Chapter 765 - 338: I Don’t Think It Should Be Played This Way

’He figured Xu Yun must also be someone with powerful connections.’

’If only he were willing to talk to his family, this whole situation wouldn’t be so difficult!’

After leaving Xino’s House, Xu Yun was in the car, being driven home by Uncle He.

When they arrived at the garage of Jiangcheng Heaven and Earth, he didn’t get out of the car right away.

Uncle He looked in the rearview mirror but didn’t rush him, waiting quietly.

To be honest, Xu Yun wasn’t willing to accept this.

’I’ve already confronted them. It’ll be a real loss of face if I actually lose.’

’The key is, what if they’re vengeful and keep targeting me over this?’

’I don’t have to be afraid, but what about the people around me?’

’Am I supposed to physically eliminate them or something?’

The more people you have around you, the more ties you have.

’Looks like I can’t back down. If I chicken out once, anyone will be able to walk all over me in the future!’

Xu Yun thought of his Do as You Please system.

’Should I try buying some relevant intel?’

The moment he had the thought, a system prompt appeared.

[Would the Host like to spend 1 billion to purchase key intelligence?]

’This system... it’s too smart.’

Xu Yun thought to himself, ’Yes.’

[Congratulations, Host. The key intelligence has been successfully purchased and sent to your phone. Please check for it.]

[Current Balance: 27 billion]

With a DING from his phone, Xu Yun pulled it out and took a look.

Understanding dawned on him instantly.

After reading it, he got out of the car and said to Uncle He, "Uncle He, thank you for your hard work today."

"Not at all. It’s what I’m supposed to do."

After Uncle He left, Xu Yun went back to his apartment, fell into bed, and slept soundly.

「The next day, Saturday.」

In the morning, Xu Yun bought a fishing rod and a folding stool. In the afternoon, he drove to a riverside and started fishing.

Before long, a man in his sixties walked over.

He was a bit surprised to see Xu Yun suddenly appear there, and the person with him instinctively moved to shoo Xu Yun away, but the man stopped him with a wave of his hand.

Afterward, the old man sat down not far from Xu Yun and went about his business—adjusting his float, baiting his hook, and casting his line. You could tell he was a seasoned angler.

While waiting for a bite, the old man couldn’t help but ask, "Young man, don’t you know fishing is prohibited here?"

"If fishing isn’t allowed," Xu Yun began with a smile, "then Old Secretary... why are you fishing here?"

"..."

The question stumped the old man.

He sized up the young man before him and asked doubtfully, "You know who I am? Were you waiting here for me specifically?"

"Yes."

Xu Yun looked at the man and said honestly, "This was the only way I could think of to get a meeting with you, sir."

"What if I hadn’t come today?"

"Then I would have waited a week, or a month. You would have come eventually."

Xu Yun smiled. "For you, sir, fishing is like smoking. It’s a habit you can’t kick."

"You’re not wrong about that."

The old man agreed. He said, "You waited for me. What is it you want to say?"

"It’s nothing major, just a small matter. It’s just that I’ve been wronged and have nowhere to vent, so I came to you to air my grievances."

"And I suppose I have no choice but to listen to these grievances?"

"Not at all. There’s no reason to force anyone to do anything."

Xu Yun smiled. "Old Secretary, how about we make a bet?"

"What kind of bet?"

"If I can correctly guess what kind of fish you’ll catch and how much it weighs, three times in a row, I win. How about it?"

"Interesting!"

The old man laughed. "Alright, I’ll take that bet. If you really are that incredible, what’s the harm in listening to your complaints?"

Still, he thought it was virtually impossible for the young man to do it.

’After all, if he could really guess all that, he’d be a prophet, a god.’

But he soon changed his mind.

The first time, before the old man even reeled it in, Xu Yun told him the answer, and he was right.

The same thing happened with the second fish.

By this point, the old man was getting unsettled, and the shock in his heart grew stronger.

’How can he so accurately predict what fish I’m going to catch?’

Xu Yun said with a smile, "One last time. I’m guessing it will be a gudgeon, weighing about 50 grams."

"Let’s see if you’re really that accurate."

A moment later.

The old man’s float twitched. He lifted his rod, set the hook, and a large gudgeon broke the surface of the water, eventually landing on the bank.

’It really is a gudgeon!’

The old man looked at its size. He didn’t even need to weigh it; it was about 50 grams.

’If it had been once or twice, it could have been luck. But after he guessed correctly again this time, the old man truly couldn’t wrap his head around it.’

’The only word for it was ’miraculous’.’

Xu Yun asked with a smile, "Old Secretary, would you like to weigh it?"

"No need." The old man was completely stunned by Xu Yun’s miraculous feat.

’This isn’t a magic trick!’

’If it is, it’s the best magic trick in the world.’

The old man asked curiously, "How did you do that?"

"A lucky guess," Xu Yun said. He certainly wasn’t going to tell the old man that he had just spent money to buy the information from his system.

’Small bits of intel like that weren’t expensive, just a few million each time.’

"Are you a magician?"

"No," Xu Yun replied. "I’m a businessman. A patriotic businessman."

"Alright."

The old man smiled. "A bet’s a bet. Tell me your grievances. If there’s truly an injustice, I can ask around for you."

So, Xu Yun briefly explained the situation.

He didn’t say it was about him, framing it as something that happened to a friend of his.

"Old Secretary."

After finishing his story, Xu Yun added with a sigh, "I just don’t think this is how things should be done."

After listening, the old man narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.

...

「In an office in the city.」

Zhang Heping was so angry he smashed his cup!

For the first time, he couldn’t stop himself from losing his temper with the provincial leadership today, expressing his dissatisfaction.

’Back when the old city project collapsed and left a huge mess, everyone just passed the buck. No one was willing to take it over.’

’He was the one who found that person and solved the problem.’

’And then it was him again who persuaded the person to keep investing in Jiangcheng’s development, to the tune of 10 billion yuan.’

’If the provincial government treats him like this now, isn’t that just completely shameless?’

’What investor would dare to come and invest here in the future?’

But the leaders’ responses and attitudes remained vague, even evasive.

To put it bluntly, they were just stalling.

In the end, he had no choice but to leave them with a harsh warning...

It wasn’t that the province completely disregarded Zhang Heping’s attitude; otherwise, things wouldn’t have reached a stalemate.

He was the people’s official, after all.

The people on the other side had also approached Zhang Heping privately, stating that their involvement wouldn’t affect the peninsula’s development.

They even hinted that if he took a step back now, he might be able to take a bigger step forward in the future.

But Zhang Heping refused.

’His relationship with Xu Yun was a partnership of principles. Their shared goal was to serve society and do things for the common people.’

’But if he were to accept the other party’s conditions now, it would be a clear-cut exchange of favors.’

’Maybe he really could get that promotion, but it would come with many hidden dangers. Once you board some ships, you can never get off; you’re tied to them.’

’At that point, he would truly no longer be in control of his own destiny.’

After calming down a little, Zhang Heping took a deep breath and called his good friend, Xi Huaimin.

"What did he say?"

"He didn’t give an answer."

Xi Huaimin hesitated before answering, "I don’t know what he’s thinking. It’s a bit uncertain."

"Does he really treat money like it’s nothing? He’ll just walk away from it?"

Zhang Heping said, "That’s several billion!"

"He might genuinely not care."

"Or," Xi Huaimin said, "maybe he isn’t as powerful as we imagined."

"..." Zhang Heping fell silent.

’Sometimes, people who actually want to get things done are just ruthlessly crushed by reality!’

’But in the end, it just means my position isn’t high enough!’

「That evening.」

An old man paid a visit to the home of a certain leader in the provincial government compound.

He first spoke of the older generation, reminiscing about past hardships to appreciate present comforts.

The middle-aged man, a junior to the elder, naturally agreed with him, showing his respect.

As he was leaving, he simply added, "I met an interesting young man today. He said something to me that I thought made a lot of sense.

Why don’t you hear it and see if you agree?"

Hearing this, the middle-aged man’s expression immediately turned serious. He smiled and said, "Old Leader, please speak. I’m listening."

「The next day.」

Zhang Heping unexpectedly received a call from his superior.

The caller expressed firm support for his decision, stressing the importance of safeguarding the business environment, preventing the encroachment of certain powers, and closing any loopholes for unscrupulous individuals to exploit.

After hanging up, he sat in his chair in silence for a long time.

Slowly, a smile spread across his face.

’You kid... you finally couldn’t resist making a move after all!’