119: Chapter 119 Going to the Meeting Alone

The stocking store.

Zhang Menglu was directing the move, while Pang Dahai drove, shuttling back and forth to transport goods to the new store.

During breaks in the move, Chen Hao found a few renovation workers and casually brought up Jiang Tao, trying to probe which of them knew him.

As Chen Hao probed them, it turned out that someone did indeed know Jiang Tao.

"I shared a jail cell with him. Back then, Jiang Tao was my little lackey."

"That coward. In the cell, if I told him to go east, he absolutely wouldn't dare go west."

"You never mentioned this before?"

"A brave man doesn't boast of past glories."

Chen Hao listened the whole time without speaking.

Actually, his solution was very simple and brutal: borrow influence, essentially acting like a fox borrowing the tiger's might.

"Brothers, you should have heard about my situation. I want to ask for a favor."

They looked at each other, waiting for Chen Hao to continue.

"Tonight, I need to meet with Jiang Tao. I want you to help me save face. I'm not asking you to fight Jiang Tao; I just need you to stand by me and show your faces."

Chen Hao whispered something to them, and they all readily agreed.

"Boss Chen, don't worry. With us backing you up, Jiang Tao absolutely won't dare to act cocky."

"Also, don't tell Brother Dahai about this. He's too single-minded; I'm afraid he'll overthink things."

Chen Hao added one more thing, then walked away to brief Zhang Menglu.

"I have something to take care of tonight. You find a hotel to stay in first, and I'll come find you later."

Zhang Menglu grabbed Chen Hao's arm.

"I'm scared to be alone. Can you take me with you wherever you're going?"

Chen Hao thought for a moment, patted Zhang Menglu's hand, and comforted her.

"I have serious business tonight. Be good. I'll come find you as soon as I'm done. Behave."

After separating from Zhang Menglu, Chen Hao took advantage of the time before closing to withdraw 750,000 from the bank.

Everything was ready except for the final push.

...

Dusk.

The bright lights came on, illuminating the neon night view.

The parking lot of a five-star hotel.

After meeting up with the three renovation workers, Chen Hao handed each of them a briefcase.

"I'll go in first to negotiate. You guys follow the plan: enter one by one, every five minutes."

"You are the first, you are the second, you are the third... Do you remember what I told you?"

"We remember."

The three replied in unison.

After arranging everything, Chen Hao steadied himself and walked into the five-star hotel, carrying the briefcase.

Through prior arrangements, Chen Hao had set a meeting with Jiang Tao in a private room at the hotel. When he arrived at the designated room door, two burly men with menacing faces were guarding it. They had buzz cuts, gold chains around their necks, and tattoos of dragons and tigers—they clearly looked like trouble.

Seeing someone approach, they raised their hands to block him.

"Who are you?"

Chen Hao stated his purpose.

"I'm here to meet Boss Jiang."

The two thugs suspiciously began to frisk him. Only after confirming Chen Hao was unarmed did they cautiously open the private room door.

"Boss, the person is here."

Under the watchful eyes of the two men on either side, Chen Hao finally entered the room.

As soon as he stepped inside, a cloud of smoke and stench hit him.

The room was packed with people—about ten in total. Four were seated around the dining table, and six were standing around them. Three of the standing men had bruised faces, and one had his hand wrapped in gauze and his arm in a sling.

Chen Hao fixed his gaze on Jiang Tao, who occupied the main seat.

"Boss Jiang, it's an honor to finally meet you."

Just as Chen Hao was about to step forward to exchange pleasantries, he was stopped. The air instantly fell silent, the atmosphere tense and extremely oppressive.

Jiang Tao was smoking, sporting a hooligan's air, sizing Chen Hao up. A man sitting next to him, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, poured him a glass of baijiu.

One of the men at the table stood up and shouted arrogantly.

"Are you the bastard who sent people to injure my staff?"

This man was named Jiang Dazhi, Jiang Tao's nephew. He worked as a debt collection manager at a campus loan company, and the three thugs who bullied Zhang Menglu today were his subordinates.

Chen Hao ignored him and offered a calm smile to Jiang Tao.

"Boss Jiang, it seems the King of Dragons' temple was flooded by the great river—family not recognizing family."

Everyone at the table wore expressions of mockery, especially Jiang Dazhi, who retorted.

"Who the hell is family with you? Stop trying to get cozy!"

Jiang Tao remained silent throughout, his cold eyes sweeping over Chen Hao. Although this young man looked ordinary, the fact that he dared to come alone showed he was someone notable.

Just as Jiang Tao was about to use his imposing presence to suppress Chen Hao, Jiang Dazhi, acting like the fox borrowing the tiger's might, grabbed Chen Hao's collar.

"You beat up my men and made me lose face. How do you plan to settle this debt?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jiang Dazhi let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.

"Ow, it hurts, it hurts..."

The entire room tensed up, their gazes fixed sharply on Chen Hao.

They saw Chen Hao grab Jiang Dazhi's wrist and apply just a little force, making him cry out in agony repeatedly.

It was important to remember that the current Chen Hao was not the Chen Hao of the past. If a real fight broke out, probably no one in this room would be his match.

"I was trying to talk things out nicely, and you thought I was easy to deal with, right?"

He looked at the furious Jiang Tao.

"Since we aren't family, there's nothing to discuss. Let's get straight to the point."

Chen Hao casually tossed the briefcase onto the dining table. The rebound force immediately splashed the food and soup across the table, creating a complete mess.

"Let him go!"

"Are you looking to die?!"

The room full of subordinates eagerly prepared to attack, treating the situation as a major threat.

"Ah! It's broken, it's broken!"

Jiang Dazhi screamed again, and Jiang Tao quickly snapped.

"Stop! Everyone be quiet!"

The tense, explosive atmosphere immediately calmed down.

Jiang Tao remained as steady as Mount Tai, his cold eyes locked directly onto Chen Hao.

"Is this your attitude?"

Chen Hao shot back.

"Whether we seek a peaceful resolution or an endless fight to the death depends on your attitude!"

Before Jiang Tao could speak, the refined scoundrel beside him stood up.

"That's not an attitude of resolution; you clearly came here looking for trouble!"

He was the lawyer for the campus loan company, nicknamed Cobra. He specialized in twisting right and wrong for Jiang Tao and was an out-and-out cultured degenerate.

He pulled out his phone, ready to start recording.

"You struck first. This matter isn't over. I will definitely make sure you go to jail."

Jiang Tao, on the side, raised his wine glass and sneered.

"Young man, times have changed. The martial world isn't about fighting and killing anymore; it's about connections and social graces. Acting so impulsively could ruin your future."

When Chen Hao let go, Jiang Dazhi fell to the ground, his arm twisted at an unnatural angle—it was clearly fractured.

Chen Hao didn't even glance at him.

"There's another saying in the martial world: Money makes the world go round. My belief is that money can solve everything."

Jiang Tao clapped his hands.

"Not bad. I appreciate your belief. Since you dared to come alone, then sit down and tell us your proposed solution."

Under the watchful, menacing gazes of the crowd, Chen Hao sat down, facing Jiang Tao directly.

"Lay out the terms."