29: Chapter 29 The Hunt Concludes, Blood-Red Romani

Afternoon, a Grade-A office building in Lujiazui.

Wei Ziang leaned back in his boss chair, his legs crossed and resting on the edge of the desk.

He held a freshly lit Cohiba cigar in his hand, gazing at the "Exclusive Authorization" document stamped with a red seal on the desk.

He could almost see the image of Shen Du being trampled under his feet.

Before he could even exhale a smooth puff of smoke.

"Bang."

The frosted glass door of the office was pushed open.

The operations director he had hired at a high salary walked in quickly, without even knocking.

With a grim expression, he slammed a financial breakdown sheet onto the desk.

"General Manager Wei, I've reviewed the contract for the New City District."

"But the funding gap for the later stages is too big; we have no money left in our account!"

The director spoke rapidly, his voice filled with anxiety.

Wei Ziang frowned, put his legs down, and exhaled a plume of blue smoke:

"Why the panic?"

"We've secured the exclusive rights for the New City District, can't we just sit back and collect the money?"

"Collect money?"

"The roads in the New City District haven't even been paved yet; where are the merchants and users supposed to come from?"

The operations director flipped to the last page of the breakdown sheet and pointed at the items listed above:

"Outsourced development of the ordering system, server leasing, building the ground promotion team, the double subsidies we're throwing at riders and merchants to open up the New City District..."

The director's finger poked the paper:

"And the final payment for the office renovation, plus the staff salary guarantees for the next three months!"

Wei Ziang followed the finger and looked down.

His gaze locked onto the summary figure at the very bottom of the sheet, circled with a red marker.

[Additional initial operating capital required: 15,000,000.00 Yuan]

The color drained completely from Wei Ziang's face:

"When will that fifty million allocated by the development department come through?"

The operations director looked at Wei Ziang:

"General Manager Wei! The development department currently needs you to advance the funds for road construction."

"That fifty million is just an IOU!"

"When it will be paid out is still unknown!"

Wei Ziang's mouth hung half-open, unable to make a sound.

Fifteen million, and that was just for "operating capital."

And his father back home had already scolded him over that five million right after he signed the deal.

The Cohiba cigar slipped from between his fingers.

"Sss—"

The cigarette butt, tipped with dark red embers, hit the imported wool carpet.

It burned a charred hole, rising with a wisp of blue smoke.

"Beep... beep... Hello?"

The moment the call connected.

Inside the office in the Lujiazui Grade-A building, Wei Ziang's near-hysterical roar erupted.

He gripped the edge of the solid wood desk, his knuckles turning white. His bloodshot eyes stared at the financial breakdown on the desk, his legs trembling.

"Young Master Qin! Brother Qin! We're in big trouble!"

Wei Ziang gasped for air, his voice choked with tears:

"The fifty million in subsidies promised by the New City District development department is just a bad IOU!"

"They said they can only release the funds after the infrastructure and roads are fully inspected and the delivery business is officially running!"

He grabbed the breakdown sheet, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it onto the expensive imported carpet:

"The previous twelve million was all dumped into the bottomless pit of infrastructure!"

"Now the operations director is telling me the company needs to hire people, rent servers, and pay subsidies."

"We need at least another fifteen million in operating capital!"

"Brother Qin, that ten million loan I have is already gone, down to the last cent."

"Where am I supposed to get fifteen million in cash?"

Wei Ziang's voice echoed in the empty office.

He pressed the phone tightly against his ear, holding his breath.

Hoping that Young Master Qin would, just like when they were drinking at Yonglu, casually help him cover it.

On the other end of the line.

Qin Tiankuo, who had been gentle and called him brother at every turn, had his tone drop to freezing point instantly.

No comfort, no promises.

"Wei Ziang, what is wrong with you?"

Qin Tiankuo reprimanded him sharply, his voice like a blade quenched in ice:

"Didn't I lay it out for you at the very beginning? Investing in a municipal project like this, the follow-up money required is definitely not a small amount!"

"I saw how determined you were, and I treated you like a brother, so I risked my own reputation to help you get that ten million loan approved for the New City District express business."

"To let you enter the market, I even staked my personal credit to help you get that ten million loan approved!"

Qin Tiankuo leaned back on the leather sofa, his gaze like that of a hunter looking at prey caught in a net, his tone filled with the anger of being betrayed and a sense of oppression:

"Now the contract is signed, and the business is secured."

"You come running to me saying you don't even have the most basic operating capital?"

"What do you want me to do? How am I supposed to protect you?"

"Q-Qin, Brother Qin, that's not what I meant, listen to me..."

Wei Ziang's mind went blank from the scolding, and he stammered, trying to explain.

Qin Tiankuo didn't give him a chance to catch his breath.

Listening to Wei Ziang's incoherent voice on the phone.

Qin Tiankuo didn't hesitate at all and pressed the red hang-up button.

"Beep— beep— beep—"

The harsh dial tone came through the receiver.

It shattered the last shred of Wei Ziang's fantasy in Shanghai.

Qin Tiankuo listened to the busy signal, looking at the "Wei Ziang" caller ID popping up on the screen.

He swiped his finger.

He set the number to silent, cutting off the plea for help from this discarded pawn.

Immediately after, Qin Tiankuo pulled up another number in his contacts and dialed it.

...

In the Old City District of Shanghai, on a piece of wasteland that had just been cleared.

The sounds of welding and the roar of cranes rose one after another.

Gong Jun, covered in sweat, stood inside a second-hand color steel container office.

He was shouting at the top of his lungs, directing workers to move tables and chairs.

His phone rang in his pocket.

Gong Jun walked quickly to the corner, pressed the answer button, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Hello, who is this?"

On the other end of the phone came a steady male voice with an aura of condescension.

The other party didn't introduce himself and threw out a bombshell right away:

"I have the exclusive express agency rights for the New City District in my hands."

"Now, I am preparing to transfer it to Meituan."

Upon hearing this.

Gong Jun's hand, which was wiping sweat, froze in mid-air.

He turned his head in a daze, looking at the temporary outpost outside the container, which was covered in Meituan banners.

The exclusive agency rights for the New City District had been snatched away by a company that had appeared out of nowhere just a few days ago.

Not even a few days had passed, and someone was calling him, offering to transfer it?

Gong Jun was stunned for two seconds.

Although he felt this matter was suspicious.

But out of professional courtesy, he lowered his voice and asked politely:

"Excuse me, may I ask your surname, sir?"

Qin Tiankuo on the other end of the line didn't answer.

In his eyes, talking nonsense with a delivery worker was meaningless.

Throwing out the bait was intended to force the real target to appear.

The ten million he had poured into Wei Ziang was real money.

Since the liquidity of this pig had been squeezed dry, he had to tear the remaining fat off Shen Du.

Qin Tiankuo's tone was aggressive, filled with an undeniable air:

"Tell Shen Du to arrive at 'Tingquan Water Pavilion' in Yonglu on time tomorrow noon."

"I will talk to him personally then."

Without giving Gong Jun a chance to confirm, with a "snap," the phone was hung up cleanly.

Listening to the dial tone, Gong Jun swallowed his saliva.

The other party not only accurately reported Shen Du's name but also set the location at "Yonglu," the top private club in Shanghai.

He realized this was definitely not a normal business transfer.

Gong Jun didn't dare to hesitate; he shoved his phone into his pocket.

He turned and rushed out of the container.

He headed straight for the Santana parked outside the wasteland, ready to report to Shen Du immediately.

Not long after hanging up on Gong Jun.

The phone screen resting on the leather sofa armrest lit up again.

Qin Tiankuo glanced at the muted number on the screen.

He picked up the wine glass on the table, swirled it, and then pressed the answer button.

"Brother Qin! You have to save me!"

As soon as the call was connected, Wei Ziang's desperate, tearful voice came through:

"I just called back home... My father is looking for people everywhere, saying he wants to take a knife and kill me!"

"In Shanghai, I have no one else to rely on. Brother Qin, you can't just stand by and watch me die!"

Qin Tiankuo leaned back against the sofa, a look of control in his eyes.

He deliberately remained silent for over ten seconds.

Until Wei Ziang on the other end of the line was about to collapse.

Only then did Qin Tiankuo speak slowly in a reluctant tone:

"One last time."

"Tomorrow, I will go talk to someone for you and see if I can get them to take over this mess you have in your hands."

Qin Tiankuo dragged out his words:

"As for how much you can lose less in the end, I can't guarantee."

"If you can accept that, I'll lower my face and go find someone to help you..."

Before he could finish speaking, the desperate Wei Ziang shouted almost hysterically:

"No matter how much I lose! I, Wei Ziang, accept it!"

"I accept it all! Brother Qin, I'm counting on you now!"

Qin Tiankuo didn't respond again.

He pressed the red hang-up button and tossed the phone onto the glass coffee table in front of him.

He leaned back on the sofa and picked up his wine glass.

He tilted his head back and drank the scarlet wine in the glass in one gulp.