Chapter 258: Opportunity
Chapter 258: Opportunity
Even though it had been a while since any banquets had been held at A16 Manor, many people were already looking forward to the upcoming party that would definitely be held under any circumstances.
Because this was the heiress of the Ji Family, Ji Zhixiu's 20th birthday.
Regardless of how intense the dispute between the Ash Chamber of Commerce and Rolle Resource was, Ji Zhixiu’s birthday party would still proceed as planned.
Similar to how certain aristocratic families sold their every possession to create a false image of their extravagant lifestyle while barely making ends meet, the Ji Family, owner of Rolle Resource Development, had to do the same and put up a strong front.
If Rolle Resource Development didn't do it for the sake of their face, it would imply that they were already forced into a dead end without any chance of a turnaround.
And that would be truly embarrassing.
Therefore, even if they were in a state of emergency, the birthday party had to go on. In fact, it needed to be much more glamorous than the previous ones.
Besides, everyone was now aware that Ji Zhixiu was the leader of a hunter organization and the likely successor of Rolle Resource Development Enterprise. This would attract significant attention, and it was an opportunity to showcase herself to the outside world…
Of course, this 'showcase' wasn't just to display her talents and ambition.
Rather, Ji Bonong’s initial plan was for Ji Zhixiu to be as rebellious as possible, displaying a complete disinterest in Rolle Resource Development. Instead, he wanted her to appear as if she was solely intent on trying to find her place in the world of transcendent beings by running the hunter organization, without sparing any thought for her family business.
Ji Bonong would then profess the friction between him and his daughter and seek another successor within another of the Ji Family with reluctance.
It was a ruse.
In truth, over the years, Ji Bonong had intentionally estranged his daughter in front of outsiders, distancing her away from anything related to Rolle Resource Development to enable her freedom to develop herself in the transcendent sphere.
Only then would those people let their guard down against Rolle Resource Development…
But things were different now.
If they could gain the bookstore owner's favor, they could do away with the theatrics and expedite Ji Zhixiu’s succession of Rolle Resource Development, transforming it into a true transcendent organization.
In fact, with the bookstore’s support, Rolle Resource would gain an unparalleled advantage and have brighter prospects before them.
Being a businessman, Ji Bonong was willing to risk it all so long as the reward justified the risks.
Right now, all he lacked was a lever to kick start his master plan.
His hopeful gaze fell upon his daughter who had never failed him.
But Ji Zhixiu shook her head helplessly. “I'm not confident of that.”
She knew what her father’s intention was.
So long they could have Mr. Lin grace the party with his presence, even if it’s just a show of face, that was more than sufficient to show everyone that the bookstore owner was on their side.
This was a message.
With this, regardless of whatever Rolle Resource Development involved themselves with in the future, those transcendent beings would have to first carefully consider whether they could handle the wrath of the bookstore owner… and evidently, even a Supreme-rank wasn't a match for Mr. Lin.
Though it sounded like a perfect plan, it was much more difficult in reality.
Ji Zhixiu could only shatter her father’s beautiful dream as she reminded him, “As of now, based on available intelligence, Mr. Lin seldom leaves the bookstore and his only purpose of leaving was for 'role playing,' or some daily activities… Till date, no one has ever attempted making Boss Lin leave the bookstore.”
“Just because no one has tried doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. Isn’t that right?”
Ji Bonong gazed firmly at his daughter. “Give it a shot. I’m a mortal without any transcendent abilities, yet Rolle Resource Development was able to make a name for itself via the development of the Lower District. The Lower District is a place filled with treasure, coveted even by transcendent beings, who themselves fear entering. The founders of Rolle Resource Development only managed to gain access by paying with their lives."
Isolated from the world, the Lower District was a mystery. Apart from the employees of Rolle Resource Development operating there, no one knew what it looked like.
To the transcendent beings, that place was a forbidden area because of the Great Pestilence during the Dark Age. The fear stemmed from the fact that a transcendent being was more susceptible to being infected by the horrifying plague the higher ranked they were.
And that was why Rolle Resource Development was being run by ordinary beings.
But at the same time, with all sorts of relics from ancient times and rare minerals hidden in the Lower District, it was inevitable that some transcendent beings would take the risk to explore the area.
As Ji Bonong narrated, he inserted the ring on his finger into a slot on the wall.
Click.
With the soft click, cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of the walls of the room, with light spilling out, forming a dazzling array that covered the entire room.
Shortly after, the walls opened, revealing a secret chamber.
Ji Zhixiu was momentarily taken aback by the scene before her. In all her twenty years living here, she had never known the existence of this secret chamber.
Even with her current peak Pandemonium-rank ability and ‘Steel Resolve,’ she had never noticed this array formation. This meant that it was capable of escaping even a Destructive-rank’s detection.
And with Rolle Resource Development being watched closely over the years, perhaps even the Supreme-ranks had been fooled…
It was unbelievable.
But what surprised Ji Zhixiu further were the items within the secret chamber.
Ji Bonong beckoned his daughter to keep up with him as he stepped forward, disappearing into the darkness.
Ji Zhixiu followed her father into the secret chamber, and her eyes lit up at the sight before her. Contrary to what she had imagined, it wasn’t a typical dark and eerie secret room but was instead more like a neat and tidy museum filled with runic drawings.
In the hollowed-out niches on the perfectly aligned shelves by the walls laid all sorts of mysterious objects.
Ji Zhixiu’s eyelids twitched. These objects spooked her out.
Some even caused her to hallucinate, and it was only thanks to ‘Steel Resolve’ was she able to stabilize her mind.
She couldn’t help looking anxiously at her ordinary father, though he same composed and not the least bit affected.
It’s probably because of that ring, thought Ji Zhixiu.
This immense collection of transcendent objects certainly wasn’t built in a day.
It seemed like the many generations of leaders of past Rolle Resource Development had it all planned since the beginning…
“Here are the spoils of relics from those ancient times obtained by Rolle Resource Development during the expedition underground. Our forebears managed to construct this house and kept the transcendent beings in the dark with the help of this ‘Hermit’s Ring.’ Everything that is sealed here is awaiting an opportunity.”
Ji Bonong spread his arms wide, then turned to face his daughter. “And now, my dear daughter, the opportunity has arrived.”