"Scram!"
Just one word, and the surrounding temperature plummeted.
Even Li Tiannan, at the peak of his power, felt his pupils constrict, as if he had seen that ancient Candle Dragon, the one that slaughtered gods and buddhas alike.
Li Tiannan averted his gaze, no longer meeting Chen Jinzhao's eyes.
It was as if their gazes would scorch his eyes.
Xu Jinsong stood to Chen Jinzhao's left, perpetually wary of Li Tiannan.
Li Tiannan said with a blank expression, "My elder brother is inside discussing cooperation with my cousin. You can't go in for now."
"I'm the group's vice president. Even I can't go in?" Yu Huaiqing voiced his indignation.
Li Tiannan shook his head, his stance resolute.
Yu Huaiqing's face turned red with anger, "What kind of business talk is this? This is clearly extortion, a case of blatant robbery!"
"It's illegal!"
Li Tiannan looked at Yu Huaiqing with calm eyes and said in a normal tone, "This is the capital city. The Li family *is* the law."
"You..." Yu Huaiqing instantly lost his temper.
Li Tiannan's gaze shifted back to Chen Jinzhao, whose eyes remained cold. "You should go back. You can't get involved in today's affairs, or you'll only bring shame upon yourself."
Chen Jinzhao offered no reply.
"I'm doing this for your own good," Li Tiannan sighed.
Xu Jinsong narrowed his eyes and said, "Enough with the nonsense. Are you letting us pass or not? While my progress isn't as dramatic as yours, I think I can stall you for a while. Li Tiannan, don't force my hand."
Li Tiannan's brow furrowed instantly at his words. "Are you guys ever going to stop? I've made the rules perfectly clear. You are not qualified to enter."
"If you want to get in, you'll have to get past me first."
He stood before the three of them.
Like a divine mountain ten thousand meters high, making it seem hopeless to ever reach its summit.
Xu Jinsong clenched his fists, ready to strike.
As soon as Chen Jinzhao gave the order, he would attack Li Tiannan.
Li Tiannan, of course, was not idle. He began to tense every nerve in his body, preparing for Xu Jinsong's potential attack.
As for Chen Jinzhao—
He was no longer considered.
Li Tiannan's gaze settled on Chen Jinzhao. "Chen Jinzhao," he said calmly, "you don't want them to get beaten up, do you? Tell them to leave, don't force me to act."
"Scram!"
Chen Jinzhao spat out the word again.
Huh?
Li Tiannan's pupils shrunk again to the size of pinholes, a trace of anger swirling within them.
What gave Chen Jinzhao the right to speak to him in such a manner?
Did he still think he was the Chen Jinzhao of old?
"Are you going to fight me?" Li Tiannan retorted.
Chen Jinzhao tilted his head, staring into Li Tiannan's eyes. "So what if I am?"
If Li Tiannan didn't move aside, Chen Jinzhao wouldn't rule out taking action.
Of course.
Chen Jinzhao was by no means Li Tiannan's match.
His goal was to get some hair from Li Tiannan, then have Xu Nianqing develop a gene bomb targeting Li Tiannan.
Revenge is sweet, and a gentleman's revenge is never too late.
Li Tiannan's imposing aura surged again, so powerful that even Xu Jinsong felt immense pressure.
Yu Huaiqing staggered back three steps, unable to withstand the pressure.
Xu Jinsong also took half a step back.
Conversely, Chen Jinzhao hadn't retreated even half a step.
This surprised Li Tiannan.
Just as Li Tiannan was about to make a move, Li Tiance's voice suddenly echoed from the conference room, "Let Chen Jinzhao in."
Li Tiannan, with a blank expression, walked to the doorway and said to Chen Jinzhao, "You can go in, but they have to wait outside."
As Chen Jinzhao was about to enter the conference room, Yu Huaiqing suddenly grabbed his hand. "Don't act impulsively in the face of trouble. If the green hills remain, there'll be wood to burn."
Chen Jinzhao pursed his lips and nodded, saying no more before stepping into the conference room.
People from different factions sat on either side of the long conference table.
On one side was the group led by Li Tiance, six people in total including Li Tiance. On the other side was the Gou Chen Group's faction, with only Bai Meizi and Bai Zongmin accompanying Yu Mengzhi.
This meant.
Before the two Bai family members arrived, Yu Mengzhi was facing them alone.
The moment Chen Jinzhao stepped into the conference room, all eyes fell on him. Yu Mengzhi immediately stood up and walked to Chen Jinzhao's front.
She frowned and asked anxiously, "Why are you here?"
"You go back quickly. I'll handle it here."
Chen Jinzhao could only feel a pang of heartache.
He saw that Yu Mengzhi's eyes were red, clearly having been bullied here.
Looking at the solemn expressions of Bai Meizi and Bai Zongmin, he could tell the arguments inside the conference room must have been fierce.
"You've worked hard. I'm here to protect you," Chen Jinzhao said.
Yu Mengzhi's body trembled slightly, then she quickly regained her composure. Chen Jinzhao continued, "What is it that you can't let me know about?"
"Let's sit down and talk first."
Yu Mengzhi couldn't refuse Chen Jinzhao, so she let him sit down.
Li Tiance's face always bore a faint smile, a smile of condescending disdain and bestowal, which made Chen Jinzhao extremely uncomfortable.
He really wanted to punch Li Tiance in the face.
"Shall we continue our discussion then?" Li Tiance initiated.
Bai Zongmin said sternly, "There's nothing to discuss. I think you're bullying us, Li Tiance. Don't push your luck too far."
Li Tiance said lightly, "What are you talking about? I'm discussing cooperation, business, not bullying."
Bai Meizi also couldn't hold back.
The Gou Chen Group also had their share. After she married Yu Huaiqing, the Bai family, having predicted Gou Chen Group would be a rising star, made a groundbreaking decision: to have the younger generation of the Bai family abandon politics and business, dedicating most of their energy to Gou Chen Group.
The Bai family held 10% of Gou Chen Group's shares.
This also allowed Gou Chen Group to receive the Bai family's assistance and a supplement of middle and high-level elites, forming an extremely stable and healthy organizational framework.
This was also why Gou Chen Group had developed so rapidly over the past three years.
Bai Meizi's face looked grim. "Your Li family doesn't have to contribute anything, yet you want to acquire 67% of Gou Chen Group's shares. Isn't that too far-fetched? There's no such thing as a free lunch. We'd rather give the shares to the Qin family than to you."
Chen Jinzhao finally understood.
Li Tiance must have known Gou Chen Group's potential was limitless—even though Gou Chen Group's valuation had already reached a trillion.
"So you've had this plan all along. I should have expected it," Chen Jinzhao said. Li Tiance turned his gaze to Chen Jinzhao. "Even if you saw it coming, what does it matter? No one can stop my plan."
As long as he gained absolute control of Gou Chen Group, Li Tiance would have an overwhelming advantage, allowing him to win his struggle against Qin Fengwu ten years ahead of schedule.
Therefore.
He had to obtain control of Gou Chen Group.
He was willing to spare no effort to do so!