Chapter 20: Counterattack

Translator: Lordbluefire

When he heard the strange tone from the overlord beside him, Xiye didn’t rebut him instantly. Because this was the first time he had encountered such an incident. In addition, if his reaction was too great, it was very easy to fall into his opponent’s trap. Teacher Garrod taught him before that when he encountered a situation he was not proficient in, he should remain silent. Only by maintaining a calm emotion could he not allow the situation to worsen.

It was evident that this was also the first time this little lady had encountered such a situation. Her expression turned somewhat complicated and the look of wanting to hear what the other overlord had to say appeared on her face. But she felt that it wasn’t too good for her to act in this manner too. She was clearly very conflicted.

Although Xiye now felt anxious in his heart, he followed the instructions of his teacher and remained silent.

Seeing Xiye not speaking, the little lady didn’t really dare to look at him. She was silently musing, “Could it be this overlord is unhappy due to my hesitation? Would I lose this hard-to-come-by opportunity?”

When she thought of this, she suddenly felt some resentment at the person who spoke.

It was as though the other overlord had sensed her mood, and he spoke in a neither hurried nor slow manner, “Little lady, please don’t take my good intentions and treat them as rubbish. Use your brain and think about it. After checking out so many hiring posts, have you seen one that would give such a high salary to newcomers? This treatment is clearly only targeted at those direct descendants of major clans, right? Don’t you feel that it is a little suspicious?”

These words caused the little lady’s heart to waver. “That’s true. Why was this overlord the only one who is giving such a high salary? There’s definitely something strange behind such an out-of-ordinary move. Even those grand overlords were paying $1,000 to $2,000 as a monthly salary. But this strange overlord directly quoted me over $10,000? Could there be a trap?”

One couldn’t help but say that the power of imagination was at times, a very terrifying thing. With the other overlord casually guiding her thoughts a little, this little lady suddenly felt that Xiye’s face hidden by the helmet was a sinister one!

Staring at the change in her expression, Xiye felt increasingly anxious. He silently cursed at the overlord next door that was simply leading this little lass into a trap!

How should he refute this?

Xiye’s expression flickered. Luckily, he was wearing a helmet or if the little lady saw his flickering expression, she most probably would turn and leave straight away!

“But…isn’t this a proper talent market? The overlords who came here are all with reputable backgrounds, right? How could there be a trap?” When the little lady saw Xiye remaining silent, she started to doubt the words spoken by the sneaky overlord.

This caused Xiye to silently heave a sigh of relief. He silently mused, “Luckily this lass is only introverted, she isn’t a fool!”

“That’s why I say, you children who just graduated are simply too naive. If there’s no problem with his background, does it mean that there isn’t a trap?” The overlord shook his head and smiled. “Let me give you an example. What if the contract duration he signs with you is a hundred years?”

The little lady was stunned and seemed to have understood something. Xiye was also startled. Damn…his own contract terms really stated a duration of a hundred years.

“Do you understand now?” That overlord shook his head and laughed. “If you signed a hundred-year contract, he would simply give you $15,000 for the next hundred years. Do you still think the salary is high?”

Nonsense!! Xiye almost cursed out, but he forcibly reigned it in. He set the duration as a hundred years because he didn’t wish to leak the position of his base so early. How could he be so lacking in moral integrity like what the other overlord said?

However, he didn’t refute it immediately mainly because the other party had indeed stated the duration he set. At this moment, if his reaction was intense, it would easily make the little lady feel that he was guilty.

The little lady was evidently frightened by the words of the other overlord. She cowardly glanced at Xiye. “No..no right?”

Just as Xiye was preparing to speak, the other overlord spoke first, “Even if it is not the case, even if his other conditions were true, are you prepared to choose your employer so carelessly?

“If everything is true…why shouldn’t I choose him? The salary is so high…” The little lady spoke weakly.

The commotion here attracted many spectators. Very soon, many people crowded around here. When Xiye saw this, his heart clenched. He knew that if he didn’t handle this well, there was no need for him to think about finding any good seedlings here today. Most probably, he wouldn’t be able to even recruit a single person!

This mothaf**ka did this intentionally…

(I was wondering why he is speaking so loudly? So this is the case. Damn him, is he trying to push me to the corner? What grudge does he have with me?)

“That’s why I say all of you young children are simply too naive. Before you graduated, didn’t your teachers teach you a little common sense?”

As expected, when he saw the number of people here increasing, the light in the sneaky overlord’s eyes brightened. He immediately dragged all the jobseekers in by using the term ‘you young children’.

“Do you simply look at the salary when it comes to choosing a job? Let me ask you guys. If this person gives you a $5,000 monthly salary and a grand overlord gives you $2,000, where would you choose to go?”

Although they didn’t say anything, it was evident that the vast majority of people’s eyes glanced toward the grand overlord’s area in the first zone. Clearly, they felt more inclined to join a great power.

When he saw the expressions of everyone’s faces, the sneaky overlord felt extremely proud of himself. He continued, “When it comes to choosing to join a power, the starting salary isn’t everything. You have to look at the whole picture. Matured powers can give you a stable environment and a platform for fair competition. This is the reason why the majority of people would choose to follow a grand overlord. As for a minor overlord, especially for those who are at the developing phase, although there’s a small chance for them to nurture you into the backbone of their powers, the powers they established are simply too small-scaled and have no stability. For such powers, many of them don’t even have basic military defense. If they are unfortunate enough to run into space beasts or interstellar pirates, everything would be reset to zero. At that time, let alone talking about earning money, you might even lose your life there!”

Everyone shivered when they heard this. Looks of deep contemplation were seen on their faces.

“Little lady, do you want to have a look at my contract?” Seeing the amount of hesitation increasing on the little lady’s face, that overlord finally revealed his fox tail. He kindly smiled. “Although the power I established isn’t a large-scaled one, all the starting parts are already done. My main governing planet has already applied for a sixth-grade verification from the Cosmos Federation, and I have over ten star systems around my main planet. The military forces are well-developed, and it isn’t a problem for me to defend against tenth-grade space beasts and below. Although I can’t be compared to those great powers, my conditions are still not bad when comparing all the overlords in this second zone. Also, I’m lacking a Priest-type personnel at my side. If you join me, there’s a very great opportunity for you to develop yourself there!”

The little lady hesitated when she heard this. She then cautiously asked, “Can I ask what is the monthly salary you are offering?”

“$1,500!” The other overlord grinned.

Boo!

The surroundings all let out booing sounds.

That overlord didn’t mind it. “I’ve said earlier. For fresh graduates like you, you guys shouldn’t care too much about the starting salary. You should set your sights further. Now that you have just joined the society, the main thing is for you to accumulate experience and nourish yourself. From there on, you will obtain more chances to rise. You are just a newbie, under the circumstances where I’m not too sure of your capabilities, I don’t dare to give you a high salary. But as long as you can prove yourself, I naturally wouldn’t be stingy over adding more money. Compared to a higher starting salary, a mature overlord would pay more attention to nurturing you. As long as your performance can make it, you will even have the chance to join a high-class school and learn the in-depth knowledge of the respective high-end jobs.”

After he said this, many people felt their hearts being moved. The majority of people here could only study until a bachelor’s degree level. No matter how elite they were, they could only do elementary-graded jobs. If they wished to advance and do mid-grade or high-grade jobs, it was impossible without their family’s support. Hence, they could only come out and work, accumulating money and experience before furthering their studies in the future. If an overlord could provide a chance for them to go for further studies, that was naturally for the best!

The little lady felt her heart being moved when she heard this. She initially wanted to quickly earn money and save up enough funds to pursue further studies so she could work in mid-grade jobs. If not, if she missed the golden period, she might end up like her parents and could only be ordinary teachers for their entire lives.

Even in large clans, only a minority of descendants would have the qualifications to embark on a path leading to high-end jobs. An example was Rennes. When he got his first job, he was already over 1,000 years old and his starting life-level was at the ninth-grade. Such fortune was something ordinary people would never receive.

So, to people like them, opportunities are fleeting.

Xiye maintained his silence after listening to the other party’s lengthy words. He didn’t say anything at all. He could tell that his opponent was a glib talker. If he refuted, the other party would shoot him verbally until he was completely insignificant in the eyes of everyone else. If he didn’t have absolute confidence, he would remain cautious and choose to be silent.

After her heart was moved, the little lady glanced at the contract that Xiye had passed over to her with hesitation. She didn’t open it but chose to glance at Xiye weakly. She spoke in a soft voice, “Sir…sir overlord, how long is your contract duration?”

“A hundred years!”

Xiye directly replied.

The contract was in her hands; he couldn’t amend it even if he wanted to. Now, if he said that the duration of the contract could be negotiated, he would be taken as feeling guilty due to the words of the other overlord. Hence, he rather continued to maintain his current attitude.

The surrounding crowd let out boos again. That overlord felt even more complacent. Although he didn’t say anything, the message in his eyes was clear. ‘Look, what I said was right, correct?’

When she heard this, the little lady’s hands that were holding the contract tightened slightly. She continued to ask, “Sir overlord, can you talk more about the current situation of your establishment?”

“At the starting phase of development. I have an eighth-grade life planet and a bunch of indigenous people as my subject.”

Xiye continued to answer honestly. In any case, his words could be checked. Rather than hiding it or speaking ambiguously, he might as well speak the truth.

“As expected!” The surrounding people started to discuss.

“No wonder the starting salary is so much higher. So it is a new power.”

“What’s wrong with a new power?” Someone was puzzled. “Isn’t it very normal for new powers to appear in the market?”

“Why don’t you join him then?”

“Eh, I don’t think so…”

Seeing the surrounding crowd immersed in their discussion, Xiye’s heart grew incomparably anxious. But ultimately, he managed to endure it and continued to remain silent.

When the little lady saw that Xiye continued to maintain his silence, she ultimately stood up and passed back the contract. “I’m sorry, I…don’t think…”

“Lift your head up!” Seeing that the little lady wanted to leave, Xiye suddenly interjected.

From the beginning, Xiye had maintained a taciturn attitude, so the contrast of him suddenly speaking out now was exceedingly great. The surrounding chatter all quietened down as the people wanted to hear what Xiye had to say.

The little lady started, she also didn’t expect that Xiye would suddenly speak. Hence, she subconsciously lifted her head and stared at the purple eyes revealed by the helmet. A moment later, her gaze started to show signs of evasion before she lowered her head again due to feeling a lack of confidence.

Just when everyone thought that Xiye wanted to berate the little lady, he suddenly softened his tone, making it warmer. “Child, don’t be afraid. Just lift your head up.”

The tone of encouragement caused the little lady to start, but her clenched heart loosened slightly. Her expression was still one of unease as she inclined her head once more, weakly staring at Xiye.

Xiye’s tone became gentler. “You are already an adult. No one can interfere in your path. At the very least, you have to have the courage to be responsible for your choices. This is merely rejecting a contract to choose another one, why are you acting in such a submissive and cowering manner?”

The little lady was startled. She had heard these caring words from her own instructor before. When she heard an overlord saying this to her, her expression immediately became complicated.

“Will you not refute his points?”

“What’s there to refute?” Xiye had a casual look on his face like he didn’t mind it. “The other overlord isn’t wrong, he is merely dissecting the facts for all of you. It is true that my power is a recently established one, and this is the reason why I’m offering a higher starting salary to attract talents. All things in the world have their ups and downs. Behind the high income, the risk you have to take is naturally higher, doesn’t this conform to logic? If I’m like him and the power I’ve established is already matured, I might even lower the salary more than him to save when I can. Would there be any overlords out there who aren’t happy to save money?”

“Then…” The little lass mumbled as she continued, “Earlier, he said that the salary is fixed for a hundred years. Is that true?”

“False!” Xiye calmly replied.

Everyone didn’t expect Xiye would rebut it so directly. His attitude now was different from before.

The overlord at the side sneered when he heard this and just when he wanted to speak, Xiye spoke first, “It is one thing that I said that, but it is another thing if you guys want to believe it or not. A choice has always been filled with uncertainty. Before you all choose, it is very tough to see what is the correct choice. Just like earlier when the other overlord said that there are opportunities for him to send you for further studies in the future. Do you guys believe that it is real?”

These words caused everyone to be suddenly enlightened!

“His words are logical!” A passerby touched his chin as he spoke.

“That’s right. These overlords offer such low starting salaries and only know how to talk about the future. In the future, if they go back on their words, what can we do? Wouldn’t we receive nothing? We might as well take the higher starting salary now; it will be a surer choice as we can plan for eventualities.”

“I’ve always said that some of these overlords have no conscience. They always talk about nurturing us, but now, they cannot even pay us a salary that allows us to adequately feed and clothe ourselves! Why should we believe that they would pay a huge amount of money to nurture us in the future?”

The sneaky overlord’s expression instantly turned gloomy when he saw that the tides had changed. He silently mused, “The words of this newbie is filled with thorns. Earlier, this daddy has underestimated him!”

“Little lady, are you sure you want to reject my contract?” Xiye continued to speak warmly.

The little lass clutched the contract and stood there silently for a long time. In the end, she drew in a long breath and inclined her head, staring at Xiye as she replied, “If I regret my actions earlier, would you still be willing to accept me now?”

“Naturally…” Seeing that the dust had settled, Xiye smiled. “You have to use the proper words, child. Before making a decision, the struggle you feel isn’t called regret but hesitation.”

A moment later, the little lady smiled. “Wilin Starspeak here, please provide me with guidance in the future, sir overlord!”

Seeing that she had signed the contract, Xiye satisfyingly nodded. “You can return now and prepare yourself. We will leave in two days.”

“Mn!” The little lass warmly hugged the document and jogged outside. Evidently, she was preparing to send out happy messages that she had found a job.

Truly, she was brimming with youth! Xiye glanced at the backview of the little lady as he sighed.

“Respectable Sir Overlord, can I ask…do you need to hire a biological instructor? I graduated from Pudel Teaching College. I have fifth-grade teaching qualifications…”

“Do you still need any weapons specialization instructors? I’m specialized in spear arts, and my battle qi is at the fifth-grade!!”

After the little lass left, the jobseekers in the surroundings all started to come over for an interview. Comparatively, the area helmed by that sneaky overlord beside him was completely empty. This caused his expression to become extremely ugly.

Xiye glanced at his murderous gaze while feeling extremely satisfied in his heart. He smiled and spoke to the jobseekers, “Line up properly one by one and fill up the application forms!”