"You're finished!" the old man said flatly over the phone.
"Sir, please don't misunderstand me. I refused your summons because I was genuinely worried about Huang He discovering the truth. I truly haven't betrayed you!" Hao Jianguo said, his voice laced with panic.
"Hmph, I know you don't have the guts to betray me, otherwise both Huang He and I would want you dead!" the old man snorted. "The reason I say you're finished is because Huang He already knows you're a traitor, and you're still lingering in his territory. Tell me, aren't you as good as dead?"
"That... that shouldn't be the case..." Hao Jianguo's expression turned grim. "I just spoke with Huang He on the phone. Although he severely criticized me and withheld my bonus for the year, doesn't the fact that he's doing that prove he still trusts me?"
"That's just a trick to deceive you. If he truly trusted you, would you be unaware of the armed paramilitary group Huang He has stationed in the US?"
"Furthermore, if he truly trusted you, would you be completely ignorant of the details of everything that happened? That night, you were merely summoned by Huang He to observe; you had no actual role to play. You were completely excluded from this crucial operation and didn't know a single piece of intelligence. Do you think that's normal for someone Huang He trusts the most?" the old man retorted.
"Perhaps, this is just a strategy of power. Truly intelligent people don't trust anyone completely; these are all normal tactics!" Hao Jianguo said softly.
"You're only deceiving yourself. While it's true that Huang He might have trusted you before, the message you sent me that night has exposed everything. Since Huang He has people monitoring you, he's undoubtedly monitoring your network. For Jiangnan Jintian, who possesses powerful network technology, this is not a difficult task!"
"You fool, how dare you send me a message at that moment? It was utter stupidity! You should have done nothing to protect yourself, understand?"
"If Huang He hadn't suspected you before and was a naive fool, he wouldn't have kept the matter of 'Shrek' from you. And if Huang He is as suspicious as you say, then he should have planted spies around you long ago, monitoring your every move, including all your network and phone calls."
"Originally, we always communicated through a secure private line, and the chances of them discovering us were not high. However, in a moment of desperation, you used the network in your bedroom instead of your neighbor's network. This message must have been intercepted by Huang He!"
"In fact, Huang He likely had you observe the operation this time as a tactic to flush you out, just like in Chinese military strategy. You idiot, you were indeed scared by him and directly exposed yourself! You should have sent me no message, and now you've been caught red-handed and played for a fool!" the old man berated, causing Hao Jianguo to tremble.
He had actually felt for a while that he had been exposed, but instinctively, he was unwilling to believe it. At the same time, Huang He's harsh scolding made him feel that Huang He still believed in him; otherwise, he wouldn't have been reprimanded for not living up to expectations, but rather placated with false sincerity.
This filled Hao Jianguo with illusions. It wasn't until the old man forcefully revealed everything that he finally faced the reality of the situation.
"Besides this, there's another very clear piece of evidence that proves all of this!" the old man said, his tone suddenly becoming almost ferocious.
"This guy, knowing about Mark Bezos's situation all along, shouldn't have jumped into this fire pit and continuously cooperated with your demands to raise the price. Yet, he did so. Why do you think that is?"
"It's because he knew that under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be able to take away Bezos's 10% Class A shares, and thus he would never truly control Amazon."
"So, he deliberately walked into this trap, allowing us to act and persuade Bezos to cooperate with our plan, offering his shares as bait to lure Jiangnan Group into the trap..."
"He's like a cunning Asian carp that swallowed the bait we offered, then turned around and jumped back into the water, splashing us with foul water!"
"It can be said that we helped him secure Amazon, which he could never have obtained otherwise. He knew our plan from the beginning and turned it to his advantage... To achieve this, he had to completely monitor your communications and, through you, learn our entire plan!"
"Tell me, did he know from the start that you were a traitor?" the old man said, his voice becoming unnervingly calm due to extreme anger.
"Huang He must have discovered something about you, but he wants to use you in return, to have you transmit false information to us and mislead us!"
"Huang He is a very vengeful person. He won't be content to be fooled by you like this, so he will definitely seek revenge from you!"
"Therefore, for the time being, you don't have to worry about your safety at all. Live your life as you always have. You are safe until Huang He uses you to complete his revenge!" the old man said with a calm expression.
"No, I won't do that. I'm leaving right now!" Hao Jianguo said, his face contorted. Although he admitted the old man's words were very logical, who knew when Huang He might change his mind? What if he suddenly decided tomorrow and wanted to kill him?
Moreover, judging by Mark Bezos's experience, Huang He was not afraid to use less than legal means to kill him. Since Huang He had decided not to return to the US, and China would never extradite Huang He, no matter how much trouble he caused, he would be absolutely safe. Only he, staying one more day, was one more day of danger. Therefore, Hao Jianguo exclaimed immediately.
"Don't forget, on whose land you are!" the old man said expressionlessly. "Don't worry. Mark Bezos was caught off guard by us before, but you are different. I will send people to protect you!"
"Can you really protect me?" Hao Jianguo asked incredulously.
"This is the US, and our power here is a hundred times that of Huang He. Of course, we can protect you. If necessary, even the FBI can be brought in to protect you, what do you think?" the old man said faintly, implying that just as Huang He could kill Hao Jianguo, the old man also had ways to make Hao Jianguo disappear.
At this, Hao Jianguo's mouth closed completely.
"Don't worry, you just need to cooperate with us one last time. Next time, we will make sure Jiangnan Jintian is utterly destroyed!" the old man said, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes!" Hao Jianguo's voice was weak. This experience had terrified him to the core. His courage to confront Huang He had all but vanished.
"Hmph, useless wretch! You think Jiangnan Group has won? Wrong, utterly wrong. In fact, Jiangnan Group has fallen into our trap. I can make all of Jiangnan Group's business in the US collapse at any moment, but I just haven't done it yet!" the old man seemed angered by Hao Jianguo's loss of confidence.
"You mean..." Hao Jianguo's eyes lit up.
"Jiangnan Group conducted internal transactions through us at Goldman Sachs, that's a certainty. All the evidence is in our hands. As soon as we present the evidence, investigations can be launched against Western Mustang Fund and Jiangnan Group. At that time, unless Huang He abandons his multi-billion dollar business in North America, he will eventually have to bow his head and admit defeat to us!" the old man said with a cold sneer.
"Then let's do it now. I'm willing to come forward as a whistleblower to testify against Jiangnan Group's criminal activities!" Hao Jianguo immediately said. This statement was quite vicious, as Hao Jianguo was essentially sacrificing everything, giving up his future and risking years of imprisonment, in exchange for dealing a severe blow to and destroying Jiangnan Group.
Of course, Hao Jianguo had an even deeper plan: he could use this opportunity to enter the private prison controlled by Goldman Sachs, where he could safely spend several years under their protection.
After a few years, he believed that Jiangnan Jintian's strength in the US would be completely eradicated, and then he could live safely in the US.
Such a plan was naturally sound, but the old man shook his head and rejected it. "Never mind, it's not time to use this move yet!"
"You old bastard, I think you're just unwilling to part with Goldman Sachs' reputation. Haha, the world's number one investment institution, actually revealing evidence of its clients' illegal activities. Once this news breaks, countless companies and governments worldwide will be terrified and suspend cooperation with your Goldman Sachs."
"You wouldn't lose your reputation just to take down Jiangnan Group!" Hao Jianguo thought to himself. He understood the thoughts of the old man and Goldman Sachs very well. At the same time, he sighed inwardly, "It seems Huang He also saw through Goldman Sachs' intentions, which is why he dared to jump in with his eyes closed!"
"Hmph, don't think Jiangnan Group has won. They've only won this one battle. Even with Amazon in hand, what of it? The most crucial part of Amazon is its people, Bezos, not Amazon itself!" the old man said faintly. "Tell me, if Jiangnan Jintian, after spending over 25 billion US dollars to acquire a company, sees it shattered overnight and its market value collapse, will Jiangnan Group still have good days ahead?"
"Will he be able to repay the massive 15 billion US dollar debt in a year?"