Lily Yuyan Song has just finished her study abroad in Business Economics.

She's the only daughter of a wealthy business magnate but wants to start from the bottom up to earn her father's respect.

She finds that starting a business from nothing is harder than it seems.

Seeing potential in a man whose name she doesn't know. She sets out to find him.

Join in on the adventure of a lifetime as spring arrives for this pair.

Christian Cruz residence in an undisclosed area —
Christian: "Did we get Senator Johnny Ramos' properties?"
Roland Jalosjos shakes his head: "He refused. He won't budge."
Christian smirks: "Godd@mn trapo senator, who does he think he is? I made him senate president and now, this is how he repays me."
Christian screams out loud: "F#ck him — send my Christian fellowship."
Roland bows his head: "Yes sir."
 
Somewhere along EDSA —
In a very busy intersection, an Obsidian black Mercedes Benz E-Class 2020 is caught in heavy traffic. His escort in the front, a silver metallic Toyota Fortuner, uses police sirens as it tries desperately to get out of the traffic jam. The back escort, a bronze metal Mitsubishi Montero Sport, follows right behind the Mercedes Benz.
Two men in matching Barong Tagalog come out of the Toyoto Fortuner to patrol the traffic and get the Mercedes Benz to move out of the horrific traffic jam, causing other drivers and passengers to curse inside their car as they show their complete disgust at the selfish ways of the very rich and privilege.
Reactions from bystanders and commuters on the street can be heard.
"Akala ko bawal na wangwang sa mga pribadong sasakyan."
"Oo nga. Hindi naman ambulansya, bumbero o pulis."
"Kapal talaga mukha ng mga VIP na yun."
Out of nowhere, four metallic black Kawasaki Ninja motorcycles armed with automatic weapons approaches the intersection. Without warning, they open fire gunning down the two men wearing Barong Tagalog.
Other men from the Toyota Fortuner come out armed, but they are instantly torn to shred as the four Kawasaki motorcycles continue to open fire riddling the Toyota Fortuner with bullets including all its passengers and almost any people unfortunate enough to be near the Toyota Fortuner.
The four Kawasaki Ninja motorcycles speed into the traffic jam moving towards the Mercedes Benz. Armed men from the Mitsubishi Montero Sports exit, but they are quickly gun down by the four Kawasaki motorcycle. They continue to open fire as their bullets practically disassemble the Mitsubishi Montero Sports into little bits and pieces.
The four Kawasaki Ninja motorcycles now shift back their attention to the Mercedes Benz. They open fire riddling the Mercedes Benz with bullets, but the Mercedes Benz E-Class is bulletproof. The passenger inside the car makes a phone call.
"Roland, this is Senator Johnny Ramos. Are these your men?"
Roland: "Of course, senator."
Senator Johnny Ramos: "All right, you win, Tell Christian, I changed my mine. I'm selling all my Laguna Bay properties to you."
Roland on the phone: "Good to hear that."
Senator Johnny Ramos: "Tell your men to stand down now."
Roland laughs: "I'm afraid it is too late for that now."
Senator Johnny Ramos: "No Roland. Don't do this. I told you already. I changed my mind. I want to sell of them to you even at a discount, please."
Roland: "It doesn't really matter, senator. We'll still buy all your properties, but this time from your family members when you're gone. Goodbye senator."
Senator screams: "Don't do this, Roland. Roland, do you hear me?"
One biker with his helmet still on steps down and approaches the bulletproof Mercedes Benz. He pours gasoline on top of the Mercedes Benz as he hears the senator inside the car crying and pleading for him to stop.
The biker leans closer and whispers.
"Just for you to know senator, I voted for you. This is Mad Max Fajardo, the proud leader of the Christian Fellowship. And it is my honor and privilege to be mainly responsible for the killing of Senator Johnny Ramos. Christian Cruz sends his regards."
He laughs as he lit the Mercedes Benz on fire. He walks back to his Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle as he hears the senator screams for help.
The four metallic black Kawasaki Ninja motorcycles races away from the traffic jam as the intersection blows up into a giant fire ball of flame injuring several more innocent people.

An eccentric scientist invents a state-of-the-art augmented machine capable of cleaning the entire pollution of the world. His creative project gets funding from a billionaire, but not everything goes according to plan — as he falls madly in love for the very first time.

And then the next day Elijah meets Christian at his record shop. But only because Christian was complaining about the smell of kebabs from the food truck across the road and Elijah was hungry anyways.
Between a 'Vintage Finds' and 'Adult toys - Dvds - Poppers - Pills', Elijah finds 'Vinyl Tap: Buy - Sell - Trade'. He pushes through the yellow door. Something vaguely punk is playing overhead and dust motes cling to the sun coming through the windows. Beyond the overfilled stacks of records, hand-written discount signs and clutter of memorabilia, he spots Christian Marshal at the counter.
His head is bent down over his phone, chin propped on his wrist, fringe falling forward over his eyes. For no good reason, Elijah feels his heart speed up.

Hours later, after kebabs and an ensuing duel with their wooden skewers, after a tour of the shop that shouldn't have left Elijah in peals of laughter but somehow did, after Christian shouldn't have let Elijah go on and on about his course and his anxieties about his upcoming summer nursery placement but he did, Elijah is almost late to his last lecture of the day.
Before he leaves, though, he finally remembers to tell Christian they can't go out again.
But when he turns back around and opens his mouth, what comes out is: "When can I see you again?"

"The problem is that he's too pretty," Elijah tells Pieter the next morning.
Pieter snorts. "You're too pretty."
Elijah groans in frustration. "Not like he is, though. Have you even seen his eyelashes?"
"Can't say as I was paying attention." Pieter thrusts his laptop into his rucksack. "And I thought you weren't seeing him again."
"And his hair?" Elijah gestures to his own. "It's that kind of messy that has to take him forever to get just right every morning."
"Well, Nick took forever and a day to get his quiff up," Pieter points out.
"Yeah, but, Nick, like, isn't pretty," Elijah argues. Sure, Nick liked to look good, to the point of vanity sometimes. But this is different. "Like, maybe Christian can't help his eyes or his eyelashes or his cheekbones. It's not like they're his fault. But his hair? That's intentional."
"And that's a problem because—?"
"I'm supposed to be the pretty one in a relationship." Elijah stabs his spoon into his yogurt in frustration. He knows he's a little too tall, a little too broad, jaw a little too strong. He doesn't dislike how he looks, but it's just better if he's with someone taller, broader, more rugged-looking then him.
Christian isn't any of those things.
"Since when are you Sleeping Beauty's evil stepmother?" Pieter asks, earning himself a glare that he cheerily ignores. "And also since when are you in a relationship? I thought you were meant to be cancelling your date."
"How do you know I didn't?"
"Because Leigh-Anne said you made her go through your whole wardrobe to find a shirt to wear."
Elijah glares around the flat before he remembers that she's already left for campus. "Don't you guys have anything better to do than to gossip about me?"
"Don't you have anything better to do than to lead on my friend?"
"I'm not leading him on," Elijah argues. "Just, we're going for Indian tonight. Cancelling now would just be rude."

Elijah steals Christian's Tandoori chicken and then, in the fight for the last samosa, he accidentally kicks him under the table. Christian retaliates by trapping his Chelsea boot-clad foot between his own beat-up Vans. They're making a scene and getting looks from the other diners, but Elijah doesn't even care. He's too busy trying to ignore the way his stomach swoops at the sparkle in Christian's blue eyes.

Elijah has a type.

He likes older, sophisticated, mature men. Well-educated men. Men with life experience and passion for arts and social causes. Men who are established in their careers, who've sorted their lives out.

His type was Mason Meyers, the doctor he'd met shortly after starting university, and who, last Elijah heard, was still on an extended humanitarian trip to Ghana. His type was Yunis Carter, the postgrad who'd organized open-mic poetry readings at the art gallery before he moved to London last summer. And his type was Nick Davidson, the sociology lecturer with his own weekly independent radio programme, who'd been Elijah's longest relationship right up until they broke up before the Easter holidays.

Pieter knows this.

And so Elijah can't understand why he's sat here opposite Christian Marshal.

To be fair, Christian is older than him. But only by two years. And he certainly doesn't have his life figured out.

He works in the record shop where Pieter sometimes gives guitar lessons in the basement. He was in a not-so-successful pop-punk band until they split up and now he posts not-so-popular YouTube song covers. When he's not too busy pranking his housemate, his hobbies include playing footie and playing video games.

His speech is almost exaggeratedly from Doncaster. He's never been to uni. His travel experience is limited to clubbing in Amsterdam.

Elijah stays to learn all this because he's polite. But he knew as soon as he'd met him outside the pub, leaning against the brick wall with a cigarette dangling between tattooed fingers, beat-up skateboard propped beside him, that this was never going to work.

Mid terms were soon approaching and Christmas also which meant one thing 

   Winter dance.

We always had our winter dance a day before Christmas eve. I never liked attending them because it was always boring even though Trish had tried to force me each time but it was all in vain. I went freshman year but like I said, boring.

For the past three weeks I had visited two therapist but all didn't get anywhere and I was visiting another today.

     Great.

"Hey b". Trish greeted me as I approached her car.

"This is such a waste of time." I muttered opening her door.

"Ash don't be like that. It will help you." She stated as she started the car.

"I know and I love you for it."

"Duh!" She said and I smiled

    30 minutes later, we arrived at a three storey building.

"Is this the place?" I asked Trish.

"I hope not" The building looked like it had been there for ages with it's worn out paints and old windows.

"Why don't we go in?" I asked as I opened the car door.

"Yeah sure." She got out and added "You know what they say, don't judge a book by it's cover. You may never know, the inside might be better." She said locking the car and walking beside me.

"Yeah sure." I muttered as we walked into the building

"Okay yeah I take back what I said, this place is fucked up." She muttered as we entered through the double doors. The inside was painted white which if not looked at careful will look brown. The paints were peeling off and small ugly greek statues were everywhere and I mean everywhere. The paints screamed depression.

"Hey we are here for therapy?" She said in a questioning tone to the receptionist.

"Do you have an appointment?" The woman snapped at us.

    Woah bitchy much?

She looked in her late twenties and was currently dressed in a pink body hug top and I couldn't see what she was wearing underneath because she was sitting. Her black hair was packed in a tight bun and she had brown eyes.

"Okay listen you bitc-"

"Okay that's cool Trish." I interrupted Trish before she said anything out of line and I turned to the bitch.

     Okay listen here you bitch,

"We have an appointment so can you please suck up your bitchy mood and tell us where her office is at." I said super sweetly with a fake smile.

"First floor, down the hall then turn right and first door by the left. Take the stairs, elevator is out of service." She said glaring at Trish.

"Why am I not surprised." Trish said and I glared at her.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" I asked her and before she could reply, I turned to Trish. "C'mon let's go." I said pulling her hand and walked away.

"Bitch." I heard Trish say to her and I chuckled. 

We arrived at the door and the door had a 'Dr kelma' on it.

"Look we are here." Trish said dryly.

 "C'mon let's go." She said knocking once and opened the door.

Inside was an office painted cream. A lady in her late thirties was sitted on a chair concentrating on whatever task she was doing and looked up when we entered and smiled. Books filled everywhere on her desk, floor and even shelves. There were so many books it reminded me of the library.

     Been long I visited there.

The woman stood up her smile widening. She is really pretty. She was dressed in a black knee length dress and her hair was packed in a bun. She had striking hazel eyes and pearly white teeth.

"Hey welcome, I'm doctor kate kelma" She said and extended her hands.

"Ashley." I said shaking her hand.

"Trisha." She said waving.

"Nice to meet you. Why don't you have a seat."

"Thanks but I think this is a kind of personal stuff so I'll be outside." She said moving to the door.

"No problem." Dr kelma said.

"Bye Ash."

"Bye." I said and sat down.

"Okay. Let's begin. So do you know why you are here Ashley?" She asked taking a note and pen from her desk.

"Um......to....to get well?"

"Okay let me put it like this, why do you think you are here?"

"Well, my friends currently think I need help and-" I began to say but she interrupted me.

"You think you don't?" 

"Um I...." I couldn't say anything because I didn't know what to say.

"Tell me something, did you have any kind incident that made your friends think you need help?"

"Yeah." 

"Would you like to share it?"

"Not really."

"Okay." She said and wrote on her note.

"This incident that happened, did nightmares follow?"

"Um, yes?"

"Since when?"

"Almost three years now."

"Any specifics."

"Can we not discuss this?" I don't why, but I snapped at her.

"Well, we need to discuss, to know why you are here." She said calmly and it was ticking my anger.

"Don't you know why I'm here or isn't it your job to know?"

"But you don't."

"What?"

"Do you believe you need help to overcome this?"

"I......." I didn't know what to say.

"Listen miss...."

"Colton." I said and her eyes widened before she continued.

     Must know the name.

"Miss Colton, if I remember clearly, I asked you why you think you are here and not what your friends think."

      Why am I here. Do I really need help? Why should I need help when it's all my fault.

I thought to myself

"This is bullshit." I stood up and left slamming the door behind me.

    I'm here to clear my guilt. Right?"


"Hey panda." I heard when I got downstairs.

I looked up to see Christian waving at me as I walked towards him

"What are you doing here?" I asked confused.

"I'm here to pick you up."

"And Trish?" I asked walking towards the door

"She had to go, so she told me to come pick you up."

"Oh."

"How was the session?" He asked as we started walking towards the car.

"Bullshit." I said and he opened the door for me and I blushed and muttered a quick thanks 

     Damn you blush.

"So I will take it as it didn't go well?" He asked as he entered the car.

"Yeah."

"Wanna go somewhere?"

"Now?" I asked unsure

"Yeah."

"In uniforms?"

"Yeah sure why not."

"Okay then let's go."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere but here."

"To the movies then." He said and started driving.

Few minutes later we got to the movies and Christian parked his car.

"Wait here." He said got down, rounded the car and opened the door.

"Why did you do that?"  I asked as I got out.

"Because I wanted to do this." He linked his fingers with mine and I blushed.

       Oh my god

I could feel butterflies in my tummy and I'm very sure my face is deep red by now.

"C'mon let's go." 

We walked inside and apparently only two movies were about to show and they both were horror.

"So what's it gonna be panda, invisible man or countdown?"

"Um...."

"Oh my gosh, you guys are so cute. Such a lovely couple." The girl behind the counter squealed.

"We-" I was about to correct her but Christian beat me to it.

"Thanks. We'll go with countdown." He replied with a smile.

"Luckily for you guys, we are having a discount for couples today. 20% off." She said with a smile as she handed us the tickets.

"Thanks." Christian said and paid for it.

"I can pay too you know."

"I know." 

"So what are your names?" The girl asked.

"Christian."

"Ashley?" I was confused with why she was asking us. 

"Oh my gosh, Chrisley. That's so adorable." She squealed.

"Thanks again." Christian said with a small wave and turned to go into the threatre.

"See you next time!" The girl called after us.

"Why didn't you deny that we weren't a couple?" I asked him when we were out of earshot.

"Then we wouldn't have gotten this discount,would we?"

"Still-"

"Just chill okay. You make it sound like us being a couple is a bad thing. Jeez."

"But there is no freezer." I said pouting and Christian stopped in his tracks and looked at me confused.

"Wha- ohmygod Ashley seriously?" He asked finally understanding.

"What?! You said I should chill but I don't see any freezer around." I said innocently

"Let's just go okay?" He said shaking his head.

"Get ready to be scared." He said as he handed our tickets to a man and he opened the door to the movie room for us.

"Well the feeling won't be new anyway." I muttered to myself.

(p.s cover's not mine. Credit to the artist.)

A broken home, a broken family, a broken heart..... That's what Ashley's life is right now...


When Ashley, a young 18 year old is going through a tough phase in her life, she seeks her boyfriend's attention, Dave but catches him sleeping with herpay worst enemy, Lily. She is a definition of broken....until the town's bad boy Christian comes into town to lay low but sees how broken she is and tries to help her..... or so she thinks....

Will he finally help her?


Or make her feel more broken??


A book filled with hurt,sorrow,dispair,secrets and of course whats a book without romance.

Mahesa sighed. "Ma, I didn't do it on purpose. I swear, why did Mama even harass me? I'm the victim here, Ma" Mahesa grumbled a little annoyed. Mahesa was really annoyed that she had to be caught in a situation like this. Even though he didn't want this to happen at all.



"It's Mahesa, I don't blame you. It's my fault that I can't control myself because it's controlled by the drink," muttered Emma.



"Well, Mama heard Emma's confession yourself, right?"



Not long after Christian comes over to them, he looks confused seeing the tension between the three of them. It seemed that there was a serious matter that the three of them were talking about.



"Good morning, how come all the tension in his face early in the morning. What's wrong? Did Papa miss something?" asks Christian enthusiastically.



"This is Pa, the two of them were fighting about last night's problem."



Christian wrinkles his forehead. "About what problem?" exclaims Christian, confused.



"The problem with Emma kissing me, Pa. Because Emma fainted after kissing me, the media speculated that I had bad breath, Pa. That's why Emma fainted after kissing me"



Christian frowns, then bursts out laughing at Mahesa's story. He did not expect that Mahesa was still innocent in facing this problem. Even though Mahesa has served as CEO for 5 years but to deal with problems like this, sometimes Mahesa is still confused about it.



"Papa, why are you laughing, instead of helping me find a way out of this problem," Mahesa grumbled.



Christian sighs. "Mahesa, you have served as CEO for 5 years. But why are you always confused when you are facing problems like this?" exclaims Christian.



"Then what should I do, Pa?" whined Mahesa.



"So you don't know what to do?" asks Christian one more time.



Mahesa shook her head, she couldn't think straight because her brain was currently overpowered by various speculations about the news of her and Emma.



"Mahesa, listen to daddy, this is a small problem. You can ask Sabrina to find a mouthwash maker that is willing to work with us. And of course we give them a discount for advertising rates on TV. Papa is sure they will, and of course they will. You could tell the media that last night's kiss was just an act for a mouthwash commercial, get it done, "exclaims Christian.



"Wow, Papa is such a cool idea. I didn't think Papa would be great with millions of ideas, it's no wonder Papa could be this great in establishing a company" said Emma enthusiastically.



"You mean I'm not great?" argued Mahesa.



Emma sighed. "I didn't say that, but there is already proof that Papa is really great," said Emma, ​​who immediately sat down beside Mahesa.



"You are so annoying" Mahesa grumbled.



"Never mind, we better start breakfast" cried the mother interceding.



The four of them immediately started breakfast, Emma was satisfied that she had defeated Mahesa. But after this she doesn't know how her life will continue, because Emma is very afraid of being rushed by news seekers. Shortly thereafter, the household assistant Mahesa came over to them in the dining room. And told Mahesa that many reporters had gathered in front of the house to ask Mahesa and Emma for clarification.



"Excuse me sir, madam, young master, Miss Emma, ​​I want to tell you that in front of the house there are many reporters waiting for Young Master and also Miss Emma"



Emma stared. "What ?! Reporters?" exclaimed Emma, ​​startled.



"Yes, just let it go, later after breakfast I will meet them"



"Yes sir" said the household assistant and immediately left in front of the four of them.



Mahesa sighed and resumed her breakfast, while Emma was very nervous when she found out that there were many reporters waiting in front of Mahesa's house. Mahesa did not finish her breakfast, she immediately rushed to meet them.



"Mahesa, you want to meet them now?" asked the papa.



"Yes Pa, I want this problem to be resolved quickly" exclaimed Mahesa.



"Remember the message that Papa said"



"Yes Pa"



Emma also got up from her seat but Mahesa quickly asked her to sit back down.



"Where are you going? You better not have to come to meet them" exclaimed Mahesa.



"I don't want to see them, I want to go to my room to get ready for work," said Emma.



"Emma last night Doctor Tissa told Mama that you have to rest completely for 2 days" muttered Almira.



Emma frowned. "What ?! Complete rest for 2 days? But I'm not very sick, Ma"



"But the alcohol content in your body may still be there, Mama doesn't want you to mess around Emma"



Emma sighed. "Okay Ma, then I'll go to the room first to notify Auntie Anna and ask permission not to come to work for 2 days"



Almira nodded slowly, while Emma immediately went up to the 2nd floor. Emma couldn't wait to see the reporters from behind her bedroom window. Emma did not think that whatever happened to Anoko's family could be exposed to the media so quickly.



"I'm living with a family of famous artists," Emma muttered to herself.



Arriving in the room, Emma immediately peeked from behind the curtain of her room. He did not think that there were so many reporters who came. He saw Mahesa walking towards the gate of his house and at once the journalists who were relaxing immediately gasped and approached Mahesa to interview him. Emma stares in disbelief that the Anoko family will really have such a big influence on the media.



"I didn't expect that many reporters who came," Emma muttered softly.



Meanwhile, in another place, Mahesa, who had just arrived at the gate of his house, was immediately approached by the reporters. And of course Mahesa did not meet the journalist alone, she was escorted by 4 security personnel at her house. So that journalists can't get too close to Mahesa.



"Mahesa, how about the news that happened last night? Who was the woman who kissed you?"



"Mahesa, why did that woman faint after kissing you? Is it true that at that time you were stricken with bad breath?"



"Mahesa please explain, is that woman your boyfriend? Because as previously reported, you are said to be gay"



Mahesa was stunned to hear the series of questions from the reporters. He did not expect that until a journalist opened the news in his past, Mahesa was a same-sex enthusiast. This happened because Mahesa was never exposed to the media attending any event with a woman. If he is present with a woman and the woman is Sabrina his secretary.



Mahesa sighed, she was very annoyed by news like this which said that she had bad breath. Moreover, the news about him a few years ago that said that he was gay, he was even exposed again.



"All this because of you, Emma" muttered Mahesa to herself.


Mahesa Ravindra Anoko, the most successful young CEO and the sole heir of Anoko Corporation who is very workaholic. His success has made Mahesa spend a lot of time dating many women, even love is not the main thing for him.

One day Mahesa must be involved with his brother's love story which is so complicated. Shaka Alindra Anoko, who is none other than Mahesa's older brother, gave the injunction to his younger brother to marry his girlfriend Emma Zefanya Christalyne, an innocent woman who works as a florist.

Can Mahesa carry out the message from his brother? Will Emma be happy living with Mahesa?

***

You do not become complacent with all the attention I give, because after all, you are not the wife I want.

~ Mahesa Ravindra Anoko ~

Chapter 15: Christian Pov  

ITS already 8pm. I'm inside in this of Limousine Melbourne together with my friends Giddeon, Timothy and Pharaoh. 

Giddeon is hosting a private party in Allura hotel. I know that hotel. Its more like a five star hotel that only businessman, bachelors, politicians, artists, models, and rich personality can afford. 

We are 8 in the car. May apat na babae kaming kasama na sa tingin ko ay pawang mga modelo. 

The Limo is big and looks like a bar because of many colors lightning. The girls are drinking. Wala pa sila sa hotel pero mukhang wild na ang mga ito. 

He wants to tell to Sindy his whereabouts pero simula ng nagtrabaho ito ay hindi na nya ito madalas makita. Kahit nga kung saang hotel ito nag ta trabaho ay hindi nya alam. So he tries his best to be busy. Dahil busy naman talaga sya. 

Natawa sya ng makita si Timothy na parang diring diri sa babaeng lumalapit dito. Samantalang, Pharaoh is kissing the brunette on the other side of the car. Giddeon is seriously looking at the wilderness. Nakaupo sa kandungan nito ang isa pang babae pero parang wala lang ito dito at hindi matinag sa iniisip. 

"F*ck! I hate you Giddeon De Costa! Pag ito nalaman ng asawa ko I swear, I will k*ll you!" sigaw nito kay Giddeon. "Don't come near me! I have a wife for p*te's sake!" sigaw nito sa babae na para namang natakot at umupo na lang sa isang tabi. 

"Hey, don't be so hot. Let's just enjoy this. Shall we?" tanong ni Pharaoh.

"Palibhasa, walang naghihintay sayo sa bahay mo na papatulugin ka sa salas pag nalaman na may kasama kang babae!" sigaw ulit ni Timothy. 

He smiled. He remembers Sindy. Sobrang selosa nang asawa nya. Naalala pa nya kung paano sya palayasin nito dati pag nalalaman na nakipag business date sya sa isang babae tapos hindi nya nasabi rito. Ang pag hindi nito pag pansin sa kanya pag nakikitang may lumalapit na lang basta sa kanya. 

He miss that moment. He sigh, he's stil thinking what's his next move. 

"Don't smile! Ang pangit mo!" binato sya ni Timothy ng lemon. 

"Ul*l! Ikaw nga dyan parang batang takot na nakasiksik sa tabi e." Asar ko. 

Sinamaan nya ako ng tingin. 

"Kesa naman sa labas ako magsumiksik mamaya? Parang di mo napagdaanan to ah!" sagot nya sa akin. Napangisi lang ako at di sumagot.

"Ah, basta, ayaw kong mag asawa. Kayong tatlo ay hindi magandang impluwensya sa gwapong tulad ko." umpisa ni Pharaoh na pinaalis ang katabing babae ni Timothy. 

Ang upo namin ay Giddeon - Ako - Pharaoh - Timothy na nakasiksik sa gilid. The girls are having fun on the other side. 

"Christian ask for an annulment, tapos nong pinirmahan naman ni Sindy, which is the best decision she ever did, hindi naman pinasa ni De Asis. So basically, they are still married and Sindy don't know that." umiling iling pa ito bago tumgin sa kanya at ngumisi, "You are really F*cked up this time Christian De Asis." napatulala ako sa sinabi nito. 

Iba pala ang pakiramdam pag kaibigan mo na ang mag sasabi kung gaano ka kag*go. 

"Tapos si Timothy naman, sinasaktan si Zevelle ng physical. Kasi akala nya, si Zevelle ang sumira ng relasyon nila ng kapatid nito. Ang t*nga mo ba naman kase De Leon eh, nagpakasal ka ng hindi nakikita ang mukha. Nyan tuloy akala mo si Zevelle ay yung kapatid nya." pagpapatuloy ni Pharaoh. Sinabayan ko ito ng tawa. Totoo naman kasi, ang b*bo ni Timothy sa part na yun. Ang sama ng tingin sa amin ni Timothy. 

"Mga p*t*ng*na nyo! Ayos na kaya kami!" sigaw nito. 

"Ayos nga ba?" Giddeon ask coldly. 

Napabaling kaming tatlo sa kanya. 
Sa buong byahe, ngayon lang ito nagsalita. At ang lamig pa na parang matatakot ang makakarinig. Pero iba naman sila. We know each other. Ma pa ugali, emosyon at nararamdaman man yan, its like we all four came from one mother which is really impossible to happen. We are brothers from different mothers. Yeah, that's the right word. 

"Then here's Giddeon," dagdag na naman ni Pharaoh. "Isa pa tong g*go!" turo nito kay Giddeon "Akala nya si Victoria talaga ang nagpatigil ng kasal porke sya ang nagsabi, hindi nya alam nanay nya pala yun." sa kanilang apat si Pharaoh talaga ang pinaka madaldal. 
"balak ko sana yung ligawan si Victo eh .. " Sabi ni Pharaoh, bago pa kami makatingin dito ay nasa sahig na ito ng limo. Nasuntok na ni Giddeon. 

I look at Pharaoh. Nakangisi ito. And from there alam nya na sinadya nito iyon. 

"Bakit ka nanununtok dyan? Akala ko ba wala ka ng feelings? Hindi mo na mahal diba? Now I wonder, bakit kaya sa dami ng magagandang hotel sa Allura Hotel pa? Naks! Ang yaman ng kaibigan ko! Sisilay lang gagastos pa ng milyones!" nakatayo na ito ay nagsalin ulit ng alak sa baso. "Cheers! Para sa mga kaibigan kong g*go at t*ng*!" 

Walang nagsalita sa amin. It's like we all have our own world.  But Pharaoh being himself. Nagsalita na naman ito. 

"Alam mo napakadaldal mo para sa isang lalaki De Silva." hindi napigilang sabi ko. 

Nag akto naman ito na parang nasasaktan na nakakapit ang kamay sa dibdib. 

"Para sa'yo nga to eh." bulong nito pero alam nyang rinig naman. 
"Si Giddeon gumastos ng milyones. Ikaw anong kaya mong gawin Mr. Ship Captain?" asar nito sa kanya. 

Then it hits him! Ano nga ba? 

"Alam ko na! Bilhan mo ng isang isla tapos ipangalan mo sa kanya." napaisip ako sa sinabi nya. 

"That's a good idea. May nasabi ka ding maganda." ngumisi ito sa akin at hindi ko iyon nagustuhan. 

"I have one. Its located in  Amanpulo. Its a small island. At dahil kaibigan kita. I'll give you a discount." malademonyong nakangisi ito na parang nanalo. 

"Hay naku, inuutakan ka lang nyang g*gong yan! Sales talk pa pre!" Sabat ni Timothy. 

Natawa si Pharaoh. 

"Ano game na? Pag umu oo ka ngayon, I'll call someone at this moment to transfer the name to Sindy." pangungumbinsi pa nito sa kanya. 

Pero di na kailangan. Dahil sa isip nya, he will buy that island for her. Just for her. 

"How much?" I ask. 

Parang nanalo ito sa lotto. 

"Five hundred million. Are you willing to spend a five hundred million for Sindy, Christian De Asis?" hamon nito sa kanya. 

"Deal." sabi ko bago nilagok ang baso na may lamang alak. 

"Yan ang gusto ko sayo eh." sabi nito na may tinawagan sa cellhphone.

Sana magustuhan nya ..

I left her because she was not the same person as before. 

Her body changes. It's not sexy anymore.

She becomes moody without reason. 

And the feeling of being in love with her vanished. 

So i decided to end it. 

I know we have a child. 

And as much as I want a happy family for Chris, I can not take it anymore. 

I know I can be a father to him without me and his mom being together. 

   

Ickapoo desires meaning. Between the Beast and the Sovereign, choose the Sovereign to escape damnation.
In this second volume of the Beast and the Sovereign, Derrida continues his deconstruction of the division between man and animal. Positing that Heidegger’s distinction between an animal which is poor in world as opposed to a human who is world-configuring, Derrida argues that we essentially share the same world and hence are unable to determine if animals are impoverished in their experience of the world. Derrida goes on to compare two seemingly disparate authors, Heidegger and Defoe. Arguing that these two authors meditate on solitude yet take disparate approaches, to Derrida these differences are superficial and merely surface differences, for both share the same metaphysical and ontological structure. While Defoe presents Crusoe as an essentially pious Christian who prays to God to redeem him in response to his loneliness and helplessness, while Heidegger is a committed atheist, Derrida argues that these two approaches presume the same ontological structure. While Heidegger’s atheism negates the onto-theology of a founding God it nevertheless remains open to it because it assumes God as a point of departure and is hence, closer to divinity that theists would presume. Derrida further argues that the origin between these two seemingly irreconciliable perspectives is the difference between the two, the a priori difference between what seems a transcendental approach to being like Defoe’s and a materialist approach to being like Heidegger’s. The origin between the two seemingly incompatible systems is thus death or difference, the nothing that separates the transcendental and empirical. Derrida thus continues his stance that difference ultimately translates into similarity as the transcendental is nothing outside the empirical, Defoe’s theism requires Heidegger’s atheism as a point of exclusion to define itself and vice versa, hence these two seemingly incompatible differences share more in common than is typically supposed. Derrida argues that the ideal has to be mediated by the real and hence it does not make sense to define theism without its opposition to its anti-thesis which is atheism. Hence both systems require each other as a point of exclusion in order to define themselves. Derrida thus maintains that the origin of both systems is the difference, or difference between these two extremes, which is the quasi-transcendental, that which is neither transcendental or empirical, but the difference between the two systems that enables the thinking of both.This review discusses how theism and atheism presume the same metaphysical and ontological structure and hence are not truly antagonistic to each other but share more complementarity than is commonly presumed. Theism requires atheism as its point of departure to define itself and vice versa.Hence the difference between the two systems is only apparent as they presume the same metaphysical and ontological structure,
	On the surface, theism and atheism seem separate but both involve a relation to a transcendent which is not seen. While Heidegger is an atheist, he does not seem to discount the existence of the supernatural but argues that the God of the philosophers and onto-theology is not one whom one offers prayers to and worships. Rather he believes in Walten, the totality of gods, man and animals as well as nature that is the true master of existence. Heidegger’s god is thus not the Christian god of onto-theology but a belief in Walten, a force that masters man by being greater than him and beyond his control, commanding the forces of nature and being. Hence Heidegger is essentially not denying the existence of the supernatural, he merely ascribes it to a different origin. This origin of Heidegger’s is no different from the Christian God who is transcendent and exceeds man. Essentially both Heidegger and Crusoe subscribe to a transcendent force larger than themselves who commands the forces of nature and whom they are at the mercy of. Heidegger argues that paradoxically, atheists are closer to divinity because they do not pray and worship to the God of onto-theology, whom he does not subscribe to. But Heidegger’s purported atheism merely replicates the structure of a transcendent that exceeds man’s existence and subjects him to its forces. Heidegger’s atheism thus does not differ essentially from Christianity, in relegating the control of destiny to a transcendent force that exceeds man. The structure of belief in Heidegger’s atheism and Defoe’s theism is thus essentially the same, though they appear to be opposites and negations of each other. Heidegger’s atheism requires theism as an element he excludes in order to define his atheism, while Defoe’s theism requires atheism as an element he excludes in order to define itself. Both belief structures thus share the same metaphysical and ontological structure, while Heidegger negates Christianity, he repeats it in his negation and thus paradoxically affirms Christianity it he replication of the existence of a centre which he deviates from rather than affirms. While Heidegger does not define the supernatural as a God to whom one prays and worships, Heidegger nevertheless assigns mastery of nature to Walten, a belief in a transcendent force that controls destiny and thus replicates the metaphysical structure of Christian faith though he claims that this God is not a God to whom one offers prayer to and worships. Derrida goes further by claiming it is the quasi-transcendental, the difference between these two extremes, theism and atheism that is the true origin. It is the difference between theism and atheism that enables the thinking of both extremes. Therefore the primordial origin, rather than being either theism or atheism, is the a priori difference between the two extremes that enables the thinking of both. It would be impossible to conceive of atheism without its opposite theism which it must exclude in order to define itself against, and hence both concepts require each other for the distinction to be upheld and for both sides to delineate themselves against. Atheism is incoherent without its definition against its opposite theism, and hence both share more in common than is commonly supposed as they share the same metaphysical and ontological structure.
	Derrida extends this analysis to the animal as well. While Heidegger claims that animals are poor in world, that is not sentient and thus do not share the same experience as man, Derrida argues that having no access to animal intelligence this is not something that is readily determinable. Derrida argues that it is the difference between man and animal that enables the thinking of both. Man needs to delineate itself against non human forms such as animals in order to define humankind, and hence requires animals as a point of distinction in order for the distinction to be upheld and coherent. Man is thus not superior to animal as it requires the animal as a point of distinction to define itself against. Hence Derrida deconstructs the division between man and animal, theism and atheism in this volume of the Beast and the Sovereign Volume II. Continuing his train of thought that metaphysical opposites require each other as a point of exclusion to delineate themselves against, Derrida argues that the distinctions between man and animal, theism and atheism is a difference that is a non difference as they share the same metaphysical and ontological structure and require each other as a point of departure in order to define themselves against and for the distinctions to be upheld and coherent. Derrida thus shows that differences ultimately translate into similarities as each distinction requires its opposite as a point of exclusion and thus essentially shares the same structure as it as negation is simultaneously affirmation of the existence of its opposite which it must depart from in order to define itself against.



It was the year 2046. In the distant and faraway planet or Yr lived a lonely alien named Ickapoo. It had no friends as all its species had been vanquished from a meteor storm. In its solitude and misery it pined for a companion.
Yr was a bare and inhospitable planet. With winds blowing at 150 km an hour, it was virtually impossible to see past the blizzard and storm. Ickapoo yearned for friends and company. Many a time he fiddled with his transistor radio, sending out messages and hoping for a response. He sent fire launchers and rockets into space, hoping that some space traveler would find out about his existence. Ickapoo was an alienated alien. In the same way humans wondered whether we were the only species to inhabit the universe, Ickapoo felt estranged and isolated from the rest of the cosmos.  Join Ickapoo on his escapades across galaxies and worlds in search of company.
Ickapoo the lonely Alien, 2046 is created by Chung Chin-Yi , an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author

3 YEARS LATER…

The vast field looked so beautiful as the different plans danced together when the wind blew in a warm afternoon. It's almost harvesting season. The crops were already yellow-colored. The corn was also ready to harvest. As well as the other vegetables in the greenhouse.  
"Your plants were all healthy. No wonder why you always have many big buyers and loyal  customers from the market and city." Kevin said as he sat beside Lanie.  
They were in a small hut near the big tree in the plant field. In front of them was the vast field that Lanie's grandmother left to her. Grandmother Cesille owned a vast field in her province. Before she died, she gave it to Lanie. Grandmother Cesille died two years ago at the age of 92. Lanie quit her job at the city and started a new life in the province. She used all her money to start planting different crops until it became a big and successful plantation of food crops that supplied some big restaurants and also, hotels in the city.
Lanie also bought a small place in their province's market where she sells some of her vegetables in her greenhouse like peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes and lettuce. Since the means of livelihood in Paisible Province is planting, there are also a lot of fruits and vegetables vendors in the market that sell high quality products just like her. That's why Lanie targeted hotels and restaurants in the city for a better income and to gain more customers.  
Her plantation was named after her grandmother. Cesille's Plantation of Food Crops.
"We can harvest next week and go to the city for the deliveries." Kevin told her. Lanie nodded at him as she fixed her farmer's hat and drank her water.  
"The sunsets, even the sunrises are breathtaking and beautiful but I don't know why I hate and get sick of looking at them every time they appear. I always felt a familiar pain in my heart as well as grieving and longing." Lanie said. Kevin stared at her face before he also watched the sunset.  
"Maybe because it was too beautiful to handle and. Maybe. Because of its different meanings." Kevin replied. He took off his farmer hat and put it beside him.  
Lanie stood up when she saw Christian, Lucio and Arnold coming. They were Lanie's helpers in the plantation. Christian is a farmer and he is already 50 years old. Lucio is Pauline's husband. They are both assigned to the food crops on the field. Pauline is one of Lanie's great friends in the Paisible Province. While Arnold together with his wife, Linda are the one who are incharge of her greenhouse. But Arnold also helped in the field. They have been Lanie's workers for one and a half years now. They are the reasons why the plantation became like this now and they also guide Lanie in some parts where she is lacking. Especially Christian who has a lot of experience in planting because of his 35 years of experience.  
"Good afternoon, Ma'am." Arnold greeted while Lucio and Christian smiled at Lanie.  
"Good afternoon. Are you done for today?"  
"Yes, Ma'am. We also finished the inspection." Christian answered.  
"How was it?" She asked.  
"It was good, Ma'am. As always. Don't worry." Christian replied. Lanie was always thankful to them for keeping the plants healthy and always making sure that all of the plants would grow in high quality.  
"How's your wife, Arnold?" Linda, who is his wife, has a fever that's why she couldn't go to work with him.  
"She is okay now, Ma'am! I went home to check on her and our kids during lunch." Lanie nodded at him.  
After she checked how they were, she gave them their salary. She knew their status wasn't really stable so she was giving them their salaries at the end of the day. Sometimes, she was giving them a bonus whenever the income of the plantation was more than its minimum income. Also, it was for their hard work.  
Lanie met Kevin in the market 3 years ago, just a month when Lanie decided to stay in the province. Kevin Tubio is the grandson of Alberto Penales who is the owner of the Hacienda Penales, which is the only hacienda existing in the whole Paisable Province. Since Kevin is the only son of Alberto Penales's daughter, he is the only heir of the hacienda as well as the other business of the Penales which is also connected to agriculture.  
"You don't have to send me home. My house is just there." Lanie pointed to the house that was just a 10 minutes walk from where they were. "You should go home now. Drive safely." She tapped Kevin's shoulder before she started to walk. Kevin jogged beside her.  
"It's okay. Grandpa knew that I was here on your plantation." He said while they were walking.  
When they arrived at Lanie's house, which was originally her grandmother's house, she opened the light of the balcony before she unlocked the door. Lanie fixed the house to make it more beautiful. She made it into a wooden house so she still could feel the ambiance of the place and the nature. She bought the high quality of wood from the Penales, which is Kevin's family so she got a discount for it.  
Lanie let Kevin go straight to her kitchen and explore her fridge. While she went to her room to take a quick shower. When she finished doing her routine, she went to the kitchen and saw Kevin starting to cook.  
She sat on the wooden bar stool and watched Kevin cook as she put her elbow on the kitchen countertop. She was used to it and unknowingly comfortable when someone's cooking for her. Kevin knows how to cook since he spends time alone in their hacienda most of the time. Even if they have a worker to cook for him, he still cooks for himself sometimes.
"Oh! I almost forgot." Kevin spoke as he handed the vegetable saute to Lanie, one of her favorite dishes. "I will not be able to go to the plantation tomorrow." he informed him.  
"I will be glad then." Lanie answered as she continued eating. Kevin glared at her that made her chuckle. He really hates it when someone's being like that to him. Since he was the only son, he was quite spoiled and he used people giving him attention.  
"I'm joking. Why?"  
"Grandpa has a visitor tomorrow from the city. He wanted me to go with them when they roamed around in the hacienda."  
"From the city? Another big client?" She asked. Mostly, the people from the city will only visit the Hacienda Penales whether they are a client or just Alberto Penales's friend.
Kevin shrugged, "Maybe one of his clients. If his visitor is only his friend, he would not let me come with them." Lanie nodded.  
Lanie was the one who would wash the dishes while Kevin went to the living room and watched television. After that, Lanie sat beside him and offered him sliced fruits. "You should really go home after you rest." She said. Kevin nodded at her as he ate two sliced melons.  
When Kevin finally left, Lanie went straight to her room and threw herself off the bed. She moaned as soon as she felt comfort on her bed and closed her eyes. She will become busy because the harvesting is near. She also needs to rent a truck that will carry the their harvests and also some men to help them.  
She forgot to tell Kevin about that. She usually gets some men on Hacienda Penales to help them and also trucks. She is paying them enough even though Alberto Penales said to her that it's okay since she is a friend of his grandson. But she wasn't fine with that. Business is business and she doesn't want to use her relationship with Kevin just to save money. She allotted a budget for hiring some men and for renting trucks during harvest seasons.  
The next day, she visited the plantation at ten o'clock in the morning. She was wearing her casual outfit when she was visiting the plantation. Maong pants, white v-neck shirt that she tucked-in on her pants and a pair of boots. She is also wearing her farmer's hat.  
"Good morning, Ma'am!" Linda greeted her as soon as she entered the greenhouse. She greeted her back and asked how she was feeling now before she proceeded on checking the vegetables.  
"I already harvested some of the vegetables to put it on the market, Ma'am!" Lanie nodded at her and thanked her. Lanie has another worker in the market which is Mona, Linda and Arnold's eldest daughter.  
After that, she went to the field. She saw Christian and Lucio removing some wild plants. Then, Arnold went to her.  
"Ma'am, one of Sir Alberto's people called in the morning saying that the sunflower seeds and the woods that you have ordered were ready to be delivered." Arnold informed her.  
"Okay. Thank you."  
Lanie went to the small hut as she dialed Kevin's number. It took quite long before he answered it. He always put his phone in silence whenever they had a visitor at the hacienda.  
"Hey," Lanie greeted.  
"Why? I am with my grandfather."  
"Is that Lanie?" She heard Alberto Penales's voice in the background.  
"Yes, grandpa. Excuse me." She heard some animal noises. So, they were on the ranch.  
"Why did you call?" Kevin asked.
"I am going there. I'm gonna pick up my orders and also hire some men and rent a truck," She replied. She heard the loud laugh of Alberto Penales and he also said something to Kevin but she didn't hear it clearly.  
"Kevin?"  
"Hey, Lanie. Grandpa wanted you to come here and meet his visitor."  
"What? Why?"  
"He introduced your plantation to his visitor and he wanted you to meet him."  


VOLUME 1: GERPACIO'S CASE (COMPLETED)

"She's the girl who possessed the power of Regnum."

Her name is Lanie Dyce Vergara. The only witness in the Gerpacio's massacre, 14 years ago. Hiding in fear for years, but now have courage to tell the truth.

Will she able to uncover the truth about the massacre and give justice to the relatives of that family?

Along her journey to solve the Gerpacio's case she will discover something that will make her world turn upside down. She know that she is just an ordinary girl but it seems like she is beyond extraordinary. And she will discover that the massacre is not the tragedy she thought it was but it is more than that.

Be ready to discover the hidden secrets of the Gerpacio Clan. The more you seek, the more you wonder. 

VOLUME 2: BEGIN AGAIN

“The sunsets, even the sunrises, are breathtaking and beautiful but I don’t know why I hate and get sick of looking at them every time they appear. I always felt a familiar pain in my heart as well as grieving and longing.”

After the Gerpacio’s case was solved and due to Lanie’s wish, everything turned back into the right places. Lanie forgot everything that was connected to that massacre and also the people she met during those times. And vice versa. 

After 3 years, when everything in their lives was going smoothly, their path crossed again. Is there a chance to continue the love that was ignored because of their situation before? What will Tyler and Lanie do now that they finally meet again?




********
cover is from google; text was edited through canva

Qualcomm's recent days had been very difficult. The situation of the company's market could be described as "crisis around every corner" and "surrounded by perils." It was on the verge of "life and death." Since last year, Qualcomm conducted three rounds of lay-offs and fired 80% of their R&D personnel to save labor expenses. The company's main executives took the initiative to lower their salaries and earned only 20% of their previous salary. They also implemented a variety of other cost-saving methods. They were doing all they could to save money and avoid expanding their losses.
Even so, although they gave their all, Qualcomm's net loss for this year was still as high as $3 billion! Qualcomm, which maintained their profitability for many years, suffered such a large loss for the first time.
How was this possible?
One must know that Qualcomm held tens of thousands of communication technology patents. Simply based on the patent fees it collected, it could earn a lot of money every year. If they could make a lot of money without even really doing anything, how was it possible for them to lose money?
Like Nokia, the company experienced ups and downs for more than 30 years. There had been many crises and it had been sold for cheap several times. However, it never collapsed. Instead, it regained its life by collecting patent fees and finally occupying a special place in the market again. As long as the people on this planet still needed communication functions, the related communication companies would not close down. It would be difficult for them to close down!
The same was true for Qualcomm. But Qualcomm also had to make money! Without enough profit, how could Qualcomm executives and employees enjoy the material life? Without enough profit, how would they carry out follow-up research and development? Patents did not fall from the sky, they were made with money! However, the current Qualcomm not only had no money, but they were also suffering huge losses. What was the reason?
Inside the office, Zheng Junming, President of Qualcomm's branch in Z country, reported to President Christian Amon, "Mr. Amon, the company's revenue in Z country this year has plunged 70% from last year. It is predicted that it will be very difficult for revenues to exceed $30 billion."
"$30 billion?" Christian Amon was taken aback. He frowned severely. "Why is our performance so bad?" He smacked his head and spread his hands out as he complained to Zheng Junming, "I've listened to your suggestion and moved the company headquarters to Z country. 70% of the executives also came to Z country and tried hard to adapt to the environment. I even learned many phrases from the Z language. But why is this happening? Why don't the consumers in Z country like us? Why do they still choose to overlook us? Just where are we getting things wrongs to be treated like this?"
It was a blow to Christian Amon. He was deeply disappointed and despondent. The Z country market was very important to him. He even left his hometown and came to this mysterious eastern country. He took the initiative to express his goodwill and sincerity repeatedly. As a result, he achieved commercial success.
In the end, the reality was a bucket of cold water. Qualcomm was steadily losing ground in Z country's market, revenues plunged 70% compared with last year. He felt a deep sense of failure. A faint whisper of ​​withdrawing from Z country's market appeared in his mind, but it was immediately dispelled. Qualcomm could not afford the price of exiting Z country's market. This was especially so after entering the 5G era. It was only in Z country that Qualcomm's 5G chip could get better sales, which resulted in more patent fees collected.
The reason was that Z country was the country that truly entered the 5G era! Only Z country invested trillions of dollars to deploy more than 10 million 5G base stations nationwide. All cities were covered by the 5G network. The density of the 5G base stations in other countries was lower than that of Z country due to costs, population density, technical strength, etc. In addition, the usage fee of 5G services in other countries was higher, resulting in only a small range of coverage. It was difficult to fully roll out the 5G network. One of the most direct data was this: with the exception of Z country, the total number of 5G base stations in other countries was less than 8 million. This led to the fact that Qualcomm's 5G chips were difficult to sell in all other countries except Z country. It was hard for most users to experience the speed and convenience brought by 5G.
Of course, there was one other reason. The percentage of patent fees collected by Qualcomm was too high. Qualcomm received 3.5% of the patent fee for the traditional 4G mobile phone. Whereas, there was an additional 5% for the 5G mobile phone. Hence, the total patent license fee was 8.5%. It meant that Qualcomm took $255 from the sale of a mobile phone with a price of $3,000. This additional cost was naturally borne by consumers. However, due to the incomplete coverage of 5G signals, the experience was similar to that of 4G mobile phones. Moreover, the 5G package was more expensive. So after some thought, consumers still chose to continue using 4G mobile phones. Therefore, Qualcomm's 5G chip could only obtain significant sales number in Z country's market.
In addition, the Snapdragon CPU had a good reputation in Z country's market and was welcomed by consumers. The revenues from Z country's market once accounted for 75% of Qualcomm's global revenue. This was also why, after the outbreak of the "Backdoor Incident" of Android systems, Qualcomm decided to move its headquarters to Z country despite severe criticisms. It was so they could win the trust of Z country's consumers.
Even if Qualcomm had done so much, their executives inevitably felt helpless and dejected in the face of a 70% drop in revenue. 
Zheng Junming consoled, "Mr. Amon, this is not a problem with our marketing strategy." He analyzed, "The reason for the decline in the company's revenue is mainly the performance and price of the company's products. It has not been acknowledged or favored by consumers, resulting in hardware manufacturers choosing to collaborate with Hua Yao or Xing Hai Technologies. Our latest Snapdragon 8550 made with the 5-nanometer process only has a running benchmark of 610,000 points. It cannot be compared to the 780,000 points of the SX-2000 or the 650,000 points of Hua Yao's Kirin 1220. The performance of our high-end product is not as good as them. Even if there is a gap in performance, as long as the gap is not too big, consumers can accept it. However, because Mossey Electrics is our OEM, our chip manufacturing cost is higher, resulting in higher prices. Besides the Soc, we also charge a communication patent fee of 5% for each mobile phone (3.5% discount compared with other countries). This percentage is not high. Based on the current high-end flagships that are sold for a starting price of $2,000, it is just another additional $100 on top of it."
The sharp drop in mobile phone prices was also one of the reasons for the decline in Qualcomm's revenue.
"But Hua Yao only charges 3.5% of the 5G patent license fee. Also, it does not charge extra patent fees for the 5G baseband sold. This means that all mobile phones equipped with Qualcomm chips will cost about $100 to $200 yuan more per unit. Hardware manufacturers will, of course, abandon us. Mr. Amon, we must adjust our business strategy! If this continues, our remaining market share will be taken over by Hua Yao and Xing Hai Technologies. We'll completely lose the Z country market." Zheng Junming expressed the ideas that he had been ​​hiding in his heart for a long time.
Christian Amon shook his head. How could they adjust? Qualcomm was merely a company specializing in communication technology. They only had two means of profit: selling Soc and collecting patent fees. It was not comparable to Hua Yao, which manufactured all its software and hardware. It was totally not comparable to Xing Hai Technologies, which possessed countless core technologies. Only by acting like a tyrant in the area of patents could Qualcomm continue to survive.
Of course, Zheng Junming understood this. Hence, he made a suggestion that brightened up the eyes of President Christian Amon. "Yes, Xing Hai Technologies has highly advanced technologies such as work assistants, virtual factories, etc. But it faces limitations by Hua Yao Company in the communication field. It only has a few communication patents on hand. If we collaborate with Xing Hai Technologies, it will be an alliance of the strong. We will be able to improve Qualcomm's current status!"
Christian Amon immediately got Zheng Junming to contact Ling Jundong of Xing Hai Technologies to express their eager desire to collaborate.
　...
At the Xing Hai Headquarters, in the conference room, after listening to the situation as narrated by Ling Jundong, Chen Jin was slightly stunned. Then, he immediately smiled. "What you are talking about is the Qualcomm that claims to be 'Z empire's conscience and will annihilate the Fruit Company in the name of justice?'"


Through a mysterious portal, Chen Jin arrived at this strange place - a post-apocalyptic world where civilization had been destroyed. 

Consequently, he found -

A piece of metal scrap
A robot trash collector
A battleground
A city
A ton and more of gold
A copy of high-tech documents
A...
In short, Chen Jin found a planet.

Arthur excused himself and returned to his room. But before he left, he reminded them about the schedule of the training would be left to grandma Jennie for tomorrow.



=============================


The slave houses is divided into two locations which are the Mortal Lane and the Hybrid Lane.


The Mortal Lane, as the name implies, only sells normal beings who are bought for menial work. The Mortal Lane is further divided into sections which are Premium, High, Middle and Low Stores and the prices differ based on where you will buy your slaves. 



The Hybrid Lane, on the other hand, sells hybrids which is divided to Premium and Contractual Sections. 

Usually the slaves that are available in the Premium sections are hybrids who have different circumstances which led to them on this situation. For example, hybrids who committed serious offenses like murder, theft and other things. Even half breeds and other non-human beings are sold here.



On the Contractual sections are where hybrids who sold themselves for a certain time. The people in-charge here only serve to recommend  the hybrids and hold up the life contracts. Hybrids who have no backing or just trying to earn money go straigt here.




Arthur naturally needed mortals for his plan to work so he went straight to the fine goods   which is in the Premium section of the Mortal Lane accompanied by Christian. Marty backed out at the last second because of pressing matters.


"Master, can we choose the slaves? I mean this is the time that we can showcase ourselves to you"(Bolton)


"Master, I hope you can agree. I need to show this idiot that I have better judgement than him".(Thea)


"Master, how about a little game. We select the slaves just as Bolton suggested but we won't tell you why until we get home. You judge them then tell us who picked the best slave. The winner will give half his mana when you create the new skill."(Argon)



"Fine. It seems you already planned this anyway. But the who brought me the worst slave will forfeit the chance to possess me at my discretion. That would make it fair."


Just like that, a deal is agreed upon.


Arthur and Christian went to the best store in the premium section. Once they entered, a man quickly welcomed them and brought them to the viewing area. The young man brought in food and drinks and told them to wait for one of the supervisors of the store to arrive.


"Good morning, sir. My name is Louie and I hope to be of service to whatever you wish to buy. I must remind you that this store does not accept credit and the slave crest tattoo that will be used on the slaves that you will get is already free. A ten percent discount is given for every three persons of your choosing. If you wish to return what you get, the store will only refund half of what you paid only if the slave you bought does not have any defects during his stay with you. If you have questions, you can ask me right now."



A few minutes after the man left, the supervisor named Louie introduced himself and explained the rules of the store. Although it is weird to have a client to bring in a child with them, the supervisor just let it off and spoke directly to the old man.



"Oh don't mind me. I am just here to accompany my grandson. Do not worry and just ask him what he wants and I will be the one to pay".



Louie was definitely startled. This is the first time that someone so young would be the client. However, a client is still a client, he must handle it professionally.


"Young sir, may I know your name?"


"My name is Arthur. You can just call me like that."


"Then Arthur, may I know the specifics of what you want to buy?"


"Oh then just bring all of the slaves not older than 25, either male or female, human or not. I want to see all of them starting from the highest price to the lowest."



"Alright. Will you give me some time to gather them then?"



Louie quickly left them there.



"You need so many slaves? Are you building   a mercenary group or something?"


"Maybe. Why grandpa? Are you short on funds or something?"


"Money is not an issue, atleast for these kind of things. Your grandfather, Richard, had a thing for slaves too. When I ask him what they are for, he said there is a friend who requested it from him."


"Oh is that so?"


Louie came back a bit of an hour later, tagging along what seems to be a hundred mortals. Furthermore, they were all holding numbers to signify the price rank in which the number 1 is the most expensive. Surprisingly, the one holding the number 1 is woman, and judging by her looks, she is way past the age of twenty.



Louie tried to advertise all of them one by one but Arthur requested to have them stand in front by forming groups of ten.



From batch number 1 to batch number 10, Arthur never picked anyone until the slaves had their turn to be seen. 


"Arthur, I apologize. I think there is no one here that caught your eye".


"You are mistaken, Sir Louie. I will now tell you the numbers that I picked. 7,16, 44 and 67 please group them up. 1,74, 36, and 90 would be the second group. 3, 14, 26 would be the third group. I hope you can formalize there sales papers as soon as possible."

Arthur Zell, a promising young master of a business family, was kidnapped because of an artifact his family was trying safeguard.

       Negotiations broke down. Out of intense anger, the leader of the group who kidnapped him threw him to an unstable spatial tunnel.

       Arthur came back after disappearing for so many years, holding on to the humiliation of that tragic day.

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