51: Chapter 51 [Peace and Prosperity for the Nation]

The moment Chen Qingsong knelt down, a strange, deathly silence fell over the private room.

Chen Zhiwen swallowed hard, his expression horrified. He took a few steps back with a trembling body, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

The bodyguard at the door was also shaken, his hand pressing against his waist, ready to rush in at any moment.

After a brief moment of shock, Yang Bai squeezed out a smile and broke the deadlock, saying, "Old Chen, your legs aren't very flexible, are they?"

He hadn't expected that a simple test would reveal so much.

Chen Qingsong slowly stood up, calmly patted the dust off his knees, and smiled. "Haha, I've made a fool of myself in front of you, young friend."

Yang Bai snapped his fingers, and a small white flame appeared between them. "Here, fire!"

"Thank you, thank you."

Chen Qingsong put the cigarette to his mouth, took the flame, and took a deep breath.

As the smoke entered his mouth and was exhaled, Chen Qingsong's eyes brightened a bit.

Chen Qingsong looked at the three characters on the cigarette filter, his expression turning solemn. He said seriously, "Let's sit down and talk."

"Please," Yang Bai said.

Seeing the situation, Chen Zhiwen lowered his head, his thoughts unknown. After two seconds, he turned to leave the room.

"Zhiwen, stay here." Sitting in his chair, Chen Qingsong shouted to stop Chen Zhiwen.

"Yes."

Chen Zhiwen forced a smile that looked worse than crying and stood aside apprehensively.

"Young friend Yang Bai, is... is the Team Leader doing well?" Chen Qingsong pondered for two seconds before asking tentatively.

Recalling the middle-aged man's appearance, Yang Bai said directly, "I don't know, but I saw him a few days ago. He looked quite good, very dignified."

"Oh, did he say anything?" When asking this, Chen Qingsong clenched his right hand, appearing somewhat nervous.

"He said, 'Little Chen has indeed gone a bit too far.'"

After Yang Bai finished, Chen Qingsong's face instantly darkened, but he didn't make any other reaction. He just gloomily took a puff of his cigarette.

After a brief silence, Chen Qingsong pushed the briefcase on the table over and said seriously:

"Young friend Yang Bai, what happened this time was our fault. Please accept this suitcase as my apology."

Yang Bai didn't take it. He shook his head and continued, "I'm sorry, Old Chen. I won't accept rewards I haven't earned. I don't want the items. As for asking me to withdraw from the competition, don't even mention it."

"Fine, I won't force you. I just want to ask, is participating in the competition your idea, or that person's?"

Chen Qingsong sighed; he wasn't surprised by Yang Bai's reaction.

Yang Bai leaned forward and said with a serious face:

"Let's put it this way. You were the one who handled the site selection for this competition, and the Team Leader gave you an opportunity, but unfortunately, you blew it."

"As for the ownership of that thing, the Team Leader's intention is fair competition. Whoever has the strength gets it."

Chen Qingsong tapped the armrest with his finger. The pressure of a High-level Deity slowly released from him. The elderly man, who looked like withered wood, sat opposite Yang Bai like a hungry wolf.

"Really?" Chen Qingsong said indifferently.

Yang Bai sneered and didn't state his position. Instead, he leaned back naturally against the chair, took out that pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one.

Yang Bai didn't speak, but his expression was clear: 'How do you think I got this pack of cigarettes?'

Chen Qingsong understood the subtext of Yang Bai's actions and smiled bitterly. "So that's how it is. I understand. Fair competition, whoever has the strength gets it—that really is that person's character."

Yang Bai nodded and asked, "Then, Old Chen, what about you?"

"Does my opinion matter?"

Chen Qingsong asked back, then said seriously, "We'll do as the Team Leader said and compete fairly. Also, regarding the previous matters, we were in the wrong. I apologize to you on their behalf."

"Mhm, let's leave it at that then."

After speaking, Yang Bai stood up and gave Chen Qingsong an inquiring look.

Chen Qingsong shot a glance at the bodyguard at the door and said, "Chen Shan, see young friend Yang Bai out."

Chen Shan's expression was a bit awkward as he asked in a low voice, "Old Chen, then what about the arrangements we made earlier..."

"What arrangements? I said see the guest out, didn't you hear me?" A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Chen Qingsong's eyes. He suppressed his voice and said word by word, "Escort young friend Yang Bai safely and unharmed back to his school."

"Understood." Chen Shan didn't dare say more and said respectfully to Yang Bai, "Mr. Yang Bai, this way please."

Yang Bai nodded and followed Chen Shan out of the private room.

After Yang Bai left, Chen Qingsong sat in his chair, his expression flickering between light and dark. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

Chen Zhiwen swallowed hard, feeling fearful. "Old Chen, then next..."

"Chen Zhiwen, kneel down." Chen Qingsong's voice was icy as he pointed next to the tea table. "Keep your eyes wide open. Don't close them."

"Yes, yes."

Chen Zhiwen knelt on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably. But even so, he tried his best to keep his eyes wide open, his gaze filled with terror.

Chen Qingsong took a deep puff of smoke, then raised his hand and slowly pressed the glowing cigarette butt onto Chen Zhiwen's eyeball.

*Sizzle~*

A harsh searing sound rang out.

Chen Zhiwen's body shook violently, his eyes wide open, his face contorted and terrifying.

But the material of this cigarette was quite special. No matter how hard Chen Qingsong pressed, the embers wouldn't go out.

Perhaps it was the inextinguishable embers that triggered Chen Qingsong, causing him to explode.

Chen Qingsong threw the cigarette butt onto the tea table, grabbed Chen Zhiwen's head, and slammed his charred left eye hard against the corner of the table.

*Splat!*

The sound of a water balloon bursting rang out. Blood mixed with a thick white crystalline substance sprayed out, splashing onto Chen Qingsong's Tang suit.

"I asked you to handle things, and this is how you do it? Are you blind?!"

"Do you know how much money I invested for this competition, how many connections I used, how much I bowed, and how many favors I spent?!"

"The Huangyan Government, Xinghai Supervision, Ren Fengjiu, and the six families of Zhou, Huai, Gu, Zhao, Sun, and Li—all my favors have been exhausted!!!"

"Useless! Scoundrel! Trash!"

Chen Qingsong grabbed Chen Zhiwen's head and slammed it against the corner of the table over and over. The sound of blood being squeezed out, accompanied by the sound of bones cracking, echoed in the room.

After about three minutes, the door to the private room opened, and a middle-aged man walked in.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man also frowned. He stepped forward, grabbed Chen Qingsong's arm, and soothed him, "Dad, calm down. If you keep slamming him, he'll die."

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, Chen Qingsong sighed and let go of his hand.

Chen Zhiwen lost all strength and collapsed to the ground. His left eye was a bloody mess, and half of his face was disfigured from the impact.

Chen Qingsong said angrily, "Transfer him to Xiju Mining. Don't let him come back for the rest of his life."

"Fine, fine, fine." The middle-aged man nodded in understanding, but then he paused and asked, "Dad, I heard about what happened. What exactly is the background of that Yang Bai?"

Chen Qingsong nodded slightly and pointed toward the tea table. "Take a look at that cigarette."

The middle-aged man picked up the extinguished cigarette butt and examined it closely. Soon, he discovered four small gold-stamped characters on the filter. Next to the characters was a red circle with the word "Special" written inside.

[guotai minan]

"This is?" The middle-aged man frowned. He knew about special-supply cigarettes, but he had never heard of the four characters "guotai minan."

"The National Security Bureau has intervened using Yang Bai's identity," Chen Qingsong sighed, looking up.