Top Notch War God

Chapter 38

"You are a traitor to the Willis family. If you're not one of us anymore, stay out of this!" Ariya, already annoyed with Jensen, replied coldly, "I'm not here for the Yuvi Group. I'm here for myself."

"Ariya, you can go in if you want," Mateo said coldly.

"But don't stand with us, or Mr. Baker might think we don't take this seriously, sending someone like you to bid. After we've presented our proposal, you can speak. Whether you succeed or fail has nothing to do with the Willis family. Do you understand?"

Ariya felt choked up. Regardless of who won the southern city's development, her grandfather's coldness cut deep.

Mateo and Jensen went into the office first, and after a moment, Ariya followed last, finding a quiet corner to stand with her head down.

Inside the office, Dominik sat in the middle and said, "Everyone, follow the rules. First, report your name. Stop when I tell you to. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Lord Willis responded loudly, having prepared himself.

"Alright, you first!" Dominik pointed to the first person.

"Hello, Mr. Baker. My name is Baker Wanquan..." the man said with a fawning smile.

"Stop! Next!" Dominik didn't even think about it and had his materials collected.

"Mr. Baker, this..." The man was stunned; he hadn't even finished speaking.

But this wasn't an isolated case. The next few people were stopped by Dominik right after they introduced themselves.

These people were all bewildered, thinking they hadn't said anything wrong.

Finally, it was Lord Willis's turn. He smiled broadly and said, "Hello, Mr. Baker. I'm Mateo Willis. You might remember we met here a few years ago..."

"Stop! Next!" Dominik didn't even lift his head.

"Mr. Baker, at least let us present our proposals before deciding whether to work with us!" Jensen pleaded, utterly confused.

"If you want to talk, go do it outside the door! Don't waste my time here!" Dominik said, visibly annoyed.

The Willis family members were all dumbfounded. What was going on?

Dominik was getting irritated. "Next!"

More than twenty people had gone by, and still no sign of Ariya? This was wasting his precious time.

After several more people were stopped by Dominik, it was finally Ariya's turn.

She swallowed nervously, mustered her courage, and stepped forward, saying softly, "Hello, Mr. Baker. My name is Ariya Storm, and I'm here mainly to..."

Dominik suddenly trembled, and the impatient expression on his face disappeared, replaced by a look of delight. He immediately stood up with a smile. "Oh, oh, so you are Mrs. Storm!"

He continued. "I've been waiting for you all day. You've finally arrived! Please take a look—here are the transfer agreements for your three clothing factories, and I've also planned a plot of land in the southern part of the city for you. You will have the design rights for the factories, but we will fully reimburse all necessary procurement and materials costs."

He then urged. "If you find everything in order, please sign this contract, and I'll arrange for someone to help you move!"

Ariya's eyes widened, and she was utterly confused.

Three clothing factories were exchanged for land in the southern part of the city so easily, with the city government even covering the costs. How could there be such a good deal in the world?

She hadn't even said anything, and the other party had already prepared the contract. Clearly, they were well-prepared.

"Mrs. Storm, is there anything you feel we didn't do well?" Dominik asked cautiously when he saw her silence.

"If you have any concerns, feel free to bring them up, and I'll have someone amend the contract immediately. Is the land not big enough? I can add another thousand acres for you. How about that?"

The Willis family members were all stunned, and Lord Willis stood there, eyes wide with disbelief.

How could this be?

It was clear that Dominik had been waiting for Ariya. Otherwise, how could he have decided to sign the contract just by hearing her name?

What exactly was going on?

"No, no, it's enough, more than enough," Ariya hurriedly waved her hand.

"Then please sign your name here. There are two copies of the contract—one for you and one for us." Dominik flipped to the last page of the contract, where he had already signed his name, leaving only Ariya's signature.

Ariya signed her name mechanically and then walked out in a daze.

"Did you sign it?" Talon asked Ariya with a smile.

"Yes." Ariya looked up at him, wanting to ask but knowing she wouldn't get an answer.

She sincerely said, "Talon, thank you so much. Thank you for preserving my hard work in the Willis family."

"Thank me for what? Look, your grandfather is coming over again." Talon waved it off, not taking it to heart.

"Ariya, this... well!" Lord Willis tried to speak several times but didn't know what to say.

"Grandpa, if you have something to say, please go ahead." Ariya said calmly, "Whether or not you acknowledge me as a member of the Willis family, I'm still your granddaughter."

"Ariya, could you... could you entrust the clothing factory construction business to the Willis family?" Lord Willis asked tentatively. "Our Willis family sold three clothing factories, and I've even put my retirement savings into this, scraping together ten million. I just want to make a mark in the southern city bid, but... well!"

Mateo was too embarrassed to continue. They had painstakingly prepared a proposal, but Dominik didn't even look at it and directly assigned the southern city area to Ariya.

Ariya had been considering helping her grandfather, but since Talon was involved, she looked to him for advice. "What do you think?"

Talon's smile turned cold. He knew Ariya's intentions but didn't want to oppose her.

"You can hand it over to the Willis family, but have Nightwing handle their construction and renovation work. All materials must meet the standards. Labor costs can be increased by fifteen percent. Calculating this way, the Willis family should earn no less than two million within three months. Whether they agree or not is up to them."

"Alright, I agree! I agree!" Lord Willis could only nod repeatedly, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Lord Willis, I'm doing this for Ariya's sake. You know what your attitude should be when you see her in the future." Talon coldly threw out these words and left with Ariya.

"Grandpa!" Jensen exclaimed in frustration, observing their retreating figures with a mix of anger and sadness.

"Forget it. We're the weaker party now." Mateo waved his hand, not letting Jensen continue.

On the way to the Yuvi Group, Talon suddenly received a call from Ralphy.

"General, there's something I need to report to you!"

He added. "In a few days, it will be the birthday of Kieran Gordon, a wealthy businessman from Riverside City. His son once served in the Dragon Nest army but unfortunately died in battle overseas. I've heard that Lord Gordon is fond of antiques. Recently, there's been a grand auction in the underground world of Philadelphia, with the top item being the seal of King Louis."

He continued. "Also, I saw a picture in the auction's promotional materials that resembles the jade pendant you always carry with you."

"Something similar to my jade pendant?" Talon frowned slightly and pulled out a jade pendant from around his neck.

He had been an orphan, growing up on the streets and scavenging just to survive each day.

He didn't know who he was, where his parents were, only that this jade pendant had been around his neck since he could remember. No matter how hard life was, he couldn't bring himself to sell it.

Could this be the clue to his past he'd been searching for?