Chapter 640 - 367: Invincible Beneath the Missiles

Chapter 640: Chapter 367: Invincible Beneath the Missiles

"To hell with that shit. There’s absolutely no way I’m going. I’ll put it bluntly: if they’ve got the balls, then come at me with a decapitation strike. Go on, hit me with a missile. If they can’t do that, they’re trash. All these so-called old-money consortiums are nothing but paper tigers."

"Honestly, I think they’re really on their last legs. Him, and the country or powers behind him—if they dare to make a move on me, my nearly twenty thousand security guys aren’t just for show... And that’s not even counting all the backup plans I’ve set up. It’s no exaggeration to say that with my current strength, I could fucking take over a small country without much trouble."

"Of course, we’re talking about conventional forces here. If it really escalates to the level of missiles, that’s out of my hands. But that stuff... heheh, as long as I’m in my home country or in Dubai, they can’t hit me. If they really decide to bomb some other place, well, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t control that, but someone else can."

"And let’s take this a step further. If this shit really blows up, it’s not impossible that I, Lin, could become the catalyst for the next world war... Haha, okay, that’s a bit of a stretch, but anything’s possible."

"To sum it up: Below missiles, I’m invincible! Above them, it’s a one-for-one trade!"

"Try me!"

"Fucking try me!"

"I’d like to see what the hell they can get out of a trial!"

Lin Chu’s flamboyant posture and arrogant words sent the atmosphere in the livestream chat into another frenzy.

...

「At that moment.」

The presidential suite of the Waldorf Hotel.

Li Jingxian, who had been following the matter, cut a clip of Lin Chu’s speech after watching the livestream and took it to show Liszt.

To be honest, this response had left him rather stunned.

He understood what Lin Chu was saying.

For the most part, there didn’t seem to be any flaw in his logic.

After all, power is only effective against those willing to obey it, and the essence of its effectiveness lies in the harm it can inflict.

But now, things had reached a point where he didn’t even care about money, or even his own life. At that stage, there was truly nothing left to hold over him.

The office.

Liszt, a blanket over his legs, was engrossed in a book. When he saw Li Jingxian enter, he gave a slight nod and set everything aside.

"Lin Chu didn’t show up for the court hearing. He held a global livestream and said a few things."

Li Jingxian said as objectively as he could, pulling up the video clip from the livestream on his computer.

Watching the footage, Liszt’s brow furrowed tightly.

Upon careful consideration, there really seemed to be no issue with Lin Chu’s logical deductions. Moreover, it had backed the entire club into a very awkward corner.

It even went so far as to undermine the public’s faith in the justice system.

But how do you punish the one doing the undermining?

Punishing him would require people to carry it out.

Lin Chu had a security company with a team of nearly twenty thousand people. That was a terrifyingly large number.

Unless they used a high-tech, targeted decapitation strike.

Or launched a small-scale war.

But... he was just a single businessman. Was it really worth all that?

"Sir, I... In my opinion, I’m afraid even issuing a global arrest warrant would be useless at this point. After all, you don’t actually intend to kill him. If we keep pushing, Lin Chu will likely take one of two paths."

"My assessment is, first, he’ll become a full-fledged regional armed force."

"Second, he might return to his home country to seek asylum."

"And regardless of which path he takes, you, sir, will definitely become his enemy. There’s no more room to apply pressure. Unless we back down now, there’s still a chance to walk away."

Li Jingxian said, his tone turning serious.

Everything that had happened with Lin Chu, from the very beginning, was akin to a "compliance test."

It was just that Lin Chu’s actions at every step had been completely unexpected.

—At their first meeting, they hadn’t even started talking before he opened fire. A textbook example of being ruthless and merciless.

—Later on, he captured everyone who was following him, and they still haven’t been released.

—He was invited to the year-end conference on the island, but Lin Chu didn’t come.

—The meeting on the bus showed some intention to cooperate, but it could also be interpreted as a death threat.

—And now, on the day of the trial...

In every instance, Lin Chu’s choices and actions were not aimed at "maximizing profit." Instead, he chose a path that was not subservient, but in fact a little too aggressive—defiant and perpetually ready for a fight.

Liszt watched the video and listened to Li Jingxian’s words. He blinked slowly a couple of times, lost in thought.

After a full few minutes, Liszt spoke. "Tell him he has earned my approval. This year, the consortium’s seat on Citibank’s board of directors will be his to hold, as my sole representative."

"Invite him. Let him go and see for himself that a man who’s always talking about fighting and killing is ultimately not refined enough. That approach will only keep you from losing, but it can’t help you truly win."

A smile appeared on Li Jingxian’s lips. He nodded slightly and turned to walk out the door.

The maximum pressure campaign was over.

Now, it was time for the next step.

’Sometimes, you just have to admit, the skill of these ’players’ is on another level.’

’For someone like Lin Chu, what kind of place would the Citibank board of directors be?’

’High-quality core assets abroad were something Lin Chu had always been pursuing.’

’Top-tier high-society connections were something Lin Chu had always lacked.’

’Once he joined the board, Lin Chu would surely get what he wanted.’

’And... then what?’

’Honestly, Li Jingxian was even a little excited to see what would happen next.’

’After all, in this world, many people aren’t crushed by external pressure but gradually crumble from internal temptation.’

’And that usually happens very quickly.’

’The moment he feels like everything is within his grasp will be his most dangerous moment.’

’A test like this was, in some ways, even crueler than the "maximum pressure" he was facing now.’

...

「The courthouse in New York.」

The legal teams for both sides were locked in a war of words, fielding all kinds of questions from the judge.

Lin Chu’s side had presented his diplomatic immunity.

They also presented all sorts of procedural evidence.

As well as various attacks against the opposing party.

In a common law system, the trial itself is a crucial stage. A lawyer’s talent can largely determine the direction of a case. For now, at least, Lin Chu’s legal team had not fallen behind.

Just as the legal team had promised before, even if they just stalled, they could drag it out for at least a few years.

This was completely reasonable and legal "procedural justice."

Lin Chu couldn’t care less about the trial. He continued partying on his yacht, and after taking a jet ski for a spin, he came back to see Gao Haitao standing nearby, holding his phone with a look of thrilled excitement on his face.

"Brother Chu!"

"We won! We won! Li Jingxian just sent you an email. He said the old man caved! You’re going to represent him and take a seat on the Citibank board of directors!"

Gao Haitao had seen the club’s asset list. It held shares in various banks and financial consortiums. Its stake in Citibank wasn’t huge—only about 7%—but for a single entity, that was an incredible amount.

That was one of the world’s most famous top-tier banks, an entity with trillions in assets.

Forget 7%; even just 1% was comparable to Lin Chu’s entire current net worth.

The most valuable part wasn’t the change in his wealth, but the recognition of his status. A director of a top global bank would have a much higher degree of public participation in the world’s socioeconomic affairs than the current Lin Chu.

It was a form of invisible power.

"Hah, the old man is setting a trap for me! Treating me like a kid!"

"If I actually go, I’d be a complete idiot! The netizens would all call me a dog! After all the shit I talked today, I’m supposed to go wagging my tail just because he tossed me a bone?"

"Besides... it’s just a damn board seat. He’s not transferring the shares to me!"

"Tell him it’s not enough! It’s nowhere near enough! Tell him to up the ante!"

Parking the jet ski, Lin Chu wiped the water from his face, lifted the young model off from behind him, and laughed heartily, flashing a mouthful of white teeth.

...

...