255: Chapter 255 The Illusion of Power

The lobby was deathly quiet.

Only the rapid ringing of a cell phone echoed through the space.

Bai Jianguo looked down at his screen; the caller ID showed the head of the Municipal Bureau.

Bai Yu also pulled out his phone; it was a call from his father.

The uncle and nephew exchanged a glance and answered their respective calls.

"Hello, Director." Bai Jianguo cleared his throat, still hoping to claim credit. "I'm currently in the lobby of the Huihuang Group, preparing to put up the seals..."

"Seal my ass!" A deafening roar erupted from the other end of the line. "Bai Jianguo, get your people and get the hell back here right now! If your Bai family wants to die, don't drag the entire system down with you!"

Bai Jianguo was stunned.

"Director, what's wrong? Their Fire Department and tax records indeed have—"

"Shut up!" The bureau head's voice cracked from shouting. "Go online and look right now! Huihuang Group just released a 'Social Contribution White Paper' a minute ago! Do you have any idea that the higher-ups just called the mayor's office directly? The top leadership is furious and has ordered a thorough investigation! The Discipline Inspection Commission's task force will be at the bureau in five minutes!"

*Clack.*

Bai Jianguo's hand went limp.

The phone fell onto the marble floor, its screen shattering into pieces.

The color drained completely from his face, and his legs couldn't stop trembling.

Nearby.

Bai Yu answered his father's call and had just uttered a "Hello."

"Run! Get out of the country immediately!" his father's frantic roar came through the phone. "Whatever you do, don't come home!"

Bai Yu froze.

"Dad, are you crazy? I'm having Second Uncle seal the Huihuang Group building right now," Bai Yu shouted at the top of his lungs. "That kid Chen Muyang must kowtow to me today!"

"Kowtow your mother's head!" Father Bai cursed over the phone, accompanied by the muffled sound of things being smashed. "Huihuang Group just revealed its trump cards to the entire internet! They pay 360 billion in taxes a year! They provide three million jobs! They even hold core national technologies! You've provoked someone beyond your league! Your grandfather was so enraged that he just coughed up blood!"

*Beep, beep, beep.*

The call ended.

Bai Yu held the phone, his mind buzzing.

Chen Muyang stood a few meters away, his hands tucked into his suit trousers.

"Group Leader Bai," Chen Muyang looked at Bai Jianguo. "Are you still going to put up those seals?"

Bai Jianguo's knees buckled, and he sank directly to the floor, his mouth agape but unable to speak.

Bai Yu turned his head and glared at Chen Muyang.

Accustomed to being arrogant since childhood, his mind simply couldn't process the situation.

"Stop playing tricks!" Bai Yu strode toward Chen Muyang, pointing at his nose and cursing. "So what if you have money? In the face of power, your Chen family is just a pile of scrap paper! I'm sealing your front doors today no matter what!"

*Slap!*

A heavy sound rang out.

Bai Yu was spun halfway around by the force of the blow, and half of his face swelled up instantly.

The person who hit him was none other than Bai Jianguo, who had just scrambled up from the floor.

"Second Uncle, why did you hit me?" Bai Yu clutched his face, his eyes full of confusion.

"Do you want to kill everyone in the Bai family!" Bai Jianguo's features contorted as he delivered another backhanded slap. "Shut the hell up!"

After hitting Bai Yu, Bai Jianguo turned and roared at his subordinates, who were still standing there in a daze with the seals.

"Withdraw! Everyone withdraw! Get in the cars now!"

Although the dozens of uniformed men didn't understand the situation, they saw that things were going south and dropped everything to run outside.

In less than half a minute, only Bai Yu was left standing in the lobby.

Chen Muyang walked to the front desk, took out a disinfectant wipe to clean his hands, and tossed it into the trash.

"Mop the floor," Chen Muyang instructed the receptionist before turning toward the elevator.

Dragon Bay No. 1.

The main room of the Courtyard House.

Chen Fan leaned back on the sofa, watching the LCD TV on the wall.

The TV screen switched to the news channel.

A female anchor was reporting an urgent breaking news item.

"The Huihuang Group today released its first 'Social Contribution White Paper.' According to the disclosure, the group's actual tax payment for the previous year exceeded 360 billion yuan, supporting 2.8 million jobs across the upstream and downstream industrial chains. At the same time, the Huihuang Group announced that it has handed over two top-secret core defense technologies to relevant national departments free of charge."

Su Wanqing walked over with a plate of sliced fruit and set it on the coffee table.

"You always manage to turn bad things into good ones." Su Wanqing looked at the TV. "That kid surnamed Bai has really poked a hole in the sky this time."

Chen Fan picked up a piece of apple and took a bite.

"Strength is the ultimate truth." Chen Fan threw the core into the trash. "The Bai family thought they could crush a company just because they had a bit of power. I showed my trump cards to the whole country. Now, anyone who dares to touch the Huihuang Group is smashing the rice bowls of millions and causing trouble for the state."

Chen Fan clapped his hands.

"In the face of absolute scale, a second-rate clan like this can't even make a ripple."

On the other side.

The Bai Family Mansion in the Capital.

The main hall was in a state of chaos.

Elder Bai sat in a grand armchair, a glaring bloodstain on the front of his clothes.

A private doctor nearby was taking his blood pressure.

The sound of brakes came from outside.

Bai Yu came scrambling and crawling into the room.

"Grandpa! Second Uncle has gone crazy! He hit me!" Bai Yu complained, clutching his face.

Elder Bai pushed the doctor aside, grabbed the dragon-headed cane at his side, and slammed it hard against the floor tiles.

"Someone, come here!" Elder Bai's voice was hoarse.

Four burly bodyguards emerged from the back hall.

Bai Yu took two steps back in fear.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?"

Elder Bai stared at his worthless grandson, his teeth gritting audibly.

"Get some rope and tie him up tight!" Elder Bai coughed violently twice. "Get the car ready; we're going to the Dragon Bay No. 1 Courtyard House! Even if I have to break his legs today, I'll make him kneel at the Chen family's door to atone for his sins!"

Hearing that he had to go to the Courtyard House to kneel, Bai Yu jumped up from the floor.

"I'm not going! What kind of thing is the Chen family? I'm not going!" Bai Yu shouted loudly.

Elder Bai slowly stood up and took a solid White Wax Wood Staff handed to him by a bodyguard.

"Not going?" Elder Bai looked at him. "Then don't blame your grandfather for being cruel. Hold his legs down."

Several bodyguards stepped forward and pinned Bai Yu firmly to the bluestone tiles.

Elder Bai raised the White Wax Wood Staff and smashed it down hard against Bai Yu's knees.

*Crack.*

The sound of bone shattering rang out.

Bai Yu let out a blood-curdling scream and fainted directly from the pain.

Elder Bai threw away the staff and looked at his unconscious grandson on the floor.

"Go put splints on this kid's legs and drag him into the car." Elder Bai closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Send someone ahead to scout the way and see how the Chen family is reacting."

The butler nearby stepped forward and said something with his head bowed.

These words caused Elder Bai to slump directly back into his chair.

"Master, Chen Haoyu just sent word." The butler's voice trembled. "He said that Chen Fan has no time to see you right now; he's in the backyard doing something big..."

Elder Bai's eyes widened. "Doing what big thing?!"

"He's in the backyard... playing in the mud with three children." The butler swallowed hard.