The words ‘ICBS Somerland’ were written clearly on this small card made of unique material that prevented it from being forged.
ICBS Somerland’s Waterhoof City branch was clearly stated as the payment bank.
This meant that this check was verified and filled out by the Waterhoof City branch.
On the most important column specifying the value were the numbers 1000000000.00 in Somer Dollars.
With the words One Billion Only written clearly next to it.
Besides the written words and Arabic numerals, the piece of paper also had the Waterhoof City branch’s verified electronic seal signifying the authenticity of this slip of paper.
This small white paper carried wealth that dazzled people’s eyes and caused their breathing to quicken.
Ordinary people could never accumulate such wealth in ten lifetimes.
This was the year 2000. According to the domestic exchange rate for gold, where 1 gram cost around 100 Somer Dollars, 1 billion would be equal to 10 thousand kilograms of gold!
It would not be wrong to describe this sum as a mountain of gold.
Even Wayne and Jose, who had much more money than ordinary people, felt the corner of their eyes twitch.
This was 1 billion.
With this amount, Abbylon would never have to worry about funding again. At the same time, accepting these funds would immediately turn Abbylon into a large enterprise within the country without them doing anything.
There were few enterprises in the country with more than 1 billion in funds.
Despite Wayne’s personality and Jose’s wealthy familial background, the two still felt their heartrate quicken as they looked at Jasper whilst sharing the same thought. ‘Having money sure is f*cking great!’
Producing a 1 billion Somer Dollar check as if it was nothing.
Not to mention that it was verified too.
There was no refuting it.
This meant that Jasper had already anticipated Echo’s accusation, and thus made preparations to counter it.
‘You claim that I can’t even save myself because you’re holding a siege against my real estate company? That my investment company is short on cash and can’t afford to buy any shares? That I’m trying to scam them?
‘Sure.
‘Then I’ll pull out a 1 billion bank-certified check that can’t possibly be dishonored.
‘What can you say now?’
Wayne finally understood why Jasper could be so calm in the face of Echo’s provocations and clamor. From Jasper’s point of view, Echo must have looked like a clown performing by himself. He was not worth explaining to at all.
This reestablished Wayne’s understanding of Jasper’s tricks, the complexity of his thoughts, and how strong the man was.
Jasper had already predicted every last detail of Echo’s plan since the conference began and had prepared accordingly. There was just no winning against Jasper.
Wayne could not help but glance at Echo when he thought of this.
As expected, he saw a horrifyingly dark expression and the corner of the man’s eyes twitching crazily.
The man did not seem to believe what he saw.
“No way!”
Echo suddenly roared.
He glared at Jasper and shouted, “How can you still have 1 billion?
“This money, this check! Something’s wrong with it!”
Both Wayne and Jose shook their heads slightly at Echo’s claim. The man had lost his mind.
Jasper would never forge a 1 billion Somer Dollar check with a verification seal even if he was crazy. Such forgery would be punished with a lifetime in prison.
“I could plop a mountain of gold in front of people like you and you’d still claim that I dyed brinks to look like the real thing.” Jasper looked at Echo with a glint in his eyes that the latter did not understand.
It looked like… pity. The kind of pity a hunter would look at his prey that was caught in his trap with.
Echo was going mad under that gaze.
“What kind of look is that?!
“Who do you think you are? You lowly Somer hybrid! The lowest race of them all! How dare you look at me like that?!”
Wayne’s expression immediately changed at that. Even Jose looked at Echo in disbelief.
Jose was a Nawaiter. Even though he had grown up abroad, it could not change the fact that he was of Somer descent.
No Somer descent could let the matter go after hearing such a thing.
Jasper’s expression grew cold and he replied, “Did you just call Somer descents lowly?”
Echo also realized that he had said something inappropriate and immediately replied in a cold tone, “Don’t change the subject! Where’d you get the money from?!”
“I don’t need to explain the source of my money.” Jasper’s tone was frigidly cold.
“Mr. Laine, he’s not worth being calculative over,” Wayne replied.
“Since Mr. Laine’s already shown proof, then there’s no point in further hesitation. Let’s begin voting on the agenda of JW Capital investment of 1 billion Somer Dollars in Abbylon Inc in return for 51% of the shares.”
With a cold look on his face, Wayne raised his hand and continued, “I vote with 59% of the shares in agreement.”
Wayne then looked at Echo, who had an utterly dark expression on his face and said, “There’s already more than 51% support in favor of the motion, so your opinion isn’t needed anymore.
“But I’ll still ask anyway. Do you agree, disagree, or forfeit your vote?”
Echo slammed his palm on the table and roared, “You two vile and shameless Somer dogs! You did this on purpose!”
Echo then glared at Wayne and growled icily, “Did you forget what you promised Mr. Shon, Wayne? You kick us out right after we invested in you. Aren’t you afraid of Mr. Shon’s revenge?”
With that, Echo then turned to Jasper and warned, his words dripping with resentment, “So you’re really going to challenge Softwin to a full-on fight huh, Jasper?
“Abbylon is the Somer enterprise Mr. Shon values most. Interfering with Abbylon means interfering with Mr. Shon and Softwin’s core interests here in Somerland! Trust me, you are not strong enough to bear Softwin’s true anger!
“It’s still not too late to turn back now!”
Jasper chuckled at Echo’s threat and got up from his seat.
Jasper’s actions had reminded Echo of particular unhappy memories, and the man took an instinctive step backward.
It immediately occurred to Echo how embarrassing this action was, so he took a step forward to return to his original position.
This back and front was quite a hilarious sight.
Jasper stood in front of Echo, and due to the difference in heights, the latter was forced to look up to meet Jasper’s gaze.
“Go back and tell your master, Sunriser. We’ve got time to slowly play this out …”
