When Lin Fan came back to the Water Pearl City store, he came back alone.
He had left Jin and Yin with Momonga back at the main store for him to train them. Of course he had noticed their looks of pleading when he had left, but he completely ignored them.
Once Lin Fan came out of the Any Place Door and came back to the front, he sat at the counter and began pondering what to do next.
That didn't last long before Yu Ning came over and said, "Owner Lin, do you have time tomorrow?"
Lin Fan looked at her in surprise before looking over Zhu Tie, but he didn't see any jealousy from Zhu Tie at all.
Yu Ning noticed this and she quickly waved her hands, "Owner Lin, it isn't what you think it is. This is an invitation from my master on behalf of Monster Trainer Union for you. The Monster Trainer Union will be holding a meeting tomorrow afternoon."
Zhu Tie also came forth and said, "My grandfather said that he would be there as well and that it was a private meeting."
Lin Fan took the invitation Yu Ning took out and looked it over before slightly knitting his brows.
This was an invitation that was only extended to Zhu Ba Jie and him, which meant that this was a meeting between the two top powers in Water Pearl City. Yet for some unknown reason, they were also inviting him.
Could it be because of his "master" or was there another reason?
Moreover, were they inviting him as a peer or were they inviting him just to observe?
Lin Fan thought for a bit before shaking his head with a faint smile.
He would have to wait until tomorrow to see.
…
The rest of the day passed normally, but when Lin Fan headed back to the Zhu Manor, he was surprised to find that Zhu Ba Jie wasn't there.
Even after the night passed and it was time for breakfast, Zhu Ba Jie still wasn't there.
But Lin Fan didn't mind this since he was sure that he was busy as the head of the only Legendary Realm Family in Water Pearl City. Moreover, he would see him this afternoon at the meeting at the Monster Trainer Union.
After breakfast was over, Lin Fan headed to the store as usual with Song Shu and Angela, but this time he didn't take charge in the store, rather he moved to the back and watched Song Shu.
Song Shu had been in the charge of the store during the week he had been gone and based on the sales recorded in the system, he was certain that she had done a great job. It was so good that he even considered leaving her at this store to take care of it, but he knew that this idea was something that both she and Angela would never agree to.
Since coming back from the planar crack, Angela had been strangely attached to Song Shu to the point where she almost seemed like a mother. Or rather, calling her a mother would be the right way to describe her…
Even if Lin Fan wanted to leave her here, he knew that Angela wouldn't agree and Angela was the one person he could never win an argument with.
But as he watched Song Shu, Lin Fan had to admit that Song Shu was a quick learner. Not only did she pick up his alchemy techniques quickly, she also picked up how to run the store just by watching him.
After the morning rush was over, there was nothing to do until the afternoon since the meeting with the Monster Trainer Union wasn't until the afternoon.
Song Shu ran off to play with Shiro again while Angela followed, leaving only the three of them in the store.
Lin Fan had a rare day where he could just relax, so he leaned back in the chair behind the counter.
During this time, there was a display that the old him would have been very angry to see.
It was clear that something had happened between Zhu Tie and Yu Ning during the week he had been in the planar crack because of how they interacted. If it was the old Lin Fan, he definitely would have cursed them as normies, but now that he was with Angela, he was just happy for them. Rather, he felt it was quite cute how shy they were, not knowing that he was the pot calling the kettle black…
Time passed and soon it was almost time for his meeting at the Monster Trainer Union.
Yu Ning offered to go with him, but Lin Fan let her stay with Zhu Tie in the store and headed there alone.
It didn't take him long before he reached the Monster Trainer Union, but what he saw there surprised him.
There was already someone outside waiting for him and judging by the crowd, it was someone quite famous.
Lin Fan moved through the crowd to see Zhang Liang standing at the entrance waiting. Even though he was only the vice president, he was the vice president of one of the top two forces in Water Pearl City, which made him quite the famous person.
When Zhang Liang saw Lin Fan come out of the crowd, he immediately came over to greet him, "Owner Lin, you're finally here. I was afraid that you wouldn't come."
Everyone was shocked to see how Zhang Liang was treating this young man who had appeared out of nowhere, wondering just who this young man was.
Lin Fan ignored the crowd as he said, "Well, it's not like you guys gave me much of a choice."
Zhang Liang revealed a faint smile at this, but he didn't say anything in response. He just led Lin Fan into the Monster Trainer Union in front of everyone, closing the doors on the face of the crowd.
That was right, he had closed the doors.
For that day, the Monster Trainer Union had actually completely shut down just for this meeting, which showed just how important they were treating this. However, that confused Lin Fan since he had no idea why they did this. Or more specifically, if it was good or bad for him.
…
After leading him through the halls of the Monster Trainer Union, they finally arrived inside a large conference room where the president and Zhu Ba Jie had been waiting.
This was a room with a large round table in the center, perfectly divided into three sections. Two of those sections were currently being occupied by Zhu Ba Jie and the president respectively, there was another section that was left for Lin Fan.
Based on this, it seemed like they were treating him as a peer, but if that were the case, why were they doing this?
Zhang Liang didn't come in with Lin Fan, he just opened the doors and closed them behind him, standing guard outside the door. This just invoked even more curiosity and caution from Lin Fan as even someone on Zhang Liang's level was being used as a guard.
Lin Fan sat down in the spot left for him, but he didn't say a single thing as he looked at the two of them.
Finally the president couldn't take it and said with a smile, "Owner Lin, it really is good that you could join us today."
Zhu Ba Jie followed up and said, "Owner Lin, we have something important to discuss today."
Lin Fan nodded, but he still didn't say anything.
The president then said, "Owner Lin, do you know what this meeting is about?"
Lin Fan shook his head and said, "I only received the invitation, it didn't tell me anything else."
The president nodded before saying, "That's because we wanted to make sure nothing was revealed since this is a top secret matter. But we do have some things to ask you about the planar crack."
Lin Fan raised a brow as he said, "What things?"
The president hesitated a bit before saying, "Owner Lin, putting aside everything that happened, did you find anything special in the planar crack? Something maybe related to an inheritance?"
Lin Fan finally revealed a look of understanding.
So it was about that!
Lin Fan revealed a faint smile as he said, "You're talking about the King's inheritance?"
The president and Zhu Ba Jie both revealed shocked looks and quickly looked around to ensure that they were safe before turning back to Lin Fan.
The president quickly said, "So you do know about this. Then Owner Lin, can you please tell us what you know? This is a very important matter for the Union Government."
Lin Fan had the same smile on his face as he said, "Is it the Union Government, the Monster Trainer Union, or the upper realm factions behind you?"
The president revealed a wary look in his eyes, but he quickly calmed down and said, "Owner Lin, what do you mean by those words?"
Lin Fan didn't look away as he met his gaze with his own serious gaze, "I can tell you now that there is the chance to cooperate on this. I can give you the information that I have, but there needs to be some terms discussed before that happens."
The president and Zhu Ba Jie were both silent as they stared at Lin Fan for a few minutes, creating a very awkward atmosphere. However, after those few minutes, they both suddenly revealed smiles as the president said, "Alright, that's not a problem. It's all fine as long as you're willing to cooperate."
Lin Fan also nodded with a smile as he said, "Then the first term is…"