Chapter 14 I Bought The City's Entire Food Supply

"I've never felt air this fresh."

Aston, who had stopped beside Revan, smiled. "Congratulations, Sir."

Revan glanced at him, lowering the arms he had stretched out moments earlier. "For what?"

"For finally freeing yourself from Miss Teressa."

Revan let out a quiet chuckle. "Not just from Teressa," he replied as he started walking again. "I also got rid of two parasites from my life."

Aston nodded knowingly. He knew exactly who the second parasite was.

Vivian Sterling and Billy Anderson.

When they reached the car, Aston opened the rear door. "To the fortress construction site, Sir?" he asked.

Revan shook his head. "They've already received their gift." He climbed into the car. "Now it's time to get to work."

Aston closed the door before taking his seat behind the wheel. "Your next instruction, Sir?"

"Contact Aegis Defense Industries. We're meeting them today."

"Yes, Sir."

"Twenty-two days left," Revan murmured. "And I have no intention of welcoming that day empty-handed."

Aston drove swiftly toward the city's largest wholesale distribution center.

Only a few minutes later, the car came to a stop.

Aston turned toward the back seat. "Sir, I'll contact the warehouse first. An order this large needs to be delivered directly to the storage facility."

Revan gave a brief nod. "Make sure every warehouse is ready to receive shipments."

"Yes, Sir."

"And the cold chain."

"Understood." Aston immediately began calling several trusted subordinates.

Meanwhile, Revan stepped out of the car and entered the store, casually looking around.

Moments later, a middle-aged man hurried over. "Welcome, Mr. Sterling. My name is Rian, the manager of this store."

"Show me around."

"Of course, Sir."

Revan walked down the first aisle. Towering shelves were packed with essential goods. Without slowing down, he pointed toward the racks. "All the rice."

The manager's pen immediately began moving. "The entire stock, Sir?" he asked to confirm.

"Yes."

Revan continued walking. "Sugar."

"Write it down."

"Flour."

"Write it down."

"Salt. Cooking oil. Instant noodles."

"Write them down."

"Canned food."

"Every brand, Sir?"

"All of them." Revan kept walking, pointing from shelf to shelf. "Bottled water. UHT milk. Powdered milk. Baby food. Biscuits. Chocolate. Coffee. Tea. Honey."

The manager swallowed hard. In all his years working there, he had never handled an order of this size.

But Revan wasn't finished. He entered the next aisle. "This entire section." He swept his hand across the shelves. "I'll take everything."

The manager's pen barely stopped moving. Finally, he gathered the courage to ask. "Excuse me, Mr. Sterling..."

Revan stopped walking. "Is there a problem?"

"No..." The manager forced a smile. "I just want to make sure." He looked down at the order sheets that already filled several pages. "Are you really buying all of this?"

Revan looked at him calmly. "Every last item."

The manager fell silent. If this purchase actually went through, it would become the biggest sale in the store's history.

About thirty minutes later, Aston entered the store.

By then, Revan was already standing at the checkout counter beside the manager.

The middle-aged man held several pages of purchase orders, nearly every line filled.

Seeing his assistant arrive, Revan spoke immediately. "It's finished."

Aston glanced at the stack of paperwork before raising an eyebrow. "All of this, Sir?"

"This is only the beginning."

The manager smiled awkwardly. "Mr. Sterling has purchased almost our entire inventory of essential goods."

Revan nodded. "Pay a twenty-million-dollar deposit."

Aston nodded without asking another question. "Yes, Sir."

Revan turned back to the manager. "Listen carefully."

The manager immediately straightened his posture.

"I'm not only buying everything currently in your warehouse."

The manager looked puzzled.

"Every shipment arriving over the next several days also belongs to me."

The manager's eyes widened. "Everything, Sir?"

"That's right." Revan spoke calmly. "The twenty million dollars is the initial payment. Once every shipment has arrived at my warehouse, I'll pay the remaining balance immediately."

The manager swallowed hard. "Yes, Mr. Sterling. We'll prioritize every delivery."

Aston handed the company payment card to the cashier.

Several minutes later, the transaction was completed.

He also handed the manager a slip of paper with the warehouse address. "All deliveries are to be sent here."

The manager accepted it with both hands. "Don't worry, Sir. We'll deliver every order as quickly as possible."

Revan said nothing more. He turned around and walked out of the store.

Aston quickly followed. After reaching the car, he opened the rear door. "Where to next, Sir?"

Revan got into the car without hesitation. "The weapons company."

Aston nodded.

Thanks to Sterling Group's long-standing relationships with major corporations, a meeting had already been arranged for that very day.

The black sedan slowly pulled away from the wholesale center and headed toward its next destination.

There, Revan intended to purchase something far more important than food.

About forty minutes later, the car stopped outside a heavily guarded industrial complex.

A five-meter steel fence surrounded the entire facility.

Security posts stood on both sides of the main gate, while armed guards maintained constant watch.

At the center of the complex stood a massive building bearing the logo of Aegis Defense Industries.

Revan and Aston entered the main lobby, where a man in his fifties wearing a gray suit stepped forward to greet them.

"Mr. Sterling." The man extended his hand. "I'm Victor Hale, Director of Aegis Defense Industries."

Revan shook his hand briefly. "I'd like to make a purchase."

Victor smiled politely. "Of course. Please come into the conference room."

Several minutes later...

Victor read through the order list Aston had handed him.

The longer he read, the more his smile faded. He slowly looked up. "Mr. Sterling..."

"Is there a problem?"

Victor let out a quiet breath. "This order includes thousands of assault rifles, pistols, millions of rounds of ammunition, grenades, body armor, and tactical vehicles."

"That's right."

Victor placed the documents on the table. "To be honest, our company can fulfill every item on this list."

Revan remained perfectly calm.

"However..." Victor slowly shook his head. "We can't simply sell military-grade equipment."

"Why not?"

"Because every military weapons transaction requires government approval."

The conference room fell silent.

Victor continued. "Even as the company's director, I don't have the authority to release this quantity of weapons to a private buyer."

Aston frowned slightly. "So there's no other way?"

Victor remained silent for a moment before answering. "There is one."

Revan fixed his eyes on him.

"If the government issues a special permit, or if there's an official contract with a state institution, the entire order can be processed."

Victor offered an apologetic smile. "Without one of those two conditions, I'm sorry. I can't help you."

Revan showed no sign of disappointment.

Instead, a faint smile slowly appeared on his lips.

Victor frowned. He couldn't understand where the young man's confidence came from.

Revan rose from his chair. "Just prepare everything I've requested."

He straightened the cuff of his shirt before looking directly at Victor. "Because that permit will come to me."