Shangguan Yuan's resonant voice echoed in everyone's ears.
All who heard it were stunned, utterly shocked. This security guard, overlooked by everyone, had such significant backing?
He appeared to be just a young man in his early twenties.
Su Jian fell silent, twisting his stiff neck to look at Yu Huaixuan beside him, as if questioning Yu Huaixuan – didn't you say Chen Jinzhao was just a security guard? How could his background be so terrifying?
Yu Huaixuan was also bewildered.
He had no idea about any specifics of Chen Jinzhao's background.
If he had known Chen Jinzhao was this formidable, why would he have been foolish enough to oppose him?
He would have been scrambling to curry favor!
The most shocked among them were Su Canghai, Yu Hongzhi, and Wang Zhenliang. They knew better than anyone what the Candle Dragon Special Forces meant; they were not just any special forces unit, but the elite of the elite!
To be the chief instructor of the Candle Dragon Special Forces at such a young age, one could imagine Chen Jinzhao's immense potential.
Even setting aside potential, the power he wielded now was far beyond anything Yu Hongzhi and Wang Zhenliang could match. Such a person would be the center of attention wherever he went.
"He..."
"Is he really the Chief Instructor of Candle Dragon? How come I've never heard of him?" Yu Hongzhi breathed heavily, his chest feeling compressed by a massive stone.
Shangguan Yuan snorted, "There's a lot you don't know. Do I need to explain it to you?"
"I heard you had our instructor handcuffed to a sofa. Is that true?"
Yu Hongzhi's face showed distress, and he dared not speak rashly.
He could only turn to Su Canghai beside him. Only Su Canghai was qualified to negotiate with Chen Jinzhao.
"What?" Shangguan Yuan sneered.
"You dare to do it but not to own up? I also heard that Su Jian hired assassins to kill our instructor, but our instructor killed them all. However, he did sustain a wound on his upper right arm.
"Is that true?"
Su Jian trembled, not daring to speak.
Everyone waited for Su Canghai's response, their gazes focused on him.
Shangguan Yuan's appearance had indeed given Su Canghai a headache. If Chen Jinzhao had no background, killing him would have been a simple matter, and few would know what happened that night when the sun rose the next day. But Chen Jinzhao's background was so formidable – the chief instructor of the nation's elite special forces. Even with a hundred times the courage, Su Canghai wouldn't dare to kill Chen Jinzhao.
That would be no different from rebellion!
They said the Su family had an imperial pardon, but there was a condition – no fundamental errors could be committed!
Killing Chen Jinzhao would be a fundamental error.
Su Canghai, the old fox, suddenly broke into a smile and said to Yu Hongzhi beside him, "Hongzhi, you really are something. How could you handcuff Instructor Chen? Go quickly, unlock the handcuffs, and then we can all sit down and talk amicably. I think there might be some misunderstanding between us that can only be resolved through calm discussion."
Yu Hongzhi understood implicitly and immediately went to unlock Chen Jinzhao's handcuffs.
Chen Jinzhao raised his hand, and Shangguan Yuan immediately stepped in front of Yu Hongzhi, blocking him from approaching Chen Jinzhao.
"There's no need to unlock them," Chen Jinzhao said.
"As I said earlier, it's easy to put them on, but not so easy to take them off."
Yu Hongzhi was in a difficult position and could only brace himself, saying, "This..."
"Instructor Chen, I believe there must be a misunderstanding between us. It was my fault for being blind and handcuffing you earlier. Now, I apologize, and then I will unlock your handcuffs. What do you say to that?" Yu Hongzhi could taunt Chen Jinzhao before, but now he could fawn over him. He would do anything that was beneficial to him.
Such people often fared well.
Chen Jinzhao said mockingly, "Forget it. How dare I ask you to unlock them for me personally? You're right, I'm just a criminal suspect. The best outcome would be to die at Su Jian's hands."
Everyone could tell that Chen Jinzhao was speaking sarcastically.
Yu Hongzhi wanted to say something more, but Su Canghai coughed to silence him, telling him not to try to please someone who wasn't receptive, as it would only bring shame to the Su family.
The Su family was not so pathetic!
Yu Hongzhi obediently returned to Su Canghai's side. Su Canghai whispered a few words in his ear, and Yu Hongzhi nodded before signaling all his subordinates to withdraw from the living room. Wang Zhenliang, sensing something, also had his subordinates leave. However, Shangguan Yuan showed no intention of leaving, which made Su Canghai frown.
But he didn't say anything, as the Su family was in the wrong.
After everyone had left, Su Canghai sat down in front of Chen Jinzhao and looked at him intently.
"Chen Jinzhao, what do you want us to do to spare Xiao Jian? There's no one else here now. You can state your terms. If they are within the Su family's acceptable range, I can make the decision on the spot," Su Canghai said.
Even if Chen Jinzhao wanted his dog to be fed from the imperial granary, Su Canghai could arrange it.
The atmosphere in the living room grew even more oppressive.
Chen Jinzhao raised his hand and, with sheer force, broke free from the handcuffs, leaving Yu Hongzhi and the others dumbfounded. They knew how sturdy the handcuffs were, and an ordinary person could never break them.
No wonder Chen Jinzhao could kill eight assassins; his strength was that formidable!
Su Canghai's eyelids twitched. He then averted his gaze, feigning calmness, and said, "We are all adults, and this is a society driven by interests. Just say what you want; there's no need for such tricks."
Chen Jinzhao said calmly, "I don't want anything. I only want the lives of Su Jian and Yu Huaixuan."
The two named men trembled with fear.
Su Canghai frowned, "That's impossible. Su Jian is my son. He might have done something wrong to you under someone's instigation, but you didn't suffer any significant losses, did you?"
Shangguan Yuan frowned.
To utter such twisted logic, one could see how overbearing the Su family was.
"That's utter nonsense. If not for Instructor Chen's exceptional skills, he would have been killed by Su Jian's assassins. The fact that the consequences didn't occur doesn't mean nothing happened." Shangguan Yuan said.
Yu Hongzhi frowned and barked, "Who are you? This is not your place to speak."
Shangguan Yuan tilted his chin slightly, "I am Instructor Chen's deputy, Shangguan Yuan. I am also from the Shangguan family in the capital. Do you know who I am now?"
Yu Hongzhi: "..."
This immediately rendered him speechless.
The Shangguan family was not someone he could afford to offend.
Su Canghai ignored Shangguan Yuan, knowing that Chen Jinzhao was the spokesperson for Candle Dragon, and only Chen Jinzhao's words carried weight.
Chen Jinzhao spoke again.
"You may not care about my life, and I don't think my life is worth more than anyone else's. But I must tell you that in the Gou Chen poison case, Su Jian and Yu Huaixuan were the masterminds. They colluded to take ten innocent lives! If I don't bring Su Jian to justice, I will be ashamed of the national emblem above my head! Su Canghai, ask yourself, who are you being fair to by doing this?"
"In short, Su Jian must die!"