Chapter 162: Madness

"Karl?"

Li Mochen looked in surprise at Karl Holton beside the magic energy array: "You're waiting for me here?"

"Otherwise? We—"

Karl Holton had only spoken a few words before he couldn't help covering his nose.

"Why is the smell of blood on you so strong?"

"It's dragon blood!"

Li Mochen explained helplessly. The dragon blood smeared on his body had mostly been absorbed, and he looked about the same as an ordinary person. But the fishy smell was still very strong. He had already been complained about earlier in the VIP room of the Atlanta Community Bank.

"Alright, dragon blood. Outlaw level, at least level seventeen or above? Otherwise it wouldn't be effective. Is this all the people you have? Going to challenge a dragon of at least level seventeen?"

Karl Holton's lips twitched: "A Mo, our contract terms clearly stipulate that you must always pay attention to personal safety. You know? The detective agency commissioned by Nathan issued a safety warning, saying you encountered danger in the dark world and provoked the demon wolf Fenrir, right?"

"It was a dying black-scaled fire dragon. Due to contract restrictions, I can't tell you the specific process. I can only say that other outlaws were involved. That person came over and invited me on his own. The process was far less dangerous than you imagine. You know, fresh dragon blood—this opportunity is very rare. It can increase my physique by at least twenty percent. I couldn't resist the temptation, and it's also good for our cooperation."

Li Mochen knew that they had been betrayed by Jeremy Burt, so he shifted the blame lightly and misled with his words.

This wasn't for himself, but to exonerate Chu Siguo and the others. Since he had half-lured, half-forced these people to hunt with him, he should bear the corresponding responsibility.

But what he said was basically true. It was indeed Jeremy who took the initiative to invite him, and that person was indeed an outlaw.

Sure enough, after he said this, the guards led by Chu Siguo behind him cast grateful looks at him.

"Is that so?"

Karl glanced suspiciously at Li Mochen, then shook his head: "Forget it. Anyway, come back with me to Nathan's Gate first."

"Speaking of which, I'm very curious."

At this moment, Li Mochen's words were full of curiosity, and his gaze was also tinged with confusion as he scanned behind Karl Holton.

—There were actually five fully armed outlaws, all looking quite strong, possibly even stronger than Jeremy Burt.

"Why did you call me back so urgently? I think that must have been a decision made before you received the safety warning?"

"There are various reasons. Let's talk as we walk—"

Karl led the way, stepping directly into the magic energy array with Li Mochen and the others. The power of the Nathan Sports Group was very useful even in the Light Cathedral. They cut in line and immediately gained the right to use the array to return to the Light World.

"The main reason is that our Nathan Sports Group's sales have soared, so the company has new plans and deployments. You don't know what kind of madness we experienced yesterday."

Li Mochen raised an eyebrow: "Madness?"

"Yes, madness!"

Karl Holton said the word with an unquestionable tone: "You know? In the Atlanta urban area alone, the turnover of all 65 of our Nathan stores increased by 83.5% yesterday, nearly doubling. And all the things you wore the day before yesterday are completely sold out. The sales situation on the entire East Coast is also very good. Although not as exaggerated as in Atlanta, the numbers are still pleasing."

"All because of me?"

Li Mochen couldn't help touching his face, thinking that he had such charm: "Remember you told me that this batch of stock was mainly women's equipment, right?"

"That's right, but now what we lack most is men's products. Several factories on the East Coast are working overtime to produce them."

"Men's? Why?"

Li Mochen was both surprised and gratified: "Do I have many male fans now?"

"Pretty much. They mainly see you as a symbol of 'luck.' A month of continuous media bombardment has worked. Lucky Andre, Prince of Luck—many people call you that now."

Karl Holton hummed, his expression somewhat complex: "It's worth mentioning that a special group also contributed a certain share. What special group? Mainly gays. Emm! There are many homosexuals in Atlanta. For some reason, they really like you. A large part of those men's equipment was bought by them."

Li Mochen's scalp tingled, and his face immediately turned unpleasant. Goosebumps rose all over his body.

"Don't be like that, A Mo."

Karl Holton chuckled: "You may not like them, but that doesn't stop us from making money, right? So in public, I hope you pay special attention to your attitude toward the homosexual community. Even if you don't agree, don't say anything excessive. It will damage your public image, and please consider our Nathan company's position."

Li Mochen twitched the corner of his mouth: "Alright! In fact, I respect anyone's choice in sexual orientation and have no particular prejudice."

He had held this attitude in the Primordial Sky Realm, believing that as long as these people didn't affect others, whatever they did was their freedom.

But if these comrades developed improper thoughts about him, Wen Jian Taoran, that would be somewhat unpleasant.

However, Karl was right. He didn't need to show particular disgust in public. For the sake of the Golden Shield, everything was negotiable.

"Good! So now you understand the situation?"

Karl Holton had already stood in the center of the magic energy array: "The company headquarters has decided to temporarily upgrade your security level and raise your sponsorship treatment in the Nathan Group to 2S level. We're worried you might have an accident, especially from our business rivals. We must be careful, more careful—"

"Business rivals? Arcadis Sporting Goods Company? No way?"

Li Mochen looked skeptical: "Would they really do that? Attack me personally? In the media?"

"You caused their sales to drop by about 25% yesterday. According to our investigation, young people in Atlanta now have a very negative impression of Arcadis Sporting Goods Company's products."

Karl laughed: "James Lanster said in the media that the personal equipment provided by Arcadis malfunctioned, leading to his defeat. He also said that Arcadis executives hinted at him to take magic potions."

"Did he really say that?"

Li Mochen was shocked: "Is this guy crazy, or does he not want to live?"

He guessed that the Nathan Group and the betting company were behind this, fanning the flames.

"I think it's a smart move. At least he can get enough money. If something happens to Mr. Lanster in the future, the public will immediately point fingers at Arcadis, which can ensure his safety to some extent."

Karl raised an eyebrow: "As for your personal safety, Arcadis is unlikely to act against you at this sensitive time, but one cannot be too careful. You know, during James Lanster's peak last year, our company also had certain thoughts. And if I were the president of Arcadis's Southeast region, I would probably want to kill someone too. People's thoughts can sometimes be very crazy. Also, our information department recently learned that someone has issued an assassination bounty of three million golden shields in Atlanta's underworld. We're not sure where the funds come from—"

Li Mochen frowned deeply. An assassination bounty of three million golden shields? That could attract assassins above level fifteen in magic energy professions.

But relying entirely on the Nathan Group to ensure his safety went against his wishes. If he let several Nathan outlaws follow him around all the time, he wouldn't be able to do anything.

His current illusion techniques could deceive Qi Tai, Chu Siguo, and others who hadn't reached level eleven, but they were insufficient against high-level powerhouses with strong perception.

"Let's talk about the lucky bracelet."

Li Mochen thought that the solution to this problem could only depend on the sales of this product.

"What I most want to know now is, how many of these bracelets were sold yesterday?"