The Tyrant Billionaire

Besides, for safety reasons, the bank had indeed transferred some funds. Currently, there were only a few million HKD and a few hundred thousand USD and GBP in the vault.

Once the withdrawals began, the bank's funds would be drained instantly. If they really ran out of money, the consequences would be far worse than what was happening now.

When David saw the reports about HSBC in the British newspapers, he looked at Hardy in surprise, "Hardy, was this your doing?"

"David, I think now's the time to talk to HSBC," Hardy said with a smile.

...

Victor sent a telegram to Hardy, hoping to meet with him to report in detail the exchange.

Hardy replied, agreeing to the meeting.

Victor boarded a plane to the UK.

When Victor saw Hardy, he was emotionally overwhelmed. His current status in the U.K where he had become an influential figure, was entirely thanks to his boss.

"Boss, it's so good to see you again. I have many things to report," Victor said excitedly.

"Sit down and tell me," Hardy replied.

Victor took out his notebook and began to report, starting from when he first arrived in London. He covered everything: Hardy's auction company, penicillin transactions, the progress of the construction of the penicillin pharmaceutical factory, buying houses and stockpiling land, the status of dozens of companies in the industrial zone, and more investment he had done in france and Switzerland.

Finally, he spoke about the latest deal with Mr. Xu.

"I acquired more than 60 million in bills of exchange and savings certificates from Mr. Xu, including over 26 million in HSBC bills."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Mr. Xu wants a large quantity of drugs, weapons and some medicines. This is their list," Victor said as he handed the list to Hardy.

Hardy took the list and looked it over.

It included drugs, medical equipment, weapons, ammunition, airplanes, warships, grain, cloth, and spying equipment.

Victor continued, "I exchanged these notes at a ratio of 100:1. However, the volume of materials they're requesting is so large that this money is far from enough, so they are hoping for credit."

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Hardy looked at the list for a while than glanced at Victor.

He had instructed him not to exchange below 50:1, but the sly guy had managed to keep it at 100:1, which was still gratifying. A large portion of these notes were bound to be unrecoverable, and other banks wouldn't be easy to deal with either, coming up with countless excuses. Even for a huge entity such as the Hardy Group, exchanging 80% of those notes was already the limit.

Not everyone has the ability to collect this money. This was pretty much stealing from the banks that were already stealing from other people. Such a troublesome business required more than just wealth to handle—only the mafia, who dabbled in shady dealings, would take on such a deal.

Hardy handed the list back to Victor.

"Give them credit, but don't go below an 80:1 ratio. They aren't the most trustworthy fellows. You can get everything on this list. Contact Bill; he has shipping and smuggling routes. Have him reroute the goods abroad and then ship them back."

Anti-aircraft guns and heavy artillery couldn't be shipped directly to Hong Kong, as there were no legitimate sales channels. If anyone investigated, it would be difficult to explain. They could go through Africa or the Middle East, where weapons were in high demand.

Once the goods landed, the clients would pick them up. After that, it would be hard to trace their use, making the whole operation more discreet.

"We have aircraft engines. The security aviation club has 100 sets available, no, let's say 160 sets."

When Hardy had bought planes, he'd purchased 16 different models, including fighters and transport aircraft, ten of each type. He had instructed Colonel Beach to supply two engines for each plane, meaning Hardy had 320 surplus engines.

He could sell half of them and later claim they'd been scrapped.

"Victor, tell them we have 320 engines available, along with some spare parts," Hardy said.

Hardy had already made up his mind. He would return and invite Colonel Beach to Las Vegas for a business meeting for a few days before extorting a few hundred more engines. Damn it, he was the main distributor—so what if he took a few hundred engines?

Victor blinked and glanced at his boss, thinking, Why does the number keep going up?

Victor flashed a flattering smile.

"I can't compare to your foresight and boldness, boss. I only know one thing: following your orders is never wrong. Don't worry, boss. I'll take care of everything perfectly," Victor assured him.

Hardy nodded in approval.

Victor's ability to execute orders was indeed exceptional.

Hardy nodded. "Good, the Hong Kong matter will be left to you to finish. If we get this deal successfully, you'll get a good cut from it."

"Rest assured, boss. I'll handle everything perfectly," Victor replied with excitement.

"Once I'm done here in the UK, I plan to visit Hong Kong soon. It won't be long," Hardy said.

Victor was overjoyed.

"That's wonderful news, boss! I'll make all the necessary arrangements."

Victor stayed in the UK for just one day before returning to Hong Kong. He quickly informed Mr. Xu of Hardy's decision and arranged a meeting for that evening on the second floor.

"Mr. Xu, I've consulted the boss. He has agreed to sell you heavey weapons and give you credit for some of the materials," Victor said.

Mr. Xu was overjoyed.

"How much credit are we talking about?" he asked.

Victor held up one finger.

Victor said "One hundred thousdands U.S. dollars."

Mr. Xu felt delighted, though not too much. It wasn't easy getting anything from the Hardy Group, and he was prepared for their refusal.

They had tried contacting other businessmen to see if they could get a better deal than the Hardy Group, but no other business groups had the courage to take on such a venture. Now, the Hardy Group was willing to give them items worth hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars on credit.