Chapter 11 Banquet

• “It's my bestie, Natalie Baines!” Bethany, who was standing beside Zachary, exclaimed as she immediately recognized Natalie's car at a glance. Natalie and Cecilia were in the car. Since Bethany had yet to meet Natalie's husband, she did not know the relationship between Zachary and Natalie. At once, she halted her steps in front of the café and said to Zachary excitedly, “Mr. Idol, you want to get to know some rich people, right? Look at the pretty girl in the car in front of us. She's one of the rich people in our social circle. Her name is Natalie Baines. Her mother's family owns a business and is considered wealthy and powerful in this area. Moreover, her father is a powerful person. He is the former chief of the police department!”
• “Oh?” Zachary's lips curled into a playful smile.
• From their interactions over the past few days and Felix's diary, Zachary had already guessed that Natalie had a decent family background. However, he had assumed Natalie was from an ordinary family or a family with a middle-class income at best. He had never imagined that she was the daughter of a wealthy family and the former chief.
• Natalie had always been keeping a low profile. She could afford a Porsche, but she only drove a Volkswagen Passat.
• “Mommy, it's Felix.” Sitting in the car, Cecilia saw Zachary at a glance as well. She felt an unspeakable shock when she saw Zachary standing beside Bethany, whom she liked.
• “Let's go.” Natalie's eyes suddenly turned cold. She only honked once at Bethany before she turned the steering wheel of her Volkswagen Passat and drove to the right.
• When the car passed by Zachary, Natalie did not look at him and merely ignored him.
• Felix, you impressed me again. Not only are you a cowardly and lustful person who stole money from a woman, but you're also a toy boy and even hooked up with my best friend. Pfft...
• The old general, Tobias Winston, had four successful sons, with Bethany being his granddaughter. His eldest son was a major-general and the military chief of staff, while his second son was the mayor of a city in the state who would be promoted as the vice-governor within two years. Bethany was the daughter of the third son of the Winston family, one of the top three wealthiest people in the local area, with a fortune of more than a billion.
• When the car drove away, Natalie could not help but look at the phone in the car. What a sly man! He must know that Bethany comes from a wealthy family and has gotten her contact from my contact list.
• “Huh? Why did Nat drive away?” Bethany was slightly surprised when she saw Natalie's car coming and suddenly driving away. Soon, Bethany awkwardly explained to Zachary, “Mr. Idol, I'm sorry. My friend has always been like this. She's a cool girl and is casual in doing things. She will do whatever she likes on ordinary days and isn't bothered to explain the reason to others. Even the chief can't control her. Maybe something happened to her. Don't worry about it. We have a gathering in the city tomorrow. I'll ask her to come, and you two can get to know each other tomorrow.”
• “No worries. I don't mind that.” Zachary smiled.
• “Mr. Idol, you are so handsome. It turns out that you are the leader of the Top Four Elite Warriors from overseas. Just the thought of it excites me. You must have come to Chanaea for some special reason, right? Rest assured. My grandpa asked me to keep your identity a secret, so I won't let anyone know who you are.” Bethany glanced at Zachary with admiration before getting into her Infiniti.
• Did she get mad?
• Zachary found it somewhat amusing deep down as he thought of the cold expression on Natalie's face during her departure. He then got into his small truck at the roadside.
• Bethany was rich, and she gifted a three-story mansion to Zachary. The mansion was near the police station and was in the center of a luxury residential area. It had a huge basement, which happened to meet Zachary's requirement. Because once he started to develop pills, the fire would rage in the pill-making furnace, and the basement would become extremely hot and unbearable. The condition of an ordinary house was infeasible for pill refining. Only in that kind of mansion that was big and quiet enough could Zachary develop pills to treat his internal injuries.
• Zachary liked that mansion very much. He scanned the basement and said to Bethany, “Not bad. Thanks for the house. I owe you one.”
• Even an eight million mansion was incomparable to Zachary's favor. Immediately, Bethany's eyes lit up. She said, “Mr. Idol, you will need the pill-making furnace and herbs, right? It's easy to get them. And I'm going to buy them for you now personally. It's a bit late today to get to know rich people. I'll introduce them to you tomorrow. There is a banquet in the city tomorrow, and it is held by my friend. How about I take you there?”
• “Okay.” Zachary nodded gently.
• “Well, I'm going to buy the pill-making furnace and herbs for you now. If it's possible, can you take me as your disciple?” Bethany asked.
• “I'll think about it.” Zachary frowned slightly.
• “Okay!” Bethany was delighted and left after giving the keys to Zachary.
• Zachary was a divine-level fighter. A grandmaster-level fighter was already a rare existence, and a divine-level fighter was one in a billion. When Zachary said that he would consider taking her as his disciple, it meant that there was a possibility that he would agree to it. If her grandfather were to know that she had taken Zachary as her master, he would feel overjoyed.
• Zachary stayed in the mansion for an afternoon and only returned home at night. When he saw Natalie in the house, the two gave each other a strange look. None of them talked to each other and went to sleep.
• Prosper Group, which ranked second in the city, was the organizer of the banquet. The banquet was held at five o'clock in the evening on the next day. Besides the prominent figures and wealthiest people, the sons and daughters of the big guns in the city all attended the banquet as well. Natalie was the daughter of the former police chief of the city and the daughter of a businesswoman who owned seven cosmetic chain stores. As the wealthy and powerful heiress in the city, she was naturally invited to the banquet.
• Cecilia was someone whom Natalie had met during her mission. At that time, Cecilia and her biological parents had gotten into a car accident that caused her parents' deaths. Natalie had taken pity on the orphaned Cecilia and adopted the latter. Almost every wealthy heir and heiress in the city knew that Natalie had a daughter. Not only did Natalie have a good family background, but she also had a stunning look and a cold aura. When she made her appearance at the banquet with Cecilia, many people gathered around to please her and Cecilia.
• “Ms. Baines, it's been a while since we met each other. I miss you so much. You and your daughter have become increasingly prettier. Rumor has it that those who spend a long time with someone beautiful will become a beauty themselves. It seems like it's true because your daughter looks increasingly like you,” Finley Collins, the host of the banquet, said smilingly. He was a frivolous scion and the second richest person in the city. Eyeing Natalie's perfect figure, he kept flattering her.
• “Cecilia, did you miss me? I knew you would come and purposely bought you a gift.” A beautiful woman casually gifted an item to Cecilia. Her name was Samantha Lawrence, and she was the city's fifth richest person.
• “Cecilia, come and let me kiss you.” A handsome youth smirked and squatted down in an attempt to kiss Cecilia.
• “Mommy...” Cecilia hurriedly hid behind Natalie.
• “Mr. Yeager, you scared my daughter.” Natalie frowned slightly, looking displeased.
• “If she's someone else's daughter, I won't even spare her a glance. However, she's your daughter, and I like her for some reason. When I kiss her, I feel as if I'm kissing you. Ms. Baines, I like you!” Samuel Yeager chuckled. He was the son of the owner of the hotel where the banquet was held.
• Bethany, Finley, Natalie, Samantha, and Samuel shared the same social circle among the silver-spoon in the city, with Bethany being feared by everyone the most and having the most respect due to her coming from a military family. Her two uncles were all military and political dignitaries. Her family was not only rich but powerful, which was not something that plain rich scions like Finley, Samuel, and Samantha could compare.
• Natalie's previous family background was considered decent. However, ever since her father retired due to sickness, she had begun falling out of favor in the social circle.
• Meanwhile, Bethany called Zachary and said to him, “Mr. Idol, my grandpa told me to be extra careful when I selected the items that you needed. I selected a pill-making furnace that costs three million for you, while Grandpa has changed all the herbs you need into those that age ten or more years. I'm now helping you choose the herbs. I'm almost done with it and will come back soon. You eat something at the banquet first. I will introduce you to everyone when I arrive.”
• “Okay.” Zachary smiled.
• After ending the call, he strolled around with his hands behind his back in the banquet hall. Even though there were many handsome, pretty, prominent, and wealthy figures at the banquet that day, he was the only divine-level fighter. If they were to know his real identity, they would definitely compete with each other to curry favor with him. It would not be a problem for him to gather tens of millions of funds to recruit troops that night.
• “It's him?” Standing on the other side, Natalie saw Zachary's innocent face at a glance.
• When she saw him appearing at the banquet held by the city's second richest businessman, her icy eyes revealed a hint of surprise.