Chapter 254 - 157: Hole-in-One
"A pleasure doing business with you," Li Wei nodded.
Just then, Director Harrison, who had been standing to the side weighing a custom TaylorMade golf club in his hands, let out a soft chuckle.
"Lawyers and security consultants will do anything for money, but I’m different, Mr. Li Wei." Director Harrison swung the club, creating a brief WHOOSH. He looked Li Wei up and down. "What I’d be lending you is my medical license of thirty years and my NPI number. Even with Miss Elizabeth Mellon’s recommendation, this comes with risks."
"Uncle Harrison, Li Wei just needs to purchase some force plates and things like that," Elizabeth Mellon hurried forward, stepping between Li Wei and Harrison. "This isn’t what you said before—"
"Liz, I’m so happy to have watched you grow up. You look more and more like your mother," Director Harrison interrupted her. His tone was gentle but left no room for argument. "The fact that I postponed a congressman’s surgery to be here today is already a show of respect to the Mellon and Vanderbilt Families. But this involves a medical director’s license and federal approval. We have to follow the rules."
Elizabeth’s face paled slightly. Standing in front of Li Wei, she felt even more embarrassed and subconsciously tightened her grip on the golf glove in her hand.
Unlike the lawyer and the retired deputy director, Director Harrison wasn’t just the director at the Specialized Surgical Hospital (HSS)—ranked number one in the nation for orthopedics for sixteen consecutive years—but he was also the Mellon Family’s endowed chief of surgery. To put it bluntly, he had likely been serving the Mellon Family for longer than Elizabeth had been alive.
"However..." Director Harrison turned his head, looking Li Wei up and down with great interest. "While I don’t watch football, I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Li Wei. And from what I know, Quarterbacks are known for their ’unbelievable precision.’"
He pointed to the distant green with his club. "Fate brought us together. How about this, young man? If you can beat me on this par-3 hole, I’ll be your medical director for free. What’s more, if you need anything in the future, you can contact me directly on my private line. How about it?"
Finch and Royce exchanged a glance.
They both knew Harrison was a golf fanatic who often played in exhibition matches with professional players.
’Does this Harrison have some sort of beef with Elizabeth Mellon? Is he here today just to give her and Li Wei a hard time?’
Elizabeth was about to speak up and stop them, but Li Wei had already walked past her, casually pulling an iron from a nearby golf bag.
"Are you serious?" Li Wei looked at Harrison, then at the golf course.
"Of course," Harrison said with a smile. "Liz and Royce can both vouch for me."
Li Wei glanced at his skill bar, then back at Harrison, who wore a smug expression, looking as if victory was already in the bag.
"Alright," he said, his expression calm. He didn’t even take a practice swing. "Director Harrison, after you."
With his current strength, even a top-of-the-line barbell would bend like modeling clay in his hands. As his power continued to grow, he needed special dynamometric equipment, like high-end force plates, to test and measure his destructive power and absolute strength.
By measuring his force output, he could calculate his destructive power without having to foolishly estimate it by lifting weights.
Purchasing these high-end force plates required special credentials. For Li Wei, getting Director Harrison on his side and using his qualifications to customize and procure the equipment was a crucial step.
Seeing Li Wei’s composure, Harrison raised an eyebrow and didn’t stand on ceremony.
He walked to the tee box, professionally gauged the wind direction, then lowered his hips, rotated his torso, and swung.
"CRACK!"
The small white ball traced a graceful arc through the air, landing steadily on the green less than two yards from the hole.
It was an absolutely brilliant shot, drawing a round of cheers from Royce and Finch.
"Your turn, superstar." Harrison leaned on his club, the corner of his mouth curling into a smug arc. He was clearly very pleased with his shot.
He stepped aside to stand with Royce and Finch.
Royce, who was closer to Harrison, leaned in and asked in a low voice:
"Hey, Harrison," he whispered, "aren’t you being a little disrespectful to Elizabeth? How could this kid, Li Wei, possibly compete with you? You might as well put on pads and challenge him to a game of football."
"Are you crazy? I’d like to live a few more years," Harrison snorted, looking at Li Wei and Elizabeth a few meters away. "My license isn’t something I just lend out to anyone. The Mellon Family has so many kids. If I agreed to help every single one of them, I’d never finish cleaning up their messes."
’Besides, after Li Wei fails to make the shot, I can give him a second chance out of respect for Liz and him. That way, they’ll each owe me a favor.’
Harrison watched Li Wei walk to the tee box with a smile, not voicing the last part of his thoughts.
Li Wei walked to the teeing area and set down his ball.
He swung the club a few times, then glanced back at the smug Director Harrison, at Royce and Finch who were enjoying the show, and at Elizabeth Mellon, whose brow was furrowed despite the smile forced onto her face—
[Predetermined Trajectory]!
In an instant, everything around him seemed to transform into a series of flickering data points in his eyes.
The speed of the crosswind from the Atlantic Ocean, the air humidity, the friction coefficient of the turf, the highest point of the parabola... A perfect virtual trajectory extended directly from his feet into the distant hole.
Li Wei gripped the club and, without even looking, swung.
"CLANG—"
The crisp sound of the strike echoed. The small ball shot into the sky as if equipped with a guidance radar. After reaching its apex, it plummeted, landing on the green with intense backspin.
After landing, the ball didn’t roll forward like Harrison’s. Instead, it spun backward, tracing a bizarre white line before—CLUNK.
It went straight into the hole.
A hole-in-one!
A dead silence fell under the parasol.
The smug look on Harrison’s face froze completely. The iced waters in Royce’s and Finch’s hands stopped mid-air. Elizabeth Mellon gave a small, excited jump, but quickly clamped a hand over her mouth before she could shout.
Li Wei looked at Harrison, whose jaw had nearly dropped to the floor, and gave a strange shrug.
"A pleasure doing business with you, Director Harrison," he said with a smile as he slid the club back into the bag. "If we get the chance, we should play together more often."
’What the fuck!’
Harrison almost lost his composure, but the decorum he’d acquired from years of moving in high society allowed him to quickly pull himself together.
He looked up at the sky, suddenly sighed, and shook his head with a wry smile.
"...You win, kid," he said, extending a hand to Li Wei. "It seems this was God’s will. A hole-in-one is something you might see once a year if you’re lucky, and I got to witness it today. Next Monday, I’ll have my assistant send copies of my NPI number and license to your house."