Tiger Might Group, Chairman’s Office.
Qi Tianhu had just tossed his wineglass into the trash can when the office door was suddenly shoved open from outside.
“Dad! Something’s happened!”
A young man who looked to be around twenty-four or twenty-five barged in. He was dressed head to toe in designer brands, with dyed blond hair. His handsome features had inherited some of Qi Tianhu’s heroic bearing, but there was an unsettling, sinister look in his eyes.
This was Qi Tianhu’s only son, Qi Licheng.
Qi Tianhu turned around, frowning slightly. “What’s with the panic? Have some composure.”
“I’m not panicking, Dad. I’m furious!”
Qi Licheng dropped heavily onto the sofa, picked up the bottle of wine on the table, and poured himself a glass. After taking a sip, he said, “There’s trouble at the Dawan Coal Mine again. They’re complaining that our offer is too low and saying they’re going to sell the mine to some businessman from out of town.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Qi Tianhu walked over to the desk and sat down, asking calmly, “How did you handle it?”
Qi Licheng set his glass on the table, a vicious look appearing on his face. “I had someone investigate the outsider’s background. He’s from JZ Province and brought two hundred million with him. He thinks he can come to our territory and grab a bargain? I’ve already sent A Jiu and the others to have a talk with him.”
“I want those outsiders to understand something. Around Jinchuan City, when it comes to coal, anyone who dares to touch it besides Tiger Might Group is looking for death!”
Qi Tianhu nodded. “Are the men you arranged clean?”
“Don’t worry, Dad.”
Qi Licheng thumped his chest confidently. “The people I sent with A Jiu all have clean backgrounds. They’re complete strangers here. Even if the police investigate, they won’t be able to trace anything back to us. Besides, even if something really happens, we can settle it with a little money.”
Qi Tianhu did not respond. He simply stared at him in silence.
Under his father’s gaze, Qi Licheng began to feel uneasy and quickly changed the subject. “Dad, you have no idea. Ever since we took control of Dawan Coal Mine, along with the mines in several surrounding cities, we’ve completely monopolized the local coal market. From now on, we’ll be the ones setting the coal prices. Even the chemical plants have to beg us to sell them coal.”
Qi Tianhu gave a noncommittal grunt before saying, “You’ve done a decent job with the coal mines. But that’s not why I called you here today.”
“Then what is it, Dad?”
Qi Tianhu pointed out the window. “See that building?”
Qi Licheng stood up and followed his father’s finger to the floor-to-ceiling window. His eyes immediately lit up.
“Wanlong Plaza? Dad, are you finally going to make a move against the Wanlonghui?”
Wanlonghui Group was a company that had suddenly emerged the previous year.
The company was unbelievably wealthy. It had reportedly donated two billion yuan to disaster-stricken areas to build schools, and later invested in shopping malls and other projects across several nearby cities. Altogether, it had poured at least five or six billion yuan into the region.
It was a massive piece of low-hanging fruit.
Not to mention anything else, simply securing any one of Wanlonghui Group’s construction projects—earthworks, building materials, or the like—would bring in enormous profits.
The Tiger Might Group had operated in several surrounding cities for many years and was the undisputed local powerhouse. Aside from coal, it had its hands in everything related to construction: building materials, sand and gravel, concrete, transportation…
By their usual standards, they should have been able to secure the contracts for Wanlonghui Group’s projects, including the supply of construction materials.
After all, in the major construction projects across the surrounding cities, at least sixty percent of the real estate developments used building materials supplied by Tiger Might Group.
With such absolute control, the developers basically had to cater to their wishes.
If they said whose sand and gravel to use, that was what got used. If they said whose cement to use, that was what got used.
They were domineering to the extreme!
Wanlonghui, however, was the sole exception. The company simply refused to play along.
Whether it was building plazas or schools, the companies that won the bids were all from out of town. All the construction materials were transported in from elsewhere, completely shutting Tiger Might Group out.
They had sent people to negotiate, but the person in charge had given them only one explanation:
Their qualifications did not meet the requirements.
That had infuriated father and son alike.
In the Jinchuan area, no one had ever dared to show them such disrespect.
But they had held back from taking action—not because they were easygoing, but because they had been waiting for the right opportunity.
Qi Tianhu stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked over to his son. He said slowly, “When the earthquake struck last year, Wanlonghui Group was at the center of attention. The officials were watching them, and the media were watching them too. We couldn’t make a move. But now, more than a year has passed and the spotlight has faded. It’s our turn.”
Qi Licheng immediately grew excited. “Tell me what to do, Dad. How about I gather some men and head straight to their construction sites? We’ll cause a disturbance and force them to shut down.”
“Not yet.”
Qi Tianhu shook his head. “I just received word that Wanlonghui Group has sent a general manager surnamed Yang here to attend the investment promotion conference in Jingchuan. I’ve already had someone invite him. Tomorrow night, we’ll take General Manager Yang out for dinner. You’re coming too.”
“Dinner?”
Qi Licheng’s eyes shifted, and he immediately understood his father’s intention. “You mean we offer them courtesy first, then use force if that doesn’t work?”
Qi Tianhu nodded. “If we can reach an agreement, then we will. If we truly can’t, you’ll know what to do.”
Qi Licheng understood at once. A sinister smile spread across his face.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I know exactly what to do. If that man surnamed Yang knows how to behave and obediently hands those contracts over to us, then everything will be fine. But if he refuses to cooperate, I’ll make sure he learns what it means to regret ever being born!”
Qi Tianhu was just about to say something else when someone suddenly knocked on the office door.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and a young man wearing a black tank top and sporting tattoos on his arms walked inside.
As soon as he entered, he went straight to Qi Licheng, a fawning smile plastered across his face.
“Young Master Cheng, I need to speak with you about something.”
Qi Licheng’s expression changed slightly. He instinctively glanced at his father.
Qi Tianhu’s gaze swept over the bald young man before turning to his son. “Who is this?”
“Dad, this is… this is one of my men. His name is Wumao.” Qi Licheng sounded somewhat uneasy.
Wumao hurriedly bowed and nodded obsequiously at Qi Tianhu. “Greetings, Lord Tiger! Greetings, Lord Tiger! Sorry to disturb you, sir!”
Qi Tianhu waved his hand. “If you have business to attend to, go on.”
“Dad, then we’ll be leaving.”
With that, he took Wumao and left the company, driving to a nightclub they frequented.
The moment they entered a private room and shut the door, Qi Licheng kicked Wumao to the floor, despite the latter still wearing a flattering smile. His expression was frighteningly vicious.
“Who the hell told you to come looking for me at the company?”
“Didn’t I tell you? You’re not allowed to come to the company! You’re not allowed to come to the company! Are you fucking deaf?”
“Hold him down!”
The two underlings who had followed them inside immediately stepped forward and pinned Wumao firmly to the floor.
Qi Licheng pulled a folding knife from his waist, preparing to cut the man’s ear off on the spot as a warning to the others.
Wumao was scared out of his wits and struggled desperately. “I was wrong! Young Master Cheng, I was wrong!”
“I had something urgent to report to you. I tried calling, but I couldn’t get through. I had no choice but to come find you!”
“Young Master Cheng, please spare me this once! Please!”
Qi Licheng stopped and said coldly, “Talk. What’s so urgent?”
“Young Master Cheng, something terrible has happened! The roadblock we set up on the provincial highway was taken out today!”
Qi Licheng’s face instantly turned livid. He grabbed Wumao by the collar and roared, “What the hell did you just say?”
Wumao stammered, “Young… Young Master Cheng, a convoy of long-distance buses from out of town passed through today. Our men stopped them… stopped them to collect a little toll. But then a group of men in black got off the bus. Without saying a word, they beat up all our people and… and called the police.”
“The police came?”
“They… they did.”
Wumao said with a mournful expression, “There were more than twenty of them. They were all taken away, and… and even those idiots were dragged off too.”
Qi Licheng released his collar, his expression dark and terrifying.
There was only one thought in his mind: His father absolutely could not find out about this.
A few months ago, he had gone to the gambling capital for several days and lost nearly fifty million yuan. His father still knew nothing about it.
Although Tiger Might Group was wealthy and powerful, Qi Tianhu kept a very tight rein on his son’s spending. He gave him a fixed allowance of one million yuan a month, and not a penny more.
One million yuan was enough for an ordinary person in Jinchuan City to live on for the rest of his life.
But for a wastrel like Qi Licheng, who spent money like water, it wasn’t even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.
A single bet at the gambling table could easily run into hundreds of thousands. Losing three to five million in one night was nothing unusual. Adding in his spending elsewhere, his monthly allowance was nowhere near enough.
But with the money running out, he didn’t dare ask his father for more.
Qi Tianhu doted on him, but he wasn’t indulgent without limits. If he found out that his son had gambled away so much money, he could very well beat his legs until they were broken.
That was why Qi Licheng had taken Wumao and his gang under his wing.
These thugs were hardly impressive, but they had plenty of shady ways to make money. Taking a few idiots with them, they set up roadblocks on remote provincial and county roads to extort passing motorists. Even in a single day, they could rake in a considerable sum.
With the addition of other illicit sources of income, Qi Licheng also collected a substantial amount in monthly kickbacks.
Normally, as long as nothing major happened, his father would never find out.
But now this idiot had actually come running to the group headquarters!
Given his father’s shrewdness, if he really started investigating, he would certainly uncover the truth.
And if those men who had been arrested started talking and told the police that the roadblock was connected to him, Qi Licheng would definitely get a beating.
The more Qi Licheng thought about it, the angrier he became. He crouched down again and looked at Wumao, who was being held to the ground. A smile of utterly savage cruelty slowly spread across his face.
“Wumao, although you had a reason for coming, there’s one thing I hate most in this world: a dog that refuses to obey.”
“Since you’ve ignored my orders, there’s no point in keeping this ear.”
“No… No! Young Master Cheng, please! Give me one more chance! I’ll never do it again! Never!”
Wumao shook his head frantically, tears and snot streaming down his face. A dark patch had also spread across the front of his pants.
Qi Licheng frowned and took half a step back in disgust.
“Hold his head down!”
The two underlings immediately pressed Wumao’s head firmly against the ground, leaving him unable to move.
“Young… Young Master Cheng! Don’t! Please…”
“Don’t move. If you do, my hand might slip, and I won’t just cut off your ear.”
Qi Licheng’s voice was ice-cold, sending chills down the spine.
Wumao instantly froze, his entire body trembling like a leaf.
Qi Licheng didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He lowered his wrist and slashed downward with force.
“Ahhh!!!”
