Chapter 540 - 320: Unknown Secret

Chapter 540: Chapter 320: Unknown Secret

The old man in the wheelchair before him had a broad face, a hooked nose, and slightly jowly cheeks. It looked like he was holding something in his mouth. His gaze was calm and dignified.

He had a bit of a Godfather vibe—a man with real presence.

Lin Chu stared at him, his face an expressionless mask. He’d seen photos of the man through public channels, but now, seeing him in the flesh, Lin Chu suppressed the rage boiling inside him and forced himself to remain calm.

The gun in his pocket felt cold, its metallic texture a stark reality against his skin.

"Hello, young man."

Liszt spoke slowly, his voice magnetic. His Chinese was flawless, the enunciation perfect.

Lin Chu’s brow twitched. He was rather surprised. ’This old man learned Chinese?’ Judging from his accent, he had clearly been practicing for a long time; it was remarkably standard.

"You seem a little angry. Relax... What happened over there was just a harmless joke. Women, in my eyes, are meant to be playthings. They can only be playthings. And you, clearly, think so as well."

He spoke with a casual smile, exuding a powerful self-assurance. He uttered the highly politically incorrect words brazenly, without a hint of shame.

Just then, from not far away, Gao Haitao and Liu Chenhui strode over, rounds already chambered in their weapons.

Both men were mentally prepared for this. They didn’t know what the other side was plotting, but using force to break a stalemate was always an option.

Seeing them approach, the two men behind Liszt stepped forward in unison, their eyes watchful and alert.

The atmosphere crackled with unspoken tension.

Liszt rubbed his nose, then slowly rose from his wheelchair. He pushed his two men’s shoulders aside, walked toward Lin Chu, and offered his hand.

"Fate is a wondrous thing. There are so many auctions in this world, and so many pieces of blue-and-white porcelain, yet it was you, of all people, who ended up with my invitation."

Lin Chu shook his hand nonchalantly.

’The old man isn’t actually crippled?’

’I thought he couldn’t walk.’

Glancing back, Lin Chu gestured with his chin. "For someone of your status to play such a ridiculous trick... it’s beneath you. It only earns my contempt. And here I was, actually looking forward to this meeting."

"The man at the helm of a massive conglomerate shouldn’t be acting like this."

’Might as well have the conversation first.’

’It’s never too late to start shooting.’

"No, no, no. This is merely a father’s revenge. His own daughter was toyed with, then cast aside like a broken doll. To a father, that is the cruelest thing in the world... His original plan was to utterly destroy your reputation."

"Compared to that, what’s happening now is indeed just a small joke."

"Don’t you think?"

Liszt said, as calm and composed as ever.

Lin Chu pressed his lips together. The mention of Liao Meili brought a flurry of thoughts to mind, but his gaze quickly hardened again.

’The ’he’ Liszt is talking about must be Liao Meili’s father.’

’If I put myself in his shoes... yeah, if I were her dad, I’d be pretty pissed off too.’

"Agreed."

"And then?"

Lin Chu’s tone was now completely calm. ’It’s just tit for tat. Fair enough. Since things have come to this, let’s see what happens when we clash.’

’The greatest lesson from that period of struggle was to face everything without fear.’

’Make every choice.’

’And then, without regret, pay the price for it.’

’Love, hate—none of it matters. Strength is all that matters.’

Liszt shook his head with a smile. "And then... how you handle this situation will be my first test for you."

"You’re not qualified to test me."

Lin Chu shot him down instantly. ’That condescending tone... Test my ass. What gives you the right to test me?’

Liszt let out a soft chuckle.

"The Galaxy Club currently has seven members. You are one of the candidates for the eighth position. Frankly, in terms of business accomplishments, you still have a long way to go. However, I’ve studied your file more than anyone else’s, and the more I study it, the more curious I become."

"As far as I know, you don’t belong to any powerful or ultra-wealthy family, yet you didn’t start from nothing, either. It’s as if your fortune simply fell from the sky."

"It must be a magnificent secret. A miracle, even."

"I’m very curious about this secret. There are very few secrets left in this world that can still pique my curiosity."

He looked at Lin Chu with a cryptic smile, a faint glimmer of eagerness in his eyes.

For a man of his stature, few things remained unknown aside from the vast, starry expanse of the cosmos.

But Lin Chu was an unknown.

A complete and utter enigma.

And such unknown secrets often hold unspeakably wonderful opportunities.

BANG!

Lin Chu suddenly whipped out his pistol and, with the marksmanship he’d trained for, fired a single, lightning-fast shot.

At such close range, the bullet instantly pierced the spot between Liszt’s eyebrows. Bright red blood splattered across Lin Chu’s face as the two bodyguards beside Liszt screamed and fumbled for their own weapons.

They couldn’t possibly have imagined it—this young man, a billionaire many times over, had actually dared to open fire!

Gao Haitao and Liu Chenhui were also momentarily stunned. Snapping back to their senses, they saw the two men across from them making a move and quickly drew their own guns. BANG! BANG! Two more shots rang out.

The two men opposite them were hit and collapsed to the ground.

Lin Chu had already executed a nimble combat roll. After rolling a few times across the ground, he quickly took cover behind a tree, wary of a follow-up attack from more of the enemy’s men.

Seeing this, Gao Haitao and Liu Chenhui quickly joined him.

The three of them stood back-to-back, scanning their surroundings.

In the distance, the screams of women erupted.

Despite the distance, the gunshots had been loud enough to hear. From afar, one could still see three figures fall to the ground, clearly dead.

And the killer was none other than Lin Chu!

This was a shocking turn of events that no one had anticipated.

Wang Zhefei was utterly dumbfounded. A cold sweat broke out across his body, and his throat felt as dry as dust. He wanted to shout something, but though his lips moved, he had no idea what to say.

A single thought echoed in his mind: ’It’s over.’

’This time, we’re really, truly fucked.’

’You actually fucking opened fire!’

Behind the tree, Gao Haitao had already sent out a distress signal. The security team, stationed dozens of kilometers away, was on standby. A rented helicopter would arrive within twenty minutes.

"Brother Chu, what do we do now?"

he asked.

Even in a remote town like this, news of the incident would almost certainly get out quickly. When something like this happened, the only option was to run.

Escaping by air was one thing...

But a helicopter can’t fly forever. Eventually, it has to land.

And once they landed—no, not perhaps, but definitely—they would be captured and arrested.

A security company, no matter how powerful, could never hope to contend with the full might of the state.

Lin Chu’s own forehead was beaded with sweat, and his palms were clammy. His eyes were steely as he ordered, "Go!"

"We run as far as we can!"

"Move out, now!"

It was impulsive, but Lin Chu felt no regret. He had completely erased that word from his vocabulary!

’In the end, this world is run by people.’

’And as long as people are involved, there’s always room to maneuver.’

Just as Lin Chu was speaking, his phone suddenly vibrated. Another priority message had popped up on the screen.

"Oh, my! What a spectacular scene!"

"Congratulations, you’ve passed the third trial ahead of schedule."

"Rest assured, this entire town is filled with my people. The area is on lockdown. And... I will protect your safety and your privacy."

"Grand banquet tonight at eight. I’ll see you there."

"—Liszt."

Lin Chu’s expression went blank. He looked down at the three corpses on the ground, and a chill ran down his spine, goosebumps breaking out all over his skin.

Fuck!

You old bastard!

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

...

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