

Between his pride and the hedgehog grandmother, Lin Hao made a compromise with his own arrogant nature.

Lin Hao doesn't know where all the heroes got those false rumors, but I can guarantee here that Haoji has never targeted any of you.

"There may be a misunderstanding, but since you've all come all this way, take whatever you like from my place as a greeting gift—and as a token of our lasting friendship."

Lin Hao obediently crouched with his hands on his head, recalling the lessons his hedgehog grandmother had taught him, reflecting on them, then speaking to the spirit beasts.

The little fox on the desk paused briefly, then typed a line:

【Your dress pants have split at the crotch—your God of Wealth red underwear is showing.】

Lin Hao lifted his head, stared at the phone screen, his eyelid twitching slightly, but said nothing.

In the past, anyone who dared speak to him like that would have had their head shoved straight into his crotch so they could get a good look.

You don't have one, but you like to peek, huh?

Then come closer and get a full view!

"Ying ying—"

After mocking Lin Hao, An Sheng turned to Bai and told it to come over.

【My buddy wants to play games—what's wrong with taking a few graphics cards from you? You're making dirty money, and you won't let my buddy take it from you? You're just gonna let the officials burn the fields but forbid the peasants to light lamps?】

An Sheng told Bai to come over and confront Lin Hao, the boss of the big ship.

I don't care what rules you used to have!

But my buddy doesn't have an ID, so he can't get a job, and now his stomach is growling—henceforth, if you want to pass through the Changle River, you'll have to supply us with meat and fruit!

You run tax-free business.

Isn't it reasonable for us to tax you?

You're corrupt, we're corrupt too—but that's how wealth flows and benefits society!

For "corrupt against corrupt," the Fox Lord spoke without a shred of guilt, spouting foxish nonsense and heretical logic.

"Graphics cards."

Seeing the words "graphics cards" on the phone screen, Lin Hao fell silent for a moment, then gave a bitter smile: "Hao is very happy to welcome all you heroes, but there really is a misunderstanding here."

"Haoji did plan to deal with another gang—but they're across the water, and they stole over two thousand 5090Ds from us. If you heroes want to play games, just let Hao know, and I'll personally come to your place and install your computers."

"."

As Lin Hao spoke, An Sheng froze, glancing at Bai beside him.

Bai thought for a moment, then barked twice.

Are graphics cards those little boxes wrapped in green packaging?

We did grab a few boxes—earlier, when the Pomeranian said they could be traded for two days' rations, we brought them over and dumped them in the warehouse on Nanao Island, and we haven't cashed them in yet!

Bai, as boss, had principles: just like when he used to sneak back to the village to steal cured fish, eating a few was fine, but if he ate too many at once, he'd get beaten.

He never did anything that exhausted the source—especially now, as boss, he had dozens of mouths to feed.

【Then I guess I was wrong about you. But you still can't escape this beating, because we're taking over your territory—you've occupied our city district.】

The Fox Lord thought for a moment, first apologized to Lin Hao, then wrote firmly:

Lin Hao glanced at it, nodded vigorously, even half-heartedly praised the Fox Lord for striking with such authority.

That statement was half-true.

The authority was real—when he swung a one-ton safe around the parking lot, Lin Hao had dared not even try to run him over with his car; no normal sedan could withstand the impact of a safe strike.

If he hadn't hit the grandmother and himself, Lin Hao thought he might have pulled out his phone and filmed the scene.

In the past, Lin Hao had always thought his own personality was already lazy and tyrannical enough.

Until he met the Fox Lord.

"I already said there was a misunderstanding," Lin Hao's eyes flickered toward the transformed rat grandmother, and he quietly exhaled a sigh of relief—now, he just needed to get rid of these plagues, and he could save his grandmother.

The toll issue had been settled.

Just give it to them! What else could you do?

He couldn't withstand being smashed by a safe.

【By the way… what's up with your translation speaker?】

The little fox asked curiously, intrigued by the new tech he'd noticed earlier.

He'd been inside the building, but he'd seen the Gold-Rimmed Hedgehog speak through a speaker, teasing Bai and Mao Kou with wild banter.

An Sheng was very interested in that speaker.

"The translation speaker uses a language reference table and recordings from the Gold-Rimmed Hedgehog, then programs it to standardize its pronunciation to enable speech," Lin Hao explained the speaker's essence.

The device essentially forced the Gold-Rimmed Hedgehog to self-regulate its speech, record it, then program a translation software to match—when the hedgehog spoke again using the same standardized standard, it produced human speech.

But this required massive oral practice, and even small errors or forgotten phrases meant having to reprogram the software.

【Smash it! Sounds like a hassle.】

The little fox typed one more line: 【The safe downstairs is pretty sturdy. Take out its contents, weld a steel pipe onto it, and turn it into a hammer—I'll need it soon.】

The shotgun was handy, but too flashy, and the fox couldn't hand-craft bullets.

An Sheng thought the safe was perfect—it complied with regulations, so Yu Xueqing wouldn't get investigated, and swinging it could inflict million-ton damage on tough spirit beasts.

An Sheng hadn't forgotten what Lin Ying had said: the patient infected with the parasite and fungus kept muttering "Fox Lord, Fox Lord"—he was probably already on his way to Jiule, preparing to cause trouble.

An Sheng didn't know what he'd done to offend him.

But getting a good weapon to beat him into unconsciousness would surely make him talk.

The simplest, most efficient way to communicate with spirit beasts is to make them know who's the boss.

An Sheng was no greenhorn—he had plenty of experience dealing with spirit beasts.

"Ying ying! Ying ying ying—"

The little fox thought for a moment, typed a line on the phone, then spoke to Bai.

【I don't think it's likely, but Bai, take some fruit and meat, and take this guy to Qing'ao Island—show him what our orcas can do, proving our toll is justified.】

【Remember to put a sack over his head so he can't memorize the route.】

After giving Bai his orders, the little fox handed the phone to Lin Hao:

【Clear the single room on the third floor, 308. Bai will take you somewhere soon—we'll chat.】

Lin Hao: "."

(End of Chapter)