Chapter 512: Must Get Stronger, Get Stronger

The plane flew smoothly over Mexico, still about an hour and a half away from New York.

Jin Heon typed furiously on her laptop.

A short while later.

“Aigoo~” she gave a big stretch and a huge yawn. “Ah~ ssi—”

Halfway through the curse, she suddenly remembered Li Wei was right there and immediately swallowed the rest of the word, cautiously glancing at the people around her.

Li Wei was playing a game with his headphones on. Don Quixote, wearing a pair of glasses, was carefully examining some clauses while on a video call with Arthur.

The four Mercenaries were chatting quietly in a corner, probably because their mission was complete and they were about to land in New York.

Chen Haisheng was texting with a silly grin on his face. Judging by the idiotic smile, he was probably exchanging some sappy messages with his fiancée.

‘So envious,’ Jin Heon thought as she closed her laptop. ‘He’s getting married next week.’

She’d seen Chen Haisheng’s fiancée once. She wasn’t exceptionally beautiful, more of the sweet, girl-next-door type.

‘How wonderful,’ Jin Heon thought. ‘To be able to marry the person you love.’

She couldn’t help but glance at Li Wei. ‘But the man I like already has a girlfriend… and he’s my boss.’

‘Anya is great, sure, but all men are pigs,’ she mused. ‘What if, in the future, Li Wei marries Anya but then tries to have an affair with me? Should I refuse him on righteous principle, or should I just feign resistance and accept?’

As she mused, she began to fantasize about a few years in the future. LW Drinks had become a ten-billion-USD-level super-corporation with thousands of employees. Li Wei was a family man with a successful career, possessing an even more mature and charming demeanor.

Then one night, he would show up drunk at her door, saying:

“Heon, I can’t stand Anya anymore. I want to be with you.”

“No,” a middle-aged, single Jin Heon would say, refusing as she opened the door. “Boss, you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk.”

But Li Wei would walk right into her apartment, pull Jin Heon into his arms, and kiss her deeply, domineeringly.

“Heon.”

“Hehehe…”

“Jin Heon.”

Jin Heon shook her head, snapping back to reality to see Li Wei looking over at her, having taken off his headphones with a puzzled expression.

“Is… there something on my face?” Li Wei asked, touching his cheek. “Nope.”

“Ahem… No, nothing,” Jin Heon said, shaking her head and clearing her throat. “Actually, I do have something to discuss… um, yes, something important.”

“What’s up?” Li Wei asked, putting down his handheld console.

“Well, since we just finalized the deal for the production line,” Jin Heon said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “and production officially starts on April 1st, I wanted to ask about how we’re handling the taxes.”

At this, Don Quixote paused what he was doing and listened in.

“Previously, your endorsement deals were all registered under ‘Horizon Holding Company Limited’ in Delaware,” Jin Heon said after a moment’s thought. “I was wondering if we should follow the same procedure this time.”

“I actually have an idea about that,” Li Wei said thoughtfully, nodding to Don Quixote. “Liz’s Free Port seems more convenient than Delaware.”

Don Quixote moved closer to join the discussion.

“While Delaware offers tax advantages, it requires spending a certain amount of money on deductible expenses to offset the tax liability,” Li Wei explained. “That was manageable when we were making a few tens of millions a year. But now, with 141 million USD in pre-tax net profit per month, if we don’t have enough deductions by the second year, we’ll lose over 50% of our profits…”

He threw up his hands. “Am I supposed to spend 80 million a month?”

“Daebak…” Jin Heon’s head throbbed just thinking about it.

“But don’t worry,” Li Wei said after a moment. “I’ll need to discuss this with Elizabeth when I get back. I have a basic framework in mind, but I don’t know if the Free Port’s regulations will allow for it.”

“Okay, let me know as soon as you have an update,” Jin Heon said. “We need to get this finalized before mid-April.”

“Got it,” Li Wei smiled. “In about three months, by next quarter, LW’s valuation should go up, right?”

“About right,” Don Quixote said after a moment’s consideration. “Barring any special circumstances, firms like Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley usually wait for about three months of stable performance before updating their valuations. They should update LW’s valuation around July or August.”

“Xiaojin is about to become a hundred-millionaire,” he said, looking at Jin Heon. “How does that feel?”

“It’s pretty thrilling,” Jin Heon said, hunching her shoulders and looking out the window at the Mexican landscape below. “I haven’t been able to sleep well for the past few days.”

“Why’s that?” Li Wei asked. “Did you feel like you were in danger?”

“Yes,” Jin Heon nodded. “I mean, think about it, sir. We were in the middle of a business negotiation, and less than ten kilometers away, two drug cartels were having a shootout.”

She gestured with her hands. “And then, less than five kilometers from us, there were over a hundred casualties. It was absolutely terrifying! Did you see the bullet holes in the walls? They were everywhere.”

“You were scared even with bodyguards?” Li Wei said with a smile. “We had four of them.”

“Bodyguards can’t stop bullets!” Jin Heon said dramatically. “My head, my pretty face… it only takes one bullet. Just one, and my head would bloom.”

As she spoke, she formed her fingers into a gun, poked herself in the forehead with a “BIU!”, and then groaned, “Aargh!” before slumping onto the table and sticking her tongue out.

Don Quixote and Chen Haisheng both laughed.

Li Wei smiled too. “Fair point,” he said. “We should probably try to do less of that sort of thing from now on.”

As he said this, however, he made a grasping motion in the air with his hand.

Jin Heon’s words suddenly reminded him of his trip to Kuluoqi’s hideout and warehouse a few days prior.