Chapter 532: This Is My Compatriot, You Have to Pay Extra

‘You son of a bitch.’ Howard West shot his assistant a look, forcefully suppressing the urge to grab the ashtray and smash it over his head.

‘They’ve already brought the Mellon Family into this, and you still want to make trouble? What am I, a Rockefeller or a Du Pont? The cops would barely be out the door before the IRS shows up to audit me.’

“You…”

He was about to tell his assistant to get lost and pretend this whole thing had never happened.

But on second thought, he just couldn’t stomach the humiliation. He’d already put the word out, expecting all of Hollywood to laugh at Li Wei. Instead, he, Howard West, had become the biggest joke of all—the Joker in this whole Batman saga.

“Come here,” he beckoned his assistant over. “I need you to go find… for me.”

“Huh?” The assistant was startled. “You want me to go find him?”

“Yes,” Howard West nodded. “Have him come to my house tonight. Be discreet. Don’t tell a soul.”

The assistant nodded and hurried out of Howard West’s office.

「10 PM that night.」

Howard West’s private residence in Beverly Hills.

Howard West sat in his study, swirling a glass of bourbon he couldn’t bring himself to drink.

He simply couldn’t stomach it.

It wasn’t the 250 million USD movie that was such a big deal. The problem was that he had personally gone on the record, only to have his words shoved back down his throat in less than 24 hours.

That evening, his family doctor had even warned him about his dangerously high blood pressure.

He waited anxiously for his assistant’s return.

That man… he was certain that man could help him.

The doorbell rang.

Howard called out impatiently, “Come in!”

The assistant opened the door and ushered another person into the study.

The man was about fifty years old, with a slender build. He wore a Chinese-style long gown embroidered with dragons, and his hair was impeccably combed.

On the ring finger of his left hand, he wore a massive jade archer’s ring, and around his right wrist was a string of beads that clicked crisply as he walked.

“Master Chen!” Howard West personally welcomed him and had him sit down opposite him. “What can I get you to drink?”

“My constitution is such that there is nothing I cannot digest, be it of metal, water, frost, or ice,” Master Chen said with an air of reserve as he sat down. “However, as the lunar sphere is currently in alignment with Venus, I shall stick to whiskey.”

“Here you are.” Howard West personally poured Master Chen a glass of whiskey and got straight to the point. “Master Chen, to be honest, I’m having some trouble with a project.”

“I know,” Master Chen nodded slightly. “A film project.”

“It’s not just a film,” West said, tapping his fingers twice on the desk. “There’s also a person.”

“Li Wei?”

“That’s right.”

“What do you wish for me to do?”

“I want you to make him as unlucky as possible,” Howard West said. “And the project—I want it to be a complete financial disaster.”

“This… I’m afraid it would harm the natural order,” Master Chen said, stroking his chin. “Besides, if you go back 200 years in Li Wei’s ancestry, you could say we are countrymen. This matter—”

“So you can’t do it?”

“It will cost extra.”

“How much more?”

“Cursing a person, and cursing a project,” Master Chen said, holding up two fingers. “One million USD per curse.”

“That expensive?!”

It wasn’t that Howard West couldn’t afford it; it just felt a bit too steep.

“You get what you pay for,” Master Chen said, taking a sip of whiskey. He spoke slowly, “I previously invoked three deities for Johnny Depp to see him through his crisis.”

He looked at Howard West with a faint, knowing smile. “And look at him now. Didn’t he win his case?”

‘But he’s buried in debt now. He won the case but owes a fortune.’ Howard West didn’t dare say that out loud to Master Chen.

“Fine, two million USD,” he nodded. “But I want this done as soon as possible, and I want it done cleanly.”

“These things cannot be rushed, they cannot be rushed,” Master Chen said, shaking his head. “I have to make it look like an accident. It requires a delicate and patient approach.”

“Fine!” Howard West gritted his teeth. “Two million it is!”

Master Chen nodded, taking a sip of his whiskey as if it were fine tea. He glanced at West, who was seething with rage.