Chapter 125: The Outside World

Zhou Ming's car drove towards the beach villa complex at the mouth of the Charles River, where the Massachusetts governor's vacation villa was located. Since this was not the first time Zhang Lin had been here, he found the governor's vacation villa with ease. Just like the previous routine, he parked the car in an inconspicuous corner and then led Zhou Ming to climb over the wall and break into the villa again.

This is not to say that the governor's villa has not improved after an infiltration incident. In fact, as soon as Zhang Lin drove to the front door, he could already feel that the security was tighter than last time.

However, this tight security is only for ordinary people. In the eyes of Zhang Lin, the king of soldiers, it is still as porous as a sieve. He only needs to observe for a period of time to be able to grasp the regularity of the activities of some of the guards. In addition, the governor's villa does not have problems every day, so it is basically impossible for these bodyguards to remain vigilant at all times, thus giving Zhang Lin room to manoeuvre.

It was for these reasons that, after about half an hour, Zhou Ming and Zhang Lin entered the villa's gym. According to the information they had obtained beforehand, the governor was usually working out at this time.

'Hey! Why is it you guys again? What kind of magic tricks do you guys know, and how did you get here?"

The bodyguards at the entrance to the gym looked at Zhou Ming and Zhang Lin, who had suddenly appeared in front of them, in horror, as if they had seen a ghost, and subconsciously raised their guns and aimed them at them.

Zhou Ming smiled and said, 'Please don't be nervous, brothers. I just have something to see Governor Edwards about, but because the conditions don't allow it, I have no choice but to do this. You will know after you go in and report.'

The two bodyguards cursed in their hearts. What conditions did not allow them to do? What rules were these? If everyone could come in like this to see the governor, then what was the point of having bodyguards?

However, due to the previous incident, they also understood that the governor did know them. Therefore, there was no other way. Although they wanted to shoot the two people in front of them, who had beaten them twice, they still had to go in and report to the governor.

A few minutes later, the two bodyguards, looking reluctant, invited Zhou Ming and Zhang Lin into the gym.

When Zhou Ming entered, Edward was sitting in a chair, wiping sweat from his face, while a burly fitness trainer was taking notes on the day's workout.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, there may be some cultural differences between our two peoples, but I'm sorry, I really find it hard to accept this kind of visit,' Edward said to Zhou Ming, his tone unhappy.

Zhou Ming shrugged, 'I'm sorry, Mr. Governor, I don't want it to be like this either, but I think you should understand that there are some things that can't be helped, especially in your seemingly free land.'

Edward frowned slightly, he wanted to say something, but Zhou Ming spoke first, 'Well, Mr. Governor, I didn't come here today to discuss the differences between Eastern and Western cultures with you, but I have some questions I want to ask you face to face.'

Edward gave a gesture of invitation to Zhou Ming, who then said, 'I think the governor must have heard about my failure at the Vidda community meeting, right? Not only that, but after the meeting, I was even blocked by people sent by the Adams family.'

Edward nodded and said he knew. Zhou Ming then asked, 'If I remember correctly, the Adams family, especially the patriarch, Christo, knew about my return to Brighton and took action. It was you, Mr. Governor, who told me. It seems that you families are deeply infiltrated with each other.'

Edward smiled and replied, 'Actually, this is quite normal. The original Brighton Consortium was formed through intermarriage, so over time, it has naturally become intertwined. From this perspective, it seems not strange that I happen to know some internal news of the Adams family, even some very internal news, because my cousin is married to a very important member of the Adams family.'

Zhou Ming also nodded and said, 'This does make sense, but it also makes me ask another question.'

Upon hearing Zhou Ming say this, Edward raised his head and said after a moment's thought, 'Let me guess, Mr. Zhou Ming, you want to ask why we still want to ally with you against the Adams family, given our close relationship with them, right?'

'Yes, I am curious,' Zhou Ming said, 'because I don't think my words were that convincing at the time, and your agreeing to my alliance seemed more like going with the flow.'

'It seems that Mr. Zhou Ming's curiosity is still very strong. I thought that as long as we were in an alliance and we were also sincerely dealing with the Adams family, you would forget about it,' Edward said.

'Governor, speaking for myself, I would love to forget, but unfortunately this news is like flies buzzing around my head, and recently it has become more and more intense, making it impossible for me to forget,' Zhou Ming said.

Edward shrugged: 'Well, let me tell you, in fact, your guess was right when you persuaded us. Due to the Adams family's hegemony within the Brighton consortium, the rest of us have been unhappy with them for a long time. In particular, twenty years ago, the assassination of our family's only president was also due in large part to their family. They don't want to see the emergence of a family that has the ability to threaten them.'

'Since then, the Candini family and they have been on bad terms, but due to our own lack of strength and the unwillingness of the Lawrence and Lowell families to see us fall, we have barely managed to maintain the current situation.'

Edward looked at Zhou Ming and said, 'So after you walked out of here, I already discussed it with Lawrence and Lowell. We can give it a try. After all these years, we have done this kind of thing many times. The only difficult part is the Lowell family, because they have been safe for too long. That's why you need to go to Auburn Castle and wake them up. In this regard, Zhou Ming, you have done a very good job!'

Zhou Ming nodded silently and said, 'Governor, if my ideas were a little simpler, I might have been convinced by you, but I'm sorry, there is one most important and completely inescapable problem in your words, and that is that you are being too simple.'

"It seems that what you are saying, Governor, is very logical. The three of your families have already been fighting the Adams family for their power within the consortium, and my appearance has only given you an additional bargaining chip. Your attitude has always seemed to be one of not giving up until you get what you want.

Having said that, Zhou Ming's tone suddenly changed: 'But there is one thing that you have shown some thought about, and that is that you have been too focused on using the possible subprime mortgage crisis to affect Brighton Bank. Whether it is Louis's tireless efforts to prepare materials for us, or your 100% concern for me after I came to Brighton, Governor, they all represent your attitude.'

'If you really don't want to see the rabbit, you don't have to worry about me, because you won't lose anyway. But you did it anyway, which is an inexplicable paradox. It means you are worried about something, right?"

Zhou Ming finally looked into Edward's eyes and said, "I want to know the reason behind it."

Facing Zhou Ming's barrage of questions, Edward fell silent. Zhou Ming did not rush him when he saw this, but just sat quietly waiting for Edward's answer.

After a long while, Edward let out a sigh. However, instead of directly telling Zhou Ming the answer he wanted, Edward asked him a question: 'Mr. Zhou Ming, have you heard of the outside world?'

Zhou Ming frowned: 'The outside world?'

Edward carefully observed Zhou Ming's expression: 'If you don't know the outside world, then there is no need for you to know the answer to your question. I don't mean any discrimination or anything when I say this, but simply because you can't understand it at all.'

Zhou Ming did not say anything, and Edward continued, 'Or let me put it another way. The answers you seek are all in the outside world. The three families of Cundini Lawrence and Lowell chose this point in time to attack the Adams family because of some changes in the outside world. And since you are unaware of the existence of the outside world, even if I tell you, you will not understand.'

'Of course, you can ask me what the outside world is, but I'm sorry, I can only tell you that the outside world is the outside world. Those who know will naturally know, and those who don't don't have the qualifications to know. Or even if I tell you, you won't understand.' Edward said, "That's all I can tell you. Next... Do you have any other questions?"

Zhou Ming hesitated before asking, 'If the subprime mortgage crisis doesn't work, do you have any other alternatives?'

'Maybe there will be, but everything will need to be considered from the beginning,' Edward replied.

After getting Edward's answer, Zhou Ming nodded and silently stood up from his seat, then bid Edward farewell. Of course, before leaving, Edward finally gave a final piece of advice: 'Although this is my vacation villa, I welcome any friends to visit, but next time, if you have other things to do, please use the front door. I don't welcome uninvited guests.'

Zhou Ming replied, 'I remember,' and left Edward's villa with Zhang Lin. Back in the car, Zhou Ming looked back at the villa and saw Edward watching him from the third floor balcony.

From the balcony, Edward watched as Zhou Ming got into his car and drove off. He picked up his phone and dialed a number. 'That Chinese guy, Zhou Ming, just left from my place. Do you know what question he asked me? He said he wanted to know the real reason why we are so eager to deal with the Adams family, and it seems like he has never heard of the outside world.'

"I know it's unbelievable, and I don't believe that someone can be like him without having heard of the outside world, but I can tell that he really hasn't heard of it,'

Edward continued, 'I wonder if there's some other reason for this, or if someone has deliberately hidden something from him, or if he's simply a proxy for someone else. You know those people from the outside world, they love to play these kinds of games, and that's the most annoying thing about them, just like the Addams Family.'

Edward let out a long breath and finally said, 'I can't tell what's going on here, and I don't even know if our alliance with him is right or wrong.'