Chapter 142 - Chat Room Meeting

Time zones were really a pain. Good thing for Jasper, he was currently in America with Jake. They were on their way to meet Wilmer and the potential investors that Wilmer wanted to introduce. The Wilde group had shares in Kiwi Cat Studio before the market openings so it wasn't odd for Jasper to find a reason to visit Wilmer when he wanted.

Now that the meeting was over, he checked the time and excused himself to rest in the hotel room while Jake went out to find souvenirs for his wife. The teen quickly logged into the chat room on his laptop. Scarlet and Elfie must have been waiting for a long time now since they were currently on the other side of the world. Elfie was currently in Korea while Scarlet was back in Beijing in the middle of her filming.

Jasper: Sorry I'm late!

Scarlet: Don't worry, I just logged in not too long ago myself.

Elfie: … Seriously guys? I'm the one with issues connecting over. I'm in NORTH Korea at the moment and I've been waiting for over an hour.

Jasper: Sorry

Scarlet: Sorry… filming over run due to the weather condition… we were waiting for the rain to stop but it didn't so we had to postpone everything.

Elfie: Scarlet is forgiven. What about you @Jasper? What's your excuse?

Jasper: No excuse. I just returned to the hotel room and shook Jake off my tail. I met Wilmer today, he looks healthy at the very least.

Scarlet: Did dad say anything about the Sweet Sixteen gala that mom planned a few months back?

Jasper: No he didn't, he was too busy. We had to meet several investors today and I had to pitch my idea for that app.

Elfie: How did you convince Jake? Was he very surprised that your gaming company wanted to develop a one-stop app for all logistic solutions?

Jasper: He was surprised but I appealed to his inner entrepreneur and Wilmer wanted to integrate that idea using the Wilde Empire's name but I refused. The meeting of Wilmer's larger shareholders to find a suitable investor was the compromise we came to.

Scarlet: So we're really going with the separate business entity idea? It's not going to be Kiwi Cat Studio?

Elfie: Will it be a problem if we used a second business identity?

Jasper: …

Jasper: Let's put it this way. Why have we decided to make Kiwi Cat Studio such a big deal? We needed the world's attention and also to put pressure on Anastasia. Wilde Inc. is one of the major stakeholders in Kiwi Cat Studio but not the majority shareholder. EZ Express will see it as a challenge and try to buy it from under Wilmer's nose because officially, Wilmer and I have no relationship outside of business partners. If we used a new business entity now, we would need to start from scratch.

Scarlet: In that case is it possible to make Kiwi Cat Studio a group? You can create a subsidiary fully owned by Kiwi Cat Studio Group and launch the new logistic app under the name. That way, it can help you create leverage against the new playing field.

Elfie: You're both speaking about things I don't understand now. Are we still talking about the app plan?

Scarlet: Sorry, Elfie! I'll try to keep it simpler for you… yes, we are still doing the app plan but we need to ensure that Anastasia takes the bait to buy Jasper's company so that we can get closer to the man's contacts.

Elfie: But we have a list of companies that EZ Express works with. Aren't they contacts? Wasn't the original plan to make Kiwi Cat Studio very big and eat those smaller Anastasia companies up so we can track the main branch after cutting his tails?

Scarlet: Yes, but we cannot simply force a buy over. Anastasia must have reasons to allow Kiwi Cat Studio to buy them over.

Jasper: In short, think of it as a honeypot trap. We sweeten the deal for Anastasia then infiltrate his organization and eat it from the inside by absorbing the connections he has and converting them to our side.

Elfie: I see… you're both on a whole new level from me. I've been working on this project for so many years but I still don't understand a thing. Ok, what do you need me to do this time? I've hacked everything the North Korean government has but Anastasia's control doesn't reach this country.

Scarlet: Nothing strange at all?

Elfie: Nothing. The firearms might have been produced from the same place but that producer sells to just about anybody who wants to buy. North Korea purchased it from Russia. Anastasia doesn't have many bases in Russia.

Jasper: That's not right. We're missing a link somewhere. Why will Anastasia have Russian guns the same as Koreans? If North Korea and Russia did not sell it to him, who could it come from?

Scarlet: Elfie, is it possible that you're overlooking something? Can you dig deeper into the Russians to see who else they sold their guns to? One of these sellers must have sold it to Anastasia, there is no doubt about it. China's firearms are mostly home produced, they would not buy it from other countries. I will not be mistaken about the shipment of firearms in Anastasia's warehouse, Claire did teach me a lot about guns previously. I caught a glimpse of it personally, there is no mistaking it.

Jasper: Scarlet… Why were you in one of Anastasia's warehouses personally?

Elfie: Scarlet, didn't we say that you should stop your investigations?

Jasper: Scarlet, you better not disconnect on me.

Elfie: I have your IP address even if you're using VPN. I know where you are, Scarlet. You'd better answer honestly.

Scarlet: My job requires it. We were buying weapons for the filming and that warehouse belonged to one of Anastasia's contacts. They sublet it to other smaller companies and I chanced across it. I swear I didn't do this on purpose!

Jasper: I'm giving you the benefit of doubt but this cannot go on. You pushed Claire onto Alex but it's high time you got a bodyguard of your own.

Elfie: I'll agree with Jasper about this. Scarlet, you're too reckless. I'm texting Mrs Wilde and telling her that you're getting harassed by stalking fans.

Scarlet: You won't dare! Also, Alex is the one with stalker issues, not me!

Jasper: You reap what you sow. You promised us to be safe but you were reckless. Since you never intended to keep your word, we'll keep ours instead. You're getting a bodyguard asap. I don't care if you're currently training in martial arts or not. I'm sending one of the best guys we know.

Jasper has logged off.

Elfie: I'm in with Jasper on this. You're being too reckless, Scarlet. We'd rather see you unhappy but alive rather than reckless and dead. Danny was right about Anastasia from the start, he's very dangerous and kids like us shouldn't be meddling in a.d.u.l.t's affairs. If you cannot keep yourself safe, I really don't want you working on the project any longer. Digging for information behind the safety of distance is alright. Getting up close and pulling the lion's whiskers is suicidal. This time we are putting a bodyguard on you. If it happens again, we really need to reconsider this partnership.

Scarlet: But Elfie, if I don't do this then we'll never get anywhere! Anastasia's too good at hiding things, even you couldn't find much about him after digging around for so long. If it wasn't for my find in China, would we have gotten this far?

Elfie: We wouldn't have gotten this far, that's for certain. However, I don't like how you keep launching headfirst into danger. Protecting your family is one thing, being reckless is another. If you got hurt or died doing this, do you think your family will be happy? As a friend, I won't be happy at all. Also, if I were Alex, I would be very hurt that you didn't tell me about it sooner and took matters into our own hands. When you get hurt or when you die, do you think the Wilde's can be safe for very long? Anastasia will exploit that opening and use you against them regardless. It's only going to make things worse for everyone so I'm begging you now… don't do anything more than this, you've done enough. Just be happy and leave the rest to us.

Scarlet: Elfie, I think you don't understand my feelings if you're saying this. I can't be happy until I know Anastasia is gone for good and that nobody else is trying to kill my family. You can stick a bodyguard to me but it's not going to stop me. If the opportunity arises again, I will still do the same thing I've done the other day.

Scarlet has logged off.

Elfie: You're the fool, Scarlet. Why can't you see that we're trying to protect you the same way you're trying to protect everyone else?

Elfie has logged off.