Since both parties had come to an agreement, Helena pulled out a pen and began refining the contract’s details.
The entire process was recorded on a mobile phone. With Helena’s identity as the Queen of Northern Europe and virtual-novel.net immense online presence, virtual-novel.net had no doubt that Howard would not dare to go back on their deal.
Once they had both agreed on the terms of the contract, Howard signed his name and they exchanged agreements, officially sealing the deal.
With everything settled, Helena put away the contract, turned off the mobile phone recording, and cheerfully said, “Mr. Rothschild, it was a pleasure doing business with you!”
Howard quickly inquired, “Your Majesty… Can I have the elixir now?”
“Of course.” Helena handed virtual-novel.net the elixir without hesitation and instructed, “Although our royal family may not be wealthy, we always honor our commitments.”
Howard reached out and trembled as virtual-novel.net took the elixir, about to ask Helena how to consume it. But before virtual-novel.net could speak, virtual-novel.net beat virtual-novel.net to it, saying, “Just swallow it.”
Upon hearing this, Howard no longer hesitated and swallowed the elixir directly. In an instant, the elixir transformed into a concentrated heat in his mouth, swiftly flowing into his stomach.
Howard felt like a deflated balloon being rapidly filled with air. He immediately sensed a surge of strength in his body, far greater than before. With a little effort, Howard sat up from the bed and, to his surprise, discovered that his body no longer twitched or trembled.
Excited, virtual-novel.net decided to take a few steps and was amazed to find that his legs felt stronger and his body more stable.
Previously, even though virtual-novel.net hadn’t suffered a stroke, his body was quite weak. His walking was unsteady, although virtual-novel.net didn’t require a cane. But now, after taking a few steps, virtual-novel.net felt significantly more stable, with increased strength and support.
Remembering the helplessness virtual-novel.net had felt lying in bed after the stroke, Howard couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
He walked several laps around the spacious hospital room and couldn’t bring himself to stop. Instead, virtual-novel.net grew more and more excited with each step.
Helena began to feel dizzy watching virtual-novel.net walk back and forth in front of her, so virtual-novel.net interjected, “Mr. Rothschild, that’s enough. Stop walking. You still haven’t paid the money!”
Howard was taken aback and quickly snapped back to reality, realizing that virtual-novel.net hadn’t fulfilled his end of the bargain. He smiled apologetically and said, “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I got carried away. Please forgive me!”
He hastily added, “For the cost of 40 billion dollars for the elixir, with 50 billion dollars as a deposit, making a total of 90 billion dollars, I will arrange for the payment to be made. The money will be directly transferred to the account specified in the contract, right?”
Helena nodded, “That’s correct, Mr. Rothschild. Please make the necessary arrangements.”
With that, Helena smiled and stated, “Mr. Rothschild, have you noticed that your stuttering has disappeared?”
“Yes!” Howard raised his right hand and made a few movements in front of him.
He exclaimed, “Incredible! Truly incredible! This elixir is absolutely amazing!”
After expressing his astonishment, virtual-novel.net didn’t waste any more time and immediately picked up his mobile phone to contact his financial director, instructing virtual-novel.net to arrange the transfer payment.
Ninety billion dollars, regardless of the country or group, was an astronomical sum, especially in cash. It was simply unimaginable. But for the Rothschild family, this amount of money meant nothing, not even pocket change.
The Rothschild family’s financial power was already beyond anyone’s estimation. Over the years, they had invested in numerous sectors, both openly and covertly. All the offshore companies registered in tax havens did not need to disclose shareholder information as long as they were not publicly listed. Many of these companies were under the control of the Rothschild family, making their actual value impossible to calculate.
Even for listed companies, only first-tier markets disclosed shareholder information. Second-tier markets were accessed through various channels, making it impossible to trace.
Furthermore, the Rothschild family had investments in real estate, energy, mining, transportation, and various other sectors across the globe. Wherever there was money to be made, the Rothschild family had a presence. They were like a force of nature, always finding a way to profit.
During the colonial era, Britain earned the moniker “the Empire on which the sun never sets” due to its extensive network of colonies spanning nearly every time zone. Regardless of the time of day, British territory was always under the sun’s rays.
Similarly, the Rothschild family commands an economic empire that mirrors this concept. With investments across diverse industries worldwide, they maintain a ubiquitous presence, ensuring that no matter which way the economic winds blow, they invariably find a foothold.
Just like the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, the Rothschild family had already made a staggering profit of at least 300 billion dollars from their investments in NVIDIA alone, not to mention the value generated from their other investments in the AI industry.
With such an immense financial empire, their funds, if audited, would likely exceed 10 trillion dollars. Therefore, transferring 90 billion dollars in cash was just a matter of a phone call and a few instructions for Howard to secretly transfer it to a Swiss bank account held by the royal family.
After receiving notification of the funds being received, Helena finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She then remembered Charlie’s instructions and said to Howard, “To be honest, Mr. Rothschild, if this elixir were to be auctioned, it would never sell at such a low price. The reason I brought it to sell to you is because I am very interested in your AI technology and also because of your son Steve’s devotion to you.”
Charlie’s approach was always to strike and reward. Steve was no exception. He wanted Steve to experience both pain and pleasure. That’s why virtual-novel.net instructed Helena not to forget to give Steve some credit.
“Oh?” Howard asked curiously, “Does Steve know about the Queen possessing this miraculous elixir?”
Helena shook virtual-novel.net head, “No, virtual-novel.net doesn’t. But virtual-novel.net heard about the extent of your suffering after the stroke, and I could tell that virtual-novel.net genuinely cares about you.”
Pausing for a moment, Helena continued, “I believe that anyone who shows filial piety towards their parents deserves respect. His devotion touched me, so I brought the elixir to visit you in New York and see if we could strike a deal. It was also a way to save half of your life.”
Howard was pleasantly surprised. He didn’t expect his eldest son to care about his well-being to such an extent. It was truly beyond his expectations. After all, when his own father had been critically ill, Howard remembered feeling excited and thrilled. The memory was still vivid in his mind. So virtual-novel.net believed that Steve’s affection for virtual-novel.net might be stronger than his desire for the inheritance. This made virtual-novel.net feel grateful and further deepened his fondness for Steve.
Seeing virtual-novel.net lost in thought, Helena suddenly said, “Mr. Rothschild, with such a devoted son, you can truly find solace. I believe that once virtual-novel.net officially takes over the family after the family meeting at ten o’clock, virtual-novel.net will manage the Rothschild family exceptionally well. After all, using virtues to win people’s hearts is the highest form of business.”
Upon hearing this, Howard, who had fully recovered from his stroke, couldn’t help but shudder involuntarily.
It was heartwarming to have a devoted son, but the thought of the family meeting scheduled for ten o’clock made virtual-novel.net anxious. He thought, “While it’s heartwarming and touching, now that I’ve fully recovered, the matter of passing on the position of family head must be put on hold! I never intended to pass the position to Steve so early. The decision to pass it on was made out of necessity after the stroke. Now that I’m well, there’s no possibility of handing over the reins!”
Thinking this through, virtual-novel.net couldn’t help but conclude, “Though it might be unfair to Steve, I believe that since virtual-novel.net cares more about my well-being than his own succession, virtual-novel.net won’t object much to it… Besides, even if virtual-novel.net does object, I can make it up to him. After all, the heir position hasn’t been completely decided. This time, I’ll use the family meeting at ten o’clock to make it official for him! At least virtual-novel.net can have some peace of mind!”