"Brother Fan, what do you mean?" Fan Keli suppressed his anger and asked in a deep voice.
Their Fan family had been associated with Chen Rong for more than a year or two. Without the Fan family, he wouldn't have been able to ascend to his current position.
This was supposed to be a mutually beneficial relationship.
Over the years, they had also given him considerable benefits.
Now, Chen Rong was giving him the cold shoulder. Truly ungrateful.
"No comment, it means what it says." Chen Rong sneered coldly, showing no deference.
The people who arrested them were the military, not the police.
They had been strictly warned when they were released. Chen Rong was arrogant, but not stupid.
Putting aside the relationship between those people and his cheap junior brother, Li Zhonglou, he wouldn't dare to offend their teacher, let alone the state apparatus.
If he told Fan Keli, and trouble ensued, he would definitely be implicated.
Bang!
Fan Keli could no longer tolerate it and slammed the table, standing up: "Chen Rong, I know you were arrested along with Fan Liang."
"Now that you're out, and Fan Liang is still inside, you refuse to reveal even a single piece of information to me."
"Do you really think our Fan family is a pushover?"
Under normal circumstances, no matter how angry he was, he would never fall out with someone like Chen Rong.
But this was no ordinary time. Fan Liang had been arrested and disappeared, and he had used almost all his connections to no avail in finding him.
This matter was extremely unusual.
Of course, he couldn't connect it to Li Zhonglou, but he assumed Chen Rong had acted behind the scenes.
Otherwise, why would Chen Rong be released unharmed while Fan Liang was still missing?
"Anger harms the body." Chen Rong looked at the contorted expression of Fan Keli and changed the subject, warning, "Brother Fan, I advise you to restrain yourself in some matters."
"For example, Li Zhonglou. Don't think about moving against him again in the future."
"Otherwise, don't blame me, Chen Rong, for becoming your enemy."
This statement was clear enough.
Fan Keli's expression instantly stiffened. Chen Rong had clearly sided with Li Zhonglou.
Why?
He heard that Chen Rong had nearly beaten Li Zhonglou to death. Why the sudden betrayal?
Did someone offer him even greater benefits?
Chen Rong, that bastard, feigned loyalty but was actually driven by profit. To betray him at this time.
Fan Keli was filled with resentment.
He suppressed it with great effort, not showing it. This was Chen Rong's house, his territory. If it were Song Yi, he might be bolder, but alone, he was no match for Chen Rong. Falling out would likely lead to a bad outcome.
At this moment, how could he not understand that his son's disappearance was definitely related to Chen Rong?
Gritting his teeth in resentment, he said, "Fine. You wish to be an enemy of my Fan family. I've heard your words today. There will be plenty of time in the future!"
With that, he turned and walked out of the villa.
Watching Fan Keli get into his car and disappear, Chen Rong revealed a cold smile: "The Fan family? Without the old man, they are just a mob."
"Fan Keli, if you court death, don't drag me down with you."
After speaking, he closed his eyes and let out a long cry: "This Zhonghai is about to change!"
At the same time.
In Kong Mo's suburban estate.
Kong Mo, dressed in a silk pajama, holding a glass of red wine.
A schadenfreude smile appeared on his face: "Young people are just young people, arrogant and ignorant, seeking the limelight."
"First, he offended the Fan family, and now he's become an adversary of Chen Rong."
"Li Zhonglou, I'm looking forward to seeing how much longer you can live."
He already knew everything that had happened at the private restaurant.
Li Zhonglou had stepped forward to clash with Fan Liang for the sake of that woman, Fan Meng. The underground magnate Chen Rong had arrived and nearly killed Li Zhonglou.
As a result, Fan Meng had run away herself.
If it weren't for the special police arriving to arrest Chen Rong and his men, Li Zhonglou would have been a dead body today.
He still wanted to contend with him within the company? A pipe dream.
Based on his understanding of Chen Rong, he would be released soon, given his connections and influence.
At that time, Li Zhonglou would have to be wary even when walking.
Who was Chen Rong? A bandit, a gangster!
His hands were stained with blood. How could he easily let go of his enemy?
"Then... then President Kong, should he still be the one to receive that batch of goods the day after tomorrow?" his secretary, standing before him, asked hesitantly.
Just that evening, a subordinate from another province had delivered a batch of newly unearthed smuggled cultural relics.
This matter was originally handled by Tong Zhaolin, but he had other business tomorrow and would be out of Zhonghai, so he recommended Li Zhonglou to receive it.
Kong Mo naturally didn't want him to, but he couldn't resist the call from that person instructing him to have Li Zhonglou take charge.
He was initially furious but was instantly delighted upon hearing about Li Zhonglou's attack.
"Yes, let him go. He's almost dead, shouldn't he still do some work for the company?" Kong Mo waved his hand generously.
But his sinister gaze was chilling: "However, if something were to happen to him during the receipt of the goods, then I can't be blamed."
Having offended Chen Rong and the Fan family, Li Zhonglou's fate was sealed. He didn't need to worry about it anymore.
He wanted to usurp his power and climb up? He had the ambition but not the destiny.
"Ah... Acho!" Li Zhonglou, who was studying the base with Lin Zhendong, suddenly sneezed twice.
A chill ran through him. He got up and turned up the floor heating.
It was already winter, and the temperature had dropped sharply with a significant diurnal temperature difference.
"For this month, not only can you not use force, but your physique has also become extremely sensitive, with even weaker resistance than ordinary people." Lin Zhendong looked at his disciple's frail appearance with some concern.
These days, he had been immersed in studying the base and searching for clues about Shi Boqiong.
He hadn't left his residence and had no mind to do anything else.
As a result, he hadn't had any prior warning when his disciple and daughter were almost in danger.
Fortunately, everything wasn't too dire.
A minor injury was nothing to Lin Ying, but Li Zhonglou had to suffer.
"Master, don't worry. I've never relied on martial arts as my trump card," Li Zhonglou smiled indifferently.
With his master guarding him, first, Xuan Jiu no longer dared to make a move, and then Chen Rong, a local bully, was subdued.
Now, the only enemy was Kong Mo.
He was now a Vice President of the company. Although this position was obtained through unconventional means, Kong Mo wouldn't dare to make any overt moves.
Martial arts had indeed become dispensable.
In his previous life, he didn't know martial arts, but he still lived to seventy-three.
One month was not a big deal.
A flicker of worry flashed in Lin Zhendong's eyes, and he said no more.
The night passed. The next morning, Li Zhonglou, along with Lin Ying and Qi Yu, went to the hospital first.
He asked them to wait in the car while he went to see Bai Jing.
He recounted the matter of Fan Da arranging his brothers to save him yesterday, which made Bai Jing's face show lingering fear.
She blamed herself: "You're truly lucky to be alive. If it were me, I probably wouldn't have even waited for the rescue to arrive."
"I'm really useless. You can't use force now, and I'm lying in bed, unable to help!"
There was no sign of the cold arrogance she had displayed as a member of the Eagle.
People only reflect on themselves and examine their inner selves when they are sick or have failed, when their bodies or spirits are weak.
Bai Jing, with her inherently cold and proud nature, was also just a woman who needed to prove her worth.
"Don't be so quick to deny yourself. You can actually help." Li Zhonglou comforted her, "The company and I are currently in a hidden struggle with Kong Mo. I'm cultivating my own influence."
"I think once it has infiltrated to a certain extent, the person behind the scenes will have to show themselves."
"But this will still take some time. During this period, I need you to help me build momentum!"
Bai Jing's pupils dilated in surprise: "Build momentum? How?"
"Do this, just as I say..." Li Zhonglou leaned close to Bai Jing's face and slowly narrated his thoughts in a voice only they could hear.
This was the result of his thinking for most of the night yesterday.
A heat current flowed between them at a distance of less than five millimeters, and Bai Jing's heart also itched with this heat current.
Only after Li Zhonglou finished speaking and said goodbye did he come back to his senses and heave a long sigh of relief.
He murmured, "Don't worry, I will definitely help you do this well."
Back in the car, Qi Yu curiously poked her head out and asked, "Little Uncle-Master, you didn't let us go up. Aren't you hiding some beauties?"
"Don't call me Uncle-Master, just call me Vice President Li," Li Zhonglou avoided the question and corrected her.
The company was monitored everywhere, with recording devices, and ordinary employees even wore positioning wristbands. Of course, as Vice President, he didn't need to wear one now.
However, Qi Yu and Lin Ying didn't have this privilege, and saying the wrong thing could cause a lot of trouble.
"Yes, Vice President Li!" Qi Yu replied with a smile, deliberately drawing out the tone.
Last night, she had chatted with Lin Ying for a long time.
She had learned a lot about Li Zhonglou, especially about him killing Li Hanlong for his mother and wife.
Listening to this, Qi Yu was deeply moved and extremely impressed by this junior uncle-master who was around her age.
Invisibly, their relationship had become much closer than before.
Of course, Qi Yu didn't know that Li Zhonglou was in Xingzhi Group for a mission; this was highly confidential, and Lin Ying would not reveal it to anyone.
Therefore, it was necessary to make things clear to avoid complications.
When they arrived at the company, he called Xu Bin and asked him to arrange an apprentice position for Qi Yu to follow Lin Ying.
Xu Bin was now completely devoted to Li Zhonglou, obeying every command without question.
Not long after Xu Bin left, Kong Mo's secretary knocked on Li Zhonglou's door: "Vice President Li."
"There's a batch of goods tomorrow afternoon. The higher-ups specifically requested you to handle the handover. Here are the time, location, and contact person. President Kong hopes you will prioritize the company's interests above all else."
After speaking, she placed the file bag in front of Li Zhonglou and turned to leave.
Receiving goods?
Li Zhonglou's eyes lit up. He opened the file bag and took a few glances, secretly pleased.
As he had expected, it was a batch of newly unearthed smuggled cultural relics. Was this the beginning of the transition from nominal power to actual authority?
Being able to access this core information meant he was getting closer to that former vice president.
As for Kong Mo, he didn't need to guess to know that he would definitely try to cause trouble.
But so what? He would deal with whatever came his way.
Tomorrow, he could just ask his senior sister to come along.
When they left work in the evening, Lin Ying needed to buy some things. Li Zhonglou drove her and Qi Yu to the mall.
Before they had finished shopping, Qi Yu received a call.
The smile on her face instantly vanished. She said goodbye to Lin Ying and prepared to leave.
"Should I accompany you?" Lin Ying noticed that she seemed to be in some trouble.
"No need, master. It's a friend of mine, a lawyer, looking for me regarding my father's affairs. I can go alone." Qi Yu declined the offer.
Li Zhonglou, seeing that Lin Ying seemed a little uneasy, volunteered: "I'll take her. I'll be back after it's done."
"Senior sister, you shop first."
Recalling what Chen Rong had said yesterday, Li Zhonglou shouldn't be in any danger recently, so Lin Ying agreed.
But she never imagined that it was this oversight that almost cost Li Zhonglou his life.