Chapter 133: Fear Not the Price, but the Unavailability!

Tu Shanlin was truly anxious now, and his heart was filled with regret.

He realized he had been far too arrogant before. If the cuttlefish bone from the outside world truly possessed such miraculous properties, medical experts would have discovered it long ago. After all, some specialists had dedicated their careers to researching this very condition. The cuttlefish bone the other party had produced was clearly not something one could find on the open market. If the other party really sold it to someone else, he would practically want to die.

The most soul-crushing thing is not having no hope at all, but having hope placed right in front of you only to push it away yourself.

He wanted to say more, but he realized the person on the other end had already hung up. He hurriedly tried to call back, only to hear the busy signal.

"..." Tu Shanlin was at a loss.

*Damn it, he hangs up on me and is now already on another call? Is he already contacting another buyer?* Could he be any more ruthless? Give a man a chance to raise his offer!

With that thought, he rushed out the door, intending to head straight to Bafangke.

"Young Master Tu, where are you going?" Li Xuancheng hurriedly chased after him to ask, mainly because the young master hadn't paid for this visit yet.

***

Inside Bafangke, Huang Bin hung up on Tu Shanlin and immediately dialed Chu Lin’s number. "Chu Lin, that Tu Shanlin is indeed panicking and calling. I hung up on him to keep him on the hook; I expect he’ll show up at Bafangke any minute."

"Keep him hanging for a bit, let him sweat," Chu Lin replied with a laugh from his breeding farm.

It must be said that a wealthy second-generation heir like Tu Shanlin was someone he and Huang Bin could never have reached in the past. But now, he had become someone they could manipulate. Nothing is set in stone; it all depends on what you have in your hands.

After hanging up, he noticed his WeChat notifications were ringing incessantly. Checking his phone, it was Liu Xiaowan, that beautiful young widow.

"Are you ignoring my messages on purpose?"
"What do you mean? I want to return your things and the money."
Followed by a string of question mark emojis.

Looking at the messages from the beautiful woman, Chu Lin knew his strategy had worked. She was anxious—she was definitely anxious. Her state of mind must be completely thrown off now, right?

Another message popped up:
Liu Xiaowan: "Are you trying to sleep with me and then pretend it never happened?"

Seeing this, Chu Lin was even more certain she was rattled, especially when he saw Liu Xiaowan immediately retract the message. At this moment, he could easily picture her looking annoyed and furious.

The beautiful woman had sent that message out of pure anger, only to realize immediately after that she shouldn't have said such a thing, frantically retracting it. The image was hilarious!

Liu Xiaowan was indeed in such a state. After retracting the message, she let out a sigh of relief, but then she began to agonize: *The scumbag didn't see it, did he?* That wasn't her intention at all; it was just a subconscious reaction driven by the fire in her brain. If that scumbag saw it and misunderstood, it would be troublesome.

But the more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. Having been ignored for so many days without a single reply, she had fallen into an indescribable headspace. She even found herself wondering if he had simply stopped caring after sleeping with her twice. After all, he was a scumbag. Yet, this thought inexplicably filled her with an uncontrollable sense of loss. She didn't even know what was wrong with her.

*Damn man.*

She knew she couldn't go on like this. She called her best friend, Chu Yan, and as soon as the line connected, she said, "Yan, I'm going to transfer some money to you. Please help me return this to your brother, along with a watch. I'll get it to you later, and you can return that to him too."

Chu Yan was confused when she received the call, having no idea what was going on. But her friend had already hung up. Shortly after, she saw a transfer notification for 200,000. She knew her friend’s situation well: after her husband passed away and she was left with debt, she had sold the house her parents bought for her. After paying off the bulk of the debt, this was roughly all she had left for emergencies.

*What is this money even for?* Puzzled, Chu Yan called her younger brother.

When Chu Lin heard about Liu Xiaowan’s actions, he immediately instructed his sister: "Big Sister, transfer the money back to her. I don't take back gifts I've given."

"What on earth are you two playing at?" Chu Yan was clueless. In the end, she decided not to get involved. Since it was her best friend and her brother, and they clearly had some emotional entanglements she didn't know about, it was better to let them handle it themselves. She immediately transferred the 200,000 back to Liu Xiaowan.

At the bank, Liu Xiaowan saw the notification and grew anxious. *Why wouldn't her best friend help her?*

Meanwhile, Tu Shanlin was also in a rush, heading to Bafangke almost immediately. He truly regretted his actions; he should have followed the agreement. Now, he still hadn't obtained that cuttlefish bone. What a mess.

Upon arriving at Bafangke, a receptionist greeted him: "Sir, do you have an appointment with our company, or do you know one of our sales representatives?"

"I'm looking for your manager, Huang Bin!"
"May I ask your name?"
"Tu Shanlin!"
"Very well, sir. Please wait a moment while I contact Manager Huang."

When Huang Bin received the report in his office, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. As expected, he came. He had the staff bring Tu Shanlin in. The man had shown up faster than he expected. But then again, it concerned a man's dignity.

Before long, Tu Shanlin met Huang Bin. He spoke hurriedly: "Manager Huang, you have to help me. I really need that cuttlefish bone. You know my situation."

Hearing this, Huang Bin felt smug. "Young Master Tu, I’m afraid I’m powerless here. I warned you before that this item might be bought by someone else. After all, there are quite a few people with the same condition as you. Furthermore, there are two other wealthy individuals competing for it, and one of them has already offered a price far exceeding 20 million."

This was clearly a deliberate jab at Tu Shanlin.

Tu Shanlin regretted it even more now and hurriedly pleaded: "Manager Huang, I can raise my offer. Tell the other party that in addition to the Starlight Night Bar, I can scrape together another 5 million. Given the current operations and occupancy of Starlight Night, its market value is well over 20 million. That brings the total value to over 25 million."

Huang Bin knew this was a fact, though he hadn't expected that by dangling the bait, he’d managed to squeeze out another 5 million. It was truly a pleasant turn of events. However, he put on a troubled face and said, "Young Master Tu, I can call and ask on your behalf."

"Thank you, Manager Huang," Tu Shanlin said gratefully.

Huang Bin smiled, took out his phone, and dialed Chu Lin’s number. Right in front of Tu Shanlin, he said, "Mr. Chu, sorry to bother you. It’s like this: I have a client here who wants to trade the Starlight Night Bar plus 5 million for a chance at the treatment. I’ve already told you about the bar; do you think you could give my client a chance?"

Hearing this from the breeding farm, Chu Lin understood that the wealthy heir had arrived. He played along with Huang Bin for a few minutes, finally "reluctantly" agreeing.

"Mr. Chu, thank you so much. My client really needs this," Huang Bin said as he hung up. He then turned to Tu Shanlin: "Young Master Tu, you saw it yourself. I had to plead for several minutes before the other party finally relented. However, I’m worried that if this drags on, those two other wealthy competitors might come to snatch it away, and that would be a problem."

Tu Shanlin grew anxious and quickly said, "I’ll go prepare the documents for the Starlight Night Bar right now, and I’ll get the 5 million together immediately. Please help me set a time for the transaction, Manager Huang."

Before he could finish, he had already rushed out of the office.

Seeing this, Huang Bin laughed. He took out his phone and called Chu Lin again: "Chu Lin, this guy is desperate. He’s already gone to prepare. He wants me to set a time for the transaction with you."

Chu Lin smiled and said, "Let's meet for the transaction at your place, Bafangke."

"Understood," said Huang Bin.

...

After leaving Bafangke, Tu Shanlin didn't dare waste a single second. He immediately arranged for his people to prepare the documents for the Starlight Night Bar and raised the 5 million as quickly as possible. He didn't dare be negligent; he just wanted to get his hands on the item as soon as possible. Before, he had been reluctant to part with the bar, but now, adding 5 million didn't bother him in the slightest—he only feared someone else would snatch it away.

Once the documents and funds were ready, he contacted Huang Bin again. Huang Bin immediately set the time with Chu Lin: one hour later at Bafangke.

Chu Lin hung up the phone and entered the Atlantis map, taking out two pieces of Atlantis Cuttlefish Bone. Based on Huang Bin’s previous description, the small piece he had taken earlier was enough to allow the heir to function, with over a minute to spare. Therefore, these two pieces would be more than enough to return him to a completely normal state.

But it would only be a return to normal. After all, someone who has had this condition, if they continue to live so recklessly or rely on stimulants, is very prone to relapse.

So, everyone, moderation is key.

Given that heir’s penchant for using drugs and playing around with five women at a time, a relapse was inevitable. And when that happened, he would certainly come knocking again.

Just like harvesting leeks.