Chapter 322: Arrogance

Less than half an hour had passed when Ling Chen arrived at his destination.

He parked the car at the roadside and headed straight for Dongling Pier. It was already half-past nine in the evening, and dock workers were still unloading cargo. As Ling Chen walked, he was on the lookout for Jiang Hao and Zhao Zhengxiong’s whereabouts. Shortly after, a man in a suit appeared and waved at him.

Following the man in the suit, Ling Chen quickened his pace and arrived in front of a huge container. The doors were open, and the man gestured for him to enter with a 'please'. Without hesitation, Ling Chen stepped inside.

The space inside the container was large, with a table and several wooden chairs arranged. Deng Guoyong was sitting at the table, savoring a bottle of red wine intently. Beside him, Jiang Hao and Zhao Zhengxiong were tied to chairs with black hoods over their heads, with four men in suits watching over them.

Seeing that Jiang Hao and the others were not in mortal danger, Ling Chen’s expression relaxed slightly, and he took a seat across from Deng Guoyong.

"Mr. Ling, this is a cellar-aged red wine airlifted from Lafite Vineyard, with a vintage of twenty years. Why don’t you try some?"

"Thanks, but I’m not really interested in red wine."

Deng Guoyong smiled slightly and shook his head. "Then you really don’t know how to enjoy life. Don’t we earn all that money just to improve the quality of our lives and make ourselves a bit better off? Otherwise, who would struggle to their last breath, risking their lives just to scrape a living?"

"My ambitions differ from yours. Now that I’m here, can you release them?"

"Don’t rush, let’s talk business first. Mr. Ling, I’ve looked into your background; you are ex-military, security personnel for Hongyu Group. If I’m not mistaken, the woman who came with you to negotiate that day must be Nanrong Wanqing. It’s obvious that Mr. Ling has a special relationship with the Nanrong Family. Actually, our Dongyi Group has long wanted to collaborate with Hongyu Group. In East Sea City, Hongyu Group is the leading business powerhouse, involved in many industries. Although Dongyi Group doesn’t have the financial power of Hongyu Group, we are, nevertheless, the underground emperor of the entire East Sea City, which I believe no one can deny. As long as we sincerely cooperate, East Sea City will eventually come under our control. By then, we will have both authority and wealth, and everyone will prosper together. Isn’t that a win-win scenario, Mr. Ling? What do you say?"

After hearing Deng Guoyong’s words, Ling Chen’s lips curled slightly, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

"Your Dongyi Group is quite ambitious, aiming to control the entire East Sea City."

Deng Guoyong laughed heartily. "Mr. Ling, one should have aspirations in life. I hope you can convey Dongyi Group’s intentions to Miss Nanrong."

"There’s no need to waste time. She won’t agree to your demands," Ling Chen said indifferently. "Release my people, and I can pretend nothing happened tonight."

"Mr. Ling, if you don’t want your brothers to get hurt, you’d better do as I say. Moreover, I hope you can utilize your connection with the Nanrong Family to facilitate this cooperation. If successful, Dongyi Group will not fail to reward you handsomely."

Upon hearing this, Ling Chen’s gaze narrowed slightly, and he looked past Deng Guoyong towards Jiang Hao and Zhao Zhengxiong.

"I once warned you, if nobody offends me, I won’t offend anybody. But if someone dares to bully me, they had better prepare a coffin for themselves."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ling Chen’s eyes blazed with intensity. He exploded from his chair, leaped across the table, and locked his hand around Deng Guoyong’s neck, lifting him from the chair and hoisting him into the air.

Seeing his actions, the four suited bodyguards were terribly shocked and hurriedly rushed forward, ready to intervene.

"Don’t come any closer."

Ling Chen roared furiously, his fingers applying slight pressure. Deng Guoyong’s breathing was restricted, his face gradually turning ashen as he tightly gripped Ling Chen’s wrist, trying to pry his fingers open. However, compared to Ling Chen’s strength, his effort was futile.

"If you don’t want him to die, release them immediately!"

The four suited bodyguards hesitantly looked at Deng Guoyong, and seeing him nod in agony, they immediately lifted the black hoods off Jiang Hao and Zhao Zhengxiong. However, as the faces of the two became clear, Ling Chen felt a sinking feeling in his heart, and a glint of chilly light flashed through his pupils.

The ones wearing the black hoods were not Jiang Hao and Zhao Zhengxiong at all, but two strangers they had never seen before.

Not only that, in their hands, each was holding a mobile phone, and each phone’s screen displayed an image.

In the image, Jiang Hao and Zhao Zhengxiong were trussed up, hanging from the arm of a cargo ship, with the cold seawater below them. Seeing this scene, Ling Chen’s face instantly turned exceedingly cold.

"Mr... Mr. Ling..." Deng Guoyong coughed twice and said with a forced smile: "If you kill me, they won’t survive either."

Hearing this, Ling Chen furrowed his brows, hesitated for a moment, then relaxed his grip, and the suspended Deng Guoyong immediately fell to the ground. The four suited bodyguards hurried forward to help their boss up.

Deng Guoyong touched his sore neck and smiled: "Mr. Ling, you have one day to save them. As long as you can convince the Nanrong Family to cooperate with Dongyi Group, I will release them immediately. Otherwise, you better be ready to pick out a couple of graves for them."

Having said that, Deng Guoyong walked away with his subordinates, exiting the container.

Watching their retreating figures, Ling Chen clenched his fists, his expression icy cold. He had initially planned to play a slow game with Dongyi Group, but since they were being so rude, there was no reason for him to hold back anymore.

Returning to Wealthy Manor, it was already eleven at night.

Ling Chen made a call, did nothing more, and went straight to bed.

The next day.

Upon arriving at Hongyu Group’s headquarters, everyone was talking about the tragic death of Zou Yu, expressing deep sighs.

Ling Chen escorted Nanrong Wanqing to her office and then took the elevator down to the underground parking lot. A Santana was parked not far from the elevator. Ling Chen walked over and knocked on the car window, which opened immediately.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ling Chen glanced at the driver and asked: "Fatty, have you found out everything I asked you to check?"

"I wouldn’t dare be negligent with matters you’ve entrusted to me." Saying so, Hu Fei threw a document into Ling Chen’s hands, rubbing his darkened eye bags and yawning: "I stayed up all night to get this information for you. It may not be complete due to the limited time, so make do with it."

"Thanks for the hard work."

Ling Chen casually flipped through the document and asked, "Do you know who the real boss behind Dongyi Group is?"

Hu Fei shook his head: "That person is very elusive, and it’s tough to find any leads on them in such short notice. Aside from that person, I’ve managed to get clarity on all the big and small leaders of Dongyi Group." Saying this, Hu Fei sighed with an expression of glee: "I reckon the coffin shops are going to be booming these days."

Ling Chen put away the document, opened the car door, and said: "Thanks. Once I’m done with all this, I’ll treat you to a meal another day."