Chapter 47: Building My Private Army
After returning to his room, Lucas immediately opened his phone.
The events involving Aria had made him realize something important.
No matter how rich he became, there would always be situations where he couldn’t be everywhere at once.
If something happened to his family while he was away, money wouldn’t protect them.
What he needed now was security.
Real security.
The first name that appeared during his search was Titan Group—the largest and most prestigious private security company in the entire Federal Republic of Valoria.
Its reputation was legendary.
From billionaire entrepreneurs and celebrities to politicians and powerful business families, countless influential figures relied on Titan Group’s protection.
After entering their official website, Lucas quickly began browsing.
The site was incredibly professional.
Hundreds of bodyguard profiles were displayed.
Each profile included combat records, specialties, certifications, and photographs.
Most of the ordinary bodyguards charged annual salaries ranging from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand dollars.
The more elite ones could easily command over a million per year.
As Lucas continued scrolling, a special section caught his attention.
VIP Services.
His eyes lit up immediately.
Without hesitation, he clicked on the customer support window.
"Hello. What are the requirements for becoming a VIP client?"
The response came almost instantly.
"Hello, Mr. Lucas. To access our VIP services, you must verify your identity and pay an annual membership fee of one million dollars."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
One million dollars just for membership?
Instead of being shocked, he was pleasantly surprised.
A company that dared charge such outrageous fees clearly possessed something ordinary companies couldn’t offer.
Without hesitation, he completed the registration process using his identification details.
Moments later, he transferred one million dollars.
[VIP Membership Activated]
The website instantly transformed.
The interface became noticeably more sophisticated.
New options appeared.
And a completely different class of bodyguards.
These weren’t ordinary security personnel.
Every single one was priced according to annual contracts.
The cheapest cost one million dollars per year.
The most expensive reached three million dollars annually.
Lucas opened several profiles.
His eyes narrowed.
Martial Artists.
Every single one had reached the Martial Artist realm.
The descriptions were impressive.
Capable of defeating multiple armed attackers.
Expert in firearms.
Expert in close-quarters combat.
Counter-assassination training.
The strongest among them had even reached the Mid-Houtian Realm.
According to the description, one person could easily deal with dozens of ordinary opponents simultaneously.
However...
Lucas still felt slightly disappointed.
After meeting Xavier and witnessing the terrifying aura of true martial experts, these bodyguards suddenly didn’t seem quite as impressive.
He opened the customer support window again.
"Is this the strongest bodyguard package your company offers?"
Several seconds later, the representative replied.
"Mr. Lucas, are you dissatisfied with our services?"
Lucas typed calmly.
"Not dissatisfied."
"I simply want stronger bodyguards."
"Do you have any Xiantian Realm experts available for hire?"
Several seconds passed.
Then the customer support agent sent two helpless emojis.
"Mr. Lucas, you’re joking, right?"
"Xiantian Realm Martial Artists are treated as honored guests by the nation’s top families."
"Such individuals are powerful enough to establish their own factions."
"Why would they work as bodyguards?"
Lucas couldn’t help but laugh.
Fair enough.
Even Xavier had been ecstatic after breaking through into the Xiantian Realm.
A person of that level was already considered a major figure wherever they went.
Expecting them to become private security guards was indeed unrealistic.
After thinking for a moment, Lucas made his decision.
If quality wasn’t enough—
He would overwhelm everything with quantity.
Without hesitation, he selected twenty top-tier bodyguards.
Ten male.
Ten female.
Every single one at the highest available level.
Annual Salary: $3,000,000 Each.
Total Contract Value:
$60,000,000.
Lucas clicked Confirm.
Meanwhile...
Hundreds of miles away.
Titan Group Headquarters.
The entire operations department erupted into chaos.
"What?!"
"A sixty-million-dollar order?!"
"Are you serious?!"
Several executives nearly jumped from their seats.
The company’s employees rushed over one after another.
Everyone stared at the screen.
In the company’s twelve-year history, they had never received a private security contract this large.
Even contracts exceeding two million dollars were considered major events.
Yet someone had casually placed an order worth sixty million dollars in a single transaction.
What shocked them even more was the delivery address.
Dustford.
A small county-level city.
Not one of Valoria’s financial capitals.
Just Dustford.
The contrast was absurd.
After confirming the order with Lucas multiple times over the phone, Titan Group finally accepted that the client wasn’t joking.
The company immediately activated emergency deployment procedures.
Twenty elite bodyguards would arrive in Dustford within twenty-four hours.
Back in Imperial Gardens.
Lucas off his phone and checked his balance.
After spending money like water over the past few days, the hundreds of millions he had accumulated had already dropped significantly.
Only a few dozen million remained.
Most people would probably panic.
Lucas merely smiled.
A mischievous grin slowly appeared on his face.
Ever since Lucas had transferred ten million dollars into her account yesterday, Mia’s mind had been in complete chaos.
She hadn’t slept properly all night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she would remember the notification from the bank.
Even after checking her account dozens of times, it still felt unreal.
At that moment, Mia was sitting on her bed in her dorm room, hugging a pillow while talking to her roommate, Ross.
Ross was practically losing her mind.
"I’m serious, Mia," Ross said dramatically. "If a man transferred ten million dollars to me just because he felt like it, the moment he came back, I’d throw myself into his arms and marry him on the spot!"
Mia’s face immediately turned red.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"Nonsense?" Ross nearly jumped from her chair. "Do you know how much money that is? Most people won’t earn that in several lifetimes!"
Mia bit her lip.
The truth was that even now, she still couldn’t understand Lucas.
The more she learned about him, the more mysterious he became.
He never acted like a rich heir.
He never showed off.
Yet every time he made a move, it was enough to shock her to the core.
Just as the two girls were talking—
Ding!
A notification suddenly appeared on Mia’s phone.
She glanced at it casually.
The next second—
Her entire body froze.
Ross immediately noticed something was wrong.
"What happened?"
Mia didn’t answer.
Her trembling fingers slowly opened the message.
[Bank Alert]
[Deposit Received: $10,000,000]
For several seconds, the room fell completely silent.
Mia’s breathing stopped.
Ross’s mouth slowly opened.
Neither of them moved.
Then Mia suddenly rubbed her eyes.
Her first thought was that the bank had mistakenly sent yesterday’s notification again.
There was no way.
Absolutely no way.
Who casually transferred another ten million dollars less than twenty-four hours after sending the first ten million?
Her hands shook as she opened her banking application.
A few moments later—
Her account balance loaded.
The number staring back at her almost made her dizzy.
It wasn’t a duplicate notification.
The money was really there.
Another ten million dollars had been deposited.
Twenty million dollars in total.
And when Mia looked at the sender information, her heart trembled.
Sender:
Lucas Gray.
"It’s... it’s him..."
Mia whispered.
Ross grabbed the phone and looked at the screen.
The moment she saw the balance, she nearly screamed.
"Holy shit!"
"Twenty million?!"
"Twenty million dollars?!"
Ross looked like she was about to faint.
She grabbed Mia by the shoulders and started shaking her violently.
"Tell me the truth!"
"Are you secretly married to a billionaire?!"
Mia was completely speechless.
Because she was asking herself the exact same question.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, after completing the transfer, Lucas casually put down his phone.
Almost immediately, another notification appeared.
This time, it wasn’t from Mia.
It was from Bianca.
