Chapter 51: Remember, I'm Not Negotiating With You

Chapter 51: Remember, I'm Not Negotiating With You

The race was held at the Metropolitan Football Stadium in New York City. Over a hundred thousand people were expected to watch, and Xia Shang was responsible for the on-site security, which kept him busy until the evening. Only after his work was finished did he arrange to meet with A-Train.

A-Train felt somewhat uneasy about meeting with Xia Shang.

"This steak tastes good, you should try some." Xia Shang cut the steak on his plate into small pieces with his knife and fork, then slowly chewed them. "You look a bit guilty. Are you afraid Vought International will find out if you use Compound V tomorrow?"

"Please, I really need to win this race. If I lose, Homelander will definitely kick me out of The Seven." A-Train lowered his voice and pleaded with Xia Shang.

Xia Shang pulled out a wet wipe and wiped the oil from the corner of his mouth. His extremely cold gaze pierced A-Train like a sharp sword. "What does you being kicked out of The Seven have to do with me? I haven't seen you give me a single cent of your percentage of the annual dividends."

"Five million US dollars. As long as you promise to keep my secret, I'll give you five million US dollars." A-Train revealed a pained expression, muttering inwardly that Xia Shang was a greedy, damned vampire, while gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"Sorry, I'm quite satisfied with the salary Vought is currently paying me," Xia Shang said only after finishing the last piece of steak.

A-Train was about to be driven mad by the guy in front of him.

"Then what do you want? Do you want me to help you become the President of Vought International? Come on, man, just be straightforward. How much money will it take to make this go away?"

"Five million US dollars, plus the channel through which your girlfriend obtains Compound V." As soon as Xia Shang finished speaking, A-Train immediately refused, "Impossible. I can give you the money, but I don't know the channel for Compound V, and Crimson Countess definitely won't tell me."

*Crack.* Xia Shang crushed the glass in his hand. He picked up a shard, placed it in his palm, ground it into powder, then picked up A-Train's wine glass and poured the powder into it. He then handed the wine glass back to A-Train, signaling him to drink the wine.

"Remember, I'm not negotiating with you. No matter what method you use, whether it's threats or inducements, I just want what I want. If I don't get what I want in three hours, you'll have to bear the consequences." Xia Shang said in a calm tone.

He looked at A-Train's face, red with humiliation, and sneered, "I advise you not to think about killing me to silence me, because that would be ridiculous. If I wanted to, I could make your end worse than this glass in one second."

Xia Shang knew how to deal with people who bully the weak and fear the strong. Only by being tougher would the other party comply. If he spoke softly and negotiated, the only possibility was being treated like an idiot.

"Agree to me, and you can continue to be the King of Speed in people's hearts, continue to enjoy the crown of glory. If you refuse, you will become a loser swept out by Vought. I think you are a smart person and know how to choose."

"Do you want to be the King of Speed, or a loser?" Xia Shang's words were like the whisper of a devil. After a moment of hesitation, A-Train took the wine glass from Xia Shang's hand and drank the wine in it in one gulp.

"I look forward to your good news." Xia Shang smiled slightly, watching A-Train leave.

...

An hour later, Xia Shang received text messages on his phone from both the bank and A-Train.

Looking at the six million six hundred and sixty-six thousand US dollars added to his account, Xia Shang chuckled softly, "Did he think I was Satan? But this is the first time I've seen someone curse with money, it's quite creative, I suggest he keep it up."

Xia Shang then looked at the text message from A-Train. The message content was very simple, just one line.

Mercy Hospital in Midtown, look for a Head Nurse named Hitch Gili.

Mercy Hospital... So that's it. If Xia Shang remembered correctly, this matter should be related to Ezekiel of Vought International, the bisexual Supe with Rubber Ability he had seen at the nightclub before. This guy is Vought International's Charity Ambassador, specifically responsible for sending Compound V to various hospitals around the world that cooperate with Vought. The Compound V A-Train's girlfriend got should have circulated out of the hospital.

However, he was wrong. In fact, most Supes were well aware of the circulation of Compound V in hospitals. As for the Compound V in A-Train's hands, it was given to him by Homelander.

Afterward, Xia Shang first went to a car dealership and bought an off-road car, then drove to the hospital entrance. By giving a tip, he successfully met the Head Nurse named Hitch Gili.

"Here's a check for one million US dollars. You should know what I want."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Hitchie prepared to leave. She didn't like doing business with strangers because the risk was too high.

"Crimson Countess mentioned you to me."

Hitchie frowned and said, "Two million, otherwise no deal."

"No problem." Xia Shang agreed readily. He took out his checkbook, signed a check for two million, and handed it to Hitchie.

"Wait for me for five minutes." Hitchie took the check and turned to walk into the hospital.

When she came out again, she had a box wrapped in black cloth in her hand.

"This is contraband. If anything happens, it has nothing to do with our hospital."

"I understand the rules."

Changing back to his original appearance, Xia Shang returned to the car and opened the black box. Inside were rows of neatly arranged Compound V, a total of ten vials. The unit price was two hundred thousand US dollars, ten times cheaper than the official wholesale price.

Of course, Xia Shang estimated that the production cost of this stuff shouldn't be high, otherwise Vought wouldn't be so generous, providing so much Compound V to numerous hospitals for human research every year.

"Hope it has an effect, after all, the fusion speed of Carbon Nano-Super-Sensitivity is really a bit too slow." Xia Shang summoned the panel. At this time, the fusion progress was 13%.

He took out a vial, cut off the head of the vial with his fingertip, and then poured the blue liquid inside into the palm of his other hand. He saw a slit open in the palm of Xia Shang's right hand. After swallowing a few drops of Compound V, it sealed back up like a zipper.

At first, he could feel a slight tingling sensation throughout his body. But it wasn't obvious.

Could it be because the dosage wasn't enough? Xia Shang transformed his right index finger into a thin tentacle. The tentacle then drilled into the Compound V like a snake, slowly sucking the liquid little by little. To prevent accidents, the tentacle sucked very slowly.

But as the absorbed dosage continued to increase, Xia Shang closed his eyes and felt the changes in the cells within his body. The cells didn't feel uncomfortable; instead, they became quite active. They greedily absorbed the Compound V, and their structure became increasingly complex.

By the time Xia Shang opened his eyes. One vial of Compound V had been completely absorbed.

He didn't know if it was because he already possessed Translucent's Invisibility Ability within his body, but this absorption didn't grant him an additional new superpower.

But that wasn't important. Xia Shang looked at the panel before him, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

[Carbon Nano-Super-Sensitivity Talent is Fusing, current progress 33%]

(End of Chapter)