Chapter 255 209: There Is Only One Sun in My Heart

Hai Feiyun: "..."

"Father, you must have heard the news about the crackdown from above..." Hai Mingyue said unhurriedly. "At this critical juncture! If you're exposed... your Kung Fu, is its lineage clear?"

"..." Hai Feiyun opened his mouth several times, but the words were all stuck in his throat.

He was numb!

His original plan was to capture the leader to defeat the bandits, to seize his 'good' daughter. He would worry about whether to make this 'good' daughter his successor later... The priority was to stabilize the situation! But...

Now that she had laid all her cards on the table, if he made a move... then!

And the most ridiculous part was, Hai Feiyun knew that the Extraordinary heritage he possessed... really was connected to the Shoe Sect!

'This really can't be investigated... If they look into it, there will be real trouble.'

'She came prepared!'

Watching her father's expression shift uncertainly, Hai Mingyue felt a sense of relief, but also a deep shock, because this entire sequence of moves had been orchestrated by Chu Bamboo in advance.

In Hai Mingyue's eyes, it could only be described with one word: flawless.

Indeed, even if Hai Mingyue put herself in her father's shoes right now, she couldn't think of a way to break free. Because this was all an overt scheme! It was all about crushing him with overwhelming momentum.

Unless you didn't care about your own bloodline, didn't care about the company, didn't care about anything... otherwise, you could only be ensnared in this inescapable net, cast by Chu Bamboo from hundreds of kilometers away!

"Go." Hai Mingyue waved her hand gently. Two burly, thick-waisted men instantly appeared behind Hai Feiyun, clapping two hands, still smudged with a bit of coal dust, onto his shoulders.

Li Xuan also stepped forward. His gaze swept over the two Security Corps members, and he swallowed hard. Looking Hai Feiyun directly in the eye, he said with a slight tremor in his voice, "President Hai... if you please!"

"Father, you should... still have some inspection tasks to complete, don't you?" Hai Mingyue offered him a way out. "Oh, right, this meeting was supposed to be about the development of the shantytown district, wasn't it... It's a perfect opportunity for you to have a good chat with the residents there. After all, knowing yourself and knowing your enemy is the only way to make business prosper, right?"

Hai Feiyun took several deep breaths. The more he thought, the angrier he became. He stared daggers at Hai Mingyue. "Good. Very good! You truly are my good daughter."

His voice seemed to be squeezed from between his teeth.

Seeing the two burly men about to drag him up by force, Hai Feiyun flung his sleeves and rose to his feet with a dark expression. "I can walk myself!"

"...You win!" Hai Feiyun walked up to his daughter, glaring at her for a long moment. But he found that not only did Hai Mingyue show no trace of shame, her smile grew even brighter. Unable to stomach it, he turned and left.

Hai Mingyue stared intently at her father's back. After a moment of thought, she made a gesture. Instantly, about ten of the thirty-odd members of the shantytown Security Corps split off and followed closely behind Hai Feiyun. Li Xuan hesitated for a moment before following as well.

"Now then!" Amidst the terrified, disbelieving, dumbfounded, and uncomprehending gazes of everyone present, Hai Mingyue calmly walked to the head of the table and sat down.

She looked down at the many executives gathered around her and said with a smile, "Father obviously intended to appoint me as the acting president! Though he didn't say it outright... I trust no one has any objections?"

Before anyone could answer, the sound of a bullet being chambered rang out.

Hai Mingyue pulled out a delicate-looking pistol, gazing at it admiringly as if it were a piece of art. While toying with it, she said casually, "Of course, if you have any objections, you can raise them directly! We're very democratic here. We can talk about it! There's nothing that can't be discussed."

The executive who had shamelessly flattered Hai Feiyun and attacked Li Hong earlier instantly shot to his feet again, a devout look on his face as he clapped vigorously.

In the next instant, everyone else reacted, scrambling to their feet. The applause was thunderous!

The executive who had stood up first saw everyone else follow suit. His heart tightened, worried that he wasn't standing out enough. A thought flashed through his mind, and in a stroke of genius, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "In my heart, there is only one Sun!"

The room fell silent for a moment. As the other executives processed this, they glanced at each other, the corners of their eyes twitching slightly. 'Now... now what am I supposed to do to stand out more?'

"President Hai, please give us your orders," Li Hong said immediately. He looked sincerely into Hai Mingyue's eyes, his words firm and forceful. "No matter the order! We will carry it out without fail."

「Meanwhile.」

Hai Feiyun, who hadn't gotten far, paused his steps. He glanced expressionlessly back at the conference room, whose main doors had not yet been closed.

After a brief silence, the resentment in his eyes receded, replaced by a trace of approval, along with a hint of annoyance and disbelief. Based on the information he had so far... he was vaguely beginning to realize something!

Or rather... he had vaguely glimpsed the massive, sky-blotting hand behind the curtain!

Unfortunately, as Hai Feiyun subtly scanned the numerous Security Corps members beside him, his gaze finally landing on their leader, Li Xuan, he pondered for a moment and shook his head. 'Mm, that person probably didn't come...'

'Is he that confident?!'

So be it! As Hai Feiyun turned once more toward the Ancient Relic elevator, though his expression was weary, his steps had become a little lighter.

'No matter what... she's still my bloodline, after all!'

'Things have already come to this, am I really supposed to let some bastard from a side branch take the throne?'

'Let those idiots who only know how to eat, drink, whore, and gamble take over? The ones who only know how to brutally cut wages and drive workers to their deaths just to run a factory... He would rather the Hai Group be inherited by his own daughter! Although she used such a brutal method for this coup, it actually proved... that his daughter, or rather, the massive hand behind her, was capable!'

'As long as the person who inherits the company in the future... has his blood in them, that's enough! Or perhaps, he couldn't afford to think about anything else... He wanted his own son to inherit the company too! But wasn't that impossible?'

The only thing worth worrying about now was...

'The Security Corps... the honorary vice-captain of the Second and Third Districts' special operations team, Mr. Zhu... Chu Bamboo!' he murmured to himself.

"Excellent... truly excellent!" Hai Feiyun's mind was in turmoil. He made a decision, stopped abruptly, and said, "You all, come with me to pay a visit to the Hai Clan elders! Of course, this will also be beneficial for Xiaomingyue... and for my future good son-in-law!"

"? Son-in-law?" The squad leader, Li Xuan, was stunned for a moment. Earlier, his hands and feet had been trembling with excitement... after all, even in his wildest imaginings, he had never dared to picture something like this, swallowing the Hai Group whole. How was that any different from a snake swallowing an elephant?

This was the Hai Clan!

In Jinghai City, this Eastern Financial and Industrial Giant City, they were one of the seven renowned Great Clans!

Right now, Li Xuan felt nothing but reverence for the Director-General... and a fanatical admiration. He felt that if he followed that man, there was nothing that couldn't be accomplished!

That man was a miracle in and of himself.

But... this son-in-law! Li Xuan was doubtful. He didn't seem to recall Miss Hai Mingyue ever mentioning it. Previously, when Hai Mingyue had sought them out, she had made a call to Chu Bamboo... and when Chu Bamboo had spoken with them, he had only said they were allies.

"...?" Hai Feiyun looked at Li Xuan in disbelief. 'Not his son-in-law?'

'If he isn't her husband-to-be, then how can he interfere with the Hai Conglomerate?'

'Don't tell me that man is helping Hai Mingyue out of the pure goodness of his heart. Just wanting to push her into power... without asking for any other reward?'

'As for what reward Hai Mingyue might have promised that Mr. Zhu in private? Don't be ridiculous... After seeing how this 'filial' daughter treats her own father, what sane person would dare believe her promises?'

"...Why don't you contact that man again!" Hai Feiyun struggled to keep his expression neutral, his voice hoarse. "You may have forcibly seized control of the Hai Group for now... but becoming president doesn't mean you control everything!"

"The true power of the Hai Family is mostly in the hands of the clan elders! The Hai Group only controls some industries in the Third District... The hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land in the Fourth District, and even the financial sector, are not in the hands of our Hai Group!"

"The wealth the Group can mobilize is limited!"

"You need to get your story straight with him... I can provide a certain degree of cooperation! Of course, even with my assistance... in the best-case scenario, you'll be able to control one-fifth of the Hai Clan's assets at most!"

At his peak, Hai Feiyun only dared to claim control over a third of the Hai Clan! For his daughter to take power, and in such a disgraceful manner... no matter what anyone said, there was no way to completely suppress this! The people in the clan weren't fools; how could they not see there was a problem?

For her control over the Group to be less than half of his would already be an incredible, heaven-defying feat.

Li Xuan was suddenly flustered and at a loss. "Um, uh, I know Director-General Mr. Zhu's phone number... but we don't have phones!"

"?" Hai Feiyun's expression stiffened as he glanced at Li Xuan. 'I lost to this bunch of country bumpkins and paupers?'

His body trembling, he took out his phone. The words were practically squeezed from between his teeth: "Give me the number."

「A moment later.」

The call connected.

"Lao Hai! Sounds like everything went smoothly over there." A calm voice suddenly came from the phone.

Hai Feiyun: "???"

'Wait, shouldn't I be the one greeting him first? How does he know it's me?'

'Hold on... he has my phone number? Did Hai Mingyue give it to him?'

Before he could even ask, the voice on the other end added, "Don't overthink it! I'm not interested in the Hai Family, and I don't plan on having Mingyue do anything to seriously harm the family. By the way, when you see that retired father of yours, don't forget to give him a little reminder. Ask him if he remembers the Bamboo by Daming Lake. That old coot, when he went fishing back then, I was the one who dug up the worms and baited his hook."

"...Huh?"

'No, wait a minute...'

"Also," Chu Bamboo paused for a moment, his tone full of meaning, "your old man is the First Elder of the clan, and I recall you have a second faction over there, don't you?"

For a clan the size of the Hai Family, having many factions was normal! It would be abnormal if there weren't any.

"If your second grand-uncle has any doubts... have him chat with Xu Zihong! Tell him to mention my name to Elder Xu... the two of them are gentlemen whose friendship is like water! He'll definitely believe what Elder Xu says." Chu Bamboo's voice was light and cheerful.

"Your old man and your second grand-uncle, though not all the factions, are the two main ones... Plus, the one in charge now is your own daughter... No, wait, given your previous attitude, you were already raising your own daughter as your successor. Even if you had your own little schemes... all in all, there's no problem."

"So that's that." Chu Bamboo didn't forget to add a comforting word. "Don't worry... like I said, I currently have no ill intentions toward the Hai Family. Hanging up now! Talk later if something comes up... I'm pretty busy at the moment."

Listening to the dial tone from the phone, Hai Feiyun's face was now a mask of pure bewilderment.

He dazedly scanned the people around him. Could someone fucking tell him what the hell just happened? Why did this robber... seem so familiar with his old man and his second grand-uncle?

No, really, why did this guy know his family's situation like the back of his hand?!

'Could it be...'

A world-shattering piece of wisdom flashed through Hai Feiyun's chaotic mind, and his heart stopped. "It couldn't be that everything happening right now... is all being orchestrated by my own old man from behind the scenes, could it?!"