Chapter 314: A Robbery

“He won’t. Stop fretting. Businesspeople don't differentiate between friends and enemies; we only care about profit. I'm paying for his herbs, and he'll profit. Why would he refuse? Big clients like me are hard to find,” Jared replied with a calm smile. He wasn't bothered.

“T-Then we're still going to Trinity Herbs?” Zeke asked cautiously.

“Of course. We haven't gotten the herbs yet. Let's go!”

Jared nodded curtly, entering his car and heading to Trinity Herbs.

Meanwhile, back at Trinity Herbs, Zyaire seethed with anger.

“I can’t believe someone dared to offend me in Yeringham! How infuriating!” he roared, smashing his cup on the floor.

“Mr. Rider, should I retrieve the snow lotus?” a young man asked. He wore a crisp black suit; his left ear was missing. The man was Zyaire’s trusted subordinate, a holdover from his shady past in Yeringham. Even after Zyaire cleaned up his act, he’d kept the young man.

Zyaire hesitated, then frowned. “Remember to do it in a secluded place. Don't let anyone see!”

He'd worked hard to rehabilitate his image; any connection to this would be disastrous. Zyaire adored the snow lotus; he wasn't planning to resell it at an inflated price. He intended it as his store's most prized possession—his current prized possession was a fake. This is why he'd gone to such lengths to acquire the snow lotus.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Rider. I understand.”

The young man nodded, turning to leave. He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Jared, Zeke, and their companions entering the store. Zyaire was surprised to see Jared.

“Mr. Rider, I’m here to complete the deal. As a businessman, I keep my word. Since I offered to buy your herbs, I won't go back on it!” Jared smiled at Zyaire’s shocked expression.

“A man of your word?” Zyaire scoffed. “After taking my snow lotus, you show up here? You have no respect!”

“Mr. Rider, why do you say that? I bought the snow lotus with my own money. It wasn’t yours to begin with,” Jared replied with an innocent smile.

The earless man said icily, “Young man, stop pretending. Hand over the snow lotus, and we’ll let you leave Yeringham unharmed. Otherwise, you die here!”

A dozen men rushed in, blocking the exits. The doors rolled down, trapping them inside. Zeke, Frida, and the others paled. Josephine grabbed Jared's arm.

“Mr. Rider, we can talk this through. This—”

“Get out. This is none of your business!” Zyaire yelled, cutting off Zeke’s attempt at mediation.

“Is this a robbery?” Jared asked, remaining calm and smiling nonchalantly.

“Young man, I can’t believe you’re still smiling! I admire your courage. How about three hundred million for the snow lotus? I won’t let you lose too much. What do you say?”

Zyaire’s fear grew as he saw Jared's unperturbed demeanor. He suspected Jared had powerful connections; after all, he could easily afford hundreds of millions for the snow lotus. He decided to back down, offering to buy the snow lotus himself to give Jared a way out.

(The promotional text for FindNovel.net has been removed as it's irrelevant to the edited passage.)