Chapter 34 - 034 Wind Begins at the End of the Green Reed
After delegating the task of expanding new business to his employees, Lin Bai left Chef’s Divine Food Stall.
As long as negative emotions and Incompleteness Value keep increasing, making money is secondary to me. The restaurant’s profits are far too slow compared to the speed at which I can secure financing. Relying on the restaurant for income is ultimately a losing strategy. What I truly need are resources, connections, and a growing crop of ’leeks’ to cultivate.
Walking along the main street, Lin Bai’s ears were constantly filled with the haunting tune: "You love me, I love you, Chef’s Divine Food Stall welcomes you."
Apart from the brothels and theaters, Jiamucheng offered virtually no other forms of entertainment. Consequently, the brainwashing song spread with astonishing speed. The simple lyrics and addictive melody were easily memorized after just a couple of listens. Anyone who heard someone else singing it felt an irresistible urge to join in. Even when preoccupied with work, if the tune came to mind, they would find themselves humming it aloud unconsciously.
No one could resist the song’s strange allure.
Initially, people sang it with a touch of shyness. But as it became ubiquitous, singing along turned into a common habit, even bringing a fleeting sense of pleasure. However, with repeated exposure, this pleasure soured into irritation. Singers grew annoyed by everyone around them humming the same lines and frustrated by their own inability to stop themselves from joining in.
Therefore, Lin Bai’s coffer of negative emotions filled continuously. His Negative Emotion Tree grew rapidly, bearing a green fruit in less than a day. He estimated he could harvest it by nightfall.
Currently, this is only affecting the small city of Jiamucheng, Lin Bai mused. But I believe that as trade and travel between cities flourish, this song will eventually reach every corner of the continent, bringing me even more negative emotions.
As for the Everything has shortcomings system’s task of making three thousand people experience incompleteness, progress was also swift, thanks to the Incomplete Lion Dance Troupe parading through the streets and alleys. Lin Bai estimated that this task too would be completed by nightfall.
However, the rewards from the Incomplete System always felt somewhat lacking to him.
I need to accelerate the collection of Incompleteness Value, he thought. I must grow stronger quickly, so I won’t be so hesitant and constrained when dealing with small fry like Daoist Priest Qingfeng.