Chapter 62: Upon Learning the Balance—An Astronomical Four Hundred Million

"Ah? I was so happy, I completely forgot!" scolded Tean's father, suddenly realizing that this was the city, not his carefree countryside.

But as a devoted lover of dogs and cats, Tean's father had seen all sorts of turbulence. Hmph, don’t joke with me—I’ll take care of this right now.

"Honey, darling, give me some of the savings!" Grabbing his son's car keys, he tugged his son along, and off they drove to buy food for the dogs, cats, and wolves.

Why bring his son? Mostly because he wasn’t familiar with the city, and worried his ten million might not be enough. The hereditary tendency to lose his way meant he could barely distinguish north from south in the darkness.

Guided by the map, they arrived at the largest pet center in the city center.

Getting out of the car, he proposed they split up—two would search separately and find things faster.

Careless as ever, each wandered off. Hua Tean passed by an ongoing tortoise-and-hare race, and the activity zones. Tean's father avoided the area with dangerous reptiles.

The two met by chance at a corner and decided to search together.

Finally, they located the bustling cat and dog section, and Hua Tean’s face once again displayed incredulity.

"You again, Manager Che!"

"Who are you calling Manager Che? Mind your manners—he’s the general manager of this pet center, and holds who knows how many other positions…" Beside him stood a naturally beautiful woman, utterly unadorned, who adored him and desperately tried to draw near—a gentleman neither burly nor thin.

"Hua, stop calling me Manager Che every time. My surname is Han—Han Shijiu. Though I am the youngest male of my family, just call me Han Shijiu or Han Xiao. That title is embarrassing!"

In this tableau, Hua Tean recognized the two bodyguards from their previous encounter, along with the manager.

Hua Tean overheard their inner thoughts, and now understood.

"You’re the general manager here, and also the general manager of Dream City’s car center? How many managerial roles do you hold? Isn’t it too much to handle? Will you end up all show and no substance, unable to cope?"

"Me?"

"You know nothing, yet dare call him Manager Che. To you, it’s trivial; to me, he’s remarkable, he…" Before she could finish, Han Shijiu gently pushed the pretty woman aside.

Her face blank, the woman saw herself coldly pushed away. Despairing, she blamed her own verbosity, thinking her words had diminished her in his eyes, turning her praise into boasting.

Then, a security guard hurried over, having spotted the boss. He swiftly pulled her away.

Hua Tean instantly recognized this guard—it was the one who’d whispered about Han Qianyun and been severely beaten. Demoted to security, perhaps, because the woman had tacitly allowed it.

So terrifying—the world of the higher-ups is beyond comprehension!

The guard, having dragged the woman to a relatively distant spot, let her go.

They soon stopped.

"Brother Quan Shiba, why did Brother Xiao Shijiu push me away?"

"Han Xiaomei, you saw what happened. I inadvertently offended the young lady, and was demoted three ranks in the group. I used to be a minor manager here, but now, after a year as security, I can return to my post. I never spoke aloud—those were just my thoughts. Strangely, the boss knew them, but never acted. How did the young lady find out?"

"Brother Quan Shiba, if your thoughts are accessible to him, could it be…"

"I know what you mean. In our group, that’s not unusual. Whatever happened in that hospital, even with your low rank, you have access to monitoring—it's easy to find out. Suppose you also offend him and he tells her—do you think you could escape? You’re not stupid; you know how hard it is to regain rank after a demotion!"

Han Quan finished, honestly turning to leave. The woman, understanding, revealed a fearful expression toward her original position.

Without Black Dragon's meddling, she couldn’t overhear the distant whispers.

Han Shijiu, realizing why the father and son came, forced a cheerful smile, not daring to dwell on other matters.

He directly listed all the most expensive recommendations.

Tean's father looked at the outrageously priced dog food and accessories, dumbfounded, and feared his son might not afford it; he certainly couldn’t.

In the premium section, the cheapest dog food package cost twenty million—a year of unlimited high-quality supply.

Truthfully, Hua Tean saw the price and knew he couldn't afford it. His money must have been spent long ago; the villa wouldn’t have been paid entirely by her, and she probably didn’t care about the furniture.

Han Shijiu, seeing their troubled faces, understood the father and son’s financial abilities.

"Didn’t you have six hundred million before? You used ten million to save your dad, so you still have over five hundred million, right?"

Hua Tean, puzzled by the statement, quickly closed off his inner thoughts.

"Right, but isn’t my five hundred million gone?"

"If you mean the villa—sorry, that wasn’t your money. The young lady paid herself. That neighborhood was built by us, and you exceeded all costs in the game. She planned to cover your dad’s medical fees for free, then let you repay it slowly. But after something you said in the hospital, she changed her mind, and the remaining six hundred million was counted as repaid. She took the villa and bought the furniture herself. She told me, 'I’ll wait for you here. By the way, are the big shots sleeping well? If not, we’ll change the furniture.'"

Hearing there was still money put him at ease; otherwise, he’d have bought something for a few tens of thousands.

"Oh, is that so? Sleeping well is fine!"

"Great! I’ll have everything replaced immediately. If it isn’t ten-star rated, I won’t stop."

Hua Tean hurriedly interrupted, "No, no, that’s not what I meant. Mine is fine—‘very good’ means ten stars!"

"Comfortable, comfortable! Very comfortable!" Han Shijiu, seeing they didn’t want replacements, dropped the topic.

"Mr. Hua, are you satisfied with this package?"

Hua Tean, hearing the change in topic, knew he now had money, and followed along.

"It’s fine, but I’m not the one raising cats and dogs; you’ll have to discuss it with my father."

…

"Son, should we pick another? This one’s too expensive!"

They reached the million section, far more modest compared to the tens of millions zone.

Hua Tean knew his father well—an old habit of getting distracted, likely looking elsewhere just now.

"Hold on, let me talk with my dad over there."

Aside.

"…" His father struggled to claim it was too expensive.

"That’s not a problem. I mean, there’s enough money; feel free to buy, even choose a more expensive package!"

Five minutes later, realizing there was no fooling his son, Tean's father grew patient and searched for his dream dog paradise.

The other two followed without interruption.

Tean's father, sinking deeper into his thoughts, examined each masterpiece, dismissing and borrowing ideas.

No, this one’s not right—remember this one, it’s close.

He kept looking, ignoring the prices below.

Good news: nothing here exceeded six hundred million, or Tean's father's actions would have embarrassed Hua Tean.

He’d just boasted, only to wander into the billion-level top-tier section…

He stopped at the central castle.

The two behind watched him stand still.

Five minutes passed; he remained unmoving.

Curious, Hua Tean glanced at his father's line of sight—a four-story villa appeared.

Four rocket-shaped dog houses stood opposite each other, each rocket body gripped by a giant hand, as if beckoning, "If you fly, take me with you."

The internal passage of the arm was a hollow glass tube, spiraling in midair; upon close inspection, it was a long, circular slide, allowing two or three dogs to speed down together, never touching the ground, suspended throughout.

Entering the rocket, the floor was a deep cushion.

The sole upward passage, a half-meter-high step, appeared before him—only this initial step lacked a guardrail, while all other stairs curled gently into the arm’s passage. Safety seemed flawless, with no apparent faults.

Climbing the starting step, it felt comfortable, not hard, ample space above; below, perfect suction held him, instantly releasing when desired. Lying atop, he wouldn’t slide off, and reached the highest point.

At the rocket’s summit, below was sturdy hollow glass, tightly sealed, safe for playful pups. Traversing back and forth, nothing felt amiss; no risk of puppies falling.

He climbed along the arm’s passage, clearly seeing outside, and noticed his father gazing his way—he ran to another entrance, opening it as Hua Tean had.

Identical sights appeared, but unlike Hua Tean, as the main caretaker, he identified a flaw in the design, some disappointment, yet saw something below the step. Upon discovering the flaw could be ignored, he felt relief.

The flaw: newborn puppies couldn’t climb or jump up—risking their lives. But with this device, injuries were avoided, and they’d learn to jump and climb earlier.

Tean's father rushed out, found the auxiliary device below the step where Hua Tean had looked.

There was one here too; reassured, he climbed up quickly, soon spotting Tean at the final entrance, gazing at one of four possible entries, the spot he’d previously run to.

Tean's father came up behind him; Hua Tean didn’t notice until tapped on the shoulder.

When Tean's father ran in earlier, Hua Tean hadn’t worried, simply climbing in himself.

"Son, what do you think?"

Hua Tean pondered.

"I think it’s fine. Except for the initial climb—I doubt small ones could make it up. Everything else is satisfactory, I’d say it’s pretty good."

"Of course it’s good, or we wouldn’t dare sell it. The half-meter step prevents other animals from entering, and the rocket’s lower door can be closed, or set as a slope. Otherwise, you’d be harming your own pets. This house is best for over a hundred cats and dogs—raising just a dozen would be wasted!"

"My cats and dogs number over a hundred," said Tean's father.

"Then no problem. If you have questions, let me explain."

"Sorry to trouble you—please go over everything," Tean's father recited.

"Certainly, sir. This is the only outdoor dog and cat house in the section. Even if floodwaters arrive, unless swept away, not a drop will enter. Should the water not recede and cover this height, air inside will be fine—it exchanges automatically, thanks to a large air valve below. Others may fail, but this won’t. That’s waterproof safety!"

"As for protection against other animals and disturbances, simply close the doors. Unless the entire house is shaken directly, after three illegal attacks, the main room releases a massive voltage, tailored to whether it’s human—non-humans get thousands or tens of thousands of volts. The interior is unaffected, only malicious animals are targeted. For humans, it releases 35 volts, inducing temporary paralysis!"

"If recognized as one of your own, when humans or animals are attacked and you approach to rescue, all current ceases instantly, and you won’t be shocked. This is the Han Group’s achievement after countless hours of research. For the animals, place their paw on the door—fibers or fur are recognized. Why electricity and not other means? Others are effective at attacking, but can’t distinguish users, so we chose electricity for defense and offense. Regarding environment and space, you can see for yourselves!"

The three walked, inspecting all four hundred square meters.

Tean's father was satisfied, though hadn’t checked the upstairs pup area or food storage.

"Manager, how much is this?"

"Sir, this is four hundred million in total, including all food, lodging, and medical costs for dogs and cats—free for three years. Don’t worry! You can afford it, and future expenses won’t be too high for you."

Tean's father gritted his teeth and looked at his son.

Hua Tean, seeing the look, understood.

"Alright, just deduct it, Mr. Han Shijiu!"

"Very well, follow me."

…

In his office, Han Shijiu handed a jade box to Tean's father.

Tean's father nearly froze at the strange object.

"Little brother Han Shijiu, what is this?"

Hearing himself called little brother, Han Shijiu smiled, "This is your dog house. Jade is superior to gold, both are best; copper comes next, iron is acceptable, plastic is worst."

"Material has a shelf life—the better the material, the longer lasting. What we just saw was the worst plastic; this box contains the best. Earlier, we painted it gold for appearance—sorry!"

Tean's father stared at the jade box, bewildered. How to use it?

Han Shijiu, seasoned in business, noticed his confusion. "Before use, close the other three doors. Humans should input the owner’s fingerprint first—one primary, five secondary, the rest are one-time guest prints. For animals, press their paw on the door; once it’s scanned, they can enter. Place your finger on it to activate—first activated becomes the primary, with all rights. Sir, when you took it, you became the primary print. Mr. Hua, place your finger next to activate as secondary."

After Hua Tean did so, he asked, "What about wolves? How do we use it later?"

"As long as you dare raise them, there’s no issue. To use, place it where you want; five secondary or one primary can activate, and it will grow to the model you chose. Then, bring each animal close—press their paw; your touch prevents shocks. If you’re unsure, call or video chat!"

After giving his number, Tean's father took Hua Tean home.

Before leaving, he asked, "Son, how much money do you have left?"

Hua Tean pointed to Han Shijiu.

Han Shijiu, without hesitation, transferred his remaining two hundred million to Tean's father.

Soon, the two drove home.