"Big sister, are you stupid? Why should we spend money to buy Benjamin's shabby house?"
At this moment, Liam's yelling voice came through Mia's phone.
Even without the speaker on, the volume was quite loud.
Benjamin happened to be walking to the balcony door and heard everything clearly.
Hmph—
Benjamin's.
This ungrateful thing had been living off him but never showed him any respect.
"You're so dumb! Even though the house is old, once it gets demolished, we'll easily get over 3 million dollar. We can make a profit of more than a million!"
"It's just that Benjamin's brain is fried. He insists on selling this house for such a low price. Even if he's short on money for business, taking a loan would be better than this."
"But it's fine. If he makes money from his business, I'll have him hand it over to me. If he loses money, I'll squeeze him dry and then dump him!"
Mia proudly laid out her plans, completely unaware that Benjamin was right behind her.
Liam's dissatisfied voice came through the phone:
"No, big sister, if he's short on money for business, he can take a loan. Whether he can repay it or not is his problem."
"You're already together, so his house is ours. Why should we pay to buy our own house?"
"I'm your only brother. I'm going to get married soon, so you have to make him pay for it."
Benjamin couldn't help but laugh at Liam's absurd logic.
He hadn't expected that selling a house worth at least 3 million dollar for 1.5 million to Mia's family would still draw such criticism from this ungrateful wretch.
This scoundrel already considered his house as his own.
He even urged his sister to make Benjamin pay for his wedding.
He never once considered Benjamin's perspective.
Such a scoundrel deserved to die at the hands of a home invader!
Gradually, Liam's voice became quieter and harder to hear.
But Mia's voice was clear.
"Ah, my brother is so smart. But you don't know how scary Benjamin's expression was just now. If I hadn't gone along with him, he might have broken up with me, and then we'd lose our cash cow! We have to know the difference between a one-time feast and a steady meal!"
"I've already thought it through. We'll ask him for 500,000 dollar in betrothal gifts. Even though he hands over his salary to me and has no savings, he has some family heirlooms that can be sold for hundreds of thousands."
"Actually, I'd rather marry a rich second-generation heir and live the life of a wealthy wife. But the rich heirs I've met are all as cunning as monkeys. None of them are as easy to fool as this simp."
"I'll keep an eye out for rich heirs. If nothing works out, I'll have to marry him. Don't worry, even if I marry him, I'll make him earn more money to support you."
"What? How could he dare! If he doesn't earn enough for us, I won't let him touch me. The money is in my hands anyway, and I won't have children. Let's see if he panics!"
Hearing the conversation inside, Benjamin's eyes gradually turned cold.
"Click—"
Mia hung up the phone, pushed open the balcony sliding door, and was stunned to see Benjamin standing there.
"Benjamin…"
When did Benjamin come over?
Did he hear the conversation she just had with her brother?
"How did it go?"
Benjamin pretended to be gentle as he looked at her.
"Ah… it… it's settled. My brother wants to buy the house."
Mia secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good. Do you have 1.5 million dollar? If not, I'll sell it to someone else."
Benjamin said with a smile.
"Yes, of course. My mom and the others already know and have transferred the money to my brother's card."
Afraid that Benjamin wouldn't believe her family could come up with so much money, Mia even showed him the transfer record.
Through the hidden prompts, Benjamin confirmed that 1.5 million dollar had indeed been transferred to Liam's card. He smiled in satisfaction.
He pinched her cheek and said in a feigned gentle tone, "Tomorrow and the day after are the weekend, so we can't process the transfer. On Monday, when the offices open, I'll go with your brother to complete the transfer. Then, this old house will belong to your brother."
Hearing this, Mia excitedly kissed Benjamin on the cheek, "Benjamin, you're so good! I love you to death!"
…
The next day, Benjamin left home early.
With the deep hatred from his past life, he naturally didn't have a shred of affection for Mia.
The only reason he was still living with her was to extract any remaining value.
When the apocalypse arrived, he would make sure she died.
But for now, he was going to witness her brother's death firsthand.
Now, the hidden prompts only appeared when he wanted them to.
For example, right now.
Her brother Liam had just posted a selfie on Twitter.
To the naked eye, it was just an overly filtered, still ugly picture of a fat guy.
But when he thought about the hidden prompts, a prompt appeared on the tweet:
**[This is a tweet. The location is Sunset Road, No. 48.]**
Using this hidden prompt, Benjamin quickly made his way to Liam's place.
Liam rented an old, standalone house in a quiet neighborhood.
Most of the surrounding houses were similar, with many doors locked or marked for rent.
The streets were deserted, so any unusual activity would go unnoticed.
This was perfect for his plan.
Seeing that the time was almost up, he quickly climbed a tree across the street.
This spot gave him a clear view of Liam's yard while the dense leaves provided cover.
He could secretly watch the whole drama unfold.
Soon, a man emerged from a nearby alley and entered Liam's neighborhood.
Benjamin immediately checked the man's hidden prompt:
**[This is an unemployed youth. During a home robbery, he will get into a conflict with a man and accidentally kill him.]**
This was the man!
Benjamin quickly took out his binoculars and focused on Liam's house.
He saw the man enter Liam's house, followed by Liam running out and the two getting into a struggle.
Then, the man grabbed a shovel nearby and slammed it hard into Liam's head.
Liam fell heavily to the ground, blood flowing out and staining the ground.
The man immediately threw down the shovel and fled the scene.
Benjamin recorded the entire process.
After waiting for the man to leave, he climbed down from the tree and ran to Liam's house.
As soon as he entered, he heard a few cries for help.
"Benjamin, you bastard! Aren't you going to save me?"
Following the voice, Benjamin saw Liam lying in a pool of blood, glaring at him fiercely. Benjamin couldn't help but laugh.
Liam's life was tough—after getting hit on the head with a shovel, he was still alive and had the strength to scold him!
He immediately took out his phone and started recording.
Seeing Liam's face grow paler from blood loss, Benjamin smiled, "At this point, you're still calling me 'Benjamin'?"
Hearing this, Liam quickly changed his tone, "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law!"
Benjamin didn't move to help. He just stood there, watching Liam slowly sink into the abyss of death.
"Brother-in-law, please, call an ambulance…"
"Brother-in-law, I don't want to die…"
"I… I want to live…"
The near-death experience from blood loss filled Liam with terror. His strong will to survive made him see Benjamin as his lifeline.
Liam desperately called for help again and again, but Benjamin just kept recording.
Suddenly, Benjamin spoke.
"Want to live?"
These two simple words were like a treasure to Liam, who was on the brink of death.
Hope instantly ignited in Liam's heart.
With all his strength, he answered, "Yes!"
Benjamin smiled and said, "Call me 'Dad.'"
Liam's face showed displeasure, but he still called out, "Dad."
Benjamin shook his head, "Too quiet. I can't hear you."
Liam mustered all his energy and shouted, "Dad!!"
This time, the voice was much louder than before.
But Benjamin shook his head again, "Louder."
Liam paused, then did as he was told.
He opened his mouth wide, strained his throat, and shouted with all his might, "Dad!!!"
This shout drained Liam's energy.
He lay weakly in the pool of blood, breathing more and more faintly.
Seeing Benjamin still unmoving, he pleaded helplessly,
"Save me… save me…"
"Save me…"
His voice grew softer, almost inaudible.
But fortunately, his pleas reached Benjamin.
Seeing Benjamin approach him and squat down, a faint smile appeared on Liam's blood-stained, pig-like face.
Benjamin was here.
He was saved!
This Benjamin was so picky about titles.
He even made me call him 'Dad'!
Once I recover, I'll make sure my sister swindles all of Benjamin's savings!
Then, I'll have my sister dump him!
Let him live as a poor, lonely bachelor for the rest of his life!
Die in agony!
But to his surprise, Benjamin's next words shattered all his plans.
"What did you say? I never said that calling me 'Dad' a few times would guarantee I'd save you."
These words were like a bolt from the blue for Liam.
"You…"
Liam's eyes widened in shock.
The anger that had just risen in his heart was instantly extinguished by the terror of death.
"Brother-in-law… I was wrong…"
"Don't leave… save me…"
"Save me…"
He desperately pleaded for help, but Benjamin simply stepped over him and walked into the house.
Tears silently streamed from Liam's eyes, quickly mixing with the blood to form several horrifying trails of blood and tears.
His tear-filled eyes stared emptily at the sky as he awaited his inevitable death.
…
As soon as Benjamin entered the bedroom, he saw Liam's phone on the table, along with a hidden prompt:
**[This is a phone. The password is 486168.]**
Benjamin unlocked Liam's phone and checked the bank cards linked to WeChat and Alipay, viewing the hidden prompts:
**[This is a savings card. The balance is 1,500,310.86. The password is 486168.]**
Seeing this prompt, he wasn't surprised.
This was the amount he had swindled from Mia's family to "buy" his old house.
But the next prompts left him increasingly stunned:
**[This is a savings card. The balance is 168,394.03. The password is 486168.]**
**[This is a savings card. The balance is 283,268.23. The password is 486168.]**
**[…]**
Liam had linked several bank cards, each containing tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollar!
Combined, they totaled over a million dollar!
But what shocked Benjamin the most was the balance of one particular savings card:
**[This is a savings card. The balance is 11,613,693.49. The password is 486168.]**
Looking at the astonishing string of numbers in the prompt, Benjamin's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
He had thought that coming here would only allow him to witness Liam's death and recover the 1.5 million dollar "house payment."
But he hadn't expected to stumble upon such an unexpected windfall!
Over 11 million dollar!
Liam was just a jobless leech who lived off his parents and sister. Where did he get so much money?
Without wasting time, Benjamin quickly gathered all of Liam's bank cards and stuffed them into his pockets.
In the process, he also found a document.
It stated that Liam had won the lottery—a jackpot of 15 million dollar!
Even after deducting 2 million dollar in taxes, it still amounted to a staggering 13 million!
Benjamin suddenly understood.
No wonder Liam had so much money—he had hit the jackpot!
This scoundrel had kept it well hidden!
After winning such a huge prize, he had kept it from his family while continuing to mooch off them and Benjamin.
If Benjamin hadn't come here, he would have missed out on this fortune!
But it was all for the better.
Since Liam had only claimed the prize the day before yesterday, he hadn't spent much of it. Now, it all belonged to Benjamin.
Benjamin had just harvested over 13 million dollar!
With this huge sum, he could stockpile supplies and live a better life in the apocalypse.
He quickly ransacked Liam's house, finding some gold bars and other worthless junk.
Using the hidden prompts, he made sure he hadn't missed anything valuable before leaving with the wealth, Liam's ID, and phone.
Of course, before leaving, he made sure to wipe away any traces of his presence.
…