Chapter 42

Dahe City, night fell.

Chen Qingjing sat on the sofa, watching Chen Ruhai preparing to go out, and couldn't help but ask doubtfully, "Dad, it's so late, are you still going out?"

Chen Ruhai heard this and replied with a chuckle, "I'm going to a small meeting; I'll bring you a late-night snack when I return."

Hehe, thanks, Dad.

At the same time, almost all of Dahe City's billionaires had gone out, each with their own thoughts heading toward the Foundation Building; they seemed to be seeing what conditions Chen Shoushan could offer to sway them.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau, more than ten armored vehicles were parked, each filled with solemn-faced public security officers.

In the office.

Zhu Sihai flatteringly said to Chen Shoushan, "Chief Chen, they have already entered the building."

Alright, pass the word down; the operation has begun.

Chen Shoushan heard this, nodded, and said with a smile.

Yes!

Zhu Sihai hurriedly nodded, stepped out of the office, and took out his walkie-talkie: "All units, attention, Chief Chen says the operation has begun!"

As Zhu Sihai's words fell, the whole of Dahe City sprang into action; armored vehicles at the Public Security Bureau entrance departed one after another, and many public security officers suddenly appeared to direct traffic on the roads near the Foundation Building.

In an instant, the Foundation Building seemed to be isolated from the entire Dahe City; from a god's-eye view, one could see all citizens and traffic detouring around the Foundation Building.

After adjusting his collar in the office, Chen Shoushan went out and got into an armored vehicle, naturally driven by Ye Feng.

Let's go, we need to make things clear to the billionaires.

Chen Shoushan smiled faintly and told them, "The times have changed!"

……

Ye Feng didn't know what to say, could only say that Chen Shoushan truly lived up to his title as Ghost Master, utterly crazy.

The car headed toward the Foundation Building; along the way, Chen Shoushan had a moment to check the weather forecast for Dahe City on his phone.

Dear citizens, good evening…… It is expected that between eight and nine o'clock, Dahe City will encounter a heavy rainstorm; please try to minimize travel……

Listening to the authentic news tone from the phone, Chen Shoushan rolled down the car window and glanced at the sky; since it was night, the sky was pitch black, making it impossible to tell whether there were clouds.

But judging from the cold wind blowing around, this should not be a false weather report.

Sorry, there's a traffic accident ahead, please…… Chief Chen! Sorry, I didn't recognize your vehicle, please let us through!

As Chen Shoushan's car was about to approach the Foundation building, it was stopped by an on-duty security officer, but the next moment he saw Chen Shoushan sitting in the back seat, startled, and hastily waved them through.

No problem, thanks for your hard work—being called out for duty this late, your wages are doubled today, and I'll try to let you all get off work early as well.

Chen Shoushan spoke gently to the crowd.

Not a problem! We're here to serve the citizens!

The security officers present were a bit excited—hey! Coming out to work not only means being looked after by leadership but also getting bonuses; what a good thing!

Upon approaching the Foundation building, it was clearly visible that there were no vehicles or civilians around.

When Chen Shoushan's car reached the building's lower level, various luxury cars could be seen parked in the underground lot.

Zhu Sihai appeared from nowhere, eagerly opening the car door for Chen Shoushan: "Chief Chen, the bodyguards they brought inside the building have already been brought under control."

Nothing too disruptive, right?

Chen Shoushan asked.

Absolutely not—we have signal jammers active; aside from our walkie-talkies, no information can be transmitted.

Zhu Sihai gave a solemn guarantee.

Thanks for your hard work; the job was done well.

Chen Shoushan laughed and praised, saying Zhu Sihai, though usually a bit scheming, still handles things very efficiently.

One has to say, if this world had no supernatural incidents, Zhu Sihai would truly make a good official.

By the way, there might be a heavy rain tonight; notify them to prepare so the soldiers don't catch a cold.

Zhu Sihai nodded understandingly: "Understood! I'll have people bring the rain gear from the bureau; Chief Chen's intentions, I'll make sure everyone knows."

Chen Shoushan satisfiedly patted Zhu Sihai's shoulder: "Old Zhu, you're really capable; after this, you should be made permanent."

I will definitely not let Chief Chen's training go to waste!!

Zhu Sihai was overjoyed; he'd been waiting for this—how could an acting bureau chief compare to a proper bureau chief?

At the same time.

The billionaires in the meeting room were voicing their dissatisfaction.

Why is Chen Shoushan so slow? I make millions in minutes!

Exactly, just an unlucky short-lived ghost, yet he actually thinks he's someone important,

The billionaires of Dahe City basically all know each other; although they may usually have some grudges, now they are united outwardly.

Why would we give our money to him to set up that whatever 'free money' Foundation? I'd have to be crazy to do that.

A billionaire directly shouted curses.

What a damn Foundation? I think he's just trying to make a quick buck before he dies.

Another billionaire also chimed in with sarcastic agreement.

Cough cough, everyone, he's after all from headquarters; I think we should still give him some face.

Chen Ruhai glanced at the noisy crowd, coughed a few times, and said.

Actually Chen Ruhai also speaks easily without back pain; his family is huge, taking out a few billion for Chen Shoushan to play house is of course no big deal, but others don't have Chen Ruhai's level of wealth.

Yeah, I think we should just toss him a million, just to be charitable and send off a beggar.

The billionaire who was pulled into the Foundation by Zhu Sihai also hesitated a moment and said.

Those who can be persuaded by Zhu Sihai are basically those who don't want trouble, wanting to spend money to ward off disaster; but seeing everyone now oppose, they also don't want to foolishly hand over a hundred million—handing over a few million to get by is about enough.

Hmph! One million? Giving it to him just increases his arrogance—damn it, a bunch of cowards! Just give him one hundred bucks!

At this moment, a several-hundred-catty fat man sneered, each of his fingers wearing a gold ring, a thick gold chain around his neck, his face full of the air of a newly rich upstart.

His arrogant words made everyone frown involuntarily.

"Luokuang, isn't a hundred bucks a bit too much? If we fall out, it'll be bad for everyone."

Chen Ruhai looked at the fat man with a furrowed brow.

This Luokuang was previously just a nobody, running a trucking company, but for some unknown reason he suddenly became rich, and his behavior grew ever more arrogant, and he kept getting fatter.

Relying on the wealth of Dahe City's richest man, Chen Ruhai barely scraped into the lower tier of his social circle, barely managing to get a few guns, but he never dared openly oppose Chen Shoushan.

What gave Luokuang the right to be so arrogant? I heard he'd previously been in contact with a few foreigners.

Just as Chen Ruhai was lost in thought, he heard Chen Shoushan's voice.

"Everyone, sorry for the wait, there's a bit of traffic on the way."

At this moment, Chen Shoushan entered with Ye Feng following behind him, pushing the door open and smiling at everyone as he spoke.

"It's fine, we've only just arrived too, Director Chen, please have a seat."

Chen Ruhai rose to his feet and said.

Although the others didn't stand up to speak, they also didn't dare keep mocking; idle chatter was fine, but face‑to‑face they became much more restrained.

Obviously, though they didn't say it out loud, everyone present still feared Chen Shoushan deep down, after all, standing behind him was the headquarters!

A loud boom.

A tremendous thunderclap came from outside the window, it really looks like a heavy rain is about to fall.

Chen Shoushan turned his head to glance at the dark clouds outside the window, his smile unchanged as he said, "It's going to rain soon, everyone's eager to head home, so I won't keep you any longer."

"I'll be blunt: aside from the five of you who have already joined the Foundation, I suspect the rest of you are involved in some terrifying supernatural incident; to guarantee Dahe City's safety, please everyone join the Foundation and accept its protection."

"That's all I have to say; who will join, and who will refuse?"

Chen Shoushan spoke the most domineering words in the calmest tone.

Chen Shoushan's words successfully caused an uproar among the crowd.

Is he crazy? How dare he be so bold?

"I think you're money‑mad, damn it—how would headquarters ever hire a lunatic as a director? Chen Shoushan, you'll regret this."

That Luokuang slammed the table, stood up, and shouted angrily, saying he was about to leave.

"Hmph, I'm leaving too."

"Boss Chen, next time you don't need to invite me to this kind of meeting—goodbye."

One after another, about half the people stood up at once, let out a cold snort, and were about to leave.

Chen Shoushan sat in his seat, expressionlessly watching those who left, while Ye Feng beside him looked on with amusement.

The remaining few also sat there, hesitating, most of them being on good terms with Chen Ruhai; seeing that Chen Ruhai hadn't left yet, they didn't move either.

"Director Chen, what are you doing?"

Chen Ruhai's face also looked grim; if it weren't for the patience he'd built up from starting from scratch, he'd probably have gotten up and walked out right then.

Chen Shoushan didn't answer; he simply waited silently for something.

The wealthy people who had just left the meeting room stood stiffly in place, their faces now devoid of any anger.

Under the many black gun barrels, even the angriest person would calm down.

"Why not go back and discuss it some more? After all, the Foundation serves the citizens, and we really ought to give back to society's nurturing."

A wealthy person in the crowd swallowed and spoke softly.

"…We really should give back to society—let's go back!"

"Lately we've got so much money we can't even spend it all… let's go back and donate a bit."

After all, we're all billionaires, so our minds are still quick.

Thus the stiff crowd returned to the meeting room, each one honestly taking his seat again.

Watching the crowd return, Chen Ruhai and the others couldn't help but feel a bit bewildered and asked, "You guys, how did you come back?"

No one paid attention to Chen Ruhai's words; they silently lowered their heads.

Damn it, dozens of guns are blocking the exit outside—are you coming back or not?

Of course, there were still the unwilling who planned to contact their own bodyguards, even though they themselves didn't know what those unarmed bodyguards could do— they just wanted a sense of security.

But when the phones showed no service, this bunch went completely honest, stupidly staring at the water cup on the table.

"Forgot to tell you all: before we clear the suspicion of being involved in that supernatural incident, nobody may leave this building, nor contact anyone outside—this is also for the safety of the outside Dahe City; can you understand?"

Only then did Chen Shoushan speak up.

Everyone fell silent, and Chen Ruhai and the others finally understood why they had come back.

By coincidence, the downpour outside was pouring at that moment, raindrops striking the window glass, and it almost seemed to strike the hearts of everyone present.

"I said, can you understand?"

Chen Shoushan laughed, emphasized his tone, and repeated his question once more.

"I can understand……

"Understood……

Only then did the crowd reply softly.

"Good, on behalf of Dahe City I thank you for your cooperation; from now on, those willing to join the Foundation to clear their suspicions, please raise your right hand."

Everyone looked left and right, then slowly raised their right hands.

Interestingly, the just‑now most arrogant Luokuang sat upright like a model student, holding high his right hand, which was covered in gold rings.

"All right, please put your hands down; seeing how cooperative you are puts my mind at ease—I, on behalf of Dahe City's citizens, thank you for your donations."

Chen Shoushan smiled with relief and said.

Ye Feng beside him also clapped along, and soon the meeting room rang with deafening applause.

Alright, everyone, after you pay the money later, you can clear your suspicions.

But we don't have that much liquid cash on hand...

Someone said cautiously.

They feared that in the next moment Chen Shoushan would slam the table and someone would rush in and shoot them.

Don't worry, fixed assets like luxury cars and mansions are also acceptable; I understand your difficulties and will try to help you resolve them.

Chen Shoushan said gently.

Just then Ye Feng suddenly approached and said something to Chen Shoushan.

That Luokuang seems a bit off; he feels somewhat supernatural.

As a Ghost Master, Ye Feng naturally could sense the supernatural around him, but the supernatural on Luokuang wasn't very strong, so Ye Feng didn't notice it right away.

No wonder, just now he was so eager to leave.

Chen Shoushan looked at the upright Luokuang sitting there and said with a smile.

That's right; just now when Chen Shoushan said he would investigate the supernatural incident, he was the first to want to leave, and when Chen Shoushan said whoever wanted to clear the supernatural suspicion, he was the one who raised his hand the highest.

No wonder he's guilty as a thief; Chen Shoushan and Ye Feng stared at Luokuang, who at this moment was gulping saliva; he could become a millionaire in Dahe City in such a short time certainly not by his brains.

A few foreigners had found him several months earlier and asked his trucking company to help transport some boxes, avoiding headquarters' inspection; Luokuang originally wanted to refuse, but they gave him too much money.

That group of foreigners also gave him a Plastic Doll, saying that with it his luck would become good; indeed, after he got the Plastic Doll, Luokuang's fortunes turned, and none of the cargo he transported was ever inspected.

Moreover, his financial luck was excellent; in a short time he turned around to become a billionaire in Dahe City, and his competitors all went bankrupt one after another.

(End of chapter)