After returning to the city, Leo first dropped off Coral at home, then abandoned the pickup truck somewhere before finally returning to his clinic.
Just as he arrived back at the clinic, his phone rang. It was Amaya calling.
Pressing the answer button, Leo asked directly, “Amaya, why are you calling me so late? What’s up?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time.
Leo frowned and said, “If you’re not going to talk, I’m hanging up.”
“Leo,” Amaya’s tone was full of sadness. “Do you really hate me that much?”
“Amaya,” Leo replied firmly. “We can only be ordinary friends. Please don’t say anything else about it. I don’t want to hear it.” He didn’t want any more entanglement with Amaya than necessary.
Amaya on the other end of the phone let out a bitter smile. “Leo, you can be heartless towards me, but considering you’re Sophia’s ex-husband and you helped me in the Northern Desolation Mountains, I can’t ignore your situation.”
“The last time you came to me, you wanted to form an alliance with me to use the power of my family against the Harumitsu family, right?”
“Now I can clearly tell you that I’m willing to cooperate with you.”
Amaya’s words surprised Leo, and he asked with some disbelief, “Are you telling the truth? Cooperation without any conditions?”
“Since it’s cooperation, how can there be no conditions?” Amaya countered, then continued, “I assume you already guessed my purpose for coming to Atraria, it’s for the Spirit Medicine Immortal Trace.”
“My condition is that after I help you deal with the trouble caused by the Harumitsu family, you have to help me find the other parts of the Spirit Medicine Immortal Trace. Is that acceptable?”
“That’s not a problem,” Leo replied without hesitation because he also wanted to collect the Spirit Medicine Immortal Trace.
“Alright, it’s settled then. Let me know when you’re ready to deal with the Harumitsu family, and I’ll have Hayden assist you.”
Leo was about to hang up the phone when Amaya suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, “Don’t hang up yet, there’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“My family plans to demolish South City Golden Blade Village and invest in building a pharmaceutical base.”
“And then?”
“We’ve encountered significant obstacles in the demolition process. We’ve failed to reach an agreement several times. I know you know Bob, the big shot in Langstel’s gray area, so I wanted to ask you and Bob to visit Golden Blade Village…”
“Amaya, this doesn’t sound right.” Leo understood what Amaya was suggesting.
“Leo, you should know the situation in the country better than me. Some things can’t be resolved through reasoning alone, and some people have no limits to their greed.”
“I’m not asking you to do anything illegal or immoral, just to mediate. Once it’s done, and the pharmaceutical base is established, you’ll receive a five percent annual dividend from the shares. How about that?”
Leo pondered for a moment and replied, “Alright, I’ll give it a try, but there’s no guarantee of success.”
“Thank you, then I’ll wait for your good news.” Amaya expressed her gratitude and hung up the phone.
The next day, South City Golden Blade Village.
A Toyota commercial van parked in the open-air parking lot.
Chasel got out of the car first and then opened the rear door.
After Leo and Bob got out of the car, Chasel said, “Leo, Bob, this is Golden Blade Village.”
Looking around, this place truly lived up to its reputation as a rundown slum in Langstel. The houses were dilapidated, and the roads were filled with all kinds of garbage. If one were to give an example of filth and disorder, this place would be top-notch.
Compared to the bustling city center, it was like entering another world.
“I didn’t expect Langstel to have such a place. It really tarnishes the city’s appearance,” Bob said with emotion.
But Leo’s focus wasn’t on that; it was the population living here.
According to the information sent by Amaya, most of the residents had already moved out of Golden Blade Village, and there were only a few holdouts.
Leo waved his hand and said, “Let’s go, let’s go in and take a look.”
Leading the way, Leo was followed by Bob, Chasel, and Bevis.
“Leo, are you really going to help the McGuire family acquire Golden Blade Village?” After walking for a while, Bob couldn’t help but ask.
“Let’s give it a try. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to build a pharmaceutical base here. At least it would promote employment,” Leo nodded in response.
Bob continued, “I’ve heard that Golden Blade Village is a lawless area, not even the government has control there. Those so-called holdouts are nothing but troublemakers!”
“Troublemakers? They’re just trying to get more money,” Bevis interjected.
Chasel had more information and said, “I don’t think it’s just about money. With the McGuire family’s wealth and their connections in both legal and illegal circles, if the holdouts were only after money, they would have been driven out of the village long ago. There must be deeper reasons at play.”
Leo thought Chasel’s analysis made sense and said after some consideration, “Let’s gather more information first. If it doesn’t work out, we won’t take on this job.”
Leo had already informed Bob about the five points promised by Amaya and planned to personally gift Bob 2. 5 points of shares as a bonus if they succeeded.
Bob initially declined, but Leo insisted on giving it to him.
Brotherhood was brotherhood, and Bob had a large group of people to support, so Leo wouldn’t let him work for nothing.
Just as the four of them entered the village, they heard an excited shout, “Leo!”
Following the voice, they saw a young man walking quickly towards Leo.
Larry?
Leo quickly remembered that when he bought Cloud Dream Mountain Number Nine Villa, he encountered a young man and woman who had trespassed on his property.
That young man and woman were Larry and his girlfriend, and if Leo hadn’t let them go, Larry would have faced punishment from the property department.
“Larry, what are you doing here?” Leo curiously asked.
Larry replied, “I came here to deal with something. Leo, why are you here?”
“Naturally, we’re here for business too,” Leo casually replied.
“Leo, I’m quite familiar with Golden Blade Village, and I have a few friends here. If you need any help, just let me know,” Larry said warmly.
Leo’s interest was piqued and he asked, “Do you know anyone here in Golden Blade Village? What’s their status here? Can they be of assistance?”
Larry’s own thoughts aligned with Leo’s intentions, and he smiled, saying, “Leo, it’s almost lunchtime. How about this, I’ll take you to a place where we can have lunch together and talk at the same time. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good, then please lead the way,” Leo nodded in agreement.
“Leo, you’ve done me a great favor, so don’t stand on ceremony. Follow me,” Larry said.
As they continued walking into the village following Larry, Leo learned more about Golden Blade Village from him.
The reason why Golden Blade Village had been difficult to acquire was not only because of the compensation for demolition, but also because the Stone family’s ancestral shrine was located there.