He found a small cafe closest to the trash pickup point and went inside for a cup of coffee, taking the opportunity to observe his surroundings.

After finishing his coffee, his observation complete, he casually called the waiter over to pay the bill. The waiter respectfully handed him a receipt.

Fang Chenyi reached out, took the receipt, and casually tossed it into his bag. For the sake of convenience, Fang Chenyi had folded the woven bag to be about the size of a satchel, with the bag’s opening facing outward. This way, all he had to do was unzip the satchel and toss something in, and the system would immediately recycle it.

[Master has picked up one sales receipt. System reward: 50 yuan. The reward has been deposited into Master’s bank account. Please check your balance.]

Although fifty yuan was practically nothing to Fang Chenyi now, he wouldn’t turn it down just because the amount was small. After all, thrift is a traditional virtue of the Huaxia People.

Just as he was about to stand up, his eyes landed on the disposable coffee cup he had just used. ’Can’t let it go to waste,’ he thought, reaching out to grab it and stuff it into his bag.

[Master has picked up one used plastic coffee cup. System reward: 100 yuan. The reward has been deposited into Master’s bank account. Please check your balance.]

The waiter froze when he saw this. ’Are all Huaxia People this poor?’ he wondered. ’He’s even taking a disposable coffee cup to reuse it?’

Of course, he only grumbled this inwardly and didn’t say a word out loud. On the contrary, his expression remained one of utmost respect.

He stood, gave the waiter a smiling nod, and turned to leave.

But he had barely taken two steps when a sneering laugh came from two middle-aged men at the adjacent table behind him.

"Hmph, how embarrassing. He finishes a coffee and even takes the cheap plastic cup with him. What a hick."

The voice wasn’t loud, but Fang Chenyi heard it loud and clear.

Ever since arriving in Tokyo, all the locals he’d met had been respectful and deferential. He never expected to run into a couple of pricks like this.

But on closer listen, although their Japanese was fairly standard, it had a strange-sounding accent.

"You’re not Plaster Men?"

Fang Chenyi wasn’t about to pretend he hadn’t heard them after being ridiculed for no reason. Especially since, at this moment, he wasn’t just representing himself, but all Huaxia People.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face the two middle-aged men. They were dressed in sharp suits, their hair slicked back and gleaming. He spoke calmly, a hint of confusion in his voice.

The two men were surprised he had actually stopped to confront them. ’Aren’t the Huaxia People all supposed to be weak and afraid of trouble? Shouldn’t he be pretending he didn’t hear anything and scurrying away right now?’

But even though he hadn’t left, the two men paid no mind to Fang Chenyi in his casual clothes. Instead, they lifted their chins arrogantly.

"Heh, you’re one of the Huaxia People, and your ears work pretty well, huh? That’s right, we’re from Stick Country. And this man beside me," he gestured, "is the CEO of our Big Stick Animation Entertainment Company!"

Fang Chenyi let out a soft "Oh," and nodded. ’So they’re from Stick Country.’ As for the Big Stick Animation Entertainment Company the man mentioned, Fang Chenyi had honestly never heard of it. However, the mention of the word "animation" made it obvious that they were likely here for the international manga exhibition as well.

Apparently sensing that Fang Chenyi wasn’t the least bit impressed by his company’s name, the man who had spoken raised his voice a few notches.

"What, you’ve never heard of the Big Stick Animation Entertainment Company? Have you never seen our ’Backkom’ or ’Larva’? Those shows that you Huaxia People love so much, the ones you treat like animated masterpieces—they’re all our company’s creations! How about it? Now do you realize just how powerful our company is?"

Now that the man mentioned it, Fang Chenyi did indeed recall those two cartoons. He had watched ’Backkom’ as a kid, and ’Larva’ seemed to be a ridiculously popular slapstick comedy cartoon from the last couple of years.

This time, when they finally saw a look of dawning realization on Fang Chenyi’s face, the two middle-aged men felt a surge of smug satisfaction. ’See? I told you. Our Stick Country’s animation is treated like a legendary series in Huaxia. As one of the Huaxia People, how could he possibly not have seen it?’

Fang Chenyi stared at the two men with a faint smile for a moment. Suddenly, the corners of his lips curled into a smirk as he spoke.

"You’re really from the Big Stick Animation Entertainment Company? Do you have any proof? Or maybe a business card?"

Hearing this, the two assumed he didn’t believe them. The one who hadn’t spoken yet—the general manager—smugly pulled a card holder from his jacket. He plucked out a gold-foil business card and held it out to Fang Chenyi, his voice dripping with arrogance.

"There. See this, kid? This is my business card. It’s gold-foiled. Each one costs a hundred Huaxia yuan."

This fellow carried two types of business cards: plain ones, and this gold-foiled kind. He had given Fang Chenyi the gold-foiled one purely to flex and to see a look of envy in the eyes of the Huaxia kid before him.

What greatly annoyed him, however, was that the kid casually took the card, gave it a cursory glance, and then stuffed it into his bag.

The sight left the middle-aged man fuming. ’If I’d known, I would’ve just given him a plain one.’

What he didn’t know, however, was that just a moment ago, while Fang Chenyi was smiling thoughtfully at them, he was actually calling upon the system in his mind. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

And what do you know, the system never dropped the ball at a critical moment.

After he called out to it, the system, which had been ignoring him until now, actually responded.

Not only did it respond, but it also brought Fang Chenyi a message: the next item he "picked up" would trigger a special system reward.

Of course, this special reward had to be earned.

[Master has picked up one premium business card from the general manager of the Big Stick Animation Entertainment Company. Special system reward triggered. Reward: 91% of the shares of the Big Stick Animation Entertainment Company. The transfer agreement and corresponding documents have been placed in the woven bag. Please retrieve them at your convenience, Master.]

Hearing the sudden notification for the special reward in his mind, the smirk on Fang Chenyi’s lips widened. ’This system really is something else.’

"Well, young man? I trust you know who we are now."

Fang Chenyi nodded upon hearing this and spoke nonchalantly.

"Yes, I’m aware of the Big Stick Animation Entertainment Company. As for you being the general manager... I wasn’t aware of that before. But as of now, you are no longer the general manager of the Big Stick Animation Entertainment Company."

[To be continued...]

PS: Thanks to my brother ’Waiting’ for the 588 book coin donation!