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Hello, Mr. Roland,
Rock’s calming voice immediately came from the other end of the line.
I didn’t expect you to call me so early in the morning. Is there an emergency?
Roland then suddenly realized that it was only 7:00. Feeling a little embarrassed, he faltered,
Er… sorry, did I wake you up? I do have something that needs the Association’s help. It has nothing to do with the Fallen Evils, but it’s important to me.
No worries,
Rock said.
Normal people tend to sleep more. However, for me, as an aged Awakened, I’m awake most of the time. What can I do for you?
Roland had been pretty active recently in the Martialist Association. He had not only managed to kill a great number of Fallen Evils, but more importantly, he usually acted alone. Nevertheless, he killed more Fallen Evils than anyone else except the two teams led by the two Defenders and the team comprised of celebrated martialists led by Fei Yuhan. His outstanding performance encouraged all traditional martialists, which made Roland quite influential among the Association executives.
Of course, Roland did not report all the Fallen Evils he had exterminated. Most of the fallen cores had dissipated and returned to the Dream World. He always took a group of Taquila witches with him when conducting an operation. Therefore, the Fallen Evils were literally defenseless when confronting a group of combat witches with various strange abilities.
Anyhow, Roland soon made his name among the Association members. He could access any facilities in the Martialist Association and was also entitled a telephone that allowed him to directly communicate with the Defenders.
Before that, I would like to ask you one question first. What’s the relationship between the Prism City and the Clover Group?
Roland remembered that Garcia had once told him that her father had participated in the construction of the Prism City.
In short, we’re long-term partners,
Rock answered.
Of course, we’ve developed partnership with many corporations, as the operation of the Association requires a large amount of money and resources.
In other words, we’re also their big clients?
You can put it that way.
Very well,
Roland said, and he quickly told Rock what he needed.
Surprisingly, Rock lapsed into a long silence. After quite a while, he said hesitantly,
I have no issue with that, but… why is it important to you?
It’s also important to this world,
Roland replied truthfully. Even if Nightingale came to the Dream World, she would not be able to tell whether Roland was lying or not, for the Battle of Divine Will indeed concerned every single person in this world. If the human race was defeated, Roland would die too. By then, the Dream World would also stop working and freeze in an eternity in the Realm of Mind.
Alright, I see,
Rock conceded.
But anyway, I have to thank you on behalf of the Association. Without you, there would not have been so many young martialists choosing to stay, and our situation would have been even more precarious.
Roland was somehow a little moved by the Defender’s sincerity when he heard the reply. Although the reason for him to hunt down Fallen Evils was quite different from the Association’s, he did feel that Rock truly appreciated his help. Perhaps, just like Lan had said, for them, this world was real.
Roland had wanted to say,
That’s nothing. It’s my duty
, but for some reason, he changed his mind in the last minute.
… I’ll protect this world,
he said.
Roland then hung up the telephone and sent Zero off. Although Zero was now awakened, she still needed to go to school. Since Saint Miran, Dido and Ling were all in the same school as Zero, Roland did not worry about Fallen Evils.
After that, he went to the Rose Café.
Since his last meeting with Lan, the coffeeshop had been closed, and the roll-up door had been clamp shut. The only way to access the coffeeshop was through the side door from the warehouse.
It was always busy here.
The witches were currently preparing their breakfast. Roland instantly smelled delicious barbecue as he pushed open the door.
After he had a big breakfast and the witches were all gone, Roland drove out of the apartment building.
The headquarters of the Clover Group was in downtown, so Roland soon arrived there.
Since Roland had told the Association that he would visit here in advance, he was immediately led upstairs before he could reveal his martialist identity. The elevator stopped at the 100th floor, and Roland greeted a bright, spacious office surrounded by large French windows. Now, he had a new understanding of the financial capacity of the Clover Group.
We met again, Mr. Roland,
Garde said as he came up to Roland and shook his hand.
I didn’t expect that you would elevate yourself from a newbie to such an important figure in the Association so quickly. Young men indeed have great potential!
Roland was a little surprised at this warm reception. He remembered that last time, Garde had been pretty cold to him even though he had showed him his hunting license.
So it was true that businessmen cared more about a person’s background than his professional competence.
After a little small talk, Roland jumped into the business and asked,
Did the Defender, Rock, tell you the purpose of my trip?
Garde shook his head and answered,
Mr. Rock only told me that you need some help from the corporation and asked us to assist you as much as we can. But you know that I don’t make the final call in the Clover Group.
This meant that the Clover Group would proceed with the purchase of the apartment building. Even if Garde agreed to terminate the plan, the Board of Director would not easily approve this motion. Roland smiled. He knew that Garde thought that he had come here for Garcia. In fact, nobody could demolish a building guarded by the witches unless he let them do so.
Roland was also very pleased that the Defender did not tell Garde about his actual plan but leave Roland some room for negotiation. It seemed that the Defender completely trusted Roland, which made Roland like the Association even better.
It isn’t something too complicated,
Roland said as he spread out his hands.
I want to found a small manufacture plant, or a machinery model factory that aims to design and manufacture some old machineries such as steam engines, old-school tractors, etc… Something nostalgic, like armored trucks and artilleries. Do you understand?
Garde twitched his lips and asked,
Are you planning to make a movie?
You can put it that way, but unlike those fake props, I need real ones, and I also have specific requirements.
As far as I know, few people need them nowadays…
I’m not going to sell them. I make them just for fun. I don’t need an assembly line or anything, so it saves you money.
Garde was silent for quite a while. He viewed this business as a complete failure.
I didn’t know that Mr. Roland had such a peculiar hobby,
Garde said finally.
In other words, you want the Clover Group to help you found a small factory and hire designers and workers?
Roland suddenly realized that it was not going to be an easy project. Apart from the factory, the designers should have an engineering background, and it would not be that fast to recruit so many professionals even for the Clover Group. Roland thus replied,
Yeah, that’s pretty much about it. Take your time. I’m not in a rush.
I need to ask my secretary first,
Garde said as he returned to his desk and picked up the telephone.
15 minutes later, the secretary called back.
Garde turned around and looked at Roland.
Perhaps, there’s a factory that meets your requirement.
Well, that was fast!
Roland said in surprise.
It’s pure luck,
Garde returned modestly, although he looked pretty proud of his corporation.
I can take you there if you don’t have any other plan.
