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墨書 Inktalez
"Xiang Dong, don't do this. It's not good for anyone," Chen Ming advised, frowning. I couldn't help but smile at his words.
In undercover operations, going head-to-head with criminals is undoubtedly challenging. If you don't know what they're thinking, you'll be led around by the nose and forced into a passive position. Understanding a criminal's mindset means taking control! You have to set the pace of your actions; when it's time to be bold, you must be bold!
Indeed, it's not good for anyone. I didn't choose this path; it was Chen Duozhu who has been testing my limits for the past month, wasn't it? If you don't give me a satisfactory answer today, then neither of us will come out unscathed. I'm bare-footed; I’m not afraid of you wearing shoes.
I spoke firmly, and Chen Ming frowned again. He realized that it was too late for him to save face now; in front of so many people, I had put him in a difficult position, and he had already embarrassed himself. He should have figured out my limits by now; if he didn’t back down, I certainly wouldn’t let him off the hook.
"Alright, can we negotiate this? Your clientele is your clientele; what if I don’t let Liu Haoran touch them?" Chen Ming took a step back.
I shook my head resolutely. "No way! The Security Company must be removed from the list!"
"This... this really isn't up to me, Xiang Dong. Why don’t you believe me? How about this: I'll compensate you for your losses. Let's go inside and discuss it," Chen Ming said with a pained expression.
I raised an eyebrow at his offer. Compensation? So that meant money?
Suddenly, I found myself less rigid than before. With benefits in sight, why not take advantage of the situation? Besides, after this incident, even if Liu Haoran and the Security Company continued their operations, who would dare refuse to switch allegiance?
"Well, Chen Duozhu, if you're willing to talk like that, then I think we can negotiate," I said thoughtfully, nodding in agreement. Chen Ming's face turned a deep shade of purple; I could only imagine how much psychological trauma he must be experiencing from being extorted in front of so many people.
"Alright then, shall we go inside and talk?" Chen Ming said helplessly, clearly at a loss for how to handle me. I knew he must have cursed me a thousand times in his mind, wishing I would just drop dead right in front of him.
I turned first and walked into the dilapidated office building that had been smashed up. As I entered, I pondered how much money would be appropriate to ask from Chen Ming this time. Ten million? Twenty million? With so many subordinates to support now, that amount really wasn't much.
"Xiang Dong, you know the situation between us; how could I possibly trick you? Just look at it now—who ends up hurt in the end? It's still me! We're both in the same boat!" Chen Ming said as we entered the office building.
Hearing this made me chuckle. "Oh really? You’re aware that you're the one getting hurt in the end?"
What nonsense! His words couldn't be trusted. From Chen Ming's attitude, it was clear that this matter had been approved by higher-ups; he certainly played a significant role in it as well.
What was Chen Ming thinking?
It wasn't hard to guess. Chen Ming had always insisted that this matter had nothing to do with him. Even if I got angry, he could play the helpless card, telling me to take my complaints to someone higher up, which would effectively brush me off. I couldn't rely on those higher-ups; Chen Ming could use them as a shield to undermine my power, testing the waters and gradually suffocating me.
He probably never expected that I would resort to such unreasonable tactics, refusing to back down and instead escalating the situation. This was something he dared not continue; it pointed towards a desire for peace.
"Let’s not talk about that," I said. "Chen Duozhu, we came here to discuss compensation. Did you bring the check? If not, does my brother have a portable one?"
I asked Chen Ming, knowing my brother indeed carried a high-value portable machine. Business had been going so smoothly lately that there was always a chance of receiving payments.
Cough!
Chen Ming's face turned a deep shade of purple, looking extremely unpleasant.
"No need for that. I brought a check. Here’s the deal: I'll give you one million as compensation for disrupting your business. When you go back, make sure to handle your subordinates well. This matter must not get out; otherwise, it won’t benefit either of us."
As he pulled out the check, he continued, "Indeed, if this reaches the ears of our superiors, it won’t be good for either of us. There are too many witnesses today; the news will likely spread quickly. At least my ruckus at Cheng Group will soon become common knowledge."
This was exactly what I wanted. Once this matter was settled, Cheng Group would surely seek cooperation with our Security Company; this would serve as a warning to others.
Even if this incident reached higher-ups, Chen Ming would definitely deny it and help me find an excuse. What did I have to worry about? I wasn’t concerned; I was just annoyed because I wasn’t satisfied with his offer.
One million? "Chen Duozhu, you’re not being sincere! Forget it; I don’t want this money."
As I turned to leave, Chen Ming grabbed my arm. He must have thought I was going to cause more trouble; after all, he had already lost enough face today—there was no way he would let me continue making him look bad.
"Then how much do you want?" he asked desperately. "You know what situation I'm in! The group is undergoing major changes; I need money to smooth things over!"
Chen Ming looked pained, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. I hadn’t expected him to be so stingy. Of course, there were costs involved in maintaining relationships; after all these years as Helmsman, his wealth was beyond my estimation. But now he wanted to play poor with me?
"Enough already, Chen Duozhu," he said.
I brushed his hand away and tried to leave again. Chen Ming was genuinely frightened by my antics and grabbed my hand once more in resignation.
"Fine! Just tell me how much you want!"
"Ten million!"
I didn’t hold back and stated my price without hesitation. Ten million was no small sum but certainly within reach for Chen Ming.
"Ten million? Are you robbing me?"
Chen Ming looked shocked. In just two months of knowing me, this old man had truly been played by me; his expression of surprise was almost endearing!
"Yes, robbery! What’s wrong with that?"
I replied shamelessly, making it clear that I was setting him up! What could he do? Just write the check!
With a resigned sigh, Chen Ming finally relented. Moments later, I left Cheng Group with a triumphant smile on my face while Chen Ming followed suit with a forced grin.
Of course, my smile was genuine—I had just pocketed ten million! It was hard for me to contain my excitement!
Chen Ming's smile was purely for show; he needed to maintain his fragile pride.
"Haha, Xiang Dong! Why make such a big fuss when we could have just talked it out? I really admire you—keep it up! You have a bright future ahead!"
When Chen Ming came out, he made a show of authority, trying to regain his former dominance. I chuckled at his attempt; since I had already received the money, I decided not to embarrass him and simply let him save face.
"Alright! This matter is settled, let's move on," Chen Ming waved his hand towards Liu Haoran and the others. Cheng Hai was taken aback by this and hurried over to Chen Ming to ask a question.
"Chen, what should I do now?"
"What do you want me to say? I don’t know; why don’t you ask Xiang Dong?" Chen Ming replied casually, then turned away, ignoring Cheng Hai's calls. I smiled as I watched this unfold, seeing my big benefactor disappear from view.
"Xiang, I—"
Cheng Hai stood in front of me, his face resembling that of a beaten pig, unable to articulate anything coherent.
"Ah, Cheng, I'm really sorry about the state of your company’s decor. Don’t you think you could use a Security Company?" I inquired.
Cheng Hai nodded vigorously, "Yes! We definitely need one! Xiang, how about this: I'll pay you an extra year’s worth of fees if you can help us out?"
I chuckled and sighed helplessly. From my pocket, I pulled out a check for one hundred thousand yuan—this was what I had just borrowed from Chen Ming.
"Here, this is for your renovation expenses. Take it."
I smiled at Cheng Hai, who looked utterly dejected; his expression was far more endearing than when he had been crying and complaining to Liu Haoran.
"No, no! This isn’t right! Xiang, you don’t have to do this! I've always thought the decor was lacking; I've wanted to change it for a while now. Today has truly been a hassle for you—thank you so much for personally coming here to help me with the demolition!"
Cheng Hai forced a smile as he pushed the check back towards me. I couldn’t help but laugh at his scheming demeanor; he didn’t need to act all friendly when he was clearly being opportunistic.
"Take it; business is business."
I stuffed the check into Cheng Hai's pocket. Seeing that I wasn’t going to be polite about it, he could only nod in agreement with a smile.
By the way, Cheng, didn’t you mention wanting to collaborate with our Security Company? There’s something I need to apologize for: our prices have fluctuated recently and have doubled. You don’t mind that, do you?"
"Huh?" Cheng Hai looked stunned.
You see, I'm just too kind-hearted. I’ve always known these businessmen are all about money but had only charged a small security fee. This led Cheng Hai to think that when he didn’t want to cooperate with me anymore, even money wasn’t worth his time—that’s my flaw; it needs fixing.
Too much wealth is also a sickness for Cheng Hai; it needs treatment!
"What? Do you think this price isn’t reasonable? Should I give you an 18% discount?"
I asked playfully. Cheng Hai quickly waved his hands in response.
"No need! No need! Xiang, I think doubling the price is fair given your capabilities! Really! The new price is quite reasonable!"
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