299: Chapter 299 The Rival of Third-Party Technology

"Mr. Lansem, there is no need to be nervous. We have no intention of harming you," the young man in the driver's seat turned his head slowly, a smile that could be called gentlemanly hanging on his lips.

He had the face of someone from the Central Continent, with handsome features, yet the American English he spoke was so authentic that not a single flaw could be detected.

"Who exactly are you? Regardless of what your purpose is, I advise you to stop immediately."

Lansem's eyes narrowed. How could he not understand that he had been ambushed? His driver, Wade, was likely already in grave danger.

What kind of background did the other party have to dare to attack him in such a heavily controlled area? The Houston City Police headquarters was not far from here.

Before he could figure out the situation, the vehicle suddenly braked hard. The smile on the young man in the driver's seat vanished: "You will know soon enough. I advise you, Mr. Lansem, it is best not to try any clever tricks; that would make me very unhappy."

Lansem was just about to take out his mobile phone, but upon hearing this, his movements became even faster.

Helpless, the young man had no choice but to snap his fingers.

Two hands suddenly reached out from behind Lansem's seat. Lansem didn't even have time to react; he only felt his neck being tightly locked by a great force, and immediately after, a wet cloth with a pungent, sweet scent was slammed over his mouth and nose.

There was actually someone hiding in the back of the car!

That sweet scent was like a maggot on a bone, crawling into his lungs through his nasal cavity, rapidly paralyzing Lansem's nerves until he soon lost consciousness completely.

After confirming he was completely unconscious, the young man in the driver's seat sighed: "Truly unappreciative."

The vehicle started again and turned into a side road enclosed by abandoned shipping containers, driving all the way to the vicinity of Liberty Mountain outside Houston City, finally coming to a slow stop in front of a gentle slope covered by a dense oak forest.

The trunk opened, and a sturdy figure crawled out from inside. It was a blonde man, the very person who had attacked Lansem earlier.

At the same time, the young man in the driver's seat pushed open the car door and said: "Johnny, sorry for the trouble."

Hearing this, the blonde man nodded, pulled Lansem out of the trunk, checked his body thoroughly, and discarded all the metal items and communication devices he was wearing.

After all this was completed, the blonde man carried Lansem on his back and followed the young man into a hidden path.

After walking for a while, they turned a corner and discovered a cabin in the dense forest. The wooden house was quite large and emitted a certain fresh woody scent, clearly having been built not long ago.

The young man stepped forward first and lightly knocked on the wooden door three times in an irregular rhythm, like some kind of secret code. A moment later, a low response came from inside the door, and the wooden door opened in response.

It revealed the face of a Western woman. Upon seeing the young man, she showed an expression of surprise and opened the door fully. Only then was it discovered that there was more than just the woman inside.

"A-You, you're finally back!" The woman's voice carried clear excitement. She stepped aside to let them pass, her wine-red wavy hair hanging over her shoulders, making the woman appear even more beautiful.

Inside, a simple barbecue party was underway. Several people, both men and women of various nationalities, were gathered around a fire pit, and they all came forward when they saw the commotion.

The young man smiled gently at them and immediately signaled Johnny behind him to put Lansem down.

Someone unceremoniously patted the cheek of Lansem, who was lying on the ground, hard: "He is the CEO of the Third-Party Technology American branch. He really is a big shot, pfft..."

"Frida, don't treat our friend like that. Johnny, wake him up," the young man called A-You stopped the others from manhandling him.

Soon, Lansem woke up faintly.

His vision was still hazy, and the first thing he saw was the handsome face of the young man from the Central Continent in front of him, who was looking down at him with a half-smile on his lips.

"Mr. Lansem, I'm glad you've woken up. Let me introduce myself. My name is Qiao Tianyou. Perhaps you haven't heard my name, but you must have heard of the Pan-Ocean Commercial Alliance; that is an organization I founded."

Lansem had fully regained consciousness. The Pan-Ocean Commercial Alliance—he had indeed heard of this name; it was a local chamber of commerce of considerable size in Texas.

But Lansem's heart sank. He had originally thought he had just run into thugs and would lose some money, but now it seemed the other party had come with a specific purpose, and their intentions were significant.

Although he could usually disregard this chamber of commerce, now that he was at their mercy, Lansem could only smile bitterly: "What do you want? I will agree to your demands within my capabilities, and I will not report this incident to the Police."

"We are not targeting you personally, Mr. Lansem," Qiao Tianyou waved his hand, and someone nearby immediately handed over a chair.

Qiao Tianyou personally helped Lansem up and had him sit on the chair, his movements carrying a hint of unmistakable respect. After doing this, Qiao Tianyou leaned in close to Lansem, his voice low: "What we are targeting is an enterprise, and the person behind this enterprise."

"He is like a turtle, hiding in his own city, and we have no opportunity to make a move. I need Mr. Lansem to invite him to the U.S. for work reasons. With Mr. Lansem's position, you have the qualifications to do so."

Lansem's pupils constricted. They actually wanted to target Lin Fang. He immediately retorted: "Don't even think about it; it is impossible for me to agree!"

Qiao Tianyou seemed to have long anticipated this reaction. The smile on his face did not diminish as he paced around Lansem.

"Mr. Lansem, don't be in such a rush to refuse. Let me tell you our conditions first. As long as you invite him, I will transfer 30% of the Pan-Ocean Commercial Alliance's energy industry shares in Texas to your name for free, and additionally give you 300 million U.S. dollars."

"With such generous compensation, it might only take a few messages to achieve it. Isn't it very simple?"

Qiao Tianyou leaned close to Lansem and whispered: "You also don't need to worry about Third-Party Technology finding out about this. Do you know why we came here? Because only in a place like this, isolated from the outside World and completely without network coverage, is the blind spot of this company, so that our conversation will not be discovered."

"What are you trying to say?" Lansem was confused.

"Because we discovered that this company is monitoring the World," Qiao Tianyou stood with his hands behind his back, his voice carrying a certainty of knowing everything:

"This company has many opponents, but without exception, they have all failed. Through my careful research, I discovered this shocking fact: this company's control over the network has long exceeded the scope of business. They have been monitoring everyone on Earth, and even a casual remark on the street could be discovered."

Qiao Tianyou changed the subject, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "But this is what makes it interesting; otherwise, it wouldn't be qualified to be my opponent."