Chapter 78

At the old Xu family residence, Xu Tianyang, with his eyes closed, took a deep breath and said, "Zongxian, our Xu family would rather shatter like jade than be whole like a tile. Even if we are ruined, we will never bow to anyone. Do you understand?"

Over the past few months, Xu Zongxian had visibly aged, his hair turning much grayer. Hearing this, he nodded with difficulty and said, "Father, I understand."

The pressure on the Xu family had been immense during this period. Initially, it was just minor skirmishes, but the hidden opponent finally emerged. Three of the world's top ten financial conglomerates joined forces to attack, a crisis unprecedented in scale. If not for Xu Tianyang's extensive network and the many capable people who owed him favors, the Xu family's financial empire might have already collapsed a month ago.

However, even the strongest network has its limits. Once the favors were repaid, they were no longer useful. By now, even with Xu Tianyang's abilities, he could not secure any more funds to fill the black hole of the acquisition and counter-acquisition battle.

At this moment, Xu Caiyi, who had been silent for a long time, stepped forward and said, "Father, I have already sold all the plots of land the conglomerate held, amounting to about a hundred billion dollars."

"Hand the money over to Zongxian to handle. If they want to destroy us, they must pay a heavy price," said Xu Tianyang, a man over a hundred years old, but his resolve and stubbornness remained unchanged.

He said firmly, "In addition to the land, mortgage all the Xu family's real assets. Even if the three conglomerates join forces, they must at least fall from their positions among the world's top ten."

"Should we mortgage this old residence as well?"

"This is the master's property; we cannot."

Mentioning this, Xu Zongxian finally could not hold back and said, "Father, it's already clear that this is because of the master. They are doing this because of him..."

"Silence!"

Xu Tianyang's stern gaze fixed on Xu Zongxian, "Everything we have is given by the master. You have enjoyed half a lifetime of glory. Now it's time to repay him. What are you thinking!"

"Father, I didn't mean that. If we strategically show some weakness and publicize it..."

"If you have such thoughts again, I will disown you."

At the same time, in Xiao Wei's house at Tangcheng Yipin, the little demoness Li Zixin, her eyes filled with killing intent, said, "Sister Wei, why don't you let me kill the guy who wants to harm you?"

Having spent a lot of time with Li Zixin, Xiao Wei understood her temperament. She smiled and gently shook the little demoness's shoulder, "Zixin, what's the point of taking such a thug seriously? Let the police handle it."

"A thug?"

Li Zixin pouted, "Since last month when you were almost kidnapped, this is the third time someone has caused trouble for you. If I weren't with you every day, that guy today would have been a second-rate expert, and ten police officers wouldn't be a match for him."

Since practicing the Great Yin-Yang Union Dao with Su Yang, Li Zixin's powers had advanced rapidly. She had now reached the seventh level of the Heavenly Demon Decree, an achievement unmatched by anyone in the Li family in eight hundred years.

To be called a second-rate expert by Li Zixin, one must be at least at the level of a special forces elite.

Xiao Wei nodded, "I know it's trouble, but that person is a foreigner. It's not good to cause a fatality."

Li Zixin huffed, "Sister Wei, you're too kind. If Su Yang were here, forget the police, even the heavens wouldn't save that guy."

Hearing "Su Yang," Xiao Wei was momentarily lost in thought, "Yes, if Su Yang were here, it would be better."

Li Zixin, noticing Xiao Wei's distracted response, blushed slightly. Sensing the change, she smiled mischievously and reached out to touch Xiao Wei's chest, pinching it, "Xiao Wei, you're in heat."

"Are you trying to kill me!"

Xiao Wei, suddenly attacked, was flustered. She didn't care about her sheer, semi-transparent, sexy nightgown and lunged forward, retaliating by pressing Li Zixin's chest.

"It's all Su Yang's fault. He's been gone for months, making our Sister Wei explode at the slightest touch, hahaha!"

The little demoness, seeing the opportunity, laughed and quickly fled.

"You're not any better, calling his name in your dreams every night." Xiao Wei, knowing she couldn't catch Li Zixin, simply took a glass of red wine and walked to the balcony, gazing at the night view of the Huangpu River, lost in thought, "I really miss him."

A moment later, Li Zixin, also in a nightgown, joined her on the balcony. She tilted her head, looking at the stars, and asked softly, "Sister Wei, is Su Yang thinking of us now?"

At the residence of Elder Lu, Elder Zhou and Elder Lu, two military leaders, were playing chess. Unlike before, there was another elder present.

"Wonderful Old Man, why are you here again? Your granddaughter is recuperating here, do you think something will happen?" Elder Lu, who had been checkmated by Elder Zhou for three moves, pushed the chess piece and turned to Miao Changsheng.

Despite being the commander of the Shenyang Military Region, Miao Changsheng was a generation younger than Elder Lu and Elder Zhou. He sighed, "It's been four months, how can I not be anxious?"

Elder Zhou also sighed, "It has been a long time. Little Friend Su has indeed taken too long."

Among the three, only Elder Lu knew Su Yang's background and abilities. He said, "We've already waited four months, why not wait a bit longer?"

"Wonderful Old Man, trust me once. Little Friend Su will definitely make your granddaughter better."

"I trust you, I do." Miao Changsheng said, "If I didn't trust you, would I have transferred A Ling from Shenyang to here? It's so that once Little Friend Su returns, he can treat A Ling immediately."

"To be honest, my eldest son had A Ling's blood sample tested at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The results were not optimistic. She is my only precious granddaughter. If something happens to her, I won't have a single happy day left."

Seeing Miao Changsheng's sorrow, Elder Lu said, "You're an old man, don't think too much. Go see your granddaughter inside."

At Shanghai Pudong International Airport, a tall man, about 1.9 meters, wearing a trench coat and sunglasses, with a pale and handsome face, walked out of the customs area with a suitcase.

"Are you Mr. Edward?"

Glancing at the middle-aged man smiling at the airport entrance, Edward's lips curled slightly, and he said in his characteristic arrogant tone, "Are you here to pick me up?"

"I was sent by Miss Catherine."

The middle-aged man, clearly dissatisfied with Edward's attitude, was a China expert and a capable person in the DR organization, responsible for intelligence work in Shanghai. Even during his time in the Navy SEALs, he was among the best.

Knowing Edward's mission, Luke couldn't understand from the start what this seemingly effeminate man could do.

As he spoke, Luke reached out to take Edward's suitcase, intending to embarrass him. His large, strong right hand grabbed the suitcase handle and pulled with all his might.

Luke had once participated in the World's Strongest Man competition and placed in the top three, so he was very confident in his strength.

However, to his surprise, despite his full effort, the suitcase did not budge. Edward coldly smiled, pressing a finger on the suitcase and said in a chilling voice, "This is your last provocation. Next time, I'll take both your arms."

With that, Edward suddenly released his finger, and the unprepared Luke stumbled backward several steps, barely managing to avoid falling on his butt.

"How could I be so foolish as to provoke such a monster in the organization?" Luke cursed himself, quickly smiling and said, "As you requested, I have arranged accommodation and the 'goods' you need."

An hour later, Luke drove Edward to a suburban villa. Welcoming Edward into the villa, Luke pointed to a door on the second floor and said, "It was a bit rushed, but I did my best. I believe it will meet your satisfaction."

Inside the room, a naked red-haired beauty was tied to the bed, her mouth gagged. Despite her desperate struggles, she was helpless.

Edward pushed the door open, saw the struggling red-haired beauty, and sniffed the air, a sinister smile spreading across his handsome face.

"Luke, you were right. This is a good 'goods.'"

"Now, go wait at the door. Believe me, this is a reward for providing such a high-quality item."

Luke, seeing Edward's sinister smile, felt a sudden chill. He hurriedly stepped out, and as he closed the door, he heard the red-haired beauty's terrifying screams.

Standing guard outside the door for over two hours, the continuous screams from inside made even the ruthless Luke's scalp tingle. Now he understood why Edward considered waiting outside a reward.

If he were inside, just hearing the red-haired beauty's screams for over two hours would be enough to give him nightmares.

"How twisted is this guy!"

Just as Luke was thinking this, the villa's door opened from the inside. Edward, naked from the waist up, with a mouth dripping with blood, licked his lips and said, "Clean it up."

Luke, gritting his teeth, responded, "Yes." As he stepped into the villa, he was hit by a strong smell of blood. When he entered the room where the red-haired beauty had been tied, he couldn't help but vomit.

It wasn't that his tolerance was weak, but the scene before him was truly horrifying.

Limbs and organs were scattered on the floor, and the red-haired beauty, brought here for Edward's "entertainment," was left with only a head, her eyes wide open in death.

Strangely, despite the gruesome scene, there was not a single drop of blood in the room.

PS: Here's the third update for today!