343 Not Interested

Displaying a wide grin, he added, "Anyway, you're dismissed for the moment. You can go, I'll just summon you again if I need anything else."

"Hmph." Letting out a muffled harrumph in return which Virus was hardly able to hear, Hu Yuexin turned around and left the suite.

...

A few hours after enjoying their breakfast, Virus picked up his phone and directly contacted a number he had just extracted from the world-data.

"Hello, who is this?" Soon, a voice arrived from the other side of the line. Naturally, the question was asked in Chinese.

Catching this inquiry, however, just as fluent as the other person, Virus started talking, "Hello, I'm Aizen Vee, the owner of Virus Corporation headquartered in the United States of America. Is this the chairman of the state-owned enterprise 'Shanghai Municipal Investment Group'?"

Hearing the words 'Virus Corporation', the person on the other side promptly became dumbfounded before mouthing in utter annoyance, "Is this a joke? Damn it… do you know who you're pranking? Do you want to die kid?"

He couldn't believe the chairman of that company was calling him personally because truthfully, they were in different leagues as there was no reason for its chairman to contact him directly too.

"Mr. Chairman, I can assure you that this is 'not' a joke and I'm indeed the one and only Aizen Vee. I'm making this call regarding something I've been rather interested in buying from you as of lately." Not bothered by his disbelief at all, Virus replied.

Finally realizing it was most-likely a genuine call due to his serious tone, the Chairman queried in surprise, "Oh my… Really…? Then let me rephrase myself by apologizing for my previous rude remarks… I thought someone was pranking me. To be honest, I'm greatly honored! But why would the Chairman of Virus Industries reach out to me personally? You could've told your CEO-"

However, before he could even finish talking, Virus clarified his skepticism, "That's because currently, I'm in Shanghai. And like I stated earlier, I've become rather interested in purchasing something special from you, so I decided to at least reach out before handing the rest of the chore to my CEO."

"Uh, I see, what's this about?" Muttered the Chairman of Shanghai Municipal Investment Group with some excitement apparent within his tone.

Afterward, Virus added casually, "How about we talk face to face in a nice restaurant of your recommendation, give me an address and I'll be there right away."

"Definitely! I'll text you an address immediately, let's meet."

Soon, an address was sent over to his phone as the trio left the hotel.

Right in front of the hotel, a car was parked as a professional driver opened the door for them after a simple greeting.

...

While the car was moving within the streets of Shanghai city, the golden beauty opened her mouth, "What time is the Auction's going to be held, ma- Ai?"

"Soon. We'll go there right after meeting this Chairman and trying the foods he's recommending us." Responded Virus while Amara wondered, 'Did Bella just call him 'my'?'

In the meantime, while Virus was continuing to casually gaze outside, suddenly, he noticed something very strange, "Eh, why is that street on lockdown? Did something happen there?"

Before any of the girls could say anything to that by stating their puzzlement, the driver clarified the situation, "Sir, if I may… that street's on lockdown because recently a rift has appeared there so the government and its guardians are preparing to deal with the situation after its breakdown."

Hearing that explanation, a subtle glimmer of comprehension shone within Virus' eyes while he affirmed, "So that's the case. But… this distance seems to be too close to our hotel."

Assuming Virus was worried about his life, the driver assured him respectfully, "Please don't worry sir. Since this rift has shown up within the borders of the city itself, the government will probably dispatch at least twice the usual number of Abnormals, so those monsters definitely won't be of any danger to you or your companions."

"Is that so?" Mumbling that, Virus didn't expound the notions passing through his head and instead went quiet for the time being.

...

"Welcome! Chairman Vee! Welcome to our humble city!" Just as the chairman of 'Shanghai Municipal Investment Group' was greeting Virus, his eyes caught the sight of the two extremely ravishing western ladies following after him, so he also inquired in a passing, "Uh, who are these two heavenly ladies?"

"You can say they're my traveling companions at the moment, Amara and Bella." Pointing at them one by one, he briefly introduced the two.

Listening to the way he introduced the two gorgeous women, a shimmer of (mis)understanding sparkled through his eyes before he started talking, "I-I see... as expected of the Chairman of the Virus Industries! Anyway, come on in and take a seat, please. This restaurant is one of the greatest in all of Shanghai. It also happens to provide its special customers with private rooms."

"A good choice indeed."

...

"Hmm, delicious! A bit spicy, but that also adds to the rich taste nonetheless." Exclaimed the golden beauty taking a mouthful of her food while producing an exaggerated sound of pleasure.

"Haha, then that makes me relieved, young lady." Uttering this, the Chairman turned toward Virus and said, "So… Chairman Vee, what makes such a great person interested in meeting an old bag of bones like me?"

Understanding that he wanted to talk business, taking another bite of his food, Virus began elaborating in a relaxed tone, "I heard that there is a project that your company's about to start… a project for constructing a skyscraper beside the 'Jin Mao Tower' and the 'Shanghai World Financial Centre' which is going to give birth to the tallest of the world's first triple-adjacent supertall buildings."

'So it was the 'Shanghai Tower' project…' Listening up to this point, a sharp glint went through his previously laid-back eyes as he vocalized, "I'm sorry for being this blunt Chairman Vee, but our government is not interested in having any partners in this particular project."