Better to offend Jiangbei than to cross Fang Yuan.

Fangjiang International Group had office towers in every major bustling city across the globe. The Magic City was no exception.

Wang Fu arrived in the Magic City at nearly ten o’clock in the evening. After a simple dinner, he lit a cigar and took the elevator all the way to the office on the top floor.

There, the entire top floor was occupied by a conference room of about five hundred square meters. This meeting room was never open to outsiders; even the staff of Fangjiang International had never set foot inside. Wang Fu walked in alone, activating the high-tech equipment as he went, before settling into the main seat.

This was the chairman’s seat—the highest position in all of Fangjiang International. But at present, Chairman Jiang Bei was engaged in a most unique game with his wife, Lady Fang Yuan. Thus, as acting chairman, Wang Fu had no choice but to temporarily occupy this spot.

He silently enjoyed his cigar, waiting. About three minutes later, the first holographic image of an attendee appeared at one side of the conference table. Soon, the second, third, and fourth followed… In the span of a quarter-hour, everyone was present.

Because of the time difference, it was nearly eleven at night here in Xiaguo, while in some other countries where attendees resided, it was morning or midday. But that hardly mattered.

Wang Fu smiled toward the holographic images. “Human technology truly is fascinating, isn’t it? In the past, gathering so many people together would have taken three or five days at least. Now, it only takes the press of a button.”

There was a ripple of polite laughter.

After the laughter subsided, a young woman spoke—a woman of regal beauty, her eyes captivatingly alluring from any angle. “Ah Fu, you’ve dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night. Can we skip the sentimentality and get to the point?”

They were all old friends—thousands or even tens of thousands of years in acquaintance—so no one took offense.

Wang Fu rubbed his shaved head and chuckled. “Come now, Lady Fox Nine, how long has it been since we last met? Isn’t it a bit heartless to greet me so bluntly?”

At his words, Fox Nine blinked, her every small motion brimming with seductive charm. “Ha, Ah Fu, you dare call me heartless? Who was it that once promised he would definitely come to visit me?”

Wang Fu was lost for words.

A collective, knowing look passed among the holographic images.

Under their gazes, Wang Fu felt a wave of guilt, as if he were a scoundrel caught red-handed—though he’d done nothing of the sort. In truth, he couldn’t even recall ever promising to visit Fox Nine.

That vixen is probably making things up again, he thought.

He cleared his throat. “Alright, enough nonsense,” he said, knowing full well he was no match for Fox Nine in a war of words. Wisely, he changed the subject.

But it seemed things were about to get complicated.

Wang Fu noticed Dracula’s stare and sighed inwardly. “Dracula, don’t look at me like that. Nine was only joking; there’s nothing between us.”

Dracula remained silent, his unblinking gaze fixed on Wang Fu as if calculating the best way to drain him dry.

Seeing this, Wang Fu could only force a bitter smile, choosing to ignore this eternally brooding fellow.

He rapped the table. “Alright, settle down, all of you. Otherwise, I’ll have to start writing down names in my little black book. And then, one by one, Lady Chairman herself will call on you for a chat.”

Instantly, everyone drew a sharp breath.

If Wang Fu had meant Jiang Bei would come knocking, no one would have minded. Jiang Bei was easygoing—unless it was a matter of principle, he rarely took action.

But Lady Fang Yuan…

She was notorious for her unpredictability. She’d hit you if she felt like it, hit you when in a good mood just for the fun of it, hit you when she was upset, when the weather was bad, or when the weather was too nice and the sunlight too bright—any excuse would do.

A truly terrifying woman.

The sound of collective gasps abruptly ceased, and silence fell over the conference room.

Wang Fu grinned behind his cigar, thoroughly pleased with the result. He couldn’t help but gloat. “Really, must I always invoke the Lady Chairman before you cooperate? If you’d just behaved from the start, wouldn’t everything be fine for all of us?”

No one answered.

It was common knowledge among those present: better to cross Jiang Bei than to provoke Fang Yuan. Now that Wang Fu had invoked her name, none dared test their luck.

But Fang Yuan was Fang Yuan, and Wang Fu was merely the housekeeper for the chairman and his wife—not the lady herself.

So…

Just as Wang Fu prepared to address the real business at hand, confident he had cowed the assembly, the Skeleton King—seated in one of the chairs—suddenly pulled out a small black notebook and a pen.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

With remarkable dexterity, Skeleton King Leo began taking notes. In the utter quiet of the room, the sound of pen on paper was startlingly loud.

Wang Fu turned to look, as did the others.

A sense of foreboding welled up in his chest, his eyelids twitching. “Leo, what are you writing?”

Skeleton King Leo raised his head at the sound. For several long seconds, his hollow, empty eye sockets stared straight at Wang Fu. Then, suddenly, he grinned, revealing two rows of dazzlingly white teeth in a radiant smile.

“Ah Fu, do you really want to know?”

The sense of dread intensified. Wang Fu could feel his eyelids twitching faster than ever. “I do.”

“Hehehe, since you’re so sincere, I’ll tell you. I was just making a note of how many times, in the past nineteen years, you’ve used Miss Fang’s name to threaten us.”

“Ah Fu, does Miss Fang know you’ve been exploiting her like this?”

“In eleven more years, when the game ends and Miss Fang learns what you’ve done…”

“Heh, she’ll fire you, won’t she?”

“Honestly, Ah Fu, don’t you know? I’d make a far better housekeeper than you!”

Skeleton King Leo’s grin grew even brighter, his teeth nearly glowing.

Wang Fu was speechless.

Fox Nine, Dracula, and the other luminaries were equally at a loss.

“Ha ha ha ha! Ah Fu, you’re finished!”

“I can’t wait to see Miss Fang deal with you!”

“Hahaha, I haven’t laughed this hard in years, Ah Fu. Thank you—once you’re fired, I’ll miss you.”

The laughter grew so raucous that Wang Fu was forced to snap out of his stupor, instinctively wiping cold sweat from his brow.

He could hardly believe what had just transpired.

“You damned skeleton, I treated you as a brother, and you’re trying to steal my job! Do you have no conscience?”

“Come on, Ah Fu, you’re too naive. Haven’t you heard the saying ‘brothers are made to be sold out’?”

“Besides, I’m not even human.”

“….”