128: Chapter 128 The Billion-Dollar Pit Set Up by Ye Bai
The next morning, Lin Fan took Leng Xing to the headquarters of Taisheng Group.
Although there had been a major misunderstanding yesterday, business still had to be done. Since Ye Bai had signed the contract and the initial funds had already been deposited into the joint account here in Mankou, today they had to finalize the site selection and equipment procurement for the Solid-state Battery factory.
Upon arriving at Taisheng Group, Ye Bai's attitude was surprisingly good.
He personally welcomed Lin Fan into the chairman's office and even had his secretary brew the finest Thai black tea.
“Boss Lin, did you rest well yesterday? Our nightlife here in Mankou is quite rich,” Ye Bai said with a meaningful smile as he sat on the sofa.
Lin Fan got angry just thinking about last night's events, but he didn't let it show on his face.
“It was fine. Young Master Ye Bai, let's cut the small talk. My ten billion in initial funds has already arrived. How are the preparations for the factory land coming along?” Lin Fan got straight to the point.
Ye Bai put down his teacup, sighed, and put on a troubled expression.
“Boss Lin, there's been a bit of a hitch with this matter.”
Lin Fan's brow furrowed.
“What hitch? The contract is signed in black and white; are you trying to back out?” Lin Fan stared at Ye Bai.
Ye Bai waved his hand.
“Boss Lin misunderstands. I, Ye Bai, value credit most in business. But you might not be very familiar with our laws here in Mankou.”
Ye Bai took a document out of a drawer and handed it to Lin Fan.
“For land and large-scale factory construction in Mankou, there must be a stake and a guarantee from a company with a military background, otherwise, the permits won't be issued. The ten billion you deposited into the joint account yesterday has already been frozen by General Basong of the Northern Mankou Military District under the guise of a 'foreign investment security review.'”
Lin Fan's hand tightened suddenly on the document.
He quickly flipped through the document, which was entirely in Thai. Although he didn't understand Thai, looking at Ye Bai's fearless and smug face, he knew this bastard was setting a trap for him.
Lin Fan frantically called out to the system in his mind, wanting it to provide a translation or a solution.
The system didn't respond at all, as if it had crashed.
Lin Fan now understood completely. The system really intended for him to handle these messes himself. Without the direct cheats of God-level business vision and hacking skills, he was now facing a genuine commercial trap.
“Ye Bai, are you playing me? That ten billion is Tianyang Group's liquid capital. You're teaming up with Basong to swindle my money?” Lin Fan slammed the document onto the table.
Ye Bai stopped smiling and leaned back on the sofa.
“Boss Lin, don't put it so harshly. I have no choice either. General Basong covers the sky with one hand in Mankou; he took a fancy to your Solid-state Battery technology and wants a piece of the pie. Your money is now in his military account. If I could take it out, I would have given it to you long ago.”
Ye Bai played this move of 'killing with a borrowed knife' extremely smoothly. Not only did he want to swallow Lin Fan's money, but he also shifted the blame to the warlord Basong.
Lin Fan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart.
He knew getting angry was useless now. This was Mankou, not Tianhai City. With his current physical condition and only Leng Xing with him, it was impossible to force their way into the military district to take the money back.
Others weren't fools. Since Ye Bai dared to sign the contract, he had already dug this huge pit and waited for him to jump in.
“Fine. I'll give it to you, you're ruthless. Where is Basong? I want to see him.” Lin Fan stood up.
Ye Bai spread his hands.
“General Basong's whereabouts are a military secret; how could I know? Boss Lin, I advise you to be patient and wait. Once the review is over, the money will naturally be unfrozen.” Ye Bai issued an order for the guest to leave.
Lin Fan gave Ye Bai a cold look.
“I've noted this debt. You'd better pray that not a cent of that money is missing, or I'll make your entire Taisheng Group be buried with it.”
Lin Fan led Leng Xing out of the Taisheng Group building.
The sunlight outside was glaring. Lin Fan felt a chill down his spine.
With ten billion in funds trapped, Tianyang Group's domestic capital chain would soon run into problems. Shen Bing was currently pregnant; if she heard this news, it would definitely affect her pregnancy.
This was the biggest loss Lin Fan had suffered since obtaining the system.
He deeply realized that the deceptions in the business world were far more lethal than martial arts. He could no longer rely on brute force to crush problems as he had in the past.
“Boss, what do we do now? Should I sneak into Taisheng Group tonight and kidnap Ye Bai?” Leng Xing asked in a low voice, seeing Lin Fan's somber expression.
Lin Fan shook his head.
“It's useless. The money is in Basong's hands. If we kidnap Ye Bai, Basong will have the perfect excuse to swallow the money entirely. We need to find another way.”
Lin Fan stood on the streets of Mankou, watching the passing vehicles. He had to turn this dead end into a winning move.
Lin Fan decided to first figure out Basong's background. He had Leng Xing use her old underground channels from her days as an assassin to buy intelligence on the financial dealings between Basong and Ye Bai.
By evening, Leng Xing returned to the hotel with the intelligence.
“Boss, I've cleared it up. Ye Bai and Basong aren't on the same side at all. Ye Bai wants to use Basong's hand to freeze your funds, and then he'll use Taisheng Group's resources to negotiate with Basong to split the ten billion after laundering it. Basong's military camp is in the northern suburbs of Mankou.” Leng Xing placed several photos on the table.
Lin Fan looked at the photos of the fleshy-faced Basong in military uniform.
“Ye Bai's calculations are quite shrewd. He wants to use my money to curry favor with the warlord for free,” Lin Fan sneered.
Just then, the hotel room door was suddenly kicked open.
A dozen fully armed mercenaries rushed in, holding American M4 carbines, their black muzzles pointed directly at Lin Fan and Leng Xing.
Ye Bai walked out from behind the mercenaries, a cigar between his fingers.
“Boss Lin, my apologies for disturbing your rest.” Ye Bai blew out a smoke ring, his eyes malicious.
Lin Fan sat on the sofa without moving.
“Ye Bai, what is the meaning of this? You've already withheld the money; do you want to silence me too?” Lin Fan stared at him.
Ye Bai shook his head.
“Boss Lin is a smart man. Mankou is not peaceful. You not only have shares in Zhengda Group but also the core technology for solid-state batteries. If I don't get rid of you completely, I won't be able to sleep at night. General Basong said that as long as you're dead, that ten billion belongs entirely to me.”
Ye Bai waved his hand.
“Turn the man into a sieve and leave the woman alive. This chick is quite spirited; take her back for the brothers to have some fun with.”
The dozen mercenaries immediately chambered their rounds.
Lin Fan's current body couldn't withstand bullets. The internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art hadn't recovered enough to form a protective qi barrier.
“Go!”
Lin Fan roared, flipping the heavy solid wood coffee table in front of him and smashing it toward the mercenaries in front.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Intense gunfire rang out instantly. Wood chips flew as the coffee table was riddled with bullets.
Leng Xing's reaction was lightning fast. A short blade flew from her hand, piercing a mercenary's throat. She rolled with the momentum to the floor-to-ceiling window, grabbed a chair, and smashed the glass.
They were on the fifth floor.
“Boss! Jump!” Leng Xing shouted.
Without any hesitation, Lin Fan followed Leng Xing and jumped out of the broken window.
Below was the hotel's outdoor swimming pool.
The two of them fell into the water with two splashes.
The mercenaries above ran to the window and fired frantically into the pool.
Bullets hit the water's surface, kicking up plumes of water.
Lin Fan held his breath underwater, pulling Leng Xing toward the edge of the pool.
Just as they were about to surface for air, a stray bullet penetrated the water and grazed Lin Fan's shoulder.
To cover Lin Fan, Leng Xing shoved him hard but couldn't dodge it herself.
Pfft!
A bullet pierced through Leng Xing's left arm, and blood instantly stained the surrounding pool water red.
Leng Xing let out a muffled groan and choked on a mouthful of water.
Lin Fan's eyes instantly turned red. He grabbed Leng Xing's waist, kicked off the pool wall with all his might, and pulled her out of the water, rolling behind the greenery next to the pool.
“Leng Xing! Are you okay!” Lin Fan lowered his voice, his heart aching as he looked at the bloody hole in Leng Xing's arm.
Leng Xing bit her lip, her face pale.
“I won't die. It's a through-and-through wound; it didn't hit the bone. Boss, let's go quickly, they'll be down here soon.” Leng Xing covered the wound with her right hand.
Lin Fan took off his floral shirt, tore it into strips, and quickly tied them tightly around Leng Xing's arm to stop the bleeding.
He glanced at the hotel building, which was already in chaos.
“Go!”
Lin Fan supported Leng Xing, and under the cover of night, the two of them climbed over the hotel wall and disappeared into the labyrinthine slums of Mankou.
After running through the narrow, dirty alleys for over ten minutes and confirming there were no pursuers, Lin Fan found an abandoned tin shack to hide in.
The room emitted a musty smell.
Lin Fan had Leng Xing sit down against the wall.
Looking at Leng Xing's lips, which had turned pale from blood loss, the anger in his heart erupted like a volcano.
He deeply realized how pale and powerless individual martial prowess was in the face of modern firearms and organized military forces. If he had an armed force of his own, Ye Bai would never have dared to be so arrogant today.
“Ye Bai, Basong. If I don't turn your Mankou upside down, my name isn't Lin.” Lin Fan gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with terrifying killing intent.