One of the elders spoke first, "May I ask why Patriarch Ouyang has so urgently summoned us?"
All eyes fell upon Ouyang Zhengde.
Ouyang Zhengde pondered for a moment and then asked, "Esteemed patriarchs, have you heard about the remnants of the Chen family?"
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances.
"To be frank, I have also heard about this matter. Moreover, I dispatched men to deal with Chen Mo. Unfortunately, my Ouyang family suffered heavy casualties, and even my nephew, Ouyang Mu, along with several juniors, perished at the hands of the opponent."
"What?!"
The crowd was visibly shocked by this revelation.
They truly had not heard about these affairs of the Ouyang family.
However, they were aware of Ouyang Mu's reputation, and the Ouyang family held a significant position.
They simply hadn't expected the Ouyang family to suffer such grievous losses.
Li Wanzong, the patriarch of the Li family, said gravely, "It seems we have underestimated that young man. I must inform my grandson immediately to hold back for now."
The other patriarchs shared the same sentiment.
Ouyang Zhengde observed their expressions and sighed, "There is no need for you to contact them."
Li Wanzong frowned and asked, "What do you mean by that, Patriarch Ouyang?"
Ouyang Zhengde took a sip of tea and said solemnly, "Just this morning, Chen Mo called me. He said that all those who sought his life had been captured by him, including the men sent by our Ouyang family."
"Chen Mo was very clear: if they wanted the captives to live, we had to agree to his terms. To protect the lives of the other juniors in my Ouyang family, I had no choice but to agree."
"What were Chen Mo's terms?" asked Sun Tiancheng, the patriarch of the Sun family.
Ouyang Zhengde did not conceal anything. "Three hundred million per person. He would release them only upon receiving the money. If even one person was not redeemed, he would kill them all."
"What?!" Li Wanzong and the others' eyes widened.
"I had no other choice at the time. To prevent the juniors of various families from being harmed, I had to agree. I have already paid the money to the other party."
Li Wanzong couldn't help but stand up. "Patriarch Ouyang, how could you be so foolish? You must realize that most of these people are merely our family's enforcers. They are not worth so much money even if they die!"
Ouyang Zhengde looked troubled. "Patriarch Li, how could I not know? But he said that if even one person was not redeemed, he would kill them all. Could you stand by and watch your own juniors die tragically at his hands?"
Li Wanzong's face was filled with anger.
If there were no outsiders present, he would certainly have replied, "Let them die. My Li family has many juniors; we can afford to lose one."
However, with so many patriarchs watching, he could not utter such words.
He could only sit back down in his chair, resigned.
However, Sun Tiancheng's expression was the most grim among them.
Sun Tiancheng couldn't help but ask, "Patriarch Li, how many people did you send?"
Li Wanzong replied with a grim face, "Ten."
Sun Tiancheng's eyes almost popped out.
If that were the case, the Li family would have to fork out three billion!
However, when Sun Tiancheng calculated the number of people he had dispatched, his face instantly turned green.
Because he remembered that he had also sent a considerable number of people!
If they had to pay, their Sun family would be stripped bare!
Ouyang Zhengde seemed to have perceived their thoughts and said, "Patriarchs Li and Sun, you need not worry. Half of your people died, and the remaining ones are not many."
Sun Tiancheng and Li Wanzong's faces twitched. They didn't know whether to be happy or angry.
"This Chen Mo, he truly has immense audacity! To dare to extort us aristocratic families, I believe he doesn't know the meaning of 'death'!" Sun Tiancheng could only shift the blame onto Chen Mo.
"Indeed, this Chen Mo must die!" a killing intent flashed in Li Wanzong's eyes.
The other two family patriarchs also nodded in agreement.
Killing their family members and then demanding ransom from them was something they had never encountered in so many years.
A slight curve appeared on Ouyang Zhengde's lips. He then said, "Esteemed patriarchs, I did not summon you here today solely to demand money."
Everyone looked at Ouyang Zhengde.
Ouyang Zhengde continued, "In fact, I know that several of our families have been coveting that jade pendant of Chen Mo's. However, given that Chen Mo could escape unharmed from so many assassination attempts, it is certain that this young man is no ordinary individual."
"Therefore, I suggest that we, the five families, join forces to eliminate Chen Mo. After obtaining the jade pendant, we five families can then jointly explore its secret. What do you say?"
Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads in thought.
Ouyang Zhengde did not rush them, content to sip his tea.
A moment later, Sun Tiancheng spoke first, "Very well, my Sun family agrees."
Li Wanzong followed, "My Li family also agrees."
"My Huangfu family also agrees!"
"My Zhang family also agrees!"
Soon, the five families had reached an agreement.
However, Chen Mo was naturally unaware of all this.
Leaving the auction house, Chen Mo checked the time. It was getting late, so he decided to return to the villa directly.
Tian Mengyao was driven home from work by Wu Zongcheng himself.
Since the incident yesterday, Wu Zongcheng had become fully aware of Chen Mo's strength.
He was absolutely subservient to Chen Mo, not daring to harbor any disloyalty.
He was certain that if he harbored any ill intentions, his fate would be dire.
Tian Mengyao still maintained her distance from Chen Mo, locking her door at night and preventing Chen Mo from sleeping in the same room.
However, the next morning, Chen Mo woke up very early.
When he saw Tian Mengyao leaving, he specifically pulled her into his car.
Tian Mengyao initially wanted to resist, but seeing that the car had already started, she could only turn her head away from Chen Mo in anger.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Chen Mo convened a morning meeting for the department and was about to begin his rounds.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, the department door was kicked open.
Everyone in the department was stunned, looking towards the doorway in surprise.
They were all curious as to who had the audacity to kick open the door to Chen Mo's department.
At this moment, a beautiful middle-aged woman walked in.
A man followed behind her.
The man looked very young and was wearing a white coat.
Seeing the man, everyone present was somewhat surprised, as they recognized him. He was one of the three doctoral graduates who had come to learn previously and had been driven away by Chen Mo.
"Which one of you is Chen Mo? Where are your department director and deputy director? Come out!" The beautiful middle-aged woman appeared very domineering, her voice a commanding reprimand as she entered.
Tian Mengyao frowned slightly and stood up. "I am Tian Mengyao, the deputy director of the department. May I ask if you need something?"
The beautiful middle-aged woman sized up Tian Mengyao dismissively. "This Hua Long First Hospital is truly something. Can any Tom, Dick, or Harry become a deputy director here?"