Before coming, Mr. Herbs had considered how to persuade Lynch to agree to terminate the contract early—he would give Lynch a breach penalty with as much compensation as possible.

This compensation wasn't in cash but in other materials, such as real estate and chattel.

Compared to the monetary value directly reflected in currency denominations and international exchange rates, the value of real estate and some investment goods cannot be estimated as accurately, like a house.

No one can accurately assess how much a house is worth; they will give a house a threshold with a fluctuating range, and even this range is not accurate enough.

Too many factors can affect the value of a house, such as the value of the land beneath it, the potential appreciation brought by future City Hall planning, or if a famous person once lived there.

The intrinsic value of the house is influenced by various additional values, and ultimately, this price may exceed people's expectations.

Then there are various investment products, like gems; just collapse a few major mining areas of gemstone varieties, and the price of gems will soar instantly.

The prices of these things can change due to external factors, and that's the method Mr. Herbs thought of. He would use these methods to make up for Lynch, so his losses wouldn't be as big.

In his hands, there are more than one house worth over a million; slight manipulation to make these houses appraise at 20% more isn't difficult. Furthermore, these movable and immovable properties have no apparent value until realized; using them to settle debts actually elevates their value and significance. This is a good strategy.

At this moment, Mr. Herbs lamented, pleading with Lynch, "I'm only saying this to help you understand the most helpless state of an old man at this time. I've lost, Mr. Lynch, I implore you to terminate the agreement early!"

Lynch looked at him while he kept his head down.

Lynch then chuckled a few times, took a sip of coffee. Gafura's coffee is vastly different from the Federation's.

Coffee beans in the Federation aren't excessively roasted, and large amounts of sugar and fresh milk are added to improve the taste, sometimes making it hard to tell if the Federation coffee is sweet milk with coffee or coffee with sweet milk.

Gafura's coffee is different. They use a stronger fire while roasting coffee beans, making the extract more aromatic; they aren't fond of adding too much sugar and milk.

On this topic, some scholars who have nothing better to do and like to study everything believe it's due to historical reasons; sugar had always been an expensive spice, unaffordable for Gafura's commoners to balance the taste of coffee.

Moreover, Gafura people think the milky taste of fresh milk ruins the aroma of coffee, so they would almost never add sugar and milk unless the guests ask for it.

However, these conditions have been changing in recent years. They might not add much milk, but some places add a bit of sugar or provide extra sugar packets for guests to choose.

The wealth of the nation has brought sugar more into people's lives, thus splitting coffee lovers into two factions; one supports the original flavor, the other supports adding spices to enhance the coffee's style.

The cup Lynch drank had no sugar or milk added. After heavy roasting, the coffee beans no longer had any sour taste; the aroma was fully released. Meanwhile, the oiliness in the coffee increased, making the texture thicker, with an unexpectedly delicious flavor.

Middle-aged people will never be swayed by sweetness; they prefer the sweet aftertaste following bitterness and the lingering taste between their lips and teeth.

Putting down the coffee cup, Lynch looked at Mr. Herbs, "Mr. Herbs, the world is always full of surprises and unexpected events; nothing ever goes perfectly as planned."

"Neither you, nor I, not even the great humans who once existed or still exist, or even the deities whose existence we aren't sure of, can accurately control all processes and results."

"Two years ago, I just earned some money; you know, for someone like me, making money is quite difficult, so I had to earn my first money through some gray areas."

"It might be illegal, but it was fast. I had a detailed plan, with every step of what to do and what feedback to expect, and these…," Lynch waved his hand slightly, like a player moving pieces on a chessboard, "…were all perfectly planned by me."

"Most of the time, these things went as planned, providing positive feedback. But one time, there was an issue with the plan!"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Herbs vaguely sensed something wrong but, at this moment, he needed help and couldn't interrupt Lynch.

Lynch looked at him with a half-smile, "In my plan, I would acquire auctioned items at a very low price from judicial auctions, leaving me with hundreds of thousands in surplus for the next step."

"Each step was independently interlinked, and any one of them going wrong would ruin everything."

"I thought my plan was flawless until someone unexpected appeared, and I had to bid a million more for what I wanted, which nearly emptied my liquid capital and almost stalled the plans that followed."

"Even to the point of,"

"Almost ruining all my plans!"

"Then, the one who disrupted my plans told me it was just a small trick; he gained nothing, risked nothing, yet left me in a dire spot."

"He even told me it was my honor…"

Lynch couldn't help but laugh, taking another sip of coffee, "You should try this coffee; it tastes much better than the Federation's. I should take some with me when I leave."

Under Lynch's gaze, after a brief silence, Mr. Herbs' expression changed.

Previously, he looked like an old man on the brink of a heart attack, but now there was a natural sharpness to his face. He slightly lowered his head, looking up at Lynch, "You're taking revenge on me just because I made you spend more."

"Revenge?" Lynch laughed heartily, "No, you've misunderstood, Mr. Herbs. I'm not petty. I'm only giving you a chance to become my friend."

"If you don't go bankrupt this time, you'll be qualified to be my friend. You should feel honored, as not many have my friendship, right?"

Mr. Herbs struggled to contain his emotions, and his expression turned furious, "Just because of less than a million, you're trying to bankrupt me. You're insane, you know?!"

He raised his voice, finding it outrageous; after all, it's just a million, not worth all this.

The gift he gave Lynch during their last meeting was about that amount, yet over this sum, insignificant to either of them, he was nearly going bankrupt.

This isn't merely a "loss"—such a major blunder would cause almost all investors to withdraw, be it international ones or domestic, like his royal brother and those nobles.

But he couldn't come up with that much money in such a short time, and once the international community knows, his real estate and investment goods will be difficult to sell at a high price.

Don't think his minor international fame would earn him goodwill; that's impossible.

The first thing those people would do knowing he's in trouble is to press him to bankruptcy, so they can acquire all his assets for cheaper!

He's almost finished, all because of a million!

How can he not be angry, not delirious?

Lynch was in a good mood, his face full of smiles, "You can't think so simply. By your reasoning, it's just an insignificant loss; even you can't bear it?" he looked at Mr. Herbs and chuckled softly.

"That million you made me pay almost severely injured me. I'm just doing the same thing now. I believe you can endure, Mr. Herbs, and probably want to be my friend too, right?"

Seeing Mr. Herbs about to lose control, Lynch suddenly shook his finger, "Well, Mr. Herbs, even though I can't terminate our contract early, we can compromise a bit."

If Mr. Herbs, at the verge of rage, didn't immediately agree upon hearing this, he took a moment to seriously ponder and then asked, "I apologize for my earlier outburst, Mr. Lynch. You are a gentleman, and I hope you can understand my current mood."

Lynch generously nodded, "Of course, Mr. Herbs, I understand, and that's also why I thought of a middle way."

"I can loan you money, and however you handle it, as long as you return it to me after a while, just doing this can cover many of your losses. What do you say?"

Seeing Lynch's sincere gaze, Mr. Herbs suddenly felt a sinister chill rising from his heels, turning into a cold breeze up his spine, giving him a shiver—something felt wrong.

Could this be a new trap?

He hesitated but couldn't help being tempted.

After hesitating for a while, he asked, "How much do you have?"

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