Chapter 32

That afternoon, Gao Yang flew back to Beidu. Under the name of SC Trade, he booked a cargo space on a ship heading to South Korea, declaring 600 tons of rice. The next day, Gao Yang took the intercity high-speed train to Tanggu Port. Accompanied by SC Trade staff, he inspected the containers loaded with rice. Gao Yang left a beacon on one of the containers. He then returned to Beidu to notify Hyundai Steel to prepare for the inspection.

Two days later, Gao Yang drove the BMW he had retrieved to Beidu Airport. After meeting with the waiting SC Trade employees, they headed to the departure lounge. Gao Yang went to the restroom and, unnoticed, activated the time travel to 1925 Nanjing. He then traveled again to the container with the beacon, collected all the rice, and placed $366 million worth of gold inside before returning the same way.

Upon arriving in Seoul, Gao Yang met with the group of Hyundai Steel executives, including Director Choi, and they headed to the port. That afternoon, the cargo ship arrived at the port, and after Hyundai Steel completed the receiving procedures, the containers were delivered to Hyundai's warehouse.

Director Choi was speechless when he saw the container of gold opened. Hyundai Steel had already investigated SC Trade and Gao Yang, knowing that Gao Yang had a gold mine in Africa, but its output was too low to cover such a huge contract.

Several company directors called Gao Yang a fraud. However, President Kim Seon-joon insisted on not jumping to conclusions until the facts were clear and sent Director Choi to the port to inspect the goods.

A neatly stacked mountain of gold bars! Regaining his composure, Director Choi waved for the accompanying experts to come forward for inspection, but he felt intuitively that it was real! He put on a smile and walked to Gao Yang, saying, "Mr. Gao, your choice of our Hyundai Steel is truly our company's greatest honor. President Kim has arranged a welcome banquet for you tonight, and we hope you will grace us with your presence."

"Thank you, President," Gao Yang said with a smile.

The inspection was quickly completed, and Director Choi reported the positive results to President Kim. He then invited Gao Yang to get in the car and return to Seoul. The gold was naturally transported to a secure location by experts.

In the afternoon at Hyundai Steel's headquarters, Gao Yang signed the steel rail purchase contract with President Kim. Hyundai Steel would deliver 1.52 million tons of finished steel, worth $1.22 billion, to SC Trade within 60 days of the contract signing. If there was a breach, Hyundai Steel would pay Gao Yang $70 million in penalties for each day of delay. If SC Trade failed to pay the remaining amount within 48 hours after inspection, the deposit would be forfeited. Before signing, President Kim proactively reduced the price by $6 million.

That evening, at a high-end club in Gangnam, Seoul, Hyundai Steel held a grand welcome banquet for Gao Yang. Gao Yang politely declined President Kim's offer to introduce him to the upper echelons of Korean business and sat quietly in a VIP room on the second floor.

Gently swaying his wine glass, Gao Yang looked through the one-way glass at the men and women mingling in the first-floor hall. "Without the Origin, this would be a place I could never reach in my entire life. It's good to be alive," Gao Yang said softly.

After the recent series of events, Gao Yang now just wanted to rest quietly and think about important matters, such as how to develop his influence in 1925 to gain more energy points. As the energy points increased, Gao Yang also wanted to make a big move in the modern world, as the gap between the two timelines was significant. Sitting on the sofa, he kept drinking the premium red wine on the coffee table, and in less than an hour, he had consumed half a bottle.

The aftereffects of the red wine were strong, and Gao Yang felt a bit dizzy and a strong urge to use the restroom. He got up and left the VIP room, heading to the restroom. After using the toilet, he splashed cold water on his face at the sink, feeling much better.

Turning to leave the restroom, at the corner opposite the ladies' restroom, Gao Yang saw three men surrounding two long-haired girls. The girls were facing away, so he couldn't see their faces. Gao Yang frowned slightly; such an incident should not happen at a high-profile banquet, as it would be very disrespectful to the host.

The three men, facing Gao Yang, ignored him and focused on the girls. One of them, a tall man with a middle part hairstyle, smiled and said, "Where do you think you can run this time? If you don't agree to date me, I'll keep you company tonight. Hehehe."

Gao Yang, already in a bad mood, was reminded of a painful past and felt a surge of anger, activating his combat ability from the Origin. However, before he could act, one of the girls suddenly slapped the tall man's face! The man, stunned, reacted and cursed, reaching out to grab the girl.

Jung Soo-jung deeply regretted coming to the banquet that day. She couldn't refuse the company's arrangement, but she never expected to encounter Jin Sun-yeong, the son of the DNS company president, who had been harassing her. Although she had been hiding with her senior colleague, Seo-hyun, they were cornered outside the restroom.

Enraged by Jin Sun-yeong's words, she instinctively slapped him. However, she and Seo-hyun were just women and couldn't fight three grown men. As Jin Sun-yeong reached for her, Jung Soo-jung was about to scream when a hand suddenly grabbed Jin Sun-yeong's arm!

Everyone was stunned and turned to look at the arm's owner. Gao Yang smiled and, before Jin Sun-yeong could speak, twisted his arm with force. "Ah!" Jin Sun-yeong let out an inhuman scream as his arm was dislocated.

Letting go of the howling Jin Sun-yeong, who collapsed on the ground in tears, the other two men reacted and charged at Gao Yang. "Bang, bang" two heavy blows sounded, and the two bodyguards were instantly kicked down.

Gao Yang clapped his hands and turned to Jung Soo-jung, saying, "Are you okay?" Jung Soo-jung stared at Gao Yang, completely stunned. A real prince had come to her rescue in her time of need! Yes, he wasn't white or handsome, but it was still a pleasant surprise.

"Thank you for your help, I'm sorry to have caused you trouble," Seo-hyun, who had recovered, bowed to Gao Yang.

"Yes, be more careful in the future," Gao Yang said, recognizing the two girls. They were Korean female artists, and he had heard their songs before, never expecting to meet them in such a situation.

"Thank you for your help, I'm sorry to have caused you trouble," Jung Soo-jung, now recovered, bowed to Gao Yang.

Just as Gao Yang was about to speak, a group of security guards rushed over, drawn by Jin Sun-yeong's screams. "Catch him! Catch him!" The security guards, recognizing Jin Sun-yeong, charged at Gao Yang.

Jung Soo-jung and Seo-hyun hurriedly shouted, "No, no," but they were too flustered to explain properly.

Gao Yang smiled, stepped forward, and pulled the two girls behind him. He cracked his knuckles and said lightly, "I've always wanted to experience the feeling of fighting a hundred people like in martial arts movies. This is interesting." He then charged at the security guards.

Jung Soo-jung and Seo-hyun were amazed; they had never seen anyone so fierce! One man fighting dozens! His punches were powerful, and his movements were swift and precise. Gao Yang's actions were quick and efficient, with no unnecessary movements, each strike knocking down an opponent. He clenched his lips and focused intently on each security guard until he knocked them down and moved to the next.

In a short time, Gao Yang found himself facing the stairs leading to the first-floor banquet hall, with all the security guards lying on the ground.

The first-floor hall was now quiet, and everyone was looking at Gao Yang at the top of the stairs. He took a deep breath, wiped the blood from his hands on his clothes, and straightened his attire before walking down to the first floor.

When Gao Yang reached the first-floor hall, several security guards rushed over, pulling out their guns and pointing them at him. Others rushed upstairs. There were gasps from the crowd, but no one panicked and fled. "This is different from the movies; these extras have high standards," Gao Yang thought, not paying attention to the security guards.

Looking around the first floor, he saw that no one from Hyundai Steel who knew him was in sight. What was going on? Jin Sun-yeong, supported by the security guards, also came to the first-floor hall and pointed at Gao Yang, shouting, "Bastard, do you know who I am? Kill him! Kill him! I'll take responsibility for anything that happens!" It seemed his dislocated arm had been reset by the security guards.

A deep voice then rang out, "Who dares to be rude to my guest!" President Kim appeared like a police officer in a crime drama. He had just held a short meeting with Hyundai Steel's executives in a VIP room, focusing on how to secure Gao Yang as a major client. He never expected such an incident to occur.

Jin Sun-yeong, representing his father at the banquet, fell silent upon seeing President Kim, whom even his father had to look up to. President Kim quickly walked to Gao Yang, bowed slightly, and said, "I am truly sorry for disappointing you. This is all due to my poor arrangements." Without asking for the reason, he apologized, and the guests immediately realized that Gao Yang was someone special. Jin Sun-yeong's face turned ashen; he knew he had picked the wrong fight!

Jung Soo-jung and Seo-hyun also hurried to the first-floor hall, unsure of what to do. Gao Yang smiled at them but said nothing, turning to President Kim and saying, "This is quite an unusual welcome ceremony."

(PS: I'm really sorry everyone, I worked overtime until very late today and posted this late. I'll be working overtime all day tomorrow, so I'm feeling quite miserable.)