In America, money could make the devil turn the millstone. The very next day, Hunter bought the massive neighboring farm he had been eyeing for 3.4 million dollars.
Perhaps wanting to stay close to his eldest daughter, Damon firmly refused Hunter's offer to buy them a house in Los Angeles.
Instead, Hunter spent another 1.4 million dollars on a beautiful villa right in Pomona. Even though Damon tried to reject it, Hunter registered the deed under Telly's name and forced the keys into the older man's hands.
Over the next few days, Hunter kept himself incredibly busy. He personally took charge of renovating and upgrading the living facilities at Damon's new farm.
This gave him the perfect opportunity to aggressively farm experience points for his various Life Skills. Before he knew it, nearly a week had passed in a blur of hard work.
Today, Hunter was just about to head over to the neighboring farm to see what else needed fixing when his phone rang.
"Hunter, are you back in California?"
"Do you remember your proposal from last time? You said you would drop by the Continental when you had a moment."
It was Cole.
The concierge of the Los Angeles Continental had been intrigued by a call Hunter made a week ago. Cole had expected to see him at the hotel within two or three days.
He certainly hadn't expected Hunter to get so absorbed in farm work that he completely forgot about their deal. Cole had been left waiting for over a week.
Hearing Cole's voice, the memory instantly clicked into place.
Hunter really had forgotten. He had been completely consumed by the renovations for the Macready family. Upgrading the farm had yielded massive amounts of experience points.
Two of his Life Skills had already leveled up, and several others were right on the verge of a breakthrough. The dopamine rush of constantly leveling up had made him completely lose track of time.
"Sorry about that, Cole," Hunter replied apologetically.
"I've been tied up with some personal matters these last few days. I'll head to the hotel shortly, and we can discuss the details in person."
Cole had an excellent temperament, or at least he was always highly accommodating to people with genuine capability. He didn't give Hunter a hard time, and they quickly agreed on a meeting time.
With that settled, Hunter's plans to help at the neighboring farm were put on hold. When Telly woke up, he let her know he was heading out. He hopped onto his motorcycle and sped toward Los Angeles.
Two hours later, Hunter sat inside a private guest room at the LA Continental.
Cole rapidly flipped through the documents Hunter had prepared. Any lingering annoyance over being ignored for a week vanished entirely.
"Excellent. The Continental accepts this purchase."
"What is your asking price?"
Cole was immensely satisfied with the goods. Hunter was selling hard blackmail material on various Los Angeles and California politicians, including a few sitting US Congressmen.
The Continental Hotel's ability to operate globally and protect its assassins didn't just come from firepower. It was built on a terrifying, century-old network of influence that infiltrated military, political, and corporate spheres worldwide.
As the most powerful nation on Earth, the US had always been a prime target for the Continental's infiltration efforts. But the country was a complex beast.
Beyond its unrivaled military and technological might, the US was fractured into countless wealthy conglomerates and rival factions. The government alone boasted dozens of intelligence agencies.
The CIA and FBI were particularly troublesome. Even the Continental couldn't guarantee it could smooth things over with them every single time.
As the Continental expanded, plenty of greedy American syndicates and corrupt politicians had set their sights on its wealth. If the organization wasn't so deeply entrenched, those vultures would have torn it apart long ago.
To survive, the Continental had to make strategic compromises while constantly expanding its arsenal. It recruited elite assassins while bribing and blackmailing politicians to act as political shields.
This dark web of leverage was the true foundation of the Continental's continued reign.
Seeing the satisfied gleam in Cole's eyes, Hunter knew the deal was secured. He had his terms ready the moment Cole asked.
"I want two hundred Gold Coins," Hunter said with a smile. "I also need the Continental to supply me with a specific batch of weapons."
"Here is the list of equipment I require."
Hunter didn't ask for cash. For one, asking for raw cash felt a bit vulgar, and he doubted Cole could easily authorize such a massive liquid payout on the spot.
Secondly, Continental Gold Coins were essentially untraceable currency. This was one of the organization's open secrets.
Many factions that didn't qualify for official Continental membership would buy these coins on the black market to access the hotel's exclusive services.
Therefore, asking for Gold Coins was just as good as asking for cash. Furthermore, the actual minting cost of a single coin was quite low, barely exceeding two thousand dollars in raw gold value.
Cole's smile widened at the request.
He didn't agree immediately. Instead, he took the written list from Hunter and scanned the items.
The heavy ordnance required a bit of logistical maneuvering. Hunter had requested five man-portable anti-tank missile systems and five shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles.
The rest of the list consisted of customized sniper rifles, machine guns, and assault rifles. Those were neither overly expensive nor requested in unreasonable quantities.
After a quick mental calculation, Cole gave a brisk nod.
"No problem. Your terms are very reasonable."
"I can authorize this immediately. I'll provide the Gold Coins to you today."
"However, the weaponry will take two or three days to source, even for the LA Continental."
"I can have it delivered directly to your farm when it's ready. How does that sound?"
"That sounds perfect," Hunter agreed smoothly. "It saves me the trouble of making another trip."
Read ahead with 100+ chapters now with daily updates!
@patreon.com/Authorizz