Chapter 174: Slaves

"To be honest, A-Mo, you look terrifying right now."

When Li Mochen walked out of the room, Carl Holton cast a deeply worried glance at him.

Though merely an ordinary business elite, he could still vaguely sense the cold killing intent emanating from the man.

"Are we leaving now? We can go to the Gate of Nathan—Mr. Payton must still be at work."

"Why would I leave?"

Li Mochen shook his head. He figured that even if he went to the Gate of Nathan, he would only be sitting around waiting for results.

"I need to hire some people here and buy a few things. Speaking of which, I might not have enough money right now. Carl, can you do me a favor? I want to use my earnings from Nathan Sports Group over the next two years to secure a loan from the bank—the larger the amount, the better, no less than 20 million gold shields. I need it in my account within two hours."

"20 million gold shields?"

Carl Holton sucked in a sharp breath of cold air: "A-Mo, are you serious? Don't act on impulse."

Li Mochen shook his head slightly: "I'm not impulsive, Carl. You know about my store plan, right?"

"I've heard of it!"

Carl nodded: "The boss said you have a good head for business, and your plan is likely to succeed, though it will offend a lot of people. I think so too. But if it's just a short-term plan, it can make you a lot of money."

Li Mochen thought to himself that every move he made was indeed under the watch of the Nathan Group.

"But I don't plan to sell it. I truly intend to make the home appliance retail industry my future career. But if I want to keep it, conflict with others is inevitable. I think it's better to act sooner rather than later. Rather than waiting until success invites joint covetousness from all sides, it's better to pick a strong opponent from the start and show them strength. That way, at least they'll know that Sunrise Company and Andre Li Wielenstein are not to be trifled with."

He paused: "I can't give up Hazel, so I have no choice but to fight. You saw it too—Antonio dismissed me. Aside from making him pay through a war, I can do nothing to him."

"Understood!"

After a moment of contemplation, Carl Holton let out a bitter laugh: "Alright! I'll handle this for you. Though I'm not optimistic personally, it's your right. But I won't be able to show you around the club now—I need to make a phone call. Give me an hour, then I'll bring someone to find you. Give me the room key—"

He took the lounge room key from Li Mochen and pushed the door open.

Li Mochen turned to Chu Siguo: "Guo Zai, are you familiar with this place?"

The latter's paternal ancestors were from Guangdong, so after getting to know him, Li Mochen called him Guo Zai in the local custom, a rather affectionate term.

Chu Siguo shook his head: "You overestimate me, boss. How could I qualify to be here? The membership requirement for the Red Sparrow Club is a net worth of ten million gold shields. Many of my comrades have connections with them, but at most, they just submit a resume for a job at their liaison office."

"Alright, looks like I'll have to rely on myself."

Li Mochen said as he stopped a passing waiter: "Buddy, I plan to buy some monster materials and magical tools here, and also hire some people. What should I do next?"

The Red Sparrow Club employee immediately replied politely: "Sir, monster materials are on the first floor, at the very bottom of the Red Sparrow Club—a total of ninety-seven shops. Magical tools are on the second floor, with seventy-four magic equipment stores, including brands like Nathan, Arcadis, Medusa, etc. You can choose freely. If you have privacy concerns, I suggest you select your desired items and then order them back in your room. All magical materials and tools provided by the Red Sparrow Club are the cheapest in the entire state of Georgia, and bargaining is not allowed."

Li Mochen thought this method was good—using the Red Sparrow Club as an intermediary could effectively prevent merchants from learning the buyer's identity.

"Then on the third floor, there are several auction halls. We hold an auction every week, with items ranging from a million to ten million gold shields. The fourth floor is our human resources agency, where you can find any employee you want, as well as mercenary groups. Also, on the south side of the fourth floor, there are a few bars where many outlaws gather waiting for work. Then there are the fifth and sixth floors—that's the slave market, with two slave auction halls. Sir, if you want to hire personnel, you might also consider these slaves."

"There are slaves here?" Li Mochen was shocked.

"There are many here."

The waiter wore an expression of familiarity: "But they are all humanoid races. As you know, sir, American law has abolished slavery and does not permit the sale of any person."

Li Mochen frowned: "I never knew there were slaves in America."

Mainly because he had never seen any in daily life. Nor had he heard of any humanoid races in society.

In high school history class, it was even mentioned that after modern times, humans in the East and West had reconciled with many humanoid races, and all races coexisted peacefully.

"It's not that they don't exist—they're just disguised."

It was Chu Siguo who spoke: "Their sources are varied. Some come from the Old World, some from Southeast Asia and South America—all captured by slaver groups. Our Cobra unit has handled several humanoid race uprisings before, killing many people, but afterward, not a word leaked to the major media."

"This really is a sanctimonious land of freedom—"

Li Mochen felt very uncomfortable, but he knew he could do nothing about it. He shook his head, thanked the waiter, and stepped into the nearby elevator, pressing the button for the first floor.

...

At the same time, in the executive office of the Gate of Nathan, Dwight Payton stood with his back to the desk, staring solemnly at the glass wall before him.

Within what should have been a transparent wall, an image now appeared, along with a deep-eyed figure.

"So, behind Bloodhand Antonio is really you, Mr. Chairman?"

"It's me, Dwight. You're investigating this matter, so I came to find you in person."

The man addressed as Chairman smiled slightly: "Stop here, Dwight. I don't want to be your enemy."

"That's impossible!"

Dwight Payton's eyes were deep: "Andre Li Wielenstein is very important to me. He is indispensable in my future."

"I roughly understand. My advisor was right—you hope he can defeat those monsters on the West Coast and your competitors, right? The position of CEO at Nathan's headquarters is beckoning you. But Dwight, I cannot simply give up on this girl Hazel."

The 'Chairman' shook his head: "Her life has already been planned. She should not deviate from her destined path."

Dwight Payton leaned back: "So we can't reach an agreement? Then, Mr. Chairman, do you know what price you will pay?"

"I guessed it. Nathan will withdraw its support for me, right? But even so, I won't give up."

The 'Chairman's' voice gradually turned cold: "Don't force me to become your enemy, Mr. Payton. Though I only have two years left in my term, I think I can still cause you some trouble."