Chapter 438 Unexpected Success and Dashed Expectations
Chapter 438 Unexpected Success and Dashed Expectations
Returning to the real world in disappointment, Mark took a nap to clear his head from having any sort of negative thoughts.
After taking a nap for an hour, he freshened himself with a shower and then dressed up for the grand banquet arranged by King Shen Niu in his welcome.
The courtiers, officials, top military personnel, and wealthy individuals all attended the banquet. Song Yue and Shen Ling joined the other ladies.
Mark felt the atmosphere is quite similar to the one he had at the Eastern Sun. There, he was a visiting guest. So, he was fine. But, here, he is going to be the son-in-law and he didn't like these things to stay that way.
Upon remembering Shen Ling's ambition behind this marriage with him, Mark felt like he should play more of an active role rather than standing behind her as the princess was going to overthrow the patriarchal system in the kingdom.
But then again, he doesn't want the matriarchy system as Shen Ling wanted either. After all, it won't improve the lives of women except for bringing additional chaos.
Shen Ling knows that and she has her own plans to deal with the consequences too. But, Mark also has his own plans for her. And he should make sure that she stays in the dark as long as possible.
The princess is smart enough to figure out his whole secret just by connecting the info she has with his past actions.
As her cooperation is too integral to his kingdom-building strategy and he doesn't want to use threats now that he chose the path of marriage, Mark felt like he should be very careful whenever reveals his plans to her.
Back to the present, after the Banquet was finished, Mark made a visit to the branch store to see how Chang Bo and Meng Tao were doing.
As neared the store, he saw a huge line in front of the entrance even though the sun in on everyone's heads.
Mark was astounded to see such popularity of his store's branch, which was officially opened only two days ago. Unless the royal family publicized extensively, it shouldn't be possible.
He couldn't help but think of his main branch which was out of business for more than a week now.
Curious about this incident, he tapped the shoulder of the person standing at the last of the line, "Excuse me…"
"Yes?" the guy turned around to look at Mark. He didn't recognize him and just asked, "May I help you with something?"
Mark pointed at the tower and asked, "Why there are so many people?"
"Oh, you must not have heard about it." The young man's face just glowed in excitement as he explained, "The food served over there is top-notch. Even normal egg-fried rice tastes like a delicacy. The best dish, Meng's Roasted Spirit Duck was just heavenly. You know the best part? It only costs 3 gold coins."
"Uhh… that is a weapon store, right?" Mark couldn't believe his ears properly. Why this guy is talking about food?
The stranger then nodded, "It is but, it's just the bottom and the first floor. On the second floor, there is a clothing store. On the third floor, there is an alchemy store. On the fourth floor, there's a Jianzi challenge, where there's a reward for the number of feather ball kicks. And there's also a quiz challenge to win the rewards. The fifth floor was occupied by the restaurant and the sixth-floor was restricted. It's probably where the manager lives. Who knows..." 𝐢𝗻𝐧𝐫𝐞𝗮𝐝.𝗰𝐨𝗺
After a brief pause, the stranger finished with a comment, "I should say these guys know how to do business. But then again, it is the King's son-in-law. You can't expect normal things from such a legendary figure."
If Mark would hear this comment at another time, he would feel happy to hear such praise from a stranger as a third party, but his mood isn't good at the moment. He felt like his trust has been betrayed by Chang Bo and Meng Tao.
He left the line and went to the backside of the tower, where there is another entrance. However, that can only be opened from the inside.
He took out the communication scroll and contacted Chang Bo. The latter was busy explaining the features of an AK-47 and AK-203 to a customer, and he dropped the conversation and rushed to the back exit, located in a small storage room behind the counter, as soon as he received the message.
The large stone door, which is a part of the tower, was slid to the side within no time.
Chang Bo greeted Mark in great excitement, "Lord Lu, when did you arrive here? I thought you were supposed to come to Lunaris City, five days later. Please come inside."
Mark stared at him with a look of frown on his face. He didn't respond for a while.
The welpire was startled for a moment when he saw his displeased boss. He asked, "Lord Lu, is something matter?"
Mark raised his head to look at the tower and replied, "I believe I told you to run a branch of Genesis Weapon store, not turn it into a recreational hub."
"Recreational hub?" Chang Bo never heard of such a word. Hence, he was confused a little bit but atleast he got the gist of what Mark was trying to say.
He politely said, "We'll explain to you everything but please come inside."
But, Mark was stern and gave an order as he stepped inside, "I'll give you 60 seconds. Throw everyone out and drag Meng Tao's ass here."
"Even the ones who are eating?" Chang Bo became slightly worried by Mark's order. Since he was promoted as a manager, he began to think like one.
Mark gave him a cold gaze and answered, "Everyone, including any other staff member you have hired so far. Give whatever excuse you can give."
"Yes!" Chang Bo flinched at Mark's gaze and he quickly scurried away.
Mark didn't know what the welpire has told everyone, but within just 90 seconds of time, the entrance door was closed and only three people remained in the store.
Meng Tao and Chang Bo were standing beside each other in silence as Mark stared at them with clear displeasure written on his face.
"Chang Bo, explain yourself…" Mark opened his mouth as he sat down on the chair.
The teenager and the young adult gulped their saliva.