Chapter 385 - 254: Money, Oh, Money: A Drought for Some, a Flood for Others

That night.

While Lin Chu was discussing a deal with Yuan Fang at the Amber Restaurant...

At the Yanghe Hospital morgue, Kang Hao stood at the entrance with a few men.

Peering through the glass window at the frozen corpse, every man wore a solemn expression.

One man's brow furrowed slightly, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions.

Zhuang Yingcheng was a core member of the United Youth Association. At the same time, he had raised nearly four billion from other members and their families within the association.

His death had truly caught everyone off guard.

Emotionally, losing a friend was genuinely painful.

Logically, what was to be done about the money?

"Brothers, someone should go in and take a look. Since we're already here... to put it bluntly but objectively, we first need to confirm he's really dead, not faking it to run off with the money."

"Our families are waiting for us to report back."

A slender young man with gold-rimmed glasses spoke, his expression cold and impassive.

The men exchanged glances.

One of them, a burly young man, sighed deeply. "I'll go."

He pushed open the door, walked inside, and unzipped the body bag. He glanced inside nonchalantly, but his expression immediately changed as he fought back the urge to vomit.

He quickly came back out.

His eyes swept over each person, and he gave a slight nod.

"The police and the hospital have both confirmed it. The DNA can't be wrong. It's him. The question now is, where the hell is the money?"

"With the Zhuang Family in such chaos, his brothers definitely don't know anything. As for his six women and his mother, given Brother Cheng's personality, it's highly likely they don't know either."

"His company's VPs and CFO have either left or switched allegiances. It's hard to say if they know anything. But it's not like we can fight his two brothers and two uncles for the inheritance, right? That's not realistic."

"The lawyer's advice is to sue and get an asset freeze, but his body isn't even cold yet. We have to consider the optics."

This was the dilemma they now faced.

They were the biggest victims in this.

Besides Zhuang Yingcheng himself, they were the biggest losers from his death.

Although the total loan was four billion, each family was only out a few hundred million—not enough to cripple them. But money doesn't grow on trees, and it was far too early to just give up.

The most frustrating part was that, because it was all based on trust, the financing was unsecured. There was no collateral.

And...

In his bid to raise funds, buy back shares, and fight for the family fortune, Zhuang Yingcheng would have already mortgaged any assets he could to the banks first.

Even when it comes to dividing the inheritance, the banks have the primary right of reimbursement.

It was no exaggeration to say that his death was comparable to a major corporation suddenly going bust.

"What's so difficult about this?"

"It's simple. Every grievance has a source, every debt has a debtor. Whoever was responsible for his death will be responsible for this money."

"Even if we can't find the four billion, or if we find it but it gets eaten up by inheritance taxes at some overseas bank, then the debt will be paid from the Zhuang Family's remaining assets. No one gets to owe me money."

A young man in a black shirt spoke with a calm expression, then turned and walked away.

"Where are you going, Brother Qiang?"

one of the men quickly asked.

You Shaoqiang didn't turn back. "To find the second and third brothers..."

"Ah Le, you reek of death. You know how to get rid of that stench? Wash it off with shit water... It's an ancient genetic secret. The smell of a corpse is the smell of the soul, and it means danger. Feces, on the other hand, means there are living people nearby. Go on, go wash up..."

You Shaoqiang's voice was laced with a teasing tone.

As the president of the United Youth Association, he was the biggest shot in the group.

Hearing this, the men couldn't help but let out stifled laughs, even though the setting wasn't exactly appropriate for humor.

The tense and solemn atmosphere dissipated for a moment.

Ah Le was speechless.

He scratched his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

...

「Less than an hour later.」

「Hong Kong Safety Hospital.」

Outside the door of a private ward, when You Shaoqiang and Kang Hao arrived, they were met with the sight of a team of bodyguards standing in the hallway.

They were mostly blond, blue-eyed foreigners, and every one of them looked fierce.

From inside the ward, the moans of a woman could be clearly heard, but the bodyguards all acted as if they noticed nothing.

"Zhuang the Third sure knows how to live it up, huh..."

You Shaoqiang chuckled to the men behind him, then turned to a bodyguard and said in fluent English, "I'm here to see Zhuang Jingfa. I have a matter to discuss."

The bodyguard glanced at him and impassively told him to wait.

You Shaoqiang waved his hand dismissively, said nothing more, and waited quietly by the door.

Nearly half an hour later, the sounds from the ward gradually stopped. A bodyguard pushed the door open, and a woman in a nurse's uniform emerged, her face flushed. Only then did the bodyguard invite You Shaoqiang inside.

However, his men were all stopped at the door.

After entering, You Shaoqiang saw Zhuang Jingfa dressed in a hospital gown, leaning against the headboard and smoking. He looked full of life, with almost no sign of injury, except for the bandaged forehead, which was now soaked with sweat.

"Looking for me? What's up?"

Zhuang Jingfa asked with a smile, blowing out a cloud of smoke.

Zhuang Jingfa was, of course, well aware of You Shaoqiang's standing in their world—he was certainly more powerful than the Zhuang Family. Moreover, the man was already the designated successor for his own family.

But he didn't seem to care.

"Yes."

"I'm here to talk about something."

"Over the past few months, Zhuang Yingcheng raised a total of 4.3 billion from friends in the Unity Association in his personal capacity. I'm here to ask about it."