Chapter 26: Threat!

“If he really spent a million to buy a genuine piece and give it to me, that proves he sincerely wants to be friends with you. But if he’s playing tricks and faking it, then let him get as far away as possible!”

Su Xuanmo nodded in deep agreement.

“By the way, let me tell you—he just came to talk business. He actually wants to invest…” As she spoke, she recounted the conversation between the two.

“Five hundred million? Cousin, don’t you only need three hundred million?” Ouyang Qi asked, puzzled.

“I thought he was boasting, so I just tossed out a random number. I didn’t expect him to take it seriously.” Su Xuanmo gazed thoughtfully at Lin Fan’s departing figure.

“So, what’s his real motive in helping you?”

“My guess is he wants to establish connections with our family. After all, the Su family is a respected, first-class clan in the province,” Su Xuanmo stated her speculation outright.

“Then you should definitely be friends with him. Aren’t you short on cash right now? He has plenty—honestly, you two are a perfect match!” Ouyang Qi blurted out without thinking.

“If you don’t know how to use words, don’t say nonsense! ‘A perfect match’ refers to marriage!” Su Xuanmo rolled her eyes again.

...

The next morning.

Lin Fan was embracing Gu Qingcheng, enjoying their private world in the villa, when suddenly his phone rang—the finance department was calling.

“Mr. Lin, there’s a group of people at the company claiming to be the owners of Huanshi Entertainment…”

Hearing this, Lin Fan jumped right off the sofa.

What was meant to happen had arrived!

“I’ll be there soon. Have them wait.” He hung up and leisurely dressed, washed up, and headed straight to the company.

As soon as he entered, he saw a blond young man and several rough-looking youths lounging insolently on the sofas in the waiting area. Among them was a man Lin Fan knew all too well—Wang Dezhi!

“Lin Fan, you’ve got some nerve, daring to challenge me!” Before Lin Fan could speak, Wang Dezhi stood up and roared.

Recently, Huanshi Media had been hit by inexplicable online attacks, and several of the company’s top streamers had suddenly resigned and jumped ship. After some investigation, he discovered all these streamers had joined Genesis Media. Not only did the name closely resemble Huanshi Entertainment, but even his own staff were being poached.

Clearly, they meant to cut off his source of income!

“What’s there to be afraid of? Didn’t I tell you before—I’m opening a company bigger than Huanshi, and I’ll even swallow Huanshi Entertainment whole…” Lin Fan shrugged dismissively.

Even if the system hadn’t assigned him this revenge task, he would have made sure Huanshi Entertainment shut down for good.

Just then, Zhou Zheng, beside him, jumped up, humiliated and furious.

“You’re pretty cocky! You think you alone can take me on? Do you even know who I am?” he sneered. “I’ll give you two choices—either hand over the company, or I’ll cripple you!” Zhou Zheng’s voice was menacingly cold.

“What a big mouth! How are you any different from a bandit or thug?” Lin Fan frowned; he hadn’t expected the other party to come with no intention of negotiation, resorting straight to threats and intimidation—it was outrageous.

“Drop the act! You know damn well I’ve been hit by unwarranted online attacks these days. Isn’t that your doing behind the scenes?” Zhou Zheng yelled, powerless and enraged.

Lin Fan was momentarily stunned—he knew all about this. It had absolutely nothing to do with him; it was just a mix-up.

“It’s none of my business! If you want to blame someone, blame Chen Wei. It’s got nothing to do with me!” Lin Fan said impatiently, gesturing with his lips. “I advise you not to mess with me, or you’ll find out there’s always someone bigger and stronger!”

“Oh? You think you can teach me a lesson? When the tiger’s away, the monkey becomes king! Who do you think you are, daring to lecture me?” Zhou Zheng glared at him, pointing at Lin Fan’s nose and unleashing a torrent of abuse.

“These past days, you’ve messed up my company’s streaming, stolen a few of my pretty female hosts—how do you plan to settle that debt?” he raged. “Let me tell you, I want your company, and I want your women too! Hand over the company, and call it compensation. Then we’re even!”

Zhou Zheng snorted arrogantly.

“That’s absolutely impossible.”

Lin Fan shook his head, looking at him as if he were a fool.

“Damn you! Refusing the offer, so you’ll take the punishment! I’ll cripple you first!” Zhou Zheng could no longer stand it. With a wave of his hand, the group of thugs behind him pounced like hungry wolves, rushing at Lin Fan.

Lin Fan felt a surge of panic—it was his first time facing four thugs at once.

The first one lunged, aiming a punch at Lin Fan’s face, but Lin Fan nimbly dodged. The second landed a punch on his chest, but Lin Fan wasn’t knocked down, barely moved at all. He felt a slight pain in his chest, but anger surged, and he lightly threw a punch.

Bang!

In the next second, the second thug’s face twisted, his jaw dislocated. With a shriek, he staggered back several steps, even knocking another thug behind him to the ground.

“Damn!” The others gasped in shock.

“When did this kid get so tough?” Wang Dezhi’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The first thug recovered and threw another punch, but Lin Fan was now calm. With a quick glance, he bobbed and weaved, dodging again, and instantly countered.

Bang! Another light punch.

It was the classic “four ounces move a thousand pounds” technique from Taiji! It looked weak on the surface, but the force was swift and terrifying.

A punch to the gut left the thug writhing in agony, as though hammered by iron.

Lin Fan gave the four no chance to catch their breath. He grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall and battered them mercilessly.

Two minutes later, the four thugs lay curled on the floor, clutching their heads like hedgehogs, wailing pitifully for mercy.

“Stop! Please, boss, have mercy! If you keep hitting, someone’s going to die!”

“Boss, save us! He’s going to kill us… This guy’s a monster!”

At that moment, Zhou Zheng and Wang Dezhi stared at Lin Fan in awe, faces full of terror and regret.

Neither of them had ever imagined Lin Fan’s fighting power could be so formidable—he had easily knocked down four thugs single-handed!

“With this pathetic skill, you’re not even worth fighting!” Lin Fan calmly replaced the fire extinguisher and gave Zhou Zheng a cold glance.

He stepped forward, and Zhou Zheng trembled with fear.

“You… Don’t come any closer! I’m warning you, I’m not easy to mess with. I’ve got a boss behind me—the underground emperor of the Jiangnan district. If you dare touch a hair on my head, I’ll have him wipe you out!” Zhou Zheng swallowed hard, his bravado undiminished despite his obvious terror.

But Lin Fan paid him no mind and stepped forward again.

Zhou Zheng retreated instinctively.

Yet Lin Fan didn’t come right up to him; instead, he slowly sat on the sofa, crossed his legs, and stared at Zhou Zheng with cold, sinister eyes.

“You think you can scare me?”