209: Chapter 209 Hunting the Shadows

Chen Fan sat on a Huanghuali wood chair.

He picked up a tablet and opened a top-secret communication software.

The software's server was located overseas, providing a direct link to Interpol's supreme command.

Chen Fan tapped the keyboard, entering a complex string of passwords.

A dialog box popped up on the screen.

"Old friend, I'm sending you a big gift," Chen Fan typed.

The other side replied quickly: "Chen? You never visit unless you need something."

Chen Fan's fingers tapped rapidly.

He packaged and sent over the coordinates for the Shadow organization's Southeast Asia headquarters, which the system had analyzed, along with hundreds of pages of criminal evidence against core members.

Two minutes later, the other side sent an exclamation mark.

"This intelligence is enough to classify Shadow as a top-tier terrorist organization. But these people are well-equipped and the terrain is complex. A direct assault would result in too many casualties, and it would be hard to get the budget approved by Congress."

Chen Fan sneered.

Budget?

"One billion US dollars," Chen Fan typed the numbers. "It will be deposited into your joint counter-terrorism special account in ten minutes."

The screen remained silent for a full minute.

"A full set of the most advanced American individual equipment and the usage rights for two Apache attack helicopters—I'll cover those as well. Consider it a sponsorship for the cause of counter-terrorism from Huihuang Group," Chen Fan continued to raise the stakes.

"Operation begins in five minutes," the other side replied with only those few words.

Chen Haoyu stood by the desk, watching the dialogue on the screen.

One billion US dollars to buy several hundred lives.

This was the consequence of provoking the Boss.

Chen Fan pushed the tablet aside and picked up a freshly brewed cup of tea.

"Connect to the satellite signal," Chen Fan ordered.

Chen Haoyu immediately operated the laptop.

A few seconds later, the holographic projection equipment in the study activated.

A clear, real-time bird's-eye view appeared on the wall.

Deep in a tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia.

Several reinforced concrete fortresses hidden under the dense canopy were the headquarters of Shadow.

Under the cover of night, three heavy transport helicopters with no markings hovered in mid-air.

Dozens of ropes were dropped.

Over a hundred fully armed special agents descended like gods from the heavens.

There was no call for surrender.

There was no warning.

Boom!

The deafening sound of an explosion was transmitted back to the study through miniature audio equipment.

The fortress's thick explosion-proof doors were blown to pieces by directional charges.

Special operations agents filed in one after another.

Under infrared night vision, the Shadow organization's militants had just woken up from their sleep; before they could even touch their guns, they were precisely picked off.

Rat-tat-tat.

The dull sound of gunfire echoed continuously.

The battle was completely one-sided.

The defense system Shadow took pride in was like paper in the face of firepower bought with a billion dollars.

In less than half an hour, all external fire points were eliminated.

The core basement.

The Shadow leader realized something was wrong.

He watched in horror as his subordinates fell one by one on the surveillance screens.

This level of firepower wasn't a vendetta from an enemy; it was a purge by regular troops!

Drenched in sweat, he rushed to the safe and pulled out a backup encrypted satellite phone.

He traced the source of the funds through special channels.

It was the Imperial Capital! It was Huihuang Group!

Chen Fan's phone vibrated on the desk.

The screen displayed a string of garbled characters.

Chen Fan pressed the answer key and casually turned on the speakerphone.

"Chen Fan! Are you crazy!" a desperate roar came from the other end. "We only took Li Weidong's money, we haven't even hurt your children yet! You actually deployed counter-terrorism forces! Shadow has branches all over the world. If you kill me, there will be endless retaliation!"

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair.

"Retaliation?" Chen Fan's tone was flat.

In the holographic projection, the special ops team had already blown open the basement door.

Several assault rifles equipped with silencers were pressed against the Shadow leader's head.

"When you took the job, you didn't ask about my, Chen Fan's, rules," Chen Fan said, looking at the leader kneeling on the ground in the footage.

"President Chen! I'll return all the commission to you! I'll pay you another hundred million dollars! Spare my life!" The leader broke down completely, crying into the phone.

Chen Fan took a sip of tea.

"Touch my family, and I will leave nothing but scorched earth," Chen Fan said, then hung up the phone.

In the footage, the special ops members pulled their triggers.

The communication was cut off.

The holographic projection shut down.

Silence returned to the study.

Chen Haoyu closed the laptop.

"Boss, the cleanup work has been arranged. Southeast Asia will announce it as a routine anti-piracy operation," Chen Haoyu reported.

Chen Fan nodded.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The night breeze blew in.

The murderous aura on him slowly dissipated.

Chen Fan walked out of the study and pushed open the door to the second-floor bedroom.

A dim, yellow wall lamp was left on in the room.

Su Wanqing lay on the large bed, sleeping soundly.

In the nearby crib, the three little ones lay side by side, breathing evenly.

Chen Fan walked over with light footsteps.

He leaned over and carefully tucked the children in.

Then he walked to the bedside and gently kissed Su Wanqing's forehead.

As long as he was there, no one could harm this family.

The next morning.

Huihuang Group Headquarters Building.

Chen Fan sat in the Chairman's office, flipping through documents.

Zhou Ming rushed in, not even knocking.

His face was ashen, and he held a thick technical analysis report in his hand.

"President Chen, something big has happened!" Zhou Ming slammed the report onto the desk.

Chen Fan looked up at him.

"There's a newly rising unicorn company in the country called 'Future Technology'," Zhou Ming spoke extremely fast, sweat pouring down his forehead. "They just announced that they will hold a press conference next week to launch an epoch-making product called 'Gene Repair Fluid'."

Chen Fan didn't speak, signaling him to continue.

"I got someone to obtain their core parameters!" Zhou Ming slapped his thigh in anger. "The overlap with the upgraded version of Life No. 1 that we at Pangu Biology are developing is as high as ninety percent! This is blatant plagiarism!"

Chen Fan picked up the report and flipped through a few pages.

The system light screen automatically popped up in his mind.

"Before Shadow was wiped out, did they send a data package back to the country?" Chen Fan suddenly asked.

Zhou Ming was stunned.

"President Chen, how did you know?" Zhou Ming was completely confused. "The security department only found out this morning that Li Weidong used his authority last night to package and send a technical document. The recipient is the CEO of this Future Technology, Li Ming!"

Zhou Ming gritted his teeth: "Those bastards! Taking the painstaking effort we spent tens of billions to develop to rush a new drug launch! President Chen, let's call the police right now and freeze their press conference!"

Chen Fan put down the report.

He crossed his hands on the desk.

"Why call the police?" Chen Fan looked up at Zhou Ming and asked.

Zhou Ming became anxious: "Not call the police? That's our core secret! If they get the head start, the losses for Pangu Biology will be immeasurable!"

Chen Fan pulled open a drawer and threw a document to Zhou Ming.

"Look closely at what Li Weidong sent out," Chen Fan's tone was very steady.

Zhou Ming quickly opened the document, and after seeing the data on it, his whole body froze.

"That is a semi-finished product," Chen Fan leaned back in his chair. "Do you think if they forcibly take that kind of data for mass production and market release, how big of a disaster it will bring upon Future Technology?"