Some time later.
The Shando couple signed their names on the documents.
Xi Shenlian did not say much.
The lawyer used the equipment they had brought with them to complete the transfer on the spot.
Since it was a large purchase, March Bank also called to confirm the transaction.
But overall.
Everything went smoothly.
45 billion yen.
It was transferred directly to the other party.
Of course, taxes still had to be paid.
But that had nothing to do with Xi Shenlian.
After everything was finished.
Before turning to leave.
Ms. Shando thought for a moment, then stopped herself from walking away and chose to ask:
"Although this may be a little presumptuous..."
"But Lord Xi, could you tell me why you were willing to pay such an exorbitant price to purchase that apartment building?"
At that.
Not only Mr. Shando beside her, but even the surrounding lawyers and the chef all showed looks of curiosity.
What did 45 billion yen represent?
Although this world had a larger population and economy than the world Xi Shenlian had lived in before, meaning it also had more wealthy people, who were richer besides,
even so.
That sum of money...
was still a massive amount of capital that even a smoothly operating large company would take extremely seriously!
Thrown into the outside world, it would be more than enough to make thousands upon thousands of desperate criminals risk their lives.
Calculating according to the largest-denomination banknote in the country—a 10,000-yen bill weighing approximately 2 grams—
100 million yen = 10,000 10,000-yen bills = 20,000 grams = 20 kilograms
45 billion yen = 450 x 20 kilograms = 9,000 kilograms = 9 tons = several small cars
Its weight alone could crush dozens of ordinary people to death.
Even if a gang of ten robbers came to steal it and were allowed to carry the money away on their backs, they could give it everything they had and still would not be able to move that much money. They would have to find a truck.
Therefore, everyone present could not understand why Xi Shenlian would spend such a huge sum, purchasing an ordinary apartment building at twenty-nine times the premium.
With that kind of money, it would have been enough to buy an ultra-luxurious building!
Faced with her question.
Faced with the curiosity of the others.
Xi Shenlian did not choose to avoid answering.
He simply opened his right hand calmly, spreading out his fair palm toward Ms. Shando, and said:
"There is actually nothing to hide about the reason."
"The reason I bought that place was simply because... I wanted to tear it down."
At that moment.
Faced with an answer that was completely beyond their expectations.
Everyone froze.
"?"
They did not understand what he meant.
Xi Shenlian, however, continued speaking to Ms. Shando in the same unchanging tone:
"You should know very well that my life in the past was a failure. It could not even be considered a life of mediocrity."
"A problem I was born with had always affected me, often making me see hallucinations and even do inexplicable things, causing me to become an oddity in the eyes of outsiders..."
"I have to say, those things were not pleasant memories..."
"But now, I am different."
"I have left that stage behind, escaped the troubles that had entangled me for years, and welcomed a new life."
"But memories of the past still truly exist."
"Therefore, I want to destroy the vessels that hold those unpleasant memories."
"That apartment building was one of them."
"In that cramped room, I experienced two years of confusion and uncertainty. Many times, no matter how hard I tried, I accomplished nothing. I could not even afford food and often barely scraped together enough rent to avoid sleeping on the streets..."
After saying that.
Xi Shenlian looked at his outstretched right palm, at the fair hand that no longer looked as if it had done a great deal of physical labor.
Then he withdrew it.
He held it beneath his chin:
"That is more or less the situation."
"I want to destroy some of my less pleasant memories."
He spoke seriously, yet calmly:
"Perhaps you cannot fully understand."
"But I think you can regard this as me being willful, doing something I want to do simply because I am being very willful."
"Not for any benefit, nor for any clear objective. I am simply being willful."
To be honest.
He did not dislike Ms. Shando.
He even respected her to some extent.
After all, she had never raised his rent during those two years, never urged him to pay it, and had never looked down on him because of his past shortcomings.
Therefore.
He did not mind talking with her.
Nor did he mind giving her a small favor.
For example, buying her property at a high price so she would have a sufficient material foundation in the future.
But... overall, that was all.
He did not need her to completely understand his thoughts.
Nor did he need her to become a true acquaintance or friend.
They probably would not see each other much in the future.
Perhaps.
Today would be the last time they met.
Their connection ended there.
At that moment.
After hearing Xi Shenlian's thoughts.
She could not help falling silent...
Because Xi Shenlian's way of thinking was impossible for her to see through.
Would he really spend tens of billions of yen just for something like this?
She was deeply perplexed.
Even extremely bewildered.
However.
Looking at Xi Shenlian's serious expression, which did not seem fake,
she could only sigh helplessly in the end before turning to leave.
Now.
She had lost the place where she had lived for years.
Lost the large apartment her parents had left her.
Only those empty hundreds of billions of yen, reeking of money, could serve as the slightest consolation...
For a moment.
She felt as though an autumn wind were bleakly blowing.
Yes.
It was painful and confusing.
After she left.
Xi Shenlian glanced at the documents bearing the signatures in front of him, then looked away, treating them as nothing more than boring wastepaper.
He immediately turned his head toward the lawyer he had hired and said:
"Next, please find someone to disperse the various residents still living in that apartment building."
"Give each resident ten times the normal compensation."
"Handle everything by the end of today if possible."
"Tomorrow morning, I will arrange for people to tear the place down."
"Likewise, your legal fees during this process will also be calculated at ten times the usual rate. Consider it additional compensation for running errands and handling miscellaneous tasks for me."
One yen, 100 million yen, or 10 billion yen.
They were all the same to Xi Shenlian now.
Therefore.
To get them to finish the job quickly, he did not mind giving them a little extra incentive.
Hearing that they would receive ten times the usual payment,
the several lawyers immediately trembled with excitement, feeling as if their entire bodies were filled with motivation:
"All right, we will make the arrangements immediately!"
Of course, more importantly, they were also trying to curry favor with Xi Shenlian.
Having arrived here more than ten minutes before the Shando couple, they had all witnessed Xi Shenlian's eating speed with their own eyes. It was a way of eating that ordinary people could never achieve.
Therefore, they had already formed certain suspicions about Xi Shenlian's identity and absolutely did not dare offend him.
Before you continue