"I'm warning you, Gordon, this is the last straw! This won't be the last you hear from me, should you dare to stir up any more trouble!" Darius scoffed, then turned and stormed out of the room in a huff. "Rats!" Gordon's expression was dark as he watched Darius' retreating figure. A glimmer of malice flashed through his eyes. He could not understand why, despite being his brother-in-law, Darius was so untrusting of him and would rather believe in an outsider over him! Not only that, but he even dared to utilize his authority and demote him as a punishment! Gordon could not help growing even more resentful of Darius at the thought of this. However, unbeknownst to him, Darius already discovered his involvement in this and was just trying to lure him into admitting his mistake. If he did so, he would gladly have given Gordon a second chance! However, not only did Gordon not express any remorse, he even continued to lie and deny the truth! This was what infuriated Darius t
"Well, alright then, if you insist." After some consideration, Leon finally decided to relent. After all, this debacle indeed cost Elegante Group a significant loss, and even almost cost them their reputation! Therefore, it made sense that Darius would want to offer a token of compensation, and he might as well take Darius up on his offer. "Yes, so that's settled then!" Darius let out a small sigh of relief. He understood that Leon's willingness to accept Hughes Group's compensation signified his intention to forgive them, and he could not help feeling relieved at this. With that, the two of them hung up the phone. Hiltons Corporation. After getting his hands on Elegante Group's trade secret, Joel returned immediately to the office and handed the documents over to the employees at the Research and Development Department to start producing imitates of Elegante Group's products. Hiltons Corporation was the largest business in the Southern region's cosmeceutical industr
"Buzz—" The report of the first product soon came out. Mister Shaw could not help frowning when he glanced at the report. "How are the results of the test, Mister Shaw? Is it significantly better than our original products?" Joel quickly asked. "Yes, sir, the new products are indeed better than our own, but," Mister Shaw began. However, before he could even finish his sentence, he was cut off by Joel. "Hahaha— I knew it! Leon Wolf, I can't believe how big of a moron you were to allow people into your company and look at your trade secrets willy-nilly! What an idiot! Now that I've successfully replicated your products, we'll see what you can do about that!" Joel could not hold in his joy any longer and could not help bursting into laughter at this. "Um, Mister Hiltons, although the replicas are indeed a little better than our original products, the difference isn't that much at all," Mister Shaw continued after a moment's hesitation. This came as a shock to Joel; he imme
"What's going on, Mister Shaw? Did you guys somehow leave out an important process or additive?" Joel's expression was dark. Now that the results proved Mister Shaw's initial hypothesis to be right, the only explanation he could think of was that the research and Development team forgot something crucial! There was no other possibility to explain this! "Well. no! That's impossible! We double and triple-checked everything during the the manufacturing process, and I can guarantee that nothing was left out!" Mister Shaw shook his head. On second thought, he recalled something and added, "However, one of the ingredients is purified water, and there's a possibility that this might be the crucial mistake." With that, Mister Shaw brought over the documents, pointed at one of the formulation processes, and began to briefly explain it to Joel. During the formulation of their products, Elegante Group added some purified water into the mixture, which at first glance, did not appear to be
"What should we do now, Mister Hiltons? Although these replicas are a tad superior compared to our original products, the difference isn't that significant at all, and I'm afraid this won't be much use to us," Mister Shaw asked. Since Elegante Group and Hiltons Corporation targeted different audiences, if Hilton Corporations were to mass produce these replicas, they would have to spend a significant amount of money in enhancing and upgrading their production lines! This would no doubt come at a great price and would not pay off well for Hiltons Corporation at all! "Yes, I know that! Let's not talk about this for now. we'll discuss this again when I get my hands on the secret recipe for Elegante Group's purified water! When I finally do so, Elegante Group won't even know what's coming!" Joel declared maliciously. Now that he already got his hands on most of Elegante Group's trade secrets and was only missing the crucial component, he would not be willing to call it quits just l
In the lobby, Yuri stood tall and proud, with his spine straight and his hands behind his back. Behind him were a few of the Thompsons' best warriors and an old man dressed in green. This old man was one of the Thompsons' strongest fighters, a member of the Almighty Warriors! Knowing that the Hiltons were one of the most powerful influences in the Southern region, Yuri did not dare to show up at their territory without backup. Therefore, he specially made a detour back home to pick up this Almighty Warrior, which was why he took so long to arrive at Hiltons Corporation's office. All of a sudden, frantic footsteps rang out as Joel, followed by two of his guards, stormed into the lobby and came face-to-face with Yuri. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Mister Thompson?" Joel asked calmly. Although he already knew what Yuri was here for, he did not dare to reveal anything further about his involvement in this. "What do you think? Joel, let's cut to the chase—I'm here on beh
"Thud!" With a deafening slam, Joel was propelled backward from the impact of Yuri's fist and landed on the ground in a crumpled heap. Thankfully, he was already at the Semi Emperor State, and since he managed to dodge Yuri's attack in time, he did not suffer many injuries at all. Despite that, however, he still felt something rise in his chest, and his mouth was tinged with a metallic taste, but he swallowed it back! "Take this!" Yuri let out another grunt as he stepped forward, unleashing another surge of energy straight toward Joel! "Oh no!" An expression of horror crossed Joel's face. He was already weakened from Yuri's initial attack, and as much as he wanted to dodge this second one, he knew there was no way he could pull it off. There was nothing he could do except watch in despair as Yuri's attack surged straight toward him. "Master, we'll help fend him off! Run while you can!" with lightning-quick reflexes, his two guards stepped forward and retaliated, sending p
At the same time, Yuri already caught up to an escaping Joel and struck a blow right across his retreating! "Thud!" with a deafening slam, Joel's entire body was propelled backward like a kite that lost its string and landed on the ground a few feet away. He spat out two mouthfuls of blood from the impact and slumped on the ground feebly. It was clear that he suffered a serious injury from this. Thankfully, in consideration of the Hiltons' background, Yuri did not have the intent to kill him and thus eased up a little on his attack. If not, Joel would have suffered an even more dire fate by now! "What's wrong, Joel? Are you okay?" the middle-aged man panicked at this sight and quickly sprinted forward to help him up. It was clear that this middle-aged man was none other than Joel's father, the president of Hiltons Corporation—Sebastian Hiltons. "I'm fine, Father. Just suffered some internal injuries. However, you must avenge me—Yuri Thompson has not only barged into our t