Chen Yang left.

Yang Hu glanced at everyone and said with a wicked smile, "Gentlemen, from this moment on for the next two days, I, Yang Hu, will be your devoted nanny."

"I'll be staying in the next room, and my people are right outside. If you need anything, or any help, just say so. Don't hesitate."

With that, Yang Hu swept his gaze over them all before turning around.

As he reached the door of the still-smoldering bedroom, Yang Hu sneered and spat fiercely, "Arrogant, self-important trash. This is a fitting end for you."

BANG!

The door slammed shut.

In his wake, everyone in the room, without exception, slumped to the ground, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads. They shivered, their teeth chattering uncontrollably.

It took them nearly half an hour to regain some semblance of composure.

"Do you finally understand why he cut off our escape routes?" Sun Chen asked with a tragic smile. "It's to capture us all in one fell swoop!"

"We can afford to lose these few billion. What I'm afraid of is that this guy will still kill us in the end!"

As he spoke, Sun Chen glared bitterly at Fan Changtian and said coldly, "Fan Changtian, this was your damned idea, and you kept swearing it would work. Look what happened."

"That Krait you revered as a god is just a piece of useless trash! By the looks of it, he didn't even lay a scratch on the target before being captured alive!"

The more Sun Chen spoke, the angrier he became, until he was shouting curses. "Number one on the Blood Droplet List, my ass! I say he's number one at eating shit!"

"Sun Chen, do you know how to do anything besides shift blame?" Fan Changtian retorted scornfully. "Didn't you nod in agreement when I proposed this plan?"

"If you had a better idea, why didn't you speak up then?"

Although the others remained silent, deep down, they all resented Fan Changtian to some degree. After all, he was the one who had suggested hiring the Krait.

"Enough!" Yuan Tianlong sneered. "What's the use of saying all this now? What's done is done. We need to focus on finding a solution!"

"Like Sun Chen said, the money is a small matter. The real fear is that he'll still kill us after we stand with him the day after tomorrow!"

His words plunged everyone into deep thought. Although their captor hadn't explicitly said he would kill them, he hadn't said he would let them go, either. Faced with this reality, they had no choice but to prepare for the worst.

After a moment, Sun Chen spoke up. "A person in charge of the Martial Department's Lingjin City division is on good terms with me. Maybe we can get him to mediate?"

"Yes, yes, someone like that can definitely help us!"

"Damn it, Sun Chen! Why didn't you mention you had a connection like that earlier?"

"Quick, quick, call him now!"

They all urged him on.

Sun Chen took a deep breath and, with a trembling hand, pulled out his phone. After fumbling through his contacts, he finally dialed a number.

"Put it on speaker," Fan Changtian reminded him.

Sun Chen complied, visibly nervous.

Soon, a voice like a resonant bell sounded from the phone. "Director Sun, what gives me the pleasure of your call today?"

"Chief Zhou, it's Sun Chen," he said, trying to sound calm while humbling himself. "Do you have a moment?"

"What is it? Go ahead."

"Well," Sun Chen began, "due to a business matter, I've had a small disagreement with a Sixth Grade Military General named Chen Yang. I was wondering if you could help arrange a meeting? I'd like to host a casual dinner for you two generals."

"Who did you say?" the voice on the other end suddenly jumped an octave.

"His name is Chen Yang."

The line fell silent for a moment before the voice continued, "You just asked me if I was free?"

"Yes, yes, I was hoping you could help me—"

"I'm not free!"

Sun Chen was speechless.

"For old times' sake, I'll give you a piece of advice," the voice on the phone continued coldly. "Don't try any funny business. Just do whatever he tells you. It's your only chance of survival."

CLICK.

The line went dead.

Sun Chen was left speechless. Everyone else was, too.

They had thought this was their chance, but they never expected such an outcome. The question was, why was Chief Zhou so terrified of this Chen Yang?

Sun Chen slumped to the floor, dejected. He shakily lit a cigarette. "Gentlemen, you'll have to think of another way."

Suddenly, the room fell into Siji.

Even turning to the Martial Department's local division was useless. Who else could they possibly turn to?

The atmosphere grew so tense it was suffocating. They chain-smoked one cigarette after another, filling the room with a hazy fog.

In that moment, both Fan Changtian and Sun Chen looked as if they had aged a decade. When had they, men who were used to calling the shots and having their way, ever found themselves in such a desperate situation? Losing a fortune was one thing, but having their lives hang by a thread was another entirely.

The whims of fate were truly unbelievable.

A full half hour passed.

"Since none of us have a better idea, our only choice is to burn our boats and fight to the death!" Yuan Tianlong had just extinguished one cigarette, only to immediately light another. His lips were cracked, and his bloodshot eyes were devoid of expression.

Everyone turned to him, silently awaiting his plan. As long as there was a way out, it would be worth it, even if it meant losing one thousand of their own men to kill eight hundred of the enemy.

Yuan Tianlong took a deep drag, the bright cherry of his cigarette flaring. "Everyone, mobilize all the forces you can from your headquarters. Have your families spend whatever it takes to hire top-tier experts and have them assemble at Qin Corporation's new pharmaceutical factory the day after tomorrow!"

"Spare no expense!"

In that short hour, they'd had a major epiphany. Money was truly just a material possession. Without your life, what good was all the money in the world?

Yuan Tianlong continued, "Our goal isn't to fight him to the death, but simply to ensure our lives are not threatened."

"The three billion we promised him? We'll pay it."

Fan Changtian nodded. "Things have come to this; it's the only thing we can do."

"Gentlemen, let's start preparing!"

One by one, they took out their phones and began contacting their families.

…

「The Qin Family Residence」

After dinner, Qin Qiu took a rare walk with Chen Yang in their neighborhood. To be precise, it was the first time.

Chen Yang wanted to wrap an arm around her waist but didn't dare. His hand trembled just thinking about it.

"Why aren't you talking?" Qin Qiu asked.

"Uh..." Chen Yang panicked and pointed to the cold moon in the sky. "Qin Qiu, look! The moon is so full tonight!"

Qin Qiu was speechless.

PFFT!

She couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You're usually so bold. What's wrong now?"

"By the way," she added, "I'll go with you to Tianque City for the festival."

Chen Yang was stunned, hardly daring to believe his ears. "Really, Qin Qiu?"

"Is there any doubt?"

"Haha!" Chen Yang laughed boisterously and swept Qin Qiu up into his arms.

After running a short distance, he hoisted her onto his shoulders and began sprinting forward.

"Ahhh!" Qin Qiu screamed in fright, clinging tightly to him. "Hurry, put me down!"

"I'll let you down if you promise to kiss me."

"You... you're being a hooligan!"

"Then I won't let you down."

"Okay, okay, I promise," Qin Qiu said, her face blushing.

However, the moment Chen Yang put her down, she darted away, laughing triumphantly. "You want me to kiss you? No way."

"Qin Qiu, you're forcing my hand!"

"Ah... No!" Qin Qiu pleaded in terror.

"Hey, be gentle! You bit my lip."

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