Chapter 140: He’s the Short-sighted One...
If news that Hu Yan was still alive got out, it would be just as Bai Zhi said. Anyone who knew of their relationship would be lining up with money, hoping to invest in her auction house.
Of course, Hu Yan wouldn’t actually do that, just like today when he told her not to factor him in.
But by the same token, based on Zelda’s understanding of Bai Zhi’s spending habits recently, what she said was probably all true. Owning a house not far from Hu Yan’s private residence, making an 800-million-Star-Coin investment just like that, and having a large shopping mall on the Main Star—it all pointed to the fact that Bai Zhi had a considerable amount of Star Coins, and possibly even other investments they didn’t know about.
Add to that Bai Zhi’s status as an SS-level Purification Master and Hu Yan’s backing, if she really opened an auction house, she would undoubtedly become their fiercest competitor.
Zelda exchanged a look with the elder behind him. The elder chuckled and played the peacemaker, saying, "How about this? Let’s each take a step back. Forty-five percent. What do you think? We’re all on the same side here; there’s no need for this pointless competition just to let the other families have a laugh."
Bai Zhi thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "Forty-six percent. If that’s acceptable, we can sign the contract right now. Also, that large shopping mall I have should be on the scale of ten billion. Are you interested in renting it? It’s too big, and I haven’t decided what to do with it yet."
The Sel family indeed didn’t own a large shopping mall. The family that did best in that sector was the second-ranked Lin Family. But if it was for the ten-billion-Star-Coin mall Bai Zhi mentioned, the elder immediately sealed the deal. "A pleasure doing business with you."
Zelda said to the young Beastman beside him, "Kai Yi, draft the contract."
Hu Yan had originally intended to help, but seeing that Bai Zhi was handling the negotiation quite well, he remained silent and let her do her thing. When he heard her secure forty-six percent of the shares, a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.
The lawyer quickly drafted the contract. Bai Zhi wasn’t too familiar with these things, so she had Hu Yan look it over for her.
After Hu Yan finished reading it, he had them modify one of the clauses and add another to guarantee Bai Zhi’s safety. Only then did he let Bai Zhi sign her name.
Bai Zhi also transferred the Star Coins into the Sel family’s account as stipulated.
After the contract was signed, the elder exchanged a few pleasantries with Hu Yan. Before leaving, the elder told Zelda to chat with Bai Zhi about her shopping mall, and then he departed with the lawyer.
Just as they left, the system’s reward arrived.
[Congratulations, Host. Mission complete. The relevant documents for the ten-billion-Star-Coin shopping mall have been successfully issued. Please check for them.]
Hearing this, Bai Zhi’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
At that moment, Zelda reverted to his usual self, leaning back lazily in his chair with his long legs casually sprawled out. He said with a sigh, "Those old geezers insisted I put on an act. It was exhausting. But you were really amazing just now, Bai Zhi. I was worried we might scare you, but instead, you ended up bluffing our elder."
Bai Zhi glanced at the mall the system had rewarded her with. It was the largest one on the Main Star. They had even gone shopping there before and bought quite a few things. They hadn’t even finished exploring it back then, mainly because the place was so huge you needed to take the mall’s dedicated vehicles just to get around.
’To think this mall belongs to me now!!’
Bai Zhi’s face flushed and her heart pounded as she looked at it. ’This is real, tangible money!!’
Her breathing became a little ragged with excitement, but she had to maintain a calm expression. However, her slightly flushed cheeks and astonishingly bright eyes showed just how thrilled she was.
She smiled nonchalantly and said, "I wasn’t bluffing. I really do have a shopping mall. It’s the one you took me to last time—the biggest one."
As soon as Bai Zhi said this, the few Beastmen in the room were stunned. Even Hu Yan and Sang Mo had a flash of surprise in their eyes.
A peculiar glint appeared in Sang Mo’s eyes as he looked at Bai Zhi.
Zelda shot straight up and retorted, "How is that possible!"
Bai Zhi tilted her head and asked in return, "Why is it impossible? Do you think I don’t have ten billion Star Coins, or that I can’t afford this mall? Do you need me to show you proof?"
Zelda truly didn’t think Bai Zhi could afford that mall. For one, although the mall was built just two years ago and was rumored to have a very powerful backer, no one knew who the behind-the-scenes owner actually was.
But from his perspective, it absolutely couldn’t be Bai Zhi. So he never even considered which mall she was talking about, assuming she just owned some ordinary, small shopping center.
Yet Bai Zhi had just claimed her mall was the largest one on the Main Star.
Zelda subconsciously looked at Hu Yan, but it seemed Hu Yan was also in the dark about this.
Bai Zhi could tell none of them believed her. She didn’t bother explaining, simply pulling up the relevant proof the system had given her as a reward.
Zelda looked it over twice. In fact, based on his experience, he had already confirmed it was real on the first pass, but he still looked again. After he finished, it took him a long while to find his voice. He stared blankly at Bai Zhi. "It really is yours."
’I knew Bai Zhi was rich, but I never thought she was *this* rich!’
Zelda’s gaze toward Hu Yan became complicated, mixed with something else. He originally thought Hu Yan had settled for less out of gratitude for her saving his life, but now it seemed... as expected of Hu Yan!
’Even at death’s door, his taste is still on point. He found a female, and she turned out to be this loaded!!’
’Can someone tell me where to find a female like that?’
’I want to find one too!!’
’That’s ten billion!!’
’Even our family can’t produce that much cash...’
To be precise, very few of the great families on the Main Star could come up with that much money.
Most of their wealth was tied up in various projects and assets.
But Bai Zhi was different. She could casually pull out eight hundred million for an investment, spend tens of millions or even hundreds of millions on a whim, and had a ten-billion-Star-Coin mall as her foundation. What did this prove?!
’It proved she wasn’t short on cash at all!!’
Hu Yan felt Zelda’s gaze but didn’t react unusually. He wasn’t particularly surprised that it was true. Over the past month or so, he’d learned that if Bai Zhi said she had something, she definitely had it. Therefore, he was only surprised that Bai Zhi owned such a large mall on the Main Star, not that the mall belonged to her.
Bai Zhi nodded. "Mhm."
Then, with an air of immense wealth, she said, "If you need to collaborate on anything, just let me know."
This ten-billion-Star-Coin mall was the source of her absolute confidence.
’I might not have a lot of cash, but the mall will bring in a steady stream of income!!’
’And if I sell the mall, I can make another huge profit!’
Zelda looked at Bai Zhi’s slightly raised chin. ’Well... that’s to be expected. After all, with so much money and Hu Yan backing her up, she could do whatever she wanted on the Main Star.’
’I thought she was just trying to trick the elder before. Turns out, I was the one with the narrow view...’