Offer!

Along with Jessica, Zed arrived before Loren's apartment and pressed the doorbell. Jessica was aptly dressed for a formal dinner while Zed was in casuals.

In a few seconds, the door was opened by a woman with curly hair.

"Lady Suzane!" Jessica offered greetings.

"Jessica, right?" Suzane asked as she invited them inside.

"Yes," Jessica stepped in and pointed towards her companion, "This is Zed."

"Nice to meet you," Zed politely offered his respects.

"It is nice to meet you as well!" Suzane replied with a pleasant smile. "Loren will be ready in a few minutes!"

Zed and Jessica took seats at Suzane's instructions.

"I'm glad to see Loren having friends!" Suzane started a conversation.

"We are lucky to be her friends," Jessica politely replied. She wasn't really versed in conversation, but she did her best to engage with Suzane.

Zed didn't speak much as he was not really a friend of Loren. He was a casual acquaintance at best.

"Zed?" Suzane's voice brought him back from his thoughts.

"Yes?" Zed looked at her.

"Are you two dating?" Suzane pointed at Jessica.

Jessica was surprised and her cheeks flushed. Zed, on the other hand, was unfazed.

"No," Zed answered.

"She is a beautiful girl!" Suzane teased them.

"Indeed, she is!" Zed agreed. "If I might add, she's very stunning!"

Jessica's entire face turned crimson. She didn't expect such a compliment.

"Are you dating someone else then?" Suzane enquired.

Loren had mentioned Zed to her. Also recently, Suzane had heard rumors about him being responsible for the cancellation of many admissions.

"I guess you could say so," Zed answered.

"Say so?" Suzane and Jessica looked at him in dismay. What does that mean?

Zed didn't explain. He wasn't really dating anyone, but the process of courting women to bed can also be considered dating!

Of course, he couldn't tell her this. Just like he couldn't tell her it was his alter ego that 'trained' her!

Suzane wanted to inquire further, but then Loren entered the room, clad in a blue cocktail dress.

"Sorry for making you wait," Loren apologized.

"We didn't wait long," Jessica responded with a friendly smile.

"Thank you for the hospitality," Zed rose to his feet and thanked Suzane.

"Drive safe!" Suzane reminded them as they left the apartment.

"I apologize for my mother's behavior," Loren was embarrassed.

"No need," Zed shook his head, "As a mother, it was natural for her to worry about your safety."

"But she can be annoying at times!" Loren said as they reached the parking.

The doors of the car opened and they sat inside. Jessica sat next to Zed while Loren sat behind.

****

Fifteen minutes later, the car dashed on a lonely road. Zed focused on driving while occasionally participating in conversations between Loren and Jessica.

[[Trouble incoming]] Claudia's voice sounded inside the car.

"Trouble?" Jessica and Loren were startled.

Zed's eyes narrowed but he continued to drive at the same speed.

SCREECH~!

From the front, four vehicles charged towards them. From behind, two vehicles also joined in, surrounding them.

"What's going on!?" Jessica was worried.

She opened her cell phone to contact a helpline but was alarmed to find no network.

"My phone doesn't have a signal as well!" Loren was equally confused about the situation.

Zed stopped the car.

"What should we do?" Loren and Jessica were naturally a bit afraid.

They noticed around fifteen men stepping towards them. This made an uneasy feeling swell in their hearts.

"We should greet them!" Zed opened the door, much to the disbelief of his female companions.

"Zed, we shouldn't!" Loren shouted.

"He should have a plan!" Jessica prayed for the best.

In an amicable tone, Zed asked, "We're in a hurry, so can you allow us to leave?"

The group of fifteen men was dressed in various types of clothing. Most of them were in clothes of local gangs, but four of them were in casual clothes.

From the design of their clothes and posture, the four didn't seem to be gang members.

"You can leave after we have crippled you!" one of the four men made his intention clear.

"Edgar!?" Loren was astonished to see someone familiar to her.

"Loren!?" Edgar was startled as well. He wasn't aware Zed was being accompanied by someone he knew.

"You know each other?" Jessica asked.

"He is the son of my father's colleague!" Loren answered.

"Loren, stay out of this!" Edgar looked at her, "We won't touch you or that girl as long as you don't interfere in our matter!"

"Our? What are you--?" Loren stopped as she saw three more familiar faces: Rees, Percy, and Brian.

"What is the meaning of this?" Loren narrowed her eyes.

"Why don't you ask your pal?" Edgar pointed at Zed.

"Me?" Zed was bewildered. "I don't even know you guys, so I'm the clueless one here!"

"Don't try to fool us!" Edgar gave him a stern look. "We know you are responsible for our humiliation!"

"Humiliation?" Loren thought of the recent admission cancellations.

There was no way the children of the rich and influential would suffer such humiliation without retaliating. This was especially true when they learned Zed originated from the slums!

"I don't have to," Zed said with a soft sigh.

"What?"

"You demanded I shouldn't try to fool you," Zed patiently explained. "But you all are fools, to begin with, so I don't have to fool you."

"Son of a bitch! How dare you!" Percy was incensed.

"Does stating an obvious need dare?" Zed put a hand over his chin and asked.

"Zed! Don't try to make it worse!" Loren placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "I will try to make them step back."

"It won't help," Zed shook his head. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be having eleven extras."

"Extras?" The leader of the local group muttered in anger.

Was that kid thinking of them as some extras from a movie?!

"Loren, we won't be responsible if you try to interfere!" Edgar gave a final warning.

Loren didn't know what to do, and she was further confused by Zed's nonchalant expression.

"How can he be so relaxed!?" Loren couldn't understand him.

She knew he had some influence, given how he was able to fire the principal, but that wouldn't help now! There was no cellular network in the area, so it was impossible to seek help from outside!

"Kaden, cripple him!" Edgar ordered the gang leader.

Edgar had learned Zed was strong for his age, so he and his friends hired Kaden and his gang. To prevent any unexpected situation, they even used an EMP device to restrict communication from outside.

Kaden didn't like the tone used by Edgar, but since money was involved, he didn't say anything. His skin morphed into scales as he stepped forward.

"Hmm?" Kaden was angered when he saw Zed's expression didn't change.

"Won't shed tears till you feel some pain?" Kaden looked forward to toying with Zed.

He had always enjoyed teaching spoiled brats the meaning of pain and regret.

"How much are those four fools paying you?" Zed asked.

"What?!" Everyone locked their eyes on him.

"You didn't hear?" Zed repeated the question: "How much are they paying you?"

"You think we would spare you if you pay us extra?!" Kaden asked with a smirk.

He realized Zed was afraid and wanted to buy his way out! This pleased him!

"The answer is no," Zed clarified.

"What are you saying?" Kaden looked at him in dismay.

"I'm asking for something different," Zed pointed at the 'four fools,' and continued. "You would be doing what you planned to, but the target would be those fools who hired you, instead of me."

The gang and the four members looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Has fear fried your brain?!" Edgar laughed nonstop.

"Not really," Zed answered.

RING RING~!

The gang and the 'four fools' stared at Zed in shock.

How can his phone ring with the EMP device running nonstop?

"Excuse me," Zed took out his phone and answered the call. "We're on our way. No, we will be on time. See ya~"

Zed put the phone back in his pocket. He then looked at Kaden and Edgar and said, "I apologize for the call, but it was important. Anyways, where were we?"

No one spoke a single word. Every member of the gang checked their phone and was startled to find no signals.

"How could his phone work?" Loren wondered.

"Right!" Zed said as he remembered where the conversation stopped. "How much do I have to pay for?"

Kaden suppressed his shock and stared at Zed. He had heard the voice of a woman from the phone call, so he was sure the phone call was real instead of some trick.

Was his phone so advanced that it could overpower an EMP? If so, then why didn't he ask for help?

"Let us cripple him and run away!" Kaden signaled the rest of his gang. He didn't wish to waste any more time.

"$2 million!" Zed announced his offer.

Kaden was about to launch an attack, but this unbelievably high offer shocked him to the core.

The same went for other members of his gang. They asked each other to make sure they heard it right.

"Wh-what did you say?" Kaden asked to make sure.

"Don't make me repeat my words again," Zed released another sigh before answering, "$2 million."

The gang eyed Edgar, Rees, Percy, and Brian like wolves staring at a flock of sheep. The greed in their eyes left no doubt about what they thought of the offer.

Behind, Jessica and Loren gulped down a mouthful of saliva at the unbelievable offer. Jessica was from a humble background, so even thousands of dollars were way high, much less millions.

Loren wasn't rich in the traditional sense, but she had lived a luxurious lifestyle thanks to the benefits from the government. Even the rich children she knew couldn't offer such a high price without batting an eye.

After all, the money wasn't theirs. It was their families', and the amount they could spend was limited even if they were the future heirs.

Now, Zed was casually offering so much like a king giving alms to a beggar. This shocked everyone and incited waves of greed inside their hearts.

"D-don't be fooled!" Edgar instinctively backed away. "He couldn't afford such a high price!"

"R-right!" Kaden agreed. He was so enticed by the price that he forgot that no kid could have that much money.

Even those four combined could only offer $50,000 for taking care of Zed. And they were from an influential class!

If Zed had offered ten thousand, then it would be believable, but millions?! A single kid had that much money to spend freely?!

Dream on! Don't take us for fools!

Zed didn't say anything and instead, he opened his cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Kaden asked.

Shouldn't this kid be apologizing for going overboard!?

Is he contacting help?

But he shouldn't be, given he didn't try before, right?!

Zed passed Kaden his cell phone.

"?" Kaden was confused. Suppressing his shock, he took the phone from him and looked at the screen.

"Im..pos...sible!" Kaden felt the world spinning.

His eyes were on the verge of popping out as he stared at the text on the screen. His entire definition of reality was broken.

"Boss!?" The entire gang eyed Kaden in bewilderment.

Why was he behaving so oddly?!

One of the gang members moved forward to check what was so strange on the phone.

"N-no way!" The gang member was struck on the spot in total disbelief. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was reading it correctly, and after noticing the text was still the same, he collapsed on his knees.

"What the hell!?" Another gang member asked.

No one dared to check what was on the phone. They were afraid they would react just like their boss.

It took Kaden a minute before he was able to gather his wits together.

He turned the phone towards his subordinates to make them understand his behavior.

He had made a fool of himself, but he had to let them know it wasn't his fault!

"It can't be!"

"There has to be a mistake!"

"Y-yeah! It is fake!"

The entire gang repeated words of disbelief, their reactions no better than Kaden's.

Kaden felt somewhat happy seeing the reactions of his gang. He was able to save his pride as the boss.

He then turned the phone screen towards Edgar, Rees, Percy, and Brian. The four started trembling as they read the text on the screen: [Account balance - $1.2 billion only].

"H-how?"

"Just who is he?"

"$1.2 billion ONLY?!"

"You call that ONLY?!"

"This is not possible, right!?"

"Obviously! $1.2 billion! It is impossible!"

"Yeah! There are only a few thousand billionaires in the world!"

"There is no way that this kid is one of them, right?!"

"Of course! A twenty-year-old having billions?! Are you fucking kidding!?"

"Obviously, it is fake!"

"But the investment bank's application is genuine...!!"

"Then did he loot a bank or something!?"

"A bank?! Even if you loot a dozen banks, you won't be that rich!"

"Then this is a fraud!"

"No! This is a scam!"