Chapter 28: Adoptive Father
In the chairman's office of the Huang Company.
The already gaunt Huang Biehe appeared even more haggard, but the malice in his fierce, hawk-like gaze was stronger than ever.
"The Li Family... Forcing a Grandmaster to make a move... I'd say that's a worthy end for them."
His secretary, Huang Yongfeng, said fawningly from the side, "Patriarch, you can rest easy! With Grandmaster Cui making a move, killing some high-level True Qi practitioner will be a piece of cake. You'll finally have your revenge for Lord Long and the young master!"
They had never considered that Chen Dong could be a Grandmaster; he was simply too young.
"That may be so, but I still feel a little uneasy. I've fought my way up in Jiangzhou for over a decade and never felt like this. To think I had to cash in a favor from Grandmaster Cui just to deal with some punk!"
Huang Yongfeng looked proud. "Patriarch, there's no need to worry. Once we've devoured the Li Family, our Huang Family will dominate Jiangzhou. At that point, what's to fear about not being able to recruit a Grandmaster or two?"
Huang Biehe nodded, his ambition reignited. "You're right! Without the Li Family, the Qingtian International project will be in our grasp. Once we secure Qingtian International, the Huang Family will definitely break out of Jiangzhou."
"Using a favor from Grandmaster Cui is a small price to pay for the growth of the Huang Family."
Just then, the office intercom buzzed. The frantic voice of the head of security came through: "Patriarch, a young man says he's looking for you! He's already forced his way up, and the men can't stop him!"
The color drained from Huang Biehe and Huang Yongfeng's faces, a flicker of terror in their eyes. 'Could it be Chen Dong? Did Grandmaster Cui fail?'
Whether it was him or not, forcing his way in like this meant he came with ill intent!
Huang Biehe roared, "Stop him! Get all my bodyguards over there! You have to stop him!" Cold sweat began to trickle down his shriveled forehead.
A low voice sounded from outside the door: "No need. I'm already here."
As soon as the voice fell, BANG! The door was kicked off its hinges.
Chen Dong strolled in. "Huang Biehe, you deserve to die!"
Seeing that it was indeed Chen Dong, Huang Biehe suppressed his panic and forced himself to remain calmly seated. He swallowed hard. "You forced your way in here... What happened to Grandmaster Cui?"
Chen Dong said coldly, "A man like that, naturally, was left without a complete corpse. Next up is you, Patriarch Huang!"
'Even a Grandmaster couldn't take him down. He must be a Grandmaster himself. To become a Grandmaster at such a young age... what about his future? Perhaps this is an opportunity for the Huang Family.'
So he shouted rapidly, "Wait! Whatever the Li Family can give you, I'll give you ten times more! And what they can't give you, I can give you too. A powerful expert like you has no need to take orders from the declining Li Family."
"I can also give you half of the Huang Family's assets! If we, the strong, join forces, conquering Jiangzhou is only a matter of time. And not just Jiangzhou! Tianjiang City, Lower River City, Yunyazhou, even Jinxi—we can take them all."
Chen Dong stopped in his tracks, his bright eyes fixed on Huang Biehe.
Huang Biehe was overjoyed. 'If I can really tie my fate to Chen Dong's, half the family fortune is nothing. The Huang Family's glory will blossom in my hands.'
And so, he upped the ante, tempting him further. "Chen Dong, a man of your talent and caliber shouldn't be taking orders from anyone. Join forces with me. We can become sworn brothers. I'll recognize you as my big brother, and the entire Huang Family will follow your commands."
Huang Biehe did this because he believed Chen Dong was too young and lacked experience in the martial world. As long as Chen Dong agreed, he, a 'little brother' in his forties, was confident he could 'guide' this young 'big brother' and had no fear that Chen Dong wouldn't eventually listen to him.
Chen Dong sneered. "If you and I become sworn brothers, where does that leave your son and your brother?"
A muscle in Huang Biehe's cheek twitched, but he forced a kind smile. "That son of mine was never going to amount to much anyway. Besides, you can always have more sons. As for my older brother, he died for the Huang Family. It was a worthy death, and no one is to blame. As long as Brother Chen agrees, I'll have someone draw up the contracts immediately and host a banquet for all the great families of Jiangzhou to witness our brotherhood ceremony!"
Chen Dong scoffed. "The things you come up with."
Huang Biehe's eyes darted. "If you don't want to be brothers, I can acknowledge you as my godfather!"
Huang Biehe's heart began to settle. 'As long as I don't die, what does dignity matter?'
Chen Dong burst out laughing. "I have no desire for a godson like you. I'm afraid it would shorten my lifespan."
"This is just to eliminate the wedge between us! More importantly, you wouldn't have to take orders from anyone. The Li Group is only worth fifty or sixty billion. My Huang Family is worth more than twice that. If we join forces, you could build another Li Group in no time. How great would that be!" Huang Biehe continued to persuade him.
Chen Dong fell silent for a moment.
Huang Biehe sensed Chen Dong was convinced. He got up from his chair, walked over to Chen Dong's side, and laughed heartily. "With us together, the future is bright!"
The moment the words left his mouth, he was lifted into the air and slammed hard onto the desk, his eyes filled with disbelief.
'Am I going to die? How can there be someone who isn't moved by tens of billions!'
Looking down coldly at Huang Biehe, who was coughing up mouthfuls of blood, Chen Dong said, "You're so rich. Why would I need to join forces with you? If I kill you and absorb the Huang Family, won't it all be mine anyway?"
Huang Biehe finally panicked. He scrambled on all fours behind the desk, sensing Chen Dong's killing intent.
"Don't... don't kill me! We can talk about anything!"
Chen Dong said coldly, "Did you know that seven innocent lives were lost at Cui Hong's hands today? All they wanted was to make a living. They probably have families who depended on them..."
"I'll compensate them! I'll pay! Ten million for each person!" Huang Biehe said hurriedly, afraid that if he was a second too late, he'd be joining those seven in death.
Chen Dong slammed his hand on the desk in anger. "One hundred million each!"
"Fine, fine! One hundred million each!"
Chen Dong looked down on Huang Biehe. "Very good. Transfer the Huang Family's assets to the Li Family within ten days, and I'll let you live."
Huang Biehe nodded unwillingly.
"I want to see the compensation paid today. Otherwise, you won't have to wait ten days. Tonight, you'll end up just like this desk." After speaking, Chen Dong threw a punch at the expensive marble desk. It shattered on impact!
As Huang Biehe watched in terror, Chen Dong strode out the door.
After a long moment, once he was sure Chen Dong had left, Huang Biehe roared, "Huang Yongfeng, are you still playing dead, you bastard!"
Huang Yongfeng, who had pretended to faint the moment Chen Dong entered, immediately scrambled to his feet.
"Patriarch, what happened to you? I really did pass out from fright."
Huang Biehe wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "Go to finance immediately and withdraw seven hundred million as compensation for the seven people Cui Hong killed."
Huang Yongfeng said with an exaggerated expression, "Patriarch, are you really going to pay?"
Huang Biehe shot him a cold look. "Of course! If I don't pay, I won't fucking live to see tomorrow! Also, contact the Sun Family's Patriarch. I'm going to meet with him tonight."
Huang Yongfeng nodded quickly, then interjected with a pained look, "Patriarch, the Sun Family has a huge appetite."
The fire of hatred burned undisguised in Huang Biehe's eyes. "No matter how big their appetite is, can it be bigger than Chen Dong's?!"
"Yes, yes, Patriarch! I'll go right away." After speaking, Huang Yongfeng scurried off.
Only after he was alone in the office did Huang Biehe pull his constantly trembling hands out from his sleeves.
He slowly took out his phone and dialed a number.
When the call connected, he said with a sob in his voice, "Cheng'er, your father has run into a bit of trouble!"