Tang Ao, It's You Scheming Against Me Again

Father Zhou waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "His target isn't Qiao'er. His real target is our Zhou Pharmaceutical. The Dragon King's Palace... they've set their sights on our Zhou Pharmaceutical, this juicy piece of meat. As long as Zhou Pharmaceutical is still in my hands, Qiao'er won't be in any danger."

As Father Zhou continued, a shrewd smile appeared on his face, "He must be feeling quite pleased with himself for hiding his identity and quietly amassing wealth. But what he would never expect is that all his careful efforts to stay hidden allowed me to see through him with just one glance!"

Only then did the assistant breathe a sigh of relief, "Chairman, so what should we do now?"

As he spoke, the assistant became nervous again, "But... the other party is the Dragon King's Palace. Can our Zhou Pharmaceutical really compete with them?"

Father Zhou shook his head, "If it were before, when we didn't know that Tang Ao was the Dragon King, this would have been as difficult as reaching the heavens. But now... I have at least a fifty percent chance of winning against the Dragon King's Palace!"

Seeing Father Zhou's confident expression, the assistant was somewhat astonished.

It seemed like his chairman had suddenly become much younger.

"Then... should we tell Miss Zhou Qiao'er about this?"

Father Zhou shook his head, "No need. The less Qiao'er knows, the safer she will be. It's obvious that Dragon King Tang Ao has no real interest in her. Otherwise~ if he truly had intentions, do you think there would be anyone in Longquan City who could stop him?"

...

Early in the morning, there was a rapid knock on the door of Ye Chen's hotel room.

Having just returned to Longquan City a few days ago, Ye Chen hadn't found a proper place to settle yet, so he was temporarily staying at the hotel.

Ye Chen cautiously opened the door to find five burly men standing outside.

If Tang Ao were present, he would have clapped in delight.

These five men were the same ones who had blocked Zhou Ling'er and Sister Hong yesterday, and after Tang Ao's rooftop jump threat, they forcibly took Sister Hong away!

One of the men sized Ye Chen up and disdainfully spat the cigarette butt from his mouth in Ye Chen's direction. Ye Chen frowned, and with a subtle motion, the cigarette butt turned in mid-air and rebounded onto the man's leg, burning a small hole in his pants.

The man flew into a rage, glaring at Ye Chen, "So you're the one called Ye Chen?!"

"Who are you? I don't think we know each other."

Being confronted at his hotel unexpectedly, Ye Chen was puzzled and couldn't figure out the reason.

Before getting to the bottom of things, Ye Chen didn't intend to act rashly.

Another man, impatient, pulled an iron rod from behind him, "Enough of this nonsense! Just answer—are you Ye Chen or not?"

Ye Chen, seeing the iron rod, frowned slightly. He was now certain that these people had come to cause trouble.

But he didn't recognize any of them.

Calmly, Ye Chen said, "I am Ye Chen. What do you want from me?"

"I thought you'd be tougher. But there's no need for anything special. We just don't like being passive. Instead of waiting for you to come after us, we'd rather beat you down now. Brothers, let's teach him a lesson!"

Immediately, the five men each pulled out a variety of tools—pliers, screwdrivers, kitchen knives, and scissors—and charged at Ye Chen.

The man closest to Ye Chen swung his iron rod, aiming straight for Ye Chen's head.

Ye Chen, unfazed, had already recovered 30% of his strength after resting overnight.

Dealing with these ordinary people...

Was no challenge at all.

He raised his arm and punched out, colliding with the iron rod, producing a dull thud.

The iron rod flew from the man's hand, and a deep fist mark appeared where it had connected with Ye Chen's punch!

The man holding the iron rod was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, slamming into the rod mid-air before crashing into the wall, unconscious, his fate uncertain.

Seeing this, the remaining four men were dumbfounded!

Was he even human!?

He was too strong!

They froze on the spot, completely terrified by Ye Chen's display of power.

Ye Chen stood calmly, not in any rush, watching the four of them.

He wanted to know who had sent these pitiful men to find trouble with him.

The leader of the group was the first to regain his senses, hurriedly holding up the screwdriver with both hands, "Actually... I'm just an appliance repairman! I came here to check your room's appliances. As a repairman... carrying a screwdriver with me is perfectly reasonable, right?"

The others quickly followed his lead, "As a door-to-door hairdresser, carrying scissors with me is reasonable too, don't you think?"

"As a... mechanical repairman, it's normal for me to carry pliers, isn't it?"

"As a chef... of course, I need to have my knife with me. I came here... to ask what you want for breakfast!"

"Do I look stupid?"

The four men shook their heads in unison, "Not at all, sir. You're the smartest person we've ever met, smarter than even Zhuge Liang!"

"Enough!"

Ye Chen stomped his foot, sending a cloud of dust into the air from the hotel's soft carpet, making the four men cough as they covered their noses.

"Who sent you here?"

Realizing they couldn't lie their way out, the leader hung his head and answered truthfully, "It was... Tang Ao. He said you would..."

"Tang Ao!"

Ye Chen clenched his fists, the sound of cracking bones echoing from his body.

It was over!

They had really kicked a steel wall this time!

The four men immediately went weak at the knees and knelt on the ground in unison, "Please spare us! We'll never dare to do this again!"

They lowered their heads, already mentally prepared to be beaten half to death.

Today, they expected to leave with only half their lives intact.

But to their surprise, Ye Chen didn't strike them. Instead, he quickly calmed down and asked, "You lot, are you familiar with the situation in Longquan City?"

Was he trying to recruit them?

The men instantly perked up, "Of course! There's nothing in Longquan City we can't handle!"

"Our reputation is well-known in the underworld. Today, we just happened to meet you, otherwise even the big shots on the street have to bow to our eldest brother!"

Sensing Ye Chen wasn't angry, the leader immediately seized the chance to speak, "Big Brother, we can see you're someone special. How about this—let us follow you from now on? You tell us to go east, we won't go west. You tell us to wet the bed, we won't poop in it!"

Ye Chen pondered for a moment...

He had just arrived in Longquan City and was planning to build his own influence. Having a few locals to guide him would save a lot of trouble.

Besides, these five men were sent by Tang Ao!

If Tang Ao saw potential in them, they must have some unique skills!

Thinking this through, Ye Chen agreed readily, asking them to drag their unconscious companion into the room to treat his injuries.

These five men would be the first step in Ye Chen's expansion in Longquan City, the key to cultivating his own power. They repeatedly addressed him as "Big Brother," each time more affectionately than the last:

"Big Brother, we'll be counting on you to protect us from now on!"

"Big Brother, have a cigarette!"

"Big Brother, you..."

Just as Ye Chen was enjoying the flattery, the door suddenly burst open, and a group of police officers stormed in:

"Hands up!!! Get down with your hands behind your heads!!!"

The valiant Li Shiyun glared coldly at Ye Chen and his group, "Ye Chen, suspected of involvement in organized crime, what do you have to say for yourself now?"

Ye Chen, stunned, looked from Li Shiyun and the heavily armed police officers to the five men behind him, now kneeling with their hands behind their heads.

He was speechless!

Ye Chen flew into a rage, "Tang Ao! It's you scheming against me again!!!"