Chapter 322: Assassination

Li Mochen and Nanette Drew hadn't chatted long before someone came to invite him to a suite on the twenty-seventh floor of the hotel. As Angela had predicted, Michelle Medici had taken the initiative to find him.

Stepping into the suite's reception room, Li Mochen was surprised by the man's aged appearance, but then his expression turned extremely grave. His primordial spirit, which had recovered to the out-of-body stage, sensed a terrifying power within this man, almost rivaling that of the Blaze Dragon Girl.

Compared to his own strength at its peak, the other party still had a considerable gap, but they could be considered on the same level. Yet this man had not stepped into the legendary realm and was only forty-five years old.

—This was a figure who, even in the Primordial Dome Realm, must be treated with equality and respect.

"I must first apologize to you."

After meeting, Michelle began with an apologetic tone: "I suppose Andre, you already know about the incident two nights ago? I'm sorry for the trouble it caused you."

Li Mochen naturally knew about the incident two days ago; Linder Emers had told him everything without reservation.

After learning the truth, he was quite annoyed—bringing two legends to him at once, was this person trying to kill him?

But later, after thinking it over carefully, he let it go. Lina Edric had warned him about the danger of getting close to Angela. So now that he was being targeted, what was there to complain about?

This Mr. Medici had only met Consulius once and had made no hostile moves.

The key point was that when he used Hazel's body, he sensed three to five legends lurking near the Unicorn Apartment, but they showed no hostility. It seemed Angela's father had no intention of putting him to death.

"I accept your apology."

Li Mochen smiled slightly and sat down opposite Michelle: "Mr. Medici, I trust such incidents won't happen again, right?"

This time, it was Michelle's turn to have his pupils contract slightly. He could now confirm that nothing had happened that night—rather, this young man had suppressed all trouble invisibly.

This also made the two men in black standing behind Michelle change expression slightly.

Besides being surprised by Li Mochen's words, the aura emanating from this young man was actually on par with their chairman!

"I guarantee there will be no more hostile actions from our side, but that doesn't include the Old Continent Magic Association and the main branch of the Medici family. That's also why I apologize to you."

Michelle Medici smiled wryly: "But after Richard and Douglas Duncan disappeared, I guess they won't act rashly for now."

"That's enough."

Li Mochen thought of the Medici family and the Magic Association, feeling a bit of a headache. Linder Emers had an accurate understanding of the strength of these two forces, which were unexpectedly powerful beyond Li Mochen's expectations.

Even in an undisturbed frontal battle, Li Mochen would mostly lose. And now, he still had the great enemy of the Dragon Witch Cult to deal with.

He was not strong enough yet; he needed to develop as quickly as possible.

"The Magic Association won't excessively interfere in personal grudges, especially when their members actively provoke you. And as for the Medici family, if they make any moves, I won't sit idly by."

Michelle Medici solemnly gave Li Mochen a promise, then placed a document over thirty pages thick in front of him: "Let's get down to business. I heard you've been looking for venture capital recently, right? About your Sunrise Retail? Andre, I'm very interested in this company. If you can accept these investment terms, we can sign the contract now."

Li Mochen thought this man was really direct—no need for bargaining? He had already called Li Mei and asked her to bring the negotiation team over as soon as possible.

When he picked up the document and read it seriously for a while, he put it down expressionlessly.

"A valuation of 2.5 billion gold shields is far too low, Mr. Medici. I don't see your sincerity."

Facing this white-haired middle-aged man, he felt like he had met his match; such an offer was an insult.

Truly a Medici—this guy had just caused him a big trouble and didn't have any guilt?

"That's just my initial offer. If you think it's not enough, we can negotiate."

Michelle said with a half-smile: "So how much do you think your company is worth?"

"I think 20 billion gold shields is a very reasonable price."

Li Mochen didn't even blink when he spoke; his quote was several times more exaggerated than the one Angela had suggested, even though the fixed assets of Sunrise Retail hadn't exceeded 100 million.

Anyway, asking a high price and bargaining down—take it slow.

"20 billion?"

Michelle was visibly surprised, then laughed: "You'll have to convince me, Andre."

"Of course."

Li Mochen remained calm, without any sign of guilt: "You may not know, but our company's net profit now exceeds 100 million gold shields per month. And Sunrise Retail is expanding rapidly. After the next forty-plus stores open, our monthly profit can easily cross the 300 million gold shield threshold. Besides, we are already negotiating loans with banks and will expand at the fastest speed to areas around Atlanta, including New Manchester State (fictional), Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and others. If our layout is complete, annual profits of 12 billion gold shields are possible. Calculated at a P/E ratio of nine times, that would support a market value of 100 billion."

"Sounds like I'd be making a profit?"

Michelle shook his head, adopting a businesslike attitude: "But the pie you're drawing hasn't been realized yet, right? The current high profits are not the norm; the accumulated consumer demand won't last long, and more players will enter later. Moreover, for Sunrise Retail to complete its layout in these seven states, how much military support, human resources, and political resources are needed? And there's war—how many battles does your company need to go through to gain a foothold in these places? 20 billion is too exaggerated, even one-sixth of that price is excessive."

"But in the southeastern region of America, I don't need additional military support, and the banks can provide sufficient funds. You should be aware of that, Mr. Medici."

"What about politics and human resources? Even now, I could make things difficult for you with just a word to the Florida legislators."

Li Mochen's lips twitched slightly: "That's why I'm seeking financing, and it doesn't have to be you, Mr. Medici. I think with your wisdom, you can make an accurate judgment. The future of America still has great potential for electrical appliance consumption—a market worth trillions in sales. The entire America can accommodate 100,000 such stores. And Sunrise Retail's future is at least a company with a market value of over 800 billion."

"Maybe. I admit that, but potential is just potential. To achieve the business goals you mentioned, how much fierce competition and capital investment are needed?"

Michelle seemed thoughtful: "Forget it, considering you're my daughter's boyfriend, I can raise the valuation of Sunrise Retail to 3.5 billion gold shields."

"I still don't see sincerity! Mr. Medici, you know that in Silicon Valley, those software and hardware companies, even with zero profit, even with just one computer and one office, can attract hundreds of millions in funding. And our Sunrise Retail—"

Before Li Mochen could finish, there was a loud 'bang' from outside the window. Li Mochen and Michelle exchanged glances and both walked to the window. They saw chaos at the hotel entrance, and with their perception abilities, they roughly knew what had happened.

Just a minute later, one of Michelle's bodyguards entered from the door: "BOSS, it's Congressman Handel of the Civic Party. He was sniped at the hotel entrance."

He paused for a moment: "It should be the Fenrir Wolf. The deceased was very close to the Van Peter family."

"The Fenrir Wolf?" Michelle's eyes narrowed: "It seems my old friends in Atlanta were right—this is indeed a mad dog."

"Do you need me to intervene?" asked a man with a hawk-like hooked nose behind Michelle: "I should be able to catch up with him."

"No need. This has nothing to do with us."

Michelle Medici shook his head, thinking that the existence of the Fenrir Wolf actually had some benefits. At least for the young man beside him, it was more beneficial than harmful.