Chapter 678

In the following days, the surface remained calm, as if the conflict at Heavenly Palace Shang K that night had merely been an illusion that never happened.

Li Hengbo indeed followed his uncle's advice, making no fuss, merely using the excuse of an accidental fall to be admitted to a high-end ward of a top-tier private hospital.

He had stitches on the wound on his forehead.

The leg that was already lame was put in a heavier cast; the doctor's diagnosis was 'old injury recurrence with severe soft tissue contusion,' requiring rest.

The ward became his temporary command center.

Although his mobility was impaired, his anger and desire for revenge grew day by day.

He no longer blustered as before; instead, he became unusually silent and sinister, his eyes constantly flashing with calculation and malice.

"What's happening with Qian Youcai?" Li Hengbo leaned against the hospital bed, his voice hoarse as he asked He Qixing, the head of the bodyguards standing beside the bed.

He Qixing bowed and replied: "Chairman Qian has been honest these days, going only between company and home. He's called twice to check on you. I've followed your orders, saying you need rest and are temporarily unavailable."

"Hmph, that fence-sitter!"

Li Hengbo gave a cold snort, then ordered: "He must have been scared stiff. Assign someone to watch him closely; if he dares to make any move or secretly contacts Lin Dongfan's side, inform me immediately!"

"Yes, boss." He Qixing replied respectfully.

"Moreover!" Li Hengbo lowered his voice, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes: "Take the dirt we've prepared on Lin Dongfan and his few friends and add some punch! Find a few reliable online mercenary firms; don't release it all at once, but in batches, across different platforms and angles, to throw it out! I want him to be worn out defending himself, his reputation to stink far and wide, to be ruined and disgraced! Let's see how the Lin Family wipes his ass!"

Li Hengbo changed his strategy, no longer seeking a fatal blow, but instead using a continuous, spreading smear to gradually erode Lin Dongfan's and the Lin Family's reputation and foundation.

This is a more covert and harder-to-defend-against attack.

The reason he now dares to oppose the Lin Family is mainly because he has taken on an 'uncle'—Li Zhenyang, who firmly holds the top position in Wu Zhou City, his rank only half a level below Lin Zhenhua.

The key is that Wu Zhou City holds a special status; its top official has an excellent chance of moving up another step.

Li Hengbo is betting on Li Zhenyang's room for advancement.

During Lin Dongfan's imprisonment.

Li Hengbo, leveraging his rebirth advantage, deliberately went to Wu Zhou City under the pretense of investment to curry favor with Li Zhenyang, and revealed to him a 'prophetic' piece of important news—the higher-ups intend to take action against him!

At first, Li Zhenyang was half-believing, half-doubting.

But not long after, the higher-ups indeed dispatched an inspection team to station in Wu Zhou, and Li Zhenyang, now feeling as if sitting on pins and needles, summoned Li Hengbo again.

Li Hengbo performed the 'sending charcoal in the snow' act to the utmost in order to cling to this thick thigh.

He had long anticipated one thing:

When the inspection team arrives in Wu Zhou City, Li Zhenyang will surely be unable to sit still, so he had already been helping Li Zhenyang wipe his ass behind the scenes.

The main issues Li Zhenyang is suspected of could not be exhausted in three thousand words; he has every flaw others have, and even those they lack. His position is destined not to be comparable to that of an ordinary bureaucrat.

After the inspection team stations in Wu Zhou, someone will come with a thick stack of materials to file a real-name report against Li Zhenyang.

Li Hengbo's preemptive way of helping Li Zhenyang wipe his ass can be described as simple and brutal! He directly sent the whistleblower—Duan Xinhua—to the West Heaven Great Thunderclap Temple to see the Buddha!

He then handed the thick stack of complaint materials that Duan Xinhua held to Li Zhenyang, leaving Li Zhenyang with a chill down his spine after reading it.

With a murder case tied to him, Li Zhenyang had no choice but to acknowledge him as his confidant.

The two both bear the surname Li.

Li Zhenyang then acknowledged Li Hengbo as his nephew, even intending to marry his widowed, single younger daughter to Li Hengbo. However, Li Hengbo already had a wife and children, and was lame in one leg, so Li Zhenyang abandoned the idea.

However, Li Hengbo was not careless.

He privately seized every opportunity to curry favor with the Lin Family's second daughter—Li Shuting, constantly calling her 'fairy sister' and coaxing her to the point that she almost forgot he was lame.

The Lin Family of Yuling acknowledged Li Hengbo as their nephew also because he sits on a rebirth conglomerate with a market value of hundreds of billions, possessing formidable capital strength.

Such immense capital strength could help Li Zhenyang expand territory and embark on a new chapter.

Furthermore, Li Hengbo's targeting of Lin Dongfan is equivalent to targeting the Jingcheng Lin Family; this also aligns with Li Zhenyang's psychological needs.

In Li Zhenyang's view, Lin Zhenhua is the main figure suppressing his further advancement.

If the Lin Family gets stained with shame, Lin Zhenhua's influence will naturally be somewhat constrained, which is beneficial for Li Zhenyang to break through the impasse.

However…

What Li Hengbo didn't know was that Lin Dongfan had long been fully aware of his taking on an uncle and clinging to a powerful patron.

As early as last year, right after his release from prison, Lin Dongfan gave Yang Qing three days to thoroughly investigate Li Hengbo's resource background and life trajectory, and Yang Qing had already uncovered the Wu Zhou Li Family.

Secretly, Lin Dongfan also aimed to dismantle Li Hengbo's backing.

That afternoon, Lin Dongfan invited his old friend Li Mingtang to play table tennis at the sports hall. After the Anti-Corruption and Bribery Bureau was merged, Li Mingtang was transferred to the Z Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission, where he now serves as the head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group.

After a game, they were drenched in sweat.

Li Mingtang wiped his sweat while complaining: 'A businessman splashes dirty water on you online, yet you urge me to investigate Wu Zhou's top official—do you even know what you're saying?'

'You know it—if you beat this big tiger, you become an anti-corruption hero; don't you want to advance?' they chuckled, and Lin Dongfan tilted his back to gulp down mineral water.

Li Mingtang frowned: 'In the 2015 bull market, I successfully escaped the peak at 5178 points; a slight misstep and I earned enough money to last a lifetime—what should I do? My head aches; I want to retire and enjoy my old age.'

"Wo ci oh!"

Lin Dongfan couldn't help laughing and scolding: 'Have you forgotten who brought you to wealth and fortune? Although I was in jail in 2015, when you came to visit me in prison, I also gave you plenty of guidance, didn't I? Without my guidance, you would be the one buried alive in an avalanche. What's up? Now you want to cross the river and demolish the bridge?'

'Sir, your righteousness, I, Old Li, keep it in mind.' Li Mingtang clasped his hands and bowed: 'Speak up—do you want a car or a villa? I'll send it; feel free to open your mouth wide like a lion, I can bear it.'

'Why do I have the urge to whip you?' Lin Dongfan frowned slightly.

Li Mingtang again grinned: 'Many people want to lash me; it's rare to get a holiday to play a ball, and you won't even let me show off like you? That seems neither illegal nor against discipline.'

'Damn it, I'm talking about progress with you, and you're just laughing it off—over the top.' Lin Dongfan said: 'Now I give you two options: either you take the initiative to investigate yourself, or I greet Lin Zong and have him assign you a task—you choose.'

'I knew you'd drag out your Lin Zong to pressure me.' Li Mingtang seemed already prepared to respond, calmly smiling: 'Alright, I'll go test the waters first.'