412: Chapter 412 Follow Me?

Ye Chen nodded. "I'll give you one chance. Speak."

Zhao Kuang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He knew.

He had no room to bargain now.

The young man before him would truly kill.

And when he killed, he wouldn't even blink an eye.

He grit his teeth and finally spoke.

"It's... someone paid a high price for our Shenwu Alliance to smear your name."

"They said as long as they could ruin your reputation and burden you with various stigmas, they would have... a justifiable cause."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

"A justifiable cause?"

"What does that mean?"

Zhao Kuang shook his head.

"I don't know the specifics; they didn't go into detail."

"They only told us that if we could smear you, collapse your public image, and make the authorities suspicious of you, they would have a way to move against you."

"And... they wouldn't be held accountable by the authorities."

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

Interesting.

They wanted to ruin his reputation, frame him with infamy, and then move against him?

It seemed the other party didn't just want to kill him, but wanted to do so "legitimately."

Leaning back on the sofa, he asked indifferently, "Who?"

Zhao Kuang grit his teeth.

"The Martial Arts Alliance."

Ye Chen frowned. "Martial Arts Alliance? What kind of thing is that?"

Damn.

He had only had friction with the Zhong Family and the Chen Family recently. When did he provoke a Martial Arts Alliance?

It was simply nonsensical!

Zhao Kuang hesitated for a moment before explaining.

"The Martial Arts Alliance is the largest power outside of the Kunlun Ruins."

"They govern the practitioners outside of official government circles."

Of course.

Since it was called an "Alliance," as the name implied, it wasn't just one power, but an entity formed by the union of major sects and great families.

Like the United Nations, it wasn't a single country but a negotiating table for various powers.

The Martial Arts Alliance was the same.

Ye Chen realized and nodded. "So which powers decided this?"

Zhao Kuang swallowed and said cautiously.

"It's the Wang Family of Yunnan Province."

"The Kunlun Ruins' Wang Family behind them are old family friends with the Chen Family."

"And the current Wulin Alliance Leader is a member of the Wang Family."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "Are the Chu Family and Yan Family of the Capital members as well?"

If they were...

Reasonably speaking, they should have notified him.

Zhao Kuang shook his head.

"No."

"The Martial Arts Alliance has five major powers, including the Buddhist Sect."

"Families like the Yan Family and the Chu Family have no need to join the Martial Arts Alliance at all."

"They have their own foundations and resources in the Capital; there's no need to get mixed up with these people."

After hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh.

"I see."

"To put it bluntly, this Martial Arts Alliance is just a place where a bunch of weaklings huddle together for warmth."

"Lacking ability themselves, they gather together to rely on their numbers to bully those even weaker."

"When they encounter a truly tough nut to crack, they bring out the name of the 'Alliance' to intimidate people."

Zhao Kuang knelt on the ground, not daring to say a word.

He couldn't respond to that.

Because what Ye Chen said was the truth.

The Martial Arts Alliance sounded prestigious, but in reality...

Truly great powers didn't deign to join.

Ye Chen leaned back on the sofa and smiled.

"Fine."

"Go back and tell the Wang Family."

"In three days, I will go to Yunnan Province to find them."

"I hope they've washed their necks clean."

Hearing this, Zhao Kuang nodded repeatedly like a woodpecker. "Yes, yes, yes! I will definitely deliver the message!"

Ye Chen waved his hand.

"Alright, get lost."

As if granted a divine reprieve, Zhao Kuang struggled to scramble up from the floor and turned to run toward the door.

He ran faster than a rabbit, wishing he had two more legs.

However.

Just as one of his feet crossed the threshold...

Ye Chen's voice suddenly drifted from behind him again, indifferent.

"By the way."

"I forgot to ask you something."

Zhao Kuang's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

He froze in place and asked stutteringly, "What... what does Great One wish to ask?"

Ye Chen looked at him and smiled slightly.

"Is Fourth Master one of your people?"

Zhao Kuang was stunned for a moment.

"Fourth Master?"

He thought about it and nodded.

"Yes... yes."

"He is a minor person in charge for our Shenwu Alliance in Central Plains City."

Ye Chen nodded, the smile on his face becoming increasingly brilliant.

"So..."

"You were aware of the business of selling human organs at that Underground Boxing Arena?"

As the words fell.

Zhao Kuang's expression froze completely.

Wait...

Why was Ye Chen asking about this?

Could it be that he intended to hold them accountable for this matter?

But...

Was it worth it for a bunch of ordinary people?

However.

Without waiting for a response, Ye Chen had already stood up from the sofa and walked toward him.

"Not speaking?"

"Then that's a silent admission."

Zhao Kuang trembled all over and suddenly snapped back to his senses.

"No, Great One! I didn't know! I really didn't know!"

"That Underground Boxing Arena was Fourth Master's private business! It has nothing to do with our Shenwu Alliance!"

"Great One! You must believe me!"

He explained desperately, his voice trembling.

But Ye Chen had already reached him and smiled slightly. "Do you think I'll believe that?"

Zhao Kuang's legs went weak, and he knelt directly on the ground.

"Great One! It really had nothing to do with me! I'm just a small figure! I was only following orders!"

"Please spare me! I beg you..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

Ye Chen's right hand had already been raised.

Then.

He delivered a slap.

*Slap!!!*

The crisp sound of the slap exploded in the private room!

Zhao Kuang's feet left the ground as he was sent flying sideways!

*Bang!!!*

He slammed heavily into the wall; the entire wall vibrated violently as cracks spread like a spiderweb!

The most shocking part was...

His body was actually embedded into the wall!

Blood sprayed wildly from his mouth, staining the wall in front of him red.

His eyes bulged as he stared at Ye Chen, and then he lost all signs of life.

Until his death, he never imagined...

He would die like this!

The private room was deathly silent.

Lord Long knelt on the floor, completely stunned.

His eyes were wide as he stared at the corpse on the wall, his legs turning to jelly.

Dead?

Another one dead?

This Ye Chen truly didn't even blink when he killed!

He felt even more excited in his heart.

That urge to "abandon the darkness for the light" increased a few more degrees...

Ye Chen withdrew his hand, his eyes fixed on the corpse on the wall as he spoke indifferently.

"What I hate most are human traffickers."

"It seems your Shenwu Alliance needs to be added to the list of those to be uprooted."

Lord Long knelt on the ground, listening to Ye Chen's indifferent words, his whole body shaking with excitement.

He suddenly looked up, his eyes full of admiration.

"Lord Ye! You are too domineering!"

"I, Long Houtao, have never respected anyone in my life, but today I am completely convinced!"

"Please take me in as your subordinate!"

"I am willing to work for you!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh.

He looked down at Lord Long kneeling on the ground.

"Follow me?"

"Do you know what following me entails?"

Lord Long was stunned and asked subconsciously, "What does it entail?"

Ye Chen smiled slightly and said word by word.

"It means that from today on, you must draw a clear line between yourself and everything in your past."

"Underground forces, gray businesses—all of it must stop for me."

"Your subordinates must either honestly switch to legitimate businesses or wait to be imprisoned."

"Can you do it?"

The excitement on Lord Long's face froze instantly.

Stop?

Stop everything?

That was the family business he had spent thirty years building!

Just stop it like that?

He opened his mouth to say something, but meeting Ye Chen's half-smiling eyes, the words he was about to say were swallowed back down.

Ye Chen shook his head seeing him like this.

"It seems you haven't figured it out yet."

"Following me isn't for you to continue being a local tyrant."

"It's for you to turn over a new leaf and become a new person."

"If you can't bear to part with that dirty money, then keep kneeling. When the Dragon Group arrives later, you can go with them."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

Lord Long panicked and grabbed Ye Chen's leg.

"Lord! Don't go!"

"I've figured it out! I've figured it out!"

"Isn't it just switching industries? I'll switch! I'll switch everything!"

"From now on, I, Long Houtao, will never touch those dirty things again. I'll follow you and do legitimate business!"

Ye Chen paused and looked down at him.

"Truly?"

Lord Long nodded frantically like a woodpecker.

"Truly! Absolutely true!"

"I, Long Houtao, am a man of my word!"

"From today on, I am your man!"

"If you tell me to go east, I will never go west!"

"If you tell me to hit a dog, I will never scold a chicken!"

Ye Chen looked down at him and smiled slightly.

"Fine, then let me ask you."

"What do those gray industries of yours consist of?"

Lord Long was stunned for a moment, then quickly explained.

"Lord, we mainly run casinos, lend money, collect protection fees, and occasionally help people settle matters..."

"But we absolutely have never touched outrageous deeds like human trafficking!"

He looked up at Ye Chen with a sincere expression.

"Lord, although I, Long Houtao, am greedy for money and live in the underworld, I still have a bottom line!"

"I didn't even know about those sales of human organs at first!"

"It was only after that Fourth Master came to Central Plains City that I vaguely heard some things..."

"But I really didn't participate! I swear!"