Chapter 152: Billionaire Goddess
Chapter 152: Billionaire Goddess
When they returned to the heart of Chang'an, it was just past 11 in the evening, and the city's nightlife was just beginning.
The light-wheel motorcycle exited the superconductor highway and pulled up by the side of the street.
The people around them cast curious glances, noticing the couple riding the bike—a man and a woman. Although their faces were hidden by their helmets, their physiques stood out, especially the female rider. Her leather attire accentuated her stunning figure, and both of them carried weapons, clearly indicating they were a pair of extraordinary lovers.
Ji Xinghuo walked into a clothing store nearby and quickly emerged in a new casual outfit, having discarded his damaged martial arts uniform.
He resumed his seat behind Zhao Manying, and her voice sounded in his helmet:
"What would you like to eat?"
"I don't have any particular food preferences." Ji Xinghuo replied, "You must be familiar with this area. Do you have any recommendations?"
This was the most bustling part of Chang'an, with extremely high consumer prices, and he had only visited a handful of times before.
"Sure."
Zhao Manying nodded and started the light-wheel motorcycle again, driving forward a few hundred meters before parking in the basement of a building. Then she alighted.
She removed her helmet and put on a pair of sunglasses.
The sunglasses concealed half her face, and her hair was now dyed pink, a stark contrast to her usual style. If one didn't look carefully, they wouldn't recognize her. However, with just half her face visible, her figure, and her aura, anyone with an eye for beauty would instantly know she was a ravishing beauty.
"Is this how you usually go out?" Ji Xinghuo asked with a smile.
"More or less."
Zhao Manying slung the Startling Rainbow Sword across her back and said softly, "But not every day. I change my style every few days depending on my mood."
"Have you ever been recognized?" Ji Xinghuo was quite curious. Many extraordinary individuals had sharp eyes, and such disguises would hardly escape their notice.
Moreover, Zhao Manying was so famous and easily recognizable.
"Two or three times, but I didn't acknowledge it." Zhao Manying wore a playful smile, "Even if they took photos, it's useless without my authorization."
Ji Xinghuo nodded.
The personal privacy protection laws of the Asia-Pacific Community were very comprehensive. Any content involving privacy that was posted online without the individual's consent would be automatically dealt with.
"I know of a barbecue restaurant upstairs here that has great food and isn't too expensive. I often come here alone to eat."
Zhao Manying naturally looped her arm through Ji Xinghuo's, "Let's go."
The two took the elevator up to the 108th floor.
Just as Zhao Manying had said, she was very familiar with this place. She led Ji Xinghuo into a medium-sized barbecue restaurant and requested a private room from the waiter.
As they walked through the dining hall, Ji Xinghuo sensed the gazes of many people, especially the men, whose eyes involuntarily landed on Zhao Manying's back, fixating for a few seconds.
"Men's instincts for beauties are like radars..."
Ji Xinghuo mused inwardly.
Upon entering the private room, he realized that this was a revolving restaurant.
All the private rooms encircled the building, rotating slowly, allowing diners to enjoy the night view from every direction.
Looking at the menu, he saw that each barbecue dish cost over a thousand Asia Dollars.
Extraordinary individuals had much larger appetites than ordinary people. The two of them could eat three to four times as much as a regular person, so this late-night snack would cost at least ten thousand dollars.
"And you call this not expensive?"
Ji Xinghuo looked at Zhao Manying, who sat across from him. She had taken off her sunglasses, and her slender fingers tapped lightly on the projection screen on the table as she skillfully placed their order.
"You'll know when you taste it. It's still quite worth it. And the environment here is nice, quiet, and private, perfect for a date." Zhao Manying was very generous, "I'll treat you tonight."
"Then I'll gladly benefit from your generosity." Ji Xinghuo smiled.
Zhao Manying turned her head to glance at him as she continued ordering, "With your abilities, could it be that you can't afford it? I recall that you killed quite a few members of the Beiluoshi Clan in the Star Realm, so you must have earned a substantial bounty. Plus, your weapons and equipment are also quite valuable."
"I did make some money, but I'm frugal with my spending, and I can't compare to you." Ji Xinghuo didn't have the habit of splurging, and he now had just over 40 million cash left.
"If you're short on money, I can lend you some." She said casually, asking if he had any dietary restrictions before finalizing the order.
Ji Xinghuo laughed, "Then wouldn't I be eating soft rice?"
"Would you mind?"
Zhao Manying propped her chin with one hand, her starry, beautiful eyes fixed on Ji Xinghuo as she teased, "So many people would love to eat my soft rice but don't get the chance. How about I give you a price? One billion a year, what do you say?"
"Truly magnificent!" Ji Xinghuo exclaimed, impressed, "May I boldly ask what your annual income is?"
Many wealth institutions compiled statistics on celebrity incomes, and Zhao Manying was consistently on those lists, but those were just estimates. She would undoubtedly have the most precise information.
The incomes of competition extraordinaires mainly came from three sources.
The first was their club contract salaries and competition bonuses. The second was personal endorsement income, and the third was live streaming, product promotions, and various royalties.
There were also some side businesses, such as investments or running companies.
"About 5 billion."
Zhao Manying didn't hide it, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself. I have a financial team that handles these matters for me, so I don't usually worry about it.
As the top-ranked individual on the Celestial Ladder and one of the most successful competition extraordinaires globally, it was only fitting that she earned an annual income of 5 billion. If she had a stronger ambition for wealth, doubling that amount wouldn't be a problem.
However, at her core, Zhao Manying was still a hardworking employee.
She had been famous for four to five years, amassing a fortune of about 20 to 30 billion Asia Dollars, achieving financial freedom long ago. Yet, she was still far from making it onto the Rich List.
Even the last-ranked individual on the APAC's Rich List had a net worth of over a trillion!
And the richest person in the APAC just so happened to be the owner of the conglomerate that held Zhao Manying's club, the Emperor Star Club. This individual boasted a personal wealth of over 40 trillion Asia Dollars!
But if one were to look globally, more than half of the top richest individuals were concentrated in the American Federation.
The APAC's richest person could only barely make it into the global top ten.
Suddenly, Ji Xinghuo thought of Ren Jie, who was also a wealthy woman.
He wondered who was richer between Zhao Manying and Ren Jie.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Zhao Manying waved her hand in front of him, noticing his absent-mindedness. "Don't tell me you're intimidated by this amount of money?"
"A little," Ji Xinghuo nodded, half-joking. "I'm thinking about how to earn that one billion from you."
Zhao Manying laughed, "It's simple. Just accompany me when I go shopping, eat with me, and train with me. Fulfill the duties of a boyfriend."
"Just shopping, eating, and training?" Ji Xinghuo asked.
"If you perform exceptionally well, I can consider giving you some other tasks." Zhao Manying's face flushed slightly, but the hint of redness quickly faded.
"Then I'll have to step up my game." Ji Xinghuo smiled, "I'll strive to be a competent boyfriend within these hundred days."
Both of them understood that this was just a playful conversation.
With Ji Xinghuo's strength, the value of his company in martial arts training alone was worth far more than a billion a year.
As they admired the night view outside the window, they chatted casually.
A delivery robot brought the grilled meat into the private room, as per Zhao Manying's request. She didn't want any waiters entering and potentially recognizing her.
The aroma of grilled meat filled the room.
Even before Ji Xinghuo could take a bite, Qinghong poked its head out of his pocket, its eyes gleaming at the sight of the grilled meat on the table.
"That's your battle pet?" Zhao Manying was curious.
"Yeah, its name is Qinghong. It's a spiritual beast." Ji Xinghuo placed Qinghong on the table, "It loves grilled meat. Order a few more servings of different flavors and larger portions."
Zhao Manying quickly placed the order.
She had been a bit puzzled, but when she saw Qinghong transform into a miniature form of about ten centimeters long, she sensed powerful etheric energy fluctuations despite its small size, causing her eyelids to twitch uncontrollably. "A Calamity-grade battle pet?"
"Just a Superb-grade."
Ji Xinghuo fed a piece of grilled meat to Qinghong.
It swallowed the meat in one go, its golden eyes reflecting enjoyment and satisfaction, urging it to want more.
"A Superb-grade spiritual beast battle pet..." Zhao Manying shook her head in admiration, her gaze returning to Ji Xinghuo, "You're truly full of surprises. You're like an enigma to me."
She could sense that Qinghong was exceptionally strong.
If Qinghong had joined the battle earlier, she would have lost even faster.
"Here, eat this." Ji Xinghuo placed a plate of grilled meat in front of Qinghong, who began devouring it hungrily.
Zhao Manying couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "As expected of a spiritual beast, it can even understand human speech."
"Never mind it, let's eat."
Ji Xinghuo took a bite, and indeed, the meat tasted delicious—tender and juicy, far surpassing his own culinary skills and even those of Jiang Nan Caiyi.
As they ate, they chatted casually.
Zhao Manying was filled with curiosity about Ji Xinghuo, and most of the time, she was the one asking questions while he answered. Conversely, Ji Xinghuo was already quite familiar with Zhao Manying, as most of her information was publicly available and easily searchable online.
However, when it came to her family, that was a private matter.
"I have a younger brother who is three years younger than me and still in college." Zhao Manying mentioned casually, "His name is Zhao Cangming, and he's also an extraordinaire, but only at the intermediate level."
"It's impressive to be an intermediate extraordinaire at 21 years old. He has good talent." Ji Xinghuo nodded.
"It's just average." Zhao Manying sighed when she spoke of her younger brother, "I've invested several billion Asia Dollars in resources for him, and he's only recently reached the intermediate level. He can't even enter the B-tier professional league. In this lifetime, he'll probably only reach the advanced level at best, and the chances of progressing further are slim."
However, Ji Xinghuo didn't agree, "You can't make such conclusions so early. Some people are late bloomers. A year and a half ago, I was still an ordinary person."
"Impossible?" Zhao Manying was stunned.
She remembered the name Ji Xinghuo, but she didn't know his detailed information. Being the last-ranked individual on the Celestial Ladder, he hardly drew her attention.
"It's true." Ji Xinghuo smiled, "The day you advanced to a super-extraordinaire was the day I became an extraordinaire."
"Ah?"
Zhao Manying's eyes widened in surprise, and she forgot to chew the meat in her mouth, suddenly feeling like it had lost its flavor.
Feeling mentally exhausted, he only managed to write one chapter today.
(End of Chapter)
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