Chapter 656: The Game Has Only Just Begun

Arrogant. It was truly too arrogant.

Shang Yanxiong closed his eyes slightly, took off his glasses, and sat there quietly.

He inhaled the scent of blood permeating the air, savoring the brief moment of peace before the storm.

He looked at the severed head on the floor, his eyes filled with genuine indifference. "Boasting so loudly, and being a student personally trained by Victor, yet his head was cut off so easily? Is he too weak, or are Zheng Qian's people too strong?"

Failing to control Jiang Yanran caused Shang Yanxiong's already irritable mood to fluctuate even more violently.

In fact, he had felt something was off over the past two days.

Logically, they should have captured Jiang Yanran long ago, but when he tried to contact them, they were all unreachable. Shang Yanxiong merely assumed they might have arrived in some international waters where communication equipment was obstructed; he never expected failure.

After all, in his schemes, he had never failed.

From the very beginning, he had completely and utterly underestimated Zheng Qian, never taking him seriously.

He had deliberately sent people to target Chen Weiqiang, Liu Shiqi, and even Lu Lingwei, among other various "decoy tactics," thinking it would be enough to blind Zheng Qian, prevent him from guessing his true intentions, and cover up his real objectives.

He had even utilized Ran Ruqiu to obtain key data from the Qianlu Research Institute.

Yet, Zheng Qian had actually guessed that he was going to make a move against Jiang Yanran?

This was what made Shang Yanxiong the most furious.

He didn't know how long it had been since his schemes were anticipated by someone else.

A knock at the door sounded, and after receiving permission, a girl walked in.

"Brother, did you call for me?"

The visitor was Shang Yanxiong's youngest sister, Shang Mo.

Although there was a bloody, severed head on the office floor, she still gazed at Shang Yanxiong with burning intensity. Clenching her hem tightly, she felt great heartache. She didn't know how long it had been since she had seen her brother this angry.

The last time he failed to manage his emotions was when his campaign for an executive position failed.

She obediently took a cigar with the most fitting flavor from the humidor and lit it for her brother personally.

Savoring the taste from the Cuban jungles, Shang Yanxiong's expression softened slightly. He gently stroked Shang Mo's head. "Is there any good news regarding the shipping side?"

Shang Mo pursed her lips tightly and shook her head.

Shang Yanxiong grabbed her by the throat, releasing her only after 10 seconds.

With her face flushed unnaturally due to severe oxygen deprivation, Shang Mo coughed a few times and hurriedly said, "This time, the United States suddenly withdrew those merchant ships. I... I really don't understand. With such a vast territory, shouldn't the Nine Provinces be the place they prioritize? To waste our previous layout merely for the sake of the mere Middle East is simply..."

She truly felt the organization was unreasonable; they were clearly on the verge of reaping the fruits of victory.

Once the domestic shipping market was truly integrated, they could logically expand into the freshwater sector... Moving from the deep sea of shipping to freshwater seemed like an unrelated business, but in reality, it concealed many of Shang Yanxiong's schemes.

Now, he would likely have to find another way.

This was also what Shang Mo understood the least.

This goal was also the organization's ambition, not merely Shang Yanxiong's personal pursuit. Could it be that the organization intended to just give up on the freshwater business in the Nine Provinces? Such a huge piece of cake—if they didn't act early, by the time the upper echelons reacted...

It would probably be too late!

Shang Yanxiong waved his hand and said slowly, "I can roughly guess what those above mean. Although this is the organization's goal, it is not the goal of certain executives. After Leonberger passed away last month, an executive position became vacant."

"There are many people eyeing this position, and some people don't want my achievements to be too prominent."

"It doesn't matter; there is still some time until the election. Little sister, I just received news from Victor. He has to head to the Middle East temporarily, so we have to manage the fleet for now. You go and take charge of the coordination; don't let any trouble arise."

Shang Mo nodded. She always executed her brother's arrangements without hesitation.

In fact, she also roughly understood Shang Yanxiong's meaning. Since the situation was already lost, rather than raging impotently and obsessing over it here, it was better to appear magnanimous. Actively cooperate with the organization's arrangements and send the fleet safely to the Middle East.

This project was quite massive, as it wasn't just about transporting empty ships.

It required supplies, personnel, and even weapons.

Therefore, the first thing to do was to unload the cargo currently on the merchant ships right there. Regardless of any orders, they would directly notify the companies to send people to take the goods away. Then, they would follow Victor's coordination and sail the ships to the required locations.

"Brother, don't be too anxious. Rest assured and leave it to me."

Shang Mo squatted beside Shang Yanxiong's chair, extended a pair of jade hands, trembling as she cupped Shang Yanxiong's right hand, and gently kissed the back of his hand. She said firmly, "I will always believe in you, Brother, no matter what happens, no matter when."

After saying this, Shang Mo strode away.

Watching her increasingly curvaceous back and those slender long legs, Shang Yanxiong suddenly laughed and muttered to himself, "She looks thirty percent like our old man and seventy percent like her mother. However, she is still not as good as that little bitch from the third branch."

...

Liwan Island, hotel administrative area conference room.

Zheng Qian stared at the map, lost in thought.

Jiang Yanran had returned to normal by this time. She and Secretary Du Bingbing sat on one side of the conference table, while Yao Qiuqiu and Cheng Xiaonan sat on the other. Jiang Yanran deliberately avoided looking at the two girls opposite her, but her mood remained just as irritable.

"Look, after these nearly a thousand large merchant ships leave the territorial waters of the Nine Provinces, where are they heading? They are going to here, here, and here."

As Zheng Qian spoke, he took out a laser pointer and pointed at the map hanging on the wall.

"I really didn't know until I tallied it up: the United States actually has a full 313 military bases around our Nine Provinces. Isn't that a terrifying number? They only have 750 military facilities globally, and half of them are in our vicinity."

"The place the merchant ships are going is right here."

Hearing this, Jiang Yanran frowned.

Tapping the table lightly with her fingernails, she nodded and said, "So what? You have stockpiled a large number of merchant ships on the high seas and at various ports, are you hoping to intercept them? They have real, genuine armed forces there. What chance of victory do you have?"

"Who said I wanted to confront their armed forces?"

"How could I let my brothers go to their deaths? I just want to tell you that these nearly a thousand merchant ships are going to take a long detour, and the consumption caused during this process will almost entirely be paid for by Shang Yanxiong."

"He cannot imagine in his wildest dreams what a tragic price he will pay."

"The nightmare has only just begun."