Jason had reminded Victor not out of fear, but out of principle.
Victor was a decent person—and more importantly, they were partners on the Bay Project. When Jason had previously asked him to help make contact with the Will family, Victor hadn't hesitated for a second. Even though it hadn't achieved much in the end, at least Victor had done everything he could.
Now that Jason was preparing to move against the Will family, he had no intention of dragging innocent bystanders down with them—or damaging Victor's related industries in the process.
After giving Victor that warning, Jason made another call.
"Olivia," Jason said calmly, "help me investigate the Will family's core business. I also want to know who their main competitors are."
Olivia didn't ask why. She simply acknowledged and got to work.
Not long after, she called back.
"Young Master, the Will family's core business is traditional department-store retail," Olivia reported."Their flagship company is Golden Crown Commerce, which owns multiple high-end shopping malls and luxury brand channels. Their main base is here in California, but they also have influence in several other states."
"They rely heavily on premium malls and long-term partnerships with luxury brands, which gives them a strong foothold in the high-end consumer market."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"They have many competitors, but their biggest one is NextEdge Retail Group. This company focuses on e-commerce combined with offline retail, and they're very strong in digital operations. Their headquarters is also based in the same city."
"Originally, the two companies had different development paths," Olivia added. "But as they expanded, their businesses started overlapping more and more. Naturally, the competition intensified."
"At present, Golden Crown Commerce still has the upper hand due to its solid foundation. However, their digital transformation is slow, and their cash flow depends heavily on offline rental income. Their debt level is quite high."
"Under pressure from the rapidly growing NextEdge Retail, Golden Crown's situation isn't exactly comfortable."
After listening, Jason already had a rough plan forming in his mind.
The only question left was whether to cooperate with NextEdge Retail—or acquire it outright.
The answer came quickly.
Full control meant easier operations. And if handled properly, the company's value could easily double.
"Olivia," Jason said decisively, "evaluate NextEdge Retail's market value. If their price isn't unreasonable, we'll acquire it directly."
Olivia didn't question the decision and immediately proceeded.
After some time, she called again—this time with a slightly puzzled tone.
"Young Master, NextEdge Retail's market valuation is around four billion. Initially, they were willing to negotiate."
"But recently, after being suppressed hard by Golden Crown Commerce, they're clearly struggling to hold on."
"However…" Olivia hesitated. "After hearing that you wanted to acquire them, their attitude suddenly turned hostile. They're demanding an extremely high price."
"Do you have some kind of grudge with their boss?"
As she spoke, Olivia sent over the profile of NextEdge Retail's founder.
Ethan Shaw, forty-three years old, originally from Texas. Unmarried.
Jason frowned slightly.
He didn't recognize the name at all.
"I don't know him," Jason said calmly. "I'm not aware of any conflict either. Transfer the call to me—I'll talk to him personally."
A moment later, the line connected.
Jason didn't waste time on pleasantries.
"Mr. Shaw," he said evenly, "I'm genuinely interested in this acquisition, and the offer we made is by no means low. Is there really a need for such strong resistance?"
"We've never met, and as far as I know, we don't have any grievances. Am I missing something here?"
On the other end of the line, silence followed.
And in that silence, Jason could already sense that this acquisition—might not be as simple as it first appeared.
On the other end of the line, Ethan let out a low, mocking laugh.
"I know you're rich and powerful, Jason," he said coolly. "Your background is deep, and you probably have big players backing you. But I, Ethan, have principles. I won't kneel so easily. If you want to crush me with capital, I'll accept it if I can't hold on."
Jason was genuinely puzzled.
"I've only launched financial attacks against two companies so far," he replied calmly. "Both of them crossed my line first. You and I have no conflict. I won't attack you for no reason."
"If you truly don't want to sell, I can respect that. I just don't understand—why are you so resistant?"
There was a brief pause on the line.
"…If I refuse," Ethan asked slowly, "are you really going to give up just like that?"
"Of course," Jason said without hesitation. "One more friend is always better than one more enemy. Even if we don't go for an acquisition, we can still talk about cooperation."
If the acquisition failed, Jason already had a backup plan—partner with NextEdge Retail to deal with Golden Crown Commerce instead. There was no need to fight Ethan to the death first.
Ethan sounded even more confused.
"Cooperate?" he repeated. "You want to cooperate with me? Aren't you working with the Will family? We're competitors. And now you're telling me you want to cooperate?"
Jason immediately caught the problem.
"Wait," he said. "You think I'm acquiring your company to side with the Will family?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Ethan shot back. "Golden Crown Commerce and the Will family have been suppressing us for years. If they acquire NextEdge Retail, combine high-end malls with digital operations, they'd have no weaknesses left."
"And you just paid a premium of three to four hundred million to buy Moonrise Island from the Will family. Isn't that about building a closer relationship?"
Jason couldn't help laughing.
"You've completely misunderstood."
"First of all, I bought Moonrise Island because I like it. The Will family isn't worth me trying to curry favor with."
"there attitude was acceptable, and I didn't feel like making unnecessary enemies, so I paid a little extra. million means nothing to me."
"But today," Jason continued, his tone turning cold, "his grandson Evan tried to retaliate against me by threatening one of my people."
"It's obvious what his next move would be. Using her to provoke me."
"So let me be clear," Jason said flatly. "I'm not with the Will family. I'm against them. My current goal is to bring down Golden Crown Commerce."
Ethan's breathing grew noticeably heavier.
"Seriously?" he asked. "You're not messing with me?"
"If you can prove it," he continued, "then I'm willing to sell NextEdge Retail to you."
Jason chuckled.
"How would you like me to prove it? Would a video of Evan threatening my people on campus be enough?"
As he spoke, Jason sent over a short video clip.
Someone at the university had filmed the confrontation purely to curry favor with him—his influence on campus had reached that level.
Ethan watched the video in silence.
His suspicion eased—but didn't disappear entirely. He was still wary, worried it might be some elaborate act between Jason and Evan.
After a long moment, Ethan finally spoke.
"Damn it… I've had problems with the Will family for years. They've been using their connections and influence in this city to suppress us at every turn. They even colluded with people at the top to block us completely."
"If you can really take down Golden Crown Commerce," he said slowly, "I'll work for you."
"But there's a condition," Ethan added. "I need proof—not words."
"We can sign a conditional agreement. We'll negotiate the acquisition price now. You said you want to destroy Golden Crown Commerce, right?"
"As long as their high-end retail revenue drops by twenty percent, the contract becomes effective."
In truth, Ethan didn't fully believe Golden Crown Commerce could be shaken so easily. The Will family's roots in the city were too deep.
But if Jason was truly attacking the Will family—and not working with them—then selling was worth considering. After all, Jason was far more capable of dealing with them than he ever could be.
To Jason, this condition was meaningless.
He had already decided to move against the Will family.
"Alright," Jason said casually. "Let's talk about the acquisition price."
Not long after, the deal was settled.
Ethan didn't demand an outrageous premium—only slightly above market value. It was clear he was already struggling under Golden Crown's pressure.
What he cared about far more were the additional clauses—clearly stating that Jason would oppose the Will family, not cooperate with them.
Jason agreed without hesitation.
The contract was signed.
With the first piece in place, Jason moved on to the next step.
He called Olivia and Ethan together.
"It's time," he said calmly, "to discuss how we bring Golden Crown Commerce down."
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