Chapter 36 316: Not Presentable

Li Xue thought it over and realized Chen Xi had a point.

Sending someone unimportant to test the waters first, and then sacrificing them to save the king if something went wrong, wasn't a huge problem.

But looking at Mu Lin, Li Xue still felt it wasn't appropriate.

"Is Mu Lin really up for it? He doesn't know anything. Maybe we should find someone else."

She glanced around the office, only to see that her team members were competing to be the most useless. They were a real collection of hidden geniuses—it was hard to say who was more incompetent than the last.

'Thinking about it carefully, maybe Mu Lin isn't such a bad choice after all?'

Chen Xi said, "I'll teach him!"

Li Xue brought the conversation back on track. "That's not what I mean. I'm saying this matter has far-reaching implications, more than the Special Projects Team can handle. It's a problem that this responsibility fell on our team in the first place. Don't fall into Lu Yi's trap."

She only had a gut feeling that Yang Jian had been bought by Lu Yi; she had no idea the two were actually childhood friends.

Things were fine until Lu Yi's name came up. The moment it did, Chen Xi's eyes turned red.

"Sister Xue, what are you trying to say? Just because this is Lu Yi's move, I, Chen Xi, have to run and hide? I can't stomach this! Stay out of it. I have to go head-to-head with Lu Yi!"

Seeing Chen Xi get all worked up, Li Xue knew that continuing this conversation would lead nowhere. She sighed. "If you insist on handling it yourself, fine. But don't be impulsive. Send someone to test the waters first... Hmm... Mu Lin will do."

She sounded very reluctant as she said it.

She cursed the fact that the Special Projects Team was filled with so much dead weight. There wasn't a single competent person she could deploy. Otherwise, why would they be in such a passive position?

"Alright, Sister Xiaoxue, don't you worry! I guarantee I'll complete this mission perfectly and get that money back for you!"

Chen Xi enthusiastically saw Li Xue to the door. When he turned around, he was met with Mu Lin's ice-cold gaze.

Chen Xi shivered and forced an incredibly awkward smile.

"Not very loyal, are you? Planning to throw me under the bus the second something goes wrong?" Of course, Mu Lin knew Chen Xi didn't have the guts, but that didn't stop him from using this opportunity to put him in his place.

Chen Xi's knees went weak, and he quickly put on a fawning smile. "Of course not! We're thick as thieves! You're such a good fighter. If I sold you out, wouldn't I be done for, too?"

Mu Lin sized up Chen Xi for a moment before finally saying, "Good point."

Chen Xi wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief.

Mu Lin stood up from his desk and walked over to Chen Xi. Chen Xi thought Mu Lin was about to hit him and tensed up.

"Brother Lin, what are you doing?"

"Aren't we going to collect a debt? It's getting late. The sooner we go, the sooner we can get back. Let's not make this run into overtime."

Chen Xi's eyes widened in realization, and he breathed another long sigh of relief internally.

Chen Xi got a car from the group's asset management department, and they drove off.

"Brother Lin, let me be clear. We need to be careful. This pig farm owner is no pushover. His name is Yang Jian. He ran with the gangs when he was younger and is very close to Wu Long of Yuelong Group."

Mu Lin frowned. "You've given me two different stories now. First, you said he and Lu Yi were close enough to call the same escort, and now you're saying he's tight with Wu Long. Which version is true?"

"They're both true! Where do you think they got the escort from? From Wu Long's side, of course! In Anhua City, if it's connected to the underworld, you can bet that if you dig deep enough, it'll lead you back to Wu Long!"

"Yang Jian has a lot of thugs working for him. It's seriously scary. You absolutely can't be reckless. Recklessness is the devil!"

Mu Lin rubbed his wrist, flexed the muscle on his forearm for Chen Xi to see, and chuckled. "Do you really think his thugs are a match for me?"

Chen Xi shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, no, of course not! But there are a lot of them! As the saying goes, two fists can't fight four hands. Besides, you don't hit a smiling face. Let's go in there and be polite first, and resort to force later. What if Yang Jian is in a good mood and just pays up?"

"You're the team leader. I'll listen to you," Mu Lin said.

Chen Xi let out a long breath, but he didn't dare relax completely. 'Our Brother Lin is not an easy person to deal with,' he thought.

A while later, Chen Xi and Mu Lin arrived at the pig farm.

The security guard had a scar on his face and the faint outline of a tattoo visible on his neck. He looked like a man with a story.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice sinister but his tone surprisingly nonchalant.

His attitude really rubbed Chen Xi the wrong way. 'So what if you used to be a gangster? Aren't you just a gatekeeper now?'

"Ah, yes," Chen Xi said, remembering he was there to collect a debt and trying to be polite. "I'm looking for Yang Jian, President Yang!"

The guard asked routinely, "Do you have an appointment?"

"No!"

"No entry without an appointment!"

This made Mu Lin's eyelid twitch. 'A mere pig farm is putting on such airs?'

If these guys weren't involved in something shady, Mu Lin would eat his hat!

Chen Xi was instantly triggered. He pulled a card from his business card holder. "Let me remind you, your pig farm owes us seven million, and it's been almost two years! I need to get an explanation from your President Yang! He has a bit of a reputation in the Jianghu. It's not right to just not pay your debts, is it?"

The guard took the card, glanced at it, then tossed it back in Chen Xi's face. "Scram!"

Chen Xi's blood pressure spiked. He yanked the handbrake and stormed out of the car.

Mu Lin sat in the car, as still as a mountain, watching Chen Xi's performance with great interest.

'Let's see how much he's improved since the last time he got beaten up.'

Seeing Chen Xi charging at him aggressively, the guard wasn't anxious. Instead, he took a few steps back to make sure his fist wouldn't be the first to make contact.

Even in a fight, you had to make sure you weren't the one to throw the first punch. With his rich experience in the Jianghu, he would never fall into a trap because of recklessness.

"Show some respect!"

Chen Xi raised a hand and grabbed the guard's shoulder. This could be considered the start of the attack, so the guard no longer needed to hold back. He could just let loose and fight.

However badly Chen Xi got beaten, he would have brought it on himself.

The guard grabbed Chen Xi's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Punk, get lost. You're still too green to stir up trouble here!"

Chen Xi sneered. "Is that so?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Xi swung a punch, hitting the guard hard and fast on the corner of his eye.

All the strength left the guard's body. He felt light-headed and couldn't even stand steady.

The other guards in the nearby booth saw someone causing trouble and immediately rushed out, surrounding Chen Xi.

Seeing that the situation had turned sour, Chen Xi did a quick calculation. He couldn't take on this many people by himself. With Mu Lin, maybe.

But Mu Lin was sitting calmly in the car, as still as a mountain. He didn't look like he had any intention of helping.

He couldn't help but think of retreating. Just as he was about to spout a few threats and make his exit, his phone rang.

He held up his hand to the approaching guards. "Wait a minute, I have to take this call! If you're real men, you'll wait until I'm off the phone to fight!"

The guards looked at each other, finding the situation hilarious. They waved him on, letting him take the call.

"Xiaoxi, where are you? I see you're not in the office! Weren't you supposed to send Mu Lin to test the waters? What did you do?" Li Xue's aggressive voice crackled over the phone, the pressure radiating through the receiver.

Chen Xi quickly said, "Mu Lin can't drive! Sister Xiaoxue, I was just giving him a ride!"

"Come back immediately. You can go after I've negotiated."

Chen Xi said, "Why? Things are going great here! Everything's proceeding smoothly. Just wait for my triumphant return!"

"Chen Xi! Do you really think I can't tell you're lying?" Li Xue snapped. "Don't make things worse! I order you to come back!"

Feeling the pressure, Chen Xi had no choice but to give in. He mumbled meekly into the phone, "I know, Sister Xiaoxue. I'm coming back right now!"

Hearing Chen Xi's response, Li Xue finally let out a long sigh of relief.

With Chen Xi's short fuse, if he were the one to handle negotiations, he would only make things worse. It would likely escalate beyond a simple matter of collecting a debt.

After hanging up, Chen Xi shouted at the guards, "You heard that! My boss doesn't want me to fight you! It's not that I'm afraid of you!"

With that, he jumped back into the car, started the engine, threw it in reverse, and sped away.

"Brother Lin, let me tell you, I wasn't afraid of them! If Sister Xiaoxue hadn't called, I would have charged in and out of there seven times and shown them what's what!"

Mu Lin let him talk, not caring how awkward his bragging sounded.

Just let him run his mouth. It didn't matter.

When they returned to the office, they saw Li Xue sitting at her desk with a stern expression.

Chen Xi was too intimidated to approach, but then he heard Li Xue's sharp command:

"Get over here!"