However, this trust needed some serious nurturing.
Lin Yan didn't quite trust Li Mengyao yet.
Sporadic sounds of fighting occasionally drifted in from outside; it seemed Yang Tianming had encountered those people.
Seeing the calm expression on Lin Yan's face, the young man felt somewhat reassured. He had judged this big shot correctly.
Outside, the fighting was fierce, yet he sat there calmly scrolling through his phone, a clear sign of a man who had seen it all.
Li Mengyao, in the adjacent room, shared a similar thought. Even though she had prepared herself mentally, she was still slightly surprised by the expressions of Lin Yan and the woman with him.
The fighting outside was so loud that it made her a little nervous, yet this young man remained so nonchalant. And the woman beside him, despite wearing a mask, also looked completely unfazed, showing no signs of tension whatsoever.
Weren't they worried that the bodyguards wouldn't be able to hold them off?
Although she had just witnessed the prowess of these bodyguards, Lin Yan's personal bodyguards hadn't gone out; only the outer perimeter guards had. Li Mengyao was still somewhat concerned whether these men could defeat the organization's members.
After all, the organization had quite a few experts, and the leader was likely as strong as her, if not stronger.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy. Lin Yan and Su Mojin were aimlessly browsing new reports about race schedules on their phones.
Lin Yan's brow twitched slightly as he looked at the small rear wing on the Ben Tian racing car.
He had to admit, the imitation was remarkably swift.
After two rounds of competition, the advantage of the GP23's rear wing was evident to all the teams. The Honda team was the first to catch up and replicate it.
While Ducati's aerodynamic package was excellent, its privacy was too poor. It was all on the outside of the car, and anyone could see the upgrades at a glance, making imitation effortless.
He recalled how Honda's racing cars in the past, with their black technology engines, like the five-cylinder divine car RC211V ridden by his master Boss Luo, hid their black technology within the engine. Honda didn't disclose it, and to this day, no other team had managed to crack it.
Of course, this had its pros and cons. GP disallowed any team from having too great an advantage in racing car performance, otherwise, what would be the point of regulations? After a few years of the RC211V's dominance, it was phased out by regulations.
Conversely, if the GP23's performance was too strong, it would also be restricted by regulations in a few years. Therefore, Honda's follow-up could be considered half a good thing.
It was just that the R&D expenses incurred made Lin Yan feel like he was being taken advantage of. He invested money in R&D, only for them to directly copy it. It was a lack of integrity.
Li Mengyao's worries were somewhat unfounded. In less than five minutes, Yang Tianming returned, carrying a man. He was bloody all the way, with blood dripping along the marble floor of the hospital, forming a straight line.
"Young Master, this guy is strong, a tough nut to crack. He injured three of our brothers. I suspect this fellow's identity is unusual, so I kept him alive."
Throwing the half-dead man onto the ground, Yang Tianming cupped his hands.
With Yang Tianming's return, Lin Yan put away his phone and focused his gaze on the person kneeling on the ground.
The man and Li Mengyao had the same mark on the side of their faces. However, Li Mengyao's had already turned into a scar, while the man's was still intact, a plum blossom pattern.
Dressed in a black uniform, the man's limbs had all been broken. Three men, this was a considerable loss among Lin Yan's bodyguards, especially in a bare-handed situation. The loss at the airport last time was no less.
Furthermore, judging by Yang Tianming's demeanor, he had likely also taken part in the fight.
"Li Mengyao, what are you trying to do? Declare war on the organization? Let me go!"
With his limbs crippled, the man didn't scream in pain. Instead, he glared arrogantly at Li Mengyao on the bed, speaking in a dialect of the T country. While he appeared calm on the surface, the sweat constantly dripping from his forehead betrayed him.
Being surrounded by so many unfamiliar people with comparable strength was not a good situation, especially the one who had carried him; his strength was terrifying.
Although his strength was only mid-to-lower tier within the organization, not inferior to Li Mengyao's, he shouldn't have lasted more than ten rounds against this short man.
The man was over 1.8 meters tall, while Yang Tianming was 1.75 meters. Yang Tianming was indeed not tall compared to him, so calling him a short man was understandable.
Hearing his words, Li Mengyao had just snapped out of her shock. Five minutes, that was too fast.
Even when she was uninjured, it took her thirty to forty rounds to defeat Tucao, and that was when the opponent was going head-to-head with her. Had this guy finished off that group of people so quickly after going out?
Li Mengyao knew that if the organization wanted to silence her, they wouldn't send just a few people.
"Tucao, I didn't expect you to be sent to deal with me this time? I remember we used to have a pretty good relationship, right?"
Looking at the man kneeling on the ground, almost crippled, Li Mengyao forced herself up, her tone gradually turning cold.
"Heh, Li Mengyao, although our relationship was indeed very good before, I can't do anything about the orders from above. It's only your own fault, but I didn't expect you to find such a strong backer."
The man glanced at Lin Yan, his meaning obvious.
Clapping his hands, Lin Yan signaled Yang Tianming to take the man away.
"Tell me, what exactly is this 'organization' you're talking about."
Picking at his ear, Lin Yan asked.
Lin Yan asked, and Li Mengyao dared not conceal anything, slowly recounting her past.
It was not much different from what Li Wei had said. It was an underground organization in the T country, similar to the triads in China. However, this organization was involved in more businesses, encompassing all possible grey market dealings. Li Mengyao was a fighter trained by them from a young age.
Both of them were orphans with no registered household status, and they had forgotten how they ended up in the T country.
Li Mengyao used to work at an underground boxing ring. Those who could work at an underground boxing ring understood the implications; she was a core member, otherwise, she wouldn't have the organization's mark. The young man was a thug at the boxing ring.
Later, because the boss's son took a liking to her, and Li Mengyao refused, she left. Underground organizations were all the same; it was easy to get in, but hard to get out.
As soon as Li Mengyao left, the organization's assassins chased after her. She had been on the run ever since, leading to her current predicament.
After listening to Li Mengyao's story, Su Mojin inexplicably felt that the siblings were quite pitiful. They had lost their parents at a young age and worked for others without receiving any wages.
"Hmm, not too bad, not too pitiful. You two can recuperate here. After some time, you'll come back to China with me. Your task is simple, just like them. Your salary will be the market rate. As for your brother, I'll casually arrange a paid job for him."
"If you both perform well, I'll help you sort out your household registration. Of course, if you dare to do anything to betray me..."