487: Chapter 487 Don't daydream!

Ma Tianlai immediately fell silent, not daring to utter another word.

He had heard the rumors about Ye Chen and knew this young man was someone who followed through on his word.

If he said he would capture you, he would definitely capture you.

If he said he would kill you, he would never show mercy.

Many people were whispering...

That this guy might be Xuanyuan Huo's illegitimate son, and the reason he was making such a scene was to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.

An even more outrageous rumor was that Ye Chen was a scion of a great family from the Kunlun Ruins, out in the world for experience!

But regardless of which rumor was true, the fact that Ye Chen dared to kill was real, and that was enough...

If he offended this person for the sake of a brother who had truly committed heinous crimes, the loss would far outweigh the gain.

His face eventually turned ashen, and he remained silent.

Seeing this, Ma Zhonghe's last shred of hope was completely severed.

He understood.

He could no longer count on his brother to help him.

Now...

His only option was to confess.

That way, not only could he buy time to find a solution, but he could also spite his 'dear' brother!

With this thought in mind.

He gritted his teeth and confessed directly.

"I... I admit it! I'll talk!"

"It was my men who did it..."

Ma Tianlai's pupils suddenly constricted, and he abruptly stood up from his chair.

"What did you say?!"

Ma Zhonghe didn't dare look his elder brother in the eye and kept his head lowered.

"Hemp Six is the brother-in-law of one of my managers."

"They were the ones in charge of the human trafficking business..."

"Bastard!!!" Ma Tianlai slammed his palm onto the table in fury, making the entire round table shake violently.

Although he had long suspected his brother might do such things.

Confirming it still filled him with deep pain and regret.

He pointed at Ma Zhonghe, his finger trembling.

"You... you actually did such heartless things?"

"The Ma Family's reputation... you've thrown it all away!"

Ma Zhonghe shrank his neck at the scolding, but soon looked up again, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes.

"Big brother, stop acting so noble and pure here!"

"The reason my businesses couldn't take off was because you kept all the good ones for yourself!"

"If I didn't find other ways, was I supposed to starve?"

Ma Tianlai was shaking with rage.

"So you could go and kidnap people's children? Do you have any humanity left?!"

"Humanity?"

Ma Zhonghe let out a cold laugh, scrambled up from the floor, and wiped the soup from his face.

"Big brother, when you were sitting at home counting money, did you ever think about how I, your younger brother, was living out there?"

"You control the Ma Family's massive estate all by yourself. What could the scraps you gave us possibly cover?"

"I'm telling you, I've had enough!"

Ma Tianlai's face was ashen to the extreme.

"Bullshit! You think I don't know your character?"

"If I truly handed the business over to you, you'd probably squander it all within a year!"

"And!"

"All these years, I haven't mistreated you!"

"When it was time to give you money, have I ever given you a cent less?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Zhonghe felt no guilt; instead, he started laughing.

"Big brother, stop with the false benevolence."

"If I go down, do you think you can remain untainted?"

"Don't forget, the Ma Family's businesses are all intertwined. If something happens to me, you won't be able to escape the connection!"

"I did all those things in the name of the Ma Family!"

"You wait and be buried with me!"

Ma Tianlai's eyes widened, and his lips trembled: "You... you're threatening me?"

Ma Zhonghe chuckled.

"It's not a threat, it's a fact."

"Big brother, either you help me settle this matter and we remain brothers."

"Or... we all go down together!"

Ma Tianlai was suddenly at a loss, frozen in place.

He never imagined...

That his own younger brother could be so shameless.

He was the one who committed those heartless crimes, yet now that he was caught, he wanted to drag the entire Ma Family down with him?

At this moment, his heart was a whirlwind of emotions.

Anger!

Disappointment!

Heartache!

Helplessness!

All sorts of emotions intertwined and blocked his chest, unable to go up or down.

However.

Just then, Ye Chen spoke up leisurely.

"Second Master, stop dreaming."

Ma Zhonghe's body stiffened, and he whipped his head around to glare at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen looked perfectly calm.

"When I arrest people, I only arrest those who have committed crimes."

"I can investigate whether your brother has done anything illegal very clearly."

"As for your attempt to throw mud at the Ma Family..."

He smiled and shook his head.

"It's useless."

"That mess of yours was your own doing; it has nothing to do with the Ma Family."

"What business your brother has been doing and what paths he has taken are all documented clearly in the Dragon Group's files."

"You want to drag him down? You can't pull that off."

Ma Zhonghe's face turned completely pale.

He had thought that by dragging his brother into it, Ye Chen would be somewhat hesitant to act, given the Ma Family's scale in Guang City and the deeply rooted interests involved.

But he hadn't expected this young man to simply ignore his move.

And...

Judging by that tone, the Dragon Group had already investigated the Ma Family thoroughly?

No!

Absolutely impossible!

Most of the Ma Family's industries were related to overseas business. No matter how long the Dragon Group's reach was, it couldn't possibly extend abroad...

He swallowed hard, his voice sounding a bit weak.

"You... stop trying to scare me!"

"The Ma Family's business is vast and complex. If I go down, it's impossible for my brother to..."

"Impossible for what?" Ye Chen interrupted him. "Your brother does legitimate business where every transaction is traceable. You do shady dealings where every transaction is hidden."

"Even though you're brothers, you aren't doing the same things."

"Do you think the law will arrest your brother just because you committed a crime?"

Ye Chen's tone shifted, his lips curling into a mocking smirk.

"Even if we assume you have a backup plan to frame the Ma Family, so what?"

"Is it possible you managed to never use any network-related devices for communication?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Zhonghe gave a cold smile instead: "I couldn't, but do you think you can find anything?"

"Don't believe me?" Ye Chen smiled.

Ma Zhonghe gave a cold smile instead.

"I couldn't, but do you think you can find anything?"

"My network system's protection was built by a top international team. You're just a martial artist; what do you know about computers?"

As he said this, his back straightened unconsciously.

In his eyes, no matter how good Ye Chen was at fighting, he was just a brute.

He was good at fighting and killing, but network technology?

That was something from an entirely different world.

His private network system cost tens of millions a year to maintain, protected by a top team from Silicon Valley in the USA.

Could a young man in his twenties break through it?

Pure fantasy!

Looking at his stubbornness even in the face of death, Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh.

"Since you won't give up, I'll stop hiding my skills."

He turned his head toward Ma Tianlai, "Old Master Ma, could I trouble you to borrow a laptop?"

Ma Tianlai was stunned. Although he didn't understand why, he still waved to the butler beside him: "Go, bring a laptop over."

Old Chen quickly responded and jogged out.

In less than two minutes, a silver-white laptop was delivered to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen took it, placed it casually on the table next to him, and flipped open the screen.

"Do you need me to get you a keyboard?"

Ma Zhonghe mocked sarcastically, "Don't break it in a moment and have to pay for it."

Ye Chen ignored him. His slender fingers rested on the keyboard and began to tap.

At first, his movements weren't fast, even leisurely, as if he were just typing a chat message.

But after three seconds, his fingers suddenly accelerated!

Those ten fingers flew across the keyboard, moving so fast they were almost a blur. Only the continuous 'clatter' of keystrokes could be heard, like a torrential downpour!

On the screen, lines of code cascaded down like a waterfall, one after another, so fast it was dizzying!

Ma Tianlai stood to the side, watching the rapidly jumping characters on the screen, his cloudy old eyes full of shock.

Although he didn't understand the technology, he could tell...

This young man wasn't joking.

Ma Zhonghe's expression also gradually changed.

From initial mockery to confusion, and from confusion to unease.

He subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to see the contents of the screen clearly, but was pinned in place by a single sentence from Ye Chen, who didn't even look up.

"Don't be in a hurry, I'll let you see everything clearly in a moment."

Before his voice had even faded, Ye Chen's finger struck the enter key.

A dialog box popped up on the screen, displaying a dense string of IP addresses and port numbers.

Ye Chen glanced at it, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly: "The Ma Family's Second Master's network protection is only this much?"

His fingers tapped again, and the image on the screen suddenly switched.

A private database interface appeared on the screen.

Ma Zhonghe's pupils suddenly constricted!

That... that was his!

That was the private database he had paid a fortune for, containing all his business transaction records over the years!

"Impossible... this is impossible!"

His voice changed pitch, becoming as shrill as if someone were squeezing his throat. "My firewall was made by a top Silicon Valley team! How could you possibly..."

"Top Silicon Valley team?"

Ye Chen interrupted him, his tone full of disdain. "You aren't talking about that 'Black Shield Security,' are you? That amateur crew that can't even defend against a simple SQL injection?"

Ma Zhonghe's face turned completely white.

Ye Chen paid him no more mind, his fingers sliding across the touchpad, clicking open one folder after another.

"Second Master, let me see what you've been up to all these years..."