Full-Time Lawyer

After the two of them packed everything up, they disassembled the electromagnetic gun into three separate parts and put them in a shoulder bag. For now, they left it in Bai Ge's mental storage.

Once everything was properly taken care of, Bai Ge and Shao Yuan headed straight for Magic City.

As soon as they arrived in Magic City, they met up with the local law firm's lawyer.

They had entrusted the lawyer with handling their visas and the auction of the spinel. The person who came to receive them was a slightly overweight lawyer.

"Hello, I'm Xiao Lan. I'm responsible for handling Mr. Bai's auction arrangements and visa application."

Bai Ge nodded. "How much did my stone sell for?"

Xiao Lan said, "Your auction item sold for exactly ninety-six million. After deducting the relevant taxes and my commission, you still have seventy-five million. Don't worry, I did my best to avoid the higher taxes."

Bai Ge gave a hum and said, "Transfer it to my account."

"Are you really not going to entrust me with managing this money? If you don't interfere, I can guarantee you an annual return of twenty percent. You only need to give me four percent of the profits as compensation. From now on, I can handle all your legal affairs and resolve them for you free of charge."

Bai Ge smiled. "You've seen it yourself. I don't have any business that needs someone to manage and operate it for me. I only have this money because I got lucky."

"That makes you need me even more. You have no experience managing a large amount of money. In your hands, this money is merely seventy-five million. But if you entrust it to me, the money itself can become a business and bring you an annual income of more than ten million. I can handle everything for you. All you need to do is sit back and collect the profits every year."

Xiao Lan did his best to sell himself. In the law firm, he was only a minor figure, and the firm took most of his income. But if someone wealthy like Bai Ge entrusted him with managing a large sum of money, the profits would be enough for him to strike out on his own.

He had worked at the firm for five years, built up an extensive network, and handled all sorts of matters. He felt that he was ready to go independent.

Xiao Lan had been waiting for an opportunity. After discovering Bai Ge, he felt that this was it.

Bai Ge's background was simple. He had obtained a fortune by accident, and people like that were the ones most in need of a team to help manage their assets. But opportunities like this were incredibly rare. People who suddenly came into a large sum of money were few and far between. For example, when someone suddenly inherited a fortune, the lawyer handling the inheritance was usually the one with the advantage.

Then there were people who won the lottery, which was even rarer. Xiao Lan had never encountered anyone like that.

So after meeting Bai Ge, he naturally refused to let go. He put his eloquence to full use, hoping to gain a long-term, stable employer.

In fact, Bai Ge had already been persuaded.

Bai Ge was not someone who liked running businesses. Otherwise, he would have opened a company long ago.

He really did need someone to handle these matters for him. Just training every day took up a huge amount of time. Then there were the contained objects, his studies, and his research into both scientific and unscientific matters. He had a mountain of things waiting for him. How could he find the time to open a factory or start a company? At the very least, he did not want to handle these things personally.

It was not that Bai Ge did not know how. He had studied a great deal and understood the relevant operational procedures. He simply knew they required a great deal of tedious work, so he was too lazy to bother.

Wasting a large amount of time for some money was not worth it. He might as well sell another piece of spinel.

After thinking for a while, Bai Ge asked, "Do you know where my spinel came from?"

Xiao Lan shook his head. "Where it came from doesn't matter. The spinel has already been sold, and the money is legal."

Bai Ge said directly, "I killed someone and found it in their home."

As soon as he said this, Shao Yuan and Xiao Lan both stared at Bai Ge in shock.

Shao Yuan had not known where the spinel came from. Considering Bai Ge's abilities, he actually believed him.

Of course, Bai Ge had made it all up. Since he had not actually done anything, he was not afraid of causing trouble. But Shao Yuan's expression was far too genuine, and Xiao Lan immediately believed it too.

Xiao Lan frowned and glanced around. After confirming that no one else was nearby, he said, "I've already fabricated an origin for the stone. The item has been sold, and the money and taxes have been paid. As long as no one recognizes that spinel and reports it, there won't be any trouble."

Afterward, he thought for a moment and said, "If you want me to resolve this matter, sign an employment contract with me first. I'll keep the contents of the contract confidential. From now on, I'll be your full-time lawyer, and you can leave matters like this to me. As for the spinel, I'll do my best to get the buyer to cut and polish it. Once it has been made into a product, no one will recognize it."

"But you'd better tell me what happened. That way, I'll have an easier time cleaning up all the loose ends and preventing trouble from suddenly finding you. Otherwise, I'll be put in a very passive position... The best victory is never being sued."

Bai Ge gave him a half-smile. "You'll even help me deal with a crime like that? Wouldn't that make you an accomplice?"

Xiao Lan smiled. "No, that's professional ethics. As long as you're my employer, you'll always be innocent in my eyes. You hired me. I don't care what you do or what you've done. I only do what I'm supposed to do—that is, protect you."

Bai Ge's eyes lit up. He liked that kind of contractual spirit.

That was how he had acted in the past, after all. To some people, contractual spirit mattered more than the law. That was certainly not a good thing, but Bai Ge had acted that way before... so naturally, he also approved of Xiao Lan doing the same.

There were many lawyers overseas who regarded protecting their clients as their first principle, but even overseas, very few truly followed that principle to the end.

Xiao Lan was from China, so Bai Ge did not really trust him.

If Xiao Lan had said, "You'd better not commit crimes. I'll work for you within the limits of the law as much as possible," Bai Ge would have turned and left immediately. There was no way he would hand his money over to him, because Bai Ge had too many secrets. In the future, there would certainly be many assets whose origins and destinations could not be explained.

But Xiao Lan had said, "I don't care what you do. I'll always protect you."

That made Bai Ge willing to give it a try, entrusting Xiao Lan with some minor matters selectively.

At the very least, if someone like that found himself short of money one day and suddenly tossed Xiao Lan a piece of spinel to sell, Xiao Lan definitely would not ask too many questions.

Seeing that Bai Ge remained silent, Xiao Lan said, "If you don't hire me, I won't get involved in this matter. I'll give you the money, and you'll handle any trouble afterward yourself."

Bai Ge asked, "What if I hire you long-term?"

Xiao Lan immediately smiled. "Then I'll work for you with all my might. But I misjudged you. You're much more mysterious than I imagined... Sorry, the four percent I mentioned earlier won't be enough. For working for you, I'll need at least five million a year. At the same time, I'll also take ten percent of the profits generated by all the money that passes through my hands."

Bai Ge did not care about the expensive employment fee. He was willing to give it a try because he truly needed someone like this to help him.

"Fine. We can sign the contract now, if you really believe in that sort of thing."

Xiao Lan said, "I can set the penalty for breach of contract at an astronomical amount..."

"No. I don't need a penalty for breach of contract. You don't need to include that sort of thing," Bai Ge said.

Xiao Lan froze and asked, "Then what happens if I fail to do it?"

Bai Ge said, "If you can't do what you promised, then you'll have lost your reason to exist."

Xiao Lan was stunned for a moment after hearing that. Then he suddenly laughed and stood up. "I understand. Let's sign it. Although you don't care about this sort of thing, I need the symbol. Once we sign such an agreement, it will be a matter of principle for me."

Soon, Xiao Lan brought over a contract. He had prepared something like this long ago; he only needed to alter a few details in the electronic version and print it out.

The terms were clear and simple. On the surface, there was nothing illegal about them.

In reality, however, Xiao Lan had become Bai Ge's "cleaner" for ten years.

Of course, the depth of his involvement would depend entirely on how much Bai Ge trusted him.

The matters that followed were simple. Xiao Lan had already taken care of their visa procedures, leaving only the interviews.

Neither of them had a job, so Xiao Lan directly arranged positions for them at a certain company.

Bai Ge did not care. His command of foreign languages was excellent, and he could communicate fluently with the interviewer. With several hundred thousand in his account and his younger sister in San Francisco, he could simply apply for a family-visit visa.

Shao Yuan was the troublesome one. He had a criminal record, but Xiao Lan handled that as well. After all, Shao Yuan had been the victim.

Xiao Lan repeatedly reminded Shao Yuan of what to watch out for, teaching him how to conduct himself in the interview and how to answer questions.

In the end, they were lucky. The interviewer was in a good mood, and both of them passed.

"All right. Stay in touch with me after you go abroad. Also, you'd better tell me what happened with the crystal." After the visas were settled, Xiao Lan brought up Bai Ge's alleged murder again.

Bai Ge smiled. "Oh, I was just teasing you. Don't worry, the spinel came from a perfectly clean source. I found it..."

Xiao Lan stared at him in bewilderment. "Huh? If you didn't commit a crime, why are you paying me such a high employment fee?"

As he spoke, he even looked a little disappointed.

Bai Ge said, "Because I need you. That makes you worth this much money."

"Listen. From now on, you're not allowed to work for anyone else except me."