Zhao Yunhai said to the two respectfully, "Old Qiu, Old Liu, I'll leave my safety to the two of you."
"What are you saying, Young Master Yun? Protecting Young Master Yun is our utmost duty, even with our lives."
Old Qiu and Old Liu dared not be presumptuous in front of Young Master Yun and quickly pledged their loyalty.
Lu Boyun and Du Lu, dwarfed by the presence of the two influential figures, stood silently to the side.
They hadn't expected that after three young men had just left, two old and formidable individuals would immediately arrive.
Zhao Yunhai had never doubted the loyalty of the two elders. Those sent by his father were undoubtedly devoted to the Zhao family, beyond question.
Old Qiu and Old Liu had been in the peripheral departments of the Zhao family for twenty years. Their inability to advance further in their cultivation had prevented them from entering the core departments of the Zhao family.
However, Old Qiu and Old Liu were content with what they had, a rare and commendable trait. In the periphery of the Zhao family, they were highly respected by the younger generation and valued by the family.
One was fifty years old, and the other fifty-one. However, due to the potent nature of martial arts, they possessed lifespans and physical health far exceeding those of ordinary people.
Of course, martial artists were not immortals. If one focused solely on cultivation and neglected proper physical care, even if immensely powerful, they might die sooner than an average person.
Two peak Gang Jin stage cultivators were more than enough for Zhao Yunhai at this moment.
Zhao Yunhai's own cultivation was at the peak of An Jin stage, but he was several times stronger than an ordinary peak An Jin cultivator. This was the benefit of the super doubling.
Whatever you have, I have too, and several times more. Even the strongest protagonist could not gain any advantage against Zhao Yunhai if he were to super double.
Zhao Yunhai now possessed Yang Fan's Zi Xiao True Art, and he understood it even better than Yang Fan.
However, Zhao Yunhai had not used it much, as he was still preoccupied with his own family's internal cultivation techniques and supreme martial arts.
The Zhao family's core internal cultivation techniques and supreme martial arts had been refined over thousands of years, representing the pinnacle of martial arts. Their internal and external cultivation methods were complementary and mutually beneficial.
Zhao Yunhai had not learned any of them. To learn them, he would have to start from the beginning.
After the matter in Haicheng was resolved, Zhao Yunhai intended to dedicate some time to studying his family's cultivation methods.
After all, he was destined to inherit the position of Zhao family patriarch, and it would be unacceptable to be ignorant of his own lineage's martial arts.
Zhao Yunhai, accompanied by Old Qiu, Old Liu, Lu Boyun, and Du Lu, departed from Yanjing for Haicheng in Haizhou.
"Ru Bing, that scoundrel has finally left Yanjing. You can breathe easy now."
Mu Xiaoyu looked at her best friend with complicated emotions and sighed deeply.
Coincidentally, Mu Xiaoyu had wanted to take Ru Bing away from Yanjing for a change of scenery. However, at the airport, she encountered Zhao Yunhai, that devil.
Yan Ru Bing did not know how she felt at this moment; her heart was a jumble of emotions.
These past few days, every time she closed her eyes, those images flooded her mind—images of Zhao Yunhai pouncing on her.
Did she harbor hatred? Naturally, she did.
But it was not as much as she had imagined. More than anything, it was a feeling she herself did not understand.
"Let's go, Xiaoyu. Boarding time is approaching."
Yan Ru Bing took a deep breath, unwilling to dwell on it. All she wanted now was to relax and forget everything.
...
Haizhou — Haicheng.
Yang Fan arrived in Haicheng ahead of Zhao Yunhai. Upon reaching Haicheng, Yang Fan had no inclination to wander around. He only wished to complete Zhao Yunhai's request quickly.
Zhao Yunhai's request this time was somewhat perplexing to Yang Fan: to steal a black card from Zhang Yunyi, the chairman of Yunmi Company.
A photo of the black card had been sent, but in Yang Fan's mind, a top young master like Zhao Yunhai should not be short of money.
Zhao Yunhai also seemed to have forgotten about his escapade at the Fishing and Mocking Hotel to rescue the two women. Had he given up on that?
Yang Fan had been anticipating swift retribution from Zhao Yunhai all these days, but only received his second request.
So, he had been waiting for nothing.
He would not overthink it; what will be, will be.
After much inquiry, Yang Fan discovered that Zhang Yunyi was constantly eating, drinking, and sleeping within the company, never coming out.
If you won't come out, then I'll go in myself.
Zhao Yunhai did not care about the specifics of how Yang Fan stole the black card, only about the result.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yunyi, swamped with work in his office, was unaware that Zhao Yunhai had already set his sights on his black card.
The black card was Zhang Yunyi's greatest source of confidence, believing no one in the world knew of its existence.
This was because whoever obtained the black card could not use it and could not uncover its secrets.
Zhang Yunyi had successfully whitewashed himself over the past three days. The most vexing issue for him now was Yu Manlou, his former subordinate.
However, Yu Manlou did not seem to be lacking in funds. Yu Manlou's financial onslaught had stunned him, directly minimizing the impact of his financial power.
Furthermore, Yu Manlou was a business genius, his talent even surpassing Zhang Yunyi's. The only difference was that Zhang Yunyi was the protagonist, and Yu Manlou was not.
In just three days, Yu Manlou's offensive against Yunmi Company had intensified.
If not for Zhang Yunyi's protagonist's halo, which allowed him to find solutions at the last critical moment, Yunmi Company would have been declared bankrupt long ago.
Zhao Yunhai arrived at Haicheng Airport an hour later, as scheduled.
Yu Manlou, along with the top executives of Tiangong, came to greet him.
Although Zhao Yunhai disliked being overly ostentatious, he never shied away from attention.
"Welcome, Chairman."
The charming banner girl, dressed scantily, seemed eager to display her décolletage for the chairman's appreciation.
These were the receptionists hired by Yu Manlou. A company's receptionists were its basic facade, so they naturally had to be beautiful and well-figured. The more beautiful they were, the higher their salary indicated.
This gave the impression that if even the receptionists were this attractive, the company must be very powerful.
Besides being visually pleasing, Zhao Yunhai felt nothing else.
"Chairman, I apologize for my failure. Zhang Yunyi has been personally overseeing Yunmi Company, and he has thwarted all our efforts at critical junctures."
In the car, Yu Manlou sat in the back seat with Zhao Yunhai and spoke in a low voice.
"As expected. However, now that I am here, he won't be able to be arrogant for much longer."
Zhao Yunhai was waiting for Yang Fan to complete the second request. Once that was done, it would be time for Yang Fan to undertake the third.
His arrival was merely to make matters easier to control.
Protagonist's halo?
He wondered what the experience would be like when two protagonist's halos clashed.
Subsequently, Zhao Yunhai asked Yu Manlou to report on Tiangong's achievements over the past few days.
According to Yu Manlou's report, Tiangong Company had acquired a beverage factory, a clothing factory, a shoe factory, a instant noodle factory, and other manufacturers related to food and daily necessities.
The steps taken were a bit ambitious, but Tiangong's recruitment pace kept up entirely.
The reason for this was Tiangong's excellent benefits and high salaries.
After all, they were all workers, and what were workers working for if not money?