"Yeah, let’s start the negotiations." Leo smiled, having analyzed his surroundings by now.

He could see that there were two cameras in the room. The footage from these two cameras was likely being monitored already. Beyond that, Silas was unarmed, but the two people behind him each carried a weapon.

"I want to start a company, and I need a place for it."

"That’s easy. I have a few places in the central area that might interest you," Silas replied. "Of course, it would cost a little extra, since we will have to bribe a few people to get faster permits."

He leaned forward slightly. "As a complimentary service, I can also provide you with slaves at a discount. You can use them if you only need mindless manpower. Naturally, you would have to pay for their fake documentation as well."

"So, how big a place do you need? And what is your budget? I can work according to that."

Silas was quite friendly, discussing matters like a proper businessman. It was as if he were simply trying to help Leo out of the goodness of his heart, but in reality, he was still analyzing him.

Meanwhile, his people were checking the perimeter to ensure Leo hadn’t arrived with an entourage that might surround the building. After all, their first priority was to ensure Leo wasn’t working with the authorities.

Fortunately, Silas’ earpiece soon came to life. He was informed that Leo had arrived alone.

A few lookouts had seen him get out of an ordinary cab, so there didn’t appear to be any chance of a trap. He had arrived all alone, and didn’t seem to carry any weapon.

Moreover, he was even offended by a wealthy man, and he appeared to have been scared easily, so he definitely was like an ordinary young master.

"How much would a place like this cost?"

Leo didn’t disclose his budget. He only raised his head and looked around.

"This room?" Silas frowned.

Leo shook his head.

"This floor?"

Leo shook his head again.

Silas’ frown deepened. "This entire factory?"

Leo finally nodded, leaving Silas at a loss for words.

"Hah! Why? Do you want to buy it?"

"You guessed it. This place looks perfect for a factory. It’s on good land, and there is minimum oversight. It also has enough space that I won’t have to pay for new construction."

"You’re joking. Have you even seen the size of this place? Just because it’s in the Lawless Zone, you think it’s cheap? You’ll be quite disappointed to hear the answer." Silas shook his head lightly.

"This place is the center of the entire black economy. Even in the Lawless Zone, it’s no cheaper than a similar-sized property in the central area."

He continued, "Moreover, you can’t run a proper factory here. Even though the authorities ignore us now, there’s no guarantee the next Mayor won’t suddenly want to clean this place up."

"As for the residents here? They are truly ruthless. You would only get robbed again and again. Don’t be foolish."

Until now, Silas had been trying to judge whether it was more beneficial to work with Leo or simply rob him, but the request had left him stunned.

Subconsciously, he expressed his genuine thoughts on how absurd it was to buy the property. Even he only managed to rent a small section of the building, and he was paying millions of credits every month.

The cost of hiring security alone was more than the rent. Even then, he couldn’t be certain he wouldn’t be shot while leaving his office.

"Even a fool wouldn’t want to buy this place. So, enough playing around. Tell me: what’s your budget, and which place do you want in the city?"

He was running out of patience. Silas produced a list of available properties and pushed it toward Leo, along with a city map where the locations were marked in green.

"If you don’t like any of these, you can mark any other property on the map. We can help you ’negotiate’ with the owners to help you get it."

After pushing the map across the table, he sat back, resting one leg over the other. Leo looked at the map briefly before picking up a pen.

He crossed out the city entirely and circled a rough area outside the city limits, the very place where they were currently sitting.

"You... are you trying to waste my time? I am running out of patience!"

"How much will you earn through commissions if you help me buy properties in the central city? Would you be satisfied with just that?" Leo’s voice echoed in the room, making Silas frown again.

"Even if you squeeze extra out of me by assuming I’m naive, how much could that really help you?"

"One hundred billion credits," Leo said, not giving him a chance to interrupt.

"If you help me buy this factory, I will give you ten billion credits as a commission fee. On top of that, I would let you keep this office rent-free. I can even hire you for security. Think about it. You’ll earn more than you ever could through illegal means."

"You..." Silas’ expression went grim. He looked at Leo with deep suspicion.

Could this man really toss around a hundred billion as a fee? Did he actually have enough to buy the whole factory? Just how much money did he have? His cousin had seen Leo’s wealth, but even that shouldn’t have been enough. Had he hidden more during the inspection?

"An ordinary ’young master’ from a middle-tier planet can’t have that much money. Who are you? What exactly is your identity?"

Silas slowly moved his hand under the table, grabbing a gun mounted to the underside. Even with two guards behind him, he preferred to handle some things personally.

"If I were you, I wouldn’t try to grab a weapon," Leo said out of nowhere. "We are talking about business. It would be a pity if it turned into something else."