From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all.

"coming!"

The two roughly counted the items and, after confirming that the quantity was correct, considered their task complete.

Just in case, Leo also left behind a combat drone.

This time, the drones were fully armed.

Under Pure White's control, she is always ready to launch a relentless attack on any uninvited guest.

Of course, the drone's data has been fully formatted and will be given as a gift to a complete stranger, provided the transaction goes smoothly.

Once everything was finished, Leo surveyed the warehouse once more—the mountain of wine crates seemed to gleam with gold, soon to be converted into euros and fill his personal account again.

"No problem, let's change our clothes and facial skin, then we'll go deliver the next order!"

They took out clothes they had prepared in advance from their storage space and quickly changed their appearance. Their facial features had changed quite a bit since they got off the plane.

With the addition of a wig and special shoes with adjustable heels, no one would notice anything amiss unless the police conducted a body search.

Pure White also changed their SID chip information, urging them to continue their journey.

So the two hardworking deliverymen locked up the warehouse, took a taxi to the airport, and flew to the next city.

Second stop, Sacramento.

The third stop: Las Vegas.

Fourth stop, Los Angeles.

Fifth stop, Night City.

In seven hours, Leo easily completed the smuggling of goods worth hundreds of millions; no one would believe him if he bragged about it at a bar.

Back in Night City, the two got into the same thug "Weller" they had arrived in and drove towards the Heywood area.

Pure White had rented a temporary warehouse in the Valley area in advance. After Leo and V put down the last batch of goods, they sent a message to their friends to gather.

Twenty minutes later, Vera and Jack arrived to join them, and Sasha kept sending emojis in the team channel to greet the victorious captain.

"Long time no see, Vera, Jack...?"

After a week apart, Vera hadn't changed much, except that she seemed more energetic and radiant.

But Jack has changed quite a bit; he has grown a lot bigger and is showing signs of developing a physique similar to Mann's.

Seeing his surprised expression, Jack grinned and patted his chest vigorously.

He had made this bold move before, but this time the sound was a loud "thump thump," which sounded more like slapping a thick metal armor than slapping flesh.

"How about it, buddy? Not bad with my brand-new carbon fiber muscles and reinforced endoskeleton! I also installed a chitinous shell and gorilla arms, so I can dual-wield shotguns or even carry a heavy machine gun later. The firepower will definitely be more than enough!"

"You're almost as big as Mann."

Leo exclaimed in admiration.

However, he could still tell that compared to Mann, Jack's physique was closer to an inverted triangle, and he should be more agile.

Upon hearing Mann's name, a glint of fighting spirit flashed in Jack's eyes. He had chosen to continue strengthening his body and become a "tank warrior" in order not to lose to his opponent.

"Hey, as long as your physical potential is strong enough, plus you have money, a prosthetic doctor can turn a skinny kid into a giant in a month. Give me a break, I'll definitely be bigger than him in the future!"

"Hehe, good luck then."

Leo didn't comment on his "bigger is better" aesthetic. As long as the cybernetic body could enhance Jack's combat power, rather than the other way around, he, as the captain, had no objections.

After chatting and laughing with his friends for a while, he finally remembered his business and sent the delivery coordinates to the priest.

He paced back and forth in the warehouse a few times, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the men, and instructed them, "Keep your spirits up, this is a multi-million dollar deal. Generally speaking, nothing will happen, but just in case, let's prepare for battle first."

As soon as he finished speaking, V had already found a high vantage point and set up his sniper rifle.

Vera also moved to a secluded corner, creating a crossfire with V.

Jack didn't leave; he stood in front of Leo like a wall, acting as his bodyguard.

He had no objection to Leo's arrangements.

Although he respected the priest and didn't think the priest would do anything reckless, the deal was too big. As the saying goes, money can be a powerful motivator, so it was wise to be cautious.

After everyone took their places, the warehouse fell into a brief silence.

In less than ten minutes, the priest's car arrived outside the warehouse.

Sasha opened the warehouse door for them and closed it again as soon as their car came in.

This time, the priest again only brought his nephew, showing his sincerity.

Leo recalled the scene of their first business meeting and greeted him with a smile: "Sebastian Ibarra—still as dashing as ever, my friend."

The priest laughed along, but before he could reply, he heard V's voice coming from afar.

"Those are my lines!"

"It's not important, I've already said it for you~"

Without turning his head, Leo said something and led the priest to a small table that had been set up in advance, on which was a bottle of dry red wine with the cork opened and several glasses.

"Try it, Father. This is the better quality communion you wanted. But I forgot to decant it again. This bottle was only opened a dozen minutes ago. Just try it."

Rising to Fame: Chapter 248 The First Step to Getting Closer to People with a Billion!

Although Leo spoke casually, the priest dared not be careless at all.

He had a grand plan in mind, and it all depended on the quality of the wine.

As long as the quality is up to standard, he is 80% confident that he can lead the Ibarra family to glory and earn a huge fortune that they could not squander for several lifetimes.

With each step forward, my heart pounded harder.

Under the bright, cool light, the liquid in the bottle resembled a still ruby, deep yet sparkling.

The priest stretched out his aged hand, gripped the bottle firmly, and poured the wine into a Bordeaux glass.

Hold the stem of the glass and tilt it; the wine will swirl in the glass, revealing its true color.

A breathtaking ruby ​​red.

He took a deep breath, and the rich aroma of fruit, flowers, and spices filled his nostrils, reminding him of what happened fifty years ago.

"good…"

The priest made a preliminary judgment based on his professional-level wine tasting skills.

After taking a small sip and carefully tasting it, the evaluation changed to—"Excellent!"

"This wine was considered good even when I was young; it's perfectly adequate for entertaining senior parishioners and clergy. With this, my plan can begin..."

Leo shared a drink with the customer and found the taste to be quite good. At $50 a bottle wholesale, it was perfect for a family gathering.

He adopted an attentive listening posture, eager to hear what profound wisdom the veteran middleman possessed.

The priest, not wanting to waste any wine, finished his glass before putting it back on the table.

Then, he picked up the bottle and carefully spun it around a few times with both hands.

After a long silence, he sighed, not so much out of disappointment as out of regret: "Such fine wine, yet it's packaged in such a plain glass bottle, like a beautiful woman wearing old clothes and with disheveled hair... What a waste."

This is communion wine, wine fit for the bishops' tables. Selling it as moonshine is such a waste; we should give it a brand.”

"brand?"

A glint flashed in Leo's eyes as he saw through his thoughts.

That's right. Such high-quality wine should have a well-known brand, like Chanel, Armani, or Dior, so that people can't resist the urge to buy it.

Why not just call it Louis Vuitton, or LV for short? It's catchy and has commemorative value!

The name I originally wanted to use for the team was not used, but this time it's perfect for the wine!

He was still organizing his thoughts when the priest spoke first: "I plan to bring a few cases of wine to the Vatican to visit our Mexican-American cardinal. We met a few times and chatted a few times when we were young."

Although our relationship has become distant over time, as long as there is mutual benefit…

Ding ding.

He tapped the glass bottle twice with his fingernail.

"...huge profits! I believe we will soon be able to reconnect and take our relationship to the next level. Specifically, I will transfer a portion of the profits to him in the form of shares, allowing him to name our wine and spread its fame within the church community."

After listening to the priest's line of thought, Leo put away his little scheme.

LV is certainly good, but if a cardinal could bestow a name upon the wine, giving it a name that better suits the church's atmosphere, it would undoubtedly earn even more.

At the same time, he recalled something that Mrs. Wells and the priest had both said:

"This is not just a commodity, it is—our belief."

The priest smiled and quickly made the sign of the cross in front of him: "That's right, God's love fills the Holy Grail, and then it transforms into the purest wine. When you drink this wonderful wine, God will be with you."

In other words, precisely because this is 'faith,' not a commodity, therefore... it costs extra!

The first half was a devout sermon, but the second half reeked of money. The priest's theological attainments had clearly reached a supreme level of perfection!

“Father, to be honest, I think you could become a bishop, or even a cardinal.”

Leo praised him sincerely.

The priest chuckled and said, “If given the opportunity, I would certainly like to go further with God and bask in His glory.”

In just a few words, the priest's proposal was passed unanimously, and what followed was the more secular part.

Leo pointed to the neatly arranged wine boxes and introduced, "Here are 2000 boxes of mid-range wine, 1000 boxes of high-end wine, and 400 boxes of premium communion wine. I remember you said that as long as the wine can be shipped out, you would help me raise the price."

The priest nodded quickly: "That's right. With the Vatican's endorsement, our wine can increase in price by at least 50%. But we need to consider the interests of the distributors and the cardinals' share. How about we give you an initial 20% increase? Once the brand effect is really established, the price can be negotiated."

Leo thought about it and decided it was acceptable.

The brand hasn't taken off yet, so giving distributors some incentives will motivate them to expand their market.

Once the company is up and running, these small profits will be even less important, and there's no need to worry about them.

"Okay, so that means 600 euros a bottle for mid-range wines and 1200 euros a bottle for high-end wines. How about communion wine?"

"With this quality... I think even at a wholesale price of 2000 euros per bottle, distributors can still make a considerable profit. In addition, since we are a newly launched product, we need to pursue cost-effectiveness, so it's best not to be too expensive."

The priest gave a reference price.

Leo thought to himself: the purchase price is 50, the selling price is 2000, that's a 40-fold profit, which is barely acceptable.

So he nodded in agreement and set the price.

Next comes the payment receiving stage, which makes your wallet happy.

[Your personal account has received a transfer of €38,400,000 from the priest. Do you wish to accept it?]

【take over. 】

[Transfer successful. Current account balance: €39,800,000.]

The last four digits of the account balance were not actually zero, but Leo chose to ignore them.

Money is just a number; there's no need to be so calculating about it!

He wants to learn from Bateman and become a wealthy man who doesn't haggle or bargain, and who gets close to people with his wealth!

Once he recovers all the smuggling funds, he'll have about one percent of Batman's net worth. It's definitely a long and arduous journey.

While he was lost in thought, the priest said kindly, "I've raised the funds in advance this time, so I'll give you the payment for this batch of goods first. How much premium communion wine do you have left in Los Angeles?"

Leo glanced at the notification from Pure White: "There are still 2500 boxes over there. I kept a dozen or so for myself, and the rest are for you."

“Thank you very much.” The priest was in a good mood and looked several years younger. “That is… 30,000 bottles of wine, 60 million euros… Give me a few days, I will sell this batch of wine and transfer the money to you in one lump sum.”

"Okay, I'm not in a hurry."

Leo has plenty of time to stay in Night City for ten days this time.

"I'll send you the warehouse coordinates for the other four cities. You can then notify your partners to inspect the goods. How long will it take for their payment to arrive?"

"We already agreed in advance that once the goods are inspected and found to be correct, the payment will be made to you in one lump sum within three days. Will we still use this account?"

"No, I'll give you four different accounts to spread the money out. Otherwise, too much transaction volume will be hard to explain."

Seeing that he had already thought of it, the priest didn't say anything more.