Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 59: Mr. Mingyuan, aren’t you being a bit too extreme?

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Mr. Mingyuan, aren’t you being a bit too extreme?

The flaming flying vehicle plummeted rapidly, streaking across the clouds with flames that captured the attention of every citizen in Yunlong City. Many people took out their phones to record this spectacular scene.

Duan Mingyuan had already prepared the spot for Mr. Bai Kou’s resurrection match.

However, when the flying vehicle crashed into the roof of the branch office like a meteor, a silhouette leaped from the vehicle, replicating a theory Duan Mingyuan had once seen in childhood comic books about escaping from a plane crash:

Friends who exercise regularly know that for people at the level of athletic students, a leap from a height of 5-6 meters wouldn’t result in injury; therefore, if one jumps off before the plane crashes, one could miraculously survive unharmed.

Regrettably, this seemingly impeccable theory was mercilessly shattered by some knowledge Duan Mingyuan acquired later.

But the dark figure that descended from the sky landed safely on the open-air terrace of the Universe Company. Their feet stepped on a pale blue flame, and they were enveloped in a full-coverage metallic armor. As their right arm spread out, it sprayed out copious amounts of cold gas. Before the flying vehicle got close to the terrace, the gas rapidly froze, arresting the otherwise doomed vehicle nearly twenty meters from the terrace.

The sloped ice sculpture took on the form of stairs, and the flying vehicle’s tail flames and thick smoke were extinguished the moment they touched the cold gas.

Here it comes,

The first Power User of the Natural System!

In Duan Mingyuan’s mind, all those with abilities related to natural elements were invariably formidable.

Surely this Mechanical Knight, who had landed in such a striking manner, was Bai Kou’s personal bodyguard—a Cosmic Level powerhouse.

However, due to the atmosphere, Duan Mingyuan couldn’t immediately invite the other party to participate in the academic symposium.

The gaze of the Cosmic Level powerhouse did not linger on anyone on the terrace. He lifted his left hand and said something to the device on his wrist.

Moments later, the hatch of the flying vehicle slowly opened.

Descending was a man in a suit, looking exactly like the photos Duan Ming found online, a man who always had a serious expression and was never seen smiling.

Bai Kou, using his mechanical arm, adjusted his suit. The sudden flying vehicle accident didn’t cause him any panic; he walked down the steps composedly, approaching the crowd waiting at the top floor.

Fu Ling was tense in front of him; they discussed some work and meeting arrangements. Just as they were about to pass by Duan Mingyuan and Jiuyue, Fu Ling took the initiative to say, "The company has received reliable intelligence that Wangxu is planning to cause trouble during the meeting. They are local experts we’ve hired, and will be specially responsible for your security during the meeting..."

"Unnecessary, they’ll only get in the way if they stay here."

Bai Kou said indifferently, then glanced at Jiuyue beside Duan Mingyuan, "The expert should go back, the Fox Demon stays, there are several projects that are desperately in need of an energy source."

"This one is actually..."

"The budget report is in the statement. Get it to me before 11 o’clock."

With an unmistakable tone of command, he walked into the elevator. Fu Ling’s apologetic look was quickly obscured by the "Mechanical Knight" who followed, who cast a glance at Duan Mingyuan and Jiuyue, and in a commanding synthetic mechanical voice, said, "Follow orders."

The first impression of their meeting was not ideal and fell right in line with Duan Mingyuan’s stereotype of the Extraterrestrials.

When people from the head office came to inspect, they also had the same haughty demeanor.

In the eyes of the Extraterrestrials, they were just primitives living on a backward planet, with the entire civilization’s technological level needing to be propelled by the company. Amidst an environment where people deified the Extraterrestrials, the class divide between them became all the more stark.

Duan Mingyuan and Jiuyue were the second group to go downstairs.

Despite Bai Kou’s extremely poor attitude, out of professional dedication, Duan Mingyuan decided to stay at his post until Fu Ling, the real issuer of the commission, asked him to speak.

Jiuyue followed him obediently, yet her heart was bursting with joy.

What a terrible first impression.

This undoubtedly laid the foundation for Mr. Mingyuan’s eventual rift with the Universe Company.

The company could never have dreamed that before Bai Kou’s arrival, she had already conquered Mr. Mingyuan’s defenses with a surprise blitz attack.

Their relationship had already solidified to the point where they could use the secret technique "Pillow Talk."

Mr. Mingyuan was indeed a surprise force, but he was their side’s surprise force.

And now, it was time to grasp Mr. Mingyuan.

First, they would further deteriorate Mr. Mingyuan’s perception of the company!

Playing pitiful was a fox demon’s innate talent. Jiuyue’s voice softened, sounding full of unease, "Mr. Mingyuan, why does that extraterrestrial want me to stay? What does ’energy source’ mean?"

"I’m not sure yet."

Duan Mingyuan shook his head.

It was clear that Jiuyue’s bluffing would not work on Bai Kou, and this executive from Universe Company also seemed to be no stranger to fox demons.

As he had feared, once the good-natured monsters were discovered by the extraterrestrials, they would quickly become objects of exploitation.

The "energy source" mentioned by Bai Kou might be a new form of exploitation. Rather than having monsters work the fields, the company seemed to have developed other methods.

Jiuyue gently prodded, "I feel like he’s not a good person."

"Jiuyue."

Duan Mingyuan said seriously, "Work is work, we don’t need to like our employers, we just do our jobs for the money, that’s a principle that doesn’t change in any industry."

This was the experience he had summed up over many years of work.

If liking your employer was a prerequisite for work, then there probably wouldn’t be many jobs people could stick with in this world.

Jiuyue added, "But I’ve heard that the company has used many unsavory methods, if face-to-face negotiations fail, they resort to kidnapping, silencing people."

After all, she was the intelligence Jiuyue; if Mr. Mingyuan asked, she would just claim she heard it from other small animals or monsters.

Duan Mingyuan neither confirmed nor denied it, "This possibility cannot be eliminated."

Bai Kou appeared to be a person of her word; the statement she made during their meeting was probably not just talk.

Fu Ling also didn’t seem to have much say in her presence, unclear whether explanations would be of any use.

"Then... Mr. Mingyuan, will you abandon me?"

Those pitiful eyes, and the voice filled with anxiety.

"I will not."

Duan Mingyuan stopped in his tracks. He didn’t know what Jiuyue had been through, but he suspected she had misunderstood the principles he had just communicated, "At work, we need to judge the situation wisely, acting on impulse will only make things uncontrollable, like in that earlier situation, where cleaning up afterward would become very troublesome."

"Ah?"

Jiuyue was also stunned in place.

She had resorted to the tactic of playing pitiful in order to manipulate Mr. Mingyuan, to leave him with the impression that Bai Kou might not be a good person, thereby paving the way for subsequent plans.

But Mr. Mingyuan’s thinking always seemed to be many steps ahead.

Duan Mingyuan said, "If we’re going to take action, we must ensure that we don’t leave any chance for the opponent to retaliate while also not leaving ourselves with too much of a mess."

And this, this was the professionalism he had always emphasized.

"Mr. Mingyuan..."

This time, Jiuyue truly shivered, "Aren’t you being a bit too extreme?"

After their first meeting, Mr. Mingyuan was already considering issues like dealing with the scene after a killing.