Chapter 31

Zhao Chunsheng got up, picked up the water cup, and walked into the room, tearing off the tape from Li Yuan's mouth. Li Yuan, her face full of fear, trembled her lips but could not speak, only looking at Gao Yang with pleading eyes. Zhao Chunsheng smiled and said, "The necklaces they are wearing are magnetic bombs. No one can open them without the decoder. See, this is a threat to you. How about it? Do you have any thoughts on working together now?"

At this moment, Gao Yang suddenly thought, "If I didn't have the Origin, what would I do in such a situation?" After a brief thought, he finally smiled bitterly and said softly, "It turns out we are all tragedies."

Zhao Chunsheng walked back to Gao Yang and stared at him, saying, "How about it? What's your answer?" His tone was tinged with excitement and a slight tremor.

Gao Yang slowly got up and looked at Zhao Chunsheng, saying, "Everything you've done is based on your conventional life knowledge. You just don't understand what I possess!" He flipped his hands to reveal a small black sphere, and with a light press, a red light lit up. Zhao Chunsheng instinctively sensed the danger and tried to dodge, but it was too late.

This was an ultrasonic generator that Gao Yang had obtained from the Origin by spending tens of thousands of energy points. When activated, it could instantly cause a sonic shock within a 12-meter radius, causing unconsciousness. The powerful sound waves shattered all the windows in the villa, and the 12-meter radius was enough to cover the entire villa.

After seeing everyone in the room fall unconscious, Gao Yang walked into the room. Suddenly, a bullet was stopped 3 centimeters from his back and then fell to the ground. The protective shield's energy was greatly reduced, and Gao Yang was startled, quickly falling to the ground. He then released Arno from the storage space, who was holding a Mauser 98K.

Arno, with his superior scanning ability, shot down all the surrounding snipers. After that, Gao Yang got up and walked to the two women, using the Origin to unlock the magnetic bombs. As for the decoder in Zhao Chunsheng's hand, Gao Yang didn't trust it at all. After finding the women's personal items, he left a timed bomb in the living room and carried the two women out of the villa with Arno.

On the road outside the villa, Gao Yang took out a Dodge truck from the storage space and drove away with Arno and the two women. They drove to a city park near Phuket Airport, where Gao Yang put away the truck and Arno and placed the two women on the grass.

After injecting them with emergency medication, the two women soon woke up, looking at Gao Yang and their surroundings, still confused. Gao Yang looked at the time and said to Li Yuan, "I'm sorry for involving you this time."

Li Yuan, regaining her senses, smiled bitterly and said, "I was too optimistic, I never thought it would be like this." Gao Yang nodded without saying anything, took out a checkbook from his clothes, wrote a large check, and handed it to Li Yuan, saying, "This is a token of my appreciation. Remember, you know nothing, and you never came to Phuket."

He then turned to look at Lu Lingxue. Lu Lingxue, who had been in a daze, suddenly rushed to Gao Yang's side and bit his arm so hard that a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. "Ah," Li Yuan covered her mouth and gasped. Gao Yang looked into Lu Lingxue's eyes silently.

After a while, Lu Lingxue finally let go of Gao Yang's arm, looked into his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "Why? Why did you appear? I was so happy these days, why did you appear!" Her voice was already tinged with sobs.

Gao Yang sighed lightly, wrote another large check on the checkbook, and placed it in her pocket, saying, "Remember, you know nothing, and you never came to Phuket. I've already booked your flight back. We..." He paused, looked into her eyes, and said slowly, "We once loved each other."

After saying that, Gao Yang turned and left. He walked out of the park, hailed a taxi, and returned to the hotel where he had booked a room in the morning. In the hotel's duty-free mall, he bought a new set of clothes and returned to the suite. "The information has been altered, and the surveillance footage has been erased. But it cost a lot of energy points," the Origin's voice said.

"Uh-huh," Gao Yang responded softly and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. As soon as he finished and returned to the room, he heard a huge explosion in the distance! Gao Yang didn't even look, pulled the curtains, and lay down on the bed to sleep.

The next morning, Gao Yang checked through the Origin that Lu Lingxue and Li Yuan had returned to the capital. He then had the Origin erase all their travel records. After that, he headed to the airport to fly back to the capital.

Although the Thai police had increased inspections at the airport, Gao Yang, holding a Swiss passport, smoothly passed through security and boarded the plane. That evening, after leaving the capital airport, Gao Yang arrived at the parking lot and found his car gone. He opened his phone and received a message that his car had been towed by the traffic police due to being parked for too long, with the address for retrieval attached. Gao Yang had no choice but to take a taxi home.

In the car, he communicated with the Origin through brain waves, "Have you checked everything?" Gao Yang asked. "Yes, everything is fine on the surface. However, Zhao Chunsheng's father's company has used land and unsold houses as collateral for large loans to launder money. This company is an important hub for an international money laundering group," the Origin replied.

Gao Yang frowned and continued, "Do you have any evidence?" "There are recent money laundering vouchers on the private computer in the chairman's office," the Origin said.

Gao Yang nodded and said, "Use it, we need to resolve this." The operation went smoothly. In the chairman's office, he found the computer, and all the security settings were useless against the Origin. After returning home, the Origin sent the information to Interpol through the internet.

Two days later, Zhao Chunsheng's father, who was in Phuket, was questioned by Interpol. The internet suddenly exposed that his company was heavily in debt, with all assets mortgaged for money laundering, and a large amount of evidence was published. On the day the stock market opened, the company's stock price plummeted to the limit.

The next day, after being released on bail, the chairman was gunned down at Phuket International Airport by a hitman hired by the international money laundering group. The explosion at the Banyan Tree Resort was classified by the Thai police as a gang-related vendetta.

By this time, Gao Yang had already arrived in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The purpose of his visit to South Korea was to purchase steel rails.

The story began two days ago. Gao Yang originally planned to build a high-speed railway from Nanjing to Shanghai in 1925. He intended to invite Lu Yongxiang to participate, offering him land and labor in exchange for equal shares in the railway company.

This railway would have significant benefits for both civilian and military purposes, but Gao Yang's main goal was to capture Shanghai. With the aim of unifying the country, Gao Yang did not care about factional differences; any force that obstructed his unification was an enemy.

Gao Yang originally planned to buy a batch of used steel rails from the railway corporation. With the modern steel production level, these used rails would be top-quality steel in 1925. Gao Yang, through an intermediary, invited a person with close ties to the railway corporation to discuss the purchase of the steel rails.

Gao Yang intended to buy 800 kilometers of used steel rails at the price of new rails for double tracks and spare replacements, but was flatly refused! The receptionist said they wouldn't even see him if not for the senior person accompanying him!

After leaving the railway corporation, Gao Yang invited the senior person to dinner to ask for the reason. After handing over a check, Gao Yang got his answer. The country produces about 2,000 kilometers of scrap rails annually, and over the years, there has been a dedicated downstream buyer, forming a complete profit chain. You want half of it, what will the others eat? The money you offer is a lot, but it goes to the railway corporation, not the staff.

Gao Yang sat on the sofa, speechless, smoking. The senior person said before leaving, "Young man, you still have a lot to learn."

"Really funny, having money but nowhere to spend it?" Gao Yang stubbed out his cigarette and instructed the Origin to search the internet for steel companies selling high-quality steel rails. The Origin quickly gave the answer: "Hyundai Steel."

Exiting Incheon International Airport, the welcoming team from Hyundai Steel was already waiting at the gate, with a long line of cars showing their sincerity. After the SC Trade employee introduced them, Gao Yang got into the car with a Hyundai Steel executive named Choi Jun-hui and headed to the company headquarters.

Hyundai Steel's position in South Korea is very awkward. Although it is known as the world's leading electric furnace steel company, it is overshadowed by POSCO in terms of production, brand, and profit. To change this, Hyundai Steel has been actively expanding its international market, offering the best price-to-performance ratio, which is why the Origin chose Hyundai Steel.

In the VIP lounge of Hyundai Steel, the company president, Kim Sun-jun, personally received Gao Yang. With his Korean language ability activated, Gao Yang listened quietly to President Kim's pleasantries. When the translator began to interpret in Chinese, Gao Yang stopped him, sat up straight, and said to President Kim, "It's simple. I want to buy your company's steel rails. Can you complete this order on time and in full?"

President Kim was slightly taken aback, thinking, "He's really direct." He smiled and said, "Mr. Gao, please state your requirements." "25-meter standard steel rails, 800 kilometers in total for double tracks. Including all accessories, how much will it cost, and when can I receive the goods?"

President Kim looked at his secretary, who quickly provided the answer: "A total of 1.52 million tons of high-quality steel, totaling 1.226 billion US dollars. Delivery can be made within 60 days." After the secretary spoke, President Kim turned to look at Gao Yang.

Gao Yang smiled and said, "Agreed. According to industry standards, I will pay a 30% deposit, 366 million US dollars. Please prepare the contract." Gao Yang paused and then continued, "However, SC Trade is currently experiencing some cash flow issues." The representatives from Hyundai Steel all changed their expressions. Gao Yang continued slowly, "I wonder if your company accepts payment in gold?"