Chapter 80: Cooperation

"Chairman Wu, you should go to the hospital."

Wu Long backhanded the person who had spoken. "Get lost!"

He couldn't bear the humiliation.

"Bring me liquor!" Chairman Wu howled.

HISS...

He downed an entire bottle of Wuliangye before the soul-piercing pain was finally suppressed.

Though a dull ache remained, it was no longer agonizing.

'Mu Lin... You'll pay for this, Mu Lin.'

Wu Long gritted his teeth.

'You dare threaten me?'

'You say I'll be dead in ten days? Then I'll make sure you die before me!'

A vicious glint flashed in Wu Long's eyes as he rose to his feet and commanded:

"Someone, prepare some gifts. I'm going to pay a visit to the Yang Family."

The Yang Family was one of the three great families of Anhua City, the other two being the Liu and Zhou families.

Wu Long had a chance connection with the Yang Family's Young Master, a relationship he'd maintained with lukewarm effort.

Now, however, it was time to put it to use.

Upon arriving at the Yang Family estate, Wu Long respectfully presented his business card and gifts.

After they were sent in, he waited only a moment before a handsome young man emerged from within.

"Young Master Yang!" Wu Long called out warmly.

Young Master Yang glanced around before finally spotting Wu Long standing some distance away.

He strode over, greeting Wu Long enthusiastically. "If it isn't Brother Wu! The last time we saw each other must have been the year before last, right?"

Wu Long laughed. "I haven't stopped thinking about you since we last parted, Young Master Yang! It's a shame I've been so swamped with business that I couldn't get away. I finally found some free time today, so I prepared a small gift and thought I'd come for a visit."

Of course, Young Master Yang knew perfectly well that Wu Long wouldn't show up without a reason. If he truly had no agenda, why would he be so eager to pay a visit?

He wasn't fond of pointless small talk himself; he much preferred getting straight to business.

The fact that Wu Long was an opportunist suited him just fine.

"Alright then, please come in. We can talk over tea!"

Wu Long followed Young Master Yang into the family estate. The interior was a massive garden complex of interlocking courtyards. It took a full twenty minutes to walk from the main gate to the smaller courtyard where Young Master Yang lived.

Lots of children and maids were playing in the courtyards. Upon seeing Young Master Yang, the children shouted "Daddy!" and rushed toward him.

Young Master Yang exchanged some pleasantries with the children, then pulled a few red envelopes from his coat and handed them over.

He feigned a moment of polite refusal on their behalf before instructing them to take the envelopes and thank Wu Long in unison.

Finally, they arrived at the study.

After the two sat down, the faint smile remained on Young Master Yang's lips, but his tone became businesslike.

"Brother Wu, what can I help you with?" Young Master Yang asked.

Wu Long also grew serious. "Can the Yang Family accept the loyalty of my Yuelong Group?"

Young Master Yang was surprised. "Perhaps you could be more specific. What loyalty from the Yuelong Group?"

Wu Long said, "Yuelong Group wishes to join forces with the Yang Family! We would advance and retreat as one! It may be a bit presumptuous of me to suggest it, but honestly, I can't think of any other option."

Young Master Yang pondered for a moment, then said, "I think it's possible! However, the details of the alliance can't be settled in a moment. I'll have to discuss it with my father before making a decision!"

'Even for a great family, there were many areas where their reach fell short. For a man like Wu Long, skilled and ambitious, to proactively propose an alliance was a matter of great value.'

Wu Long's eyes lit up. In fact, as long as Young Master Yang approved, the matter was basically settled.

"Once I have news, I'll contact you!"

Wu Long walked out of the Yang residence, got into his car, and took another swig of liquor. The intense pain was gradually being suppressed.

'Li Xue, oh Li Xue, let's see how you handle an attack from the likes of the Yang Family!'

「The afternoon work bell rang, and Mu Lin returned to the office with a spring in his step.」

"AH!" Zhou Yu suddenly cried out and rushed over to Mu Lin. "Brother Lin, you're bleeding!"

'I'm fine,' Mu Lin thought. 'Where am I bleeding from?'

Zhou Yu had already grabbed a tissue. She wiped his face and then showed it to him.

On it was a large bloodstain, already somewhat dried.

Mu Lin said, "It's not my blood. Someone was being reckless and tried to cross me, so naturally, I had to sort him out."

Zhou Yu inspected his face carefully. Seeing no wounds, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Mu Lin said, "Thanks, I'm going to wash my face!"

When he returned, Mu Lin found that all the young masters and princesses had gathered around him, their eyes wide.

"Brother Lin, who'd you get into it with? You beat them so badly their blood went flying."

Mu Lin smiled nonchalantly. "Wu Long from Yuelong Group."

"Tch, Brother Lin, stop being so pretentious. We're only asking because we look up to you, but you're still putting on airs. Don't you see us as friends? Forget it, we won't ask."

'Mu Lin felt wronged. 'It really was Wu Long. I'm not lying. How am I supposed to talk to you people when you act like this?''

The colleagues in the special team had been performing quite well these past two days. They studied the materials whenever they had time. Mu Lin would occasionally call them out for a pop quiz, and their accuracy rate was quite high.

He was very pleased. If they kept this up, the special team would have no shortage of opportunities to make a name for themselves.

When it was time to get off work, Mu Lin went with Li Xue to the parking lot.

Li Xue asked, "Wu Long came by today?"

Mu Lin said, "Yup. I beat him up and he ran off."

Li Xue was speechless. 'I hadn't even started questioning him, and he'd already given me the answer. So much for my sense of accomplishment!'

"I know. I saw," Li Xue said.

Mu Lin said, "Why were you wandering around the underground garage for no reason?"

"I saw it on the surveillance footage! Captain Meng took me to the security room to see it," Li Xue said simply.

'Well... Mu Lin was at a loss for words. He'd planned for every contingency but had forgotten about the security cameras.'

'He wanted to do a good deed and remain anonymous, but now the cat was completely out of the bag.'

Li Xue asked, "What did Wu Long come here for?"

Mu Lin said, "To try and recruit me. Said he wanted to hire me as his head enforcer, for five times my current salary."

Li Xue laughed coldly. "He was really willing to pay that much! So why did you hit him?"

"Because you're here," Mu Lin chuckled. "Satisfied with that answer?"

If he hadn't said that last part, Li Xue's heart would have felt truly warm.

But once he said it, her whole being went numb.

'Don't you dare try to sweet-talk me.'

Li Yinhe was out on some business and hadn't returned. The only people in the car were Mu Lin, Li Xue, and a driver.

The atmosphere became a bit heavy.

Mu Lin was the first to break the silence. "What are your thoughts on the Yuelong Group?"

Li Xue said, "There's nothing to think about. Although our Li Group is the second-largest construction company locally, the gap between us and the number one, Yuelong Group, is huge. They're a full three times our size."

"If the Yuelong Group wants to crush us, there's really nothing we can do... Even though we got the South City No. 6 plot project, it hasn't been developed yet. We don't have the leverage to fight back against the Yuelong Group."

For Li Xue to speak like this showed her true powerlessness.

If Li Yinhe were here, he would surely scold her for boosting the enemy's morale while diminishing her own.

For some reason, she dared to say such things in front of Mu Lin.

"Sigh, you have no idea what kind of trouble you've caused!" Li Xue couldn't hold back anymore, bringing up Mu Lin's fight with Wu Long.

"Wu Long has his hands in both legitimate business and the underworld. He has countless ways to deal with you. Do you even know that?"

Mu Lin said, "I'm well aware of the consequences, but I decided to do it anyway!"

"But why?"

'If Mu Lin said it was for her, or for the Li Family, I'd forgive him,' Li Xue thought.

Mu Lin said simply, "He started it. I had no choice but to retaliate. I'm guessing he's not so shameless as to confront me while ignoring that fact."

Well... Li Xue was speechless, but what Mu Lin said was probably the truth.

'Whether he fought or not, the Li Family would ultimately face the same helpless fate.'

"You don't know, Wu Long used to be an underground boxer. He made a name for himself because he was a good fighter. Later he moved into the business world, and he's accustomed to using violent methods to directly eliminate his competition."

"Our Li Family had to fight tooth and nail to survive, clawing our way up to become a major player!"

"I'm not saying you should take that kind of abuse lying down. But you could have just scared him off. Did you have to beat him so badly? In the video, it looked like he went into shock, right?"

Mu Lin nodded, confirming that Wu Long had indeed gone into shock. He didn't mention the deeper truth behind that punch.

'Better to wait. When Wu Long figures it out and hands the transfer agreement to Li Xue, it won't be too late to explain then.'