Chapter 172: Plotting

The morning came with Terrence, his mind fully made up, marching directly toward the Suran City administration building.

With Stan Visor following closely behind him in his crisp corporate suit, both men radiated such a formidable, heavy aura that the staff lining the grand corridors couldn’t help but stop and stare in terrified silence.

Soon, they reached the massive double doors of the City Administrator’s executive suite. Stan stepped forward, his expression cold as he knocked twice with firm, measured force.

The heavy mahogany door creaked open, revealing a lavishly decorated lobby. Sitting behind a polished marble desk was the Chief Secretary, a middle-aged woman adorned in expensive silk robes. She slowly lifted her head, looking over her thin spectacles at the two men. Her eyes lingered on Terrence’s tattered coat and Stan’s familiar face, her lips curling into an arrogant, condescending sneer.

"Well, well. If it isn’t the disgraced President of Lovely Potion," the secretary said smoothly, leaning back in her plush chair without making any effort to stand. "I suggest you turn around immediately. The Administrator does not see common shopkeepers, nor does he accept visits from criminals who have lost their business license."

Stan didn’t flinch. He adjusted his silver cuffs, taking a single step forward as his shadow stretched menacingly across her polished floor.

"We are not here to request a meeting, Secretary," Stan replied, his voice calm yet carrying the razor-sharp edge of a veteran enforcer. "We are here to deliver an ultimatum. Inform Vane Vance that Lord Terrence has arrived to collect what is owed."

The secretary let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "An ultimatum? Do you have any idea where you are standing? This is the city admin’s building! Just near here is the central citadel of Suran City! Security forces will have you thrown into the deep cell block before you can even take another step!"

Terrence finally stepped up beside Stan, his golden eyes narrowing slightly as a suffocating wave of pressure instantly filled the room. The air grew ice-cold, causing the glass fixtures on the desk to vibrate violently.

"Call him," Terrence spoke softly, his voice cutting through her posture like a blade. "Tell Vane Vance he has three minutes to open those doors himself. If he doesn’t, I won’t bother using the handle... and your entire building won’t have an executive floor by the time I’m done."

The secretary’s sneer froze. Her face drained of all color as her throat closed up in sudden terror, her trembling fingers scrambling frantically for the intercom button.

But she stopped, her trembling hand freezing just inches above the intercom button.

"You... dare to threaten me? You sure don’t know your position, huh."

The Chief Secretary wasn’t even sure why she said that. She was internally terrified, but surprised by where that sudden spike of reckless courage came from.

That courage was rooted entirely in her position here in the city. With the entire City Administration behind her back supporting her every call, there had to be nothing to worry about, right?

She convinced herself. She didn’t have to back down to a pair of rogues.

Terrence nodded with a mocking smirk. He couldn’t believe his warning hadn’t immediately broken her. Did he just threaten her, only for her to dig her heels in?

"You sure have guts. But I commend you," Terrence said, his golden eyes glowing through the dimming light of the office. "No one is able to stand this firm before me despite experiencing my presence."

"As if I have to be worried about someone like you!" the secretary spat back, trying desperately to keep her voice from shaking. "You have lost your business license! Didn’t you know that? You’re a nobody here now!"

Terrence closed his eyes, taking a short, quiet sigh.

"People really don’t know their place."

The instant those words left his lips, the air in the room became unimaginably heavy and ice-cold.

The Chief Secretary felt her senses go completely numb. The room seemed to warp around her, and the arrogant conviction she had just mustered shattered into microscopic pieces. Every instinct in her body screamed that she was seconds away from dying.

Her mind panicked, completely abandoning her pride as she desperately scrambled to contact the City Administrator to save herself.

Without another second of hesitation, her shaking hand slapped down hard onto the intercom button, calling Vane Vance directly.

"Sir! Sir Vane!" she shrieked into the speaker, her voice cracking in pure terror. "They’re here! Terrence and Stan are right outside your office!"

...

The scene cut to where Terrence was sitting across the couch from Vane, who looked far too young to be a city administrator already.

With just how confident he looked with his sleeked-back hair, shiny and properly trimmed, and a golden wristwatch—not a digital one—he looked more like a college young man or an arrogant businessman than a city administrator.

He even had this proud air around him. Vane looked with condescending eyes at Terrence, as if saying, "I can’t believe they are even here."

"Terrence... You sure have guts. Do you know why you are even here?" Vane’s eyes fell on Stan, whom he couldn’t believe had escaped. "I see... Are you here to surrender? Stan Visor, you are a criminal properly detained under the central citadel. How are you here?"

"Cut that, come on. You know why we are here. You know that well... And I despise how you act as if you don’t know," Terrence said coldly.

"Why? Are you trying to threaten me? Aren’t you afraid?"

"Of course... I am not. That’s why I am here to propose a deal. You have to pay me at least a half billion compensation for the damages, and at least a billion for the inconvenience you have caused to my shop."

Vane laughed out loud. "Are you serious?"

Terrence clicked his tongue, then tossed a document onto the glass table between them. It contained the formal agreement he had made with the previous city administrator which Vane had broken.

"Civil and criminal immunity for a year and a half. As long as I contribute two hundred million monthly... Signed and received by the central government. Do you wish for me to continue to read it?"

Vane’s brows furrowed as he grabbed the document and read it himself. As he scanned through the pages, a look of complete oblivion washed over his face regarding the paper.

"This is fake! I am sure of it!" Vane barked.

"If it is fake, then how about we bring it directly to the central government? How does that sound? I heard that the judiciary is really strict about contracts. And I can’t help but wonder, with what you have done to my shop, illegally detaining my people, and grabbing my business for your own benefit, do you think you will be safe?"

Vane clicked his tongue hard.

"I will verify it!" Vane exclaimed, trying to hold onto his composure.

"No need... I am here to propose something. As long as you agree, I won’t bring this to the central government."

"Are you sure?" Vane looked at him with deep suspicion.

"Yes... I am. And you can bring me to court if I am faking documents. It is a grave crime to use the central government for personal interest. Corrupt officials are executed, you know that."

Vane swallowed hard, his throat dry. He tried to shift the tide of their battle.

"And I will bring you to court for causing trouble to the city! You know that the Anti-Nustra Legion is camping outside because of your shop!"

"I see... I have no problem with that. Then I will simply cease my business. It is not that hard."

Vane’s eyes widened in sheer shock. That was the last thing he wanted. Terrence’s shop had the highest contribution to the regional economy since he had started, and that was the exact reason Vane had tried to take it for himself.

If Terrence ceased his business, that meant a complete halt to the city’s highest income stream.

"I have decided. I will leave the city if you pay me compensation. If you don’t, I will still cease my business, but I will bring this straight to the central government. How about you pick between the two? You... lose face to the political society as someone who disrespected a central contract, or as someone who respected me, Terrence. Maybe if I change my mind later, I will leave a beast behind that you could use as a mascot or something."