Chapter 230: Backwater

"This kind of backwater?"

Vincent was shocked to the core; Brunei Island has an area of about 4,000 square kilometers, was historically occupied by England, later occupied by Japan, and after Japan was defeated in the war, it was occupied by England again; today, it legally belongs to Indonesia, but in reality, it is a no-man's-land.

With a population of about 50,000, of which 50% are indigenous and 50% are Chinese, it is indeed a backwater.

Furthermore, the forest coverage reaches over 70%; aside from agriculture and fishing, Vincent cannot think of any other valuable aspects.

Chen Jiajun smiled mysteriously and said: "Just messing around with a place to play, tell me a number for how much money is needed, and after you help me get it done, I will cooperate with you all."

In reality, although Brunei Island currently looks like a backwater, in the future, this land will be overflowing with wealth; it possesses 1.4 billion barrels of oil reserves and 390 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves.

"Fine, it is important to deepen our understanding of each other before cooperating." Vincent pondered for a moment and nodded.

Lv Mingzhu raised his champagne and said: "Then, shall we toast in advance to a happy cooperation?"

"Happy cooperation."

The three of them raised their glasses at the same time, as if the entire market of Southeast Asia was already in their grasp.

After a glass of champagne went down, Chen Jiajun asked: "If I may ask, which side does the 'Second Brother' of the Hong Kong Police Force, Han Yili, belong to?"

"Han Yili can only be said to be a different figure within the same large organization as me.

He is not controlled by our group, but whenever we want to deal with someone, we only need to give him a little bait, and he will run extremely fast.

Poor guy, as far as I know, it is very likely he won't be able to become the Commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force."

Having settled the business, Vincent appeared very excited.

Chen Jiajun smiled and said: "Indeed a poor guy, then what about Lv Mingzhu?"

"He is responsible for helping us handle some affairs; from now on, he can assist you," Vincent introduced.

"Sir Chen, you must reward me with a bite to eat in the future," Lv Mingzhu said with a smile.

Responding to him was a Browning Pistol: "Sorry, I don't like people snatching food from my bowl."

Having said that, Chen Jiajun pulled the Trigger without any hesitation.

"Bang."

"Bang."

After two shots, a flower of blood appeared on the foreheads of both Lv Mingzhu and Lv Qinghong.

"Swish."

"Swish."

"Swish."

In an instant, Ya Qi, along with the brothers behind him and the former Navy SEALs members brought by Vincent, all drew their Handguns.

"Fuck."

"Are you a lunatic?"

"Do you know how long the CIA has been cultivating Lv Mingzhu and Lv Qinghong???" Vincent cursed out loud.

"Lv Mingzhu is a Legislative Councilor; I don't want our transaction to be used by him as leverage to threaten me." Chen Jiajun sneered and tossed the Browning Pistol to Ya Qi at his side, as if he had just killed two dogs.

"..."

"Put all the guns away."

Although Vincent felt some anger in his heart, he still shouted at his subordinates.

The hundred-foot luxury yacht slowly docked at the Pier.

Chen Jiajun shook hands with Vincent: "I hope you and the big shot behind you can settle the conditions I requested as soon as possible."

"Lv Mingzhu was not easy for us to cultivate, fuck, do you know how many reports I have to write because of you?"

Vincent held a Cigar in his right hand, still muttering and cursing incessantly.

"Don't nag at me, I'll give you five points of profit personally."

Even if he repeated it a thousand times or ten thousand times, Chen Jiajun swore he would still kill Lv Mingzhu without hesitation in that kind of situation.

The reason?

Because Lv Mingzhu and Feilao Li are the future Gang of Four of chaos.

Now that the mastermind behind the scenes has appeared, Feilao Li, Lv Mingzhu, and the others have already lost their utility value to him.

This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he must certainly seize it.

Hearing Chen Jiajun's words, Vincent's stern face finally softened a little: "I quite like this gift, GOOD, Sir Chen, see you again."

"See you again."

Chen Jiajun waved at the other party and turned to enter the Mercedes-Benz Pullman armored car.

The motorcade escorted the Mercedes-Benz Pullman, which possessed an imperial aura, and slowly drove toward the Repulse Bay area.

After watching the motorcade leave, Vincent returned to the yacht, took out a maritime phone, and dialed a number: "Chen Jiajun is willing to start cooperating with us."

"GOOD, what conditions did the other party set?" the person on the other end of the phone asked.

"Chen Jiajun wants to obtain Brunei Island, which belongs to Indonesia; he wants to make Brunei Island independent as a small country," Vincent said concisely.

"Brunei Island?"

That person was stunned for a moment and asked, clearly not knowing where Brunei Island was located.

"A small island located in Southeast Asia, more than 250 kilometers away from Indonesia; its mineral resources are not rich, and it has no value for development.

Precisely because of this, two years ago, the England military withdrew from Brunei Island and assigned Brunei Island to Indonesia to manage, but the indigenous people and the Chinese both opposed Indonesia taking over. It can be said that this is a no-man's-land."

"If we launch an operation, there is a 100% success rate, and it won't require much cost; as for the funding, Chen Jiajun will be responsible."

After Vincent introduced the situation of Brunei Island, he also carried out a corresponding assessment of the operation.

"What do you think?"

The other party flipped open a map and found Brunei Island.

"It is of great benefit to us; Chen Jiajun making Brunei Island independent as a small country allows us to take the opportunity to propose conditions and engage in deeper cooperation with Chen Jiajun."

For example, military operations, or the climatic conditions of Brunei Island, are very favorable for cultivating crops such as poppy and Ma Smoke.

By then, it won't just be 2.5 billion USD; that is a massive business deal involving tens of billions of USD."

Vincent said a long string of words into the microphone, his heart burning with fervor.

"Currently, we are in a stage of peaceful diplomatic relations with China; if we were to establish a military base in Southeast Asia, it would be very unfavorable for the current situation."

That person responded after a moment of silence.

"But Chen Jiajun only gave us one month, and he has already promised us the 2.5 billion USD deal." As if doused with a basin of cold water, Vincent hurriedly reminded him.

"Overall, the possibility is low, or you can ask him to change the conditions; we can provide him with a high-quality large ranch in the United States, with permanent property rights. In addition, we will give him a legal identity."

That person said after weighing the pros and cons.

Vincent shook his head and said: "These conditions are too poor; he won't agree. The main thing is that our series of actions in Hong Kong absolutely cannot compare to England, which is more familiar with Chen Jiajun."

"Then there is nothing I can do," that person said.

Vincent said excitedly: "At the very least, you must try to negotiate..."

"Then let's try to negotiate, but don't hold out too much hope. Goodbye."

After saying this, that person hung up the phone.

Seven days later, what could be called the century's litigation in Hong Kong's legal history unfolded in the High Court of Hong Kong, Court of First Instance.

Less than two hours after the court session began, Feilao Li's brother-in-law—Liang Sen—accepted an interview from a Reporter outside the courtroom. He spoke with a stern expression:

"The current situation is not at all optimistic for us. The Hong Kong Department of Justice has already frozen all assets and accounts of Giordano, Tianlong Bookstore, Yunyi Garment Factory, and Banana Daily.

Sir Chen has hired Tianbo Law Firm... I am representing Mr. Li Biao in a total of two cases: one is the infringement case for the garment factory, and the other is the defamation case for the Banana Daily."

After Lv Mingzhu, Lv Qinghong, and Feilao Li died, Liang Sen, as a subordinate of Lv Mingzhu and the brother-in-law of Feilao Li, represented Feilao Li to fight this lawsuit.

"Mr. Li Biao has not appeared in public for a full week; it is rumored that he has absconded with the money to avoid punishment. Is this true?" A Reporter asked at a very fast pace.

Liang Sen said righteously: "This Reporter, I don't know where you got this gossip from. I hope that when you report, you do not over-speculate."

"Lawyer Liang Sen, the first case being heard today is the infringement case of Giordano and Yunyi Garment Factory. May I ask if you are confident?"

Liang Sen nodded and said with full confidence: "In fact, there is no such thing as infringement law in Hong Kong..."

After saying this, Liang Sen walked inside.

After he arrived at the scene, Liang Sen felt the atmosphere was somewhat abnormal. First of all, the four or five members of the jury in court today were all Gweilo.

Secondly, when the Queen's Counsel representing Guojun Garment Factory appeared, Liang Sen's heart sank.

That was the Chief Member of Tianbo Law Firm, England Second Class Knight, Vice Chairman of the England Privy Council Hong Kong Judicial Committee, Non-official Member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, Non-official Member of the Executive Council, current Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, former Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong government, and Queen's Counsel—Qu Qixian.

Qu Qixian could be said to be the master of most legal professionals present, and the teacher of a small portion of them. Liang Sen could not even be considered the other party's grand-student; his law school mentor might barely count as the other party's grand-student.

Strictly speaking, everyone today, whether it was the judge or all the defense lawyers, was under his management. Whether it was internal tactics or external maneuvers, he could not withstand it.

Bar Association Chairman Qu Qixian could, with a light sentence about violating the professional ethics of a barrister, expel him from the association and ruin him completely.

Watching this old man wearing a ponytail wig make a slow yet powerful entrance, Liang Sen felt that his so-called argument that infringement behavior could not be defined seemed to have lost its footing.

"Legislation through litigation..."

Liang Sen's mouth felt bitter; he whispered these four words, his legs already turning weak.

He was a figure who used to be arrogant and domineering in court, but at this moment, he sat down with his head bowed like a well-behaved Baobao, not even daring to look at the imposing Qu Qixian opposite him.

Half an hour later.

"Order."

The presiding judge tapped the gavel, signaled for everyone to be quiet, and then looked around before speaking:

"This court now delivers the verdict. In accordance with the Copyright Protection Ordinance, the charges of infringement against Giordano and Yunyi Garment Factory are upheld. The court now makes the following ruling: the court orders the defendants to pay the plaintiff 250 million Hong Kong dollars in damages, of which 215 million Hong Kong dollars is punitive damages..."

The gallery was suddenly in an uproar. In the public gallery, Feilao Li's wife wished she could faint on the spot.

The presiding judge tapped the gavel: "Order! Order! This court and the jury believe that the purpose of punishment is to correct and deter. In this case, the defendant's infringement behavior lasted for several years, and they knowingly infringed without repentance, obtaining huge profits. After being sued, they even attempted to hire newspaper vendors to stir up public opinion in an attempt to influence the court's verdict. Therefore, this court has made the above penalty based on the defendant's financial resources. Court adjourned."

(End of chapter)