Chapter 329: Chapter 329 - Swift Justice
Juan Diaz’s expression shifted as he stared at Conrad Schroeder, his brow creasing. "You’re Conrad Schroeder? What bullshit!"
Juan Diaz had never met Conrad Schroeder face-to-face, but he’d spotted him through different sources - the guy was well-known around Shiglance City.
The Conrad Schroeder he remembered looked nothing like this guy!
"Turns out you’re all just a bunch of fake actors," Juan Diaz decided.
He got to his feet and jabbed his finger toward me. "You’re something else, aren’t you? Hiring actors just to save face?"
Conrad Schroeder’s forehead wrinkled. "What are you getting at?"
Juan Diaz let out a harsh laugh. "I’m not getting at anything. If I had to guess, you’re all security guards, right?"
The moment he said that, the faces of everyone who’d traveled from Shiglance City went ice-cold.
"Juan Diaz, you might want to think about what happens next when you run your mouth," I warned him gently.
But Juan Diaz didn’t budge, keeping up his taunts. "What happens next? You’re just a bunch of stinking security guards - what could you possibly do?"
"You’ve crossed the line!" Qiue Ohli’s secretary finally lost it.
"What company are you with? Why are you acting like such a jackass?"
"Nobody’s ever had the balls to talk to me that way!"
Even with everyone’s anger directed at him, Juan Diaz stayed completely cool.
He sneered. "Keep up the act, you bunch of stinking security guards. Think putting on some fancy clothes will turn you into some kind of high-flying phoenixes?"
"Let me spell it out for all of you - I’m Juan Diaz, owner of Brilliant Real Estate!"
"Brilliant Real Estate? Got it. I’ll keep that in mind," Qiue Ohli’s secretary said with ice in his voice.
He looked over at me. "Mr. Raymond, he’s not a friend of yours, is he?"
"Never seen the guy before," I said casually.
"Perfect." The secretary gave a nod.
He pulled out his phone and placed a call.
The second someone picked up, he barked, "There’s this company called Brilliant Real Estate - shut down every single one of their projects. Right now. Get moving!"
Qiue Ohli’s secretary wasn’t the only one taking down Brilliant Real Estate - others were making similar calls.
These guys ran Shiglance City’s business scene, and crushing a small outfit like Brilliant Real Estate was child’s play.
Juan Diaz still had zero clue how deep in shit he was.
He waved his hand around. "Keep eating, keep drinking!"
Right then, Juan Diaz’s phone started buzzing.
He checked the screen and saw his secretary calling.
Juan Diaz held up the phone, talking to himself. "Calling this late for New Year wishes? Looks like I need to dock your pay."
He answered the call.
"Why the hell are you calling so late with New Year greetings? Want to lose your job?" Juan Diaz snapped.
His secretary sounded frantic. "Mr. Diaz, we’ve got a serious problem!"
"What kind of problem?" Juan Diaz’s face darkened.
The secretary rushed through his words. "We just got a call from the province - they’ve shut down every single one of our company projects!"
"Plus, several major real estate companies in Shiglance City have banned us completely!"
Juan Diaz’s face went white as a sheet!
He shot up from his chair. "What the hell did you just say?! That... that can’t be right!"
His secretary let out a strained laugh. "Mr. Diaz, you better come up with something fast. After New Year’s, we’ve got several loans coming due. If our projects stay shut down... we can’t pay them back."
The secretary hung up.
Juan Diaz’s face drained of all color!
Could these people actually be big shots from Shiglance City?
"Who... who the hell are you?" Juan Diaz pointed at me, his voice shaking.
Someone nearby chuckled. "You don’t even know the King of Chuzzle, and you think you can make it in Shiglance City?"
King of Chuzzle!
Juan Diaz’s eyes went wide when he heard that title!
Those three words - King of Chuzzle - were whispered all over Shiglance City!
Along with all the stories about him!
"You... you’re the King of Chuzzle?" Juan Diaz started panicking.
He rushed over to me, terror written all over his face. "Mr... Mr. Raymond, I... I was blind, didn’t recognize you. Please forgive me, give me a chance to live..."
I couldn’t be bothered with Juan Diaz. I stood up. "Everyone, let’s find somewhere else."
"No, no, no, Mr. Raymond, we just came to pay our respects. We’ve given you the gifts, and we should head back," everyone said at once.
Seeing how things were, I didn’t push them to stay.
After seeing everyone off, I stretched and said, "New Year’s dinner’s done. Time to head home and sleep."
Victor Green spoke up. "Mr. Raymond, I heard there are more events later tonight."
"Not interested." I waved my hand and started to leave.
Juan Diaz grabbed my arm desperately. "Mr. Raymond, I’ve got elderly parents and young kids. If I go bankrupt, what’ll happen to my family?"
I glanced at him and smirked. "What’s that got to do with me, you stinking security guard?"
I tossed out those words and walked out of the hotel.
——
When I got home, heavy snow started falling.
I stood by the window in my pajamas, quietly watching the snow come down outside.
"Heavy snow means a good harvest year," I murmured softly.
Without thinking, a scene flashed through my mind:
Holding Mabel’s hand, playing in the snow, building snowmen and having snowball fights, no money worries or earthly complications, just the purest feelings straight from the heart.
Too bad that could only be a dream.
The next day was time for visiting relatives.
I had no family obligations, so I didn’t leave the house for several days.
I spent every day by the stove, quietly soaking up the weak Qi from heaven and earth.
River City’s Qi was pretty thin, and I’d already hit up almost every spot where you could find any.
Since the Qi gathered so slowly, it might take ten or even eight years to fully recover.
So these past few days of cultivation didn’t show any real results.
Just like that, the sixth day of the lunar month rolled around.
I calculated the time - only seven months left until my agreed date with Vance Johansson.
"Seven months. I need to hit at least Monastic Stage Peak, maybe even Enlightenment level, or I don’t stand a chance," I thought quietly.
The Enlightenment period matched up with Grandmaster level.
Once I stepped into Grandmaster territory, I felt totally confident about being unbeatable among my peers.
Even facing someone like Roberts Joshua, who was at Peak Grandmaster level, I wasn’t scared.
As for the higher Golden Core Stage, that was way too far off for me right now - couldn’t even dare to hope for it yet.
On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, I got ready to leave River City and head straight for Divine Alchemist Pavilion.
Divine Alchemist Pavilion, also called Divine Alchemist Valley, brought together not just the country’s top alchemists but also had an incredibly massive collection of herb resources.
Even the world’s most powerful aristocratic families would come asking Divine Alchemist Pavilion for help.
