My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 156 - 131: Never Enough Money! New Equipment Arrives

Fang Zhen and He Yilin quickly came to an agreement on his salary and benefits.

He Yilin's demands weren't high: a base salary of 24,000 a month, plus some travel allowances and other benefits, with the company providing the five social insurances and one housing fund.

24,000 was He Yilin's salary at his previous company.

Fang Zhen felt this salary was a bit low for He Yilin's level of professionalism, so he asked if his previous company offered a year-end bonus.

He Yilin answered honestly that his previous boss gave a year-end bonus equivalent to five to ten months' salary, depending on the company's profits for the year. He mentioned that this was his own proposal, as a one-time annual bonus could be taxed separately from his comprehensive annual income, which was more favorable.

He also proposed other tax-exempt or tax-reducing benefits, such as a dedicated company car, high-end medical insurance, and meal and transportation subsidies.

The 24,000 monthly salary was also a calculated figure. It was just under the threshold for the next personal income tax bracket, which meant he would pay less in taxes. This was not illegal, but a perfectly legitimate tax avoidance strategy.

Fang Zhen silently praised him.

'A true professional in his field.'

Fang Zhen also made a verbal agreement to give a year-end bonus based on He Yilin's contributions, which would be part of his performance-based pay.

And just like that, He Yilin was hired.

After hiring He Yilin, Fang Zhen tasked him with first renting an office space, then recruiting a few clerks for daily paperwork, and finally outsourcing legal affairs to a competent firm. The firm would prepare the contracts, and they would formally sign the employment agreements in a few days.

Now it was He Yilin's turn to be a little baffled.

He Yilin probably thought Fang Zhen's operation was just an empty shell company. It had no office, and they were hiring staff from scratch. He was understandably apprehensive, afraid this boss might just up and disappear like his last one.

Fang Zhen didn't explain much, simply saying the company was in its preparatory phase.

Perhaps because the job market was genuinely tough, He Yilin gritted his teeth and accepted the situation.

He Yilin started addressing Fang Zhen as General Manager Fang and got to work on recruitment.

After He Yilin left, Fang Zhen felt a sense of accomplishment. The trading company was slowly becoming a reality, his status in the real world was steadily improving, and his capabilities were expanding.

His company was less about commercial operations and making money, and more a vehicle for him to offload resources from the dungeons and gather resources in the real world. The people in the company could be seen as his extensions, handling the trivial yet necessary procedures and miscellaneous tasks. This would free up a great deal of his time and energy to focus on his dungeon life.

"Heh, I'm the owner of an organization now," Fang Zhen chuckled, finishing his coffee in one gulp.

…

「The next day.」

Fang Zhen had arranged to meet Wang Donglai to go car shopping at a dealership.

In the morning, the two arrived at a Land Rover dealership.

Seeing Fang Zhen and Wang Donglai approach, a saleswoman at the door, dressed in a blue suit with her hair tied back, smiled and opened the door for them.

"Hello, welcome," the saleswoman said to them with a warm and generous smile.

"Hello, we're here to see the '24 Range Rover," Fang Zhen said.

"Are you interested in the SE version or the Autobiography version?" the saleswoman asked with a smile as she walked.

"The '24 Autobiography, long wheelbase," Fang Zhen said.

"Of course, please come this way."

The saleswoman led them into the showroom, pointed to a black long-wheelbase SUV, and began her introduction.

"This is the new 2024 model, the fifth-generation Range Rover. It features the Meridian Signature Sound System, which includes a 1600W amplifier and 35 speakers, and uses third-generation active noise cancellation to effectively eliminate unwanted cabin noise."

"This model also debuts the Dynamic Response Pro and pre-emptive suspension. It uses eHorizon navigation data to read the road ahead and pre-emptively adjust the suspension system to provide optimal driving response..."

The saleswoman continued her pitch.

Wang Donglai seemed a bit excited. He walked around the car, looking left and right, examining the details, and looked like he wanted to reach out and touch it.

Fang Zhen watched for a moment, then looked at Wang Donglai and said, "You know about these things. What's the verdict on this car?"

"What can I say? It's a Land Rover Range Rover, the ultimate dream for any man!" Wang Donglai couldn't help but exclaim. "Besides being expensive and people complaining about its value for money, what other faults could it possibly have?"

"Besides, do people who buy a Land Rover really care about value for money?"

"I mean, didn't you look up the rock-bottom price? Did you find it for this car?" Fang Zhen said with a smile.

"Oh, oh, you mean that. Let me see," Wang Donglai took out his phone and scrolled for a bit. After a moment, he said, "1.73 million. Not much different from the sticker price."

Fang Zhen and Wang Donglai spoke openly, not bothering to hide their conversation from the nearby saleswoman.

"Alright," Fang Zhen said, turning to the saleswoman. "Give me a list of the complimentary gifts and services with the purchase. If it looks good, I'll take it for a test drive right now. If there are no issues, I'll sign the contract."

The saleswoman was clearly stunned for a second, then her face lit up with joy. "Yes, of course! Please wait a moment while I go speak with the store manager. I'm the top salesperson here, so I can get you the best possible discount and benefits. I'll go ask the manager for you right now."

With that, the saleswoman nodded at Fang Zhen, then turned and jogged off to find someone.

Watching the saleswoman hurry away, Wang Donglai turned to Fang Zhen and said, "Bro, are we being a little hasty with this purchase?"

"After all, this is a Range Rover, and the Autobiography long wheelbase at that. Isn't this decision a bit rushed?"

"We're buying a car, not a bundle of green onions, you know."

Fang Zhen chuckled. "Isn't this how men shop? The target is clear, the price is reasonable. In the store, five minutes, and it's done. How much longer does it need to take?"

Wang Donglai was speechless. He could only give a thumbs-up and say, "Badass."

Fang Zhen just smiled without saying anything.

"By the way, I never thought you'd buy a Land Rover. People say buying a Land Rover is a cure for low self-esteem, but you don't seem to have that problem. You're more confident than I am, at least. Why this car? It doesn't really match your personality," Wang Donglai said.

"Then what car did you think I'd buy?" Fang Zhen asked.

"A Volvo, or a Tesla, or something like that. That's more in line with the impression I have of you," Wang Donglai said.

Fang Zhen shook his head slightly.

'If it weren't for the dungeon life game, I really would have considered a Tesla, especially the American bulletproof model. Too bad they don't sell it in Xia Country.'

'Besides, Tesla has another issue. Its in-car cameras used to record and upload footage, which led to a few scandals.'

'The official explanation now is that these features require the owner's explicit consent to be enabled, but I don't really trust Tesla's official statements.'

'Who knows if there's a backdoor in such a complex system.'

'I have a lot of secrets. It would be bad if a Tesla camera recorded me conjuring Magic inside the car.'

'Plus, Teslas are banned from entering certain sensitive areas, like government facilities, hospitals, and the like.'

'Besides Tesla, I was also interested in the new electric SUV that BYD is about to release.'

'BYD's new battery technology is amazing. I wanted to buy one, but because of my build, sedans always feel a bit cramped.'

'If they used their Blade Battery technology in an SUV, I would have been very interested.'

'But plans change.'

In less than a month, his life had changed dramatically because of the dungeon life game.

With his old personality, if he were spending money earned from a regular job, he most likely wouldn't have bought a Land Rover. He would have found it a bit too flashy.

His mindset hadn't changed much, but his circumstances had.

Foreseeably, with the dungeon life game, Fang Zhen's earning speed wouldn't be slow; in fact, it would likely get faster and faster. Spending 1.7 or 1.8 million on a Land Rover was no big deal for him. From the perspective of his expected income, it was actually a relatively low-key and restrained purchase.

There was another issue. With his rapid rise and the tempting profits involved, he was bound to run into some jealous people and unexpected trouble.

Fang Zhen didn't want to be bothered by clueless people, nor did he want to get entangled in a bunch of messy affairs. And while many things couldn't be avoided, he could create a deterrent in advance.

He looked at Wang Donglai and asked, "What kind of people drive Land Rovers, in your impression?"

Wang Donglai thought for a moment and said, "Powerful, a bit shady, not to be messed with. Also a bit young, hot-headed, and impulsive."

"And what's my personality?" Fang Zhen asked again.

"You're pretty reasonable, tend to be calm, and don't like to cause trouble. But to be fair, you're a tough guy. If anyone dares to mess with you, you'd want to pay them back double, or even super-double," Wang Donglai said.

"Oh, I get it!" At this, understanding dawned on Wang Donglai, and he blurted out, "You're trying to scare off all the small-time thugs, aren't you?"

There was a stereotype in Xiahai about Land Rover drivers—that they were a bit shady. Your average small-time gangster or hoodlum wouldn't dare to provoke them, and even crash-for-cash scammers rarely targeted these kinds of cars. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Fang Zhen wanted to use that stereotype to his advantage.

Even if he ran into a real big shot, it would give them the impression that Fang Zhen was impulsive and hot-headed.

In reality, this was a layer of camouflage, intended to make others misjudge his true personality and be unable to get a read on him.

'The strong always learn to disguise themselves sooner or later.'

Of course, a true big shot wouldn't judge someone solely by the car they drive, but it would inevitably have some subconscious influence.

Fang Zhen had a feeling he might encounter some trouble in the future, so he was just doing a little image-building in advance.

In this current era of peace and prosperity, Fang Zhen believed in the government and the law. However, there were still some lawless elements in society, and certain areas could get a bit chaotic at times. Many of these thugs and backstabbing rats were just bullies who picked on the weak and feared the strong. By displaying a bit of strength and financial power on a material level, the other party might not necessarily be afraid, but they would at least have to consider the cost of starting something. After all, wealth and power go hand in hand, and they'd have to consider whether a conflict was worth it.

Just then, the saleswoman returned with the store manager.

…

Fang Zhen negotiated the price, signed the contract, and paid the deposit.

He bought it under the company's name.

This made the accounting easier. At the same time, by not transferring the funds from the company to his personal account, he could save a significant amount in taxes. Plus, in Xiahai, there were incentives for company vehicle purchases.

The dealership helped with the registration and threw in a series of services and gifts, including six free maintenance services over the first three years, three full wiper blade replacements, and three years of free roadside assistance.

Fang Zhen arranged to pick up the car in two days.

With that taken care of, Fang Zhen felt a weight off his shoulders.

He'd bought a house and a car, and his company was being established.

He felt like he had passed an important milestone in life and had started a new chapter.

However, he'd been spending money like water these past few days. The company's account was nearly empty. Fortunately, he still had a few hundred thousand on his personal card to tide him over, but he would have to pay back taxes soon.

'Never enough money.'

Fang Zhen once again felt the motivation to make more money.

'It's time to go develop some new resources in the dungeon life.'

He prepared to shift his focus back to the upcoming dungeons, and to test and practice some skills as a warm-up for tackling the 'Fallen Knight' dungeon.

After leaving the dealership, Fang Zhen said goodbye to Wang Donglai and got into his rented Toyota SUV.

He had just gotten into the car when he received a phone call.

It was from Xiaojun, his cousin from Weilong Outdoor, the one who had delivered the compound crossbow to him before.

Fang Zhen answered the phone.

"Brother Fang, it's Xiaojun," Xiaojun's voice came through the phone. "I've arrived in Xiahai. I have the equipment you wanted in the car."

"Where should we meet?"