Lu Weiguo continued his report to his grandfather.
"Moreover, there are suspicious aspects to this matter. The individuals involved in the case at the Jincheng branch of Bing Tian Pharmaceutical Industry simultaneously flew out of the country to the United States the day before the incident.
Furthermore, according to my informants, someone has repeatedly approached the Wang family, demanding they transfer their shares in Bing Tian Pharmaceutical Industry, promising to release their people if they comply."
Upon hearing this, the old man became furious. Having spent his life in battle, he understood the situation immediately. Upon hearing Lu Weiguo's findings, he quickly grasped the crux of the matter.
"Outrageous! The Gao family has gone too far. What era is this, yet such framing, blackmail, and extortion still exist! I've long heard that some members of the Gao family have ill intentions, but I never expected them to be so blatant!"
"Chang Kong, fetch my phone. I need to make a call to some old friends..."
...
The next day at noon, in a private club in the capital, only two people occupied a room with a very large table. In front of each of them sat a copper hot pot, and the ingredients on the table were exquisite, almost comparable to dragon's liver and phoenix's marrow. The ingredients alone on this table were worth hundreds of thousands, with many even air-freighted from abroad.
The two people enjoying the hot pot were the uncle and nephew, Gao Lu Jie and Gao Jiu Ri.
Gao Jiu Ri picked up a slice of lamb, cut as thin as a cicada's wing, with his chopsticks and gently swirled it in the pot. In just two to three seconds, the lamb slice changed color, and an enticing aroma wafted through the air. He then dipped the lamb slice in the oil dish and put a large mouthful into his mouth.
"Mmm, delicious!" Although the old man was advanced in years, he ate with no lack of grace, smacking his lips continuously.
"Uncle, didn't you say your subordinates had already made their move? Why is there no news yet? Could something have gone wrong?"
"No, my boy, relax. This time, I had Gao Xiang personally handle it..." Gao Jiu Ri said with great confidence, patting his chest.
Gao Xiang was his adopted son and most prized disciple. Now that Gao Jiu Ri was getting old and had retired, he handed over all the dirty and difficult work to this disciple. Moreover, to hone Gao Xiang's skills, he often sent him on missions abroad. Currently, on the dark web's Asian assassin rankings, he was in the top ten, though naturally, the names on the list were aliases.
Just then, Gao Jiu Ri's phone rang. He answered it to find it was one of his subordinates. Under normal circumstances, the assassin Gao Xiang should have completed the mission and returned by last night. However, there had been no word from him. Since the agreed-upon return time had passed, Gao Jiu Ri's subordinate quickly sent someone to investigate. They checked the residential complex's surveillance and found that Gao Xiang had driven out of the complex and eventually disappeared. The complex's video footage was high-definition, clearly showing that the person driving away was indeed Gao Xiang.
In reality, the person driving away was Ling Tian. He had changed into Gao Xiang's clothes and used a disguise technique to alter his appearance to Gao Xiang's. As long as the surveillance showed him leaving, where he went afterward was of little consequence to Ling Tian.
Gao Lu Jie saw Gao Jiu Ri take a call and his expression change, becoming very grim. Through snippets of their conversation, he knew that something had gone awry.
"Ninth Uncle, what's wrong? Did the mission fail?"
Gao Jiu Ri hung up the phone, nodding with a grim expression.
"Gao Xiang is missing, his whereabouts unknown, and that Ling Tian is still alive!"
"How is that possible!" Gao Lu Jie was shocked. He was well aware of the strength of Ninth Uncle and his subordinates; they were unfathomably powerful.
"A Jie, it seems we may have overlooked some intelligence regarding this Ling Tian!"
"How is that possible? Isn't he just a doctor, at most a royal physician... Could he have powerful bodyguards?"
"Xiao Jie, what are you joking about? Powerful bodyguards? You know the capabilities of my subordinates; what kind of bodyguards could withstand their attacks!"
"Uh..." Gao Lu Jie was rendered speechless by the retort.
Just then, Gao Lu Jie's phone suddenly rang. He took out his phone and found a file sent by his trusted subordinate. The watermark on the file clearly read "Top Secret." With a sense of unease, Gao Lu Jie opened the file. When he saw its contents, his eyes nearly popped out. Gao Jiu Ri, seeing Gao Lu Jie's expression, immediately sensed that something was wrong.
"What is it, Xiao Jie?"
"These good-for-nothings, these good-for-nothings... such crucial intelligence, and they only got it now!" Gao Lu Jie's expression was somewhat contorted.
Gao Jiu Ri, very curious, took his phone and looked at the contents. He immediately felt unwell himself. The file was from within the Orthodox Alliance, containing some information about Ling Tian. They then learned that Ling Tian had several formidable masters, and Ling Tian himself was not only a doctor but also an incredibly powerful martial arts expert!
What was even more critical was that the Orthodox Alliance had categorized the combat power of some of its members. Ling Tian's combat power was rated SS-class! It was known that very few individuals in the entire Orthodox Alliance reached this level. Even among the Orthodox Alliance members Ling Tian knew, only Xuanyuan Jie had an SS-class combat power!
Gao Jiu Ri's face turned green. He was filled with regret, wishing he could turn back time. If he had known Ling Tian possessed this level of combat power, he would never have sent only the assassin Gao Xiang to kill Ling Tian; he would have considered persuading Gao Lu Jie to abandon the mission. But now, it was too late. Gao Jiu Ri could already guess that his godson, Gao Xiang, was likely dead by now.
"Ling Tian, how dare you kill my man! I will have you dead!" Gao Jiu Ri's expression was now incredibly ferocious!
Suddenly, Gao Lu Jie's phone rang urgently. Upon hearing the distinctive ringtone, Gao Lu Jie's face changed, as this ringtone indicated the caller's identity. The caller was none other than the current head of the Gao family, Gao Lu Jie's grandfather, the great figure of the Gao family!
"Grandfather!" Gao Lu Jie immediately became very respectful.
"You scoundrel, have you been up to something recently!"
"Grandfather, I... I haven't done anything..." Gao Lu Jie was extremely fearful of the head of the Gao family.
"Haven't done anything? You've grown bold enough to lie to me!"