Chapter 10: Inflated Price  

The indecisive Hanxiang was eventually pushed out of the door by her older brother, and the two of them had a delicious meal in a relatively high-class restaurant. Of course, Zhang Lie, who had just eaten within the dimensional world, mostly just watched his sister eat in joy.

After the two of them returned home, Zhang Lie contacted a lawyer.

If he were going to confront Uncle Wang directly, he had to be well-prepared. In front of his holographic screen, Zhang Lie quickly took care of the paperwork. ?The lawyer he had contacted helped him draft an agreement for change of ownership; as long as Uncle Wang was willing to sign, and once he had the contract notarized, the proceedings would be complete.

Early the next day, by the time Zhang Lie went to get breakfast, Hanxiang was already sitting in front of the television. After breakfast, Zhang Lie took a hovercraft to the Wang estate. Since the relationship between the two families had once been congenial, he used to frequent the Wang estate, and obviously knew where it was.

The Wang estate was rather large—not as large as those of famous moguls, but certainly enough to indicate significant wealth. Wang Xiaohua's father was a special-class citizen, a hunter who had reached even his superior gene capacity.

When Zhang Lie pressed the doorbell, the one who answered the door was Wang Xiaohua. "Ah, you've actually come back," he remarked.

It wasn't particularly surprising: one day in the real world corresponded to ten in the dimensional world, and it had only been one or two real-world days since he had defeated Wang Xiaohua's group by the settlement gates.

When Wang Xiaohua saw Zhang Lie, her initial shock turned into a malevolent scowl. "And what do you think you're doing here?!"

Zhang Lie chuckled. "What's wrong with that? We're on Earth, after all. Are you planning on calling your teammates and surrounding me here, too?"

The clash between the two of them was noticed by the other occupants of the estate. A middle-aged voice called out, "Xiaohua, what's the matter?"

"It's just a beggar!" Wang Xiaohua called back.

"I'm here to resolve the issue with the house." Zhang Lie ignored Wang Xiaohua.

Wang Xiaohua scoffed. "Are you here to beg me for mercy after being unable to come up with the cash? Well, I'm feeling pretty good today, so I'll give you a chance."

Zhang Lie frowned: Wang Xiaohua's sudden kindness was as unbelievable as a flying pig. She certainly had been demanding enough the day she barged into Zhang Lie's house.

"Kneel down and lick my shoes clean, and I'll consider giving you a few more days' leniency."

Zhang Lie looked at her as though he were looking at an invalid. "You must be overthinking things. I don't need any sort of leniency from you; I've prepared the money."

Wang Xiaohua held her hands on her hips and began to laugh. "It might be a rundown house, but it's still worth at least one and half million dollars. How could someone like you have been able to afford it within a matter of days? Are you crazy?"

"Do you think I'd come over here and claim that I had the money if I didn't?"

"Who knows how your brain functions? After all, you've spent the last three months hunting white grubs!"

"I have the money," Zhang Lie repeated.

Wang Xiaohua was clearly still incredulous. "One and a half million, you understand, not a hundred thousand! Even my team would take two months to earn so much money, let alone someone like you. And I still haven't settled matters with you regarding what happened in the dimensional world! Go on, scram! Pack up and get ready to move out. I'm feeling faint just with your presence here, polluting the air around my house..."

Not wanting to hear Wang Xiaohua's endless prattle any longer, Zhang Lie pulled out his black card. "A black card!" Wang Xiaohua was stupefied. "No, that's impossible! This has to be fake!"

"You realize counterfeiting is a crime? Would I be stupid enough to try to trick you with a fake card?"

Even Wang Xiaohua understood that counterfeiting was all but impossible in this time and age.

"I've brought the contract here as well. Call your father over and have him sign it." Zhang Lie also retrieved a sheaf of papers from his backpack.

"Look at you, all prepared, as if you think everything will go your way!" Wang Xiaohua mocked.

"Sorry, the stench of money coming from your place is so strong that I don't want to stay a moment longer than I have to."

The middle-aged male voice called out again from within the manor, "Xiaohua, who're you talking to?"

"Don't worry, Dad!" Wang Xiaohua replied.

"You're my daughter, and this is my house. How can I not care about what you're doing? What sort of beggar's keeping you outside for so long?" He ambled toward Wang Xiaohua, eyes brightening when he saw Zhang Lie.

"Ah, Zhang Lie! What are you doing outside? Quick, come in, come in."

"Good morning, Uncle Wang. If you don't mind, I won't step inside; I'm afraid someone will get upset." Zhang Lie glanced toward Wang Xiaohua's cool features.

"And who would dare get upset in my house?"

Zhang Lie refused once more. "Uncle Wang, I appreciate the offer, but a destitute weakling like me can't afford to enter such a place."

Uncle Wang frowned. "What's the matter, Zhang Lie?"

Wang Xiaohua stepped in front of her father. "Dad, this guy's crazy! Ignore him!"

Uncle Wang glared at Wang Xiaohua. "How can you speak to Zhang Lie in this manner? If not for his father, I wouldn't be alive now!"

Wang Xiaohua snorted. "How many years has it been? Forget about that already!"

.

Uncle Wang, snorting in anger, raised a palm as if to strike down his ungrateful daughter.

Zhang Lie interrupted impatiently, "That's enough, Uncle Wang! Don't bother putting on a show for me; I don't have time for that. I'm here today to purchase my house."

"To purchase your house?" Uncle Wang seemed incredulous.

"You're really a talented actor, Uncle Wang. Don't you know what's going on?"

Wang Xiaohua's face flushed in anger. "Zhang Lie, haven't you had enough?!"

Uncle Wang pushed Wang Xiaohua aside as he turned to Zhang Lie. "Zhang Lie, tell me what's going on."

"Don't listen to his nonsense!" Wang Xiaohua tugged on her father's arm to no avail.

Zhang Lie chuckled derisively: it looked as though Wang Xiaohua had been acting on her own accord. Without saying anything more, he handed the contract over to Uncle Wang. "Is something wrong? Why are you suddenly asking to buy the property now?"

"Your darling daughter forced me to, of course. She came over with the rental agreement not too long ago, stating that the agreement would be invalidated in half a month, and that we would be evicted."

Uncle Wang turned toward his daughter and asked coldly, "Is this true?!"

"Dad, I'm just enforcing the contract's stipulations!" Wang Xiaohua defended herself.

Uncle Wang thundered in rage, one palm slamming against the doorframe. "Who told you to do this?! Who gave you the right? That's my property, one that I gave to the family who saved my life! Who are you to try to reclaim it?!"

"It's what the contract said, Dad!"

"What the contract states is my business, not yours."

Wang Xiaohua hung her face, aggrieved.

"Well? Apologize to Zhang Lie!" Uncle Wang continued.

"Dad, I'm not apologizing to someone like him! He embarrassed me in the dimensional world, and I'm already showing him courtesy by not attacking him outright."

"If you won't apologize, then there's no place in this house for you."

Wang Xiaohua took a step back, tears flooding from her eyes. "I'm your daughter, aren't I? You're going to side with an outsider over me?!"

"Are you going to apologize, or not?"

Zhang Lie interrupted the artificial act. "Uncle Wang, it's fine. Someone like me can't bear the burden of an apology from Miss Wang here."

He wasn't an idiot, and his life experience from the past had taught him an important lesson indeed: not to believe everything he heard.

Wang Xiaohua's personality was clearly the product of an indulgent upbringing, so it certainly was jarring to see Uncle Wang behave so sternly now. magic

In his past life, Uncle Wang had spent quite some time trying to help him hunt down his parents, but he deeply remembered how cold this Uncle Wang had been before he had made a name for himself in the dimensional world.

"It's good that you know your place." Wang Xiaohua folded her arms in front of her chest, smiling gleefully.

However, Uncle Wang didn't intend on letting matters rest. After giving her a shake, he pressed down her head. "Zhang Lie, don't blame my daughter. I've clearly indulged her far too much."

Wang Xiaohua screamed in outrage. "Dad! You're making me apologize to a piece of trash like him?!"

Zhang Lie interrupted impatiently once again, "Uncle Wang, please sign the contract. I've spent too long here already, and my sister's waiting for me at home."

Uncle Wang chuckled. "Zhang Lie, what are you saying? This property's a gift for you. The only reason there was a contract in the first place was because your father was so stubborn he refused to accept it from me otherwise. Ignore the contract—stay there as long as you want. No one will dare chase you out."

No matter how much Uncle Wang wanted to pretend to be generous, his actions would speak louder than his words.

No matter how Wang Xiaohua had come across this contract, the conclusion was that she had ended up with it in her possession.

Uncle Wang had been lying from the very beginning. If he had truly intended to gift the property to Zhang Lie's father, he would have destroyed the rental agreement, instead of letting it land in his daughter's hands.

"Uncle Wang, I'm calling you Uncle here out of deference for you and for my father. Now that my father's missing and I'm an adult, I hope you'll respect my wishes. Please sign this contract so that I can be at peace.

"My father has always taught me to repay gratitude with gratitude. I'm thankful for your help all these years, and I'm willing to purchase this property from you at an inflated price of two million dollars. It's a generous offer for you; for me, I won't ever have to worry about someone chasing us away from our house again.

"Selling the property to me would save me significant trouble, and annul the life debt between you and my family. Doesn't that sound like a win-win situation for both of us?"

Zhang Lie presented his argument tactfully and seriously. Purchasing the property would cut the ties between their families, and it would resolve all their problems for good.