Chapter 6: Chapter 5 – 1 Upgrade
The Drone Avatar’s range of operation was originally not large, with only a radius of 1 square kilometer. So when Yan Fei also heard about this urban legend of the Terror Pea, he immediately realized what consequences his actions could lead to.
Among those attacked by the Pea Bullets, not everyone was a coward; some chose to call the police and presented the pea that attacked them as evidence. At first, the police from the nearby station didn’t take it seriously, thinking that the callers were joking. But as the number of reports increased, the police finally took notice and started patrolling and staking out the area.
It was precisely because of the discovery of police surveillance nearby that the Drone Avatar became even more cautious, which in turn narrowed its field of operation even more. With a smaller range, it became even harder to find targets. Thus, to address this problem, Yan Fei decided to relocate.
At night, Yan Fei drove his own minivan, with a box containing the drone inside, to the eastern side of the Shanghai city area. He found a secluded place to wait, and after midnight, he released the drone to uphold justice in this part of the city. There were no legends of the Terror Pea here, so some petty thieves appeared in the dead of night, allowing the drone to take action repeatedly, reaping a substantial harvest of 10 Merit Points in one night.
This bounty excited Yan Fei tremendously. The next day, he drove the minivan to the city’s west side and released the drone again, earning 9 Merit Points that night. On the third day, in the city’s south side, Yan Fei earned 7 Merit Points. On the fourth day, in the city’s north side, he earned 6 Merit Points. By now, his Drone Merit Points had reached 100, meeting the requirements for a Drone Upgrade.
At one o’clock in the morning, when Yan Fei was excitedly driving back home, he found two cars parked in the courtyard of his house, with several people standing in front of the cars smoking boredly and a pile of cigarette butts thrown on the ground, looking impatient.
Seeing Yan Fei get out of the minivan, a middle-aged man took out a photo to compare, then walked up with a smile and said, “Mr. Yan Fei, hello, I’m Zhang Baocheng, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Yan Fei didn’t shake his hand and asked, “Who are you? Do we know each other?”
Zhang Baocheng wasn’t offended. He withdrew his hand, handed over a business card, and said, “Mr. Yan, hello, we’re from the Honglou Real Estate Company. We’re here today mainly to discuss with Mr. Yan the matter of acquiring your house.”
Yan Fei still didn’t take the business card and said, “This is my house, I own all the property rights, and I have no intention of selling it, so I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
A brawny man with a fierce appearance stepped forward from behind Zhang Baocheng and said menacingly, “What are you talking about, kid? Do you know who you’re speaking to? Daring to make Brother Cheng wait so long, are you asking for death?”
Zhang Baocheng waved his hand to stop the brawny man and said, “Manager Xie, don’t talk so loudly, you might scare Mr. Yan. Besides, we’re not the mafia, so don’t always talk about death.” Then he turned to Yan Fei and continued, “Mr. Yan, you see, we really are very sincere, otherwise we wouldn’t have waited here for so long. Won’t you even hear us out on our offer?”
Yan Fei knew that the area’s relocation news had been confirmed and understood that some company from who-knows-where was attempting to scoop up the place cheap. But he was curious about the current market value, so he asked, “How much are you willing to pay for my house?”
Zhang Baocheng smiled and said, “We’ve done our research. When your house was built, it cost a total of 2.5 million yuan, and the total floor area of the building is 1200 square meters, which comes to less than 2100 yuan per square meter. We’re willing to offer 3000 yuan per square meter, letting you make a profit of 900 yuan per square meter. What do you think?”
Yan Fei became furious. It was true that building his house had cost only 2.5 million yuan, but that was 30 years ago. How could 30 years’ old value compare to today’s? Moreover, the building area might indeed be 1200 square meters, but the Courtyard was also not small, a good 50 square meters or more, yet it was completely overlooked. His house was used for rental, earning 60,000 yuan in rent monthly, adding up to over 700,000 yuan a year. What’s more, the imminent relocation would mean he could at very least exchange his property for over 2000 square meters of new housing; with Shanghai’s average housing price over 50,000 yuan per square meter, that amounted to over 100 million yuan. However, the other party wanted to buy it for mere 3.6 million yuan, which was plainly robbery.
Yan Fei was furious internally, but he didn’t show it and simply replied indifferently, “This house was left to me by my parents and has great sentimental value to me. I won’t sell it, so I apologize.”
Zhang Baocheng snorted coldly, and the muscular man came forward, pointing at Yan Fei arrogantly and said, “Mr. Yan, it’s an honor for you that our Boss Zhang has taken a liking to your house. Don’t be ungrateful by opening your mouth too wide. I’ll lay it out here; your house will definitely become Boss Zhang’s, because in the end, you’ll definitely sell it to us. Remember this, we will buy it no matter what. If we can’t buy it, you’ll understand just how fearsome our wrath can be…”
Then Zhang Baocheng said, “Second Xie, talk nicely, why are you threatening people? Do you want others to think we’re part of the mafia?”