Xu Hanchen nodded.
Seeing Xu Jinsong's commitment, he knew his objective had been achieved.
This was precisely the effect he wanted.
He had spoken so much precisely to ensure Xu Jinsong's unwavering loyalty to Chen Jinzhao, paving a smooth path for Chen Jinzhao's future.
Chen Jinzhao was not very adept at these schemes, so Xu Hanchen would do his best to assist him.
"You know what needs to be done, and I trust you. Chen Jinzhao will trust you too," Xu Hanchen said.
With a carrot and a stick, Xu Jinsong was thoroughly subdued.
"Alright."
"You should rest well now. Chen Jinzhao will not be undertaking any missions for the next six months, so take this time to recuperate."
"You can contact me directly from now on. Feel free to reach out to me anytime for any matters."
Xu Jinsong acknowledged.
Xu Hanchen left the hospital room, took a deep breath, and murmured, "Jinzhao, there's not much I can do for you. I only hope you won't resent me in the future."
"Next."
"It's time to move against the Wu family."
This night was destined to be stained with blood.
Xu Hanchen arrived at the Northeast Military Command headquarters and used a dedicated line to call Li Buyan.
Li Buyan was also awake, waiting for Xu Hanchen's call in his study. Xu Hanchen got straight to the point: "Is it time to act?"
"We can move at any time, but we need a pretext," Li Buyan replied.
If they were to take action, a reason was still necessary.
More accurately—
An excuse.
Xu Hanchen chuckled, "Li Buyan, don't tell me you haven't made any arrangements. I wouldn't believe you if you said so."
Li Buyan said calmly, "You know me too well. The Wu family has incurred the wrath of the masses this time and should pay a price. I've been investigating the Wu family for years and have gathered some clues and informants, which can now be put to good use."
"At three in the morning, I will have a Wu family informant open fire within the Wu family compound. Then we will have our pretext for action."
"The charge will be rebellion."
Upon hearing this, Xu Hanchen let out a wry laugh, "A clever move. It's suicidal to cross a wily old fox like you. Should I be grateful that I haven't offended you in previous years?"
"You jest. Do you have no contingency plans of your own?" Li Buyan countered.
Then.
The two burst into laughter.
While they were meticulously planning the Wu family's 'farewell,' Li Qiutao was not idle.
He no longer concealed his anger. Upon returning to his hotel, he immediately called Wu Qixian. Wu Qixian replied with a belligerent tone, "Listen here, Li, are you done yet? Calling me in the middle of the night, is it fun to disturb people's sleep?"
Wu Qixian was furious.
The laboratory on the island was the second largest in the Divine Kingdom, housing many precious documents. It had been destroyed by Chen Jinzhao!
More importantly, his nephew, Wu Qin, had also died there.
Anyone would be displeased.
"Wu Qixian, don't think I'm unaware of your sordid dealings. Your men nearly killed my nephew this time. If you don't give me an explanation, I will not let this go!" Li Qiutao declared, his imposing presence eclipsing Wu Qixian's.
Wu Qixian's mind went blank for a moment, then he frowned, "Li Qiutao, are you out of your mind? Chen Jinzhao is merely your nephew. Why weren't you this anxious when Wu Lingyun went missing? Besides, I have no idea what nonsense you're spouting."
He felt incredibly wronged!
It was all Xu Jinsong's fault!
Xu Jinsong's infiltration into the military was his masterpiece. Over the years, Xu Jinsong had performed many crucial tasks for the Divine Kingdom and earned Wu Qixian's complete trust. Thus, Wu Qixian had entrusted him with this important mission. Initially, Xu Jinsong had performed admirably, luring Chen Jinzhao to the island as planned and diverting the military's attention.
It was clearly a trap from which Chen Jinzhao could not escape.
Who would have expected—
That Xu Jinsong would betray them!
The most damnable was Agent Number Three. Number Three could have killed Chen Jinzhao, but he didn't.
If Chen Jinzhao had been killed, none of this trouble would have arisen.
Wu Qixian suppressed his discontent and listened to what Li Qiutao had to say.
Li Qiutao said in a deep voice, "Stop playing dumb with me. Do you think I'm unaware of what you and the Wu family have done? Including this incident where Chen Jinzhao was taken to the island by that person, it was all part of your plan. I warn you, if you dare to lay a hand on Chen Jinzhao again, don't blame me for disregarding familial ties."
"Li, are you threatening me?" Wu Qixian retorted.
"Heh heh..."
Li Qiutao responded with a cold laugh, "How dare I threaten you? After all, you are the second master of the Wu family. I try to avoid you."
Wu Qixian could tell Li Qiutao was being sarcastic, but he had no good way to retaliate at the moment. He remained resolute, "Forget it. I really didn't do what you're talking about. If you truly want to play games, I won't mind playing along."
On the other end of the line.
Li Qiutao's gaze suddenly turned icy. He said mockingly, "Wu Qixian, do you think you've become an immortal, capable of controlling everything? Don't forget, you have a son abroad. I doubt you'd wish for a parent to outlive their child, would you?"
"Li Qiutao, I'll curse your ancestors!" Wu Qixian roared.
"If you dare to touch a single hair on my son's head, I swear I'll never forgive you!"
Beep—
Li Qiutao hung up the phone.
Wu Qixian yelled into the phone for a few moments, then muttered with a sinister glint in his eyes, "This Li Qiutao is going too far. Does he really think he's part of the Wu family? A son-in-law is an outsider after all. The old man won't favor you."
After calming down somewhat, Wu Qixian, still worried about his son living abroad, called Wu Fei again via long-distance.
The call connected, and Wu Fei's voice came through the receiver. Wu Qixian breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dad, what made you think of calling me?" Wu Fei's voice sounded a bit lazy, clearly still sleeping in, unsure of what time he had gone to bed last night.
Wu Qixian cautioned, "Xiao Fei, be extra careful in the coming days. Significant events have occurred domestically, and I fear the conflict might spill over to your side."
Wu Fei chuckled upon hearing this, "Dad, you can rest easy. You know where I live. It's in the most expensive villa district in all of Mitery, and the security is top-notch nationwide. I truly don't believe anyone could break in and harm me."
Reminded by Wu Fei, Wu Qixian recalled that his son's villa was worth four hundred million US dollars, and the residents were all executives from the Fortune Global 500 companies.
"Then I can rest assured," he said.
"However, caution is the mother of safety. If you encounter any difficulties, you must remember to tell me, understand?"
"Alright, alright, I get it." Wu Fei sounded slightly impatient.
Just as Wu Qixian was about to hang up, Wu Fei suddenly said, "Dad, I'll talk to you later. It seems something has come up here."
Shortly after his words, the sound of gunfire came through the receiver.
And then, Wu Fei's screams could be heard.
Wu Qixian's mind went blank.