Mystical Journey

Firstly, the family influence of the head of finance in Blue Narcissus, Britney, stemmed from the inner circles of the academy. Her power capabilities stretched out far and wide, yet she could only be described as a scrooge. If any money, once pocketed by her, was requested to be refunded, it would be the end of her! As a member of the Sina Family, although Vivienne herself possessed a wide reach of connections and power in Blackboard City and several nearby cities, when compared to the Britney Family which was truly on a high level, it was on a completely different tier altogether.

The Family companies within Blackboard City were all powerful in their own right. Their influences could be broken down into four levels overall: small-sized, medium-sized, large-sized, which was capable of altering the balance of the city's economy, as well as the heavy-sized, which completely dominated the seats of leaders! Vivienne's Sina Family belonged to only the large-sized power group. Britney's, however, belonged to the heavy-sized group. Those who belonged to the heavy-sized power groups were all closely interconnected with those with power.

Secondly, in order to withdraw money donated to Blue Narcissus, such an action will need to be publicly announced on screen. This was financial transparency. Moreover, every member would naturally receive an email notification regarding it as well. Following human nature, in regards to one's financial assets, the more the better. Nothing could go wrong with increasing numbers, as it would always be a delight to see.

The moment people heard that their assets were lowered, however, people would start feeling uncomfortable. They would certainly mind, especially when there's a decrease out of the blue.

More than ten million Units of income, all of it could be divided to each member as a small gift or bonus every month. For Vivienne to barge in and snatch away this part of the profits would mean going against everyone in Blue Narcissus. It would still be acceptable if she was a member of Blue Narcissus. The problem was, she was a member of Thousand Year Tree.

Blue Narcissus housed two thousand influential disciples, including but not limited to princes and princesses. If this group of people was ever displeased… Vivienne gave up the notion of that train of thought.

Truly a man who's aware of his own strengths and weaknesses in situations! There could only be gains if you were willing to lose, anyone can understand the meaning of it. However, only a rare few could successfully integrate it into their actions.

She carefully stared at Garen, as if she was trying to engrave the person in her memory.

"No offense is intended, but if I were you, I couldn't possibly do what you suggested," she'd finally wholly recognized the person before her as an equal to discuss dealings with. She saw from the person before her a towering demeanor and presence similar to that of her father's.

"For things like money, the bigger the hunger, the more profits one can consume. So long as one refrains from being too greedy, that is," Garen chuckled.

"Yeah. Not too greedy," Vivienne had considered herself to be a bold and cunning person already. Never did she imagine that she would encounter someone greater than her at the same age. "Nonosiva, let us proceed according to your contract's terms then. For the first shipment of White Rainbow Stones, do you need my help in finding a channel?" this time she gave in for real. This fellow before her had gained the attention of the academy's higher-ups, even more so within the sights of the prince and princesses within Blue Narcissus. All of these were enough weight for her to speak with him on equal footing.

"There will be no need for your help in the matter, I've already found some channels. I am just in the middle of selecting the most optimal one," Garen politely rejected.

"How about this then. Here I have some contacts for enquiring information. If you have need of their services, you can just directly contact them. Give them my name, and they will definitely give you face," Vivienne nodded. "Regarding the shipment teams, however, I will not be involved in the matter. That would be the strength of the Celine Family."

"May our partnership lead to great wealth," upon seeing the atmosphere shift to warmth, the man with the glasses, Wade, finally let out a sigh of relief and extended his hand.

Garen and Vivienne extended theirs as well. The three of them placed their hands on top of one another, signifying their mutual agreement.

After further discussing the details and dates of their partnership, Vivienne and Wade bid farewell and left, bringing with them their bodyguards outside.

After traveling a few hundred meters away, Vivienne hung her head in silence as she tread forward, so low that she didn't notice her family's hover car. If not for the bodyguard's reminder, she would've walked straight past it.

"Still thinking about that Nonosiva?" Wade could see through her thoughts.

"Yeah," Vivienne nodded, "this person is very impressive. He didn't seem like someone who's yet to reach his twenties," she recalled that Nonosiva had been calm and collected from the beginning up to the end, without a stutter nor any sign of shock throughout. That pair of deep blue eyes appeared like pools of calm water, unmoving and untampered. She took in a small breath of cold air as she thought about him.

"That fellow…. It felt as if the entire flow of the discussion went accordingly to his expectations. He displayed his determination and ruthlessness, then revealed his true intentions in the end with the backing of Blue Narcissus acting as his shield. He was both harsh and gentle…. Facing him made me feel like I was facing my grandfather."

"The old man?" Wade was stunned.

"No, I meant his presence," Vivienne instinctively shook her head, "his methods and speech skills were not considered amazing. However, he gave off this sensation whereby he'll act as he soon as he spoke about something with no wavering hesitation. That once he makes a decision, no outside forces will be able to change what he sets on… This person is really impressive! Now that I think about it, I'm slightly afraid of him even."

Wade was somewhat surprised. This was the second time Vivienne had praised him with the word 'impressive'. It was obvious that Nonosiva had left a very deep impression on her.

Upon seeing Wade's somewhat confused look, Vivienne huffed. She knew that he had little to no experience in dealing with these methods of deceit, as his mind was not sensitive enough to these sort of matters. She then explained to him.

"You only look at one point. From the beginning till the end, we could say that none of our objectives were achieved. Not a single bit of progress was made. Everything from this document of information and terms of the contract were all prepared by him beforehand. In other words, our trip here has led us to return with empty hands."

With that said, Wade was slightly astonished as well.

"So you're saying, that before we even reached there, he already knew how it would end?"

"Not that he knew how it would end, but rather having it ended according to what he wanted," Vivienne's gaze grew distant. "He's so young, probably eighteen years old this year…"

"Don't think too much about it, Vivienne," Wade smiled bitterly.

"I'm not overthinking, it's just… Forget it, not going to talk about it." Vivienne knew that she matured faster than most, and boys and girls of the same age had no idea on how to have fun with her. She'd integrated herself into the society of adults way too early, while Wade was different.

****************

Inside the dormitory.

After Vivienne and Wade had left, Garen locked the door. He opened the computer terminal in his watch and looked through the list of contacts.

What he said to Vivienne were not lies. True enough, before his period of stay in the hospital, he'd contacted the people of Blue Narcissus to transfer the information he had along with plans for the donations. A recently joined member of the organization came before Vivienne and Wade did. This Blue Narcissus member came earlier to examine the products and left with a contract detailing the thirty percent profits of the deal.

The head of finance in Blue Narcissus, Britney, was extremely happy. She even took the initiative in calling him when she joined a ball. She encouraged him and gave him the contact of the deputy head of the department. She told him that if he contacted the man, he would always be ready to assist his needs.

Garen had predicted as such and thought as much. The one thing he couldn't foresee was that… the public screens of Blue Narcissus did not display any new entries of assets.

"No doubt Britney has taken everything for herself…." Garen smiled bitterly.

This was favorable as well, however. Compared to dividing it for every single member whereby nobody would bat an eye, it was better for all of it to be given to Britney. His goals were achieved anyway. Besides, this outcome reeled in a greater impact.

Britney's family possessed a tremendous influence over Blackboard Academy and the entire Blackboard City. Her family was one of the two most powerful families in the entire Blackboard City. They kept close or indirect connections with two of the three highest ranking professors in the academy.

The aftereffect of his 'tribute' being entirely consumed was that Garen had reeled in an even bigger fish than he'd originally intended.

"No matter, the outcome is all the same anyway," he looked at the list of contacts. He'd already figured as much. If the income was rapidly realized into fruition, then his network of special relations would rapidly expand. Only then could he truly root himself into interwoven connections and link all of it into one tremendous power. Right from the start, the matter of income hadn't concerned him at all and it was alright as long as he had enough to spend. With tens of millions as profit, it would be sufficient for his businesses to flourish. More importantly, a higher purity level of highly potent fuel powders required him to gather White Peacock Stones. As such, his most crucial goal would be achieved. As long as these influential disciples aspired to reap in fortunes, then he'd have access to an endless supply of free White Peacock Stones. That way it wouldn't attract unwanted attention due to an overflow of shipments, nor would it be stolen by interfering outsiders due to trading divisions' application of highly potent fuel powders.

If not for the fear of raising suspicions, Garen would've set aside ten percent for performance shares instead of the current forty percent.

Thirty percent had been given to Britney, and another thirty percent divided between Vivienne, Wade, and Celine. The remaining forty percent was for him alone.

As he pondered, Garen rubbed above his lips and felt a slight growth of mustache on him.

"It is still a little too much for me. I can still divide it out, just to avoid drawing attention to myself. But who should I divide it to?"

Britney of Blue Narcissus was already not bad, as she would be able to keep this small business under wraps. Then the next step would be seeking out those influential disciples who were keen on splurging, in debt or aspiring to start up a business of their own. It would be slightly risky to invest in just one city as well. It would be best to build a network in the city which supplied White Rainbow Stones.

As he pondered carefully, Garen didn't have any potential candidates. He set aside that notion for now.

If this worked out successfully, then his greatest profit would be the endless supply of White Peacock Stones and the grand network of connections.

Two million Units worth of income was just an initial estimation. As the Hellfrost Peacock Technique further developed in growth down the line, the demand for White Peacock Stones would continually increase. Profit would snowball more and more as well. When that happened, this stream of small income for influential disciples would gradually garner more and more attention. As for Nonosiva (Garen), he would become a key figure who was respected by all through this extraction technique.

As for the risks of the technique being stolen, however, until that time came, Garen was confident that he would have completely matured and his potential would have transformed into that of formidable power. He'd then gain the ability to speak terms with influential disciples on even grounds.

The network of special relations as of now would become a shield for his life. Whoever decided to threaten him would be going against everyone within this beneficial network. Anyone would rethink carefully and weigh the consequences before they would act against him. This was his actual goal.

"Next, time to see how things are with Kendall," Garen dialed the number for the old driver, Kendall. Ever since this fellow had shipped over those White Rainbow Stones, he'd returned home to rest. Now, he presumed that Kendall was waiting anxiously.