Spellcasting Gods

"My God! Is it really you? Why are you back? Didn't you inherit a large fortune and go off to live a good life?" Jefferson asked with great interest.

"For no reason! I suddenly realized that I don't really get along with those bitches on the Upper East Side. I'm much more into the little sluts from St. Jonas High School." With that, Elizabeth pulled out a bulging envelope and stuffed it into the other person's hand.

Jefferson instinctively opened the box and glanced at it, only to find a thick stack of bills with wide edges, containing at least six or seven thousand dollars. He was terrified and quickly hid it, exclaiming in a tense voice, "Damn it! Why did you give me so much money? I guarantee that if anyone on this street knew I had six or seven thousand dollars on me, they'd probably be shot within ten steps."

"Shh! If we don't say anything, how will anyone know? Besides, you've helped me teach a lot of scumbags who tried to lay a hand on me a lesson over the years. Now that I'm rich, I naturally have to repay you properly." The girl laughed and punched the young black man in the chest.

"Hahaha! Okay! Looks like you've really struck it rich! Don't worry, I guarantee no one will dare touch your car parked here." The latter laughed heartily.

For the wealthy, six or seven thousand dollars might not be enough to buy a slightly better bottle of wine, but for the poorest people living at the bottom of society, it is almost the sum of all their income for several months without eating or drinking.

Just as Elizabeth was about to say something more about the location, a rather robust, overweight girl suddenly stopped, her eyes wide, and let out a piercing scream: "Ahhhhhh! Good heavens! Elizabeth! My dear sister! You're back?"

"Hey! Yes! Camilla! I'm back! Come on, give your best sister a hug."

"Of course!"

Without a word, Camilla opened her arms and gave Elizabeth a warm bear hug. She even used her amazing strength to lift her friend high in the air to express her excitement.

After the hug, she noticed the exquisite sports car parked by the roadside and asked excitedly, "So the rumors are true? You inherited a huge fortune? You're a real millionaire now?"

"Hmm! He's only considered moderately wealthy, at least not compared to my boyfriend. You know what? Just before Christmas, someone gifted him a luxury villa on Long Island worth tens of millions of dollars." Elizabeth casually revealed some information about his residence.

"what?!"

"Shit! I hate you damn rich people!"

……

The three young people, chatting and laughing, were completely unaware that two pairs of eyes were watching them from not far away.

One of them was Zhang Cheng himself, and the other was Jesse Livermore.

Chapter 0591 Hope and Pure Land

"Boss, aren't you being a little too protective?" Jesse asked without turning his head as he ate a hot dog he bought from a roadside stall while sitting in the driver's seat.

"Overprotective? How could you have such a thought?" Zhang Cheng asked with a half-smile.

“Isn’t that right? You know, Elizabeth just changed to a public school with a slightly worse environment, and you made a special trip to see her. I bet my parents never cared about me this much when I was in school,” Jesse explained with a look of envy and jealousy.

Through the rearview mirror, Zhang Cheng saw the expression on the somewhat neurotic girl's face, chuckled, and waved his hand: "No, of course not. You think I'm protecting Elizabeth? Actually, I'm just protecting the last vestige of purity in my own heart."

Did you know that, from a psychological perspective, the more a person lacks something, the more they crave it?

Just like a gang leader, what he usually desires most is not to eliminate his rivals or to dominate a certain place.

What they truly desire is an ordinary life where they don't have to worry about being killed all the time, or a pure love that is free from any money, power, or threats.

The reason is very simple: it's not that ordinary life and beautiful, pure love are so rare and precious, but rather that for gang members whose hands are already stained with blood, it is their last hope and sanctuary.

Think about it, how many vicious drug lords and gang leaders in the world have a family that carefully protects them, or a lover or relative they deeply love?

Remember, Jesse, the driving forces that keep people alive can be roughly divided into three types. The first is ambition and desire, the second is hope and spiritual sustenance, which I just mentioned, and the third is intense hatred.

I don't want to one day become a monster who lives solely on the first and third motivations; such a life would be too pathetic.

Jesse Livermore swallowed his food and nodded thoughtfully. "I think I understand now. Elizabeth possesses something you crave but can never have, so protecting her is protecting the pure land and hope within your own heart?"

“That’s right! Do you want to see me completely fall into darkness and become a reckless madman?” A dark, bloodthirsty, and insane light flashed in Zhang Cheng’s eyes.

"No! Not at all!" Jesse clearly realized this and instinctively shuddered.

The recent two weeks of frantic purges had left her feeling that many people reeked of blood, and if it continued like this all the time, she feared she would soon suffer a mental breakdown.

As sociologists have said, even though the world is dark, politics is dirty, and human nature is ugly, humanity always needs a little light and hope to sustain itself, even if that light and hope is false and fabricated.

"Alright, let's go. Since Elizabeth is capable of protecting herself, there's no need for us to waste any more time. Let's go to the outskirts of New York; my nominal mother is still waiting for me at the construction site." With that, Zhang Cheng picked up his phone and waved the address in the text message.

“OK! I guarantee I’ll be there in an hour at most.” Without another word, Jesse stepped on the gas and drove straight toward the highway.

After all, New York's traffic is notoriously congested, especially during rush hour, where it's common to be stuck in traffic for two or three hours. Only the highways are slightly better.

Fortunately, Christmas has just passed, and many people are still on holiday, so there aren't so many cars that it's unbearable.

After about forty-seven or forty-eight minutes, the two rugged-looking SUVs finally stopped next to a busy construction site.

There was an area the size of two standard stadiums, where a large number of cranes and excavators were rapidly digging the foundation. Even the hard frozen soil in winter could not withstand the power of the machinery.

However, one thing is very suspicious: when digging the foundation, a steel pillar covered with strange symbols was hammered in at intervals.

All that's known is that a large, fully enclosed plant cultivation center is going to be built here; those who don't know might think it's going to be some kind of bizarrely shaped art building.

Hearing the loud noise from the machinery, Zhang Cheng pushed open the car door and got out.

Before he could take more than a few steps, Zhang Zhi, who had been waiting for a long time, came over with a Latino man who looked to be in his fifties and was wearing a helmet. She asked with a smile, "How was your Christmas?"

"Not bad! Apart from the terrible weather in New York, everything else is fine." Zhang Cheng deliberately shrugged, pretending to be indifferent.

Ever since he learned how terrifyingly controlling his seemingly shrewd and capable mother was, he subconsciously forced himself to be on high alert.

"Really? I thought you weren't satisfied with the Christmas present I gave you," Zhang Zhi teased meaningfully.

Zhang Cheng quickly replied with a smile, "How could that be! In my eyes, those 25% original shares are the best Christmas gift."

"Good that you understand." The domineering mother's face showed satisfaction upon hearing this. "Come, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Martin, who is in charge of construction. He has many questions about the construction that he would like to discuss with you face to face, after all, you have made quite a few strange requests."

"Hello! Mr. Zhang." The Mexican man in his fifties extended his right hand.

"Hello, Mr. Martin."

Out of politeness, Zhang Cheng extended his right hand to shake hands with the other person, and then asked directly, "Is there anything you don't understand about the construction?"

“Yes, sir.” The old man, Martin, quickly spread out the blueprints in his hand and pointed to several key points: “I don’t understand why you want to drive those iron pillars covered with mysterious symbols into the foundation? This will greatly increase the difficulty of construction and increase the time and cost. If possible, I would like to remove them, which will save at least three to five million dollars in budget.”

“No, that won’t do. They are the most crucial parts of this building and cannot be removed under any circumstances. In addition, the steel plates and pipes I requested to be embedded in the walls must also not be altered in the slightest, otherwise the entire building will lose its intended function.” Zhang Cheng gave a negative answer without hesitation.

These things are crucial to supporting the massive magical structure. Not to mention canceling a part, even a few flaws in the construction could cause the entire massive arcane garden to fail to start.

Of course, he can fix minor flaws one by one by eliminating them, but if there is a problem with the main structure, even a god couldn't save it.

"Not a single movement?" Martin stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

As a Latino architectural engineer who immigrated to the United States from Mexico, this was the first time he had ever encountered an employer unwilling to reduce construction costs.

"Not a single thing can be moved! Not only can it not be moved, but the quality must also be guaranteed. It's worth spending any amount of money for this..."

Chapter 0592 A Bizarre Mother-Son Relationship

It must be said that Martin was a very responsible construction manager. After confirming repeatedly that those seemingly useless structures could not be altered, he quickly turned around and left to continue construction according to the design requirements on the drawings.

Watching his retreating figure, Zhang Zhi suddenly spoke tentatively, "Can you tell me what the purpose of those strange structures is? You know, this adds an extra eight to ten million US dollars to the investment, you have to give me a reason, right?"

"I'm sorry, but this involves some unpatented biotechnology, so it's best if you don't inquire about it. Most importantly, once this place is built, I can not only provide you with plenty of Tranquilizing Flowers, but also gradually provide you with other very valuable plants."

Will he reveal his ideas and principles for building a large arcane garden?

Zhang Cheng couldn't agree unless he was completely out of his mind, so he had to use bribery to change the subject.

He understood that this extremely controlling mother probably felt uneasy because 50% of the technology, which was crucial to the company's survival, was in the hands of an outsider, and therefore desperately wanted to get her hands on it.

While doing so doesn't mean immediately ending a relatively pleasant collaboration, having insurance and not having insurance represent two completely different mindsets.

In fact, according to the intelligence Zhang Cheng had, his nominal mother had long ago secretly established a technical public relations team that was working day and night to study how to cultivate the Tranquilizing Flower.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of well water rich in arcane energy, none of the seeds sprouted, let alone grew.

After all, the magical energy in this world is far more complex and difficult to utilize than arcane energy. Unless it is converted, it is likely to be absorbed by the magical plants of Azeroth and Forgotten Realms.

This is precisely what makes her even more convinced that once she fully masters the cultivation technology, the final piece of her ambitious business empire plan will be complete.

Because as long as the cultivation technology cannot be cracked, competitors will not be able to obtain raw materials, let alone challenge the market share they have already occupied.

monopoly!

What beautiful and wonderful words!

No capitalist can resist such a temptation!

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Zhi raised her head and asked in a very serious tone, "How much actual control do you actually have over the biological laboratory? Can you ensure that the partner won't be lured away by someone else?"

"Please rest assured, I have obtained all the relevant technology, and that guy went to the dangerous Amazon rainforest. I guarantee he will never come back alive. In other words, it won't be long before the laboratory is completely mine." Zhang Cheng pursed his lips and replied meaningfully.

"Oh? You sent someone to kill him!" Zhang Zhi's eyes widened in surprise.

Clearly, in her mind, her son had always been somewhat weak and kind, and it was highly unlikely that he would do such a thing.

Zhang Cheng laughed and shook his head, making up a story: "Kill him? No, no, no, I just bribed a guide who was originally from a cannibal tribe. He will lead my naive partner to some dangerous places. As for whether that poor guy will be bitten to death by wild beasts or captured and eaten by a cannibal tribe, that's none of my business. Because it's fate's arrangement, not a terrible murder. I haven't stained my hands with anyone's blood."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhi's eyes shone with the same light. After a full minute, she burst into laughter, exclaiming, "Well done! My dear son! God! I can hardly believe these words are coming from your mouth. You know, I used to think you were a bit like your father—a bit old-fashioned, a bit foolish, a bit naive—but now it seems you're more like me."

"Can I interpret this as a disguised compliment?" Zhang Cheng winked playfully.

“Of course! You have to understand, American law has never been made to protect the weak. On the contrary, it’s specifically designed to protect the powerful and wealthy. Think about those interesting bail systems, jury systems, evidence collection systems, and the exorbitant fees of top lawyers? Which of these can the poor afford? In this country, crime is never the problem; the problem is whether you have money, whether you do it cleanly, and whether it’s worthwhile.” Zhang Zhi uttered these “shocking” remarks without batting an eye.

"So you don't mind me committing crimes, even murder?" Zhang Cheng suddenly understood his nominal mother's way of thinking.

Without a doubt, the other party was not the kind of mother who "hoped her son would become a dragon" in the traditional sense, but a "wolf mother" who hoped that her son could become a qualified capitalist, and that he could truly be crowned king in the future and inherit the vast business empire she had created.

Zhang Zhi nodded slightly: "Yes! Remember, in this country, a legitimate businessman will never have a chance to rise to the top. The only way to stand out in the fierce competition is to be like a pack of wolves, constantly killing prey and devouring their flesh to grow stronger. In a way, I am lucky to have such an outstanding son as you. As long as we work together, it won't be long before we break through the glass ceiling and officially join the real upper class."

What do I need to do?

"All you need to do is provide me with a continuous supply of plants with immense commercial value, like the Peace Lily. In return, everything I have in the future will ultimately belong to you, and you will be the sole heir to all my assets."

"As you wish, Mother."

……

As the unusual conversation between the mother and son came to an end, they fell into a brief silence, while the rumbling machines on the construction site continued their tireless work.

About two or three minutes later, Zhang Zhi suddenly asked out of the blue, "Do you miss your father?"

"Hmm? Why did you suddenly think of asking this?" A hint of doubt appeared on Zhang Cheng's face.

“No, it’s nothing. As far as I know, he just returned to New York a couple of days ago, and he should be coming to see you if nothing unexpected happens,” the assertive mother explained, trying to appear calm.

"Sounds like good news?" Zhang Cheng touched his chin uncertainly.

He didn't know whether he should show happiness or disgust at this moment.

Since this cheap father had left home a long time ago and only came back once every three or four years, who knows what kind of rift this strange situation would cause in the relationship between father and son.

Most importantly, he didn't even know if this old man who had been away from home for many years was included when Polman altered his memories. It would be interesting if he were exposed.