Despite inwardly groaning, Lu Chen's face remained calm and inscrutable.
He asked the question dismissively, then glanced at his phone.
The time showed 8:47, thirteen minutes before his appointment with Du Ling.
Du Ling is usually quite punctual; he shouldn't be late.
He just needs to stall for those thirteen minutes.
His contempt enraged Ding Huochang even more. He roared, "Kid, do you think I wouldn't dare kill you?"
"Why resort to knives and guns?" Lu Chen feigned surprise. "I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to negotiate, to make you return the compensation money you embezzled from those villagers!"
Ding Huochang was taken aback, then laughed viciously, "What right do you have to make me return the money? Do you think you're some kind of emperor who can make me obey with a single word? I'll beat you to a pulp!"
"Master Ding, we advocate a harmonious society now, please don't be so ruthless, okay?" Lu Chen crossed his legs and said earnestly,
"Do you know how pitiful those villagers are? They lost their land, their means of livelihood, and they have nothing left. You withheld so much of their compensation, what are they supposed to do? No rice paddies to cultivate, not even houses to live in. They're already at the bottom of society, struggling to survive! And you still do this, how are you any different from the local tyrants and bullies of the old society?"
Ding Huochang's face grew increasingly grim as he listened.
Lu Chen continued, "No, there's a difference! You're worse than a local tyrant! I beg you, have some humanity! Tell me, can you live with yourself after doing this? No, do you even have a conscience?"
"That's enough!" Ding Huochang slammed his fist on the table, shouting angrily, "What I do is none of your business! Go get that bastard next door and beat him up!"
"Yeah, beat him up! Pin him down on the table, I'll chop off one of his fingers!"
Hong Damao also erupted in anger, suddenly pulling out a dagger.
Seeing the burly men about to attack, Lu Chen gritted his teeth, preparing to stand his ground.
Anyway, there were less than ten minutes left; Du Ling would arrive soon.
Just as a fight was about to break out, suddenly, the door was kicked open.
Immediately afterwards, a large group of burly men rushed in.
"Who dares to make a move?" a cold shout rang out.
Immediately, the burly men lined up, each gripping a pistol. The glint in their eyes clearly indicated they were martial arts practitioners.
Moreover, they were likely even more skilled than Ding Huochang's group.
Ding Huochang's face immediately paled.
Whether in terms of manpower, skill level, or firepower, his side was completely outmatched.
Lu Chen was also taken aback, initially thinking Du Ling had learned of the situation and brought his men. But that seemed unlikely! He couldn't possibly have brought so many people; wouldn't that be infighting?
Then, Lu Chen saw a very imposing bald man stride in from the group.
It was Bald Qiang!
Ding Huochang was taken aback, his eyes narrowing. "Bald Qiang, what are you trying to do? Have you gone mad?"
Bald Qiang rubbed his bald head and chuckled. "I'm not mad, I'm fine. But, Master Ding, you'd better not make a move for my sake. Otherwise, I might have to!"
Hong Damao, standing nearby, suddenly realized. "Damn! I was wondering why that kid was so arrogant. Turns out he has you, Bald Qiang, as his backer! What do you mean by this, Bald Qiang? Trying to take on our Hongqing Hall? You need to think this through! You're just one of Huang Jian's men! He treats us all with respect, so who are you?"
Bald Qiang said menacingly, "Hong Damao, you talk too much. I just want to tell you, I'm not his backer. I can't afford to offend his backer, and neither can you! To put it bluntly, I'm here to stop you from making a mistake!"
Ding Huochang chuckled coldly. "Bald Qiang, who are you trying to scare?"
Bald Qiang's tone grew even colder: "In short, whoever makes a move, I'll take them down!"
With a wave of his hand, his men cocked their guns with a series of clicks. Ding Huochang's men involuntarily took two steps back in fright.
If a fight really broke out, it would be disastrous.
Lu Chen, standing to the side, was somewhat amused and exasperated. He knew perfectly well why Bald Qiang was helping him—it was all because of Shen Tian! But hadn't this gotten a bit out of hand?
Before he could speak, Ding Huochang coldly interrupted, "Bald Qiang, you need to consider the consequences of your actions. By doing this, you're going against the Hongqing Hall. Remember, you represent the Golden Hall! Do you want to incite a bloody war between the Golden Hall and the Hongqing Hall, who have always been on good terms? Can you afford the responsibility? Will Huang Jian forgive you?"
"Hahaha!" Bald Qiang laughed loudly, retaliating in kind, "Hall Master Ding, I've already said I'm doing this to prevent you from making a mistake! Don't try to intimidate me with my boss. You're not qualified to provoke a bloody war between the two halls. You should worry about yourself; you don't even know who you're dealing with! I reckon Boss Du definitely doesn't know you've done this!"
Upon hearing this, Ding Huochang was immediately startled. How did Bald Qiang know?
However, he simply assumed Bald Qiang was just making things up.
He sneered, "With such a large entourage, how could our boss not know? Let me tell you, the guy you're helping is obstructing Hongqing Hall's biggest project right now. I'm here to eliminate him and remove the obstacle. You think our boss wouldn't know? You're clearly talking nonsense!"
Actually, Bald Qiang was somewhat speculating, always feeling that Du Ling and Lu Chen had a good relationship. Besides, there was Pang Bei there to back them up! So, Ding Huochang probably hadn't grasped the situation.
However, hearing him say that, could it be…
It did seem plausible. After all, in this world, there are no eternal enemies, nor eternal friends. Like Bald Qiang, who initially fought Lu Chen to the death, and now he was helping him, wasn't he?
Just as Bald Qiang was pondering this, and Ding Huochang was smugly pleased with himself, a commanding voice rang out again: "That's right, I really didn't know. I didn't know you, Ding Huochang, were so bold, you're a real scoundrel!"
Upon hearing this voice, Lu Chen laughed. Damn it, Old Du had finally arrived.
Looking at the time, it was already 9:10. If Bald Qiang hadn't suddenly appeared and held things off for a while, this place would be a bloodbath by now. He figured even if he wasn't injured, the enemy would have suffered heavy losses.
After all, they were Du Ling's men, and Lu Chen couldn't bear to do anything about it.
Ding Huochang's expression immediately changed, and Hong Damao's face turned pale as well.
Bald Qiang's men quickly moved aside, and a stern-faced man walked in.
It was Du Ling!
He first bowed to Bald Qiang, saying with a mix of apology and gratitude, "Qiang, consider it a favor I owe you. If it weren't for you, I would be in danger. Now I need to deal with some family matters. Please take your men and leave first. Is that alright?"
Bald Qiang smiled slightly, nodded, then glanced at Lu Chen, said nothing, waved his hand, and left with his burly men.
The door closed, and Du Ling first asked Lu Chen, "Are you alright?"
Actually, he didn't know what was going on, or why his brother and subordinate were at odds. He'd just come in and heard Ding Huochang impersonating him, trying to oppose Lu Chen.
What project had Lu Chen been obstructing?
But regardless, Du Ling's first reaction was concern that Lu Chen might misunderstand.
These past few days, Du Ling had also consulted some professionals about the development of the Nicedi project.
Everyone unanimously agreed that building a theme park was far more profitable than building a commercial center. Du Ling had also shared some of Lu Chen's insights with them, and the professionals praised them highly, saying that developing along this path would surely make a fortune.
Besides, Lu Chen was a key figure in communication with the John Wen family!
Therefore, in Du Ling's mind, Lu Chen was a national treasure. Even if he had indeed obstructed something, firstly, it wasn't Ding Huochang's place to intervene, and secondly, Du Ling felt he should even bow his head.
Lu Chen smiled slightly at Du Ling and waved his hand, "It's nothing, just playing around with your men."
Du Ling didn't believe it was a game. Looking at his men, guns were in their hands, bullets loaded—was this how you played? Enraged, he suddenly kicked one of his men, striking him squarely in the thigh.
The kick sent him sprawling.
"You've all rebelled, haven't you? You don't respect me, your leader? Put your guns away, all of you!"
Du Ling roared fiercely.
Everyone turned pale and hurriedly put their guns away.
"What exactly happened?" Du Ling stared at Ding Huochang with a sinister gaze, his eyes filled with a hellish aura. The once arrogant Ding Huochang was now trembling, his body shaking.
And Hong Damao, of course, was even more deathly pale, his lips devoid of color.
"What on earth is going on?" Du Ling roared even louder, suddenly kicking the table. With a whoosh, a marble coffee table flew out, slamming into Ding Huochang and Hong Damao's legs, causing them to scream and fall to the ground, only to quickly scramble to their feet.
Lu Chen grinned, quite satisfied. It seemed Old Du's control over his gang was impeccable.
He was practically a tyrant!
Du Ling's face was ashen. He said, enunciating each word clearly, "Very well, using my name, bringing my elite men, to deal with my brothers! What a fine job you've done! Should I applaud you?"
As he spoke, he actually clapped his hands repeatedly.
The boss's brothers? That kid is the boss's brother?
Instantly, Ding Huochang and Hong Damao's faces fell, completely devoid of life. This was something they never expected! How could such a coincidence happen?
"You two bastards, why aren't you saying what happened?" Du Ling roared again.
Ding Huochang and Hong Damao looked up, exchanging desperate glances, at a loss for words.
Lu Chen spoke up, pointing at Hong Damao: "You, you tell me! Tell Brother Du what you've done! We were the first to meet this afternoon!"
Before Hong Damao could answer, Du Ling suddenly grabbed him and shoved him around violently.
A loud thud, followed by a scream!