“My words still stand. Anything that has to do with rights or shares are not on the table. If you want to talk, let’s talk about the rest of the funds you promised.” Yan Xiaosu remained smiley. He raised his arms and looked at a message displayed on the Skylink that silently slid past his eyes.
Faced with Yan Xiaosu’s strong rejections, Heaton and Elise were shocked for a moment, and then they grinned coldly. It was clear that victory was in their hands. A dumb kid who hadn’t even gone through puberty yet was trying to play tough in front of them here. Classic ignorant fool.
Ye Bingwen was considered a veteran. While Earth was a small place, behaving with no sense of propriety was uncalled for. This was pretty much the legendary saying where one broke the vat and fell in it too.
Fighting head on was clearly advantageous to the two companies. The trap on the contract had been set up long ago.
Regardless, they would be able to get hold of KING’s executive rights. Only then could they guarantee the openness of KING’s space technology and advance their profits sufficiently. As for subsequent development, as long as they had enough funds, there was no need to worry about not being able to get capable scientists.
The theories were formed. For the other things, Xiao Fei and her gang were not so important.
“You’re the new in-charge of KING? Yan Xiaosu, is that right? Let me remind you one more time. Mind your identity. You’re just a kid playing games. You have to pay for the consequences of every word you say.”
Elise said coldly, completely disregarding Yan Xiaosu. Frankly speaking, he didn’t want to bring it to the arbitration court until the very last moment. What he wanted was the executive rights. If Xiao Fei and her team could stay, that would be best. That way, they could bring about profit quicker. This would affect his advancement in Margate Interstellar Airways. If they fought a lawsuit, they would waste a few years’ time. Although the results would be the same, earlier was surely better.
Yan Xiaosu’s expressions remained calm. He coolly said, “The initial cooperation terms had already clearly stated that you are only investors. And let me make it clear. Don’t feel as if you have made too much of an investment. This project will carry on and you will get even higher returns. You want executive rights? Two words: no way. If you’re unwilling, there are plenty of people who want to join in.”
Elise’s expression turned black and he threatened, “Looks like you don’t want to talk anymore. Then let us wait and go to arbitration court. I guess there’s no need for my reminder; you should all be very well aware that given your present situation, going to court would only mean losing everything.”
Yan Xiaosu smiled, but the look in his eyes remained steady. “Suit yourselves then.”
Elise and Heaton could both see from Yan Xiaosu’s eyes that he was being serious and had no plans to negotiate with them. A look of evil flashed in Elise’s eyes. Anything that stood in his way would be destroyed completely.
Heaton, on the other hand, looked haughty. He couldn’t be bothered to look at Yan Xiaosu anymore. His cold glance fell directly on Old Yan and Ye Bingwen. The young one didn’t know what was for his own good, but were the old ones equally ignorant?
The look on Ye Bingwen’s face slightly turned, but he kept himself steady. His instincts told him that Yan Xiaosu was not an empty-headed youth who was ignorant, but there was something off about this. The probability of winning against these duopolies was too low.
Elise scoffed. “Seems like some people are just too stubborn. They wouldn’t give up until they’re on their deathbeds and simply insist on losing everything. By then, it would be too late even if they begged.”
The few of them had no intention of avoiding being heard. Everyone around them heard their words very clearly. Especially Mother An and Zuo Zongyun, who were standing closest. Moreover, Mother An had been eavesdropping intently.
Elise and Heaton had been in the Solar System for a very long time, and they had both been exclusively interviewed by Solar System’s financial news magazine. They were one of a kind celebrities in the financial world. Mother An, who was well versed in such things, naturally knew them. Hearing Elise and Heaton threaten Yan Xiaosu, Mother An felt as if there were a thousand butterflies fluttering and dancing in her heart.
“Tsk tsk tsk. What did I say again? Country bumpkins are country bumpkins. Striking it rich by sheer luck and simply a parvenu. Fancy trying to woo our An Mei with that kind of conduct. Look into a mirror, won’t you?”
Clearly Mother An’s tongue was the type that wouldn’t stop wagging. She said everything that was on her mind, whether it was something nasty or not, and she wanted to say it out loud to the crowd the very first second. She, who proclaimed herself as a rich man’s wife, was, in fact, just a typical trumpet.
Zuo Zongyun smiled coolly and walked towards Elise and Heaton. He bowed and said, “Uncle Elise, Uncle Heaton, nice to meet you. Heh. Why make yourselves upset over some nobody?”
“Oh, I remember you, you’re…..” Heaton looked coldly at Zuo Zongyun.
“I’m Young Zuo of the Zuo Family Jewels. I was honored to be at Uncle Heaton’s dinner party.”
“Heh. So it’s you. Why? You’ve come back to develop here?”
Mother An gleamed. The son-in-law that caught her eye was simply perfect. Tsk tsk. Even a bigshot like Heaton would make small talk with him. If it were somebody else, it would have been a big deal if Heaton would even take a second glance, but now he was chatting with Zuo Zongyun with a smile.
Obviously Mother An was in no position to join in their conversation. But this did not stop her heart from wanting to show off. She yakked away non-stop, saying all sorts of ugly things about Yan Xiaosu to the others near her.
“If not for me, that country bumpkin would have tricked my precious daughter. KING? A silver spear made of wax! They are nothing without the funds from CT and Margate.
“In this day and age, no matter what you do, you still need a real enterprise to back you up. Of course, tissue paper manufacturing, I can only giggle. Setting their sights higher than they can reach, might as well rename their company to Little Poor Star.”
Those around her listened with keen interest. They could all tell that without CT and Margate’s investments, whether it was KING Corp., OMG, or Little Fortune Star, they were all in danger. The funding part of the chain was broken, and the chain reaction that would follow would be extremely scary.
Seeing that they had applied enough pressure, Elise walked up to Yan Xiaosu. He thought that the other party had been pushed so far that he was on a verge of a mental breakdown, so he gave the final diplomatic note. “This is your last chance. Think carefully.”
Yan Xiaosu gleamed. “No need to think. I want to execute the VAM we established when we signed the contract.”
The value adjustment mechanism, or VAM, actually involved both shares and executive rights, and both parties stood a chance. As they were more disadvantaged, the research team had the rights to execute the VAM, letting someone else purchase the shares that were available.
Given the current situation, no company would take over this mess, and nobody had such strong financial backing to do so. The investment in the later stages would be an astronomical figure, and no one would risk offending two big companies that duopolised the market.
Hearing Yan Xiaosu initiate the execution of VAM, Heaton and Elise’s elation could be seen on their faces. Neither OMG nor Little Fortune Star had that amount of funds, and they had already come to a consensus with other groups that had it. It was impossible for any of them to provide real financial assistance to KING Corp.
“Young man, can you afford to take on such a huge responsibility?”
Heaton’s eyes shifted and he thought, “A trap? Impossible. A second generation rich kid born in a family that sells tissue papers whose intelligence is close to that of human scum.”
Elise chuckled too. He had the same judgement. Was he trying to scare others?
Heh. Then let’s play along. No matter what happens, the VAM was in their favor.
“No problem,” Yan Xiaosu said. “Why? Don’t tell me the two vice-presidents are afraid? Then just take whatever money you are supposed to.”
“Heh. Just execute it.” Heaton had already checked it thrice, and the bank had confirmed that KING would definitely not receive a single cent in loans. As long as they put the brakes on OMG, it would be equivalent to choking KING by the throat.
An Mei’s mother watched the scene unfold and couldn’t stop smiling. She shook her head and said, grinning, “That’s a considerably clever move. Big projects like that are not something country bumpkins have control over. It’s pretty good to even make some money out of it.”
Zuo Zongyun smiled and looked at Yan Xiaosu. Yan Xiaosu looked disdained. He was just bluffing for the sake of his reputation. If the VAM was executed, he could make quite a bit of money. No doubt still a country bumpkin who could only see what was right before his eyes.
Elise and Heaton closed in. In terms of their vigor, they had revealed their menace and overbearingness. There was no need for them to negotiate anymore. “I don’t know if you read the contract clearly, but according to the VAM deal, today is the deadline! Get ready to hand things over. Also, I’ve already sent some people to the company. All of the documents must be sealed. None of you can bring it out.”
Yan Xiaosu chuckled. “What’s the hurry? We signed the contract at 8:20 PM. It’s only 7:31….”
Yan Xiaosu had not finished his sentence when his Skylink flashed. It was a message from his assistant. “The other party’s person in-charge has arrived at the summit….”
Ye Bingwen and Old Yan looked at each other. They didn’t know what to do now. They may have been veterans in this field, but Yan Xiaosu had pushed them into a corner. The only thing that gave them strength was that Yan Xiaosu remained highly confident even up to this point.
Yan Xiaosu closed the Skylink, let out a long breath, and smiled faintly. He couldn’t be bothered to entertain the two of them. He walked straight up to the summit’s chairperson’s podium and took a microphone from the side. “Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I am the person in charge of KING Universal Space Technology. Today, we are settling a dispute. KING Corporation has decided to execute a VAM deal with Margate and CT Group. Now that there are vacancies in the project, we welcome friendly investors and capable firms to join us.”
The crowded began discussing spiritedly, gesticulating. This young man was crazy. Who would dare try to fill up such a huge hole and replace the shares of those duopolies? Plus, did he think Margate and CT Group were dead?
Mother An felt extremely lucky inside. Her daughter and husband had blamed her and treated her cold and indifferently. Now they would know that if not for her, her daughter would have fallen into a fire pit!
After saying all that, Yan Xiaosu suddenly put his hand out to a side. “Now, let us welcome FLC Group’s Solar System District’s CEO, Mr. Alsace, to come on stage and say a few words.”