Chapter 716: Get Rich or Die Trying
Men would die for riches as will birds for food as it was said in an old adage.
In Xie Zhiqiang’s eyes, wealth was ranked second in his top priorities, and his puny little life was ranked first. He could kill his parents, murder his wife and children, and do all kinds of evils for the sake of money. His motto in life was: whoever dares to block the source of my money must die.
And this time, there were more than a dozen guns aimed at him. His life would be claimed in an instant as long as one of them pulled the trigger. In this moment of crisis, however, he was not afraid at all, as he sat on the cozy sofa and even gestured the four men behind him to put the guns down, while letting out a smiling face toward the foreign caucasian man in front of him.
“Don’t blame me for overriding the initial price, Brother Cole. That genetic drug particle developed from our research cooperation is way too precious. Our previous agreement indeed stated that you’ll pay me 200 million USD once the research on this gene particle is done, and it also stated that you will take away the gene particle along with the research data. But, you too know that the time spent on researching this genetic drug was much longer than expected. You gave up providing more additional funds needed in the past two years, so I got all the money on my own. So, it’s 1 billion USD. A penny less and you will never take it away. Tell your men to shoot me on if you dare. My death is just a trivial thing, but you will never get that gene particle.” Xie Zhiqiang touched his chin and said with a smile.
The tall and big Austin Cole was full of momentum and killing intention. When he wanted to kill someone, he would habitually pinch the b.u.t.ton on the lower part of his clothes. At this moment, however, his fingers were fastened on it. He had met many greedy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, but none had dared to override the initial price agreement with him.
However, he knew perfectly well that Xie Zhiqiang and his SOE’s Big Boss had a very deep friends.h.i.+p since this guy once saved him. If he were to kill this fella, though his Big Boss would not lash out his anger toward him directly, he could expect bad treatment from him in the future.
Nonetheless, 1 billion USD was not a price he could bear.
“Xie, the SOE has had internal problems in the past two years. I’m sure you should have heard something about it. We invested all our funds into a huge project, so we can’t provide the funds you needed on time. That was indeed our mistake. But, 1 billion USD is way too much. Let alone me, even Boss himself won’t agree to it. Our bottom line is 300 million USD. Or you can opt to become our enemy if you don’t agree.”
“Hmph, 300 million USD, eh?” Xie Zhiqiang coldly smiled. “Do you take me as a beggar? The total amount of capital I’ve invested in this project for the past two years amounts to nearly 200 million USD, as I had to import tons of research material from various countries around the world. You should know something called nan.o.bot, right? Just to get this stuff, I sent my people to some secret research labs belonging to the United States in Africa. Do you know how much I lost? Of the 40 true b.l.o.o.d.y combat experts I sent there, 27 of them died, while 4 of the remaining 13 who escaped with the nan.o.bots turned disabled.
“Furthermore, do you f.u.c.king know from where I obtained the information about those labs? I spent 25 million USD to buy it from the Darkwind Organization. And yet, you increased the price by a mere 100 million? h.e.l.lO??? You have the nerve to bulls.h.i.+t me?”
Austin Cole fell silent. He could not tell if what Xie Zhiqiang said was true or not, but breaching the contract was indeed their fault. It had been eight years since they began the joint research and, while his SOE company had invested a total of 480 million USD for the first six years, there had been no substantial progress with the research. Therefore, just as they had given up on the plan, they unexpectedly caught the news that the test was successful.
It was a gene particle! Something he must get at all costs. Once they obtain this gene particle, they could transform the body of ordinary people, creating a group mutated gene experts. Though the SOE company had its own armed forces, the gap between them and the top armed forces in the world was like a chasm.
“500 million dollars, this is my bottom line.”
Finally, Austin Cole could only opt to compromise and directly added 200 million USD. It was also the highest price he was authorized to offer.
“As I said, I want 1 billion, not a penny less. Else I will not sell these gene particles to your SOE company.” Xie Zhiqiang shook his head. “Besides, I’m pretty sure that once I sell the gene particles to other foreign large powers there will be countless forces willing to bid for a higher price.”
“ARE YOU FORCING ME?” Roared Austine Cole furiously.
“You got that right. I’m indeed forcing you,” said Xie Zhiqiang. “Take it and we have a deal. Leave it and we separate. This place is China. You may have brought a lot of men with you, but wanting to kill me will not be easy. Moreover, it’s uncertain whether you can leave the Chinese border as well.”
Those who have threatened me are all dead!
Austin Cole did not say it out loud but chanted it inside thrice. He could only endure and employ patience, for the purpose of the SOE company was to groom a large number of powerful genetic warriors that would finally double the armed forces under the company by ten times.
As he took out a Cuban cigar, a middle-aged man lit it up for him. After taking a few puffs, he waved his hand, motioning his men to put their guns down. He then stared at Xie Zhiqiang and said indifferently, “I’m only authorized to fork out 500 million dollars, so I need to call Boss about this matter and ask his decision.”
“I can only give you three days.” Xie Zhiqiang shrugged his shoulders and smirked. “No answer in three days and the doc.u.ment in mailbox will automatically send the files. At that time, there will be at least 20 top forces in the world who will send their people to China to discuss a business deal with me.”
Austin Cole subconsciously glanced at the bottommost b.u.t.ton of his clothes and nodded with a cold expression, before he got up and left.
After half a minute, a girl with heavy makeup and a voluptuous, charming figure came out of the next room. There was a sharp b.u.t.terfly knife in her hand as she fiddled and played it up and down, creating images of blossoming flowers.
“Tell me something, do you really want money so much that you’re not even afraid to make Austin Cole thoroughly furious?” Asked the girl with a smile. “You also know his notorious reputation for being cruel and merciless, no?”
“I’ve provoked many cruel and merciless people before. He’s not the only one of the many, neither is he among the few. I didn’t see any hope at the beginning, and it drove me into a tight corner. Now that the gene particle has been developed, they came out like hungry wolves after it. The vexed feeling inside me will never dissipate if I don’t make them bleed.”
“What are you going to do after this SOE’s Big Boss speaks his piece?” Asked the girl with a smile.
Dread flashed inside Xie Zhiqiang’s eyes. After a long silence, he slowly said, “I know a bit about his character. He definitely won’t make things get worse if this matter can be settled with money. Of course, I will have to sell it to him if he wants to thicken his face and buy it for 500 million USD, nonetheless. Anyways, the gene particle is highly unlikely to be sold to one group only, so help me observe and inspect some contacts; it is necessary to find another two rich clients.”
The girl squinted her eyes and asked with a faint smile, “Are you not afraid that everyone will know that you have the gene particles in your hands? You’ll have numerous forces staring at you by then.”
“Why should I?” Xie Zhiqiang sneered. “I’ll hand over the formula of the gene particles to the country after selling to some of them. Do you think the country will let me go at that time?”
"..." The girl gave him a thumbs up, and praise was all over her heavy makeup face.
****
Paradise Manor.
Tang Xiu sat in the living room of the building where Ouyang Lulu usually lived, looking at the Ji Mu’s gifts. As he fiddled with the strings, a melodious sound of zither gave off a feeling like of a grand feast. Ouyang Lulu, who sat cross-legged in front of the small tea table beside, was now fully concentrated on making tea.
“Ji Mu’s here, Boss.” Mo Awu came in front of Tang Xiu in a few steps and reported.
Tang Xiu did not speak and kept playing the entire music, and then gently waved his hand. Soon, Ji Mu came in with a beautifully wrapped gift box, carefully placed it in front of Tang Xiu, and then stepped two steps back.
“What kind of treasure is it this time?” Tang Xiu pointed to the gift box without expression.
“I don’t know either.” Ji Mu shook his head. “When I said goodbye my to Grandmother two hours ago she told me to take this and gift it to you.”
Tang Xiu pointed to the sofa at the opposite side. After Ji Mu had taken a seat, he then asked, “Tell me! What is your real purpose?”
Ji Mu had already made up his mind and cleared his thoughts previously, but he was still a bit panicked at this moment. However, he suppressed his mood and bolstered up his courage, saying, “I’ve always wanted to become an exceptional man, a superman, or a man with mystical powers. Just like what you did in Laoshan, mounting the clouds and riding the mist while controlling flying swords to kill your enemies.”
Tang Xiu suddenly looked up. His eyes were cold and brimmed with murderous intent, as he then said in a cold voice, “Were you around back then?”
Ji Mu felt a chill down his spine as Tang Xiu stared at him. He suddenly felt like he was being eyed by a ferocious beast, as though this beast would swallow him at any time.
“Yeah, I was nearby.” Bracing himself, Ji Mu nodded.
“Who else besides you witnessed it?” Asked Tang Xiu indifferently. “Also, did you tell anyone else about this?”
Ji Mu shook his head and said, “There was no one else except me. I realized that I couldn’t easily disclose this matter, so I did not tell anyone about it.”
Hmph. Tang Xiu snorted coldly and said, “With this reply, are you not afraid that I’ll kill you, so as to avoid endless trouble popping up later?”
“That is something I’ve prepared myself for,” said Ji Mu in a bitter tone. “If I were to come back alive today, it means that I made the correct gamble. But if I were to die here, it’s also the price I have to pay for losing the gamble, even if there would indeed be lots of regrets left behind. Nonetheless, I’ll still accept it.”
Tang Xiu shot him a deep gaze and received the fragrant tea handed over by Lulu. After gulping it down, he put the cup on the table and untied the beautifully wrapped gift box. His expression slightly blanked after he observed the rectangular wooden box clearly.
“It’s made of Growth Amelioration Wood?”