"That depends on how significant the news you have is. You go first, and then I'll consider whether to agree to your terms."
Chen Xiao had Schmidt completely in his grasp; the latter was in no position to negotiate with him.
Schmidt clearly understood this as well. After a pause, he said, "I heard that tomorrow, Edward will represent Kangxing Company at Ms. Song Anran's press conference and will make a big move there..."
Chen Xiao waited for him to continue, but Schmidt fell silent.
"Keep talking. What big move?"
"I've said all I know. I only know there's a big move, but I don't know what it is."
"..."
Chen Xiao questioned, "Then what's the point of you saying anything? You're the global vice president of Kangxing Group. How could you not know about any major moves?"
"I truly don't know. I'm just a senior employee. I often only find out about things after they've happened."
Schmidt was quite helpless.
Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes and asked, "Could Edward be desperate and plan to make a move at the press conference?"
"No, no, no, that's definitely not possible..."
Schmidt shook his head repeatedly and then added, "China's security measures are very good, making it difficult to find an opportunity to act. Moreover, doing so would damage Kangxing Company's reputation. Besides, a high-level vampire like Edward is heavily regulated by the Vampire Convention. With so many reporters at the press conference, he would never take such a foolish risk."
Having said all he could, Chen Xiao knew he couldn't extract any more valuable information from Schmidt. With a playful expression, he asked, "You've told me so much. Even if I let you go now, aren't you afraid Edward will retaliate when you return?"
Schmidt's expression flickered, appearing to be in great turmoil.
Suddenly, as if he had made up his mind, he began to pledge his loyalty to Chen Xiao.
"Esteemed Mr. Chen, as you are concerned, if I return like this, Edward will certainly not let me go. Therefore, I wish to defect to you, the great one, and become your loyal servant. Please accept me, Mr. Chen."
In a very short period, Schmidt had analyzed the pros and cons and made the choice most beneficial to himself.
Firstly, Chen Xiao's strength was formidable, possibly on par with Edward's.
Secondly, Chen Xiao had not indicated he would spare him thus far. Only by pledging loyalty to Chen Xiao did he have a sliver of a chance to survive.
Furthermore, even if Chen Xiao were killed by Edward later, he could claim to have been a mole by Chen Xiao's side, gathering intelligence.
Considering these points, pledging allegiance to Chen Xiao was his best option at the moment.
However, upon hearing this, Chen Xiao inwardly scoffed.
He had long seen Schmidt as a spineless individual, but he hadn't expected his spine to be so utterly weak.
Pledge allegiance to him? What a joke! Did he have nothing better to do than need a bloodsucking parasite as a servant?
Moreover, those not of his kind were bound to have different intentions. How could Chen Xiao keep a potential threat by his side?
However, he didn't say this directly. Instead, he decided to extract Schmidt's last ounce of utility.
"To be honest, I have a friend who was turned into a vampire by Ava. Although he retains his sanity, he cannot transform into a normal human appearance like you can."
"To return to a normal life, someone suggested removing his fangs, but for safety reasons, he ultimately didn't."
"I ask you, do you know what happens to a vampire after their fangs are removed?"
Schmidt exclaimed loudly, "It's good he didn't remove them. Fangs are the mark of a vampire, and a vampire's rank is determined by the number of fangs. Removing them would have very serious consequences, though I don't know the specifics..."
"You really don't know?"
"I really don't know!"
"And do you want to know?"
"Of course, I do!"
After Schmidt uttered those three words, he suddenly realized Chen Xiao's gaze upon him was not quite right...
He was instantly terrified and asked tremblingly, "Mr. Chen... you wouldn't... you wouldn't do that to me, would you?"
"Heh, you're quite clever. You guessed correctly!"
Saying this, Chen Xiao casually bent down and pried open Schmidt's mouth.
"No..."
Schmidt let out a painful wail, but Chen Xiao showed no mercy.
After his four fangs were broken off, Schmidt's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
His appearance aged rapidly before Chen Xiao's eyes. In just a moment, he transformed into an old man with white hair and a wizened face.
Chen Xiao could feel the life force draining rapidly from him. By the time he stopped trembling, his body had become a skeletal husk.
Witnessing this, Chen Xiao was grateful that he hadn't had Chi Hao's teeth removed back then.
As for Schmidt's corpse, Chen Xiao burned it to ashes to avoid causing panic.
He then walked out of the office as if nothing had happened and woke up his colleagues who had been knocked unconscious.
The colleagues looked around in a daze, taking a while to recall what had happened.
"Director Chen, a rude foreigner came looking for you and spoke disrespectfully. We tried to escort him out, but unexpectedly, the fellow attacked us directly and knocked us all unconscious."
"Director Chen, are you alright? Who was that person?"
"Where is he now? Should we report this to the police!"
...
As the group woke up, they began to chatter excitedly. The events that had transpired were largely as Chen Xiao had anticipated.
He thought to himself that it was fortunate Schmidt had only recently become a vampire. Perhaps his humanity was not yet extinguished, or perhaps he feared causing a major incident. Otherwise, these people might have perished today.
If that had truly happened, it would have been a disaster for them.
It seemed that once the Traditional Chinese Medicine department was on solid footing, he should gradually withdraw from it.
After all, he had made many enemies, and none of them were ordinary people. It was easy for them to implicate his colleagues, who were ordinary humans.
However, there was one exception among them.
That was Chu Luo. When Chen Xiao had woken everyone up, he noticed that Chu Luo had already been awake but was feigning sleep.
Therefore, he had likely witnessed everything that happened in the office.
Chen Xiao did not expose him. He was still observing this young man of unknown origin. At least so far, he seemed to be a decent fellow. And the secrets he held would one day be revealed.
After dealing with the situation here, Chen Xiao had intended to remind Song Anran that Edward might cause trouble at the press conference tomorrow.
However, after a moment's thought, Chen Xiao dismissed the idea. He would be attending the press conference himself anyway, and he wanted to see what "big move" this bloodsucker planned to make!