Chapter 852: Closing the Door on the Dog—The Finishing Blow!

Gusta understood what Li Yi meant. His greatest leverage in today’s “power struggle” was the support of shareholders Yang and Hu.

But if these two didn’t back him, his shareholding wouldn’t be enough to secure a controlling stake, and he’d naturally have no grounds to dissolve the board.

In that case, regaining control of New Territory Warehouse from Li Yi would be nothing but a joke.

He considered this possibility, but quickly dismissed it with a shake of his head. These two likely didn’t have the guts to betray him—after all…

Gusta immediately turned his gaze toward shareholders Yang and Hu, then said, “Mr. Yang, Mr. Hu, please tell everyone here: which side do you support?”

As soon as he spoke, all eyes in the room turned to Yang Lianying and Hu Guangdao, eager to know which side they would choose.

Yang Lianying was the first to stand up and say, “Mr. Gusta, in my heart, I certainly support you…”

Hearing this, a smug smile spread across Gusta’s face, and a hint of contempt crept into his gaze as he looked at Li Yi.

However, before his smug expression could last even a few seconds, Yang Lianying changed her tone and added, “But my support is meaningless, because the shares I hold are merely held in trust for someone else!”

Holding shares on behalf of others?

Before Gusta could react, Hu Guangda, standing nearby, also rose to his feet and said, “Mr. Gusta, my situation is the same as Mr. Yang’s—all of our shares are held in trust for Mr. Li Yi!”

Whoosh!

The entire conference room erupted in an instant; this twist had come completely out of the blue.

Gusta had thought victory was assured, but he never imagined that his two allies had been planted as spies from the very beginning—this was truly outrageous.

Gusta was also caught off guard. He had gone to great lengths to pressure Yang Lianying and Hu Guangdao.

He never imagined that in the end, the two were merely puppets, and that the 9% stake had belonged to Star Investment from the very beginning.

He’d been duped!

With that thought, Gusta glared at Yang Lianying and Hu Guangdao and snarled, “Fine… very well. You dare to play me? You’ll pay the price for this!”

Just then, Li Yi’s voice suddenly rang out in the conference room: “A price? Do you mean Mr. Yang and Mr. Hu’s families?”

“You…”

Before Gusta could finish, Li Yi sneered, “Gusta, you’re just as despicable, shameless, and sleazy as the rest of your family. You always resort to underhanded tactics in business, constantly spouting about being a gentleman while harboring nothing but thievery and debauchery in your heart.”

“You thought that by having people kidnap Mr. Yang and Mr. Hu’s families, you could force them to comply. But let me tell you, your plan has backfired—I’ve already rescued Mr. Yang and Mr. Hu’s families!”

Hearing this, everyone present was stunned once again.

They had assumed this was just a routine business dispute, but they never expected Gusta to be so ruthless. To secure the support of the Yang and Hu families and seize control of the company, Gusta had actually resorted to threatening them with the safety of Yang Lianying and Hu Guangdao’s families.

They say one’s family should never be harmed—Gustav’s actions had completely crossed everyone’s line.

In an instant, all eyes turned to Gusta.

“You… I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Gusta, it doesn’t matter if you don’t admit it—that’s not what we’re here to discuss today!”

Li Yi continued, “Although you hold 43% of the company’s shares, that doesn’t meet the threshold for a controlling stake. Therefore, your motion to dissolve the board has been rejected. Do you have anything else to say?”

Gusta glared at Li Yi, his eyes blazing with fury. “I admit I underestimated you before, but it doesn’t matter. We’ll have plenty of chances to face off. Just you wait!”

With that, Gusta immediately stood up, preparing to leave the company that had left him utterly humiliated.

However, Li Yi coldly interjected, “Mr. Gusta, we are about to make major adjustments to the company’s equity structure and business direction. As the second-largest shareholder, you’d be wise to listen.”

“You…”

Li Yi ignored him, instead glancing at the crowd present before speaking again, “Following a decision by our Star Investment Company, we will inject 10 billion Hong Kong dollars into New Frontier Warehouse Management Company effective immediately and redistribute the company’s shares. Do any of the shareholders have any objections?”

At these words, the expressions of everyone present—whether it was Gusta, Dolsen, or the other members of the British-owned group—changed.

If Yang Lianying and Hu Guangdao had merely been Li Yi’s way of toying with Gusta, then this was his true killing move—and a decisive one at that.

With the major shareholder injecting capital, the other shareholders had only two choices: either follow suit and inject capital to prevent their shares from being diluted, or refuse to inject capital and accept the dilution of their holdings.

For Gusta, however, either choice was a painful one.

After all, his goal was clear: either seize control of the company to secure long-term benefits, or make a huge profit to replenish his family’s finances.

If they were to inject capital alongside Li Yi, not only would they have to invest a massive amount of funds, but they might also find themselves stuck with the investment for the long term—which is not in their best interest.

But if they don’t invest, given the company’s current market value, if Starry Sky invests 10 billion, their stake would be diluted to just one-quarter of its original size.

Their 43% stake would instantly shrink to around 10%. With such a small share, what kind of influence could they possibly wield in the company?

Just as everyone was deep in thought, Yang Lianying, the so-called “puppet shareholder,” stood up and declared, “I agree with Mr. Li’s proposal to inject capital!”

“I agree too!” Hu Guangdao added loudly.

“I agree too…”

Just then, Gusta spoke up loudly, “I disagree. The company is performing well and has no need for shareholder capital injections. I object!”

Li Yi said calmly, “The objection is invalid!”

“Hmph, then you lot can play by yourselves. I’m going to sell off every single share I own!” Gusta said angrily.

“Suit yourself. But I can assure you that on Hong Kong Island, no one but me will take those non-tradable shares off your hands!” Li Yi said coldly.

“You think you can just walk away? No way!”

After planning for so many days, Li Yi intended to trap Gusta completely; there was no way he’d let them cut their losses and walk away so easily.

He knew full well that while Gusta and his crew had traveled all the way to Hong Kong to redeem themselves, their primary goal was to make money and replenish the Sassoon family’s coffers.

Targeting this objective, Li Yi had devised this “trap them in” plan. Whether or not Gusta made a profit was irrelevant; as long as he prevented them from withdrawing their funds in the short term, it would be enough to make these bastards suffer.

This was also why Li Yi had insisted on secretly ceding a portion of non-tradable shares to Gusta—after all, non-tradable shares couldn’t be sold off at will.

Moreover, he had already mapped out his strategy: if Gusta chose to follow through and co-invest in the New Territories Warehouse with him, the moment their funds hit the account, he would immediately propose a second round of investment, forcing them to keep bleeding money.

In any case, Li Yi had already planned a comprehensive renovation and expansion of New Territories Warehouse. He intended to take advantage of the current favorable conditions—with land prices and labor costs at rock bottom—to develop this prime property.

It’s important to note that starting next year, Hong Kong Island’s economy would bottom out and rebound, a trend that would continue through 1987.

With political stability on Hong Kong Island in the coming years, the property and stock markets would soar. The Hang Seng Index would climb from just over 700 points in 1983 to 3,949 points, a fivefold increase.

If he seizes this opportunity to expand aggressively, the market value of the New Territories warehouse could very well reach 100 billion Hong Kong dollars by 1987.

If Gustaf chooses to flee, he must be prepared to suffer massive losses.

After all, most of these shares were bought back at high prices; even if sold at current prices, they would still incur a loss of about 60%.

Clearly, Gusta understood the situation he was in. Gritting his teeth, he said, “We need to think this over. We can’t give you an answer right now!”

“I’m giving you three days to consider it. If we haven’t received a response by then, we’ll take it as your voluntary withdrawal from the investment opportunity!” Li Yi said in a stern voice.

Gusta said nothing. Instead, his face ashen, he stood up from his seat and walked straight out.

Seeing this, the other members of the British-owned group followed suit.

Just as Gus was about to walk past Li Yi, he suddenly stopped and said in a menacing tone, “Li, this isn’t over yet. We’ll see about this!”

“A defeated general has no right to boast of courage. If you’ve got what it takes, bring it on!” Li Yi said with a cold laugh.

“Fine, very well!”

With that, Gusta quickly led his men out of the New Territories Warehouse Management Company!

As soon as Gusta and his men had left, the entire conference room erupted in thunderous applause that went on and on!