I heard Harvey Brown freeze for a moment after my words, then he exploded with laughter.
"Babe, did you hear what this idiot just said? He said he'd give me a chance, hahaha!" Harvey laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.
Lyla couldn't suppress her sneer. "Mason Raymond, just one day without seeing you and it seems you've lost your mind. Did you forget how badly you got beaten yesterday?"
I didn't waste time explaining. I fixed my cold stare on Harvey and repeated, "Harvey Brown, I'm only giving you this one chance."
Harvey scratched his ear and said, "What did you say?"
"I said, kneel down and apologize to me. I—"
"Fuck your mother!" Harvey cut me off mid-sentence and swung his heavy fist toward my face!
Before his fist could even touch me, I slapped it away, sending his body flying violently into the wall!
Lyla swallowed nervously, seemingly unable to process what she was witnessing!
I saw her thinking: how could Mason Raymond, a man who couldn't even truss up a chicken, suddenly possess such immense strength?
"You son of a bitch... you're dead!" Harvey struggled to stand up from the ground and charged at me again.
My face remained expressionless as I delivered a powerful kick to Harvey's stomach.
The kick knocked him down completely, leaving him unable to rise.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, and severe pain contorted his face in agony.
I looked down at my own hands, feeling a surge of excitement!
"So it looks like... this is all real." My exhilaration was overwhelming!
Harvey lay on the ground, attempting several times to get up but failing each attempt.
I didn't want to waste any more time with scum like him, so I shot a cold glare at Harvey and said, "Don't mess with me again."
After throwing down those words, I turned and walked away.
It wasn't until I was far gone that Lyla snapped out of her daze.
She rushed over to help Harvey up and said anxiously, "Honey, are you okay?"
Harvey's face twisted with fury. He clenched his teeth tightly and said venomously, "I'm going to destroy him! I swear I'm going to destroy him!"
...
I held onto a little more than a hundred bucks and searched every pharmacy in River City, but with so little money, most of the herbs I could buy were dried-out and ineffective.
"I guess I'll just have to take it one step at a time," I muttered as I gazed down at the wilted herbs in my hands, sighing softly.
At that moment, my phone began to ring.
I glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Lyla Lucas.
An expression of disgust flashed across my face. I picked up the phone and said coldly, "What do you want?"
On the other end of the line, Lyla sneered, "Mason Raymond, huh? You've really grown some guts, haven't you? Daring to hit Harvey Brown! Let me warn you, you better go apologize to Harvey immediately, or else..."
I didn't want to hear her nonsense, so I directly hung up the phone.
Lyla was momentarily stunned. Her face turned red as she raged, "That useless little shit actually dared to hang up on me!"
She gritted her teeth and dialed my number again.
"What the hell do you want to say?" I asked impatiently.
Lyla spat through clenched teeth, "Harvey Brown already called Woods Walters. You just wait; Woods Walters is definitely going to ruin you!"
With that, Lyla hung up first.
My expression darkened.
Woods Walters was infamous in River City. Over the years, he'd conspired with real estate developers to amass a fortune through shady dealings.
Nowadays, he even maintained a team of enforcers under his command.
It was no exaggeration to say that nobody in River City wanted to mess with Woods Walters!
I sighed softly and murmured under my breath, "My power still isn't strong enough yet. Otherwise, there'd be no need to fear someone like Woods Walters."
Despite my bravado, I knew I had no other choice but to take things one step at a time for now.
——
Mabel Sean sat in her manor, sipping tea.
"Miss, our banquet will be held three days from now. Here's a guest list I've drafted for your review," her secretary said, handing her the list.
Mabel took the list.
The names included not only River City's prominent businesspeople but also big shots from Chuzzle.
"Add one more person," Mabel suddenly said.
The secretary hesitated and tentatively asked, "Miss, who should I add?"
"Mason Raymond," Mabel said with a faint smile.
Hearing this name, the secretary's expression turned somewhat sour.
"Miss, Mason Raymond isn't a businessman at all," the secretary said cautiously.
Mabel didn't care in the slightest.
She said coolly, "If I say he is, then he is."
"Not only will I make Mason Raymond attend, but I'll make sure everyone in River City knows him."
"I want everyone in River City to know that Mason Raymond belongs to me, Mabel Sean!"