It took me a couple of days to repair and restore my damaged hydraulic machines. Fortunately, most of the damage was superficial and I simply had to weld severed wires or reconnect components that were blown apart.
I was very lucky that they decided to use conventional machine guns instead of laser weapons or plasma guns. Otherwise I would have been screwed. They also didn't bother with their micro missiles, but then again, firing such destructive explosives in a confined space would be a terrible idea.
They would most likely end up blowing themselves up along with their target. While mercenaries were by no means cowards, they weren't reckless and suicidal fools. What was the point of taking huge risks to earn so much cash if they weren't alive to spend any of it?
The people's army took over, carrying away the bodies and promising to investigate. Of course, I didn't put much stock in their words. They told me they would get to the bottom of this and arrest the culprit the last time too, but in the end, they had nothing to show for their efforts. Justin Han or the enemy had covered their tracks too well.
Worse, the mercenaries this time had replaced the standard arm-mounted laser cannon with arm-mounted machine guns instead. The modifications would certainly be used as evidence that these mercenaries were working autonomously or affiliated with a different organization and not Han Industries. If Justin Han was behind this assassination, then he was getting smarter.
"You okay?"
Bu Fan called me shortly after the attack. I wasn't surprised that he learned of the assault almost immediately after it happened. The guy had connections everywhere. I suspected he even had an agent in the military, feeding him information.
"Yeah. Sorry for worrying you."
"Not at all. I'm concerned about you. You're my biggest client right now…well, you're also my only client at the moment." He laughed. "I can't afford to lose you at this juncture, or my business will collapse. We're going to achieve big things together, you and I."
"Yeah, I'll send the orders in once they are done."
"Good. We can begin next week. I already arranged for the components to be shipped to my factory. You can come and supervise, check to see if everything is in order."
"Thanks, I will do that." That was one thing off the checklist, at least. Now I had to worry about whether William succeeded in expanding our staff and hiring anyone. He had been reviewing submitted resumes and conducting interviews – some of them were done online through Skype because the applicants were from overseas – over the last week, but most of it was just preliminary work. He was only beginning to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Then he would begin the next round of interviews, going through a few more processes until he picked the candidates he felt were best suited for our company. For the lower-end jobs, the interviews and selection criteria were a lot more straightforward and they could come to work once they received security clearance from the military. These were the technicians, maintenance workers and support staff. But the engineers, managers, supervisors and higher-ranked posts would require more stringent selection.
Hiring the ideal employees was no easy task. It was often a long and arduous process that could take up to months.
From what I heard, the ship project would also take months. As with all things related to the bureaucracy and red tape, things got stuck in development hell, commanding officers and ministers dawdled on the decision to sign off documents and approve the transfer of material and manpower. Projects like these caused billions of dollars (or tens of billions of yuan), and no one single person could simply sign off the project and approve it immediately.
The shield boat project, in particular, was on a completely different scale from my Titan project or shield generators, after all. Those didn't cause billions, and I could practically build them in my own garage or the army camp. A shield boat or a warship, on the other hand…
"But I didn't call you for that." Bu Fan surprised me. "Like I said, I'm checking on you. Those bastards really aren't letting you off."
"Oh, I'm not injured. And I ended up killing most of them."
There was a guffaw on the other end before Bu Fan spoke again. "I am not surprised. You are a pretty tenacious fellow."
I doubted that, but I didn't refute him. Instead, I sighed wearily.
"Yeah, well…anyway, I'm going to rest now. As you would expect, it has been one hell of a day for me. I'm exhausted."
"I understand." Bu Fan paused for a moment. "But let me give you a warning. I've used my connections in the underworld, and I can all but confirm that Justin Han is the main perpetuator. However, we can't obtain any evidence – not legally, anyway. But since the law isn't helping you and the bastard is actually exploiting the legal system to cover up his atrocities while attempting to take your life, my bros and I will definitely do something to help you."
"Thanks. But how…?"
"Can't tell you." Even though I couldn't see Bu Fan over the phone, I could hear the grin in his voice. "But the underworld has a way of making certain people disappear forever, if you get what I'm saying."
"Yeah, sort of. Thanks. I'll be relying on you then."
"Sure, no problem. But these things take time. My bros and I will need a lot to prepare. Waging war isn't an easy process." Bu Fan sighed. "And while we're stocking up and arming ourselves, the enemy will continue to attack. They aren't going to wait for us to destroy them. So keep your guard up. I can guarantee that the fucker will continue to send more assassins after you."
"Ugh…how troublesome." I shook my head. While I wished I had the confidence to spout a badass line like "no matter how many of them come, I'll kill all of them," I knew inwardly that I had been lucky so far. It only took one tiny mistake and I would be dead, perforated by machine gun rounds or cut apart by laser blasts.
"Word is that Justin Han is switching strategies now. He realizes that sending armed mercenaries in exosuits over and over again is not working. He has tried it…what, twice already? Not only are they costing him a lot – especially since he has to arm them with his own exosuits – they all end up being killed or captured by you."
Bu Fan sounded impressed.
"Tell me, bro, are you a cultivator who somehow reincarnated in this world after you were betrayed and killed in the immortal realm? Or are you a returnee, someone who came back with memories of the future? Or did you come across a cheat system that tells you how to build robots and level up?"
"…huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Never mind. Anyway, go ahead and rest. Leave Justin Han and the people trying to kill you to us. If the law won't protect you, we will."
Before I could say anything, Bu Fan hung up. I stared at my smartphone for a few seconds before shaking my head and sighing wearily. I had never expected things to spin out of control. I only wanted to build giant robots, but some fucker decided to kill because I achieved my dream. Why? Because I threatened to dominate the competition and threatened his profits.
I was about to head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and go to bed, but my smartphone buzzed again, with my ringtone (Yi Nian Yong Heng by GAI Zhou Yan) playing loudly.
"Huh? Is it Bu Fan again? Did he forget something? Or maybe it's William." I still hadn't told my secretary about the attack, but I had no doubt he would call me once he learned about it.
To my surprise, the caller was neither of them. Instead, Lily Ling's name appeared over the screen. I raised an eyebrow before swiping the screen and bringing my phone to my ear.
"Lily? What's up?"
"What, I can't call you without anything happening?"
I hung up. Barely three seconds passed when Lily called again. I wondered whether I should take the call, and then swiped the green button – albeit reluctantly.
"Why did you hang up on me?"
"You know why."
"Ugh! Is it that much of a pain to talk to me?"
"No, not usually. But today's been a rough day and I'm about to go to bed. Sorry."
"Wait, what happened?" Lily must have detected the weariness in my tone and she sounded concerned. Then I heard someone speak in the background, followed by a gasp from Lily. "I just got the news from my butler, Sebastian Guan. You got attacked again?"
"Yeah, well…" I took my glasses off and rubbed my eyes. "I was, yeah. But I dealt with all of them. The army arrived shortly after that and apprehended one suspect."
"You…" Lily sounded like she was in disbelief. "You should consider hiring professional bodyguards."
"Where am I supposed to find the money to hire bodyguards?" I grumbled. "William and I have only just started expanding the company. We need the funds to employ more staff."
"B…but you're supposed to be a CEO! A rich, billionaire CEO!"
"I'm not a rich, billionaire CEO. I was on the verge of bankruptcy just a few months ago. And most of the money I made from military contracts have been used to pay for operating costs and company expansion!"
"The girls aren't going to like you," Lily remarked. "They only want rich, handsome CEOs. You're neither."
And she was rubbing this into my face…why, exactly? I rolled my eyes and was about to hang up, but Lily quickly spoke again.
"Actually, I originally called you to invite you to a pool party."
"A what party?" I repeated incredulously. "Did you just say pool?"
"Yeah, I did," Lily confirmed. "My stepmother and stepsister is hosting a party at the Ling Manor this weekend. They've invited their friends and relatives to have fun in the private swimming pool in dad's backyard."
"Okay…?" I wondered what this had to do with me. I didn't like swimming or dressing in swimming trunks. Unlike most fictional CEOs (which was unrealistic as hell), I didn't have a well-toned, muscular body with abs. I was actually very skinny and unattractive.
"I need you to come too," Lily explained.
"Why?" I asked sourly, already thinking of an excuse to get out of this. My dislike of swimming and exposing most of my body notwithstanding, I was already dreading the mocking stares and insults that would come when the other guests saw my pathetic figure clad in swimming trunks.
However, Lily left me no choice.
"My stepmother and stepsister are probably plotting something." Lily swallowed. "And I don't think I'll be able to handle the both of them by myself."