Chapter 1419 - 1417: Surprise
"I wouldn’t dare!" Zhao Guozong lay prostrate on the ground. "I would never dare harbor even the slightest thought of betraying the Empire! My plan is to first ask for a smaller share. Once we sign the agreement, how much we can eventually get will depend on our own abilities. The key is to let their company keep operating! Otherwise, if all that’s left is an empty factory that doesn’t produce anything, what’s the point?"
Dahe Baiyi showed a pensive expression.
Zhao Guozong secretly lifted his head for a glance. Seeing Dahe Baiyi hesitating, he hurriedly continued, "Think about it—once we sign the agreement, he’ll have no choice but to accept this arrangement’s existence. Next year, the year after, we keep increasing the percentage of our cut, using the ’boiling a frog in warm water’ approach, letting them get used to our presence. By the time they realize it, we’ll already be like something grown together with them, impossible to tear off!"
Dahe Baiyi’s expression softened.
"Besides, as long as they sign the renewal agreement, they have to keep the company running! Then we start raising our cut. Even if they’re unwilling, they’ll have to agree, otherwise we can make it so their company can’t continue normal production. That way, every day they don’t open for business means a day of losses! And a twenty percent cut will indeed hurt them badly, but it won’t push them into the red. Weighing the pros and cons, I don’t think they’d dare refuse us!"
"Yoshi!" Dahe Baiyi slowly nodded, feeling that what Zhao Guozong said made a lot of sense and was about to agree.
Seeing this, Gongben Yuancheng quickly leaned in to whisper in Dahe Baiyi’s ear, "Boss, don’t forget, this mission came from above. No matter how reasonable Mura and Guozong sound, we don’t actually have the authority to decide. You need to think this through."
Dahe Baiyi’s face instantly darkened.
Watching Dahe Baiyi and Gongben Yuancheng whispering together, and seeing Dahe Baiyi’s expression suddenly change, a bad premonition surged in Zhao Guozong’s heart.
"I don’t have time to wait! Get lost! Useless trash! Making me wait is absolutely impossible! He humiliated me today, so I must make him pay the price!" Dahe Baiyi said coldly, completely unreasonable.
"Hall Master, sir!" Zhao Guozong shouted anxiously.
Dahe Baiyi waved his hand, signaling Zhao Guozong to leave.
Gongben Yuancheng let out a cold snort, stepped up and grabbed Zhao Guozong by the collar, dragging him out while Zhao Guozong kept shouting.
A short while later, Gongben Yuancheng returned and gave Dahe Baiyi a slight nod.
Dahe Baiyi sighed and said to Gongben Yuancheng, "If we really had the time, Mura and Guozong’s plan wouldn’t be impossible to carry out. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time to wait."
Gongben Yuancheng clasped his fists, a sinister gleam flashing in his eyes as he snarled with a twisted grin, "Then let’s show them how formidable we are!"
A cold glint also flashed in Dahe Baiyi’s eyes as he said in a low voice, "Yang Chen, is it? After what happened today, I will definitely make you pay the price!"
Zhao Guozong left Yiling Hall like a lost soul, the whole person looking dumbfounded, walking unsteadily, as if he might collapse at any moment.
"It’s over! It’s all over!" Zhao Guozong muttered to himself over and over.
Unlike Dahe Baiyi, he was not so optimistic as to think that as long as they made a move, they could take care of Yang Chen and force him to compromise.
He was actually extremely pessimistic.
He could see that Yang Chen was no simple character—far from it—and the three men at his side were also anything but ordinary.
And the power Yang Chen had at his disposal was even greater than he’d imagined!
If things really came to blows, it might cause Yang Chen to pull his investment and leave on the spot!
Such a consequence would be tantamount to a death sentence for him!
His life now was no different from that of an ordinary Beihai Country citizen.
He had a wife and child to support, a mortgage and a car loan, practically no savings. If he suddenly had no job, he couldn’t last even two months.
He had done his best, but... he hadn’t expected that Dahe Baiyi would completely ignore his plan.
"It’s over! It really is all over!" Zhao Guozong staggered, collapsed to the ground, his eyes vacant, not even intending to get back up.
This scene, naturally, did not escape Yang Chen’s notice.
The simultaneous video feed was transmitted back to the computer, and Yang Chen let out a cold snort.
He could clearly see that Zhao Guozong’s plan had failed, and that Zhao Guozong had realized the outcome was beyond saving, lamenting his fate.
"You brought this on yourself. You reap what you sow." That was Yang Chen’s judgment of him.
He could have just stayed a proper Flame Country man, but instead he chose to be Beihai Country’s dog!
This price was something he should have anticipated from the very day he decided to become Beihai Country’s dog!
"Get ready. Since Yiling Hall wants to make a move on us, we’ll give them a surprise in return," Yang Chen looked up and said to Purple Cultivator.
Purple Cultivator gave a slight nod and stood up to leave.
Time flew. In the blink of an eye, it was already evening.
Inside Yiling Hall, a group of people was already prepared.
In the main hall.
A group of men in Samurai garb stood in neat formation.
At the very front was Dahe Baiyi, and before him an offering of a single blade.
"This blade was passed down to me from my great-grandfather," Dahe Baiyi said in a low voice. "Back in Flame Country, this blade once completed a hundred-man slaughter. It is a famous blade of this era! Its edge is unimaginably sharp. Only direct-blood descendants of the Dahe Clan are qualified to use it; otherwise it will surely backfire on the user! This is a blade with a spirit. While it can’t compare to a demon blade like Muramasa, it is still a peerless sword! Decades have passed—today, I will use it to once again drink the blood of Flame Country people, to honor the spirits of my ancestors in heaven!"
With that, Dahe Baiyi dropped to one knee, took a bowl of sake that Gongben Yuancheng handed him, placed it before him, then drew the gleaming katana, splashed the sake over the blade, and wiped it clean with a fresh towel.
People of Beihai Country love a sense of ritual, turning every operation into a grand affair.
After sheathing the blade at his side, Dahe Baiyi looked toward the entrance.
"Hao Er is already waiting in the outer hall," Gongben Yuancheng said quietly to Dahe Baiyi.
Dahe Baiyi nodded, turned around, and shouted to the group in Samurai garb, "Tonight, we’ll make the Flame Country people feel the might of our Yiling Hall!"
"Must kill! Must kill! Must kill!"
The crowd roared.
Seeing their fierce momentum, Dahe Baiyi nodded in satisfaction and bellowed, "Move out!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a dull thud sounded from outside.
Bang!
Something dark slammed through the paper-lined doorframe and landed at Dahe Baiyi’s feet.
Dahe Baiyi looked down and let out a terrified scream, springing to his feet and stumbling back five or six steps, staring at that thing in horror.
The others also jumped in fright, staring fearfully at the black object.
It was, unmistakably, a human head!
And what terrified Dahe Baiyi the most was that this head belonged to none other than Hao Er—the very person Gongben Yuancheng had just told him was waiting in the outer hall!
Mad Blade Hao Er!
The never-defeated Mad Blade Hao Er!!!
The core pillar of this entire operation!!!