Chapter 1096: The Price of Life
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Fear also crept inside Will Art’s heart. He deeply regretted his decision, since he only cared about the benefits promised by Angelo. It was the very reason he intervened in this matter, yet it now led him into danger due to his own misjudgment.
‘Run away? But how?’
They were in the middle of the ocean and surrounded by blue sea waters. Unless he could become a sea critter that could freely surf the sea, else he would either drown due to losing his strength or meet his demise in the enemies’ hands.
“How about we talk about this, Mr. Tang?”
The four old men around Will Art quickly blocked Mo Awu and Kuwako Yamamoto and Will quickly made up his mind and shouted.
A contemptuous look flashed in Tang Xiu’s eyes as he lightly smiled. “You already decided to help Angelo Dolan, and lots of your men have been slain by mine. Do you think there’s anything else that can be talked about between us, huh?”
“I’ve never been short on manpower, Mr. Tang,” Will Art replied in a deep tone. “You just killed one group of men, so I naturally have a replacement. If you like it, I can send a group of people to let your men have a good time slaughtering them.”
“Hehe, I really feel honored for your men whom their Big Boss is so kind and great yet doesn’t take their lives seriously.” Tang Xiu gave a thumbs up and praised. “Will Art, lemme tell you. I didn’t have the intention to kill you and just wanted to make you act so you can fetch me a good price. Alright, tell me your chips since you wanna talk. I can consider it if you can pique my curiosity.”
This was much to Will Art’s liking. But as he was about to reply, he suddenly felt a sharp gaze from the side.
Angelo Dolan glared at him furiously and shouted, “Will, how could you? You’re my old buddy and we’ve known each other for more than a decade! Don’t tell me you’re gonna be like that s.h.i.+t Demonfreak and betray me too? I’ll give you 60% profits of Africa’s Dante diamond mine!”
Will Art liked wealth and had been dreaming of living in a palace made of pure gold and decorated by the valuable gemstones.
However, if he must choose between life and fortune, he would definitely not hesitate to choose the former. He was still sane. Even if all the riches in the world were to be given to him, what was all it for if he was not alive to enjoy it?!
Will Art drew in a deep breath and quickly moved away from Angelo, sneering. “Old buddy, huh? There’s nothing but benefits between us. We spent only a little time knowing each other. You just witnessed their strength yourself, Angelo. Just give up immediately, else you’ll only head to your death. But no way in h.e.l.l will I follow you!”
Having said that, he ignored Angelo’s murderous glare and looked at Tang Xiu. “Dear Mr. Tang, I’m very fond of life. I prefer to breath fresh air and enjoy the splendors this world can offer. The deal I want to have with you is simple. I got a mountain of wealth myself, while my House is just the same. If you need riches, I can offer you lots of wealth as long as you let me go, all in exchange for your friends.h.i.+p.”
‘Friends.h.i.+p?!’
Not even a tiny part of Tang Xiu’s mind spared it a glance. This guy had just stood on the same side as Angelo, looking at him as a common enemy. Yet, under the threat of death, he blinked and just sold Angelo out. He might as well find tofu as his s.h.i.+eld if he offered that kind of friends.h.i.+p.
However, Will’s proposal still piqued his curiosity, regardless. He was in desperate need of money. The manpower under him was growing, and the rate of resource consumption was far beyond his expectations, so he could only choose to give Will Art such a chance.
“There’s one thing I wanna ask first. How much wealth you wanna spend to buy your life, then? How much do you think your life is worth?” Tang Xiu re-lit the cigarette and drew a puff before smilingly asking.
Contemplating for a moment, Will Art saw his four men were vomiting blood after getting beaten upside down. He immediately shouted, “1 billion USD. I’ll buy my life with a billion dollars!”
Giving an OK gesture, Tang Xiu loudly laughed. “Aha, that’s great. This figure is satisfying enough. Awu, Kuwako, wait and take it easy! Will Art, you’ve bought your life, why don’t you buy more lives, then? These four men of yours are quite strong, how much are their lives worth?”
A cold light flashed in Will Art’s eyes. He didn’t want to spend even a dime for these four trashes that couldn’t protect him. But he could tell that Tang Xiu still wanted to fish some more from him, so he gave it a thought and gritted his teeth. “100 million USD! I value them up to 100 million US dollars, give or take!”
Giving a thumbs-up, Tang Xiu praised. “That’s so generous of you. You make me kinda shocked for such generosity, though. You see my men here, how much do you think I value them?”
Will Art’s face slightly s.h.i.+fted and he looked over at Mo Awu, Kuwako, and the rest as he asked, “How much is their value to you?”
Tang Xiu got up from the sofa and stretched out five fingers.
Will Art was surprised and amazed. “500 million dollars? You say the value of your subordinates is worth 500 million USD? Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. None of my men are worth 500 million USD.” Tang Xiu shook his head.
Nearby, Demonfreak geezer had already slain two powerful experts under Angelo. Upon hearing Tang Xiu’s words, a cold light flashed in his eyes. He thought all the words Tang Xiu spoke before were all bulls.h.i.+t. He never cared about his men. Such a cold-hearted person made the seed of thoughts to escape from Tang Xiu’s demonic shackles and to avoid the man himself began to multiply.
Tang Xiu grinningly said, “Nah, I won’t ever sell my men even for 10,000 grand nor half a billion dollars, for they are all priceless treasures to me.”
Disdain was evident on Will Art’s face. He shook his head and said, “I never thought you liked to joke so much, Mr. Tang. Everything in this world has a price, including people. My own life is valuable, and theirs also have their own price tag, including my loved ones. So long as the price is high enough, I can…”
“You can kill them or sell them, you say?” Tang Xiu sneered.
Will Art didn’t answer, but his expression betrayed his thoughts, which was in line with Tang Xiu’s guess.
Inwardly, Tang Xiu sighed. He looked at Mo Awu and Kuwako Yamamoto, asking lightly, “Do you both think it’s enough?”
Kuwako paced forward and respectfully replied, “He can still barely accept the price if it’s multiplied by five, Sect Master.”
‘Multiplied by five?’
Tang Xiu secretly snarled and was flabbergasted. He didn’t expect Kuwako Yamamoto would be this ruthless to demand such an exorbitant price. 1.1 billion USD multiplied by five was five-plus billion dollars. Even if Will Art did have the money, could he afford that much?
However, something he never expected to appear then showed up.
Will Art shot a deep gaze at Kuwako Yamamoto and said aloud, “My respectable Mr. Tang, what I just said is perhaps too little, so I hope you can forgive me. After all, I’ve been a businessman for too long, so I can’t help but keep the price down in many cases. I admit your subordinate is correct. I can still accept it if it’s multiplied by five. But that nearly hits my limit.”
Tang Xiu secretly marveled inwardly. He never thought Will Art was this rich. He would be a local tyc.o.o.n should he a Chinese national! Even if his name… were to be listed in the China Fortune List, he would definitely be ranked among the top.
“Deal!” Tang Xiu smilingly nodded to Will Art.
Already in the face of death, Angelo Dolan was like a dying soul. He really wanted to vomit as he watched Tang Xiu’s hypocritical smile and Will Art’s dry and forced smile. What he needed to think at this time, however, was to save his own life as it was the most important thing to him.
Even if that meant… he must squeeze out a huge wealth just like Will Art.
Angelo shot a look at Tang Xiu and said aloud, “I apologize for what I did to your men, Mr. Tang. The conflicts between us are also my fault, but I’m willing to buy my life, so do please state your price.”
“Oh?!” Tang Xiu let out a vague smile at him. Suddenly, he raised his thumbs up and praised. “You’re a smart man, and a smart man can live for a long time. So, what do you think about yourself? Do you think your life is more valuable than Will Art’s? Or is yours much cheaper than his?”
White and blue colors intermittently flashed on Angelo’s face. He shook his head and said, “I think my life is worth more than Will Art’s, Mr. Tang. But my House Dolan is very special. Even if I’m the first in line of the House’s successors and the main-fostered candidate, I can’t put out that much wealth. But Will Art is different since all the rights of his House are in his hands and his father’s. That’s why he can still squeeze out more.”
“Shut the f.u.c.k up, Angelo!!”
Will’s eyes turned bloodshot instantly. Never once it occurred to him that Angelo would stab him at this time. Coughing out 5.5 billion dollars was already the limit he could afford. It would be a very unfortunate matter if he were to ask more money from his father.
Tang Xiu laughed loudly, “Hahaha. To think you can still cough up more money, Will! It seems the price I just asked is really too low, huh? Angelo, I just had a change of mind all of a sudden. I can spare your life if you can put out more money than Will Art within two hours.”
Angelo s.h.i.+vered in silence and kept still for a few minutes. Then, he said in a deep voice, “I’ll need to call my father. He’s the only one who can withdraw such amount of money, whereas I only have 1 billion USD under my control.”
Tang Xiu raised his brows and said, “Give him a laptop and let him transfer that 1 billion USD to our account.”