He, The Scumbag, Has Turned Over A New Leaf. - Chapter 16

As soon as Hubaiguo finished speaking, Ivan and Lotte exchanged glances, both clearly shocked.

Ivan remained silent for a moment before saying, “We do not wish to involve ourselves in the affairs between the Hubai and Dorye families. Furthermore, your proposal is not something we are capable of fulfilling.”

Seeming to anticipate that Ivan and Lotte would not agree easily, Hubaiguo offered a more tempting piece of information: “I heard that a dark green stone called ‘jade’ appeared at the Hallye Star auction house a while ago. Is that correct?”

Ivan frowned upon hearing this, and Hubaiguo continued, “I also heard that the stone was left behind by Tuoweisi’s birth-father. I think you must be quite fond of this stone; otherwise, you would not have purchased it at such a high price. What if I told you there is a place filled with these stones, and it has been verified that they can replace ore as a source of energy? I wonder if that information is enough to pique your interest.”

This was a bombshell. Mineral resources on Pingzi Star are scarce, and even if one obtains the mining rights, there is no guarantee of profit. If such a place truly existed as Hubaiguo described, it would be worth taking the risk to cooperate with him.

Lotte looked at Ivan, waiting for his decision.

Ivan pondered the authenticity of the claim. Finally, he probed, “Since this mining right is not your true goal for this trip, how about we help you deal with Yinsa, and in return, you concede the mining rights to the Kinsby family?”

“Kinsby?” Hubaiguo frowned.

Ivan explained, “Yes. We have already made a promise to the Kinsby family, and our purpose in coming here was to help them obtain those rights.”

Hubaiguo hesitated for a while but ultimately agreed. “Fine, that is acceptable.”

“Deal. It is settled.”

The negotiations were unexpectedly smooth. Hubaiguo left the meeting room, while Ivan and Lotte stayed behind for a while to discuss plans for the next day before heading back separately.

When Ivan returned to their room, Tuoweisi was in the bathroom washing up. Ivan sat on a chair, lost in thought, contemplating the truth of the news and whether or not to tell Tuoweisi.

Where did Tuoweisi’s birth-father get the jade? Did it have some sort of history? Why was it linked to these events?

Just as he was struggling with these thoughts, his communicator chimed with a notification.

Ivan logged into his account absentmindedly, only to be pleasantly surprised to find that the jade bracelet had been purchased.

It had been bought by a user with the nickname “Deeply Love Beautiful Males,” and the delivery address was in the Capital Star. Due to the high value, the buyer had already paid a one-million deposit, which was being held in a third-party account. Once Ivan shipped the item and the buyer confirmed everything was in order, the remaining balance would be transferred to his personal account.

However, since the bracelet was at his villa on Hallye Star, Ivan could not ship it immediately. He opened the buyer’s profile to send a private message.

“Hello, I am currently on another planet and do not have the jade bracelet with me. Would it be okay if I shipped it to you in a few days?”

“That is fine. There is no rush.”

The buyer was quite reasonable and did not pressure him. Just as Ivan sent a reply thanking them for their understanding, Tuoweisi came out of the bathroom.

Perhaps not expecting Ivan to return so quickly, Tuoweisi was only wearing underwear; he froze at the bathroom door the moment he saw Ivan.

After finishing his message, Ivan looked up and saw the nearly naked Tuoweisi, and he also paused in surprise. Tuoweisi regained his composure first, walking to the bed as if no one were there, and pulled out clothes from his luggage to change into.

“What was the result?” Tuoweisi asked while getting dressed.

Ivan coughed lightly and said, “Hubaiguo came to seek cooperation. If we help him deal with Yinsa, he will give us access to an undeveloped mineral planet that rivals Pingzi Star.”

Tuoweisi frowned, buttoned his shirt, and turned around to ask, “Are there still undeveloped mineral planets left?”

In recent years, interstellar mineral resources have plummeted. Planets with low yields like Pingzi Star are highly sought after. If a truly undeveloped planet existed, why would Hubaiguo be so kind as to share it?

Ivan seemed to see through Tuoweisi’s doubts and explained, “Perhaps he is just doing it to avenge his male partner.”

Kele’s leg injury was caused by Yinsa; the male almost never walked again. As Kele’s male spouse, it was possible he was acting out of righteous indignation.

Tuoweisi did not comment, and Ivan did not mention that the planet’s minerals were different from ordinary ore, as everything was still unknown.

The next day arrived quickly. The first round of the competition began in the guesthouse’s third-floor meeting room.

Each family sent one representative to answer questions, and each family submitted ten questions. The family with the most correct answers would win and gain the right to designate the participants for the third round.

After some discussion, Ivan and his team sent Lotte, the Hubai family used the two Zergs Hubaiguo brought to answer, and the Kinsby family did the same. As for Dorye, there were only two of them in total.

In the first round, Ivan asked his questions. These had been prepared in advance, and Lotte did not disappoint, answering all ten correctly.

However, Ivan could not celebrate for long. When it was the Hubai family’s turn to ask questions in the second round, they ended up with the most correct answers.

Ivan stood on the side, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. It seemed everyone had already made their own deals, and who would take first place ultimately depended on the total correct answers out of all forty questions.

The four rounds concluded quickly. The Kinsby family ended up in last place with only twenty-one correct answers. Lotte had done his best, managing to get thirty correct, while the Hubai family beat the Dorye family by a single point to take the championship.

Yinsa gnashed his teeth and sneered, while Jieli looked grim. Ivan did not care much, as their goal was not to win this.

Hubaiguo did not waste time and immediately designated the participants for the third round.

When he saw Hubaiguo pointing at him, Ivan widened his eyes and asked in disbelief, “Me?”

Hubaiguo nodded and added, “You and Tuoweisi.”

After the initial shock, Ivan frowned. Choosing Tuoweisi was understandable, as his combat prowess was legendary and he would be a great helper. However, choosing him as well made Ivan suspicious of Hubaiguo’s hidden motives.

It seemed that a partnership without any binding evidence was not entirely reliable.

Tuoweisi and Lotte were confused, while Yinsa looked at Ivan with a gleeful expression, saying, “Since the participants are chosen, let us start the next round immediately. Do not waste time.”

Since it had come to this, there was nothing more for Ivan to say. Everyone went to the open space outside the guesthouse for the second round: a combat trial.

There was a circle drawn in white on the ground. Participants would fight in pairs, and whoever stepped out of the circle first would lose.

Ivan and his team never intended to win this part, so they just let Lotte go up to go through the motions. As luck would have it, Lotte was matched against the Zerg brought by Ais. After exchanging a few blows, Lotte intentionally stepped out of the circle and lost, granting the Kinsby family a win.

Ais saw this, walked up to Ivan with a smirk, and said, “Good brother, you are a real one.”

Ivan ignored him, his gaze locked on Hubaiguo and Yinsa fighting in the arena. As the saying goes, enemies are especially resentful when they meet; in close-quarters combat, their strikes were landing with brutal force.

Ivan watched from the sidelines, feeling a rush of excitement. It was rare to see such a spectacular fight in person.

With the two of them as the center, Ivan and the others stood at the perimeter. Kele sat in his wheelchair, watching the fierce fight with visible worry on his face.

Yinsa and Hubaiguo were evenly matched; it seemed no victor could be decided in the short term. But just then, Kele’s wheelchair suddenly went out of control and began sliding toward the edge of the mining pit.

Kele was terrified and cried out for help. Hubaiguo’s subordinates hurried to catch him.

Hubaiguo saw this and, ignoring his duel with Yinsa, ran toward Kele. Yinsa, naturally, would not let such an opportunity pass. The moment Hubaiguo turned his back, Yinsa delivered a fierce flying kick to his back, sending Hubaiguo flying out of the circle.

Yinsa won.

Ivan was stunned by the sudden turn of events, and the area outside the guesthouse fell silent for a moment.

Hubaiguo coughed up blood from the kick, but fortunately, Kele was caught in time by his attendants, and he was unharmed.

Seeing the blood on Hubaiguo’s lips, Kele’s pale face turned even more wretched. Hubaiguo took a moment to steady his breathing, shook his head to show he was fine, and took hold of Kele’s cold hand.

Yinsa watched this with an evil smirk and said, “I won.”