As night deepened, the lights were dim inside the luxurious villa on the other side.
Having just been released from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Chan King-chung emerged barefoot from the steamy bathroom, wearing a loose bathrobe and sporting a large belly.
A voluptuous woman with all her curves followed closely behind him, carefully wiping his hair.
Her bare shoulders, neck, and arms were covered with shocking bluish-purple finger marks of varying depths, clearly the handiwork left by Chen Jingsong during his "play."
Although some parts of his body have temporarily lost their function, this does not prevent Chen Jingsong from extracting morbid satisfaction from women in other ways.
Just then, a hoarse yet sharp female voice rang out unexpectedly from the dimly lit corner—
"Chairman Chen, it seems you're in a good mood and even have the leisure to enjoy yourself. Have you noticed that the Hong Kong stock market has rebounded today?"
Chen Jingsong shuddered and suddenly opened his eyes, looking in the direction of the sound.
On the huge leather sofa in the living room, an old woman dressed as a maid with her hair neatly combed sat down.
In the dim light, her face was as deep as an ancient well, only her eyes flashed with a chilling light.
It's Aunt Shu! What's she doing here?!
Chen Jingsong's heart skipped a beat. He glared fiercely at the trembling woman beside him: "Get out! This is none of your business!"
The woman felt as if she had been granted a pardon and practically scrambled out of the living room.
Aunt Shu ignored the disheveled woman, picked up the remote control, and turned on the huge television screen on the wall.
The screen lit up, and financial news immediately popped up.
The announcer broadcast in standard Cantonese: "...For the fifth consecutive trading day, after a sharp drop in the morning session, shares of the Ning Group saw mysterious buying activity in the last hour before the close, which forcefully pushed the Hang Seng Index up by nearly 100 points..."
"The scene of investors queuing up to buy stocks has reappeared at the exchange, and market sentiment seems to be recovering..."
The scene shifts to the exchange, where the normally quiet trading hall is now bustling with people and filled with noise!
Countless investors waved their arms, excitedly staring at the constantly changing electronic screens. Their fervor was a stark contrast to the panic selling of the previous few days!
The entire Hong Kong stock market, which had been experiencing a glaring red decline, was somehow pulled back slightly, revealing a strange hint of green vitality.
Aunt Shu's voice rang out again, tinged with a chilling accusation—
"Didn't you say that you had completely drained the Ning family's cash flow? Didn't you say that they were at their wits' end and could only be slaughtered by us? Then what is this now?!"
Chen Jingsong walked to the sofa, sat down, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and calmly said—
"Aunt Shu, you're too nervous. The Ning family has been entrenched in Hong Kong for almost thirty years. How can they be uprooted so easily? It's perfectly normal for them to have some means of protecting their position; it's just a death throes!"
He took a sip of his drink and gestured towards the crowded scene on the television screen—
"Can't you see? Most of those so-called shareholders are hired by the Ning family. Otherwise, how could they be so accurate? Just like before when they said they planned to acquire the American shipping magnate's assets, it was all false advertising!"
This is a common tactic to support the market – queuing up at the exchange to create the impression that the situation is very favorable.
Aunt Shu squinted her old eyes, half believing and half doubting: "Really?"
He paused, his tone tinged with arrogance and ruthlessness: "Hmph, of course it's true. I've been dealing with the Ning family for too long. These little tricks won't change the big picture, and they won't stir up any trouble."
"Those gentlemen in the parliament have long since reached a tacit agreement with the major international short sellers, and have already laid a trap. They will continue to exert pressure. Their target is not just the small Ning family!"
He lowered his voice, a hint of malice in it: "At that time, not only the Ning family, but many people in the Hong Kong government will be buried with them. They won't be able to keep jumping around for long! Then the Hong Kong government will be our territory!"
Aunt Shu's cloudy yet unusually sharp eyes stared at Chen Jingsong: —
"That would be for the best. You need to understand how much real money the 'higher-ups' have poured into this operation."
"The simultaneous attacks on Wall Street alone are generating astronomical sums of money every day! That's enough to buy several Ning families! Right now, the amount of money being burned every day is astronomical—"
Her tone suddenly turned even colder: "If, and I mean if, the plan fails in the end, and the Ning family or someone else turns the tables... then you'd better prepare to find yourself a safe haven. At that time, without the Ning family even lifting a finger, you'll be torn to pieces by the adults!"
Chen Jingsong's hand holding the wine glass trembled almost imperceptibly.
Although he maintained his defiant expression, a fine layer of cold sweat had seeped out of his back.
Aunt Shu is right.
Those legislators are only interested in the Hong Kong government's wealth; they don't care about the Chan or Ning families, and they certainly don't care about Chen Jingsong's life or death.
If things go wrong, he, as the pawn, becomes the perfect scapegoat and the target of their anger!
He forced down the chill in his heart and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, the spicy liquid burning his throat.
He grinned maliciously: "Don't worry! Zhou Yan is dead, and I have Ning Man'an under my control. The Ning family is doomed!"
He has reached the edge of a precipice in this game, with no way to retreat.
Win and you'll soar to the top; lose and you'll be utterly destroyed.
The thought had barely formed in his mind when Aunt Shu bluntly poured cold water on it: "Zhou Yan is dead? Chen Jingsong, what makes you so sure?"
Chen Jingsong frowned, then waved his hand impatiently: "Aunt Shu, what other questions are there? You know the situation on the ground!"
"Oh? You understand?" Aunt Shu sneered.
"Five days have passed since the explosion. Not only have we not found Zhou Yan, but we haven't even seen a trace of Ning Bing'an's body!!"
Chen Jingsong frowned impatiently.
"The explosion was several times more powerful than C4! The entire house was flattened; bricks and tiles were reduced to dust!"
"The fire was so big and burned for so long! It would be a miracle if we could find any bodies! During the cleanup, we found a lot of charred human tissue fragments and some bone fragments! Doesn't that prove they're definitely dead?"
I think Aunt Shu is just making trouble out of nothing and nitpicking.
Aunt Shu slowly stood up, her eyes fixed on Chen Jingsong with a chillingly sinister look—
"Human body fragments? Who can be 100% certain that those are Zhou Yan's? We can't let our guard down until we find something to confirm his identity."
Just then, the phone next to Chen Jingsong suddenly rang.
He answered the phone in an unfriendly tone: "Hello?"
The phone rang sharply, tearing through the tense air in the room like claws scraping against glass.
A look of annoyance flashed across Chen Jingsong's face as he grabbed the receiver, his tone as harsh as if he'd spat out a nail: "Hello? Who is it?!"
A cold, indifferent female voice came from the other end of the receiver: "Chairman Chen, my patience is limited. When will the agreed funds arrive?"
Chen Jingsong's temple throbbed, and he said into the microphone in an annoyed tone, "I've already transferred 500 million through various channels! Ning Man'an, you have to give me some time to get things sorted out!"
On the other end of the receiver, Ning Man'an's voice was devoid of warmth: "Chairman Chen, my patience has its limits. Without the money, the intelligence you want, and my cooperation in working with you from the inside and outside, are all just empty talk."
She paused, not hiding her threat: "Also, Ning Yuan is still in my hands. If you don't pay me, I'll release her. Everyone is secretly looking for her right now."
Chen Jingsong was so choked by her words that he almost couldn't catch his breath, and he gave an annoyed sneer—
"Ning Man'an, don't give me that crap! I was originally thinking of keeping Ning Yuan around to keep Zhou Yan in check... but now that Zhou Yan is dead, she's just a useless piece of trash!"
"You think you can get her to turn back and help you against me if you let her go? That's wishful thinking! If you let her go, she'll only accuse you of being a traitor! You've cooperated with me, and you still want to turn back? Don't be stupid!"
He suddenly smiled strangely: "It would be cleaner to kill her! It would save you from any unforeseen complications, and it would also eliminate one person from your family's inheritance!"
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