The Second Golden Strike

"Yes, with your abilities, you can absolutely supply the Lin family with jade." She sat up, gratitude shimmering in her eyes. "Without you, I might have agreed to Xu Bo's marriage proposal today."

"You refused him?" His eyes lit up, relief flooding his voice.

"With this new path, I no longer need to grovel. At the banquet, Xu Bo thought the Lin family had secured powerful allies. He backed off and even agreed to a six-month supply contract."

Huo Xuan nodded. "Once we have capital, supplying the Lin family will be effortless."

Lin Yue smiled. "At fifteen, my father set aside 500 million for me. Every penny will go into our company to dominate the market swiftly."

"Then I'll acquire more rough stones to meet the capital," Huo Xuan said. His current assets paled in comparison—another gamble was inevitable.

"No need for formalities." She waved a hand. "My 500 million buys only half the shares. No strings attached."

Huo Xuan stiffened. "This is unfair to you."

"You're the golden goose. Not even 5 billion could replace you." Her tone brooked no argument.

Huo Xuan relented but plotted silently: Time to bleed Xu Bo dry at the Stone Gambling Festival.

When Lin Yue drifted to sleep, Huo Xuan exited. Li Hu, posted outside, exhaled sharply at his emergence.

Meanwhile, in a Jiangzhou mansion, Xu Bo's face darkened like storm clouds. Lin Yue's icy rejection at the banquet gnawed at him.

Did the Lins find a new backer? The thought poisoned his mind.

Forced to save face, he'd offered a year-long supply deal—a move the Jade Syndicate members mimicked.

Rage simmered deeper: Where are the thugs sent to crush Huo Xuan?

His phone rang. A voice colder than a grave cut through: "Xu Bo. This is Zhang Wu. You've pissed off the wrong god."

At "Zhang Wu," Xu Bo's heart seized. Learning he'd offended a heavyweight drained his face of color. In Jiangzhou's underworld and elite circles, Zhang Wu's name carried mythic weight.

Xu Bo knew the legend well—a life so brutal it could fuel a bestselling crime saga.

Fifteen years prior, a sixteen-year-old self-proclaimed Zhang Wu had arrived in Jiangzhou—then a provincial backwater.

Within a year, his lethal martial arts toppled local powerbrokers. Families crumbled beneath his steel-toed boots.

A decade later, he ruled Jiangzhou's underworld with 300 enforcers. Sixty percent of nightclubs, fifty percent of bathhouses bore his tiger-head emblem.

The next five years saw him launder blood money through hotels, real estate, trading firms—building a $1.5 billion empire with manicured nails and Armani suits.

His Yi Qi Group now boasted three five-star hotels, two skyscrapers, and a sprawling mall—net worth eclipsing 10 billion yuan.

Wealth alone didn't terrify Xu Bo—his family swam in similar billions. It was the 113 rumored kills, the "Human Butcher" moniker that iced his veins.

After three rapid breaths, Xu Bo masked fear with deference: "Elder Wu. What misunderstanding has occurred?"

Though acquainted, Xu Bo knew better than to omit the honorific "Elder" before the butcher's name.

Zhang Wu snapped: "Cut the bullshit. You targeted Huo Xuan."

Xu Bo's pupils dilated. Huo Xuan connected to Zhang Wu?! Forced calmness coated his reply: "Elder Wu, a minor misunderstanding exists."

"Mark this," Zhang Wu's voice dropped to Arctic levels. "Touch him, and I skin your dynasty alive. No exceptions."

Xu Bo's molars ground silently. "Of course, Elder Wu. No further... inconvenience."

"Golden Dragon Hotel. Noon tomorrow." The line died with a surgical click.

Xu Bo's fist shattered a Ming vase. An ant like Huo Xuan commands Zhang Wu's blade?!

"Fucking cockroach!" He kicked over a chair.

Huo Xuan's 3-million-yuan jade heist had metastasized into this humiliation.

When you leave Jiangzhou, Xu Bo plotted, I'll feed your eyes to my Dobermans.

Oblivious to his reprieve, Huo Xuan hired 15 laborers and 5 trucks through a shady agency.

By 9:00 AM, he stormed the Stone Gambling Festival's rough jade hall—a general commanding his mineral infantry.

Having memorized the four exhibition zones' rough stones from yesterday, Huo Xuan selected targets with surgical precision. Laborers hauled his chosen rocks straight to the trucks.

The hall manager shadowed him nervously. "Sir, we provide free logistics. This is unnecessary."

"Just process the payment," Huo Xuan replied without breaking stride.

His previous low-profile purchases of high-yield stones had still drawn Xu Bo's attack. Now, scorched-earth retaliation guided his picks.

He vacuumed every stone with 5x profit potential, draining his funds in vindictive precision.

Zone D: 15,000 stones. Zone C: 5,000. Zone B: 1,000. Zone A: 500. Total face value: 3.5 billion yuan.

Reality is Cut stones' total worth wouldn't exceed 1.5 billion—a 2 billion profit margin for organizers.

Myanmar's experts first-filtered these stones post-mining, their loupes and scalpels dissecting mineral traces.

This winnowing left export-grade stones pre-gutted of true value.

Zone D: 300+. Zone C: 80+. Zone B: 12. Zone A: 2. This time, even partially-cut stones weren't spared.

Some half-cut stones hid dragon's hoards—their final cuts multiplying value tenfold.

11.6 million yuan bought 400+ stones—cream of the crop. Leftovers offered mere 5x returns.

Capital constraints prevented tenfold haul.

As trucks loaded, Huo Xuan called Lin Yue: "Need your warehouse again, sis."

She arrived to stone-laden trucks. "No wonder you rose at dawn!"

Their grins mirrored complicit understanding.

Stones joined prior haul. Lin family would purchase select jade—cash infusion meets supply needs.

He'd personally window-cut stones before sale—raw stones invited suspicion and low bids.

Bulk buyers preferred cut stones or half-opened risks. Fully raw? Too dangerous.

By midnight, 80 stones windowed—Lin Yue delivering meals to his concrete bunker.

Arms leaden, he smiled at emerald cores glowing under workshop lights.

Lin Yue's calculator blazed: 80 stones = 20 million. Full haul? 100+ million.

"This isn't business—it's alchemy!" Lin marveled. Her family's billion-yuan empire scraped 80 million monthly. He'd conjured 100 million in 72 hours.