Chapter 412: Deadly USB Drive Ignites a Wall Street Civil War!

On the other end of the phone, Wang Shanghong's voice came through the handset, carrying a trace of subtle confusion.

"Diplomatic dispute? Comrade Qingshan, you're in New York, not in Geneva."

His first reaction was that Lu Qingshan was using a kind of financial‑sector slang he didn't quite grasp to describe the dispute with Morgan Stanley.

In the apartment, David, Li Junjie and Lu Qingjun sat up straight, not daring to even breathe.

Although they didn't understand what Minister Wang was saying, Lu Qingshan's phrase "Diplomatic dispute" already exceeded what their minds could process.

"Just now, Mr. Parker of Morgan Stanley may have had a slight misunderstanding of our Strategic Coordination."

Lu Qingshan's voice remained even, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"He sent twelve 'Tourists' holding U. S. passports to come to my apartment for a visit. Moreover, they want to 'Clean up' this place for me."

"Tourist", "Clean up".

Those two words, spoken by Lu Qingshan in an extremely flat tone, struck like two heavy hammers, smashing the nerves of Wang Shanghong on the other end of the phone.

Wang Shanghong, long accustomed to a high position and countless international financial frictions, instantly grasped the blood‑stained implication behind those two words.

On the other end, the steady sound of breathing vanished.

A full five seconds passed before Wang Shanghong's voice sounded again, but it had completely changed in tone.

It was a fury suppressed to the extreme, each word feeling as if squeezed out of steel.

"Where are the people?"

The question was asked without any context.

Yet everyone present understood it.

Lu Qingshan glanced out the window; in the distance, the Empire State Building's lights glittered dazzlingly.

"We've already asked them to leave."

He paused briefly, then shifted his tone.

"By the way, I had someone locate the Cooperation agreement between them and Mr. Parker. I think the Morgan Stanley board will be very interested in that agreement."

Another silence fell on the other end.

This time the silence was no longer anger, but a reassessment of Lu Qingshan's terrifying energy.

He could not only silently eliminate an elite assassin team in an instant, but also obtain lethal evidence within such a short span!

That ability has completely surpassed the realm of a "merchant".

"Understood."

Wang Shanghong's voice returned to its usual composure, but beneath that composure lay a brand‑new tacit understanding.

"We will follow up on the subsequent matters. On your side, stay safe."

The sentence said nothing about how to follow up, nor did it ask Lu Qingshan what he intended to do.

It was a highest‑level trust and authorization.

National Team has your back.

You, go ahead and do it.

Lu Qingshan hung up the phone.

He turned around and met three pairs of eyes filled with "Who am I, where am I, what did I just hear?"

"Brother..." Lu Qingjun's Adam's apple bobbed; his throat felt a bit dry, "Did you... what you just told Minister Wang... really happen? Are there really people..."

"Yuehan Parker sent assassins," Lu Qingshan stated calmly, "I had someone deal with them."

He looked at the three, their faces pale from fear and shock.

"Now, we will return this 'credit' to him untouched."

David Cohen's body swayed slightly; he looked at Lu Qingshan, his gaze no longer reverent but filled with awe and fear before an unknown deity.

"Boss... God... what exactly are you? Are you really a merchant?"

He had asked that before, but this time he wanted the answer more than ever.

"I am a merchant."

Lu Qingshan stepped in front of him, staring directly at his pupils dilated by fear.

"My rules are simple. If others don't touch my family or my team, we speak with money at the poker table, competing fairly."

His voice wasn't loud, yet the whole room's temperature dropped a few degrees.

"If others move, we change the game."

The words just fell.

"Dong, dong."

The apartment door was knocked with a moderate force.

To the ears of those who had just faced a death threat, that sound was no less than a death‑knell drumbeat.

David let out a startled "Ah," nearly slipping off the sofa.

Lu Qingjun lunged, snatching the brass table lamp he had just dropped, shielding Lu Qingshan like an enraged cub.

Only Ye Ning, after a brief tension, immediately looked at Lu Qingshan.

Lu Qingshan gave her a reassuring gesture.

Ye Ning inhaled deeply, walked over, and peeked through the peephole.

Outside the door stood a Latino man in a Saint Remo Apartment maintenance uniform, holding a toolbox, his cap brim pulled down low.

Ye Ning opened the door.

The man said nothing, handed her a thick kraft paper file bag, then turned and left, never looking up or making a sound, like a programmed robot merging into the hallway shadows.

Ye Ning closed the door and handed the file bag to Lu Qingshan.

Everyone's gaze converged on that unremarkable kraft paper bag.

They all understood that what was inside was that hell‑born "Cooperation agreement".

Lu Qingshan tore open the seal, poured out several printed documents and a black USB drive.

He casually flipped through those pages.

On them were clear transfer records, translated texts of encrypted communications, and detailed data on twelve Sweeper members, including the report of their last mission in Colombia.

The final document was an Authorization letter.

In the grantor's signature line, a name was flamboyantly scrawled:

JohnParker.

"My God…"

Li Junjie leaned over for a glance; just one look made his blood surge to his head.

This evidence is too perfect!

Perfect enough to send John Parker, the Wall Street emperor, straight to federal prison, where he'll rot away!

"Brother! Call the police! We'll call them right now!" Lu Qingjun shouted excitedly, "Hand this thing over to the FBI, and that Parker bastard will be finished!"

"Call the police?"

Lu Qingshan smiled.

He tossed the documents onto the table, his grin carrying a cat‑versus‑mouse kind of mockery.

"Sending him to jail is too cheap for him."

He picked up the USB drive and weighed it in his hand.

"What I want isn't just his downfall."

"What I want is for the whole Morgan Stanley to pay the price for his stupidity."

He turned his head toward Zhang Qianru, who had been silent since the start.

The top law student from Princeton, at this moment, stared at the documents with an extremely complex look.

Inside, there was Fear, excitement, and a shiver of touching a taboo.

"Qianru." Lu Qingshan called her name.

"Huh? Here! Boss!" Zhang Qianru jolted, instantly straightening.

"Your expertise is now put to use."

Lu Qingshan pushed those pages toward her.

"I want you, using your legal knowledge, to write an Explanation document for this evidence."

"An Explanation document that the old foxes on Morgan Stanley's board will instantly understand—and instantly fear."

Then, he handed the black USB drive to Ye Ning.

"Copy the contents into thirteen copies."

A chill‑inducing curve lifted at Lu Qingshan's mouth corner.

"Send it via anonymous encrypted email to Morgan Stanley, to the twelve directors except John Parker."

He paused briefly, adding the most lethal point.

"Then, 'accidentally' leak one copy to the SEC's tip mailbox."