64: Chapter 64 Two-Stage Reversal

Zhao Guofu waited for five seconds. The smile on his face gradually faded, and the impatience in his eyes became more apparent. He felt that this young man was deliberately playing hard to get.

"What? You asked me out all this way just to sit there and drink tea in silence?"

He leaned forward, propping both hands on the tea table. His gaze became sharp, and his tone took on a pressuring edge.

"Jiang Chen, to be honest with you, I've been watching those ten shops at the north gate of Xuefu Road for a long time. That area has already been slated for a subway entrance. Demolition and renovation are on the schedule, and the surrounding land prices will double immediately. Its value is far beyond your imagination."

He extended a finger and tapped the tabletop, his tone certain and filled with seasoned confidence.

"A young man like you with no background or foundation can't possibly withstand the subsequent storms or swallow these profits. Giving you six hundred thousand per shop is already me looking out for your youth and giving you a safe way out."

The corners of his mouth curled into a meaningful arc, carrying a patronizing arrogance.

"Young man, I advise you to quit while you're ahead. Six million is enough for you to establish yourself securely in Jiangcheng. Don't get involved in games you can't afford to play, or you'll end up with nothing and a whole lot of trouble."

He leaned back into his chair again, picked up his teacup, blew on the floating leaves, and took a sip.

His posture was like an old wolf that had already locked onto its prey; he wasn't in a hurry to pounce, but instead leisurely enjoyed watching the prey's struggle, certain that the other party would compromise.

Jiang Chen set down his teacup.

The porcelain cup collided with the rosewood tabletop, making a light clinking sound that was exceptionally clear in the quiet private room, instantly shattering the composed atmosphere Zhao Guofu had built.

He looked up into Zhao Guofu's eyes. Those eyes were very calm, as calm as a bottomless pool of water, without the slightest hint of panic.

"Manager Zhao, are you finished?"

Zhao Guofu's smile stiffened for a moment. He hadn't expected this young man to dare to ignore his pressure so blatantly.

Jiang Chen didn't say anything more. He simply reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, pulled out a thick manila envelope, placed it gently on the tea table, and slowly pushed it toward Zhao Guofu.

"What is this?"

Zhao Guofu frowned, his face full of confusion. He didn't immediately reach out to take it, as a faint sense of unease began to rise in his heart.

"Open it and see, then you'll know why I insisted on meeting you in person."

Jiang Chen's voice remained calm, yet it carried a power that brooked no refusal.

Zhao Guofu stared at the envelope for three seconds. That sense of unease grew stronger and stronger. Ultimately, he picked it up, tore open the seal, and pulled out a stack of A4 papers.

The first page was a printout of a transfer voucher, clearly showing his account information, the transfer amount, and the time.

When Zhao Guofu's gaze fell upon it, his pupils suddenly constricted, and the composure on his face vanished instantly.

His hand jerked to a stop, and the air seemed to freeze in that moment.

With trembling hands, he flipped to the second page: a scanned copy of Chen's commitment letter. The bright red thumbprint made his eyes sting.

Zhao Guofu's expression began to change, shifting from the previous ease to a rigid, desperately controlled paleness. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

He hurriedly flipped to the third page: screenshots of communication records. Those coded conversations now looked like death warrants in his eyes.

His hands began to shake uncontrollably, and his fingertips were ice-cold.

He flipped to the fourth page, the fifth... they were all financial vouchers of embezzled public funds, industrial and commercial information of shell companies, and signed approval forms. Every single item was ironclad evidence.

Under the tea table, Zhao Guofu's legs shook uncontrollably. His heart pounded wildly, nearly jumping out of his chest.

He looked through those few pages three times. Each time was to confirm this wasn't a nightmare, and each time caused his fear to deepen further.

Then he snapped his head up and looked at Jiang Chen.

The emotions in his eyes were in total turmoil, shifting from shock to fear, from fear to anger, and from anger to a nearly manic suppression. His voice was as raspy as sandpaper rubbing against sheet metal.

"You... where did you get these things?"

"That's not important."

Jiang Chen's voice was still calm, without a hint of smugness or ferocity.

"What's important is, if these things were to appear simultaneously on the desks of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission, the Economic Crime Investigation Detachment of the Public Security Bureau, and the Chairman of Wantai Real Estate... Manager Zhao, what do you think your outcome would be?"

Zhao Guofu's hand suddenly clenched the papers. His knuckles turned white, then blue from the force.

His Adam's apple bobbed. Cold sweat slid down his temples and dripped onto his collar.

He had spent half his life struggling to finally climb to the position of an executive at Wantai Real Estate.

Wielding great power and enjoying all the glory, what he feared most was his misdeeds coming to light, and even more so, falling into the hands of the Chairman.

The Chairman of Wantai Real Estate was ruthless and decisive; he could least tolerate subordinates engaging in corruption for personal gain or harming the company's interests.

Once he knew about the embezzlement and bribery, he would not only ruin Zhao's reputation but also pursue all losses and even use means to ensure he could never recover. This was more terrifying to him than legal sanctions.

His chest heaved violently, his breathing as heavy as an old set of bellows.

But his gaze, after the initial horror, gradually underwent a change.

It wasn't a breakdown or panic, but a kind of forced calmness that came after being backed into a corner.

The instinct of someone who had long held a high position.

Even if the sky were falling, he had to first steady his footing and figure out the opponent's trump cards.

He slowly leaned back, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

When he opened his eyes again, the stormy waves in his depths had been suppressed, replaced by a sinister, scrutinizing cold light.

He stared fixedly at Jiang Chen, his voice raspy but carrying a deliberately suppressed ruthlessness and calm.

"Jiang Chen."

His voice was very soft, like a snake flicking its tongue.

"Since you went through so much trouble to get me out here and brought these things..."

He extended a finger and tapped the stack of lethal papers on the table. His fingertips trembled slightly, but his tone was surprisingly steady.

"You surely don't want to blow things up. Tearing faces apart benefits no one."

He paused, his fingertips lightly tapping on the tabletop, his eyes sinister as he pressed further.

"Tell me, what exactly do you want? Money, or something else? As long as it's not excessive, I can negotiate."

In this moment, he had actually suppressed his panic and treated Jiang Chen as an opponent who had come to blackmail him.

He was rapidly calculating in his heart. Once the evidence of bribery and the embezzled accounts were exposed, he would be finished.

But since the other party chose to meet privately instead of reporting him directly, it meant there was room for negotiation.

If there was room for negotiation, there was a way out.

Money could be earned back if lost, but if his life was gone, everything would be over.

Various plans raced through Zhao Guofu's mind.

One million?

Two million?

As long as he could buy these things back, he would pay any price.

Jiang Chen met his feigned calm gaze, his expression remaining placid and unwavering, without the slightest hesitation.

He spoke.

Word by word, as clear as a blade sliding across glass.

"It's very simple."

"Those five commercial shops you privately acquired today—transfer all of them to me at four hundred thousand per shop."

As soon as he finished speaking, a deathly silence instantly enveloped the entire private room.

The calm Zhao Guofu had been forcing himself to maintain shattered instantly like a punctured piece of thin paper!

"You... how do you know about me taking those five shops?!"

This was his most absolute secret!

Those five shops at the north gate of Xuefu Road were acquired by him during the window period of the demolition news, through three different shell companies over the course of three days.

Every single one was a private transaction with individual landlords, without going through any agency or leaving any corporate links.

He had even used cash for the contracts specifically to leave no trace and to prevent Wantai's Chairman, Zhou Wanquan, from noticing.

Even his most trusted assistant didn't know the full picture of this matter.

But now.

A green youth in his early twenties had not only figured out his bribery evidence and embezzled accounts but even knew every detail of his private shop acquisitions!

The feeling was as if he thought he was hidden perfectly in the dark, only to realize a light had been shining above his head the whole time, illuminating all his secrets with microscopic clarity.

This fear of being stripped of all secrets and watched throughout the entire process was ten thousand times more chilling than seeing the ironclad evidence of bribery and embezzlement!

He jerked back, his chair making a sharp creaking sound.

His gaze at Jiang Chen shifted from anger to fear, and from fear to a nearly instinctive wariness.

It was the look a person gives when they realize all their defenses are useless.

"Who exactly are you?!"

His voice was so raspy it was almost inaudible. "These things... how did you get them? Even my assistant doesn't know about those five shops!"

His fingertips began to shake uncontrollably, so much so that even the teacup on the table was vibrating slightly.

Jiang Chen looked at him, his gaze as calm as a frozen lake.

"How I know isn't important."

His voice wasn't heavy, but every word was like a nail, driven one by one into Zhao Guofu's bones.

"What's important is that if this evidence is handed over, you'll lose much more than just those five shops."

He leaned forward slightly, looking directly into Zhao Guofu's eyes, which were now filled with terror.

"It will be everything you've spent half your life building, and perhaps something even more terrifying..."

Zhao Guofu opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but couldn't say a single word.

After the shock came a despair that reached his very marrow.