Chapter 463 - 328: Vast Black Market, Cooperation Terms

Chapter 463: Chapter 328: Vast Black Market, Cooperation Terms

Tian Zhongshan naturally understood what Han Yuan meant. "I’ll give you an extra ten percent as a thank-you fee when the time comes."

Han Yuan was overjoyed. "Thank you, Second Young Master! I’m at the cafe in XX Gardens on XX Road right now. He’s here at this very moment. He said he would wait for you for one hour. So, you see..."

Tian Zhongshan’s breathing immediately grew heavy. "I’m on my way. You absolutely must keep him there."

After saying this, Tian Zhongshan hung up the phone, hurriedly left the nightclub, and drove toward the location Han Yuan had mentioned.

Meanwhile, the proprietor had finished preparing all the ammunition Wu Liangchen needed.

Wu Liangchen inspected it. After confirming there were no issues, he paid and then packed all the ammunition into a bag.

The full weight of over a hundred pounds felt as light as a feather in Wu Liangchen’s hands.

Then he sat down and glanced at the clock on the wall.

There were still twenty-five minutes left of the hour. He decided to wait.

The proprietor, of course, knew someone would be coming. But for the sake of his many years of friendship with Han Yuan, and for the twenty-percent commission he had been promised, the man said nothing. He just silently locked the door to the armory in the back and then left.

Tian Zhongshan arrived far faster than Wu Liangchen had expected.

With ten minutes still left of the hour, the ROAR of an engine suddenly broke the silence outside. Headlights flared to life as a supercar sped over at lightning speed and screeched to a halt in front of the cafe.

Fortunately, the area was remote and there were almost no other vehicles on the street, which was how Tian Zhongshan had been able to drive at such a breakneck pace.

The scissor doors lifted, and Tian Zhongshan stepped out. He glanced at the inconspicuous cafe, took a deep breath, and then slowed his pace as he walked inside.

Han Yuan was already waiting obsequiously by the door. The moment he saw Tian Zhongshan enter, his face was all smiles.

"Second Young Master..."

"I’ll have my secretary send your share over tomorrow," Tian Zhongshan said coldly.

Han Yuan immediately bowed. "Thank you, Second Young Master. I won’t disturb you any further, then."

With that, he turned and left, not forgetting to close the door on his way out.

Tian Zhongshan strode to Wu Liangchen’s table but did not rush to sit down. Instead, he looked at the man who was now the talk of all Qing Province and spoke slowly.

"The Sun family is currently rallying the other major families to pressure the black market through the Alliance Government. Their goal is singular: to dig you out."

As a show of good faith, Tian Zhongshan had opened with a bombshell.

This is a good point to briefly introduce the underground black market of Qing Province, and indeed, of the entire Alliance.

The Alliance Government’s laws were notoriously strict. If they were enforced to the letter, many commonplace transactions would be illegal.

For example, mechanical modification of the human body was illegal. According to Alliance regulations, only state-trained soldiers and individuals with severe disabilities untreatable by conventional medicine were permitted to undergo such procedures.

This also required a long and tedious certification process, which was so troublesome that almost no one went through with it.

Just as light casts shadows, the Alliance’s complex and draconian regulations laid the foundation for the black market’s existence.

To get a mechanical modification here, you only needed one thing: money.

Beyond that, no one cared who you were or why you wanted the modification.

Even people within the Alliance Government would choose to do business on the black market.

Compared to the long and tedious official government procedures, the black market—where money got things done—was simply too convenient and efficient.

Over time, this led to the emergence of a massive underground black market within the Alliance. Besides contraband like human organs, human trafficking, mechanical modifications, high-quality counterfeit Martial Veins, weapons, ammunition, and hallucinogenic drugs, it even offered everyday goods.

And the Alliance Government simply turned a blind eye to it all.

As for the major families, they were the direct beneficiaries of the black market trade.

Take the Sun family, for instance. Their primary business was producing all sorts of mechanical modification parts.

And in the end, nearly ninety percent of these parts flowed into the black market.

But now, in order to smoke out Wu Liangchen, Sun Fusheng was willing to go so far as to unite the major families to pressure the black market’s intricate network of merchants, all for the sake of digging Wu Liangchen out.

After all, everyone knew that the weapons Wu Liangchen used must have been purchased from the black market.

But after hearing this, Wu Liangchen showed no sign of panic. Instead, he chuckled.

"It seems Sun Fusheng is truly relentless. He absolutely won’t rest until he’s caught me."

"Of course. It’s not just because you killed his favorite grandson, but also because your actions have severely challenged the Sun family’s authority. If he can’t handle this properly, the Sun family can forget about doing business peacefully in the future." Tian Zhongshan sat down and spoke with great candor.

Although he had seen Wu Liangchen’s face through various channels, now that they were face-to-face, Tian Zhongshan couldn’t help but marvel internally.

’This Wu Liangchen... whether in terms of bearing or looks, he’s truly one in a million.’

This was one of the reasons his actions had caused such a massive stir.

As far as Tian Zhongshan knew, many young ladies from prominent families had shown a strong interest in Wu Liangchen.

Of course, this interest wasn’t like his own sister’s, who wanted to dig up Wu Liangchen’s secrets and possess him for herself.

It was more a desire to conquer him and then show him off as a trophy.

After all, conquering such an outstanding foreign Martial Cultivator and making him fall at their feet would be the ultimate testament to their own charm.

"So, you came to see me just to tell me all this?" Wu Liangchen lifted his eyes to look at Tian Zhongshan across the table and spoke slowly.

"That’s one reason. Besides that, I wanted to let you know that Tian Yushi’s actions represent her alone. They have nothing to do with me."

Looking at Tian Zhongshan’s earnest expression, Wu Liangchen smiled but didn’t press the issue, simply saying faintly,

"That man from before said you wanted to cooperate with me. So, I’d like to know, what is this cooperation you’re proposing?"

Tian Zhongshan let out a long breath, his spirits lifting inwardly.

’He’s asking. That means my goal is already half-achieved.’

’Now is the time to show my sincerity.’

"I do indeed wish to cooperate with you. My situation is somewhat unique. I have an older brother above me and a prodigiously talented younger sister below me. I’m stuck in the middle, under immense pressure."

Tian Zhongshan then gave a brief overview of his situation, his eyes fixed intently on Wu Liangchen.

"Therefore, I need a top-tier expert like you to help me compete. Otherwise, I’m bound to lose this struggle."

This was Tian Zhongshan’s way of showing sincerity: laying bare the predicament he faced without reservation.

Wu Liangchen listened quietly, saying nothing.

Tian Zhongshan continued, "What I can do is guarantee that no matter how the Sun family searches, they will never find you. And once the storm blows over, I will provide you with a perfect new identity, allowing you to stand in the light once more."

On his way here, Tian Zhongshan had carefully considered his strategy. He knew that to recruit an expert of Wu Liangchen’s caliber, ordinary offers of wealth and women would be useless. The only way was to target his weak spot.

That was why he had played his biggest trump card right from the start.

Unexpectedly, after hearing all this, Wu Liangchen didn’t show the slightest hint of being moved. Instead, he laughed.

"That sounds rather nice. A pity... I have no intention of letting the Sun family off the hook!"

Huh?

Tian Zhongshan never dreamed Wu Liangchen would say such a thing. He was stunned.

An ordinary person, facing a behemoth like the Sun family, even after a few lucky victories, would surely be thinking about how to end the conflict as quickly as possible and get their life back on track.

But from the sound of it, Wu Liangchen had no intention of letting this go. He was going to continue fighting the Sun family.

This was something Tian Zhongshan had not anticipated in the slightest.

At the same time, Wu Liangchen sat up straight, his expression finally turning serious.

"So, if you truly want to cooperate with me, you’d be better off doing something for me instead."

"What is it?"

"I want all the detailed information you have on the Sun family, the exact locations of all their factories, and... detailed structural blueprints of the Sun family’s headquarters!"