The next few days passed in a flurry of activity for Stelle. Sometimes she had to visit the shops in Aurum Alley personally and persuade them to join the current revitalization project.
The process was full of obstacles. Some people were easy to talk to, while others were a complete pain to deal with.
Some were even worse, actually asking Stelle to help come up with renovation plans for their own stores...
Still, Bailu and Nero's names worked wonders most of the time. As soon as many merchants heard that Bailu and Nero were also involved in the revitalization project, they immediately volunteered to join.
Maybe that was the power of idols.
Thinking about it that way, Scott had been standing on the wrong side from the very beginning. Even if Nero never used his connections, Scott still never had a chance of winning.
As for Nero, he spent most days over at Yanqing's place, helping the ambitious kid raise his stats and train his physique. Of course, every now and then he still went out to eat with friends and such.
During this period, Yanqing's training intensity had already gone up several levels.
Even Jing Yuan, who had been buried in official business every day because of the Luofu speedboat race and barely had time to breathe, couldn't help finding it strange. Every time he saw Yanqing lately, the kid looked like a dead dog.
And so, on this particular day...
Early in the morning, Nero was still doing his morning training in the inn courtyard while Stelle was getting ready for breakfast when she received a message.
It was from a group chat called "Aurum Alley Revitalization Team."
[Sushang: Stelle, remember that IPC representative we met at the docks before?]
[Stelle: The one who wanted you to apologize in public and bark like a dog?]
[Sushang: That bastard, yeah!]
[Mingxi: I heard there've been constant cases of cargo getting damaged during transport lately.]
[Mingxi: Could it have been them?]
[Sushang: It was him. We caught him red-handed. He's at the docks right now!]
[Mingxi: Coming immediately.]
Stelle thought for a moment, sent a popcorn-eating emoji, then got ready to head out.
"What's going on?" Nero asked when he saw Stelle rushing around.
"That company agent got caught secretly pulling tricks behind the scenes," Stelle said.
Nero blinked. "They say even a powerful outsider can't suppress the local snake. Besides, we're local dragons right now. We can't let him get away with this!"
With that, the big one and the little one rushed toward the docks together.
When they arrived, they could already see Scott cornered against a wall by Sushang from a distance.
The moment Sushang spotted Nero and Stelle arriving, she immediately called out, "Perfect timing! Everyone's demanding an explanation from this company guy!"
Scott stood to the side looking completely unbothered. He curled his lip slightly, an expression of faint disdain on his face as he spoke leisurely, "You keep calling me 'this company guy' every other sentence. That's pretty rude, you know.
"Today I'm not representing the company. I'm just a tourist visiting Aurum Alley. You can call me Scott."
Stelle nodded. "Hello, company guy."
Scott clicked his tongue, then folded his arms. "I won't stoop to your level. Anyway, I'm just here to mail a package. Why exactly am I being surrounded by all of you?"
But the instant Scott finished speaking, Nero cut in from the side.
"Shut up, blondie. Did anyone say you could talk?"
Scott, "???"
The sudden interruption caught him off guard for a moment. He turned toward Nero, just about to say something, only for Nero to continue, "Right now we're interrogating you. No talking. If you keep opening your mouth, I'll smack it."
Scott blinked. Suddenly, the atmosphere started feeling very wrong.
Even so, he still didn't take Nero too seriously. He was just a kid. What abilities could he possibly have?
So he maintained his composed demeanor and looked down at Sushang arrogantly. "You Xianzhou people really have no manners at all."
"You calling me 'that company guy' nonstop is one thing, but this brat keeps calling me blondie..."
"But your hair is blond. Is there something wrong with calling you blondie?" Nero replied matter-of-factly.
He'd never understood sarcasm or passive-aggressive jabs. He simply said exactly what he thought, but the way a child framed things made it hard for anyone to refute him.
"Besides, you've already bullied your way onto our turf. So what if I call you blondie? Are we supposed to stay polite after getting pushed around by you?" Nero curled his lip and continued.
Scott's eye twitched. "Brat, I've tolerated you long enough."
He took a deep breath, then looked around at the crowd and spoke in a tone full of righteous indignation. "So this is how the Xianzhou treats its guests?"
"Every single one of you is this rude? And now I'm being called blondie too! Is this the kind of upbringing you people have?"
"With standards like this, I really don't know how you managed to earn such a good reputation across the universe. Your Luofu must just be riding on the coattails of the other Xianzhou ships."
The moment Scott said that, the people around him clenched their fists. Sushang especially looked like she wanted her fist to have an intimate meeting with Scott's big face right then and there.
Every word Scott said, directly or indirectly, was insulting the Xianzhou people for having no manners...
"But you're not a guest," Nero shot back lightly. "So what if we insult you? Got a problem with it?"
After saying that, Nero looked up at Stelle again. "Wait, is blondie actually an insult?"
Stelle scratched her cheek with a finger, looking just as confused.
"How am I not a guest?" Scott shot back. "I'm a tourist visiting Aurum Alley. That obviously makes me a guest on the Xianzhou!"
"Who can prove that?" Nero asked again.
"What?" Scott froze for a second as a bad feeling rose in his chest.
Nero continued, "Who can prove you're a tourist? The people around here? The Realm-Keeping Commission?"
"Look around. Do any of the dock workers think you're a tourist? Just a few days ago you were strutting around here acting all high and mighty."
"And as for the Realm-Keeping Commission, their office isn't far from here. If they can prove you're a tourist, we can head over there right now."
"Huh?" Scott stood there dumbfounded, suddenly realizing disaster was looming.
Just like Nero said, there was obviously nobody among the workers here willing to testify that he was a tourist.
And the Realm-Keeping Commission? As an IPC agent on assignment, there was no way he'd been registered as a tourist.
'Damn it...'
Scott gritted his teeth. For the first time in his life, he felt like he'd run into an opponent this troublesome.
He had clawed his way up step by step by step by step to reach the position of agent.
And now this white-haired Xianzhou brat was unbelievably difficult to deal with.
Scott felt like he had already figured out Nero's line of argument. Trying to prove it himself or calling over other IPC employees definitely wouldn't work.
That's right. This kid is just like me. If it were me, I'd absolutely say, "Your testimony doesn't count because you're all in this together." So this brat would definitely say the same thing too.
Looks like the only option for now is to pretend weakness first.
Thinking this, Scott pressed his lips together and stopped arguing with Nero. He needed to find a way to break the deadlock first.
Scott secretly used his phone to send a message to his subordinates, hoping to call over a few Xianzhou locals he had bribed so they could help him when needed.
Then he said, "Hmph, sophistry. I can't out-argue you. But aren't you here to discuss the actual issue instead of fighting with me?"
"Let's stick to the matter at hand. I'm just here mailing a package, and suddenly a whole crowd surrounds me. What exactly is your problem?"