American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

[Great Knight, the person before you is trying to fool you.]

[This document is nothing more than a few pieces of waste paper for wiping tables. That so-called ’sacred temple’ was built by cunning Goblin Stone Masons who used hollow, inferior stones for its sturdy walls and inflated the cost several times over with illusory phantom Gold Coins!]

[The most ridiculous part is their claim to have used magical runes and paid a fortune for a Wizard from the high tower. And the result? Ha!]

[As for the soul contract they signed, let me see... Ah! It’s hidden beneath the gargoyle nest under the guild tower!]

’The Goblin Stone Masons’ highest guild tower? A gargoyle nest?’

Li Wei pondered this as he looked over the documents Beatrice Mellon had given him.

’Could this intel actually be about money laundering and embezzlement? And the real contracts were hidden by the construction contractors?’

This was entirely possible. On paper, the Manhattan Art Center was a Mellon Family property, and Charles Mellon was a direct descendant of the family.

But it was just like how Elizabeth had secured 50 million USD in bridge financing from Anya. After one round of laundering, she was left with only about 2.5 million.

Moreover, she still had to manage her connections and pay for operational costs like lawyers and administration. From what Li Wei understood, she’d be lucky to keep 1% for herself in the end.

Instead of being the shared wealth of a large family, the Mellon Family’s foundations and trusts were more like a major corporation where different surnames and degrees of blood relation determined your salary.

They might all be named Mellon, but some only collected a basic allowance while others received dividends.

As a member of the younger generation, Charles Mellon certainly wasn’t receiving a large monthly sum. It was inevitable that he might collude with outsiders for a few kickbacks.

At this thought, Li Wei felt a little more settled. He waved the documents in his hand. "Well, I’ll take these back and look them over. My agent and staff are waiting for me in the suite upstairs."

Beatrice Mellon nodded, completely unaware that all the information she had tried so hard to hide had been mercilessly exposed by the [Jester’s Skull].

"By the way," Li Wei asked before he left, "since you know so clearly what Charles Mellon was up to, were you there? Did you try to stop him?"

Beatrice Mellon pretended not to hear him.

Li Wei smiled and pulled open the door to the lounge.

In another room, he found the governor chatting enthusiastically with the stadium staff.

"Sorry, I just finished a video conference," he said, still all smiles. "The meeting ran a little late."

"No problem," Li Wei replied, also beaming. "We’ve exchanged contact info. Let’s play golf together sometime."

When Li Wei pushed open the door to the VIP suite, the atmosphere inside was still warm with the afterglow of celebration.

He had only been gone for about half an hour.

"Boss!" Jin Heon was the first to greet him, clutching a laptop used for monitoring public opinion, her eyes sparkling. "Oh my god, the governor met with you privately! What did you talk about? Any world-shattering conspiracies?"

"Of course," Li Wei replied casually. "We’re planning to join forces and take over the world."

"Awesome! You’re the best, Boss!" Jin Heon clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes filled with adoration. "Getting the governor to come for a photo op... you won’t find another rookie in the entire NFL who could do that! I’ve already drafted a press release. As soon as the governor’s office posts something, I’ll share it."

Li Wei gave Jin Heon a helpless look and turned to Don Quixote. "How are things? Is the flight path ready?"

"The Gulfstream’s flight plan has been filed. Though I just had another big argument with John Mara," Don Quixote said with a hearty laugh. "He said this wasn’t on the original itinerary and we should pay for it ourselves."

"So what did you say?" Li Wei asked curiously.

"I told him to call it ’recuperation expenses.’ He ended up footing the bill," Don Quixote said, clapping his hands. "Get ready to go. We’re having a feast tonight."

「Three hours later, as night fell, at ’The Forge,’ a top seafood restaurant on Miami’s South Beach.」

Despite Li Wei’s celebrity status working its magic, they had jumped the queue on short notice, so they only managed to get two small tables.

Don Quixote and Chen Haisheng sat at the outer table, while Li Wei and Jin Heon took the inner table by the window.

The Miami night breeze carried the damp, salty smell of the sea. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, they could see Biscayne Bay in the distance.

Waiters brought a stream of expensive dishes to the table, from Beluga caviar and freshly shucked Gillardeau oysters to two Alaskan king crabs weighing about 6 kilograms and a giant Florida lobster.

However, for Jin Heon, who was already sitting ramrod straight with nervousness just from dining with her boss, Li Wei, the question of how to gracefully tackle the king crab claw as thick as her forearm became a major dilemma.

When ordinary Korean-Americans in Flushing or K-Town ate seafood, they either bit directly into the shell or just broke it with their hands. She had only ever seen a king crab this big in a tank; she’d never actually eaten one.

She looked at the row of what appeared to be shell-cracking tools before her—she didn’t even know what they were called.

But not wanting to look foolish, she thought for a moment, clenched her jaw, and picked up a small silver mallet.

She aimed at the crab claw and gave it a tap.

CLINK. Nothing happened. The hard claw deflected her mallet, and she almost dropped it.

Li Wei took in the whole scene but didn’t say anything to her. Instead, pretending not to have noticed, he raised his hand and gestured for a waiter to come and crack his crab claw for him.

"They don’t do a great job of cracking the shells here," he complained casually, then looked at Jin Heon. "Do you want him to do yours for you?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jin Heon nodded eagerly, immediately taking the lifeline he’d offered and putting down the embarrassing little mallet.

The meal lasted until the sky was completely dark. By the time their private jet landed on a private runway at Kennedy International Airport, it was the early hours of Monday morning in New York.

Outside the airport’s VIP terminal, several black SUVs were already waiting. Li Wei instructed the drivers to take Jin Heon and Chen Haisheng home safely, then got into a car with Don Quixote to head back to his place.

In the dead of night, the tremendous wind and noise that filled New York’s daytime air were replaced by the sound of sirens echoing throughout the city.

The sound only began to fade after they returned to the Fortress City Apartments.

Just as Li Wei finished his shower and was about to read for a bit, he heard an extremely faint, rhythmic scraping sound coming from the hallway.

’Hmm? It’s so late. Is that Lily?’

Li Wei walked out of his room and found the Knight Don Quixote, whom he hadn’t seen in this state for a while. He was wearing a set of dark blue pajamas, holding a golf club he’d fished out of Li Wei’s golf bag, and pacing back and forth at the junction of the living room and hallway.

"Good day, Knight Don Quixote," Li Wei said as he approached, asking with a hint of anticipation, "How are you today?"

"Not well, not well at all," Don Quixote said with his eyes closed, looking troubled. "I have a feeling something big is about to happen."

’Something big?’ Li Wei’s expression brightened. ’Could there be another mission?’

"Leave it to me! What is it?" He puffed out his chest. "To restore the glory of the Knight, it is our sworn duty!"