Dear Heroes, I really am a Villain-Chapter 80: Gu Weizhong Choice

Maximilian didn’t respond immediately. He looked around the room, observing every board director’s face. Considering these people’s resources, what should he demand to ensure they understood this was a consequence... without pushing them too far?

After all, this was a public company. Even though the Gu family held most of the shares, Maximilian knew their control couldn’t exceed a certain threshold. He also wasn’t sure how many shares they actually owned.

"I have a choice for you... You can choose one, Mr. Gu. Either give me 5% of your corporation’s shares or... give me your son Gu Tian’s right arm," Maximilian said, holding up two fingers toward Gu Weizhong.

[Max... are you trying to play the role of that Murim arm-collecting demon lord?] Atherna asked suspiciously.

{Huh? No, not that guy. I don’t plan to collect people’s arms left and right like him. It’s just a ploy; since the guy’s his father, I figured he’d choose to preserve his son’s arm. Isn’t this kid supposed to be his heir?}

While bantering with Atherna, Gu Weizhong was visibly shaken by the demand.

"What!? That’s impossible!" Gu Weizhong shouted, enraged.

Despite holding the majority of the stock, that majority only amounted to 15% of the overall shares. If Gu Weizhong gave Maximilian 5%, the Gu family would instantly lose administrative control, and a new CEO would be elected by the board of directors.

For the Gu family, losing administrative rights was absolutely unacceptable.

Gu Weizhong glared furiously at Maximilian. This guy was vicious! He’d offered two choices, but both were poison to the Gu family and their corporation.

The first option, giving up 5% of the shares, was completely out of the question. The Gu family couldn’t afford to lose control of the company. As for the second option, it sounded less damaging on the surface, but as a father, Gu Weizhong knew his son’s personality all too well, especially Gu Tian’s.

Gu Tian was grudge-holding and petty. He would never forget this kind of humiliation. If Gu Weizhong chose the second option, the Gu family, and even their faction within the company, would most likely fracture from within, weakening their control even further.

It was a choice between losing power now... or losing it later.

This man! His offer sounded simple, but it was laced with venom. A wolf in sheep’s clothing! He must not be underestimated!

Maximilian, seeing the man’s expression, as if he’d just swallowed a fly, had no idea what was going through Gu Weizhong’s head at the moment.

Even if he had known, Maximilian would’ve said: "Bro... you’re seriously overthinking this."

"Can... it be 0.5 percent!?" Gu Weizhong asked, attempting to negotiate.

He chose his words carefully. That 0.5% was actually a very generous offer, considering that the Golden Valley food brand held at least 80% of Arkadia’s food market. That meant more than 30 million people out of the city-state’s 40 million population were consuming their products.

Moreover, the company had a contract with the UEC military to supply rations. That 0.5% equated to an astronomical amount of money, and it’s more than the annual payouts to even the top 20 ranked global Heroes.

"Do I look like I want to negotiate?" Maximilian replied flatly, staring directly at Gu Weizhong.

Come on... the guy is your son! he thought. This shouldn’t be so hard, right? It’s just 5% of your shares. What’s the big deal? I’m sure you’ve got more than 25% anyway.

"You...!" Gu Weizhong gritted his teeth. He looked at his son, Gu Tian, then at the board of directors. Some of them couldn’t help but smirk at his dilemma, especially those from the opposing faction.

They were all sly old foxes, and they understood exactly what this represented. The expert clearly wanted Gu Weizhong to choose between two terrible options. But which was the lesser evil in Gu Weizhong perspective?

Would he give up control of the company now? Or risk having a vengeful, petty son waiting for the right time to stab him in the back?

Even they couldn’t say what the better option was. But they had to admit... it was a brilliantly venomous move by the expert.

"I... I..." Gu Weizhong glanced at his son once more, then quickly turned to Maximilian. "I choose the second option!" he said, surprising Maximilian.

"Huh?" Maximilian blurted out, drawing the attention of a few board members. Is he actually surprised? they wondered.

Gu Weizhong was known as a heartless man, someone who did everything for the sake of the company’s growth and to secure his position as patriarch of The Gu family. Of course he would choose to sacrifice his son.

Maximilian frowned. Isn’t this guy supposed to be a father? Shouldn’t he have at least some fatherly love? What the hell...? he thought.

But since he’d already made the offer, he wasn’t going to go back on his word.

Maximilian slowly stood up from his seat and produced a machete from his long coat, but he took it out of his system storage. He walked toward Gu Tian, looking at him with pity.

"I already offered your father a choice... such a pity..." Maximilian uttered before swinging the machete down, severing Gu Tian’s right arm.

"Arrrggghh!" Gu Tian collapsed to the ground, his right arm cleanly cut off. Maximilian picked up the arm, staring at it with hollow eyes.

Seriously... what should I even do with this thing? He thought to himself, then turned and began walking out of the executive meeting room.

Both Switch and Gu Yichen watched this with a hint of reluctance, but Gu Yichen gave a nod to Switch.

"You follow him first. Let me handle some business here. I’ll catch up with you and Grandmaster later," Gu Yichen said. Switch nodded and followed Maximilian out of the room.

"Please wait!" a voice called out just as Maximilian was about to leave.

Maximilian turned and saw a man who looked like an old British noble standing up and raising his hand. He was the one who had called out.

"Please wait a minute, Grandmaster." The man, whose name was Kingsley, quickly walked toward Maximilian and offered him a business card.

"On behalf of Kingsley Group, I’m happy to offer you a 1% share of our company. If you’re ever interested in what we do or need our assistance in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out," the man said with a disarming smile.

The offer caught Maximilian off guard. He didn’t think his personal charisma alone would be enough for someone to willingly give up 1% of a company’s shares. Clearly, this man hoped to achieve something through him. Still, since the gift had been offered, he would not refuse it.

"Thank you... Mr.?" Maximilian began, then realized he didn’t even know the man’s name.

"I’m Kingsley. Benedict Kingsley, the current CEO of the Kingsley Group in the Triune City-State down south. At your service," Benedict said with a smile as he extended a hand.

"Max Sterling Graham... a nobody who just arrived in Arkadia City-State," Maximilian introduced himself with a hint of sarcasm.

"Haha, you jest, Mr. Graham. If you’re a nobody, then the rest of us aren’t even worth mentioning," Benedict replied with a laugh.

Maximilian didn’t argue. In his mind, he was just a nobody, no fame, no reputation, just a man who’d been thrown into this world.

"It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Kingsley. Now, if you’ll excuse me..." Maximilian said before leaving the room, with Switch trailing behind him.

After Maximilian had left, all eyes turned toward Gu Yichen. They all wanted to know who exactly this Graham guy was. And how did Gu Yichen know him?

"Grh..." Gu Tian groaned, clearly unable to hold on much longer. His face had gone pale from blood loss.

"Gu Tian!" Gu Weizhong cried out, catching his son as he collapsed. Gu Tian clenched his teeth, struggling to suppress his emotional turmoil.

"You understand me, right? Son... we can’t afford to lose control of our company," Gu Weizhong whispered into Gu Tian’s ear, causing the boy to grit his teeth even harder.

Gu Tian’s emotions raged within him before he suddenly calmed... no, more accurately, he forced them down, suppressing them with sheer will.

"Yes, Father... I understand," Gu Tian said with a smile before losing consciousness due to blood loss.

Whether he truly understood or was simply burying his hatred deep within... only Gu Tian himself knew his real thoughts.

The paramedics were called, and hospital personnel arrived quickly in a hover ambulance.

After Gu Tian was taken to the hospital, everyone in the board meeting room turned their attention to Gu Yichen.

"Now, tell me... where did you find that guy? How could he endure all those EF inhibitor waves without showing any signs of weakening?" Gu Weizhong asked. This was the question on most of the board directors’ minds as well.

"I don’t think Grandmaster relies on EF," Gu Yichen replied.

"What do you mean? If he doesn’t rely on EF, then how is he so strong?" Gu Weizhong pressed further.

"You might not believe me, but here, this is what I witnessed."

Gu Yichen then began to recount everything he had seen and experienced during the expedition.