56: Chapter 56 Conquering the Political World Begins with Conquering Women
"I want to live."
Ivanka's voice was calm, but her azure eyes burned with an undeniable flame.
"Very good, this is the foundation of our cooperation."
Chen Yuan made a gesture of "please sit," his face still wearing that calm, unruffled smile. "Since Madam Senator is so direct, I will get straight to the point."
He pushed a document he had prepared long ago in front of Ivanka.
It was not a medical agreement, but a memorandum of commercial cooperation.
"I can provide you with a long-term, exclusive life-support plan."
Chen Yuan leaned forward slightly, fingers interlaced, his pitch-black eyes like deep whirlpools, as if they could see through a person's heart. "Not only can it restore your fragile heart to health, it can even let you live to one hundred, while maintaining the appearance and energy of a thirty-year-old."
Ivanka's breathing suddenly hitched.
Eternal youth.
A long life of a hundred years.
These words, which only existed in myths, carried a convincing magic when spoken by the man before her.
"And the price?"
She was a political animal after all, and quickly recovered from the shock, her eyes becoming sharp as knives.
She knew very well that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, especially gifts from the devil, which often carried the highest price tags.
"The price is simple."
Chen Yuan pointed to the memorandum. "After you are successfully elected as the Texas senator, I need you to become Umbrella Corporation's… most steadfast ally in the political arena."
"All of my 'legal' businesses will need your green light."
"Whether it is the expansion permit for 'Elysium Manor,' the national sales license for 'Dali' beverages, or…"
Chen Yuan paused, a meaningful arc tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Any 'gray' area we might enter in the future."
"To put it bluntly, you want me to be your Umbrella?" Ivanka sneered.
"No, it is for us to be each other's Umbrella."
Chen Yuan corrected her. "I provide you with life and unlimited campaign funds, and you provide me with political convenience. This is a fair trade."
"Fair?"
Ivanka acted as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Mr. Chen, you are bribing a future US Senator! Do you know this is a felony? If exposed, both of us will be finished!"
She tried to use laws and rules to gain more leverage for herself.
"Exposed?"
Chen Yuan laughed, laughing quite happily.
He stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and with his back to Ivanka, looked out at the city of sin that belonged to him.
"Ivanka, you are too naive."
His voice came through the reflection of the glass, carrying a faint mockery. "What do you think politics is? Eloquent speeches on a podium? Sharp debates on television?"
"No."
"Politics is trading, compromising, and dirty exchanges of interests."
Chen Yuan turned around, his gaze like torches, as if he could pierce through Ivanka's stiff professional attire and look straight at her fragile heart:
"Your father is a real estate tycoon. Do you think he attained his current status by stacking up building permits? No, it was by stuffing checks into the pockets of officials."
"Those Ivy League-educated campaign opponents of yours have Wall Street bankers, Silicon Valley tech giants, and Texas oil oligarchs standing behind them."
"Each of them holds hundreds of billions of dollars in their hands. They can buy half of the Texas media to sing your praises, or they can ruin your reputation overnight."
"And what about you?"
Chen Yuan approached step by step, the invisible pressure making Ivanka instinctively retreat. "What do you have? You only have a heart that could stop at any moment, and a family business that looks massive but could fall apart at any time if you were to collapse."
"What do you have to fight them with?"
Ivanka was rendered speechless by the question.
Her intelligence, resume, and family background, which she was so proud of, seemed so pale and powerless in the face of this man's naked analysis of reality.
"And I can give you all of this."
Chen Yuan stopped in front of her, looking down at her, his voice full of devilish temptation:
"I can give you endless money, enough to buy CNN and Fox, and have them play your campaign ads on a 24-hour loop."
"I can give you the most cutting-edge technology, let Texas's economy take off because of Umbrella's entry, and trade that for countless votes for you."
"I can even…"
Chen Yuan reached out and gently stroked her cheek, which was trembling slightly from shock. "Let you personally send those political enemies who look down on you straight to hell."
"And all I want is to share a small portion of the fruits of your victory."
"Now, do you still think this deal is unfair?"
Ivanka was completely lost.
She looked at the man before her.
Handsome, elegant, yet full of a terrifying, evil charm.
He was not just a businessman; he was a strategist, a madman who could see through the direction of the chessboard.
She had originally thought she was here to negotiate, but now she realized she had never had any leverage to begin with.
"I…"
She spoke with difficulty, her voice hoarse. "How can I be sure that after I am elected, you won't use my illness to control me and turn me into your puppet?"
"You have no choice."
Chen Yuan withdrew his hand and put distance between them again. "But you can choose to trust my 'reputation'."
"After all, a healthy ally with great power is far more valuable than a cold corpse."
Ivanka fell silent.
For a long time.
She raised her head. In those azure eyes, all struggle and hesitation had vanished, replaced by a gambler's madness and determination.
"Fine."
She picked up the pen on the table and signed her name on the agreement.
"I'm in."
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Chen Yuan picked up the signed agreement, blew on the ink, and the smile on his face was incredibly brilliant.
From today on, in the political world, he finally had his first, and most important, chess piece.
"However, Mr. Chen."
Ivanka stood up, adjusted her collar, and regained that haughty queen-like aura. "Since we are now allies, shouldn't I enjoy… special treatment as an ally?"
As she spoke, she unbuttoned the first button of her professional suit skirt, her eyes carrying a trace of unprecedented curiosity and a woman's desire for conquest.
"For example, experiencing for myself just how magical that 'needle' of yours that can bring the dead back to life really is?"
Chen Yuan looked at the woman who had just been discussing politics with him and was now actively throwing herself into his arms, and couldn't help but laugh.
The best way to conquer a strong woman is not just to crush her in her career, but to make her completely submit… physically.
"With pleasure."
Chen Yuan swept Ivanka up into his arms and walked toward the office lounge.
"However, the treatment process might be a bit… intense."
He lowered his head and whispered in Ivanka's ear:
"I hope Madam Senator can handle it."
...
By the time Ivanka left the Pharmaceutical Factory, satisfied, it was already the afternoon.
Chen Yuan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the cadillac disappear around the street corner, and couldn't help but stretch.
Having secured this future political star, his layout in Texas, and even the entire United States, could finally proceed without restraint.
"It is time to let San Verde, and even the whole world, see the true power of 'Umbrella'."
Chen Yuan picked up the walkie-talkie, his voice returning to that unquestionable domineering tone.
"Victor, notify the motorcade, prepare to depart."
"I am going to inspect our newly acquired properties. Including that nightclub and the mining area in the north of the city."
Victor's excited voice came from the other end of the walkie-talkie: "Boss, should we clear the road? Or just like last time?"
"This time?"
Chen Yuan glanced at the one-hundred-million-dollar bounty on the dark web, a bloodthirsty arc tugging at the corners of his mouth:
"This time, I want all of San Verde to make way for me."
"Tell the brothers to bring out all of our 'big toys'."
"Since someone wants to see fireworks, we will put on the biggest show for them."