594: Chapter 589 is both a test and a battlefield.

Youyou's tiny finger pointed at the fairy-tale castle on the map.

Disneyland.

Shen Yan nodded.

Without hesitation.

The next day, the sun was shining perfectly.

The hustle and bustle of Ocean Park were left behind.

They stepped into a dreamlike kingdom.

Shen Ya put the Minnie Mouse ear headband on Youyou.

The little girl's laughter was as crisp as wind chimes.

Shen Yan bought a giant rainbow lollipop.

Youyou's small hand could barely hold it.

Every lick made her eyes curve into crescents.

The Carousel.

Dumbo.

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

Shen Yan accompanied her, riding every attraction she wanted to experience.

He wasn't impatient.

He didn't look at his phone.

He didn't think about work.

For this entire day, he was simply Youyou's father.

Shen Ya took pictures of them from the side.

In the camera, one smiling face after another was captured.

His and Youyou's.

It was as if the gloom of the past had never existed.

Night fell.

The castle was illuminated by lights.

Fireworks bloomed brilliantly in the night sky.

Youyou sat on Shen Yan's neck.

Her small hand pointed at the sky.

"Dad, look, it's so beautiful."

Shen Yan looked up.

The light of the fireworks reflected in his pupils.

Dazzling, yet fleeting.

He tightened his grip on his daughter's small legs.

What he wanted to give her was fireworks that would never end.

This trip to Hong Kong City was a vacation on the surface.

Entering the game was the core.

Shen Yan's name, coupled with his status as a founding member of the Jockey Club, exploded like a depth charge.

It blew up the most elite circles in Hong Kong City.

A person from the Mainland.

A young man who was previously unknown.

By what right?

Doubt, speculation, disdain.

Undercurrents surged.

Invitations flew in like snowflakes.

Shen Yan rejected them all.

Except for one.

The gold-embossed crest belonged to the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The location: the summit of Victoria Peak.

A private clubhouse, "Cloud Pavilion," which was not open to the public.

Anyone who could step inside was a true controller of Hong Kong City.

Shen Yan knew.

This was a test.

It was also a battlefield.

He had to go.

And he had to win brilliantly.

That evening.

Shen Yan went to the appointment alone.

He didn't bring Chen Guangke, nor did he bring Bai Ling.

A black Bentley stopped silently outside the entrance of "Cloud Pavilion."

The attendant at the door regarded him with trained scrutiny.

When Shen Yan announced his name.

That scrutiny turned into a barely perceptible surprise.

He was led inside.

Under a massive crystal chandelier were guests scattered here and there.

Patriarchs of established families with silver hair.

Business titans in their prime.

Every person carried the aura of years and power.

Shen Yan's appearance was like a drop of clear water falling into boiling oil.

It didn't cause a splash.

But it caused the temperature of the entire space to subtly shift.

All conversations paused for a second.

Gazes converged.

There was curiosity.

There was contempt.

And even more so, a condescending appraisal.

As if they were looking at an intruder.

A nouveau riche who didn't understand the rules.

Shen Yan's expression remained unchanged.

He picked up a glass of champagne.

And walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Beneath his feet lay the lights of half of Hong Kong City.

A voice sounded behind him.

Carrying a smile, yet cold.

"Mr. Shen, truly young and promising."

Shen Yan turned around.

A man around sixty stood there.

He wore a custom-made Tang suit and a large jade thumb ring on his hand.

His aura was imposing.

Zheng Tianxiao.

The head of the Zheng Clan.

The undisputed emperor of Hong Kong City's real estate sector.

The piece of land Shen Yan acquired in Central was exactly wedged into the heart of his commercial empire.

Cutting off his last ambition.

So, he had come.

Zheng Tianxiao didn't wait for Shen Yan to reply.

He raised his glass, his voice not loud, but sufficient for the entire room to hear.

"I hear Mr. Shen acquired a treasure plot in Central."

"We people of Hong Kong City value harmony in making money the most."

"Why don't we, the Zheng Clan, put in the money and effort to help you develop it."

"You don't need to manage anything; just enjoy a twenty percent net profit. How about that?"

As his words fell.

The room fell silent.

Everyone's eyes held a hint of amusement.

This was an open scheme.

It was humiliation.

Twenty percent.

Treating him like a beggar.

The value of that land was enough to rebuild another Zheng Clan.

To agree would make him a fool to be slaughtered, forever becoming a laughingstock in Hong Kong City's high society.

To refuse meant publicly slapping Zheng Tianxiao's face.

An outsider offending the local tyrant.

The road ahead would be impossible to navigate.

Zheng Tianxiao's face held the 'benevolent' smile of an elder.

He was certain.

This young man had no choice but to bow his head.

Shen Yan didn't look at him.

His gaze fell upon an inconspicuous corner behind Zheng Tianxiao.

A middle-aged man stood there, anxiously looking at his phone.

He was Zheng Tianxiao's deputy.

The system's voice flashed through Shen Yan's mind.

[Today's Wealth Intelligence: Zheng Clan's Ocean Shipping, suspected of providing transport services to a North African embargoed zone, is under secret investigation by the North America Maritime Alliance. Evidence is conclusive; sanctions will be issued within 72 hours. At that time, all overseas assets of the Zheng Clan's Ocean Shipping will be frozen, and its stock price faces a collapse.]

Shen Yan picked up his wine glass.

Gently swirling the golden liquid within.

He finally spoke.

His voice was calm.

"Mr. Zheng's proposal shows great sincerity."

The expressions of the crowd changed.

Was he about to back down?

Zheng Tianxiao's smile deepened.

"However."

Shen Yan shifted his tone.

"I'm not very interested in real estate."

"I'm more interested in ships."

He looked at Zheng Tianxiao.

"How about this?"

"I will use the land in Central to buy shares."

"I don't want shares in the Zheng Clan Group."

"I only want thirty percent of the phantom shares in your company's Ocean Shipping division."

The entire room erupted in an uproar.

He's crazy.

This man from the Mainland must be insane.

The Zheng Clan's Ocean Shipping was Zheng Tianxiao's original venture, his cash cow.

Half of the entire Zheng Clan Group's profit came from there.

Its market value exceeded one hundred billion.

To demand thirty percent of the shares for just one piece of land?

A pipe dream.

The smile on Zheng Tianxiao's face vanished instantly.

Replaced by a dark gloom.

"Young man, don't be too greedy."

"Be careful not to choke yourself to death."

His voice now carried a threat.

The air around them seemed to solidify.

Shen Yan, however, smiled.

"Old Mr. Zheng, shipping business hasn't been easy lately, has it?"

"Especially the North America route."

"The waves are a bit rough."

He spoke lightly and casually.

But in Zheng Tianxiao's ears, it sounded like a clap of thunder.

The North America route.

Secret investigation.

How could he know?

This matter was known only to him and a few trusted confidants in the entire company.

Zheng Tianxiao's pupils contracted sharply.

He stared intently at Shen Yan.

Trying to discern something from that young face.

But that face was as calm as a deep pool of water.

Bottomless.

Cold sweat seeped from the corner of Zheng Tianxiao's forehead.

He understood.

This wasn't an outrageous demand.

This was a naked threat.

The other party held his fatal weakness.

He didn't even know how the other party had found out.

This uncertainty brought immense fear.