I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 57

To get back to the matter at hand, specifically this script, Qi Yan prepared to contact her three teammates after reviewing the character biographies.

When she opened the team communication interface, Tang Shanshan had already sent a message saying that she and Jiang Miao were together at the same hotel as Qi Yan. She asked about Yin Xin’s current status.

Yin Xin had not replied. Furthermore, her profile icon in the group chat remained dark, as if she had not been online at all.

Qi Yan connected with the two teammates who were online. She told them to follow the script’s settings, noting that the developer’s representatives would take them to dinner shortly, followed by a visit to the construction site.

This project had not officially started yet; it was currently in the planning stage, and everyone was here for an evaluation. This assessment was the highest priority and was vital to the developer. Therefore, they did not dare to be negligent. They treated the invited experts with extreme hospitality, fearing any hint of dissatisfaction.

“It is about time. I am heading to the restaurant.” Qi Yan stood up, straightened her clothes, and raised her left hand toward Bai Qing.

Once she left this room, she would encounter other NPCs or players. In this instance, she had to be careful at every step. Not only were there NPCs, but every player had a different mission. No one could guarantee that players would not harm one another.

Bai Qing understood her meaning and immediately transformed into a wisp of white smoke, spiraling into the ring.

Qi Yan smiled softly and touched the ring. “I am sorry to make you squeeze in there.”

“It is no trouble. The ring is actually an excellent place for me to cultivate.”

“Then why do you not go inside when we are at home?”

Qi Yan asked casually, but Bai Qing fell into a long silence and did not answer for a while.

It was a minor question, so Qi Yan did not take the lack of an answer to heart. She followed the hotel map provided in the character script and took the elevator to the restaurant on the second floor.

While waiting for the elevator, Bai Qing said quietly, “Since it is only the two of us at home, it is nice just to stay with you. Besides, I am your Daoist partner; I need to help you with your cultivation.”

Qi Yan was momentarily stunned before realizing the fox was answering her earlier question. A surge of indescribable sweetness bubbled up from her heart, accompanied by a tingly, fluttering sensation.

She pressed her lips together to maintain her composure. Her current character was a top-tier socialite, the heir to a massive investment group, and a sharp, ruthless risk management lead. To outsiders, she was a sophisticated and capable career woman; she could not afford to giggle like an idiot in public.

However, it was difficult to resist. Who would have thought the fox would suddenly say something so charming? It was quite pleasant.

Qi Yan stayed on the top floor of the hotel. Although all the experts were invited by the developer, Qi Yan was the most important one. Naturally, she stayed in the best room: the luxury executive suite with a panoramic view and a private rooftop terrace featuring a pool.

The developer’s blatant favoritism and social stratification did not bother the other experts much. Given Qi Yan’s current status of immense wealth and power, she could have booked the entire top floor herself if the developer had not. It was best not to offend a major investor over such trivial matters; that was a truth everyone understood.

As Qi Yan stepped into the elevator, she remarked to Bai Qing, “I will never be such a ridiculously wealthy socialite in real life. It is quite nice to enjoy the fantasy in this script.”

Bai Qing could not help but tease her, “Then you should make the most of the opportunity.”

The elevator descended and stopped at the 19th floor. The doors opened, and two men entered. One was a middle-aged man with a balding head and a large beer belly, looking like someone who spent his years at banquet tables. The other was younger, around thirty-five, appearing very steady and calm.

As soon as they appeared, the system in Qi Yan’s mind provided a prompt. The middle-aged man was Zhao Ruibin, the developer’s lead for this project evaluation. The younger man was Meng Jiumo, a famous traditional landscape designer.

With outsiders present, Qi Yan suppressed her expressions and acted according to her character profile.

Zhao Ruibin saw her and immediately offered a fawning smile. “Hello, President Shi.”

Qi Yan’s nickname was Shi Jian. The script likely found this sounded like a real name, so it remained unchanged. She thought it was a bit careless, but she had no opportunity to change it.

Qi Yan maintained her arrogant “Shi Jian” persona, merely nodding to Zhao Ruibin with a slight smile.

The young man beside Zhao Ruibin also greeted her. “President Shi, I have heard much about you.”

Qi Yan observed him discreetly. She could see no flaws in his performance; he looked exactly like an NPC that belonged in this world.

Zhao Ruibin introduced him with a smile. “This is Mr. Meng Jiumo, a very famous domestic traditional landscape designer. I invited him to handle the landscaping for the resort.”

“Mr. Meng, my company invested in a project previously, and I recall you were the designer for that as well.”

This detail was in Shi Jian’s character biography. Qi Yan mentioned it intentionally to make her identity more believable. Whether the two in front of her were NPCs or players, she had to act perfectly to make the role convincing.

Sure enough, after she spoke, Meng Jiumo’s expression relaxed. He looked slightly happy and proud, which made Qi Yan suspect he was an NPC. Since the two of them appeared together, they seemed like a pair of NPCs.

Qi Yan temporarily labeled them both as NPCs in her mind, though she was prepared to change that if they showed any suspicious behavior later.

The elevator went straight down to the restaurant on the 6th floor without further stops.

“This is the high-end restaurant, different from the more common one on the 2nd floor,” Zhao Ruibin explained as they exited the elevator. “I have reserved a table. President Shi, let us head over. The others should have arrived.”

Qi Yan followed Zhao Ruibin into the restaurant and then into a private dining room led by a waiter. Several people were already seated, including Jiang Miao and Tang Shanshan.

Zhao Ruibin glanced around and said with a smile, “Everyone is here. Come, let me introduce you. This is President Shi from the X Investment Group.”

No matter who he faced or how many people were there, he always introduced Qi Yan first. She was the investor and the most important person in the early stages of the project.

Qi Yan smiled and greeted the others, maintaining an arrogant yet polite demeanor to close the distance. She was now certain that Zhao Ruibin was an NPC. Everything he did was too flawless and robotic, exactly like a programmed machine.

After Qi Yan sat down, Zhao Ruibin took the lead and introduced everyone at the table. Regardless of whether they already knew each other, he introduced them one by one, primarily for the benefit of Qi Yan.

Qi Yan already knew Jiang Miao and Tang Shanshan, who were playing a historian and her assistant acting as government consultants. Besides them, there was a beautiful woman with long, curly brown hair named Dai Qi, an internationally renowned interior designer. There was also a sharp-looking woman with shoulder-length hair named Hong Jing, the owner of a construction team. Finally, the professional woman sitting next to Zhao Ruibin was He Xueyan, the developer’s lead for early-stage promotion.

It was interesting to note that aside from Zhao Ruibin and Meng Jiumo, everyone at the table was female. Qi Yan observed everyone discreetly. They all seemed to have hidden depths, yet she could find no flaws. Everyone was deeply immersed in their roles, making it impossible to distinguish players from NPCs for the moment.

The meal centered around Zhao Ruibin. He did most of the talking, and those he addressed responded briefly. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The dinner was a success for both host and guests. Afterward, Zhao Ruibin led the group out of the hotel. A fleet of cars was already waiting to take them to the land designated for the project.

“I found this land two years ago and secured it last year. After that, I submitted all the materials to the approval department. Everything went smoothly, and the project was approved!” Zhao Ruibin spoke excitedly about acquiring the land, looking very successful.

Qi Yan leaned back in her seat and agreed with a smile. Bai Qing spoke from within the ring. “Why is he so excited? You modern humans really love building houses. The streets are full of skyscrapers, and the traffic lanes are so narrow.”

Qi Yan squinted her eyes and replied, “As the population grows, we need to build houses to accommodate everyone. Furthermore, as the economy develops, people’s demands for quality of life increase. Various types of housing become a necessity.”

Bai Qing gave a light laugh and remarked, “In my view, it is just that desires are expanding.”

This was true. Desire is infinite, not just for humans, but for demons and gods as well.

The developer’s motorcade soon stopped in a wasteland. The area could truly be described as deserted. If a resort were built here, it could certainly emphasize an “immersive grassland experience.”

“President Zhao, I do not think we even need to design the gardens. A yurt style would be fine,” Meng Jiumo said, lighting a cigarette and pointing to the grassland. “This place is in the middle of nowhere. Why did you think of building a resort here? Who will come?”

He Xueyan, who was in charge of promotion, replied, “Mr. Meng might not know this, but although it looks desolate, it is at an equal distance from several famous historical sites in Zhucheng. It is a crossroads that is not easily discovered.”

She produced a map and pointed it out to Meng Jiumo. “We are here right now. Mr. Meng, look, is it not exactly as I described?”

The map made it very clear. Qi Yan glanced at it and realized it was no exaggeration. This plot of land was roughly equidistant from the Zhucheng frontier fortress ruins, the ancient battlefield ruins, and the Northern Dynasty hunting ground ruins. It was very convenient to reach these attractions by car while avoiding city traffic. If the resort were built with this as a selling point, combined with an immersive grassland style, it would surely attract many tourists.

Seeing the expressions of the experts, Zhao Ruibin squinted his eyes with satisfaction. “Once this project is completed, it will be a massive success. Failure is not an option!”

He addressed this specifically to Qi Yan. Clearly, in his eyes, securing the investor’s confidence was the most important task.

However, this project evaluation was not for the investor alone. The government was also waiting for feedback, and the opinions of others were equally important, especially those of Professor Jiang, who represented the Historical Research Institute.

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