Dragon Fist took a glance at his wristwatch and looked outside the window.
"Ah... I think they should be arriving soon."
"What’s arriving?" Switch asked.
After a brief mont, the sound of helicopter engines echoed through the air, and a chopper flew toward the helipad on the rooftop of the VIP residential zone.
Dragon Fist then led the two toward the helipad, where they were greeted by a large, luxurious civilian helicopter. Despite its sleek design, it was equipped with camouflage tech and sonic defenses to repel flying mutated beasts. On the side of the helicopter was the logo of one of the most prominent food brands.
The logo depicted a sunlit, abundant valley with a golden stalk of rice and the character 谷 (valley) emblazoned on it. This was the Golden Valley Brand, a corporate giant in the food industry, covering agriculture, livestock, processed food, and even running hunting lodges that specialized in harvesting mutated beasts to supply at to high-end restaurants and hotels.
"The Golden Valley Group!? Wait... you have a connection with the Gu family!?"
"Gu family? Who are they?" Maximilian asked. He was still new to this world. Despite his best efforts to study and understand it, there were still many things he was unfamiliar with.
"You don’t know them?" Switch was surprised. It was rare to find soone unaware of such a famous brand and the influential family behind it.
Maximilian nodded.
"Ah, Ms. Switch," Dragon Fist chid in with a smile, "maybe Grandmaster has been too focused on honing his skills in so remote area. I heard he only arrived in the city recently. It’s normal if he doesn’t know about a lot of things. These are minor details compared to Grandmaster’s training, I’ll slowly introduce him to the city later."
To Dragon Fist, Maximilian’s mastery of ancient martial arts was the result of relentless, hellish training, the kind where it’s easier to die than survive long enough to beco that powerful.
Hearing Dragon Fist’s reasoning, Switch nodded in agreent, though she still had her doubts. She believed Maximilian’s combat prowess stemd more from his EF than from ancient martial arts, unlike what Dragon Fist believed.
"How did you know I only recently ca into the city?" Maximilian asked Dragon Fist with a frown.
Switch let out a sigh.
"Seriously, Max... I don’t know what to make of you. On one hand, you’re a master who can take down a Behemoth with your bare hands. On the other, you seem completely harmless, and your cluelessness about a lot of things makes you co off like a lost sheep."
She continued:
"When we accept a job, we always do our howork. We need to know what the client is like. Is the job full of complications? Do too many rcs end up dead on their contracts? Is it their first ti hiring soone? Things like that. That’s why we know about you, we ford our perception of you based on the information we gathered." Switch explained.
"I guess your perception of was wrong?" Maximilian asked, amused.
"No, we were half right," Switch said with a mischievous smile, then continued.
"We were wrong about you being harmless, but we were right about you being a lost sheep."
"Heh... If Grandmaster is a sheep, then he’s one hell of a sheep, one that could decimate a lion with a single kick," Dragon Fist added, amused by the idea.
After chatting for a bit, the three boarded the helicopter, which then lifted off and carried them back to the city.
The journey wasn’t long, and the service onboard the helicopter was top-tier. It was luxurious enough that Switch suspected it might normally be used by a CEO or even the city governor. Especially suspicious was the flight attendant, a beautiful woman, who occasionally winked and sent flirtatious signals toward Maximilian.
This soured Switch’s mood to the point where she wanted to curse, but couldn’t. She could only glare at Maximilian, who gave a helpless expression, clearly showing this wasn’t his fault.
Noticing Switch’s reaction and Maximilian’s response, Dragon Fist walked over to the stewardess and whispered sothing into her ear. After that, she stopped sending flirtatious glances toward Maximilian.
That seed to improve Switch’s mood.
The three enjoyed drinks and sweets as the helicopter entered the city’s airspace. After a brief exchange between the pilot and air traffic control, the helicopter was allowed to enter the city through a special corporate channel, a privilege reserved for corporate executives.
"Wait, do you have stock in Golden Valley Food? If so, I wouldn’t be surprised," Switch said with a smile.
"I do have so stock in Golden Valley Food," Dragon Fist answered briefly, not elaborating.
The helicopter landed on the helipad atop Golden Valley Food’s HQ. The trio was t with high-class treatnt from the staff.
This made Maximilian slightly suspicious, perhaps Dragon Fist wasn’t just a simple shareholder after all.
"Welco back, Young Master. The Old Master is waiting for you in his office. He’ll be thrilled to hear directly from you if you’re planning to return to the fold," said a maid dressed in traditional Chinese attire, bowing politely to Dragon Fist.
"Young Master?" Switch repeated, eyeing Dragon Fist suspiciously as he let out a tired sigh.
"Let reintroduce myself, Grandmaster," Dragon Fist said, turning to Maximilian.
"My real na is Cassius Gu, or, in Chinese, Gu Yichen. I’m one of the heirs of the Gu family."
"Are you a corporate hero?" Maximilian asked.
"I’m trying to be... but my popularity isn’t great. At first, I wanted to fix that, but now... I’ve changed my mind," Dragon Fist replied.
"You changed your mind? Are you planning to inherit the business then?" Maximilian inquired.
"Inherit the business!? Ha! As if he could!" an arrogant voice suddenly interrupted.
A man in a white traditional Chinese robe entered the corridor where the reception was taking place.
"Brother Tian..." Dragon Fist’s expression dropped the mont he saw the newcor.
Maximilian recognized the man from the hero database, he was Immortal Blade, the top local hero of Arkadia City, and ranked among the top forty on the global hero charts.
The man nad Tian glanced at Maximilian and Switch with clear disdain before speaking to Dragon Fist in Chinese.
"Yichen, who gave you permission to bring these... dirty beggars in? They don’t look like renowned heroes or corporate board mbers."
Hearing this, Dragon Fist, also known as Gu Yichen, replied in Chinese. He didn’t want the conversation between him and his brother to offend Maximilian.
"They are my guests, Brother Tian. Who I bring in is none of your business."
"Hmph! It is my business," the man in white snapped.
"Because I’m the best candidate to inherit our family legacy. For the past few years, every plan you’ve made has ended in ruin. You’ve done nothing to contribute to the family or the corporation’s growth."
He stepped closer to Gu Yichen, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Your ti in business school? Failed. Your business ventures? Failed. Your marketing campaigns to promote the company? Failed. And lastly, your attempt to beco a hero and bring in UEC engagent and benefits to the company? Also failed. Worst of all, you’re on probation!"
"If Father hadn’t pulled so strings for you, the IHB would’ve already revoked your hero license!" Tian finished with contempt.
Gu Yichen gritted his teeth. He couldn’t refute any of it, because everything Tian said was true. Among the three brothers from the main family line, he was the worst candidate to inherit the company. All of his attempts to contribute had ended in failure, and becoming a hero was his last shot.
That, too, had failed. Now, he was left with almost no chance of ever inheriting the family business.
But that had changed the mont he witnessed Maximilian’s overwhelming combat prowess. Even if he couldn’t inherit the company, if he could beco Maximilian’s disciple, everything might change.
At the very least, he would gain newfound respect, as the disciple of a Grandmaster-ranked ancient martial artist.
Gu Yichen’s chest rose and fell with anger, but out of respect for Maximilian, he forced himself to calm down before speaking.
"I don’t want to waste any more of my ti with you, Brother Tian. I shouldn’t keep Father waiting. Excuse ," Gu Yichen said with a huff before turning to Maximilian.
"Grandmaster, please follow . I’ll introduce you to my father," he said calmly and respectfully.
Neither of them thought Maximilian would understand their conversation. But unfortunately for them, one of the abilities he had inherited from Blood Mongoose included proficiency in the Chinese language.
So Maximilian understood everything they said—including the part where the man in white looked down on him and called him a beggar.
Gu Yichen and the receptionist began leading Maximilian toward the inner part of the company, but before they could proceed, the man nad Tian shouted:
"Intruder!"
With that one word, the ergency protocol was triggered. The corridor locked down instantly, sealing the path ahead. Red warning lights flashed as alarms blared throughout the executive floor.
"Intruder alert. Locking down executive floor. Intruder alert. Please remain calm and stay in your office. Security forces have been dispatched. The incident will be resolved shortly. Repeat... intruder alert," the electronic voice echoed through the corridor, just as the sound of heavy footsteps approached from the other side of the locked doors.
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