Chapter 99: Money Problems

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Money Problems

"Who gave a kid the right to give medical advice to a High General?" Chen Feng snapped, his face darkening instantly.

"Know your place, boy! You’re talking about a King-level beast’s corruption like it’s a common cold!" Chen Weian chimed in, stepping forward aggressively.

Before the family could pile on any further, Keira stepped directly between them and the bed.

"Shut up, all of you," she said, her sharp eyes sweeping over her father and uncle. "Isn’t this decision supposed to belong to the person who’s actually sick? Let Grandfather decide for himself."

Derrick just shrugged casually, entirely unfazed by the glares directed at him.

"I was just answering the question he asked me," Derrick said, already walking toward the door. "Nothing more, the rest is completely up to him."

With a quick wave to the old man, Derrick slipped out into the hallway, and Keira gave her family one last cold look before turning on her heel to follow him outside.

Chen Feng immediately stepped up to the bedside, eager to regain control of the room. "Father, ignore that boy’s childish nonsense."

"He knows nothing. Master Feng Yuan is offering the only real option here, so you need to make a decision."

General Chen didn’t answer right away.

He stayed silent for a long moment, staring down quietly at his own weathered, frail hands.

Finally, the old general spoke, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I need time to think. All of you, get out. It’s time for me to rest."

Chen Feng looked like he wanted to press further, but seeing the stubborn look on his father’s face, he swallowed his words, gave a stiff nod, and gestured for everyone to leave.

Once the heavy double doors clicked firmly shut and the suite fell dead silent, the old man slowly closed his eyes.

His mind drifted back to the moment Derrick had patted his hand before leaving, recalling the simple message the kid had secretly traced into his palm with a finger.

Stall for time. What a crafty kid, I wonder where that little girl found him. If not for him being her student, he could have been my perfect grandson-in-law.

Stepping out of the heavy double doors, Derrick bypassed the main corridor entirely and headed straight into the quiet courtyard garden, stopping in a secluded spot where not a single soul was in sight.

He tapped the screen to accept the call and brought the phone to his ear. "Hey, Cassie. How’d things go on your end?"

"We managed to track down that influencer," Cassie replied, her voice crackling slightly over the receiver. "I somehow talked her into holding off on releasing the promo video for a bit, considering our budget situation right now."

Before she could keep going, Derrick’s phone chimed with an incoming notification.

"Just sent you her profile if you want to take a look," she added.

Derrick didn’t open the profile right away. Instead, he leaned back against a stone pillar, watching the wind rustle through the courtyard trees.

"What about the lawyer?" Derrick asked, his voice dropping into a serious tone. "Did you find someone reliable? I need the backing of an actual firm to handle the business side of things. A single lawyer, no matter how brilliant they are, can only do so much."

"I know," Cassie said, sighing over the speaker. "But setting up something with a top-tier firm usually means meeting them face-to-face."

"It’s one of their little power tactics."

"Plus, finding a reliable lawyer who’s willing to handle our work without asking too many questions means we need a trustworthy front man for the company, someone who isn’t publicly connected to any of us."

Derrick paused for a second, catching a soft set of footsteps approaching from behind.

He turned around and saw Keira walking down the stone path toward him, and he flashed her a quick, casual smile before turning back to his phone.

"How about we skip all that extra legwork and just go straight for the best attorney we can find?" Derrick suggested smoothly. "Send me their details and I’ll handle the rest."

"What are you planning to do?" Cassie asked, her curiosity piqued.

"You just said it yourself," Derrick chuckled softly. "Lawyers love their power tactics. I’ll just use a few of my own. Besides, I think I already found the perfect front man."

Moments later, his phone chimed as Cassie forwarded another profile to his inbox.

"Give me ten minutes," Derrick said, skimming the screen. "I’ll take care of it."

Without waiting for her to argue, he tapped the screen and cut the call.

"What was that all about?" Keira asked, stopping next to him.

Derrick slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Just dealing with my business account. The federal government froze it the second it crossed ten thousand Golden Credits."

Keira stared at him, her eyes widening in total disbelief.

"You already made that much?!"

She had every reason to be shocked.

A single Golden Credit was worth a thousand standard Social Credits.

That meant Derrick had casually pulled in ten million Social Credits in just a few days.

Derrick gave a calm nod, keeping his tone casual.

"Yeah. But now they’re demanding an official company representative to audit our product sales.

So right now, I’m trying to hire a lawyer who can handle the red tape without ever finding out who I am or what the company actually does."

As he spoke, Derrick subtly kept his gaze moving, scanning the surrounding garden.

He refrained from dropping any more details, well aware that in a house like this, you never knew who might be lurking around or listening in.

Besides, he didn’t want to waste the remaining seconds on his All-Seeing Eyes.

Ever since his last breakthrough, he had managed to extend his vision’s time limit by another twenty seconds.

And every single moment of it was too precious to throw away.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Keira asked, leaning against the stone balustrade.

Derrick turned to her with a subtle glint in his eye.

"Do you have a personal supercomputer around here I could use?"

He paused, he activated his watch and pulled the information Cassie had sent him on the phone directly on the watch.

"I need to look into this lawyer’s background so I can... persuade him."

Keira’s eyes narrowed instantly as the realization hit her.

She stared at him, recognizing that look on his face all too well.