The First Inheritance
Author: Cindy Chen
last update2026-07-30 10:01:42

The payment terminal let out a crisp electronic chime. The receptionist glanced at the screen and her confident smile froze.

"Approved?"

The word escaped almost unconsciously.

"What?" Collins asked.

She slowly turned the display toward him.

"The payment... went through."

The laughter throughout the lobby gradually died away. Collins snatched the receipt from her hand. His eyes swept over it once. The result remained exactly the same. It was approved.

For a brief moment, he simply stared at the receipt in disbelief.

"Impossible."

A businessman standing nearby leaned over to take a look.

"It actually worked? I thought all of Bolt Group's accounts would've been frozen."

"So did I."

Whispers spread through the lobby. Nobody had expected Raiden to successfully pay for even a single night's stay.

Collins recovered quickly, forcing an awkward laugh.

"Well... It seems you still have enough money for a hotel room."

He tossed the receipt onto the counter.

"Congratulations, but don't mistake that for wealth. Being able to afford one room doesn't mean you can buy an entire hotel."

Several guests nodded in agreement. That sounded far more believable.

Whitmore had remained silent throughout the exchange, but his patience had long since begun to wear thin.

One of his assistants hurried over, lowering his voice.

"Chairman, the investors are asking whether today's meeting is still happening."

Whitmore exhaled quietly.

"Tell them five more minutes."

The assistant hesitated.

"They've already been waiting for nearly twenty."

"I heard you."

The assistant nodded and quickly left. Whitmore turned back to Raiden.

"Mr. Bolt. I've already delayed my meeting longer than I intended. I appreciated your father's friendship, which is why I gave you the courtesy of explaining yourself."

His expression remained composed, but there was no warmth left in it.

"If your purpose was simply to prove you could afford a room, you've done so. But I have investors waiting upstairs. I'm afraid this conversation ends here."

Raiden met his gaze without flinching.

"I'm offering eight and a half million dollars."

Whitmore stopped. The number caught him completely off guard. Months earlier, Aurora Hospitality's internal valuation had landed just below that figure.

Every investor waiting upstairs had done the opposite. They had spent weeks trying to push the price lower, taking advantage of Aurora's worsening cash flow. No one had offered a premium.

A faint smile crossed Raiden's face as he noticed the subtle change in Whitmore's expression. He remembered the Aurora Hotel acquisition proposal vividly, which was why he had named his opening price with complete confidence.

Before Whitmore could speak, Raiden calmly added, "cash."

The silence lasted only a second before Collins burst into laughter.

"Eight and a half million?"

He looked around the lobby as though inviting everyone to enjoy the joke with him.

"Chairman, I take back what I said. I don't think he's lying. I think he's completely lost his mind."

Laughter erupted once more. One guest even shook his head sympathetically.

"Poor guy. The shock must've broken him."

Whitmore, however, wasn't laughing. He was studying Raiden carefully.

"You understand what you're saying?"

"I do."

Whitmore's voice grew firmer.

"Then let me be equally clear. I don't have time for games."

He glanced briefly toward the elevators where another assistant was anxiously waiting.

“My investors are waiting upstairs with legitimate offers, and instead I'm standing here listening to promises I have no reason to believe you can fulfill. Do you understand that?”

His eyes returned to Raiden.

"I spoke with you out of respect for William and Caren. Don't make me regret that decision. If you have nothing more than empty words this conversation is over."

Raiden nodded once.

"Fair enough. Then let's do this another way. I'll transfer two million dollars to Aurora Hospitality right now. As an earnest deposit."

A murmur swept across the lobby.

Collins laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.

"Two million?"

He wiped the corner of his eye.

"Chairman, are we seriously still listening to this?"

Raiden ignored him.

"If the money doesn't arrive in your company's account, I'll walk out of this hotel without another word."

His gaze shifted briefly toward the security guards.

"You won't even have to ask them."

Then he looked back at Whitmore.

"But if the transfer goes through, I want thirty minutes. No interruptions. Hear me out before making your decision."

Whitmore remained silent. It was a ridiculous proposal. And yet, there was almost no risk. If the transfer failed, he would lose only a few more minutes. If it succeeded, everything changed.

"Show me," he said.

Raiden stepped forward and handed him the bank card. Their fingers brushed for only an instant.

[Legacy Host Detected.]

[Edward Whitmore]

[Commercial Negotiation Legacy]

[Compatibility: 93%]

[Legacy Available for Inheritance.]

[Inherit?]

Raiden's pupils contracted slightly.

The message appeared only in his vision. No one else seemed aware that anything had happened. Without changing his expression, Raiden answered silently.

"Yes."

The translucent panel dissolved into countless streams of golden light before reforming into another notification.

[Legacy Successfully Inherited.]

[Commercial Negotiation Legacy Acquired.]

A strange sensation washed over him. It wasn't painful. Nor did it feel as though someone had poured decades of experience directly into his mind.

Instead, it was more subtle. His thoughts became unusually clear. The tension surrounding the negotiation seemed to slow, almost as if he were seeing the entire conversation from a higher vantage point.

For the first time, he instinctively noticed details he would have ignored only moments earlier.

The slight impatience in Whitmore's eyes. The anxious glances exchanged between his assistants.

Even Collins, despite his mocking smile, had unconsciously shifted his weight onto one foot—a tiny sign that his confidence wasn't quite as absolute as he wanted everyone to believe.

Raiden said nothing. If the system had truly inherited Whitmore's legacy, then the best way to understand it was to keep negotiating.

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