Chapter 62: Mastery in Flattery

The crowd ahead finally began to move.

Chen Ji took a deep breath, gripped his phone, straightened the camera hanging from his neck, and stepped forward to follow.

About twelve minutes later, he entered the Fantasy Park.

Just as the rumors described, the moment he stepped inside, all the clamor of the outside world faded away. The air he breathed was suddenly fresh, and from time to time he could hear the roar of beasts in the distance.

“Welcome to Fantasy Park. Please scan the code to purchase your ticket,” a man in a volunteer uniform greeted him with a smile.

Chen Ji nodded and paid with his phone.

The park ticket was indispensable.

The Dinosaur Park and the Serpent Pavilion were both lucrative opportunities—if luck was on his side, picking up something there could turn a hefty profit.

The Coliseum was too extravagant; even though he was quite curious, he had to give up on that one.

The Fitness Plaza was said to accelerate cultivation speed and comprehension, with masters like Elder Hong and Guo Jing offering personal instruction. He wasn’t about to miss it.

But the Sutra Library was his most important destination this time.

After some calculation, he spent 3.31 million on the relevant tickets.

Once all was settled, he cast a furtive glance at the King Kong napping with his head on the ticket counter, quickly snapped a photo with his camera, and moved forward.

He had already planned his route.

First, try his luck at the Dinosaur Park and the Serpent Pavilion.

As he walked over, he saw a Transformer dancing in the distance.

Its body was massive, but its movements were astonishingly agile. The dance was almost lifelike.

Chen Ji hurriedly raised his camera to capture the scene.

He had researched strategies before coming and knew that photos taken within Fantasy Park could be sold to certain media outlets.

Two photos had previously sold for millions: one of “King Kong beating the Allosaurus until it soiled itself,” and another of “Little Dragon Maiden dancing with her sword in midair, seen from behind.”

Even ordinary photos fetched tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, outside.

After a while, the Transformer finished its dance and, with a series of cool clicks, transformed into a car.

“Everyone’s here. Shall we head out?” Jazz called.

Chen Ji quickly boarded with the others.

“What did you think of my dancing?” Jazz asked eagerly.

“It was amazing!” Chen Ji blurted out.

He had studied his father’s “success”—why an old conman could always stay at large.

It all came down to one word.

Flattery.

Flatter everyone you meet until they can’t help but like you. When others attack you, those people will instinctively defend you. That’s success.

“It was just so-so, really,” Jazz said bashfully. “I haven’t been practicing long.”

“How could that be? I studied street dance for six years, and that move you did just now…” Chen Ji launched into an enthusiastic analysis.

The man and woman nearby looked at him in astonishment.

Jazz lowered his voice, “That was jazz dance!”

“Exactly! You managed to capture the lines of jazz dance while still expressing the rhythm of street dance.” Chen Ji gazed at him in admiration. “It’s a pity you’re not a professional dancer.”

Jazz laughed happily. “What’s your name?”

“Chen Ji,” he replied. “I’ve been following you for a long time.”

“Following me?” Jazz sounded puzzled.

“Because I think you’re really special…” Chen Ji turned on the charm, just as he had before turning the teaching assistant into his girlfriend.

Before long, man and Transformer were chatting and joking like old friends.

The other three passengers wanted to join in, but could never quite catch the rhythm of their banter.

Jealous and frustrated, they thought: Was this guy raised on snails? His flattery was off the charts! Why didn’t I have his talent?

In truth, Chen Ji’s preparations went much further.

For Bumblebee, he’d memorized dirty jokes and rock music trivia.

To impress the Detective, he’d studied famous cases and the cultures of the world.

He’d read up on every sword master’s theory to win over Drift.

Even for Optimus Prime, he’d transcribed “Race and Regime” several times, preparing a detailed development plan for the Autobots.

…

Jazz drove into the Dinosaur Park.

After a short while, Chen Ji pointed outside. “Jazz, brother, what’s that?”

“Some kind of little dinosaur. Looks like it just hatched and got trampled by something big,” Jazz replied. “You want it?”

“Is that alright?” Chen Ji asked, keeping his excitement in check.

“No problem at all.” A claw suddenly extended from Jazz’s car body, grabbed the tiny dinosaur corpse—no bigger than a fist—from four or five meters away, and handed it to Chen Ji.

“Thank you, Brother Jazz!” Chen Ji carefully placed the corpse in the box he’d brought.

“No need to be so polite, we’re brothers,” Jazz said casually.

He’d already made back his investment!

Chen Ji was secretly overjoyed.

He exhaled quietly and continued to play the supporting role for Jazz as before.

Soon, he’d toured the Dinosaur Park and the Serpent Pavilion with Jazz, just taking in the sights.

He left his contact information, made Jazz promise to find him next time he left the park, and with barely contained excitement set off for the Sutra Library.

Inside, he found the place already bustling.

Many shelves on the first floor were empty, and people were scattered about, practicing martial arts or reading secret manuals.

Chen Ji even saw a man rubbing himself against the wall.

He couldn’t help but think of Liang Xiaoyu’s livestream.

The man turned around, and the two exchanged a smile.

Lacking the funds to linger here, Chen Ji went straight up to the second floor and made for the pharmacy.

Sure enough, the second floor was far emptier.

The ten boxes with the top-tier techniques were all gone.

Chen Ji narrowed his eyes, looking at the person standing by the box for “Toad Skill.”

A beautiful blonde woman.

“Foreigner!” Chen Ji was startled. “Is she really this formidable?”

She looked vaguely familiar.

After a moment’s thought, he remembered seeing her in a forum post.

She’d been a sensation when she first entered the park—a thrill-seeker who enjoyed being torn apart by dinosaurs. Her name was Karina, heiress of a foreign financial empire.

She’d previously paid a fortune to hire a coach at the Fitness Plaza for inner strength training, but apparently failed.

Had she succeeded already in such a short time?

Judging by her troubled expression, probably not.

“Just someone who treats money like dirt,” Chen Ji thought enviously. “She really lucked out with her father!”

As he passed her, the woman suddenly reached out and stopped him. “Wait.”

In halting Mandarin, she asked, “Your, English, okay?”

Chen Ji glanced over at Huang Yaoshi, who stood beside the window looking every inch the master.

“Does she want to hire me as a translator?” he wondered.

She must have questions for Huang Yaoshi, but as one of the Five Greats, the Island Master didn’t speak English, so the two couldn’t communicate.

That must be it!

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow. “Should I take this job?”

…