The Mightiest Tycoon

1. The Contract Marriage

"I joined the army at seventeen and became part of the world's strongest land force, the Northern Confederate Army, at eighteen. Ten years of military service left me with many scars but I made a significant mark on the modern warfare history of the military. When I decided to retire, the military region leaders were the first to oppose my decision. They were quite angry."

Inside an upscale coffee shop, Richards, dressed in a loosely fitted suit, was eloquently boasting about his military career.

Sitting directly opposite him was a seemingly arrogant but aloof beauty. Her name was Hannah Harrison, Richards's arranged fiancée. Although the two had never met before now, Richards had long heard of Hannah's attitude as a notorious femme fatale in Birmingham City.

"The Northern Confederate army commander would actually get so angry over you  a cook, retiring?" Hannah asked with disdain. "It seems your cooking skills must truly excellent."

“Of course. I’ve served in the military for ten years, honing my cooking skills to perfection. Whether it’s the eight major cuisines or various private dishes, I can cook them all with ease,” Richards said proudly. “In the army, whether it’s an internal banquet or entertaining foreign guests, the leaders only trust me. It’s no exaggeration to say that without me, those banquet wouldn’t have been possible!”

"Since the leaders value you so much, why did you retire?" Hannah narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly.

“I’m tired and weary. For the past ten years, I have followed the Northern Confederate army all over the country and beyond. Although I have received many honors, I am like a rootless duckweed, with no place to call my own.” Richards exhaled a breath of stale air. After the brief pause, he continued with a weary expression, "I want to live a normal life for a change. You know, have simple meals while playing with my wife and children."

A look of disgust flashed in Hannah's eyes. This man she was engaged to was a million times worse than she had imagined. Ten years of military service failed to forge his heart, instead, he became a smooth-talking, pedantic military cook.

Marry him and have children with him? Hannah felt a chill run down her spine.

Richards took a sip of coffee and glanced at Hannah discreetly. He noticed that her face looked disgusted, as if she had swallowed a fly, and he was that fly… So he was quite satisfied . After all, he was forced to come on this blind date by her aunt. And judging from Hannah's miserable state, she probably wouldn't be able to hold on much longer before calling it quit.

"What kind of woman do you like?" Without warning, Hannah asked.

“I like women with short hair, a fleshy nose, a round face, big breasts, and a round bottom.” Richards glanced at Hannah’s thick, cascading hair and her exquisitely sculpted features. He made an extremely exaggerated S-shaped gesture and solemnly said, "You know, people say that women like this are good at bearing children."

After hearing Richards's extremely disrespectful words towards women, a cold glint flashed in Hannah's eyes, but she remained expressionless: "What about personality?"

“Lively, quirky, preferably a bit funny,” Richards said calmly. “I don’t like women who are always aloof, like everyone owes them millions of dollars. They’re too pretentious.”

Even though she knew Richards's words were meant to disgust her, Hannah remained unfazed: "Then what's your view on marriage?"

"Marriage is nothing more than going through the motions of getting a marriage certificate, and then each going their own way. As for the so-called 'forever till death do us part,' it's just about not being able to find someone better and living together as a couple." Richards spoke eloquently, vividly portraying himselfas a morally corrupt scoundrel. He believed that after saying all that, Hannah would call of this blind engagement.

But to his surprise, Hannah not only didn't get angry, but instead said, word by word, "Let's get married then."

Silence. A deathly silence.

Richards's horrified gaze fell on Hannah's lower abdomen, and he cautiously asked, "How many months pregnant are you?"

Hannah's face turned cold, and she said in an icy voice, "You think you're funny?"

"If you're not pregnant, why are you in such a hurry to marry me?" Richards asked, exasperated.

"We are now engaged," Hannah said indifferently. "That enough reason."

"What kind of reason is that?" Richards asked magnanimously. "I don't think this will work."

"Why don't you back out then?" Hannah said coldly. "If you're willing to back out, I'll leave right now and even give you some cancelation f*e."

Richards was speechless. If he dared to break off the engagement, his bullying aunt would break his legs. Judging from this situation, Hannah was also forced into this proposed engagement. He felt lost and dejected. He had always been a strong-willed man, and now he was being forced into an arranged marriage. It was truly pathetic.

After a long silence, Richards, with a tragic and heroic air, gritted his teeth and said, "If you want to marry me, then you must agree to a few conditions of mine; otherwise, I would rather die than comply to any form of marriage."

Hannah frowned, too lazy to correct him, and waited silently.

"First of all, you can't develop feelings for me over time, and you certainly can't seduce me." Richards glanced at Hannah's ample bosom, feeling a little uncertain.

"Unless I'm insane!" Hannah felt nauseous.

"We can have sex after marriage, but we can't share a bed," Richards stated as her second condition.

Hannah fell silent, not wanting to speak.

"Last and most importantly, this is a marriage of convenience. You can't prevent me from finding love freely. If I find true love but the time isn't right for a divorce, you have to protect me. I don't want to be misunderstood, and I don't want to be labeled a heartless man."

"Fine." Hannah felt a storm raging in her heart, utterly disgusted, but she managed to utter only one words through gritted teeth: "Scumbag!"

Having reluctantly accepted Richards's utterly shameless conditions, Hannah struggled to control her emotions, which were on the verge of exploding, while her heart was in turmoil.

The reason she reluctantly married this disgusting man was because of her grandmother. She had been on a hunger strike for two days to force her to fulfill the marriage agreement. With the old lady's stubbornness, if she dared not go through with this marriage, she would starve to death in bed. So she gave in.

Just as Hannah was about to lead Richards, who was still rambling on about the details of their marriage, to the Local County Court, a piercing air raid siren suddenly sounded outside the coffee shop.

The sirens blared throughout the city, startling pedestrians on the street who looked around in panic. They discovered that all administrative units within sight have lowered their flags to half-mast.

What exactly happened?

"Look!" Inside the coffee shop, a man pointed to a large, suspended television screen and exclaimed. "The air salute and half-mast flag. It means a time of national mourning!"

"Who died?" Another man asked in a soft sad tone. "Has to be someone important."

Inside the coffee shop, discussions were rife, and the entire coastal city was immersed in a sense of oppression and grief.

On the screen appeared an elderly man with a white beard, his chest adorned with medals, his face filled with sorrow: "Today, Harrison Smiths, the ghost commander of the Northern Confederate Army and the renowned American figure, has died for his country!"

Upon hearing this, Hannah's face turned deathly pale.

Harrison Smith?

The strongest army commander in America in the last decade? In her heart, no man of her time could compare to him, even though she had never seen his face before. No one had. It was highly confidential. Top level clearance.

After the ten-minute national mourning period ended, Hannah, with her hardened heart, was overwhelmed with emotion. The reason she was so emotional was that a year ago, she was kidnapped by the Houthi pirates while trying to discuss international shipping business, and her life was hanging by a thread.

The man who saved her from the catastrophic danger was none other than the ghost leader of the Northern Confederate army. That year, she caught a glimpse of his back from afar, but had never had the chance to say thank you to him face-to-face. So upon learning of his death, Hannah was overcome with grief.

Chaos erupted inside the café as all the citizens grieved over the loss of this national hero.

Richards, however, looked disdainful and even secretly curled his lip, seemingly looking down on this great hero who was given a grand funeral.

Seeing this, Hannah felt utterly devastated.

"Damn, it's such a pity that I couldn't be there to see him off on his final journey," Richards sighed.

Seeing Richards's pretentious act, Hannah felt a surge of disgust, but asked instead. "You know him?"

“More than just acquaintances, Harrison and I were like brothers. Back when he first joined the Northern Confederate army, his favorite food was my braised lion's head meatballs.” Richards sighed with regret. “I never imagined that heaven would be so jealous of such a talented person, that he would die so young.”

"You're so shameless. "

Compared to the legendary commander, this man who was about to marry her was utterly worthless!

"I was just saying, why are you getting so worked up?" Richards said, pouting. "Do you have a crush on him?"

"Just take the documents and see to it." Hannah stood up angrily. After saying that, she walked towards the door.

Richards sat blankly in the chair, slowly lighting a cigarette. A hint of vicissitude quietly appeared on his originally frivolous and unrestrained face: "Watching my own funeral on TV is really awkward."