Chapter 551 - 325: Threat, Fleeing, Robbery

Chapter 551: Chapter 325: Threat, Fleeing, Robbery

"I hope you don’t give up, because giving up means certain death."

"Only when you have truly overcome all of this—after you’ve been through a trial of fire and iron, endured your darkest hour, been betrayed and abandoned by everyone—and can still stand up with your wisdom and courage, will I have the confidence that you are worthy of taking over everything I have."

Liszt’s voice was deep and rich, but his eyes were incredibly bright, fixed intently on Lin Chu.

He had blocked off all other paths, leaving Lin Chu with only the route he had predetermined.

He must press forward!

Until he reached the pinnacle!

Otherwise, death!

Listening to him, although Lin Chu still scoffed at the so-called "club," deep down, he was cautiously evaluating the situation.

"Alright, I understand."

"You’d better live a long time."

"I’m off."

Lin Chu finished his cigarette, blew out a final puff of smoke, walked up to him, shook his hand, and immediately turned to leave.

Watching Lin Chu’s retreating back, Liszt smiled faintly and let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

...

「One day later.」

Lin Chu was on a luxury cruise ship sailing from Rotterdam Port to the Indian Ocean.

He was, of course, in disguise: long, blond hair, a much more prominent nose bridge, and fairer skin. His passport, which listed his nationality as Dutch, stated he was traveling abroad.

The only one with him was Liu Chenhui.

He had also changed his identity.

These were things easily bought on the dark web’s black market, and they weren’t expensive.

Of course, the main thing was that they were currently in a "time gap."

Before all parties began to make their real moves, he had at least a forty-eight-hour golden window.

The only troublesome thing was money.

Bank card transactions could still be traced.

Even Bitcoin, with its decentralized transactions, had very limited use cases.

On this point, Lin Chu hadn’t yet thought of a good solution.

The acquisition on Old Bian’s end was still in full swing, uninterrupted and, for the time being, unaffected by external forces.

But it was uncertain whether there would be additional interference in the time to come.

He figured it was a high probability.

The world, which had once been so clear to him, now resembled a vast, dark forest shrouded in mist, where unknown risks could emerge at any moment.

Lin Chu had already spoken with everyone he could think of, making all the necessary arrangements and transferring all his money. Then, before boarding the ship, he had thrown his phone into the sea.

’Strictly speaking...’

’I’m a bit like a lone king in a chess game right now. If I die, they might not even find my body.’

Standing on the deck of the luxury cruise ship, the blue sky and sea, the sea breeze and white clouds, made for a pleasant scene that was somewhat relaxing and refreshing.

Liu Chenhui came over with two hamburgers, handing one to Lin Chu. He glanced around and said in a low voice, "No sign of anything yet."

He was very vigilant.

Carefully watching for any potential "tails" that might have followed them.

Lin Chu nodded with a smile, unwrapped his hamburger, and took a big bite. "What are they saying online?"

Both of their phones had been thrown into the sea.

Lin Chu had just sent him to use the ship’s public internet to check on the current public opinion trends.

"It’s blowing up. The story is trending at the top of major international social media platforms. But, following your previous arrangements, other narratives have also started to appear."

"It looks like Xu Hu’s side has started to move. They’re creating a lot of noise, and they even exposed Liszt. The mainstream counter-narrative is that this is a conspiracy to frame a Chinese entrepreneur operating abroad."

"The full story has been released, including information about those women, as partial evidence."

"Domestically, most information about you has been blocked. It’s not clear who did it. It could be our people, from the arrangements you made before, or it could be an official government action."

"After all, there’s no need for this kind of thing to be made public."

Liu Chenhui reported everything verbatim, casting a thoughtful glance at Lin Chu.

He had long suspected that President Lin might have official connections, but he never asked. It wasn’t the kind of thing Lin Chu would talk about, anyway.

Now, the fact that domestic media had censored the story could be the work of private influence, but it could also confirm his earlier suspicions.

’Can’t draw a firm conclusion.’

But regardless, things were what they were.

Even with all these external factors at play, Liu Chenhui was... surprisingly calm.

Ever since last night, from leaving the small town all the way to the cruise ship in Rotterdam, Lin Chu had maintained a calm and unruffled demeanor, as if victory was already in his grasp. This had greatly boosted his morale.

’It’s no big deal.’

"Hmm."

"Haha, that’s good. As long as things are fine back home, we can afford to play a good long game with them."

"How are our people’s preparations coming along?"

Lin Chu asked.

He had arranged for a "pirate" team in the Somalia region.

Of course, it was Ma Teng and his crew in disguise.

’Since this is an "escape," arranging a few extra twists and turns would actually make it safer.’

On that topic, Ma Teng had even proposed a new plan during their previous call, something like faking his death and issuing a global obituary. On some level, it was a viable solution.

Afterward, it would just be a matter of getting a new identity, pulling strings from behind the scenes, and living in anonymity.

As long as you had money, your quality of life wouldn’t suffer much.

However, Lin Chu had vetoed the plan. He wasn’t ready to give up his current "persona" yet; it was far from that time.

’Even in a situation like this, money can still solve the vast majority of problems.’

’And for the ones it can’t solve, it just means you don’t have enough money yet.’

"No problem, everything’s A-OK. They’re all ready."

"Damn, they’re all pretty hyped up about it. They even want to go big, like actually colluding with a local pirate organization, maybe firing a torpedo or something. They said it’s all stuff money can solve anyway."

Liu Chenhui said this, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Lin Chu: ...

He was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle.

’Ma Teng really is... someone who fears only that the world isn’t in chaos.’

’He’s just so much trouble.’

But then again, few of the people who can make a name for themselves overseas are easy to deal with.

Even before he himself went to Dubai, Ma Teng had already become tight with the Little Prince. Now, he was like a tiger that had grown wings.

At this very moment, Lin Chu himself suddenly had a strange feeling, one you could even call... boundless freedom.

When doing legitimate business, you had to be honest and proper, taking steady, sure-footed steps. Whether you wanted to acquire Louis Vuitton or buy a private bank, you were terrified of attracting attention, preferring to get rich in silence. You had to be as by-the-book as possible.

’Now...’

’Forced onto this path, I suddenly feel completely unrestrained. I’ve gone from being a "builder" to a "destroyer".’

’I’ve already been pushed this far, and you still expect me to play by the rules?’

’Get the hell out of here.’

Lin Chu even found it rather interesting.

As he mulled this over, Lin Chu felt a different kind of understanding dawn on him. It was as if his perspective had broadened once again.

’Of course...’

’Both paths have their pros and cons.’

’On the legitimate path, you can fail countless times. As long as you succeed once, you’ve pretty much made it, and all previous failures can be ignored.’

’But on this current path, you can win many times, but if you lose just once, you lose everything.’

A different risk appetite.

At this moment, Lin Chu even found himself missing Hou Chengjin. When it came to being well-connected and influential overseas, no one could beat the big shots from Hu Jian.

Nationality wasn’t an issue, passports weren’t an issue. All that mattered was what Mazu said.

’If I get the chance later, I could look for similar connections.’

"Alright, let’s go. Let’s go have some fun inside. This ship has everything, right?"

After letting his imagination run wild for a bit, he noticed the waves outside were getting bigger. Lin Chu patted Liu Chenhui’s shoulder and turned to head inside the cabin.

This luxury cruise ship had twelve decks in total and a seven-day itinerary. It had almost everything on board—every imaginable form of entertainment.

Liu Chenhui smiled. "It does. All the vices are here. We’re in international waters, after all..."

...

...