A thousand words surged within the girl's heart, but in the end, she only softly uttered, " Vitas."
"Old butler, this is Clarice. You've met her at school; there's no need for further introductions."
"Have someone prepare her room on the second floor later; she'll live here from now on."
"Yes, young master."
The old butler stared at the well-behaved, beautiful, and remarkably elegant black-haired girl before him, grinning from ear to ear.
In his eyes, the more outstanding women gathered around the young master, the stronger the Chen Family bloodline and the more prosperous the family line.
As for monogamy?
Stop joking. This is the chaotic Mexico. They are the Gray Gang. It's perfectly normal for powerful people to have multiple partners.
After settling Clarice, Chen Xiao turned to the red-haired girl beside him. " Yidileisi, thank you for your hard work this time."
Yidileisi winked, a sly smile playing on her lips, "As long as Darling asks, it's hardly hard work!"
At that moment, Clarice took the suitcase Scott had asked her to bring from the car, " Vitas, Mr. Scott asked me to give this to you personally."
Chen Xiao looked at the box, his smile deepening.
It contained more than twenty special Mutants gene samples that he urgently needed, three of which were related to spatial manipulation and two of which involved temporal perturbation.
Combined with the other samples he brought from the lab earlier, there is enough material for further research.
" Clarice, next I plan to have you..."
The reasons for summoning her here are twofold: first, to have her participate in the collaborative testing of the X-Factor in the space system; and second, to find a reliable assistant to handle some daily tasks.
For example, estate security, experimental records, and equipment scheduling.
As for Yidileisi?
Let her fight and clear obstacles; she'll be naturally efficient and effective.
If you're going to ask her to look at data, adjust parameters, and write reports, forget it, I don't want to cause trouble.
With Clarice's arrival, Chen Xiao once again retreated to the basement, devoting himself entirely to cultivating the Time and Space X-Factor and iterating and upgrading the Stellar Suit.
While he was engrossed in his research, undercurrents were already swirling in the outside world.
Anomalies are occurring frequently around the world every day, creating a sense of impending doom.
In this tense atmosphere, half a month quietly slipped by.
Early in the morning, Chen Xiao had just come out of the underground laboratory, intending to go up to the roof to bask in the sun and replenish his energy, when he was stopped by the old butler. "Young Master, the water's gone again."
"Out of money again?" Chen Xiao scratched the back of his head, really not expecting that the accounts would be empty in just half a month.
"Didn't I give the pharmaceutical company a biosynthetic drug formula and a complete process for anti-aging cosmetics?" he asked.
The old butler gave a wry smile, "Young master, the pharmaceutical company says that the efficacy of your medicine and the ingredients in your skincare products are truly amazing..."
"But only half a month has passed, and we haven't even seen a trace of the production line."
"Besides, even if the medicine and skincare products are successfully developed, they still need to pass through layers of quality control and establish sales channels. It will be at least six months before we can really make big money."
Chen Xiao frowned slightly, momentarily overlooking this detail. Many laboratory findings simply cannot be immediately transformed into products on store shelves.
His mind raced, trying to figure out a way to get a large sum of working capital in a short period of time.
In fact, the business in each city has already gotten on track. The Bloody Hand Society's tentacles have covered the entire continent, and its monthly income is astronomical, more than an ordinary person could accumulate in several lifetimes.
Recently, Yidileisi Lacey has been leading her men in a fierce attack on a new target city, fighting tooth and nail with a long-established Mexico.
However, Chen Xiao's expenses were equally staggering; the research and development of the Stellar Suit alone was burning through money like water.
Some material tests result in losses exceeding one million US dollars per test, which is worse than robbing a bank.
However, these experiments are unavoidable: technology can only approach the final goal through repeated trial and error, iterative optimization, and further trial and error.
For example, he has now successfully created the first generation of small-scale nuclear fusion power cores.
But there's still a long way to go before it can be shrunk to the size of Iron Man's chest reactor, or even further miniaturized and integrated into Stellar Suit.
What he really wanted was to embed dozens of miniature fusion units into the suit.
Based on multiple simulations, the energy released per second by a single micro-unit has a very limited impact on the overall combat capability.
"Butler, I'll send you some information later. It contains specialized bio-enzyme technology targeting four stubborn diseases: cancer cells, hepatitis B virus, AIDS, and arteriosclerosis."
"Help pharmaceutical companies synthesize a batch of preclinical samples as soon as possible, simultaneously apply for global patents, and then publicly tender to major international pharmaceutical companies."
"Patent licensing can be open, but a hefty exclusive fee must be paid upfront. The results speak for themselves; they won't hesitate once they see it."
"Also, don't bother registering a new comic book brand. Just acquire a Mexico animation company and get the rights to ' Dragon Ball '."
Although the initial revenue from comics is meager, it at least provides a basic foundation; once distribution channels are established, the value immediately skyrockets.
After retrieving the documents from his room and explaining the follow-up arrangements, Chen Xiao took to the air, hovering above the sea of clouds, and began to recharge himself.
He didn't get off the plane to eat until the sun had set. After the meal, he plunged back into the underground laboratory, working non-stop, but feeling grounded and fulfilled.
However, due to a shortage of funds, he had to slow down his experimental pace in the following period.
He took time out of his busy schedule to teach Clarice hacking techniques step by step. She was quick to learn and mastered the skills; her involvement also lightened Chen Xiao's burden considerably.
On weekdays, she helps monitor the operating experimental equipment and records key parameters in real time;
In his spare time, he was active on major international hacker forums, learning and practicing at the same time, making rapid progress.
They also secretly installed hidden miniature surveillance cameras throughout the entire manor and the surrounding area for several kilometers. The system would immediately lock onto any stranger who approached.
Just one week later, visitors arrived at the door.
"Young Master, Emma Frost, the Chairwoman of Frost International Company, has arrived."
"She just attended a patent licensing tender by Wolidun Pharmaceutical Company and said she knows you, so she came to visit you."
In the living room, Chen Xiao was called downstairs by phone and immediately saw a tall, blonde woman with a sharp demeanor sitting on the sofa.
He nodded to the butler. "You may leave now. I need to speak with Ms. Emma Frost alone."
After the butler left, Chen Xiao sat down opposite him, a slight smile playing on his lips, "Should I address you as Chairman Frost, or... the White Queen?"
The White Queen's gaze sharpened, slightly surprised. "You know my identity? Charles mentioned me to you?"
She was secretly shocked; her supposedly invincible Telepathy couldn't detect any fluctuations in the young man's thoughts.
Just as the intelligence indicated: this person's Mental Barrier was unbreakable.
"That's right."
Chen Xiao nodded readily, then smoothly shifted the blame to Professor X, asking directly, " The White Queen's visit wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. If you have something to say, let's get straight to the point."
The woman in front of him was indeed beautiful, and her every move exuded the composed aura of a mature woman in her thirties, but Chen Xiao had no interest in her whatsoever.
He knew perfectly well that she was actually in her sixties or seventies, the same age as Professor X, but her abilities allowed her to maintain her youthful appearance.
Seeing this, the White Queen stopped beating around the bush and said sincerely, " Vitas, I would like to invite you to join the Hellfire Club."
"We heard you're facing a funding shortage for your research. If you join our association, we can provide multiple rounds of free funding."
"The first tranche of one billion US dollars arrived within three days."
"From now on, any raw materials you purchase, even nuclear fuel, can be delivered to you within a few days through the club's channels."
Chen Xiao wasn't surprised that she knew details about his lack of money and his need to purchase nuclear materials. After all, Hellfire was a top-tier global force.
As for the terms offered, his expression remained unchanged, and he simply asked in return, "It sounds tempting. But this money might not be so easy to get, right?"
The White Queen smiled gently, " Vitas, rest assured, Hellfire is essentially a mutual aid alliance; its members are all elite Mutants control wealth and power."
"If we join forces, we can influence the world order."
"For example, Erik's rise to prominence this time was so smooth because of the funds, connections, and even political resources we mobilized."
"Of course, the club's fundamental motivation is still to band together for self-preservation; Mutants have always been rejected by mainstream society."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Xiao shook his head, his tone calm yet firm. "Thanks, but I have no intention of joining any organization."
In his view, the so-called benefits promised by Hellfire were almost meaningless to him.
Is he really short of money? On the surface, yes, and upon closer examination, he certainly is.
However, as the Bloody Hand Society continued to expand its territory and business network, his personal assets had already exceeded $4.2 billion.
Moreover, this number is climbing at an alarming rate as Bloody Hand Society gradually annexes and consolidates those territories.
In addition to the ongoing Dragon Ball manga, a new diabetes treatment drug soon to be released, newly launched high-end cosmetics, and four innovative pharmaceutical products whose patents have just been auctioned,
The efficacy of these synthetic drugs is generally several times that of similar effective drugs currently on the market; while the production cost is significantly reduced, resulting in extremely considerable profit margins once they enter the market.
In other words, in the future, his assets will experience explosive growth, doubling is just the beginning.
Beyond money, the conveniences touted by the Hellfire Club, such as "teamwork and resource sharing," held no appeal for Chen Xiao.
What substantial help could a group of Mutants, who have long lurked in the shadows and dare not or have the means to show themselves in public, possibly offer him?
Could it help him decipher the mysteries of advanced time genes? Could it help him seize the Infinity Stones? Could it help him compress an entire star into the core of his armor?
The answer is no.
If that's the case, what's the point of joining?
Chen Xiao's firm refusal left the White Queen speechless for a moment, but she still tried to persuade him, " Vitas, are you dissatisfied with the current conditions? I can..."
"I'm just not interested." Chen Xiao interrupted before the words were even finished.
"I..."
"I'm really not interested."
I think...
"Not interested."
"Alright." The White Queen smiled helplessly.