TENGDA CORP: PLEASE LET ME GO BANKRUPT!

CHAPTER 3: Opportunity Behind the Insults

Julian stared at the remainder of his personal funds, which had only increased by $119, while his System Funds had bloated to half a million dollars. He slapped his forehead hard.

"Damn it! Why on earth did they donate?!" Julian cursed in frustration.

A profit of over one hundred thousand dollars for the company, but the money he could spend on himself was not even enough to buy a decent pair of new shoes. The 1,000:1 conversion rate was completely suffocating him if the company actually made money.

However, Julian was not a person who gave up easily. With $500,000 in System Funds, he immediately drew up a new plan.

"If making a failed product is hard because of the market's weird taste, I'll just spend this money on office operational expenses!" he thought.

The following week, Julian immediately made his move. He rented an entire floor in the Apex Tower skyscraper, the most elite building in the center of Riverdale City. The rental cost was no joke, $30,000 a month. Not stopping there, he bought 20 units of PCs with the highest specifications on the market, massage chairs worth $5,000 per unit, and even hired a five-star chef just to cook free meals for the employees.

For staff, he recruited 15 people at random, specifically choosing individuals who had a track record of being frequently fired or causing trouble at their previous companies. Julian then established unusual work rules: working hours were only from 10 AM to 3 PM. Overtime was strictly forbidden, and anyone caught taking work home would have their bonus cut.

"With sky-high office maintenance costs and working hours this short, this studio is bound to run a total deficit," Julian thought with satisfaction.

That afternoon, after giving a briefing to his new employees who were still bewildered by the overly luxurious office facilities at Apex Tower, Julian went down to the building's lobby to get some fresh air. His mind was a bit exhausted. The System Funds balance of $500,000 was now weighing on him like a time bomb that had to be detonated immediately.

If he only made an ordinary casual game, the cost would be too cheap. He needed a project idea that consumed a massive budget but had a very high chance of failing totally in the market.

Julian stepped out of the building, crossed the street, and decided to enter The Daily Grind—a fairly quiet, wood-themed cafe at the corner of the business district. He sat alone at a corner table near the window facing his open laptop, while staring at the street outside which was starting to get wet from the drizzle.

"Damn, throwing away money is actually much harder than making it," Julian muttered softly while tapping on the table.

SLAM!

The sound of a table being slammed from the middle of the cafe instantly broke the silence. Several patrons, including Julian, spontaneously turned toward the source of the noise.

At table number eight, a blonde girl in a luxury designer knit coat was standing with a face flushed red from anger. She was Chloe Sterling. In front of her, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit appeared to cross his arms with a disgusted expression.

"Enough, Miss Chloe! I have listened to your nonsense for thirty minutes, and this is the most ridiculous business idea I have ever heard in my entire career as an investor!" the man in the suit said in a loud voice, indifferent to the gazes of the people around them.

Chloe clenched her fists on the table, her eyes staring sharply. "Ridiculous?! What is ridiculous about it? This Ember Beauty cosmetic product uses a mixture of simulated meteorite dust and rare Alpine flower extract! This is a high-end product for the elite who are bored with commercial chemicals! The two hundred thousand dollars I am asking for is just for the initial capital to import raw materials!"

The man laughed mockingly, a dry laugh that sounded extremely insulting. "Meteorite dust? Alpine flowers? You think consumers are stupid? Listen here, everyone in this district knows who you are. You are just Arthur Sterling's spoiled daughter who has already bankrupted three culinary and fashion businesses given by your father!"

"Watch your mouth, Mr. Richard! Leave my father out of this!" Chloe exclaimed, her voice starting to tremble slightly due to a mixture of emotion and shame.

"Why shouldn't I?" Richard rose from his chair, looking Chloe up and down with a condescending gaze. "Your father's property company, Sterling Group, is currently on the brink of total bankruptcy due to bank debts. The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. Your father is nearly bankrupt, and his daughter is instead going around the city carrying a trash proposal to beg for money! Let alone two hundred thousand dollars, I wouldn't willingly give even a single cent to the Sterling family!"

"You—!" Chloe lifted her hand, intending to splash a cup of warm coffee on the table onto the man's face.

However, Richard was faster to grab his briefcase and strode away while snorting. "Save your coffee to pay your own table bill. Excuse me." The man walked out of the cafe, slamming the glass door roughly.

Chloe froze in her place. Her hand holding the cup trembled. She slowly sat back down, lowering her head deeply to hide the tears that were starting to fall. The thick business proposal on the table that she had compiled for weeks now looked like a pile of worthless paper. Everyone considered her incompetent, added to the fact that her family's condition was currently ruined.

Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, Julian Vance slowly closed his laptop screen. His pair of eyes had not blinked since earlier, staring at Chloe as if he had just seen a golden opportunity fall from the sky.

'Sterling Group is nearly bankrupt? This girl has already bankrupted three businesses? And she wants to make cosmetics from simulated meteorite dust?'

Julian's brain immediately worked fast. This was not just a spoiled girl who failed to get an investor. In Julian's eyes, Chloe Sterling was the figure of the best partner sent by fate to help him spend the System's money until it was entirely depleted. Added to that, the fact that Chloe was the daughter of Arthur Sterling—the man who had previously insulted and ousted him—made this situation highly ironic.

Julian rose from his chair. He straightened his shirt, took his wallet, and then stepped firmly toward Chloe's table. With a casual movement, Julian pulled out the chair in front of the sobbing girl and sat straight down without permission.

Chloe startled. She immediately wiped her tears roughly, then glared at Julian fiercely. "Who are you?! Get out of here! I don't want to be disturbed right now!"

Julian was unaffected by the outburst. He only smiled faintly, then pointed toward the thick proposal on the table.

"Miss Chloe Sterling," Julian said in a calm tone. "The man in the suit earlier was truly stupid for not being able to see the potential of your cosmetic product. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Julian Vance, the owner of Tengda Corp. I heard your entire business plan, and I intend to invest $300,000 into your company this very moment."

Chloe was stunned. The swearing words that were already at the tip of her tongue were suddenly swallowed back down. She stared at Julian with an incredulous gaze, thinking the young man in front of her was just playing a prank on her.