Chapter 617: Undercurrents Swirl!
Suburbs. Villa
Just as Li Yi and Old Li were at the Li family estate discussing how to smash the golden platter and steal from the Zhai family, several fair-haired, blue-eyed foreigners were gathering in a lavish villa on the outskirts of Hong Kong Island.
As core members of the British-owned conglomerate, they had all gathered specifically because of Li Yi’s sudden appearance.
On the spacious terrace of the estate villa, five elderly white men sat around a round table, with several bottles of expensive red wine and a few simple dishes laid out on it.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in his fifties sitting at the edge of the table spoke with a grave expression: “Sir, that young man from across the strait has come to Hong Kong again. Are you aware of this?”
The elderly white man in the center gently swirled the wine in his glass before replying calmly, “Hans just called to tell me.”
“Sir, what should we do now? Should we halt our operations against Starry Sky Corporation?”
“Why should we stop?”
“Sir, I’m worried…”
Before he could finish, the Duke cut him off coldly: “Smith, he’s just a Chinese man. Why are you so flustered? No matter how capable he is, this is still the territory of the British Empire. It’s not his place to strut around here!”
Smith fell silent for a few seconds, then spoke again: “Sir, you’re right—this is indeed our territory. I’m just worried that the arrival of that young man might interfere with our operation to hunt down that traitor, Li Jiuying!”
“Do you think that young man would help Li? They have a deep-seated grudge against each other,” the Jazz said, frowning.
Smith replied in a low voice, “But they’ve already made peace. Besides, there’s an old Chinese saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As far as they’re concerned, we’re their common enemy—they might very well join forces!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than another elderly white man nearby chimed in, “Smith is right. If that young man knew what had been happening lately, he’d most likely side with the Li family.”
“Because the Chinese are accustomed to prioritizing the greater good and understand the principle that ‘when the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold’—just as they did thirty years ago when they sent troops to North Korea, even at the cost of confronting the entire Western world!”
However, the Jazz said with a look of disdain, “The outcome is already decided. What difference would that young man make? Unless he can help the Li family secure a supply route, no one can save them!”
Seeing the confident look on the Jazz’s face, the few people around him all fell silent.
To take down Li Jiuying, they had mobilized vast resources over the past month—not only cutting off all of the Li family’s gold supply but even going so far as to buy up nearly half of the gold financial products on the market.
Yet even so, the Li family had still not yielded. More importantly, not a single one of their 36 gold shops in Hong Kong Island City had closed.
Consequently, the others present were nowhere near as confident as the Duke.
More importantly, if the Li family alone was this difficult to deal with, adding a young man who was even more troublesome to the mix left them with even less confidence in victory.
Moreover, compared to Lai Jiuying, that young man’s tactics were even more terrifying; they had suffered crushing defeats in several confrontations.
Right now, the young man’s Starry Sky Company held tens of billions in capital—a strength sufficient to threaten their businesses on Hong Kong Island. Even with the Governor on their side, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
“Sir, that young man is a genius with extraordinary business acumen. According to intelligence our people have sent back from the mainland, the prize-based sales model currently sweeping the nation is his brainchild. To go up against such a genius, we must be on high alert!” Smith said.
Hearing this and recalling the young man’s recent moves on Hong Kong Island, everyone instinctively nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. Evidence suggests that Starry Sky has already sold off all its gold securities. This single investment in gold alone has netted them tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars. Such foresight and capability are truly formidable!”
“In a business competition, it’s indeed very difficult for us to defeat him…”
Just then, Smith suddenly spoke up: “Gentlemen, that young man appeared at Star Corporation out of nowhere, yet our informants at Customs have found no record of him entering the territory. It’s possible he didn’t enter Hong Kong through official channels. Could we use this opportunity to investigate him?”
“Are you suggesting we use the Governor’s Office to take him down?” the Jazz asked, furrowing his brow.
“Yes. As long as he can’t produce proof of entry, we can charge him with illegal entry…”
Before he could finish, the Jazz shook his head and said, “No!”
“Why?”
The Jazz replied in a grave tone, “Negotiations with the mainland have recently reached an impasse. Reports indicate they’re prepared to retake Hong Kong Island by force—all they need now is a plausible pretext.”
“Sir, are you suggesting this young man did this on purpose…”
Before he could finish, the Chief Executive cut him off: “Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, we cannot give them this opportunity. Therefore, our conflict with Starry Sky Corporation must be resolved through commercial means. The Governor’s Office absolutely must not get involved—at least not publicly!”
Upon hearing this, the room fell silent!
Defeating that young man through business means alone was simply beyond their capabilities!
Noticing the heavy atmosphere, the Jazz said calmly, “That young man does have some business acumen, but he is not invincible!”
“Sir, do you have a plan to deal with that young man?”
“Previously, we underestimated him, which is why we gave him an opening. From now on, we must focus all our efforts on dealing with that young man and his Starry Sky Company!”
The Duke continued, “First, all members of the British Capital Group are prohibited from collaborating with Starry Sky Corporation—especially the banking sector. Whether they seek financing, loans, or any other business, we must refuse them outright.”
“Second, inform all our partner companies that they must choose between us and Starry Sky.”
“Sir, are you planning to blacklist Starry Sky across the entire industry?”
The Jazz replied calmly, “It’s too late to completely shut them down now, and it wouldn’t be very effective. This move is meant to signal our stance to Hong Kong Island’s high society! While we can’t completely eliminate them, we can isolate Starry Company to a certain extent.”
“Furthermore, while we can’t target Star Company directly, we can go after the people around him—especially that Huang at the Wan Chai Pier. You could say he’s that young man’s Achilles’ heel in Hong Kong!”
Smith nodded and said, “That’s indeed a good idea. We’ve already set a few traps for that Huang, and it’s time to make our move!”
The Duke immediately said, “Smith, contact the other members on my behalf and instruct them to strictly adhere to the bottom line—under no circumstances are they to cooperate with Huang’s people.”
“Also, have the Governor’s Office step in to continue rigorous inspections of Huang’s fleet and casinos. If any issues are found, show no mercy.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Also, didn’t you guys make contact with Jiang’s people a while back? How’s that going?”
“They’re willing to cooperate with us, but they’re wary of Huang’s power. So I’ve sent men from the Black Dragon Hall to work with them. As soon as the timing is right, the two groups can work together from the inside and outside to completely wipe out Huang’s forces!” Smith said.
“Good. Speed up the operation. Once Huang is taken out, that young man will be as good as having one arm cut off!” the Jazz said coldly.
“Yes, I’ll make the arrangements right away…”
……….