Spendthrift Tycoon: Forced to spend millions a day

Chapter four

Staring at the pop-up advertisement on his cracked screen, Austin didn't even bother to check if the company was real or not.

Right now, he had nine million and eight hundred thousand dollars sitting in his account like a ticking time bomb.

Wait a minute, what if the advertisement was a scam?

Thinking about this, Austin paused for a second before a grin slowly spread across his face.

Even if it was a scam, what did he have to lose?

The system rules only said he couldn't waste the money intentionally or pay more than three times the normal price.

If he legitimately tried to buy a company and ended up getting scammed by some criminals, that wasn't him wasting money on purpose.

He would just be an innocent victim!

Either he got a real tech company out of it, or the scammers helped him clear his daily mission so he wouldn't end up fifty million in debt.

No matter how he looked at it, it was a complete win-win for him!

Thinking like this, Austin didn't hesitate for another second and tapped the contact number at the bottom of the screen.

The phone rang twice before it was picked up, and a tired, hoarse voice came from the other end.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"I saw your ad online," Austin said straight to the point. "Is Apex Horizon Tech still up for sale for nine point eight million?"

On the other end of the line, the man went silent for a breath, clearly surprised that someone actually called so late in the evening.

"Yes, it's still available," the man answered hurriedly, his voice tightening with urgency. "Look, I won't hide it from you. My creditor bank is coming to seal the building tomorrow morning. If you can transfer the nine point eight million in full tonight, the entire company, the building lease, and all the equipment are yours right now."

"Send me the address," Austin replied without blinking. "Get the transfer papers ready. I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"Good, good! I'm waiting in the top-floor office with my lawyer right now!"

The moment the call ended, a location pin popped up on Austin's phone.

Without wasting time, Austin threw on an old jacket, grabbed his keys, and rushed out of his shabby apartment.

Getting to the main road, he flagged down a passing taxi and gave the driver the address in the central business district.

Since it was already evening, the traffic wasn't too heavy, and in less than twenty-five minutes, the taxi pulled up beside the curb.

"We're here, buddy," the driver said, looking out the window.

Austin paid the fare and stepped out onto the pavement.

The moment he raised his head to look at the building in front of him, Austin froze in his tracks, his eyes widening in shock.

Standing right before him was a, six-story glass office building with the silver letters 'Apex Horizon Tech' shining above the entrance.

"What the heck..." Austin muttered under his breath, swallowing the lump in his throat.

When he saw the price of nine point eight million online, he had pictured a tiny, rundown workshop tucked away in some dusty corner of the city.

He never expected it to be a whole six-story building right in the middle of the commercial district!

Even though the lobby looked a bit messy through the glass doors, with several gloomy employees carrying cardboard boxes out of the building, the place alone looked like it was worth tens of millions.

Buying all of this for under ten million was practically robbery!

However, glancing down at the red countdown timer on his phone, Austin shook his head and pushed the shock to the back of his mind.

Right now, he couldn't care less about how big the building was. He just needed to get rid of this money before the system punished him.

Taking a deep breath, Austin walked briskly through the revolving glass doors and headed straight for the elevator, pressing the button for the sixth floor.

When the elevator doors slid open on the top floor, Austin stepped out and pushed open the double doors to the CEO's office at the end.

Inside the spacious office, a middle-aged man with dark circles under his eyes was pacing back and forth behind a large desk, while a man in a black suit sat on the sofa holding a briefcase of documents.

Hearing the door open, the middle-aged owner, Mr. Miller, spun around with an eager smile on his face.

"You must be the buyer from the phone..."

Mr. Miller's words got stuck in his throat as his eyes landed on Austin.

Standing at the door was a young man who looked barely twenty-two, wearing a faded, washed-out jacket and cheap sneakers.

Even the phone in the kid's hand had half its screen covered in black ink from being cracked.

The lawyer on the sofa frowned deeply, adjusting his glasses as he looked at Mr. Miller. "Mr. Miller, is this some kind of joke?"

Mr. Miller couldn't help but let out a bitter, laugh, shaking his head as he sank back into his leather chair.

"Kid, whose intern are you?" Mr. Miller sighed, rubbing his temples. 

"Did your boss send you ahead to check the place out, or are you here to play a prank on a bankrupt man?"

Austin didn't get angry at the man's reaction. After all, with the way he was dressed right now, nobody in their right mind would believe he had ten million dollars in his pocket.

Walking calmly over to the desk, Austin pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Nobody sent me," Austin answered, tapping his finger on the table. 

"I'm the one buying the company. Are the transfer contracts ready or not?"

Mr. Miller stared at Austin for a few seconds, amused by how serious the young man was acting.

Still, since he was already at a dead end and the lawyer had already drafted the emergency transfer papers, he figured he had nothing to lose by playing along for two minutes.

"Alright, kid, since you're so confident, here it is," Mr. Miller chuckled dryly, sliding a stack of legal contracts and an account slip across the desk. 

"Sign at the bottom, and the moment nine point eight million hits my escrow account, my lawyer will stamp the seal and hand you the company."

Austin didn't even bother reading through the dozens of pages of clauses and equipment lists.

He just flipped straight to the last page, checked that the buyout price clearly stated nine million and eight hundred thousand dollars, and picked up the pen.

In two seconds flat, he signed his name at the bottom.

Seeing Austin sign without even reading a single line of the contract, the lawyer rolled his eyes, clearly convinced thewas just messing around.

Austin ignored the lawyer's expression, unlocked his cracked phone, and typed in the account number on the slip.

"Done. Check your account." He spoke after a while.

Mr. Miller was just about to tell Austin to stop wasting his time when the lawyer's tablet on the table suddenly let rang out.

"Transfer Received: $9,800,000.00."

The room instantly fell dead silent.

Mr. Miller's amused smile froze completely on his face, while the lawyer's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he grabbed the tablet with both hands, staring at the screen in utter disbelief.

"Mr... Mr. Miller!" the lawyer stuttered, his voice trembling as cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "The money... the nine point eight million really came through!"

"What?!"

Mr. Miller bolted up from his chair so fast he almost knocked it over, snatching the tablet from the lawyer to look at the bank confirmation himself.

His hands shook violently as he counted the zeros on the screen, then slowly raised his head to look at the scrawny kid sitting across from him in cheap sneakers.

Who in the world was this young man?!

Which hidden billionaire family's heir dressed like a street pauper and bought a ten-million-dollar company without even reading the contract?!

"Is there a problem?" Austin asked, raising a brow as the two men stared at him like he was a ghost.

"No! No problem at all!" Mr. Miller snapped back to his senses, bowing his head repeatedly as his attitude did a complete one-eighty.

Afraid that this mysterious young tycoon might suddenly regret the deal and ask for his money back, Mr. Miller hurriedly grabbed the official company stamp, pressed it onto the contract, and pushed the building keys and master ownership deed into Austin's hands.

"Everything is officially yours now, Mr. Austin! My lawyer will file the digital registration tonight. If there's nothing else, we'll get out of your hair right now!"

Without waiting for Austin to say another word, Mr. Miller grabbed his briefcase and practically dragged his stunned lawyer out of the office, disappearing down the hallway in a flash.

Left alone in the massive, quiet office, Austin looked at his bank balance, which now sat cleanly at zero.

Right at that moment, the familiar mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

[Ding! Detected Host has completed the ten million spending mission within the time limit without violating the rules!]

[Evaluating investment: High-potential corporate acquisition.]

[Rewarding the Host with: Physical Enhancement Potion!]

Before Austin could even react, a cool weight materialized directly in his palm.

Looking down, he saw a small crystal vial filled with a glowing, golden liquid that gave off a faint, refreshing warmth.

[Physical Enhancement Potion: Permanently removes all hidden bodily impurities, repairs past malnourishment, and upgrades the Host's strength, stamina, and bone density to the peak of human potential!]

Reading the description floating in his mind, Austin's eyes lit up with excitement.

Earlier, when he dealt with Declan and jogged back from the hospital, his biggest headache was that his scrawny body was way too weak to keep up with the Elite Combat Mastery in his head.

And now, the system had delivered the exact thing he needed most!

Without a second of hesitation, Austin popped the cork off the crystal vial, tilted his head back, and gulped the golden liquid down in one go.