Liu Yutong took the box, opened it for a glance to confirm the badge was inside, then gently closed it.
Zhou Muchen and the others didn't ask much about the badge's origin. In their view, items from such auctions couldn't be anything special—at best, they were just pieces of art.
The group then split into several cars and headed directly to Qiongyue Bay, Liu Yutong's home.
After settling in the living room, Liu Yutong got straight to the point: "What's the background of the trading team?"
Zhou Muchen wiped the playful smile off his face and answered seriously, "It's a team we invited from Hong Kong. The lead guy's surname is Chen, industry nickname 'Ghost Hand.' His methods are both fast and steady. His background is clean, and he's tight-lipped."
"Reliable?" Liu Yutong pressed.
"Absolutely reliable!"
This time, it was Lu Hong who chimed in, adding, "His father received a favor from my Lu family years ago. Plus, the advance commission paid this time is enough for him to live comfortably for several years."
Liu Yutong gave a slight nod, then turned her gaze to Gu Yebai, who had been mostly silent. "What about the venue?"
Gu Yebai seemed caught off guard by her direct question to him. He paused before saying, "The location is a high-end private club in the suburbs near Danan City. Shen Hao and I are partners in that club. The top floor has been completely cleared out. All equipment was installed and debugged this afternoon. The network is a dedicated line—absolutely secure and discreet."
"Take me to see it."
Liu Yutong stood up. "Right now."
All three men were taken aback.
Zhou Muchen asked in surprise, "Sister Yutong, now? It's almost midnight."
Liu Yutong stated, "The funds from my side are ready. Combined with yours, it's roughly 4.7 billion. This capital represents nearly all our liquid assets. The strategy and execution cannot have any slip-ups. Before we officially begin, I must personally verify every single detail."
Hearing that number, Zhou Muchen and the others inwardly gasped.
They knew Liu Yutong would contribute capital herself, but they hadn't expected her to raise 2.4 billion—one billion more than the total they had all pooled together.
Of course, the more Liu Yutong invested, the more reassured they felt.
They had a rough idea of the Wanlong Hui Group's valuation, which exceeded 5 billion.
For such a large group to only put in two or three hundred million would have made them seriously question her motives—was she lacking confidence in this operation, or did she have other plans?
Now, she had mobilized almost all available liquid capital, likely including substantial loans. This all-or-nothing stance fully proved she wasn't deceiving them and had sufficient confidence in herself.
Just then, Liu Yutong remembered something and immediately said,
"Oh, Muchen, while you're at it, help me check if there are sellers for tents over there. Not just tents, but also large generators, medical first-aid kits... the procurement quantity... well, as much as can be bought within a day. I have a use for them."
It wasn't that such supplies didn't exist in Mingzhu City, but they were scarce and not commonly sold.
They were relatively easier to source in Danan City.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Muchen and the other two were momentarily stunned, struggling to process the request.
"Wait, Sister Yutong, why do you suddenly need these emergency supplies? Are you taking the group employees on a wilderness expedition? Or organizing some large-scale outdoor event?"
Beyond those possibilities, they couldn't imagine what else these items would be for.
There wasn't a war going on.
Hold on—they had heard about Wanlong Hui's nature. Could it be for a clash with other... underworld figures?
Come to think of it, that actually seemed plausible.
Liu Yutong had already prepared her explanation: "Our group has been established for so long, yet we've never organized a single company trip. This time, we plan to take a small group out for some tourism, to relax and unwind."
Hearing this, the expressions on Zhou Muchen, Lu Hong, and Gu Yebai's faces became incredibly vivid, then settled into a look that said, "I understand, but I'm utterly bewildered."
It was the first time they'd heard of someone taking underworld members on a "tourism" trip. The key was that this tourism didn't sound legitimate at all; it sounded more like survival training.
They guessed that this recently acknowledged "big sister" probably found her subordinates' combat effectiveness lacking, hence this militarized training.
Thinking of it that way made much more sense.
Yet, it once again shattered their worldview. Were underworld groups this competitive nowadays?
They actually needed military drills?
But for some reason, picturing the scene of Wanlong Hui returning from drills and then getting into fights... they felt a strange sense of excitement.
Zhou Muchen nodded. "Alright, we'll check it out and try to get as much as possible. Should we also prepare some off-road vehicles and satellite phones?"
If Zhou Muchen hadn't reminded her, Liu Yutong had almost forgotten about satellite phones.
"Get as many satellite phones as possible. I'll have someone transfer the money to you for whatever they cost."
Zhou Muchen waved his hand. "Hey, why talk about money? We can't let you pay for these little things, Sister Yutong! Consider it a small sponsorship for the Wanlong Hui brothers' trip!"
Liu Yutong didn't refuse.
This amount was truly insignificant compared to what she would help them earn later.
"Fine. Wait for me a moment; I need to change."
"Sure!"
A short while later.
Liu Yutong came down from the second floor and directly beckoned everyone.
"Let's go."
Truthfully, she didn't want to rush things like this, but she was mainly worried about time running out.
There weren't many days left before that date. She had to get people there as soon as possible.
However, before leaving, she needed to see the preparations Zhou Muchen and the others had made with her own eyes to feel assured.
Both sides' funds were ready, and timeline-wise, it was about time to enter the market.
After all, dispersing this over 4 billion in capital, leveraged at least five times, would take considerable time.
They couldn't afford to be careless!
4.7 billion in principal with five times leverage amounted to 23.5 billion.
Even in overseas markets with daily turnovers in the hundreds of billions of dollars, that amount of capital would be quite noticeable.
Moreover, she knew the nature of a certain country—it was fine for them to take advantage of you and fleece you, but you trying to fleece them? That was unacceptable.
If the funds weren't dispersed when deployed, they would undoubtedly be frozen under various pretexts. Then, not only would any profits be lost, but even the principal would be irrecoverable, resulting in a total loss.
The group left the villa and arrived at the main gate of the villa community.
Just as Zhou Muchen and the others were still guessing where Liu Yutong planned to take the Wanlong Hui members for their "training," they saw the scene outside the gate.
The three well-traveled young masters were utterly dumbfounded. They rubbed their eyes, as if unable to believe what they were seeing.
After confirming they weren't seeing things, they turned to look at Liu Yutong.
"Wait, you call this 'a small group' of people?"
