Chapter 295 - 183: Chain Quest, Ancient Magic Potion?
An hour later, in an exclusive café on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
"Sorry, traffic was a bit heavy," Li Wei said as he walked in and sat down across from Elizabeth. "What are you having?"
"I’ve already ordered," Elizabeth said, pushing an iPad toward Li Wei. "Their pour-over coffee is good."
"That’s not really my thing," Li Wei said, making a small sound with his mouth. "I’ll just have whatever you’re having."
After placing his order, Li Wei set the iPad aside and looked directly at Elizabeth.
"So—"
"So—"
"You first—"
"You first—"
They looked at each other, and both broke into a small smile.
"Alright, I’ll go first," Li Wei said after a pause. "Uh, about the Skull and Bones Society... don’t take it too seriously. It’s basically just a startup project for a bunch of college kids. The real power still belongs to the old geezers over forty."
Elizabeth gave Li Wei a wry smile.
"Don’t forget you’re a college student too," she said. "A freshman, at that."
Li Wei shrugged noncommittally. "And that’s why they didn’t invite me. They knew I wouldn’t have gone."
"Anyway," he cleared his throat. "On to business. I’m planning to host a reception in two weeks. You should come, right?"
Elizabeth paused, taken aback for a moment.
Being as sharp as she was, she immediately understood what Li Wei was implying.
"Are you saying you want to use your network to build a bridge for me?" she asked softly. "You want to introduce me to your contacts?"
"Who’s to say I’m not the one borrowing your network for an endorsement?" Li Wei shrugged. "Don’t forget, I’m the outsider here."
Their coffee arrived. Elizabeth smiled silently and took a sip.
Li Wei also took a sip of his.
’Hmm. Not as sweet as a Nescafé 3-in-1.’
Li Wei’s reason for hosting the reception was simple. Mostly, he felt that now that he had money, he couldn’t just spend it all. He needed to find something to invest in.
Making money work for you was the most important thing. And in this world, who were the ones who knew how to make money?
It was simple: those with money and those with information.
So, on one hand, Li Wei planned to host a reception to chat with various people ahead of time and see what opportunities might arise.
On the other hand, he was keenly aware of how much he owed Elizabeth for her help. Since she needed connections, resources, and contacts, he didn’t mind lending a hand.
"Are you trying to sleep with me?" Elizabeth asked, staring at Li Wei’s face. "Anya isn’t in New York right now. If I don’t say anything, no one else will ever know."
PFFT! Li Wei sprayed a mouthful of coffee, nearly dousing Elizabeth’s face.
"What!"
He sputtered, "Why would you suddenly say something like that?"
Elizabeth just calmly picked up a napkin and wiped a spatter of coffee from her arm.
"I was just joking." She didn’t seem angry at all. "And thank you."
A waiter quickly came over with cleaning supplies. After Elizabeth returned from washing up in the restroom, they paid the bill and left. Outside, Elizabeth looked in surprise at the Rolls-Royce Cullinan waiting for them.
"Wow," she teased. "You’re a real big shot now. Traded in the Porsche for a Rolls-Royce?"
"It’s a tax write-off," Li Wei said, opening the passenger door for her. "By the way, what was it you were about to say?"
"Oh, right," Elizabeth said as she got into the car. "Well... because this is no small matter for me, and you know I don’t have much real power within the family... I went to see my grandfather."
"Your grandfather?"
"Yes. A cold-blooded, cruel tyrant," Elizabeth said sharply. "But the most ironic part is that he’s the one in charge of the family’s charitable, art, and foundation operations—worth tens of billions of dollars."
Li Wei thought for a moment but chose not to comment on her family affairs.
"Because of what happened with my father, he’s had very little contact with my grandfather, and neither have I," Elizabeth said. "So when he agreed to help me this time, he made a request. I have to go home for Christmas in December... and he extended an invitation to you as well."
"But isn’t that a family dinner?" Li Wei asked. "I’d be an outsider."
Li Wei saw her face flush slightly.
"Well... it’s a family dinner, but you’re allowed to bring a significant other. One of my uncles brings a different woman every time," Elizabeth said, her brow furrowing slightly. "So... he probably thinks you and I are dating."
"So, what do you think?" she asked. "Will you come? It’s okay if you don’t, I can figure something else out—"
"I’ll go," Li Wei said. "I don’t want to put you in a tough spot."
’Besides, who knows? Attending this kind of family gathering might trigger a special quest or reward. Worst case, it’s just a family get-together. A few sarcastic remarks won’t kill me. It’s not like I’ll lose a pound of flesh.’
「One day later」
Lady Delores gave Li Wei a call.
"Mr. Li Wei, we’ve found David’s exact address," she said, her voice as calm as ever. "He was hidden quite well, but men... they can’t control their zippers or their mouths. An associate of ours had one of his girls recognize him. I’ll send you the address shortly."
"Thanks," Li Wei said. "I’m hosting a reception in two weeks. I’d be honored if you would attend, Lady Delores."
"Thank you. I will certainly be there," Lady Delores replied, then paused. "Do you need us to handle him for you?"
"No, it’s fine," Li Wei said, shaking his head. "I’ll handle it myself. It wouldn’t be good for your business if you were involved."
David had been using the Russians at Brighton Beach as his channel for fencing goods and laundering money. It wasn’t long before they caught on and grabbed him.
If word of their involvement got out, it would be impossible for them to do business in the future.
Besides, compared to the simple, brutal, and direct methods of the Russians, the Chinese approach could be a little more discreet.
Li Wei then called Lin Daohang and asked him to handle it. The instructions were to try courtesy before force, but to make sure David coughed up the money he’d scammed.
And Lin Daohang’s methods were truly befitting a man who walked the line between the legitimate world and the criminal underworld.
Before midnight that same day, Li Wei received a call from Lin Daohang. Everything was taken care of. David, with almost no visible injuries, had returned all the money via overseas channels. Including the money he’d scammed from others, the total came to a little over 6.5 million USD.
"Transfer the six million to my corporate account," Li Wei said. "The other half a million is for the boys to have some tea."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Li," Lin Daohang said, thanking him profusely. "It was really nothing."
"Well, I did have Chairman Lin himself handle it," Li Wei said. "I assume I don’t need to worry about the transfer triggering any alarms with the bank?"
"Not at all, not at all," Lin Daohang stressed. "We understand. This was street business. It has absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Li."
Only then did Li Wei nod and hang up.
Besides the issue with the money being resolved, there was also the matter of Mark and the Merrill Lynch compliance department. What seemed like a world-ending catastrophe to Mark would have been quite thorny for even Li Wei and Elizabeth to handle.
But in the face of Elizabeth’s grandfather, Alexander Mellon, the Merrill Lynch compliance department became as docile as a kitten. They dropped Mark’s case completely without another word.
It seemed the "Silver Treasure Chest" quest was now half-complete. All that was left was for Mark to demonstrate the virtues of a Knight.
The day before Li Wei left for Los Angeles to face the Rams, the money—which had been moved through several accounts—finally landed.
To thank Lady Delores for her help, Li Wei ordered an astronomically priced Hermes bag through her to give to Anya. After paying back the money he owed Anya and transferring one million USD to Don Quixote for the remainder of the recruitment fees, Li Wei’s cash on hand was finally back to around 3.5 million USD.
That evening, Li Wei spoke with Don Quixote about his plan to host a reception.
"What do you think?" Li Wei asked Don Quixote, who was sitting across from him. "Is two weeks enough time?"
"It’s just a reception. Two weeks is plenty of time. I can handle the venue and expenses," Don Quixote said thoughtfully. "But we should begin with the end in mind. What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Once we know that, we can decide who to invite."
"A lot of celebrities and actors launch their own brands, right?" Li Wei began counting on his fingers. "Conor McGregor has his tequila, Dwayne Johnson has his fitness gear and supplements... I feel like I need to start thinking about this too."
"So what do you want to do?" Don Quixote nodded. "It’s not a problem for us. With your fame, it would be easy to raise over a hundred million USD in investment. It just depends on what you want to get into."
"What do you think about a sports drink?" Li Wei mused. "Seems like there could be some potential there, right?"
"Hard to say," Don Quixote said, shaking his head. "I’m no marketing expert. We’d have to research it carefully. Starting a business isn’t like buying a luxury car; you could sink millions of dollars into it and not even make a ripple."
"Alright," Li Wei considered. "Let’s research it first, then. By the way, want to have a drink or two tonight?"
As expected, Don Quixote couldn’t hold his liquor and ended up passed out on his bed, fast asleep.
It wasn’t until 2:00 AM that Li Wei heard it again: the sound of Don Quixote putting on his armor.
"Good day, Knight Don Quixote," Li Wei said with a nod. "How have you been?"
"Lately? Oh, my God," Don Quixote said, turning his body, the full suit of armor clanking. "I have been terribly busy with your affairs."
"My affairs?" Li Wei blinked. "My... what affairs?"
"Did you not tell me that you needed to acquire a Magic Potion?" Don Quixote asked, sounding muddled. "What’s this? Are you the one who is sleepwalking? Have you forgotten this matter entirely?"
’Acquire a Magic Potion?’
[You have encountered a series quest: Ancient Magic Potion.]