"Mr. Zhong," Ou Feng snapped back to attention and bowed respectfully to Zhong Yun. He said sincerely, "Thank you so much for repairing this Jialan Zither for us. From this day forward, you are the most honored guest of the Pearl Tower."

"You are too kind," Zhong Yun smiled, offering pleasantries even as he calmly accepted the gratitude. What was a perfectly restored original Jialan Zither worth? That was something money simply couldn't calculate.

Even in a higher civilization, this instrument remained a priceless treasure.

Ou Feng understood this too. More importantly, this zither had been the Young Miss’s greatest regret, and now that regret was mended. He could only imagine her surprise when she found out.

Following this, Ou Feng did not lead them to view the other collections but instead ushered them into a lounge.

"Mr. Zhong, I would like a private word with you," Ou Feng invited, gesturing toward a more secluded area.

"No problem," Zhong Yun readily agreed.

Ou Feng signaled several attendants to stay with Chen Wen and the others, then led Zhong Yun away from the lounge, winding through corridors until they entered a massive office.

"Mr. Zhong, now that you are here at our company, what items are you looking to acquire?" Seated behind his desk, Ou Feng cut straight to the chase.

"I urgently need several items. I wonder if your establishment can procure them for us," Zhong Yun said, slightly surprised by the directness of the question, wondering if this meant what he hoped it might.

Ou Feng smiled faintly. "While this company isn't exactly a massive corporation, we still have means to obtain certain items."

Since he offered, Zhong Yun stopped beating around the bush. "I require some Fire Cloud Stone, Hidden Mist Pine Root..." He continued listing a dozen or so rare and strange items that most people had never even heard of.

After hearing just the first two items, the relaxed expression vanished from Ou Feng's face. The frown on his brow deepened with each subsequent item mentioned. By the time Zhong Yun finished, his brow was furrowed into the character for 'river' (). Some of the dozen or so items Zhong Yun requested were entirely unfamiliar even to him.

His fingers tapped unconsciously on the desktop for a moment. Finally, he looked up. "Give me seven days. I will do my best to procure them for you. However, some of these items might prove exceedingly difficult to locate..."

"Find what you can, then," Zhong Yun replied easily.

Most of the materials he needed were ingredients for manufacturing the 'Rejuvenation Agent.' Honestly, he was only testing the waters; it wouldn't matter if he couldn't get them. Finding them would be an unexpected bonus.

After sitting for a while longer, Zhong Yun excused himself. He was eager to get back to his training schedule.

Hearing Zhong Yun announce his departure, Chen Wen and Yang Siqing raised no objections. Yin Yin was slightly reluctant but dared not say anything.

Just as they approached the elevator, an attendant rushed up, first executing a deep bow. "May I ask which one is Mr. Zhong Yun?"

"That would be me," Zhong Yun stated.

The attendant handed over a silver card. "Manager Ou asked me to give this membership card to you, sir. Please keep it safe."

Zhong Yun took it and examined the front: in the upper right corner were five floral emblems, and the entire back was a uniform silver.

"Wow, a five-star membership card!" Chen Wen craned his neck over, seeing the five flowers on the silver surface, and exclaimed, his tone dripping with intense envy.

"Membership cards have tiers?" Yin Yin couldn't help but lean in closer too. Seeing how interested they all were, Zhong Yun simply passed the card over.

"It's so beautiful," Yin Yin murmured, tracing the surface of the silver card. It was unclear what material it was made of; it seemed to possess no weight, feeling as light as a feather in her hand.

The surface had a texture reminiscent of finely ground metal, rough yet pleasant to the touch. The silver exterior reflected complex, orderly patterns under the light.

The five flowers on the front weren't drawn on but rather formed by the way the light reflected. At different angles, the five blossoms revealed different states.

Tilted to the left, one could see five tender buds. As it was slowly leveled, the buds began to grow, becoming half-opened, then blooming fully, ultimately forming five vibrant, dewy roses.

Yin Yin tilted the card back and forth, utterly absorbed in playing with it.

"What benefits does a five-star membership card offer?" Zhong Yun was more concerned with that aspect.

"There are plenty of benefits," Chen Wen explained. "First, holding a five-star membership card grants an automatic 20% discount at all shops within the Pearl Tower."

"Twenty percent? At every shop?" Before Zhong Yun could fully process it, Yin Yin gasped, her beautiful eyes widening until they sparkled with avarice.

If the Central Avenue was the shopping paradise of all Mingzhou, the Pearl Tower was the beating heart of that paradise. Here, one could find merchandise from every nationally renowned brand; it was perpetually the birthplace of the latest trends.

For a white-collar worker like her, most of her monthly salary was dedicated to high fashion clothing, handbags, and cosmetics. The Pearl Tower was their primary destination. A membership card offering a flat 20% discount across all its stores was an irresistible temptation.

The four entered the elevator. Once the doors closed, Chen Wen continued, "That’s not all. On the Nine Hundredth Floor, five-star members also have priority purchasing rights. This means whenever they receive new stock, five-star members get the first look. Only after all five-star members have passed on the items will they be displayed for ordinary members to browse."

"So all the good stuff gets snapped up by the five-star members first?" Zhong Yun's eyes gleamed brightly. Both the discount and the priority access were significant lures for him.

He was poor right now, possessing only a few tens of thousands recently deposited into his account. Among the crowd in the Nine Hundredth Floor exhibition hall, any random person probably had thicker thighs than his entire leg.

However, the knowledge he possessed could bring him far more than mere wealth. Given enough time, buying out the Pearl Tower wouldn't even be difficult.

"Why else would a five-star membership be so precious?" Chen Wen shot him a look, inwardly boiling with envy—though unfortunately, some things couldn't be envied into existence.

He held up two fingers. "As far as I know, the number of five-star members in the entire Dawu region for the Pearl Tower doesn't exceed double digits."

"That drastic?" Yin Yin couldn't help but gasp, asking, "So, even if you have money, you can't get one?"

In last year's most credible magazine wealth rankings, there were over two hundred people whose net worth exceeded one hundred billion—super-tycoons capable of rivaling nations. Did that mean nearly half of them were denied five-star membership benefits?

"This isn't something money can buy," Chen Wen chuckled lightly, perhaps amused by her lack of worldliness. "As far as I know, there are only two avenues to attain five-star status at the Pearl Tower."

He raised one finger. "One is possessing an extremely distinguished status, such as having a National Contribution Value of A-rank or higher."

Then, he raised the second finger again. "The second is providing truly monumental assistance to the Pearl Tower."

"Ah Yun clearly falls into the latter category."

"I just opened the back cover of that zither; how significant is that help?" Zhong Yun pretended to be nonchalant.

"Stop pretending," Chen Wen exposed him in one sentence.

P: I suddenly noticed that I inadvertently hit the weekly recommendation and weekly point rankings. I'm quite surprised. Thank you to the brothers who voted for me.

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