The atmosphere inside the living room was rapidly rocketing toward a boiling point. Lily, blinded by lust and a rush of dopamine, was on the verge of devouring the hot young manager beneath her. Her lips continued to hover and nuzzle near his chin, their hot breaths tangling together. Both were fully prepared to sink deeper into the next step.
And it was at this precise moment that someone had to intervene, entirely unwilling to let some random dairy cow casually graze on her territory right in front of her face.
Step... Step... Step...
Clink...
The sound of heavy footsteps intentionally stomping their heels, followed by the clinking of glass, deliberately interrupted the scorching heat within the living room. Clara strode briskly around the corner of the hallway. In her hands, she carried a tray bearing a pitcher of chilled fruit juice, elegant glasses, and freshly peeled fruit... The Lady of the Ward household hadn't just walked out of the kitchen; she had been standing there quietly, eavesdropping and watching the entire scene unfold for quite some time!
Knowing intimately the shameless audacity and desires of her mischievous friend, Clara perfectly timed her entrance to interrupt things before they went any further.
"Ahem!!" Clara let out an intentionally loud fake cough, shooting a sharp, blade-like glare directly at the woman currently straddling her man.
Lily, whose lust was surging, abruptly froze. The plump lips that had just pulled back from the kiss pressed together in sheer frustration. The dairy cow instantly scowled. However, when her gaze met the intense aura and sharp glare locked onto her by her best friend, Lily could only click her tongue softly in her throat before obediently pulling herself off Owen's firm lap.
As Lily stood up, taking the still-lingering pheromones of a mature woman with her, Owen slightly adjusted his posture. He then turned to flash a warm smile at Clara. The young man's demeanor was entirely relaxed, calm, and natural, acting as if the steamy scene on the sofa just moments ago was just an ordinary, unremarkable occurrence.
As for Clara, upon seeing that smile, she didn't feel angry or upset with Owen in the slightest. Because she knew perfectly well that given his peace-loving and 'risk-averse' nature, there was no way he would ever initiate something so risky and lewd with a woman he had just met. There was only one root cause for all this chaos... her big-breasted friend!
Owen used calmness to subdue the tension. He briefly summarized the negotiation results to Clara in a warm tone. "We've finalized the contract details, Clara. Lily will officially join our CMG agency under strict bindings and conditions... in exchange for the company taking full responsibility for paying off all her debt."
Clara simply nodded in acknowledgment before walking over to set the tray down on the low glass coffee table. She cast a sidelong glance at her old friend from head to toe, delivering a brief, sarcastic jab with a friendly smile but a venom-laced tone. "Congratulations, Lily... I hope that from now on, you'll work hard and behave in a way that is 'worth' the money and time our company has to spend on you."
Having said her piece, Clara wasted no time reclaiming her territory. She quickly dropped down onto the long sofa right beside Owen, intentionally pressing her plump body against the young man until their shoulders and arms were flush against each other. It was a blatant declaration of ownership, accompanied by an unwavering, scrutinizing glare directed at Lily.
Lily, who had just shifted to sit on the single armchair opposite them, refused to be outdone. She nodded in response, wearing an equally venom-laced, sweet smile.
"Of course. Thank you so much for helping me out, bestie~" Lily dragged out her words, before feigning innocence and placing a hand over her chest. "And I just have to say, this young manager of yours is incredibly 'good with his hands'... Oops! Uh... I mean, he's incredibly competent and very reasonable at his job. It honestly makes me a little jealous that you get to live under the same roof with a man like him every single day."
While delivering those ambiguous words, Lily deliberately used her hazy, seductive eyes to openly ogle Owen's bare chest right in front of Clara's face!
Lily's arrogant remarks and provocative actions stretched Clara's patience to its absolute limit. Clara could only glare at Lily with a sharp, piercing look. Meanwhile, Lily nonchalantly picked up a glass of fruit juice and took a sip, playing dumb. The dairy cow's demeanor clearly conveyed a distinct message: 'We're in the same boat now... What are you going to do about it, Mrs. Ward?'
The atmosphere in the living room, which should have been relaxing, was instead fraught with the tension of a cold war between two women in their forties. The oppressive pressure clashed in the air until Owen began to feel slightly suffocated.
The young man knew he had to quickly mediate the situation before the two women launched into an all-out verbal war or started pulling each other's hair out.
Owen pretended to suddenly have a bright idea. He casually draped one of his strong arms around Clara's slender waist, gently pulling the Lady's soft body even closer against his broad chest until she was practically sitting on his lap.
Owen's touch, filled with affection and attentiveness, worked flawlessly! Clara felt pacified in an instant. Her anger was replaced by a warm glow in her heart. Feeling like the 'Victor' of this battle, Clara raised her chin and flashed a mocking smirk, sending a triumphant look straight at Lily.
"Mmm~ Ladies, it seems I've just thought of a pretty good idea," Owen spoke up in a deep voice, drawing both their attention back to business.
The young man briefly explained his plan. "To push Lily's OnlyStar channel to grow exponentially and make it a worthwhile investment, I think this weekend... we should travel to shoot a 'Collab' content together at Miss Lily's Daisy Valley Dairy Farm."
Both women's eyes widened slightly upon hearing the word 'Collab'.
Owen explained the logic behind killing two birds with one stone. "For Clara's channel, a change of scenery to a country-style shoot—showing off sex appeal amidst vast open pastures, a cattle farm, and the valley breeze—will add a breath of fresh air to your content. I am confident your subscribers will be extremely excited and willing to pay extra for this video set."
He turned to look at Lily. "And simultaneously, Lily's channel will be able to draw in new followers from Clara's fanbase, rapidly boosting your subscriber count... This is a mutually beneficial content strategy for both parties. What do you guys think?"
The second they heard this brilliant plan, both women's eyes sparkled. The psychological warfare and their recent feud were temporarily forgotten.
"That sounds incredibly fun! I'm in!"
Clara agreed instantly, her tone filled with excitement. She was naturally a nature lover anyway. Escaping the stuffy confines of the house to work while simultaneously 'vacationing' in the open pastures with Owen was exactly what she desired.
Lily was just as thrilled. "That's perfect, Owen! My farm has tons of beautiful spots for shooting!"
Besides reaping massive benefits and showing off the dairy farm she was so proud of, the dairy cow secretly plotted to use this opportunity to formally introduce Owen to her family and her father. Because right now, to her family... the man in front of her wasn't just an ordinary OnlyStar manager; he was the 'Savior' who was going to breathe life back into her family's final legacy!
...
After discussing the preliminary details, Lily excused herself to head home and prepare for the new project at the farm. This finally left Owen with a moment to catch his breath and hit the shower to wash off his sweat-drenched body.
The cold, refreshing water helped extinguish the lingering heat of lust and washed away much of his fatigue. However, Owen didn't have the luxury to rest as he had hoped. He still had an urgent, crucial mission to attend to: borrowing the '3D construction printer' from Jace, just as he had promised Clara and Tess.
Owen knew Tess's personality entirely too well. That hardcore, go-getter mechanic worked as fast as a storm and was insanely serious about construction. By now, she had probably almost finished tearing down the basic structures and clearing the space in the basement. If he kept dawdling and failed to deliver the printer to her... he could guarantee that the tomboyish mechanic would complain his ear off and brutally chew him out without sparing his face.
Therefore, the young man quickly got dressed, grabbed his keys, and drove straight to 'Jace's Tech Den' immediately.
The moment his thick hand pushed the glass shop door open, the bell chimed, followed immediately by a signature greeting.
"Hey! Best buddy! What wind blew you here!"
Jace, the genius tech engineer in his workshop shirt, burst out from behind the counter and jumped to wrap his arm around Owen's neck, greeting him with his usual overly enthusiastic tone and gestures.
Owen glanced at the two or three customers waiting in front of the counter. The young man sighed softly and warned him, "Take it easy, Jace. You've abandoned your storefront customers to greet me again. If you keep doing this, your shop is going to go bankrupt one day."
But Jace let out a hearty laugh, waving his hand dismissively. "Haha! You don't have to worry about the storefront anymore, man! I just fixed my customer service weakness... I hired a 'new employee' to help out a few days ago."
Jace nodded his head toward a young woman standing on the other side of the shop, smiling and offering professional advice to a customer. She was a cute young woman with big, round eyes, but her most striking feature was her fiery red hair that puffed out in all directions like a male lion's mane.
"There she is... my new employee. Her name is 'Leona'," Jace introduced her briefly with pride.
Owen raised an eyebrow, looking at the red-haired woman with interest. But before he could ask anything, Jace moved closer, smiling knowingly, and pulled his friend in to whisper in his ear.
"Even though Leona looks pretty and cute like that... don't go falling for her or thinking about hitting on her!" Jace warned seriously. "Because the truth is... she's a 'Futanari', possessing both male and female traits in the same body! Unless you're into that sort of thing, haha."
Hearing that, Owen blinked, taken by surprise.
Jace continued whispering about his new employee's cool profile. "Plus, her profile isn't ordinary either. Leona is a Rank C combat-type Awakener! When I first agreed to hire her, I had to empty my pockets to pay her a hefty salary until my wallet was almost flat... but let me tell you, it's 'super worth it'."
The nerdy friend grinned widely. "Because I hired her to cover two positions at once! She's a salesperson handling customers, and the 'shop security guard' rolled into one! Anyone who dares to cause trouble or steal will definitely get their neck snapped by this lioness's kick! So now I am completely free from the storefront. I can hole up in the back to fully create and research new tech!"
"Mmm... that sounds just like you." Owen shook his head, smiling at his friend's tech obsession. "Let's get down to business then. I came to borrow a 3D construction printer. Do you have one I can borrow?"
"A 3D construction printer?" Jace raised an eyebrow before letting out a chuckle. "Heh... You should know, Owen, that a shop of my caliber doesn't keep bulky, outdated technology like that around..."
"Follow me, I have something good to show you." With that, Jace grabbed Owen's arm and half-dragged, half-led him deep into the 'Workshop' zone at the back of the shop, a private area cluttered with circuit boards, monster parts, and mechanic tools.
Jace spun around and forcefully pulled off a dark canvas covering an object in the middle of the room, revealing a rectangular, futuristic-looking machine in matte black with orange trims. "Ta-da! Let me introduce you to... the 'JDen MP-500 3D Construction Printer', which I just built with my own hands!"
The moment Owen saw the sparkling look in Jace's eyes, like a child showing off a new toy, he instantly knew his 'fate' for the next hour... His tech-nerd friend was going to blabber on about physics theories and engineering systems endlessly.
Owen sighed quietly in resignation. He walked over to drag a nearby metal chair and sat down, crossing his arms in preparation for the hardcore presentation.
And just as expected, Jace began to rattle off its features so fast that even a famous rapper would be put to shame, detailing the amazing innovation point by point.
"Starting with the size! The letters MP stand for Medium Portable. The machine is compact, about the size of a large rolling suitcase, weighing only around 50 kilograms. It only takes 1-2 people to easily lift it into the back of your SUV!"
"Next is the material! The outer structure is made of an aluminum alloy and reinforced with 'Black Iron from the Dungeon' for maximum durability and vibration absorption, eliminating the need for bulky tripods like the older construction printer models!"
Jace pointed to the machine's core, which emitted a faint blue glow. "And here is the power source... the energy of the future! It uses a 'Mana-Core Reactor' as its main heart. Forget about massive industrial motors and messy wiring! This machine is powered by a fist-sized 'Earth or Lightning element Golem monster mana stone'. It provides immense torque and pressure well beyond its size, allowing me to shrink the pumping and compression system down to the size of a fist while still extruding concrete as powerfully and quickly as a large cement mixer truck!"
Jace circled the machine in excitement before pointing to the material loading port on top. "And the main selling point of this model is... the 'Special Formula Material'. Forget about using large vats of slow-drying liquid cement. This machine uses a 'Fast-drying Dungeon Formula Material'!"
"The working principle is... you just pour an extract of 'Dry Slime Mucus' mixed with 'Golem Stone Powder' and regular cement into this small port. When the mana core releases heat and energy waves to stimulate it, these mixtures will trigger a chemical reaction, expanding their volume up to 10 times inside the nozzle! And when it's sprayed out and hits the air... Fwish! It sets and becomes rock-hard in just 3 minutes!"
...Half an hour later...
"Pant... Pant... Well... amazing, right..."
Jace finished spouting the specs and physics theories, panting heavily. He grabbed a water bottle and took a huge gulp like a wanderer in the desert.
As for Owen, who had been sitting with a deadpan expression, hands clasped as if listening intently for the past half hour... in reality, his focus had drifted. His brain had shut down its data reception system and stopped listening 5 seconds after Jace started explaining about the golem element!
Owen didn't care how the physics system worked or what chemical principles were used. He just wanted to know 'if it actually worked', because the person who had to use it was Tess, his builder.
Therefore, the young man cut the sales pitch short with a simple question. "Great job, Jace... So, how much is the 1-week rental fee?"
"Hey! What rental fee!" Jace quickly lowered the water bottle and waved his hand in refusal. "For a best friend like you, I'll let you borrow it for free! For the sake of our beautiful friendship!"
The words 'borrow for free' and 'beautiful friendship' made Owen narrow his eyes immediately. His golden eyes scrutinized his friend with a pressuring, knowing gaze... A stingy guy like Jace, letting him borrow a top-tier innovation for free?
Owen remained quiet, staring blankly until Jace started sweating, unable to withstand the interrogating gaze.
"Uh... okay, okay, I admit it..." Jace scratched his head, sighing as he confessed the truth. "The thing is... this JDen MP-500 is still just a 'Prototype'. It has never been tested in a real-world scenario by a professional builder..."
Jace gave a sheepish smile. "So... I wanted you and your builder to try using it, and help 'write a summary report' detailing all the pros, cons, and operational bugs for me. Consider it system testing in exchange for borrowing it for free... Win-win, right?"
Owen smirked upon hearing the real reason. He had no issue with this proposal, as a professional builder like Tess should be skilled enough to draw out the machine's full potential and review its flaws in detail for Jace.
"Agreed." Owen stood up and extended his hand to shake with Jace, accepting the offer and closing the deal.
But before Owen walked over to carry the JDen MP-500 printer home, he reiterated the promise they had previously discussed.
"Oh, and... once my studio room is finished... don't forget to come install the high-speed internet system for me as we agreed."
"Of course, buddy! You can count on me for setting up the network system!" Jace nodded firmly and gave a salute, perfectly concluding the chaotic borrowing session filled with cutting-edge innovation at Jace's Tech Den.
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