Chapter 55 He's Not a Fool

The goal is clear, the path is very clear. Now Arthur knows what to do, so when he sees Frank again, he won't hesitate.

"Captain, I can acquire King's Defense, but I have a few conditions."

Frank seemed surprised, staring at Arthur dumbfoundedly, and finally poured out his thoughts.

"You went to Danny's assessment, but you didn't join the Flames of War, right? Did he give you any advice?"

Frank wasn't stupid at all, not in the least. His powers of observation were very keen. With just a few words from Arthur, Frank saw through the truth.

But Arthur was not flustered at all. He sat very seriously in front of Frank, and suddenly slammed his hand on the table, making a loud noise.

It hurt a bit, quite a bit, but there had to be momentum!

Arthur angrily said, "I was humiliated! So I want to show Danny what kind of person I am!"

Frank frowned and said, "Danny humiliated you? Impossible. I know what kind of person Danny is. He's a cold-blooded animal, but he would never intentionally insult anyone. He's a qualified, no, he's an outstanding professional manager. He wouldn't deliberately provoke anyone."

With a cold face, Arthur took out a piece of paper from his pocket, slapped it on the table with a bang, and then said coldly, "He didn't insult me verbally, but he gave me this, and then politely rejected me. Tell me, if this isn't humiliation, what is it?"

Frank furrowed his brow, took Arthur's assessment form, glanced at it, and then said in surprise, "Since when did the Flames of War start assessments? You only got a C? Well, that is indeed a bit embarrassing."

Arthur said seriously, "I can't join the Flames of War, so I can only do it myself. Captain, if you want to sell King's Defense, then I'll buy it, and then I'll run it myself. I want to turn King's Defense into a company bigger and stronger than the Flames of War Military Group."

Frank looked at the assessment form and said, "Your combat is actually an A, but your shooting is only an A? Did Danny make a mistake, or did you not perform well? As for physical fitness and technical tactics, giving you D and F evaluations is quite accurate."

Arthur angrily said, "Did you hear what I just said? I said I want to buy King's Defense, but I have conditions!"

After putting down Arthur's assessment form, Frank said seriously, "This is a humiliation for you. I agree with your point of view. Tell me, what are your conditions?"

Arthur sighed and said, "First, tell me, what is the most profitable business of King's Defense now?"

Frank's eyes wandered and finally landed on Arthur's assessment form. He said softly, "Well, our main business now is home defense, with a total of forty-seven clients."

"Please be more specific. How much money can these forty-seven household clients make in a year?"

Frank seemed hesitant, and Arthur understood. He said in surprise, "A loss? Tell me how you charge."

"Uh, we charge $2,400 a year, which is $200 a month." Frank stated the revenue, then whispered, "But the number of our clients is increasing year by year."

Arthur didn't say anything. He raised his head and calculated in his mind, then said in extreme surprise, "One hundred and twelve thousand eight hundred dollars a year?"

Frank didn't speak, just lowered his head and said, "This is only part of the business."

"Give me the company's financial statements, or the account book, or anything that shows the accounts!"

Frank scratched his head and said, "Uh, although our company is currently loss-making, the prospects are very good."

Arthur stared at Frank and said, "Tell me, how much is the salary of the employees? Tell me the total, don't make me add them up one by one."

Frank said in a low voice, "This, the employees know that the company is not doing well now and are willing to take a pay cut. After you take over..."

Arthur angrily said, "Speak!"

"Fifty-two thousand dollars, approximately."

Arthur couldn't believe his ears. He swallowed his saliva and said, "Is that the total, or is it the salary after deducting ours?"

"Uh, um, the salary of six people..."

Arthur scratched his head hard. He now understood why Danny said Frank was keeping a bunch of salary thieves.

"What are the fixed expenses?"

"Not much fixed expenses. The rent is eighty thousand dollars a year, uh, insurance requires over forty thousand, and other miscellaneous expenses are about a hundred thousand dollars, uh, uh, that's about it."

Arthur waited firmly for Frank, then said seriously, "You spend seven hundred and forty thousand dollars a year, but your income is only a hundred and ten thousand dollars. Tell me, how did you manage to hold on until now before deciding to go bankrupt?"

"Income is certainly much more than a hundred and ten thousand. We have a lot of odd jobs to take on. Last year, we earned about... five hundred thousand dollars in total."

Arthur waved his hand repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay, stop. Now I understand why you didn't sell the company to John, or Rubber and George because you are good brothers, and I'm a newcomer, so you're trying to screw me over."

Frank stood up, furious. "How can you say that? When have I ever tried to screw you over? I..."

Arthur interrupted him without hesitation. "Apply for bankruptcy, clear all debts, and after laying off all the employees, then sell the company to me. I can continue to run your blood, but I will not take over the mess before it's cleaned up."

Frank hesitated, speaking softly, "Arthur, they are very good employees who have worked with me for many years. If I fire them..."

Arthur interrupted without hesitation, "If you don't, then I will have to, and that will require a severance payment. Do you know my financial situation? Do you think I can afford it? So you bankrupt the company first. Only then will I be willing to spend money to buy your worthless company? Otherwise, there's no need to continue talking."

Frank hesitated for a while, then finally sighed and said, "Okay, I'll apply for bankruptcy..."

"Second condition, you have to recommend me to your friends, like Mr. Smith, like Sebastian we met in Bogotá. You have to give me their contact information, and you have to tell them that I am your... successor."

Arthur used the term "successor" because he thought this term would make Frank agree to his request.

But Frank hesitated, furrowing his brow. "No, I can't go and bother them. We..."

Before Frank could finish, Arthur pointed to himself and said, "Look at me, I'm only twenty-four years old. Besides you guys, I don't know anyone in America. I've given you all my money. Now you want me to take over King's Defense, but you're not willing to help me at all. Do you feel ashamed?"

Frank said hesitantly, "I will do everything I can to help you, but I can't ask those friends to help you. It's not appropriate..."

Arthur angrily said, "Did I say I wanted them to help me? Can't I do business with them? You introduce me to a few clients. Whether we can cooperate is between me and them. What, do you think I'm going to beg your friends for help?"

Frank licked his lips, still looking embarrassed. But in the end, he nodded and said, "Uh, okay, whether we can cooperate is up to you and them, but I will explain this to my friends. Also, I won't introduce you to those who are inconvenient to disturb."

With the two objectives achieved, clearing out the old employees and taking over the contacts, Arthur was very satisfied. Everything was just as Danny had said. If he talked business with Frank, he would talk it to death. But if he talked about morality with Frank, Frank would sell himself clean.

Think about it, the company spends over seven hundred thousand dollars a year, but its income is only over a hundred thousand. Plus some scattered protection tasks, it's still less than two hundred thousand. Frank can keep the company until now, he must be quite foolish.

No wonder Frank runs a company but can't even come up with the funds to go treasure hunting. With his current situation, without a windfall, he can forget about experiencing "dreams come true" in Colombia in this lifetime.

"Come on, take out your phone. Let me see your contact list." Arthur took out his phone aggressively and pointed it at Frank. "I'll add useful contacts, but I won't add useless ones. I won't even save personal numbers. Hurry up, don't dawdle."

Frank looked surprised and suspicious. "Now? Isn't it too soon?"

Arthur snapped, "Do you want me to wait for you to go through your phone book before giving it to me? Do you think I'm trying to cheat you? Do you have no trust at all?"

Arthur's sudden assertiveness caught Frank off guard. He looked at him blankly and said, "This, this, this is not how things are done. If you take over the company..."

"Forget it then." Arthur took back his assessment form and said indifferently, "Anyway, I don't expect to get any business from the Department of Defense. I'll just start my own company. I will make Danny regret it! But that's none of your concern."

Through a surprise turn of events, Arthur would contact them himself, which was much better than having Frank make the introduction.

"No problem, give me your number."

Frank didn't take out his cell phone but a satellite phone. He then said in a low voice, "You promise."

"I promise."

Frank opened the satellite phone, and when he opened the phone book, he suddenly said, "Wait a minute, why do I feel like Danny has told me all this before?"

Arthur said indifferently, "Oh, Danny asked me to take over your company and advised me to lay off employees and take over your contacts. Although I dislike Danny, I think his advice is good. As for me, even if I dislike someone if what they say makes sense, I will still listen. That's a necessary quality for a successful person."

"Do you dislike Danny?"

Arthur was very serious. He locked eyes with Frank and said, emphasizing each word, "I will make Danny regret it! Listen, Danny insulted me. He said you are incompetent... Sorry, but I will make him see! How King's Defense can defeat the Flames of War in my hands!"

Frank seemed to be feeling a surge of blood. He whispered, "What did Danny say about me?"

"Forget it, what good words could there be between you two."

"Tell me!"

Seeing that Frank was anxious, Arthur finally whispered, "He said you're a good soldier, but in business, you're an incompetent, foolish, naive, romantic, and somewhat idealistic idiot. Otherwise, you wouldn't have handed King's Defense to me, a... kid. Those were his exact words, Rubber and George can testify."

With a loud bang, Frank stood up and slammed his hand heavily on the table, angrily saying, "That damn cold-blooded bastard!"

Arthur had never thought that Frank's eyes could widen so much. He looked at Frank in astonishment and asked, "Are you... okay?"

Frank roared, "I'm not selling it anymore!"

Uh-oh, he might have pushed too hard.

Arthur immediately felt that Danny's suggestion was too forceful.

But soon, Frank, with an angry expression, said, "I'll give it to you!"

Was this acceptable?

No, this was not acceptable. Arthur wanted to take over a clean, trouble-free King's Defense, not to deceive a good man like Frank. So, if he accepted King's Defense for free, it would mean his moral character had deteriorated.

"You're giving it to me? Do you still have money or bank loans? Are you planning on personal bankruptcy?"

Frank's expression immediately stiffened, and he furrowed his brow.

Arthur whispered, "Give me the phone now and then go apply for bankruptcy. Then sell King's Defense to me. I'll take care of the rest. By doing this, you've already helped me a lot."

Frank sighed deeply and said, "Okay! Here, take down my number!"

There weren't many numbers on the satellite phone. Arthur recorded sixteen numbers, including Mr. Smith's private number.

After seeing Arthur jot down the numbers, Frank said, "I'll call Mr. Smith later, and then..."

Frank paused for a moment and said, "Forget it, you speak. Mr. Smith knows you, after all, your identity is something he helped resolve."

Arthur whispered, "Okay, please settle the company's affairs as soon as possible. The sooner, the better. But you saw my assessment form, Captain, you have to help me improve my abilities. Can you spare some time to train me?"

Frank nodded and said seriously, "Okay! I can train you when I have time. For now, let's leave it at that. I have to go find a bankruptcy lawyer. We'll talk more when I come back."

Frank hurriedly left, and after he was gone, Arthur called Danny.

"Danny, hello, I did as you instructed. Frank agreed to bankruptcy, to lay off employees, and gave me his contacts. And now he hates you, but... I'm worried, is this okay?"

"You helped him clear out the salary thieves, took over his mess, rekindled his fighting spirit, and strengthened his belief in defeating me. You prevented him from becoming a drunkard who lives in misery. Is that not good?"

Upon hearing Danny's answer, Arthur felt somewhat reassured, but he still felt uneasy about deceiving an honest person. So he asked with a hint of worry, "If he finds out the truth later, will he want to personally kill me?"

Danny laughed and said, "You won't tell, I won't tell, Rubber and George won't tell. They know Frank's situation too well. Even Mr. Smith won't tell. Frank will never call me, nor will he answer my calls. Do you think he will find out the truth?"

Although he couldn't see it, Arthur couldn't help but nod. He said, "This is also for his good."

"I won't act arbitrarily under the guise of doing good for others." Danny's tone was very serious, but he immediately continued, "But Frank and John are exceptions. If you don't actively help them, these two idiots will end up killing themselves. You have to understand, dealing with such stubborn idiots, if you don't use some means, it's irresponsible to yourself. Remember what I said."

Arthur felt much better after hearing this, even though the words were not pleasant. So he said firmly, "I will never betray my brothers, nor will I harm my friends. Also, Frank is not an idiot!"