Chapter 2569: Sky Travel Service Company
Xu Huo took the Girl in the painting to Smiling Face Park.
Smiling Face Park is a commercial park in the station city, far from the city’s Time Square, and this commercial park... Just standing outside the gate, you’d think it was about to be demolished.
When Xu Huo went there, they happened upon a group of people in uniform being pushed out. Both sides were shouting at each other, and the uniformed side went straight hands-on, grabbing the players who pushed them out and yelling, "I’m telling you, you can dodge New Year’s Day but not the fifteenth! You’ve ruined perfectly good houses, and now you don’t even agree to free repairs offered by the government, affecting the whole city’s appearance. Do you want outsiders to laugh at us? I’m telling you, we don’t agree!"
"Go, go, go!" The player being grabbed was still somewhat polite, just a bit impatient, "Repair what? This is our home, we’ll do what we like, don’t think I don’t know your tricks. Once the government fixes the house, we have to sign that crappy contract, are you kidding me?"
The uniformed man was red with anger, "The house is already free for you to live in, what’s wrong with signing a contract? It’s just asking you to cover part of the repair costs, isn’t that reasonable? You’ve already put a huge financial hole in the government, don’t you have any shame!"
The player dug at their ears and quickly shut the door, "Goodbye!"
The negotiating group stomped on the ground in anger but couldn’t do anything about them. After cursing outside for a while, they could only leave.
When they left, the tightly locked door was reopened, and the players who had disappeared reappeared. Some were guarding the door, and some were patrolling, making the park still look like it’s operating normally.
"What are you doing?" The player guarding the door asked Xu Huo.
"Looking to hire some people." Xu Huo showed a small advertisement, "Is Sky Travel Service Company here?"
Upon hearing this name, the player guarding the door became more serious, "Go inside, the smallest one."
Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting stepped into this park.
Well, he felt most people wouldn’t dare enter this park easily, because as soon as they stepped in, those hidden eyes started to become apparent. Whether it was because few people from the Outer Zone came, or few players in general, these people scattered throughout the building, watching them intently.
Truly embodying the district’s belief in "upholding justice," each player here seemed to have the sharpness of a sword drawn.
"Hey little sister, let me buy you a drink!" A young player half-sitting on the balcony of the fifth floor tossed down a bottle of water. The Girl in the painting caught it, glanced at it, and then handed it to Xu Huo — it’s obvious she didn’t like the flavor.
But she took out a bottle of water from her backpack and tossed it back.
The player on the upper floor caught it, took a sip and immediately spat it all out, turning to look at the small print on the bottle: "Stinky bug flavor?"
The Girl in the painting happily waved to him.
The young player awkwardly smiled.
The two arrived at "Sky Travel Service Company."
The Collection of Information Terminal said they went bankrupt, and it turned out to be true. This new place was so small that it was just a storefront, and upon opening the door there was just a staircase to the second floor, where a fifty square-meter space was their work area, with used toothbrushes and face towels on the desk.
Were they really this poor?
The one greeting them was a sweet-smiling female player, with crescent-shaped eyes. She opened the drawer to sweep everything inappropriate off the desk inside, then poured them two cups of water, warmly asking, "What service would the two esteemed guests like to inquire about?"
Xu Huo glanced at the person sleeping on the couch, "Who is the boss here?"
"We all are." The sweet female player maintained her smile, "It’s a small company, we’re both the boss and employees. That’s my cousin; she took a job yesterday and worked all night, a bit impolite. But she won’t affect our conversation, you can speak freely."
"I want to hire some people for protection." Xu Huo sat down and said, "Does your company accept such orders?"
"Certainly! Absolutely!" The sweet female player expertly pulled out a price list, "I’m a Rank-C player, my cousin is a Rank-B player. This is the hiring price list, different services have different quotes. If you hire us for murder or revenge, we’d have to conduct preliminary investigation, but your requirement is for bodyguard service, so there’s no investigation needed, hence no investigation fee."
"However, you should be an Advanced player, right? Given your strength, you shouldn’t need to hire a bodyguard, so this task must have higher risks. We charge an additional 30% risk fee for high-risk tasks. If something happens, this fee is our funeral and compensation money, but my cousin and I don’t have other family members, so no need for compensation, let’s say 20% is fine."
"One more important point, if you commit a crime in District 001, we don’t provide bodyguard services. If someone seeks revenge or the Law Enforcement Team comes to arrest you, we can’t directly start a fight with them, can we?"
"It’s nothing major," Xu Huo said, "Just that after coming to District 001, we encounter frequent petty theft, and it’s easy for Outer Zone players to have conflicts when negotiating with District 001’s Law Enforcement Team. I think it’s more convenient for locals. Also, I want to explore District 001 for a few days, and the bodyguard also needs to double as a guide."
"No problem at all!" The sweet female player quickly calculated a price, "Considering your requirements, let’s say it’s fifteen thousand a day, five thousand discount for five days, fifteen thousand discount for ten days. Our Sky Travel Service is fair in business, we definitely won’t rip you off!"
Xu Huo looked at the detailed pricing she provided, which included the cost of renting a flying device in the fifteen thousand. Indeed, it was quite a deal.
"Bro, two bodyguards might be few. Want to add more?" Someone shouted from the opposite window, "They charge fifteen thousand, I charge fourteen thousand!"
The sweet female player waved with a smile, and a self-made blackout curtain fell down, blocking internal and external sights. Seeing Xu Huo not speak, she said, "How about I also charge you fourteen thousand, that’s a good price!"
"No need." Xu Huo smiled, "Let’s go with fifteen thousand a day."
He took out several stacks of White Notes, "Let’s book five days first."
"No problem!" The sweet female player summoned a special contract with a wave of her hand, "This is a contract issued by the District Government through the Game-Based Economy, with a mandatory enforcement effect. If you don’t pay, it’ll be deducted directly from your personal account. Of course, if we don’t complete the five-day itinerary, the fee will be refunded from the personal account."
She wrote the amount of cash received on the contract, attached the date, and her player nickname.
"You can choose to keep your player nickname private," reminded the female player, "we can’t see player nicknames, we don’t know how to address you?"
"My last name is Xu, this is my sister Xiao Chun." Xu Huo signed his name, "I’m staying at the Eternal Star Hotel; tomorrow morning, I need to go to a clock exhibition. In the morning, come pick me up, and I’ll cover all three meals."