Chapter 148: Mr. Meta Takes Refuge (Part 2)

'Take refuge?'

Tong Gang and Li Cheng were both stunned. If they didn't know that Zhou Ming was not a casual person, they would have thought that Zhou Ming was joking. The reason was simple: they could not figure out why. Meta, as a financial warfare expert specially appointed by the US president, especially now that this financial expert is still carrying out the 20 trillion dollar plan, I'm afraid that even the President of Northern Russia would not dare to confront Meta under the strong pressure of the entire Western world.

The reason is simple. They just couldn't figure it out. As a financial warfare expert specially appointed by the US president, and especially now that this financial expert is still carrying out the 20 trillion dollar plan, I'm afraid that even the President of Northern Russia would not only dare not do anything to Maita under the strong pressure of the entire Western world, but would even have to help protect him from any threats.

How would such a person still need to seek refuge? Not to mention that he would still seek refuge here with Zhou Ming, which is even more outlandish. No matter how you look at it, after something really happens, the American embassy will be much stronger, safer, and more reliable than this small manor arranged by Zhou Ming.

Facing the shocked expressions of Tong Gang and Li Cheng, who looked as if they had heard the news of the end of the world, Zhou Ming still calmly nodded and said, 'Yes, Mr. Meta came here to seek refuge because there are some things that Chairman Tong and Chairman Li may not know yet. Just this morning, an FBI agent came to Northern Russia and said that Mr. Meta's company had evaded taxes of 14,000 US dollars and that he was to be arrested and tried in the United States.'

Tong Gang and Li Cheng were surprised for a moment, but then they quickly came back to their senses and said solemnly, 'This must be a conspiracy!'

'I agree with Chairman Tong and President Li, so I took Mr. Meta here to seek refuge,' Zhou Ming said.

At this time, Maita also stood up in a timely manner and said, 'Yes, I am also very grateful to Mr. Zhou Ming for reaching out to help me at this time. If it weren't for Mr. Zhou Ming, I am afraid I would have to be arrested and become a victim of the conspiracy! It seems that only in times of crisis can you see who your true friends are.'

Tong Gang and Li Cheng smiled politely at Maita, then pulled Zhou Ming aside. Tong Gang asked Zhou Ming with a very serious look in his eyes, 'Why did you really take him in? Aren't you afraid that this is a conspiracy?'

'This was always a conspiracy, otherwise the Americans wouldn't have sent someone here to arrest him over such a trivial tax of 14,000 US dollars,' said Zhou Ming.

Tong Gang was very dissatisfied with Zhou Ming's words. He said in a serious tone, 'Zhou Ming, do you really not understand or are you just pretending to be ignorant? Don't you find it strange that the Americans would send someone here to arrest him at this time, and it's such a coincidence that he found out?'

Of course Zhou Ming was pretending to be ignorant. This was a critical moment in the Dota Project. If they arrested Meta at this time, wouldn't the plan be ruined?

Of course Zhou Ming could think of such simple logic, but he had more memories from his previous life, and he knew very well that the United States had done something so illogical.

When the Dota project was at its most critical moment, FBI agents suddenly came knocking on the door. However, they didn't catch Meta the first time, because Meta had been trading arms with another Middle Eastern country. He escaped thanks to the information provided by the intelligence agency of that country. He wasn't arrested until he fled to Switzerland for refuge and was secretly arrested by the Swiss police. He was finally extradited to the United States, charged with tax evasion of 14,000 US dollars and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Since the beacon of democracy in the world did this in a previous life, what reason is there for them to change in this life?

It is precisely for this reason that Zhou Ming chose to believe after receiving the call from Meta. However, this reason naturally cannot be said, so Zhou Ming had to put it another way: 'Chairman Tong, I of course understand what you are saying, but I think it is precisely because everyone thinks it is impossible that the Americans are so confident that they can succeed in doing this.'

Zhou Ming paused for a moment after saying this and then added, 'Of course, this is only part of the reason. I think the most important thing is that Mr. Mata simply had no need to lie to me about this kind of thing, because we are already facing internal and external problems under the pressure of the Tower Project. It would be very easy for him to deal with us. Doesn't Chairman Tong think that playing these kinds of tricks is just a waste of time?'

Tong Gang nodded. He then remembered the current situation. Zhou Ming saw that the expressions of Tong Gang and Li Cheng had eased up, so he continued, 'As for how he knew, I think we should let Mr. Meta tell us himself.'

Zhou Ming finished and gave Meta a gesture. Meta immediately stood up. It was obvious that they had already discussed this beforehand. After all, Meta himself understood how abrupt his visit to Zhou Ming was.

'Actually, the reason I know is also quite coincidental. Davier, who has been working with me, is a very proud person. He has always respected me in the past, but suddenly in the past few days his attitude towards me has changed. I paid attention to it. As a result, a friend of mine was just arrested in Switzerland. This morning, as soon as they left for the airport, I realised that something was wrong and immediately left Villa 8. Later, I got a call and they really went to pick up the FBI agents to arrest me.'

After a moment of thought, Meta said, 'Actually, I agree with Mr. Zhou Ming's view. None of this matters. The important thing is that I am already here, and I can't do anything to threaten you, can I?'

Tong Gang and Li Cheng were also very honest. After listening to what Zhou Ming and Meta had said, they also apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, Meta. Now, we have a Chinese saying that says, "Better safe than sorry. We can't be too cautious.'

Meta laughed, 'Of course. If it were me, I think I would do the same.'

Now that the ice had been broken, Zhou Ming invited the others to sit down together. Zhou Ming then said to Mr. Mata, 'Mr. Mata, you know that I am a businessman, and we already had an agreement. Since you are here now, I have already fulfilled my part of the promise, so what about you?'

'Zhou Ming, what are you talking about? Mr. Mata has only just arrived here, so how can you say that?'

As soon as Zhou Ming finished speaking, Tong Gang reprimanded him in displeasure. Even though Zhou Ming had previously told Tong Gang about some of the agreements he had made with Meta, Tong Gang thought it best to put on a happy face at this time.

However, Meita was much more generous. He waved his hand unnecessarily and said, 'It's okay, that was the agreement between Mr. Zhou Ming and I before, I won't go back on my word. Now I have the stock market account in London and the account passwords for the Swiss bank. Both the gold money from the short selling in Northern Russia and the wealth plundered after the severe inflation in Northern Russia are in these accounts.'

Maita immediately changed the subject after saying this and said, 'But there is only a maximum of 100 to 200 billion yuan in this money. I promised Mr. Zhou Ming that there would be a lot more, but the Dota Project needs to continue.'

'Of course it needs to continue, Mr. Maita. I also invited Irbedov and Boltarsky, these Northern Russian businessmen, to come over today,' Zhou Ming raised his hand to check the time, 'I think they should be here soon.'

Zhou Ming's words were like a prophecy. As soon as he finished speaking, the small manor welcomed several more cars. Compared to the Volga that Zhou Ming and Tong Gang had arrived in earlier, these cars were much more luxurious, either Lincoln Town Cars or Cadillacs, and there was even a Jaguar that was not well-known in China.

Those who could drive these cars were, without exception, wealthy people. This time, they were none other than people like Irbedov and Boltarsky.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, we have all come here because we trust you. I hope you won't toy with our trust. This time, you can really bring us substantive news. You know, we all have a lot on our plates...'

Il'bedov got out of the car first and walked towards Zhou Ming. As he walked, he kept talking, but his words suddenly stopped because he saw Meta sitting next to Zhou Ming. This made him freeze in place and mumble, 'Mr. Meta, why are you here?'

'It's very simple. Mr. Meta and I are partners, and I will get a large share of the profits from the Dota Project no matter what,' replied Zhou Ming.

After listening to Zhou Ming's explanation, Meta also said in a cooperative manner, 'It is indeed as Mr. Zhou Ming said. We are close partners. In fact, half of the profits from the stock market's crazy rise this time are actually in Mr. Zhou Ming's hands.'

'Is that so? That's really great. Mr. Zhou Ming is truly our last hope!'

Ilbedov sat down very happily, his eyes shining as he looked at Zhou Ming. It was obvious to him that being forced to cooperate with the Dota Project was not as good as continuing to work for Zhou Ming.

However, Su Han could not stand his behaviour of being a grass who changes sides, especially when she remembered Zhou Ming's sad expression a few days ago, which made her even more unhappy. 'Mr. Ilbedov, I heard that you had already taken the initiative to go to Villa 8 to negotiate with them, didn't you? I think they must have offered you a very good price, right? Otherwise, why would Mr. Il'bedov betray us with so many friends?'

Su Han's words were very rude, which made Il'bedov feel very embarrassed. However, for someone like Il'bedov, he quickly recovered and said, 'Ms. Su Han, I think you must have misunderstood something. I have always been very supportive of Mr. Zhou Ming. No matter what the situation becomes, I believe that Mr. Zhou Ming will definitely lead us to victory! Betrayal is nonsense!'

Su Han was very disdainful of the blind lies that Ilbedov told with his eyes open, but at this time, she was not in a good mood and could not say much.

Zhou Ming took Su Han's small hand and patted it a few times to make her not get angry. Then Zhou Ming waved to Boltarsky and said, 'Boltarsky, come over here and do it. Now that Mr. Meta is here, we can discuss more about what to do next in the stock market.'

Bortaszki was very happy to sit over, while Irbedov was awkwardly frozen in place, because Zhou Ming's approach had clearly told him: I'm very unhappy with you now!

However clear the attitude was, Irbedov still sheepishly followed Bortaszki and sat down, causing instant contempt around him.