My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 507: Gradual Encroachment

Sitting in his office, Zhang Lei looked at the documents in his hand and said with a smile, "Great, I didn't expect our people to infiltrate other countries so quickly."

Zhang Zhiqiang replied to Zhang Lei, "Boss, shall we proceed with the next step of the plan?"

Zhang Lei shook his head and said, "We need to hold off on the next step for now and first completely control Indonesia. 70% of their population are our own people now, and they all advocate democracy, right? Then let's hold an election and put our people in the top leadership positions. At that time, we'll expand our strategy, strengthening our control over Indonesia from both political and economic perspectives, without letting other countries see through our scheme. We need to gradually erode the entire South Asian region, and then send our aircraft carriers there to patrol."

Zhang Zhiqiang carefully wrote down Zhang Lei's plan steps.

Zhang Lei stretched, stood up, and said, "Have you found the person I asked you to find?"

Zhang Zhiqiang nodded and said, "Found it, I'll take you there now."

Zhang Lei nodded and said, "Alright, it's time to test my current abilities, mainly through war."

Zhang Lei upgraded his Money and Everything Trading System to LV3.

Soon, the two arrived at a secluded basement. Zhang Lei looked at a middle-aged man in his forties, whose eyes were haggard and whose expression was tense.

Zhang Lei said with a smile, "Don't be nervous, I'm here to help you."

The middle-aged man looked at Zhang Lei and said, "Can you really help me?"

Zhang Lei laughed and said, "It's just a little gambling debt, no big deal. As long as you sign this contract, I'll have someone help you settle the debt. How about it?"

The man looked nervously at the terms of the contract and said earnestly, "Is what you wrote true?"

Zhang Lei laughed and said, "I don't care if you believe it or not, these are the terms. If you agree, you can sign, take the money, and leave; if you don't agree, think about what will happen to you. Do you think those people will let you off the hook?"

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth, nodded, and said, "Fine, I'll sign. But you can't keep this ten-year lifespan yourself, so don't blame me for breaking my promise."

Zhang Lei said with a smile, "Don't worry, whether I can get it or not is my ability, you don't need to worry about it."

As he spoke, the man signed the contract. The instant he finished signing, he fainted. Zhang Lei told Zhang Zhiqiang to put the middle-aged man on the sofa, then grabbed at the man's head and pulled out a ball of light from his body.

Looking at the dazzling array of lights, Zhang Lei couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this what ten years is all about?"

Then he directly communicated with the system and asked, "System, how much will it cost for these ten years?"

The system notification reads: "Congratulations, host, for trading ten years of your lifespan and receiving 150 million US dollars."

Upon seeing this, Zhang Lei couldn't help but exclaim, "It's fucking valuable."

He then asked, "System, how much money would I need to gain ten years of lifespan?"

The system notification read: "Three hundred million US dollars."

Zhang Lei was speechless; this was a direct doubling of the price. Moreover, his share was included in the $150 million; it seemed this system added all the fees together, doubled the price, and then sold it.

However, Zhang Lei thought about it and realized it was worth it, since no matter how rich a person is, they can't buy life.

Zhang Lei thought for a moment and said, "System, where is the lifespan I bought stored? How do I give it to others?"

The system notification reads: "The lifespan purchased by the host will be temporarily stored in the system. When the host needs it, they can communicate directly with the system."

Zhang Lei nodded in agreement. "Not bad."

However, Zhang Lei thought of something: if he remained this rich, wouldn't his lifespan be infinite?

Zhang Lei laughed heartily and said, "Who told you that time is money, and money can't buy time? I can buy it with money!"

Zhang Lei thought about it and realized that it was no wonder that so many hidden billionaires had such long-lived members; it seemed that they also had many secrets of their own.

But Zhang Lei laughed when he saw this. If a ten-year lifespan only requires 300 million, then it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to earn 1 billion, right? There are no shortage of rich people in this world, but there are very few who are truly unafraid of death.

Thinking of this, Zhang Lei couldn't help but laugh out loud again. It was worth all the effort he put into upgrading the system, from launching wars to manipulating things from behind the scenes.

However, upgrading the system is really expensive. When I was at level one, it only cost 10 billion, but level three has cost nearly 100 billion. Although I spent so much money buying things from the system, I still have to recharge that much.

Thinking about this, Zhang Lei felt a headache coming on. How much would it cost to reach level four? 150 billion, 200 billion, or 300 billion? The higher the level, the more astronomical the figures would be.

Zhang Zhiqiang stood behind Zhang Lei, feeling nothing. After all, he was a robot; for them, time was simply a matter of replacing a part and continuing to exist.

Looking at Zhang Zhiqiang, Zhang Lei couldn't help but sigh, "You're so lucky, you don't have to think about anything."

Zhang Zhiqiang stood to the side without replying.

Zhang Lei continued, "Go and get me information on the world's richest people. Keep an eye on them. Tell me when any of them are about to die, and then we'll make money from them."

Zhang Zhiqiang nodded and reported, "Boss, I will send people to keep a close eye on all the world's richest people."

Zhang Lei nodded and then continued, "When he wakes up, let him take the money and leave."

Zhang Lei couldn't help but sigh, "This is the tragedy of the poor. For just 400,000 US dollars, he was forced to sacrifice ten years of his life."

Zhang Lei looked at the middle-aged man who had already fainted and smiled, saying, "How about we set up a few casinos in Australia? That way we can make money and also reap the rewards of someone's lifespan like this."

Thinking of this, Zhang Lei directly ordered Zhang Zhiqiang: "Open a casino, we must open one! Forget Las Vegas, forget Macau, if we're going to open one, we'll open a big one. Gambling is about making money, it's not shameful."

Back home, Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin, who was putting her daughter to sleep.

Approaching Ye Shuqin, Zhang Lei whispered, "Asleep?"

Ye Shuqin nodded: "She's asleep. You have so much energy, girl."

Zhang Lei said with a smile, "Isn't that good? After all, she's our daughter."

Ye Shuqin laughed and said, "What's so good about it? All you do is pester me all day long."

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and said with a smile, "Want to go out and relax?"

Ye Shuqin thought Zhang Lei had ulterior motives, so she said, "Let's wait until later; it's still daytime now."

Zhang Lei looked at Ye Shuqin and laughed, saying, "What are you thinking? I mean, let's travel to other countries, see the scenery, and you'll be with me."

Upon hearing Zhang Lei's explanation, Ye Shuqin blushed instantly.