Chapter 11 It's Going To Cost You

"You leave tomorrow?" a mellow, refined voice echoed through Li Tian's headphones. It carried an almost melodic cadence, as if each word had been carefully chosen and polished before being spoken.

"Yeah," Li Tian replied curtly, his tone disinterested, fingers dancing furiously over his controller as he slashed through waves of enemies on the screen.

"Then, if I may inquire, why have you summoned me on this digital escapade to conquer yet another forbidden dungeon? Should you not be immersed in the task of preparing your belongings for the impending journey?"

"Ugh... spare me your fancy talk, Levi," Li Tian snapped, his eyes narrowing as his character narrowly avoided an oncoming attack. It had been a while since they last spoke, and his ears were still adjusting to Levi's over-the-top way of speaking. "I needed to get my mind off some things, alright? When are you coming back to Huaxia?"

"Ah, how delightfully cryptic," Levi quipped, a faint trace of amusement coloring his words. "As it happens, I shall be returning rather soon. My business in Vestr has concluded for the time being. But pray tell, since when have you taken such a keen interest in my whereabouts?"

Li Tian hesitated, his fingers faltering momentarily. His silence was telling. "I've got some things I need to do... but I don't have much time left here," he muttered, trying to sound nonchalant as his character slashed through another monster.

"Oho, so this is an urgent matter, is it?" Levi's character, a regal elf clad in gleaming white armor, stepped forward, dispatching a trio of enemies with a single, elegant swing of his blade. "Tell me, Little Sky, is this you, perchance, seeking a favor?"

Li Tian's jaw clenched. The nickname grated on him, as it always did. He wasn't fond of asking for help—it bruised his pride—but this time was different. His hatred burned brighter than his ego. With a grunt of reluctant acknowledgment, he gave a terse, "Yeah."

From beyond the screen, Levi's lips curled into a satisfied smirk. "My, my... how the mighty have fallen. Very well, I shall lend you my assistance. But remember, Little Sky, favors from me are never without their... repercussions."

Levi's tone was playful, yet there was an edge to it that sent a shiver down Li Tian's spine. The elf knight always knew how to push his buttons. Irritated, Li Tian charged ahead into the dungeon boss's room, unwilling to dignify Levi's remark with a response. But his silence alone was an unspoken agreement in itself.

At the center of the cavernous space loomed the dungeon boss: a grotesque, bear-like creature, towering ten stories tall, with jagged, shark-like teeth and elongated claws that scraped against the stone floor. Its roar reverberated through the chamber, a deafening challenge to the intruders.

Without a second thought, Li Tian charged, sword in hand, his determination as sharp as the blade itself.

"Hmmmmm~," Levi, ever the observer, followed at a leisurely pace, his polished armor glinting even in the dim light of the cavern. "And what, pray tell, do you require of me this time?"

Li Tian's grip tightened on his controller as he focused on the fight, channeling his frustration and pent-up rage into each strike against the towering creature. "I need you to destroy someone."

"Destroy?" Levi repeated, his voice dripping with mock surprise. He lowered himself to the ground, idly polishing his sword as if the battle unfolding before him was of no consequence. "Revenge is it? How delightfully dramatic. And who, may I ask, are these unfortunate souls who have incurred your wrath?"

"A family of scammers and ungrateful leeches," Li Tian spat through gritted teeth, his character leaping onto the beast's massive arm and sprinting toward its head. He showed no regard for the danger it might bring upon him.

Levi chuckled softly, a rich, melodic sound that contrasted sharply with the chaos of the battle. "And how would you have me enact this poetic vengeance of yours?"

"I want them beaten and broken!" Li Tian snarled, driving his sword deep into the boss's skull. The creature spun around in agony, its health bar plummeting at a breakneck pace. As it stopped right before hitting zero, an indicator before starting its last stand, Li Tian released his sword and plunged his hands deep into the beast's flesh, giving it no time to initiate its death throes. With a burst of focus, he activated his innate ability. A chilling transformation unfolded—the creature's body began to wither, its essence seemingly drained away through his hands, leaving it a hollow, lifeless husk.

The boss's massive frame crumpled to the ground, its once-mighty roar reduced to a feeble whimper. Its health bar finally dropped down to zero, and the beast disintegrated into ash, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. Before it could drag Li Tian down with it, he had already leaped off and landed with a graceful roll, steadying himself effortlessly. He quickly retrieved his sword with a flourish and flicked the blood from its blade before sheathing it with practiced precision.

He turned to face Levi, his gaze hard and unyielding. "I want them sucked dry... until there's nothing fucking left."

Levi rose gracefully, brushing imaginary dust from his pristine armor. His sapphire eyes gleamed with intrigue as a sly smile played on his lips. "Very well. I shall assist you. But remember, Little Sky, such deeds do not come cheap."

....

"Rich! Rich, I tell you! Hahahahaha!" Yijun's laughter burst out, filling the dimly lit room as he rifled through the stack of high-end merchandise piled before him. Jewelry, designer handbags, and luxury trinkets glittered under the pale glow of the overhead light. The sight was enough to make his chest swell with pride. Months of carefully laid plans had paid off.

"Do you really think the Li Family—or Li Tian—are just going to let you get away with this?" A wary voice cut through his revelry. The speaker, an older man with a furrowed brow, picked up a diamond-studded handbag, his expression hovering somewhere between amazement and unease.

Yijun didn't even glance at him, his grin stretching wider as he flicked through an inventory sheet like it was a treasure map. "Hah! That Li Tian is nothing but a spoiled brat." His voice dripped with disdain. "I've done my research. His family's fed up with him—always has been. They just needed the right excuse to teach him a lesson, and I gave it to them. It was his last concert for the season. Perfect timing! They were already irritated by his antics but couldn't act too harshly without risking a backlash from his precious Pyros. So, I struck first."

He paused to toss a handful of glittering rings into the air. They scattered across the table like spilled coins, a fitting tribute to his so-called brilliance.

"The others—Zexi, Cass, Lila—they were already teetering on the edge. I just nudged them in the right direction. He made it easy, too, with that big mouth of his." Yijun's grin twisted into a sneer. "And now? This is the reward! If the Li Family takes all this back, not only would Li Tian never learn his lesson, but he would appear weaker too. They won't risk that. Regardless, I doubt he would ever change. He's too full of himself. If it were any other time, we'd be in trouble. But now? Hah!" Yijun's laughter grew louder, a wild, mocking edge apparent in his voice. "The timing is perfect! Who told him to act like such a little bitch, huh? He brought this on himself!"

The older man didn't seem convinced. He placed the handbag back onto the pile, his movements slow and deliberate. "This might be good for quick money, but it's reckless. We've worked hard to carve out our space between the big families, and now you're throwing it all away. Stability matters, Yijun."

"Stability?" Yijun turned, his expression shifting to one of exaggerated exasperation. "Dad, this isn't the Stone Age. I don't want to be some tiny piece squeezed between the behemoths—I want to be one. Your methods are ancient. Sure, you've done great, but crawling like that takes forever. Money and power only mean something if you can enjoy them while you're still young!"

The older man's eyes narrowed, the faintest hint of annoyance flashing across his face. "And who made it possible for you to get this far? You didn't build this on your own, Yijun."

"Of course, Dad." Yijun forced a thin smile, his words laced with mock sincerity. "Without you coddling up to Mum, I wouldn't even be here, right? But times have changed. Hard work isn't enough anymore. We have to think ahead, play smarter. Bootlicking that arrogant brat for another year would've driven me insane. Have you ever met him? The way he talks, the things he says—it's unbearable. Sure, sometimes he shuts up and stays in his own bubble, but once he gets angry or decides to 'grace' you with his thoughts? Ugh." He shuddered dramatically. "Turning the others against him wasn't hard. They were already sick of his attitude. Honestly, even if he somehow manages to grab the family head title, he won't last. His personality is poison."

The older man crossed his arms, his unease still visible. "Cutting ties the way you did was unnecessary. Keeping a connection might've been—"

"It's done," Yijun snapped, waving him off. "The rest doesn't matter. The Li Family won't come after us. And if they do? We'll deal with it." He leaned back, his confidence practically oozing from every pore.

But even as Yijun gloated, the older man couldn't shake his doubts. He hoped his son was right—that Li Tian would stay the way he was, a spoiled, self-absorbed child. Because if Li Tian ever grew into something more than that...

The consequences didn't bear thinking about.

--

The father still thought it was unnecessary to completely cut off all ties the way he did but it was already a done deal. He hoped that his son was right and that the Li Family wasn't going to come after them. Even more, he hoped that Li Tian stayed the way he was and never became more than a spoilt rich kid or celebrity party animal. That way he wouldn't have any regrets about Yijun squandering the chance he got for him. He didn't think his son was interested in marrying any of Li Tian's older sisters either.

"Finished!" the younger one exclaimed. "You're gonna love me now, dad, after you see these numbers."

"How much is it?" the father looked over curiously. When he saw the number of figures written on the paper, his eyes bulged in their sockets.

It rounded up to $18,000,000.

"Any complaints now, Dad?" Yijun asked sarcastically.

The father ignored his son's tone and smiled in glee. "With this kind of money, we can start our OWN empire!"

"Hahahahahaha! Now we're talking!"

The father and son began discussing their future and the many possibilities one could do with the amount of money they had obtained. They were already well off, rich even, but not to a point where they could buy million-dollar mansions and a collection of sports cars.

If only they actually understood that the 'crazy amount of money' they scammed out of a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 from as big of a clan like the Li Family, was only a drop in the vast depths of their pockets.

The discussion went on for many hours when they finally decided to continue it the next day.

"We'd better call your mother before she suspects anything," the older of the two said.

"Relax, dad. She's at grandpa's for the weekend. I'm sure grandma and grandpa are treating her to a great time. I'd be there having fun too if you didn't make me go to that funeral. We both know it was just an excuse to handle these packages," Yijun disclosed the truth while picking out what to keep from the pile. "We didn't have to spend 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 long there you know. As long as people know we showed up."

Wrinkling his nose at the words, he thought about his deceased mother. Did he really feel nothing about her death? It felt more like a burden being lifted.

Ding dong. The doorbell rang loudly.

The two looked at each other in confusion. It was already well into the evening, with the sun about to set and they lived in quite the rich neighborhood. Who would dare bother them at such a time and place?

They checked the intercom video which revealed a couple of policemen standing outside their door. Alarmed by the sudden unannounced visit, the father motioned his son to stay put.

He headed towards the front door while Yijun peeked from behind a wall not too far away. Opening the door, he was met eye to eye with a large man wearing a stern expression on his face.

"May I help you officer?" he asked in a controlled mannerly voice. If one didn't know him, you'd get the illusion of a sophisticated family man.

"Mr. Kong Wanhui?" the burly policeman asked.

The father furrowed his eyebrows but answered curtly, "Originally, yes. I'm 𝘓𝘶𝘰 Wanhui now."

Obviously, he was hoping the Luo surname would have an effect on the officer but all he received was a raised eyebrow.

"Alright Mr. 𝘓𝘶𝘰 Wanhui," the officer lifted a document in his hand. "I have a warrant for your arrest and kindly ask for you to follow us to the station."

"What!? Why??" shocked and panicked, Wanhui was unsure of why this was happening so suddenly.

The other policeman also came forward to help with the arrest. "You have the right to remain silent. Any words you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."

"Wait just a minute here! I demand to know the reason for my arrest!" he tried to wriggle some info as the two officers spun him around to cuff him down.

"You are being held due to suspicion on tax fraud, money laundering and forgery of documents," a young and clear voice resounded not too far behind them.

Wanhui was already pushed against the wall by his front door when he heard the voice. Every accusation made caused his palms to sweat and heart to beat faster but he tried keeping a believable clueless front. When he turned to look where the voice came from, contrary to his expectations, it was from a young man that hardly looked any older than his son. He had extremely dark blue eyes with strawberry blonde hair and remarkably handsome features that were a distinct indication of his mixed race.

"We also have an arrest warrant for your son, Yijun. May I know if he's around?" his smile was polite and gentle, and the aura he gave off was that of a well-bred gentleman. But the deep look in his eyes, caused Wanhui to shudder.

Witnessing everything in the background, Yijun's heart skipped a beat when he heard his name being mentioned. He couldn't see the man calling the shots, but his instincts were telling him to run. Hearing his name was the trigger that he hide immediately.

Without wasting time, he tiptoed to the secret room his father had installed in his study.

Without missing a beat, Wanhui immediately responded to the young man. "No. My son went to his grandparent's place with his mother."

"I see..." the young man's expression barely changed; he still had on that unassuming gentle smile. Without even bothering to take a look inside the house, he spoke. "Pity then. We'll have to come back for him later."

Motioning the officers to follow him, he turned around and headed back towards the vehicle they came in.

"Who are you?" as he was being shoved forward, Wanhui inquired after much thought. He needed to understand who his enemy was. Not just anyone could command the police force at such a young age.

The young man looked at him with another bright smile. "Oh my. Excuse my bad manners. Please refer to me as Levi, a representative from Ivon Telecommunications and Technology."

The name struck Wanhui like lightning, and he felt his soul quickly leaving his body. If he had any desire to fight before, it was but a minuscule spark now.

Ivon Telecommunications and Technology...

It was a company from Vestr, one of the most powerful countries to date. The Ivon Clan was a monstrous entity, and the Ivon company itself... was the top information and technology company to ever exist in the whole world!

.....