Chapter 575 - 375: Fishing in Troubled Waters, Pulling Chestnuts from the Fire

Chapter 575: Chapter 375: Fishing in Troubled Waters, Pulling Chestnuts from the Fire

Long Island, New York. Alexander Mellon’s estate.

At the crack of dawn, a helicopter bearing the letter "M" roared down onto the helipad. Elizabeth and Li Wei jumped out.

Elizabeth walked briskly, looking rushed, with Li Wei following closely behind.

Unlike the silver, snow-covered landscape of last Christmas, in early May the estate was swathed in dense green foliage. The main building’s limestone exterior glowed with a warm, caramel hue in the morning light. Unfortunately, Elizabeth was in no mood to appreciate the view.

As soon as they entered the grand foyer, a figure in a white coat descended from the second floor, accompanied by the estate’s butler. It was none other than the family doctor, Dr. Harrison.

He froze for a moment upon seeing Elizabeth and Li Wei.

"Liz, Li Wei," he said hesitantly. "What are you two..."

"Good morning, Dr. Harrison," Elizabeth said rapidly. "I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to chat. I need to see my grandfather."

Dr. Harrison glanced at Li Wei, then back at Elizabeth. "I don’t think that’s a good idea. Your grandfather is getting on in years, and his blood pressure has been quite unstable since last night.

"Furthermore, he detests sudden surprises," he added in a hushed voice. "His temper is also quite foul at the moment."

"But this is a real emergency," Elizabeth said, gritting her teeth. "I have to speak with him right now."

Seeing her insistence, Dr. Harrison finally sighed and stepped aside.

Li Wei hadn’t gone up to the second floor during his last visit, but this time he followed Elizabeth up the stairs to Alexander’s bedroom door.

Silvia was standing by the hallway window, holding a stack of documents. She paused what she was doing when she saw them approaching.

"What brings you two..." Silvia looked at the travel-worn Elizabeth and Li Wei.

"I need to see my grandfather," Elizabeth said. "I have an urgent matter regarding the Free Port."

"Mr. Alexander might need to rest," Silvia said, shifting her gaze to assess Li Wei. "Mr. Li Wei, would you mind waiting outside for a moment?

"Mr. Alexander’s physical condition..."

She trailed off, but both Li Wei and Elizabeth understood. Li Wei was still an outsider. Allowing an outsider to witness the true physical state of an old man who controlled tens of billions of dollars was a hidden risk for the chief counsel.

Elizabeth turned to look at Li Wei.

"Go on," Li Wei said, leaning against the hallway wall. "I’ll wait for you here."

Elizabeth nodded. A servant cracked the door open, and she squeezed inside.

Li Wei stood to the side, joining Silvia in observing the paintings on the wall—artworks he didn’t quite understand but could tell at a glance were priceless.

He had originally intended to listen closely to Elizabeth and Alexander’s conversation, but unfortunately, the estate’s soundproofing was just too damn good.

The thick oak paneling, coupled with a vacuum layer and wire mesh sandwiched in between, blocked out almost every sound from inside the room. However, Li Wei could still pick up intermittent noises. Alexander seemed furious, his voice raised.

"...Absurd..."

"My son... impossible!"

Li Wei closed his eyes. It was exactly as he had expected.

Alexander Mellon was an old man, and a tyrant. He had lived his entire life feeding on the fear of his children. He played with power and was incredibly stubborn.

To make him believe the words of his granddaughter and an outsider—to accept that his youngest son and eldest grandson had simultaneously betrayed him—would be harder than making him believe that God actually existed.

"If there is a next time... I will revoke your seat..."

"Even if he knows... my partners... he can’t do anything to me..."

The room went quiet again for a moment, followed by the sound of footsteps. Elizabeth pushed the door open and walked out.

She looked pale, but she wasn’t crying; her eyes weren’t even red. She simply walked up to Li Wei expressionlessly and said, "Let’s go. Let’s not talk about it here."

She gave Silvia a brief nod, then she and Li Wei walked out of the main building one after the other.

Elizabeth stopped beneath a tree. Looking at the nearby coastline, she took a few deep breaths of the ocean breeze.

"He didn’t believe it," she said. "He thinks you’re manipulating me, trying to use this news to drive a wedge between him, Alister, and Timothy."

"Unsurprising," Li Wei replied.

"He said that although Alister is a disappointment, he would never betray the family." Elizabeth smiled bitterly. "As for Charlie, his exact words were, ’He can screw a few reporters, but hook up with Ronan and leak information? He doesn’t have the guts.’"

"He said that right to your face?" Li Wei asked.

"Well, no." Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Li Wei’s arm and rested her head on his shoulder. "But that’s essentially what I understood."

Saying this, she seemed a bit embarrassed and rubbed her head against him. "Sorry for swearing."

"When Anya chats with her friends at home, she drops ’Suka Bulie’ at least a dozen times." Li Wei chuckled. "I think you’re fine."

Elizabeth let out a soft hum. "Finally, he said that even if Ronan knows about the Free Port, he isn’t afraid.

"He said he has already tied enough people to the Free Port—from the Middle East, Europe, and Liechtenstein. Ronan couldn’t possibly afford to offend so many people just to suppress him."

Li Wei wasn’t entirely clear on the power gap between Alexander and Ronan, so he refrained from commenting.

"So what do we do now?" Elizabeth looked up at Li Wei.

"I’ve asked Woody Johnson for a favor," Li Wei said. "We need to confirm what Ronan’s attitude and thoughts actually are before we figure out our next step."

After all, the more Alexander and Ronan clashed, the more opportunities he and Elizabeth would have to fish in troubled waters and rise to the top. Li Wei still had his eyes on his two equipment rewards.

"Worst-case scenario, I just go back to my old life." Leaning against the tree trunk, she looked up at the sunlight filtering through the canopy, casting dappled spots of light. "I was doing just fine before the Free Port. Collecting my trust fund every year, managing the art gallery... it was pretty nice."

Li Wei glanced at her. "You’re surprisingly optimistic," he remarked.

"What else can I be?" Elizabeth tilted her head. "If my grandfather doesn’t believe it, so be it. The sky won’t fall. It’s not like I enjoyed the same privileges as Charlie growing up just because my last name is Mellon. At best, I just lived a bit more comfortably than the average person."

"Don’t be too pessimistic, either," Li Wei said. "There might still be a turning point."

"What turning point?" Elizabeth pressed.

"It’s hard to say right now," Li Wei replied. "Let’s wait until we hear back from Mr. Johnson."

He didn’t have enough information on hand at the moment; he needed more news to make a proper judgment. Regardless, there was still a month left before the Free Port scandal would blow up. It wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t short either.

If Woody Johnson could really dig up some leads on Ronan Mellon, or even better, manage to arrange a meeting with him, then... Li Wei glanced at his Adaptability (Bronze) skill, wondering if he could use it to turn the tide.

But on second thought, would a stable situation really benefit Elizabeth enough? Would it help him complete his mission? His conclusion was that it probably wouldn’t. Only if the Alexander Family descended into chaos would he be able to push Elizabeth to the top.

...

No matter what stage the political infighting in New York had reached, Li Wei still needed to keep grinding for attribute points.

In mid-May, Li Wei returned to Los Angeles and spent a week on set.

Ryan Reed adapted quite quickly. After finishing the reshoots of his previous scenes, he smoothly completed the location shoots with Li Wei and the others.

Li Wei pushed the story’s progress another step forward. With the help of the mage, the protagonist’s party successfully sniffed out the dragon’s habitat and arrived at the Dragon’s Lair.

Dragon’s Heart (4) was completed as a result, and Li Wei acquired 0.1 free attribute points.

As for Dragon’s Heart (5), the requirement was for them to face the dragon and discover its weakness.

Li Wei had originally thought they could ride the momentum and finish shooting this part of the story in the next couple of days. Unexpectedly, the action choreographer stepped up at this moment.

"Director," he said, pulling Del Toro aside. "I want to scrap and redo all the action sequences inside the Dragon’s Lair."

Del Toro was taken aback. "Why?"

"The moves I designed earlier were too conservative. They were tailored for the capabilities of ordinary actors," the choreographer explained. "But Li Wei’s physical fitness is far superior to what I expected."

Hearing this, Del Toro, the assistant director, the cinematographer, and the others all nodded in agreement.

"Right? You guys agree with me," the choreographer said excitedly. "So I want to redesign the choreography to fully unleash his capabilities."

"Excellent!"

"Agreed!"

The assistant director, the cinematographer, and the screenwriters all praised the choreographer for his dedication.

"Therefore, I need all of you to work with me," the choreographer said, looking at them. "We’re going to take a week to rewrite the upcoming scenes!"

"Wait!"

"Uh..."

"I’m clocking out!"

The moment they heard they had to work overtime, the screenwriters, cinematographer, and assistant director immediately turned to leave. But how could the three of them possibly match the brawn of a muscle-bound action choreographer? They were half-dragged, half-pulled into the conference room.

"Looks like you’ll have to wait another week," Del Toro said with a shrug. "But it’s fine. We’re already making great time."

"Will we be done filming by late June?" Li Wei asked curiously. "That’s what the schedule says."

"Pretty much," Del Toro said with a hearty laugh. "After about half a year of post-production, we should be right on track for a release around Christmas."

Li Wei nodded in understanding.

After bidding farewell to Ryan Reed and Jason Miller, he called over Don Quixote and Chen Haisheng, ready to head home.

Just then, Li Wei’s phone rang again. It was Robert Flynn calling.

"Uncle Robert?" Li Wei answered. "Your timing is perfect, I just finished shooting."

Robert Flynn sounded very cheerful. "That’s great. Are you free over the next few days?"

"I am," Li Wei said. "What’s up?"

"Brigadier General William Stone has some time. When can you guys make a trip to Washington?"