173: Chapter 174 As-needed Allocation! Xihe manages the daytime shifts, Chang'e manages the night shifts, seamless 24-hour shifts.

“Don't! Don't be impulsive!”

At this critical moment, the “master of balancing acts”—Gu Liuli, who was best at walking the tightrope between men and women, civilizations and civilizations—stepped forward.

She used neither force nor charm.

She simply pulled a calculator out of her pocket.

“Beep, beep, beep—”

The crisp sound of the keys was exceptionally jarring in the dead silence of the vacuum.

“Two sisters, we are all respectable people (gods), why resort to blades and guns?”

Gu Liuli pushed up the non-existent glasses on the bridge of her nose, looking every bit the Wall Street elite. “I just ran the numbers. If Xihe really turns off the sun, or blows up the moon, that's a ‘lose-lose’ situation.”

“If the sun is turned off, no one will provide you with emotional value (even if it's negative), no one will pay you taxes, and your performance will be zero.”

“If the moon is blown up, Change will lose her home and will definitely go to your Sun Temple every day to splash paint, so you won't be able to live in peace either.”

Xihe snorted coldly: “Then what do you propose? Debts must be repaid, it's only natural! I don't necessarily need this thirty trillion in sunlight tax; I just want to make a point!”

“A point?”

Gu Liuli snapped her fingers. “That's simple. Aren't you just feeling lonely and wanting to find a... um, ‘pet’ to keep you company?”

“Besides, what you've taken a fancy to is nothing more than the special constitution inside Husband that can neutralize the True Sun Fire.”

“Since that's the case...”

Gu Liuli turned around, smiling at Change, and then looked at Xihe.

“Why not implement a ‘shareholding system’?”

“A shareholding system?”

Everyone present (including the gods) was stunned.

“Exactly.”

Gu Liuli pointed at Jiang Chen, as if pointing at a high-potential stock. “Husband is currently that ‘core asset’. Instead of fighting tooth and nail for exclusive rights, why not distribute him according to need and hold him in turns?”

“I propose we convene an ‘Expanded Earth-Moon System Family Meeting’ to formulate a ‘Plan for the Allocation of Comrade Jiang Chen's Usage Rights and Sunlight Tax Reduction’.”

...

Ten minutes later.

In front of the only table in Guanghan Palace that was still somewhat intact (actually a meteorite slab), it was full of people.

Left side: Change (major shareholder, holds marriage certificate). Right side: Xihe (major creditor, holds the sun switch). Center: Ji Linglong, Zero (minor shareholders, hold emotional foundation). Moderator: Gu Liuli (technical equity, holds system key).

As for Jiang Chen...

He was tied up tightly to a pillar nearby, with a rag stuffed in his mouth (to prevent him from making inappropriate remarks and disrupting the meeting process), and could only watch helplessly as this group of women discussed how to carve him up.

“I'll go first!”

Xihe slammed the table, causing the Sun Essence Stones on it to tremble. “I want the daytime! When the sun is out, it's under my control; when the sun sets, it's yours! That's reasonable, right?”

“No way!”

Change immediately objected, “The daytime is so long, even in summer it's fourteen hours! Are you trying to squeeze him dry? Besides, daytime is when he works; he is the Director of the Xinhuo Bureau, not your full-time boy toy!”

“Work?”

Xihe sneered, “How much money can you make laying bricks on Earth? If he follows me, the sparks that leak through my fingers are enough to power Earth for a year. I call this ‘labor dispatch’, it's for the good of Earth!”

“That still won't do!”

Ji Linglong drew her sword and stabbed it into the table. “What about us? We also need Husband to practice swords with! You grab the day, Change grabs the night, are we supposed to drink the Northwest wind?”

Zero's electronic eyes flashed red. “According to calculations, Jiang Chen's physiological limit is 16 hours of work per day. If all of it is allocated to high-dimensional beings, his body collapse rate will be 98.7%. I suggest reserving ‘maintenance time’.”

Arguing.

They were arguing incessantly.

Three tables were smashed to pieces, and five teacups were crushed.

In the end, it was Gu Liuli who brought out the [24-Hour Seamless Rotation Schedule] that would make all men tremble.

“Sisters, listen to me.”

Gu Liuli held a pointer and pointed at the holographic projection in the air. “Since everyone has needs, let's slice up the time and use it. We must fully utilize Husband's ‘Time Management Master’ talent.”

“The plan is as follows:”

“【Day Shift (6:00-18:00)】: Belongs to Sister Xihe. Responsible for accompanying the inspection of the Solar System, bathing the Golden Crow, and providing ‘emotional value’. In exchange, all sunlight taxes on Earth will be waived, and a ‘favorable weather’ package will be gifted.”

“【Night Shift (18:00-24:00)】: Belongs to Sister Change. Responsible for the Guanghan Palace pregnancy preparation plan, as well as high-dimensional energy channeling (dual cultivation). This is the core business and the duration must be guaranteed.”

“【Late Night Shift (0:00-6:00)】: Belongs to Sister Ji Linglong and Sister Zero. This time period has strong Yin energy, suitable for immortal cultivation insights, as well as data processing and scientific experiments. Husband can cooperate with you in his dreams for ‘spiritual dual cultivation’ or ‘brain-computer interface testing’.”

“As for me...”

Gu Liuli blinked. “I am the system maintainer and have the ‘right to visit at any time’. As long as the system reports an error, I will enter for maintenance at any time, without occupying fixed working hours.”

The whole place fell silent.

Change did the math: “So... he doesn't need to sleep?”

“Sleep?”

Xihe snorted disdainfully. “He is my ‘humanoid battery’; charging is sleeping. On the solar chariot, I will charge him.”

“As long as he doesn't die, it's fine.” Zero gave a cold bottom line.

“I have no objections.” Although Ji Linglong felt the time was a bit hellish, it was better than nothing. “It's perfect that late night is quiet; no one will disturb me while I teach him sword techniques.”

“Then it's settled!”

Gu Liuli finalized the decision and took out a contract she had prepared long ago. “Come, come, sign and put your mark. This is protected by both Star Alliance law and high-dimensional laws.”

Jiang Chen struggled frantically on the pillar, his eyes almost popping out.

“Mmmph! (I'm a human! I'm protected by labor laws! I want to sleep! I want human rights!)”

But none of the women present gave him a second look.

They were busy signing the contract that was enough to sell Jiang Chen ten thousand times over.

Above the ruins of Guanghan Palace, the atmosphere was scorching enough to roast a dinosaur.

On one side was the Sun Goddess, Xihe, who was ready to “pull the plug and cut off the power” at any time, returning Earth to an ice age; on the other side was the Master of the Moon Palace, Change, who was desperate to protect her husband and would rather burn with jade and stone than hand him over.

Caught in the middle was a trembling “collateral”—Jiang Chen.

“Three, two...”

Xihe counted down. The parchment scroll in her hand, which could confirm the indenture of Earth, was burning, and the sun in the sky dimmed in perfect coordination, as if someone had really turned the brightness adjustment knob to the left.

On Earth, people who had just been dehydrated from the “high-temperature sauna” suddenly felt a biting chill strike them.