Chapter 175: Dog Eats Dog!

When reading about domineering CEOs or various historical dynasty dramas in the past, Lin Fan used to think that the aura of a chief executive or the majesty of nobility were merely acted out.

However, after meeting them in person, he realized that true elite aristocratic families genuinely possess an incomprehensible presence for ordinary people.

No wonder those female celebrities in the entertainment industry would break their heads trying to marry into a wealthy family.

Zhou Jiayi shifted his gaze from Tang Shengwei to Wang Minglou, asking coldly and pointedly, "If it weren't for you, this insidious villain, instigating and encouraging the Fourth Young Master Tang to make trouble, the stock price of Tangchen Real Estate wouldn't have plummeted. And yet today you still dare to bring the Fourth Young Master here to cause trouble..."

"Fourth Young Master Tang, how do you think an insidious and vicious villain like this should be dealt with?"

Addressing Tang Shengwei as the Fourth Young Master Tang was also giving him a considerable amount of face.

Hearing this, Tang Shengwei finally snapped back to reality, realizing belatedly that he had been used as a pawn by Wang Minglou.

Without a second word, he spun around, leaped forward, and swung his fist fiercely at Wang Minglou's head.

"Damn you! I'll beat you to death! If it weren't for you, this brainless piece of trash, I wouldn't have fallen into such a state, nearly offending Young Master Zhou. I'm going to finish you off today!"

Caught off guard, Wang Minglou was knocked to the ground by Tang Shengwei and hurriedly begged for mercy.

"Fourth Young Master Tang, I didn't mean to do it! At worst, I'll find a way to compensate you for your losses..."

"Compensate your ass! Can you afford losses amounting to over a billion? A fool like you even wanted to join our Five Young Masters of Shanghai; you aren't even qualified to carry my shoes!"

Tang Shengwei shouted while raining down heavy blows.

Seeing that there was no mercy, Wang Minglou grew angry as well.

He was a person of standing, a second-generation heir who could sit on equal footing with Tang Shengwei, yet now he was being beaten ruthlessly. This was unfair!

Since you show no mercy, don't blame me for being unrighteous.

After taking a dozen blows, Wang Minglou began to fight back.

The two of them tangled together like stray dogs, locking onto each other and trading frantic punches on the ground in a utterly comical scene.

"Mr. Lin, let's ignore them and go inside first..."

At this moment, Zhou Jiayi took the initiative to extend an invitation for Lin Fan to enter the club.

Lin Fan nodded politely.

He glanced back once more at the two figures rolling around on the ground, momentarily suspecting they might be putting on an act.

However, seeing that Tang Shengwei's arm was actually fractured by Wang Minglou, a sense of schadenfreude arose in his heart.

It seemed the two of them had genuinely turned against each other.

At this, he could not help but admire Zhou Jiayi's brilliant strategy of sowing discord and turning the tide.

Originally, both of them had come after him, but after exposing Wang Minglou's sinister intentions, Zhou Jiayi successfully diverted all hostility onto Wang Minglou, achieving a kill with a borrowed knife.

This effectively reduced Tang Shengwei's animosity toward him.

Although this method was overly considerate of Tang Shengwei's face, it was undoubtedly the optimal solution to the predicament.

After all, Zhou Jiayi had no wish to offend the Tang family, leaving him with no choice but to offend Wang Minglou, who possessed the least amount of power.

Compared to Lin Fan, Wang Minglou and Tang Shengwei were simply not in the same league. Wang Minglou was at best a wealthy playboy devoid of power and influence; even if he were beaten to death, his family would never dare to seek revenge.

However, had Zhou Jiayi disciplined Tang Shengwei directly and escalated the situation, the consequences would have been difficult to manage.

In truth, Lin Fan also appreciated Zhou Jiayi's approach, which preserved both his and Tang Shengwei's dignity while minimizing the conflict among the three parties.

It was only then that Lin Fan understood why Zhou Jiayi's gaze had carried a trace of disdain when he first appeared.

It wasn't that he looked down on him, but rather that he disdained Lin Fan's unrefined way of resolving conflicts.

Of course, Lin Fan lacked that level of intelligence and failed to recognize that Wang Minglou was a cunning and insidious scoundrel.

On the other hand, lacking power and influence, he could only resort to his fists to solve troubles.

Upon entering the conference room, Lin Fan humbly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Young Master Zhou, for getting me out of this tight spot. If you hadn't shown up, things might truly have escalated beyond control."

At this point, the formidable aura surrounding Zhou Jiayi vanished once again, making him look like an innocent and refined young gentleman.

"If you encounter a similar situation next time, you should use your brain more. Never let emotions control you or act on impulse. To enter this circle, poise and breadth of mind are equally important... Of course, when dealing with intractable situations, one must still employ means."

"I have learned much!"

Lin Fan cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

He possessed enough self-awareness not to become blindly arrogant just because he had acquired some wealth.

After all, there were plenty of people in this world far more powerful and influential than him.

Seeing Lin Fan's modesty, Zhou Jiayi's favorable impression of him deepened, though his tone became even more amiable. "Since Mr. Lin wishes to associate with me, it is only natural that I offer some guidance to a friend. After all, the business world and the political arena are filled with deceit and conspiracy; without sufficient experience and intelligence, one is easily manipulated."

Lin Fan nodded deeply in agreement.

Deep down, he admired Zhou Jiayi even more and was entirely willing to accept his teachings.

Then, Zhou Jiayi shifted the conversation.

"However, judging by Wang Minglou's personality, he probably won't let you off. He might even turn around and hire assassins to retaliate against you, so you must be very careful."

"Rest assured, I am well prepared. I have bought off an assassin ranked in the top five of the underworld. No matter what kind of assassin he hires, they won't be able to harm me in the slightest."

Lin Fan smiled with confidence.

Zhou Jiayi raised an eyebrow, realizing he might have underestimated Lin Fan.

Without further ado, he got straight to the point. "You mentioned over the phone earlier that you wished to co-invest with the Zhou family in that robotics project? How much do you intend to invest?"

Lin Fan raised his right hand and straightened his fingers.

"Fifty billion!"

The robotics project mentioned by Zhou Jiayi was an emerging technology enterprise recently favored by the Zhou family.

This tech company had been established not long ago by a gifted young prodigy and was named New Dimension Technology Corporation.

This genius youth had long been famous online, specializing in the robotics industry while also engaging in the development of AI and artificial intelligence.

However, China's development in the field of artificial intelligence started relatively late, primarily because its hardware capabilities lagged behind those of superpower nations. Furthermore, many domestic companies engaged in AI development had faced suppression, resulting in a shortage not only of hardware standards but also of talent.

To put it plainly, venturing into the robotics industry required capital investment far exceeding projections.

This sector was an absolute money pit.

Even superpowers had yet to achieve substantial breakthroughs, burning through vast sums of money without producing anything capable of sparking an industrial revolution.

Although the Zhou family was very optimistic about the project, they had never taken the plunge.

Precisely because the industry consumed immense amounts of capital with no visible prospects in sight—capitalists naturally favored projects yielding huge economic returns in the short term—such technology companies, characterized by long return cycles and heavy investments, easily scared people away.

Lin Fan wished to seize this opportunity to establish a solid relationship with the Zhou family.

If he could eventually become an honored guest of the Zhou family and secure them as his grand backing, becoming the king of Hangzhou would be an effortless endeavor.