"Come on…"
I pulled a few wires loose and crisscrossed them before starting the shield generator up again. The energy field flickered to life for a few seconds before spluttering out. I groaned and slumped back, defeated.
"Ugh…I really can't rely on cannibalized components. It's not working."
"I've got worse news, Trevor." William sighed as he approached me, his smartphone in his hand. "After the debacle with Huang Zhou Bank, none of the other banks are willing to give us a loan. I'm afraid we won't be able to secure the funding we need for your new components."
"Damn it. It just keeps getting better, doesn't it?"
I slammed a fist against the hull of my Titan, overwhelmed by frustration. There were a few things I wanted to try, but all of them required new parts and money. Neither of which was going to magically show up at my doorstep.
Not to mention, the landlord would come demanding for the rent by the end of this week, threatening to evict us. Our finances were getting tighter and tighter.
"We'll have to find some way to innovate with what we have," I began. "Maybe I'll just convert the Titan into a power loader and sell him to construction instead."
"That might work," William agreed. At this point, he was willing to try anything.
"It'll give us some funds to pay the rent for this month, at least."
"I'll see what I can do. I might know of some construction companies."
William was already moving back to the forest, his eyes fixed on the screen of his smartphone as he scrolled through some of his contacts. I couldn't help but smile.
"You're a miracle worker, William. You know that?"
"Hah! I know. What will you ever do without me?"
Nothing. I knew how lucky I was to have him by my side. William Wang could have accepted a hundred other offers to work in more lucrative jobs at other more successful companies, but he decided to stick with me until the very end. Seemed like he also believed in the same project as I did. He was a fellow science fiction fan, after all.
Right, wasn't he a fan of the Mech Warrior game series?"
I readjusted the wires and put everything back in place. For now, I decided to test the hydraulics and servos, which appeared to be working fine. it was simple to covert the war walker into a power loader – all I needed to do was ensure that he could lift heavy weights.
However, I would have to construct new arms for the Titan, probably ambidextrous claws that could both grip concrete and lift several tons of building materials. Also, I would need to harden the claws so that they were capable of demolishing structures in a single blow. Perhaps I could give it an excavator function too, for it to scoop up cement and other stuff.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
I snapped out of my stupor and crawled out from under the fuselage. Dropping to the ground, I dusted off my clothing and proceeded toward the entrance of the warehouse. The voice sounded familiar, but it didn't belong to the callous landlord.
No…this voice was…
"Ms. Lily Ling? What are you doing here?" I stared at her, astonished. Then I blinked and adjusted my glasses awkwardly. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"CEO Shen?"
At first, Lily Ling was speechless. She seemed taken aback, staring at my greasy jumpsuit. Clearly she didn't expect a CEO to be dressed in such an uncommon attire. She was probably anticipating a suit, complete with blazer and tie.
Sorry for not meeting your expectations, lady. But I couldn't care less.
"Ah, I apologize." She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Do you have a moment? I wish to discuss something with you?"
"Huh? What would you like to discuss?" For a moment, my mind went blank. Then I recalled something. "Is it about that night? Don't worry, I won't breathe a word of what happened to anybody. I didn't even tell my friend."
"No, it's not about that night. Well…it is slightly related, but I believe you regarding that. It's just that I need your help, and I think you're the most trustworthy person at the moment."
She looked around uncomfortably, her gaze settling on my Titan for a few moments. A ghost of a smile flickered across her pretty face, as if she had just confirmed something. What exactly, I had no clue.
"Okay. Uh, the office is that way. I hope you don't mind. Sorry about the mess."
"No, not at all. Your company is working on robotics, after all."
I led her to the office, where William was seated, working through several files. His eyes bulged when he saw Lily Ling and he jumped out of his chair.
"W…whoa?! Ms.…Ms. Lily Ling?"
"Please. This isn't an official visit. Relax." Lily held up a hand. William swallowed, his eyes still wide in disbelief.
"A…are you here to discuss business?"
"Yes. In private, if you don't mind."
"Uh, of course. Excuse me." William shot me a look and flashed a thumb's up. He was wishing me good luck. I nodded and watched him leave the office before gesturing for Lily to take a seat in the second-hand small chair that we picked up from a garage sale.
If Lily was disgusted or appalled by the lack of proper amenities, she didn't show it. Indeed, she nodded politely when I offered her a cup of coffee.
"Two sugars, two milk, please," she said automatically. I nodded and added the appropriate amount before placing the cup in front of her. She took a sip and smiled, even though she certainly had drunk much higher quality coffee elsewhere before. "Thank you."
"Not at all." I took a seat opposite her, the old second-hand chair groaning under my weight. I rarely spent time here, since most of my attention was directed at my Titan. "What is it you want to discuss?"
"That…" Lily Ling fiddled with her cup for a few seconds before she took a deep breath and placed it back down. "My parents are pressuring me to get married. And so are my sister and her husband – you have seen what sort of people they are."
I nodded, remembering Linda Ling and Charles Mu from the banquet last week. Terrible people who drugged their relative.
"My sister and brother-in-law are scheming something…I think my stepmother is as well, while the candidates my father proposed to me are less than ideal."
If I was as dense as the typical Japanese light novel protagonist, I would be wondering what this whole thing had to do with me. As it was, I didn't graduate with a PhD and start my own company by being stupid. So I nodded thoughtfully.
"Are you asking me to pretend to be your boyfriend or something along those lines?"
"Well…actually, not pretending to be…but I hope you don't mind registering marriage with me. Officially."
"What?" I frowned. What was this? A whirlwind romance or some nonsense like that? "You're joking, right? We don't even know each other. In fact, the first time we met was…what, last week? Don't you think you're being too hasty?"
"Oh, so CEO Shen is the type to believe in romance?" Lily Ling giggled. "I should have known. After all, you're pretty stubborn in your dreams to build a giant robot. I guess I miscalculated a little when evaluating your character."
"Huh?" I was puzzled. "Obviously you should marry the person you love. Isn't that common sense?"
"Perhaps if you're from a regular background, then you'll have that luxury of choice." Lily smiled sadly and leaned back in her chair. "But for people like me, who come from rich families with high statuses, marriage is just a…contract. A formality. Most people with my background don't marry out of love. They enter arranged marriages and marry for mutual benefits, political alliances or financial security."
"Yeah, well…I am not someone from your background. I don't need to adhere to your rules."
"At least hear me out before you reject me." Lily held up a hand. I sighed and nodded. She smiled and continued. "I took the liberty of investigating your background – I hope you don't mind. So I am aware of your current financial difficulties."
"Financial difficulties" was putting it mildly, but I decided not to say anything. I simply nodded.
"If you agree, I will invest in your project. I will provide you the funds you require to complete your Iron Knight project. I heard you are looking for another bank to get a new loan – my company can provide you with the money."
So basically she was bribing me to marry her?
"You can think of this as a dowry," Lily said.
"I'm not interested in your dowry." I sighed. "I'm sorry. I may sound naïve and perhaps this is utterly foolish of me, but I am not going to accept your money. I'm not going to marry you because of money. I have my principles."
"Five hundred million yuan." Lily didn't bat an eyelid. "I can write the check now. You can use that to fund your Iron Knight project, and even buy out this warehouse. And repay all of the bank loans."
Holy f…! Five hundred million yuan!? Did his lady know what she was talking about?
Then again, she was the heiress to the Ling Conglomerate, which earns billions of yuan per month. Five hundred million was just a drop in their immense wealth.
However…
"As tempting as your offer might sound, I'm sorry, but I'll have to refuse it." I shook my head. "I will not be bought out."
Lily frowned. "It's just a marriage. Are you really that against marrying me?"
"It's not about that. Don't you see? Marriage is a sacred institution. You're asking me to spend the rest of my life with you. It's a commitment, a…I don't know how to describe it. Love is priceless. You can't buy it with money. I don't care if you give me ten billion yuan. I will not stoop so desperately to such measures. I have no intention of selling out."
"Even though you're on the verge of bankruptcy?" Lily's frown deepened. "Wake up. Reality is not as kind as you think it is. Your ideals might sound pleasant to the ear, but they are worthless in the face of reality. Can your ideals of romance get you the money you need? Will it save your company from bankruptcy? Will your principles put food on the table?"
"No, perhaps not…but that doesn't matter to me." I smiled thinly. "I don't care if I go bankrupt. It's all right if I fail. It's perfectly fine with me if I fail my dream. But at least I will be able to hold my head up high and tell people that I lived an honest life. That I fought as hard as I could, did everything within my power and did my best without resorting to corruption. I might be naïve, but to me, staying true to my values is more important than success."
Lily watched me for a moment before she sighed.
"…I see. I guess I should have expected this. After all, the reason I chose you was because of your principles in the first place. This only proves that I can trust you. And trust is a precious commodity in the cutthroat world of business."
"Sorry. I apologize for wasting your time." I bowed my head politely. Lily giggled at that.
"No, not at all. And you didn't waste my time. Actually, I have an alternative proposal…if you don't mind listening to that as well."