"Floors six, seven, and eight are all empty now. Dr. Raymond, do you want to rent all three floors, or just one?" Ren Yan asked with a smile after showing Raymond around.
"Just one floor? No, no. I only need one room. The one in the back looked good. If the price isn't too high, I'll take that one," Raymond replied.
"Only one room?" Ren Yan was surprised.
Earlier, Raymond only said he wanted to open a detective agency-type company and asked for help finding a good office to rent. He hadn't said how big a space he needed.
But in Ren Yan's mind, since Raymond could use a favor from Vincent to ask him for help, there was no way he'd just rent one small shop. That would be making a big deal out of something so small.
Even small start-ups usually rent a whole floor. What can you do with just one room? That's only good for a couple running a little shop.
Ren Yan didn't know who Raymond really was or how skilled he was in psychology, but the fact that Vincent had specially told him to take this seriously already showed Raymond wasn't ordinary.
Someone like that, starting a company, only wants one room? That's just...
"You mean you can't rent just one room?" Raymond noticed Ren Yan's surprise.
"You can, of course you can."
Ren Yan quickly came back to his senses and smiled, "I'll talk to the owner and ask him to hold that back room for you. The price will definitely be lower than market rate, don't worry."
"OK, then this is the place. If possible, help me check how soon I can move in."
"If you're in a hurry to open, you can move in anytime. The lease can be kept simple, we can wrap it up quickly... Oh right, don't you need to decorate or anything?" Ren Yan asked.
"No need for all that. I'll just find someone later to make a logo or something," Raymond shook his head.
"Alright, I'll talk to him, and this afternoon I'll have someone bring the contract and keys to you," Ren Yan agreed happily.
"Thanks, I'll wait at home for your good news."
After sending Raymond off in the elevator, Ren Yan finally took out his phone and dialed a number. After a few rings, the call was picked up by a middle-aged man speaking Mandarin:
"Done already? How was it, did he like it?"
"He liked it, but he only wants to rent one room—the one in the back on the sixth floor," Ren Yan said.
"Ren, are you joking with me?" The man on the other end sounded annoyed. "Didn't I tell you the minimum is one whole floor? If he only takes one room, I'll have to rent out the others one by one. That's a huge waste of time and labor. Have you thought about that?"
"I get what you're saying, but there's no room for negotiation," Ren Yan said seriously.
"All this just for one small rental? I could've found you another place... You're really doing your friend dirty here," the man on the phone grumbled.
"Lao Wang, I'm not joking. Whether you like it or not, this has to work. If you still think of me as a friend, then you've got to handle this properly for me."
"Is it really that serious?" The man on the phone finally noticed something was off.
"Alright, alright. I'll make an exception this time… sheesh."
"Thanks." A smile finally appeared on Ren Yan's face.
Raymond didn't know about the conversation between Ren Yan and his realtor friend.
But he could feel how serious Ren Yan was about helping. That same afternoon, someone contacted him, signed the rental contract, and even helped him find someone to design a custom logo.
Later that evening, with Ren Yan by his side, Raymond moved some of his belongings from his apartment into the office space and settled in.
Technically, the lease said no one was allowed to live there, but whether in China or North America, such rules weren't always strictly enforced.
As long as you didn't cause trouble, the building management usually turned a blind eye.
The custom sign Raymond had ordered arrived.
Money Talks Detective Agency
"We meet again, old friend…"
Looking at the freshly mounted sign on the wall, Raymond had a complicated expression. That name was exactly the same as the private detective agency he opened in his past life after retiring.
Seeing that name brought back many memories.
The idea of starting a detective agency was partly inspired by realizing how wealthy people like Carl were, but more importantly, he didn't want to forget his past.
As he gradually accepted all the original body's memories, he had started to fully blend into this new world. He no longer felt anxious or distanced like when he first arrived, as if everyone else were just NPCs.
But because of that, he needed something to remind himself—not to forget where he came from.
And this Money Talks Detective Agency, spanning two lifetimes, served that purpose perfectly.
"Don't worry, your name will soon be known around the world. It'll be even louder than before. Stay with me for the journey ahead." Staring at the agency name, Raymond murmured to himself, "But first… it's time to go back. Shadow King, are you ready to die?"
Just thinking about how the Shadow King almost altered his memories made Raymond boil with anger.
Over the past two weeks, he had poured almost all his remaining Universal System Points into Immersive Mode. He not only learned the basics of Ki cultivation from Tao Pai Pai's memory, but also mastered four techniques from the Navy Six Styles through Akainu's memory.
His overall stats had increased several times.
Now, whether he switched to Tao Pai Pai or Akainu's personality, the time he could maintain intense combat was nearly equal to what it used to be with his Kuro personality.
That's why—he finally had the confidence to take the Shadow King head-on!
Raymond looked out the window and confirmed the sky was fully dark. He headed down from the office building.
Soon, from a nearby alley, he pulled out a stone pillar he had hidden earlier.
After carefully aligning it, his eyes sharpened—and he suddenly hurled the pillar into the sky!
Almost at the same time, he leapt up and landed on the stone pillar.
With a sharp "whoosh," his whole body became a streak of light and vanished into the night sky. (TL/N: Aura : ∞)
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