164: Chapter 164 Giving You a Chance

President Zhou Hai lifted his head. Squinting against the light, he saw a man sitting by the fishpond, holding a fishing rod, with several burly men in suits standing beside him.

The man wore a dark jacket, his hair combed meticulously, his expression as calm as if he were waiting for a fish to take the bait.

President Zhou Hai squinted for several seconds, his pupils suddenly constricting.

He recognized this man!

President Liu—Chairman of Tianwen Group, Vice Chairman of the Hanzhong Province Federation of Industry and Commerce, member of the CPPCC National Committee, and a business tycoon with an invisible net worth in the hundreds of billions!

He had only seen him from a distance once at a business summit in Yancheng; he hadn't even been qualified to approach him to say hello.

President Zhou Hai had never dreamed that such an aloof and lofty figure would appear here.

"President... President Liu..."

President Liu did not turn around. His gaze remained fixed on the float on the water's surface, his voice unhurried, as if chatting with an old friend.

"President Zhou Hai, Chairman of Dongshan Group, you're considered someone in the provincial capital. Qian Ying, General Manager of Lanjiang Venture Capital, your business is neither big nor small."

"Did you think the little things you did in Lüjiang City went unnoticed? Did you think Xu Weidong was just some township cadre with no background, someone you could crush at will?"

"Before making a move against him, you didn't even bother to ask who was behind him. In all my years, this is the first time I've seen people as brave as you!"

President Zhou Hai's lips trembled as he tried to defend himself and beg for mercy, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

He knew he had kicked an iron plate this time—an iron plate he couldn't possibly move.

President Liu handed the fishing rod to the person beside him, then stood up, turned around, and walked over, step by step.

He walked up to President Zhou Hai and looked down at him, his gaze as indifferent as if he were looking at a worthless object.

"I have always liked rules."

President Liu's voice remained unhurried, carrying the composure of someone who had seen it all.

"Doing business requires rules, being a person requires rules, and navigating society requires rules even more. The reason I've made it this far in the business world is because of those two words: rules."

"Therefore, what I hate most are people who break the rules."

He squatted down in front of President Zhou Hai to look him in the eye. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly; the smile was faint, carrying an indescribable meaning, as if he were looking at a dead man walking.

"President Zhou Hai, tell me, did you break the rules?"

President Zhou Hai was trembling all over, his teeth chattering with a rattling sound.

President Liu stood up, turned around, and walked back to the edge of the fishpond. He took a towel from the person beside him and wiped his hands, his movements as elegant as if he were attending a high-class banquet.

He threw the towel back, shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, and with his back to President Zhou Hai, watched the fish occasionally leaping out of the water.

"Since you have already chosen this path, I assume you are prepared to become fertilizer for this fishpond."

His voice was very soft, so soft it was like he was talking to himself, but it landed in the ears of President Zhou Hai and Qian Ying.

It was no different from a death sentence!

Qian Ying finally snapped back to reality. Upon hearing these words, he was so terrified that he dropped to his knees and collapsed onto the ground like a pile of mud.

His pants were wet again, forming a puddle on the ground.

Qian Ying gagged, wanting to vomit, but the sour bile in his stomach surged to his throat and was swallowed back down.

After repeating this several times, he finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

He retched and vomited all over the ground, the sour, foul smell filling the air.

President Zhou Hai didn't vomit, but his face was even uglier than if he had.

He looked at President Liu's back and the calm surface of the fishpond, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

President Zhou Hai understood that with President Liu's status and influence, sinking him into the fishpond wouldn't even cause a splash.

Tianwen Group was the underground leader in both Hanzhong Province and Xishan Province; none of the underworld bosses in the three northeastern provinces were as fierce as President Liu.

This man had started in the underworld, washed his hands of it, and become a listed company boss with a net worth in the hundreds of billions, but his hands had never been clean.

The number of people he had sunk into rivers, buried in mountains, and made disappear without a trace over the years was countless.

The Crackdown on Organized Crime only took down the flashy idiots; those with real power had long since used the opportunity of the Crackdown on Organized Crime to wash their hands clean, and President Liu had done so even earlier.

In today's society, the truly ruthless ones are often these people wearing suits and ties.

"President Liu, this was all... this was all the leader's intention..."

"We are just pawns. We do whatever the leader tells us to do; we don't dare disobey... Why bother making things difficult for us small pawns?"

President Liu turned around to look at him. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, a deeper smile than before, carrying the playfulness of a cat playing with a mouse.

"The leader's intention? Which leader? Why don't you tell me?"

President Zhou Hai opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He couldn't say, and he didn't dare to say.

If he said it, the people in Yancheng wouldn't let him go.

Of course, if he didn't say it, President Liu wouldn't let him go.

He was caught in a dilemma, like prey caught in a bear trap—struggling meant death, and not struggling also meant death.

President Liu looked at him, his smile slowly fading, his voice returning to that unhurried indifference.

"Even if you don't say it, I know who it is. So I don't need you to tell me; I only need you to know one thing."

"Isn't my behavior also the leader's intention?"

"You have a leader behind you, and I have a leader behind me."

"You work for a leader, and I work for a leader."

"Since we are both working for leaders, it's just a matter of seeing who does it better, and whose methods are tougher."

He walked back to President Zhou Hai and looked down at him, his gaze carrying an unquestionable majesty.

"Some things, once done, require considering the consequences."

"Before you made your move, did you ever think about what the consequences of touching Xu Weidong would be?"

"Did you ever think about whether the person you couldn't afford to offend would let you off?"

President Zhou Hai's tears finally fell, streaming down his cheeks.

He was not a person who cried easily. After battling in the business world for so many years, having seen all kinds of storms and suffered all kinds of grievances, he thought he had become immune to everything.

But at this moment, in the face of life and death, he really couldn't hold it back...

"President Liu, I beg you... I beg you to spare my children..."

"I'll do anything. I'll be a beast of burden for you, I'll do anything, I just beg you to spare my children... They are still young, they don't understand anything..."

President Liu looked at him, was silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly smiled.

"Now you know fear? Now you know to beg for mercy? What were you doing earlier?"

He turned around and walked back to the edge of the fishpond. He took a cup of tea from the person beside him and took a sip, his tone returning to that light and breezy composure.

"But rest assured, this is a society ruled by law now. Everything is left to the law; where would there be any talk of life or death?"

"Ten years ago, perhaps I would have sunk you in the fishpond. As for now, you should thank the Crackdown on Organized Crime, thank the government, and thank the country for saving your lives."

President Zhou Hai was stunned. He lifted his head, looking at President Liu's back through tear-blurred eyes, unable to believe his ears.

President Liu put down his teacup and turned around to look at him.

"I'll give you one day."

"After you go back, compile your criminal records. Write down everything you've done, one by one, clearly and in detail."

"If the final accumulated prison sentence doesn't satisfy me..."

He paused, his voice dropping, low enough that only President Zhou Hai and Qian Ying could hear.

"Your wives and children will suffer greatly."