ARIWLBBC Chapter 80

“I’m sorry.” Yu Mumu let out a heavy sigh. “I completely failed to realize things had gotten this bad for me. I thought I was handling everything well… I’m really sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Bo Ge instinctively softened his tone. “Let’s keep brainstorming for a solution. If we lose, we lose; it’s a lesson learned. Nothing in this world is always smooth sailing—don’t feel pressured. Besides, I have an ace up my sleeve that might help us cut some of the losses.”

“Alright.” Yu Mumu forced a smile, though her eyes remained heavy. “Don’t worry, Bo Ge. I won’t let you lose money over this.”

After ending the call, Bo Ge looked over at his “ace.” He moved step-by-step closer, eventually sitting beside Lei Beishuang and gave a little wink up at the big cat.

The boy’s skin was pale and soft, his dark, round eyes reflecting the man’s figure. His nose had a gentle, cute curve, like a fairytale prince come to life. If you pinched his cheek, he’d probably get teary-eyed, looking at you with reddened eyes and that would only make you want to tease him more.

Lei Beishuang had no resistance to the adorable charm of the human boy. He picked up his human, set him on his lap, and kissed his cheeks, forehead, and the tip of his nose, leaving no spot untouched.

Bo Ge cooperated obediently, much like a cat tolerating its owner’s intense affection for the promise of a treat. The warm, comforting scent of his human was addicting, sparking a longing that made Lei Beishuang crave more. He nibbled lightly on the boy’s ear tip.

Following his instincts, Lei Beishuang traced gentle kisses down to the boy’s neck, pausing where he could feel the pulse beneath the skin. Then, without warning, he bit softly at the back of Bo Ge’s neck.

For felines, a bite to the nape can mean various things: a mother carrying her kitten, playful biting among friends, intimidation, or even bonding. Once a female cat’s nape is bitten, she freezes, instinctively shifting her tail aside.

But Bo Ge wasn’t a cat—he was human. No amount of nape-biting would provoke a feline response from him.

Lei Beishuang’s bite wasn’t hard; it was more of a gentle graze, his teeth brushing the skin. As the intensity increased, Bo Ge began to sense his companion losing control, the nips growing into firm little holds.

When a kitten’s patience is worn out, it’ll swipe at its owner—or even bite.

And when a human has had enough, they’ll punch the big cat’s chest with a soft thud. If the feline persists, they’ll push his face away with a stern shout.

“You’re drooling!”

Driven by instinct, Lei Beishuang had bitten the boy’s neck, but it seemed this move wasn’t exactly welcome.

“Sorry,” he quickly apologized, dabbing away the faint trace left behind by his nuzzling.

“Did you make it red?” Bo Ge asked, pouting as he tried to check for any marks. But after a closer look, he realized nothing was there.

No way to fake it with this cat.

“Master, young master, dinner is ready,” Nais finally announced, seizing the opportunity.

Bo Ge ate his meal with a slightly downcast look, occasionally rubbing his neck. Lei Beishuang checked again and confirmed there were no marks.

“We need to grind some more points in the NGC7331 dungeon,” Bo Ge remembered at the dinner table. “Amber said our ranking has fallen out of the top ten.”

“Alright,” Lei Beishuang agreed.

But when they entered the game pod room, Bo Ge froze in shock. Silvermoon’s shell had a chunk missing and two scuff marks!

“Silvermoon!” Bo Ge hurried over, and Silvermoon’s voice came out, sounding distressed. “Master, Blackgold bullied me!”

How could the game pods be fighting each other?

“Why must two game pods turn against each other like this?” Bo Ge sighed, feeling both pained and exasperated. He turned to look at Blackgold, only to find the game pod stripped down to its basic frame, without a single outer panel remaining.

Blackgold stayed completely silent, seemingly worse for wear.

Bo Ge opened his mouth, glancing nervously at Lei Beishuang.

Lei Beishuang stood before Blackgold in silence for a while, not saying a word.

“How did you even manage to fight?” Bo Ge asked, completely baffled by how the game pods had pulled this off.

Silvermoon shifted one of its outer panels and extended a small mechanical arm from inside, cautiously replying, “We used the spare mechanical arms.”

The spare mechanical arms in game pods are meant to safely remove unconscious or immobile players in emergencies. But now, they had become tools for these two pods to fight each other.

“If there’s an issue, couldn’t you just talk it out?” Bo Ge asked, exasperated.

“Blackgold started it,” Silvermoon said, sounding hurt. “It couldn’t win the argument, so it tried to demonstrate by yanking off one of my panels.”

“And then you tore it apart?” Bo Ge didn’t dare to look.

“I didn’t tear it apart. I simply returned the favor by taking off all of its panels,” Silvermoon defended itself. “It’s not really hurt—it’s just too embarrassed to speak.”

Lei Beishuang picked up a piece from the floor, his tone serious. “Notify the factory. Blackgold’s extractor and Interface-3 are damaged.”

The staff quickly made arrangements, and hearing the extent of Blackgold’s damage, Silvermoon fell silent, now feeling a bit nervous.

Lei Beishuang approached Silvermoon, while Bo Ge bit his lip, worried about what Lei Beishuang might do.

When the technicians had installed Silvermoon, Bo Ge knew that Blackgold held a special meaning for Lei Beishuang. Now, with Blackgold damaged by Silvermoon, Bo Ge felt personally responsible.

It was his idea to put them together. If he’d known they’d actually start fighting, he would have done things differently.

“Silvermoon’s proximity sensor has some issues; it’ll need maintenance,” Lei Beishuang said, his voice steady as always. Bo Ge looked up to see Lei Beishuang crouching, carefully inspecting Silvermoon.

No anger, no intention to damage Silvermoon—just a calm examination of its condition.

Feeling increasingly guilty, Bo Ge watched as Lei Beishuang stood up, wrapped an arm around him, and spoke softly, “It’s fine. Blackgold was already having some issues. I meant to fix it but got too busy and forgot.”

“I’m sorry,” Bo Ge said with a heavy heart. “I was the one who put Silvermoon and Blackgold together.”

Hearing that Blackgold had prior issues and noticing Bo Ge’s apologetic tone, Silvermoon stared at Blackgold, feeling a deep sense of regret.

“There’s no need to apologize,” Lei Beishuang said, lifting Bo Ge into his arms. He gave Blackgold one last glance and left the room.

“I knew they were bickering, but I didn’t think it would come to this,” Bo Ge murmured, wrapping his arms around Lei Beishuang’s neck, feeling uneasy. “I didn’t know they’d actually fight.”

Lei Beishuang leaned close to Bo Ge’s ear, lowering his voice. “Blackgold wasn’t seriously damaged.”

“Hm?” Bo Ge blinked in surprise, looking up at Lei Beishuang.

Thinking back to Silvermoon’s words, Bo Ge realized, “Wait… so it’s just too embarrassed to talk after losing?”

Lei Beishuang gave a slight nod. “I said that to save it some face.”

Bo Ge hadn’t expected that at all. He perked up, pressing his lips together to stifle a laugh.

“Go ahead, laugh.” Lei Beishuang held him gently, his gaze soft.

They couldn’t start the mission just yet. Lei Beishuang read quietly while Bo Ge sat in his lap, studying the alliance regulations on contracts and deposits.

“Hm?” Bo Ge had been reading for a while when he suddenly noticed something. He turned to ask for advice, only to catch a glimpse of the title on Lei Beishuang’s book: *How to Properly Care for a Human*.

There’s a book like this?

Curious, Bo Ge snuggled closer, inching upward to get a better look. Lei Beishuang casually closed the book. “Did you find something?”

“Oh.” Bo Ge scratched his head, showing Lei Beishuang what he’d found.

“This part says that for new production lines without a market record, especially for hazardous items, they need to apply for official alliance supervision.”

“Since the manufacturer planning to deceive Sister Bimuyu has no track record and is producing something like a chainsaw-powered dagger, which is a hazardous item, couldn’t we assign a very responsible alliance supervisor to monitor production?” Bo Ge looked at Lei Beishuang with anticipation.

Lei Beishuang smiled, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

“And here’s another one,” Bo Ge continued, turning the pages, “when delivering contract items, you can hire your own inspector for a detailed check. We could easily spend a few credits to hire one.”

“I’ve been thinking,” Bo Ge added, “we only have 300 daggers, so we could set the outside price to match other stores at 2,000 credits each. But inside the store, we could have a promotion: members get 400 credits off for every 1,000 spent, and 800 off for every 2,000.”

“On the surface, it looks like 2,000 credits, but we’re actually selling it for 1,200,” Bo Ge continued, “and we’re not losing money—the original price stays the same. Plus, we can implement a points system where members earn rewards after reaching certain points to keep them coming back.”

Bo Ge, familiar with sales tactics after numerous shopping events, added, “Maybe not just daggers either,” his eyes brightening. “All parts could be priced like other stores, but our store will target students. With student ID, they can become members, and once they’re members, they’ll get discounts!

“If other parts stores try to lower prices to compete, they’d have to drop all their prices, and if they go below cost, I could just buy them out!”

“And if the market here gets saturated, I’ll open another branch—Abel’s main star has more than just the First Military Academy!”

Enthused by the idea, Bo Ge looked to Lei Beishuang. Lei Beishuang just smiled, setting his book aside, gently ruffling Bo Ge’s hair.

“Mimi, what do you think?” Bo Ge asked eagerly.

“Most of it’s achievable,” Lei Beishuang’s gaze was warm. “Go for it.”

“And if—just if—I lose money?” Bo Ge was still a bit hesitant about pitching the plan to Sister Bimuyu.

“Win or lose, as long as it makes you happy.” The chief didn’t mind.

After typing out a long message, Bo Ge closed his communicator, collapsing onto the bed. Lei Beishuang headed to the washroom, returning shortly to check new messages on his scepter by the bedside.

Bo Ge turned to see Lei Beishuang’s broad back. The big cat wore a simple black robe that seemed to be made of silk—something Bo Ge hadn’t seen before. Curious, he shifted closer, reaching out to touch the smooth fabric and finding a ribbon, which he tugged gently. With hardly any resistance, the ribbon unraveled.

He pulled the other side, and the robe slipped off Lei Beishuang’s shoulder, revealing a strong shoulder and a smooth line of muscle down his back.

Strength and grace combined, right before his eyes. Bo Ge swallowed, his hand moving on its own to tug the other ribbon.

The robe slid down Lei Beishuang’s arms, pooling at his elbows. Bo Ge leaned closer, reaching out a finger to poke the firm muscle on his waist.

A bit hard, the skin smooth—a perfect spot for poking.

¹You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad

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  You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad