As night fell, a Bentley drove up to an abandoned construction site.

Xu Yi wore a black suit with a black shirt, no tie, arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed in meditation.

The assistant beside him: “Director Xu, we’re here.”

Xu Yi slowly opened his eyes, glanced out the car window, and said, “You all go back first. I want to sit here quietly for a while.”

The assistant hesitated: “Should we leave someone?” Besides the driver, there was also a bodyguard in the car.

“No need.”

They all got out and left. Xu Yi lit a cigarette and slowly smoked it to the end. He took off his suit jacket and tossed it in the car, opened the storage compartment beside his seat, took out a dagger and tucked it in his pocket. His gaze paused. He reached into the very bottom of the storage compartment and pulled out a paper bag—inside was a small handgun.

His vision suddenly blurred for an instant, as if seeing double images. He saw another hand putting the gun back, taking only the dagger.

This hallucination flashed by in an instant.

Xu Yi stared at the handgun, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. Was that from the previous timeline?

Then today he would make a different choice.

He fastened the holster around his waist, put his suit jacket back on, pushed open the door and got out.

Walking forward several dozen meters, he reached an ochre-colored old factory building. A black jeep was parked there. A person walked out from behind the building, saying with a smile, “Assistant Xu is very punctual.”

Xu Yi stopped about ten meters away and said, “Speak. What is it this time?”

The current Cheng Chuan was like a completely different person from years ago. He’d gotten fat and dark, added two scars on his face. He wasn’t wearing his frame glasses—he must be wearing contact lenses, his eyeballs noticeably protruding. He’d lost all of his former restraint and false kindness. The sinister energy once hidden deep behind his lenses was now written all over his face.

He said coldly: “I should thank Assistant Xu—now such a big boss, yet when I call, a reformed criminal like me, you’re still willing to come out. Indeed, the information and past events about Fu Ming that I have in my hands are still valuable.”

Xu Yi put both hands in his pants pockets, saying nothing.

Yet his handsomeness, his nobility, his cleanliness and calmness—all of it irritated Cheng Chuan’s nerves. Cheng Chuan suddenly erupted in anger, roaring: “Three hundred thousand? Last time I came to you, you thought three hundred thousand would be enough to send me away? I thought about it afterwards—that’s not right! The dignified chairman of Muchen Group, what’s your net worth? Five billion? Ten billion? If it weren’t for me back then, where would you, Xu Yi, have gotten all that money for startup capital? I was Zhang Moyun’s best friend. You siblings only had clout at Fu Ming because you borrowed my influence!”

“So what exactly do you want?”

“I want shares in Muchen Group!” Cheng Chuan’s eyes gleamed strangely. He said through clenched teeth, “Give me five percent—no! Ten percent! If you do, what happened back then will rot in my belly. Once I become a Muchen shareholder, our prosperity and ruin will be tied together. You can rest completely at ease!”

Xu Yi took off his glasses, pulled out a lens cloth from his pocket, and meticulously wiped them, saying: “Aren’t you afraid I’ll have someone take you out?”

Cheng Chuan laughed heartily: “Everyone walks by the river, but I’m the one who’s barefoot. Let me tell you the truth—I’ve kept backup copies of that information, given to a fellow inmate. If I die, he’ll immediately report to the police. When that happens, we’ll both go down together, and your life is worth much more than mine.”

Anger finally appeared on Xu Yi’s face, his chest rising and falling with rapid breathing.

Cheng Chuan said smugly: “How about it, Assistant Xu, can you give me the shares? It’s better to resolve grievances than to nurse them. I don’t want to oppose you either. I just want to take back what should be mine. From now on we’ll make money together. I can even manage finances for you. We’ll turn our enmity into friendship, and you can sleep soundly. Isn’t that good? After all, I was once your brother-in-law. We still have some connection.”

Xu Yi looked at him coldly. After a moment of silence, he said: “One percent at most.”

Cheng Chuan scoffed: “Are you sending away a beggar?”

“Muchen’s current market value is close to ten billion!”

Cheng Chuan’s heart pounded, but he only agreed to meet halfway: “Five percent! Not a bit less!”

“Three percent is my bottom line. The shares aren’t in my hands alone—they have to pass through the board of directors. Any more will raise suspicion and won’t be operational. I can supplement you with another ten million in cash, no more. But I have conditions. All the information and backups in your possession must be completely destroyed. Once you take the money, you leave the country and don’t come back.”

Cheng Chuan actually wanted to stay in the country, hold Muchen shares, and ideally manage a subsidiary company. But the temptation of three hundred million was simply too great. His Adam’s apple rolled as he decided to agree first. As for whether he’d make other demands in the future—well, it wasn’t just Xu Yi’s decision alone anyway.

Both were well-versed in finance and company operations. They roughly discussed the operational method. Xu Yi agreed to first help him register a shell company, create a respectable yet mysterious identity for him, then transfer three percent of his personal company shares. They discussed specifics including how to handle the accounting and what to tell the board of directors. Cheng Chuan’s heart grew hotter and hotter. He finally believed that Xu Yi, now a towering tree that attracted the wind, truly couldn’t contain what happened back then—the matter was simply too big. He genuinely hoped to spend money to avoid disaster.

“I’ve shown my sincerity. What about you?” Xu Yi asked, leaning against Cheng Chuan’s car door.

Cheng Chuan answered with a chuckle: “Director Xu, rest assured, I’m only in it for the money. If what happened back then came out, I’d have to go back to prison too. But the shares and money aren’t in my hands yet, so I can’t give you the materials right now.”

“Then how are my interests guaranteed? Without seeing the materials, the shares won’t be transferred to you.”

“Fine, I’ll give you my copy first. That should be enough sincerity, right?” Cheng Chuan said. “Once the shares are transferred, I’ll call my fellow inmate over and destroy his copy in front of you, guaranteed clean and complete.”

“All the residences and belongings of you and everyone around you, plus electronic devices and accounts—I’ll have people clean through everything once.”

Cheng Chuan’s heart sank, but he agreed first: “No problem.”

Xu Yi: “Where’s your copy?”

Cheng Chuan understood—only by seeing the materials with his own eyes and believing in their weight would Xu Yi be willing to pay the price. He smiled and said, “Far away in the heavens, yet right before your eyes.” He walked toward the trunk and bent down to open it.

Xu Yi followed. A sharp blade appeared in his palm, stabbing straight into Cheng Chuan’s lower back. Cheng Chuan’s whole body trembled. However, after five years of struggling and crawling in prison, he was no longer the pampered executive of years past. Enduring the pain, he suddenly turned around and threw a punch at Xu Yi’s face.

Xu Yi tilted his head and easily dodged. He’d always been an extremely cautious person. Over these years, as his business grew bigger and his wealth multiplied, though bodyguards accompanied him everywhere, he never skipped his daily fitness and combat training—all for self-protection in extreme situations. The combat instructor he hired was naturally a top expert. By himself alone, he could handle three opponents without problem. This was why he dared to have all the bodyguards leave today and come to this meeting alone—he wouldn’t let a third person hear a single word of what Cheng Chuan had to say.