Chapter 11: Tyrannical CEO loves me

"Thanks for the assist!"

I bowed politely at the driver. He nodded and tipped his cap before driving his truck away, leaving me and William to carry the components into the warehouse by ourselves.

"I see that everything has gone smoothly."

"Whoa!? Ms. Lily Ling, what are you doing here?"

I hadn't expected Lily to show up, especially since we had taken public transport to the warehouse she directed me to, picked up a bunch of components that we needed, and arranged for transport back to our office. I thought she had long since returned to her own office by now.

"Oh, I was just dropping by to make sure everything is going smoothly."

"Ah, yeah. They are. Thanks."

I bowed politely and she smiled.

"Good. I hope you succeed. I look forward to seeing what you have. If you show promising results, we'll discuss on how to cooperate in the future."

"Okay. Thanks."

Before she could leave, though, a Lamborghini pulled up. This was a different luxury car from the limousine we saw this morning. Lily, for her part, stopped and stared in exasperation. Evidently, this wasn't her ride.

"Not this shit again," she complained, burying her face in her palm.

"Why? What happened?" I asked, even as I helped William heft a bulky machine through the entrance of our warehouse.

I got my answer in the form of the person who stepped out of the Lamborghini. Like Benjamin Bo, he was also dark-haired and handsome, but a bit taller and had narrower eyes that made him look like a demon. Maybe an incubus or something.

"Tyson Tan," William said immediately. "The CEO of Tan Holdings."

"What is he doing here?"

"I don't know. I don't think they have any interest in military contracts or robotics…not from what I remember anyway. They are more of a financial giant, more to do with insurance and actuarial numbers."

Once again, my question was answered when Tyson approached Lily. She gritted her teeth and retreated, using me for cover. I shot her an inquisitive stare, but she shook her head.

"Just play along for now," she hissed.

"Play along?" I repeated incredulously. She nodded fervently and I sighed.

Tyson walked right up to me, his eyes narrowed to a glare. I couldn't help but feel intimidated, but I maintained my position.

"CEO Tan, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Here." he tossed a suitcase at me, but I didn't accept it. Placing it on top of one of the machines that were still outside my warehouse, he opened it up to show me the stacks of cash stored within it. I stared at him, not comprehending.

"Why are you showing me money, exactly?"

"There's 50 million yuan in there," he replied, not exactly answering my question. Then he finally got to the point. "Take it. In return, stay away from Lily Ling. Never go near her again, never meet her again. Those are my conditions."

"Excuse me?"

"Is 50 million not enough?" Tyson gestured to one of his staff, who approached and passed him a second suitcase. "100 million yuan in total, then. And I'll throw in the Lamborghini."

He tossed me the keys to his luxury car. I wasn't able to catch it, my hands missing. Sighing, I picked it up from the floor and tossed it back to him.

"No."

"How much do you want then?" Tyson asked evenly.

"The hell are you even talking about? I don't want any money. Just leave me alone."

"I'm asking you how much you want, in exchange for never seeing Lily Ling again."

For a moment, I simply stared at Tyson Tan, too astonished to muster up any words in my response. Behind me, Lily tensed, looking extremely unhappy. I could feel her fingers on the sleeve of my jumpsuit, tightening anxiously.

"Like I said, I don't want any money."

"200 million yuan? With the Lamborghini as an extra, of course."

"Fuck off, you asshole. I told you I don't want any money or your stupid car. You can't put a price tag on relationships. My friendship with Ms. Lily Ling is priceless."

Tyson glared at me, refusing to believe what he was hearing. I shook my head.

"Or what? If I don't accept your deal, you're going to beat me up like Benjamin Bo? Resort to violence and intimidation?"

"I will not lower myself to criminal activities," Tyson replied, his tone deadly. Or at least he wouldn't in public.

Behind me, Lily laughed.

"You don't understand, do you? Mr. Tan? Mr. Shen here refused to marry me even though I offered him 500 million yuan. He can't be bought or bargained with. Unlike you, he is a man of principles."

"So that's why you chose him over everyone else." Tyson regarded her coolly. He sighed and shook his head, turning away to return to his car. His staff hastily snatched up the suitcases of money. "Looks like I underestimated you, Mr. Shen. I apologize."

"Not at all." I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched him go. After his convoy of vehicles disappeared, Lily stepped away and bowed her head.

���Thank you. Tyson Tan is a tough man to deal with."

"Aren't they all? At least he isn't as bad as Benjamin Bo."

"There is that, yes. Anyway, thank you for today." Lily nodded. "I'll see you this weekend. Good luck with your project."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll do my best."

I snapped a salute and watched her step into her ride – a limousine this time – before I returned to the warehouse.

"What was all that about?" William demanded, his eyes wide in awe. "Marriage? With Lily Ling? You?"

"That's not happening," I assured him. "I just agreed to pretend to be her boyfriend for a while, to keep her parents off her back because they are pressuring her. It's nothing serious."

"By the looks of it, all these bossy and tyrannical CEOs coming to drive you away, I'm sure it's a lot more serious than you make it out to be."

"What can they do?" I snorted. "Buy out our company? We're on the verge of bankruptcy. We have nothing to lose at this point. Let them do whatever they want."

"All right. But be careful."

"Yeah, agreed." Scratching my head, I sighed. "We'll have to watch out for whatever stunts they pull. As if we don't have enough to worry about already."

"I still don't get why you didn't just take the money, though," William grumbled. "Heavens know we could use such a large amount of cash."

"Because of my principles. I can't go around condemning big businesses and politicians for being corrupted when I accept bribes myself. If I make money, it'll be through my own ability, not handouts from spoilt brats demanding all sorts of weird nonsense from me."

"Fair enough." William didn't look convinced. "I hope reality allows you to stick by your ideals, though."

*

Over the next couple of days, I worked on building an energy shield generator with the disposed parts I had gotten from Ling Electronics. It didn't take much effort since I already knew what to do. Before long, I was able to generate a shimmering field of defensive energy.

"All right, let's test it out."

I activated the laser drill and blasted the energy shield. To my delight, it did nothing more than send ripples through the sturdy barrier. I used the plasma torch next, only for it to have the same result.

"It's working!" I shouted to William, giddy with excitement. Unlike my first attempt, the energy shield stayed on for longer periods of time. As long as the plasma generator in the war walker could continue to supply the necessary power, the energy shield could be maintained indefinitely.

This was most definitely a success.

"Whoa! I didn't think it would work!" William exclaimed in surprise, racing out of the office and down the stairs to watch in disbelief. "To think you could cobble this together with discarded parts!"

"The components that Ling Electronics disposed of were obsolete, not broken," I explained. "I think I can create a stronger and superior shield with higher quality components, but for a prototype, this works well enough."

"Excellent! So we should be able to get your Titan built and ready soon?"

"Yeah, but I don't think we have the time." I ran a few calculations through my head. Today was Wednesday, and the rent was due on Friday. The loan repayments were also due sometime next week. I couldn't possibly finish constructing by Titan by either of those deadlines.

Not to mention there were a few more parts and components that I needed to purchase to ensure a successful sale.

No, we needed the money as soon as possible.

"Contact the military," I instructed William. "I'll get my shield generator patented, and then we'll see if we can sell this shield generator to them tomorrow."

"I'm on it," William said, already dialing a number in his smartphone. As for me, I was getting prepared to head out to the office where we could get stuff patented.

This shield generator was my creation, and I wasn't going to let anyone steal it from me.