Chapter 946: Peaceful Development

He Yuzhu finished reading the letter, a look of disdain appearing on his face. He let out a heavy sigh and said, "A general without a plan exhausts his entire army. You all had best look after yourselves; from here on out, don't even think about finding me again!"

As his voice fell, he directly deleted the exclusive email account used specifically for contacting Babylon.

Just then, He Yuzhu's phone popped up a message sent by Secretary Liu, containing only four short characters: "Know when to stop."

He Yuzhu gave a scoff and calculated to himself: The Soviet Union has long since dissolved. Looking across the globe, there is no longer any force capable of checking M Country. The other side's arrogance grows ever more rampant, and they act without any scruples. This time, they must not be allowed to escape unscathed. If only a few warships and bases are destroyed, they will recover their vitality before long. This time, they must be dragged into a protracted war to drain the M Country treasury dry!

He lit a cigarette and stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the city's brilliant lights outside. The thought of the M Military constantly exhausting its strength on this land filled him with a sense of satisfaction.

Stubbing out the cigarette, he turned to start packing his luggage, preparing to set off for home.

To tell the truth, he was filled with anger over this trip to the Middle East. He had exhausted all his strength to help Babylon out of a siege, only to end up raising a pack of ingrates. He hadn't gained a single benefit for himself, but instead was treated like a lackey by them.

"Do they really think I believe in that religion of theirs? My name isn't Ali, it's He Yuzhu!" He Yuzhu muttered under his breath.

Just as his luggage was packed, a thought suddenly occurred to him: Since he was already in the Middle East, why not take the opportunity to fleece those Middle Eastern tycoons?

He had never been able to stand these princes and nobles, who sat on mountains of gold and silver, lived lives of extravagant waste, and treated the common folk like lambs to be exploited at will.

Having made up his mind, he ignored the scorching desert sun, traveled to several countries, and one by one, scouted out the private vaults and national reserve banks of the various princes.

These countries were ridiculously wealthy; the US dollar cash piled up in their warehouses was, in some cases, even being gnawed on by rats.

He Yuzhu sneered inwardly: Rather than letting these rich folks use the money to buy M Country bonds, it would be better for him to find a new place to store this gold and cash.

A month later, He Yuzhu lay inside his Personal Space, gazing at the stacks of golden bars and mountains of US dollar bills before him, and couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter.

After a simple tally, this outing had netted him a full 1,500 tons of gold, plus 3.5 billion US dollars in cash.

He could now truly be called wealthy enough to rival a nation. From now on, even if he frequently used the Time-Space Shuttle, he could fully afford the costs of travel.

The gold he had obtained from robbing the M Country treasury last time had been nearly half-depleted in just two years.

Whenever anyone in the He Family ran into trouble, it was always a matter of extreme urgency, and each time required a massive amount of gold to cover the costs.

Last year alone, he had lost over 300 tons of gold; a while back, helping Babylon raid a military base and sink an aircraft carrier had cost him another 100-plus tons—it was a completely losing business. He swore a solemn oath in his heart: from now on, unless it was for his closest kin, he would never again easily use this newly acquired gold and silver.

Having just returned home and rested peacefully for two days, He Yuzhu hadn't even warmed his seat before the landline on the desk began ringing incessantly.

He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Secretary Liu's number. His heart sank, and he immediately stood up, grabbed the receiver, cleared his throat, and answered: "Leader, are you looking for me?"

"Come over immediately; I have urgent matters to discuss with you." Secretary Liu's tone was extremely serious.

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu knew the matter was of great importance.

He caught a flight overnight and, after landing, did not delay for a single moment, heading straight for Secretary Liu's secluded little villa.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, he saw Secretary Liu sitting in a rattan chair, leisurely sipping tea. His complexion was better than it had been months ago—the originally graying temples now showed faint traces of black, the lingering exhaustion between his brows had been swept away, and his voice was full of vigor. "You rushed off to the Middle East all by yourself without even a word of warning; what exactly was that for?"

He Yuzhu gave a sheepish smile: "I... had an old friend who died in an airstrike, and I went over just wanting to see him off on his final journey. Who could have guessed that M Country and Mossad would act without any bottom line, refusing to even spare a funeral? They drove over three cars packed with Explosive, intending to charge into the crowd and detonate them. If I hadn't sensed something wrong beforehand, those hundreds of mourners would likely have been buried in the yellow earth along with my old friend, and I myself would probably have met my end there as well."

Secretary Liu picked up his teacup and took a sip, a faint smile of someone who saw through everything at the corners of his mouth: "To me, it looks like your desire for revenge on this trip was far greater than your desire to mourn an old friend."

He Yuzhu didn't bother to hide it, simply pulling out a chair to sit down and lowering his voice: "If I hadn't taken action, Babylon would have been completely annexed by M Country before long. Once all the local oil fell into their hands, our country's future development would be constrained at every turn. With the stir I caused, it will be much harder for M Country's ground forces to move in on a large scale. Now that the two sides are checking each other, this conflict won't end for three to five years. By then, M Country's treasury will be drained continuously, and they will be dragged down sooner or later."

Secretary Liu nodded slowly after listening: "Although our country's development momentum has been good these years, we are still far from being able to go head-to-head with M Country. The most important thing right now is to keep a low profile and steadily accumulate strength; it is far from the time to actively draw our swords. If they are mired in the quagmire of the Middle East, we can secure another ten years of a window for peaceful development..."

He Yuzhu agreed repeatedly, then changed the subject: "I mentioned something to you before—can we recruit more of those top-tier Experts left behind by the former Soviet Union? If the salary the state offers doesn't meet their expectations, I can arrange for them to work part-time at my group, and I will make up the difference."

Secretary Liu waved his hand slightly, his expression cooling a little: "The higher-ups haven't loosened their stance on this. Your name is only on private enterprises, so don't get involved in this."

Having said that, he picked up the teapot again and refilled He Yuzhu's cup with hot tea.

He Yuzhu took a sip of the hot tea and asked: "Then you specifically called me over overnight, surely not just to hear me recount what happened in the Middle East?"

Secretary Liu set down his teacup, his gaze falling quietly on He Yuzhu's face. After a moment of silence, he spoke slowly: "For a long time to come, peaceful development is the general trend; going against the current will only lead to suffering. The country is planning to send a high-level delegation to visit M Country to discuss cooperation, and there are several very important high-ranking officials in the delegation. I called you over because I want you to accompany them and provide support for the delegation from the shadows throughout the trip."

He Yuzhu's heart gave a jolt. He was sharp-minded and instantly understood the deeper meaning—Secretary Liu was using this errand to specifically build a bridge for him to make connections with the core figures in the government.

The He Family's business empire had been expanding over the years, but apart from his relationship with Secretary Liu, he had never made connections with anyone who truly held real power.

To have money but no power is to have a fortune that is ultimately just a reflection in a mirror; He Yuzhu understood this principle clearly.

His throat moved slightly, and he tilted his head back to drain the hot tea in his cup. He lowered his voice, his tone full of sincerity: "Secretary Liu, I will keep this favor in mind. Please rest assured, I will definitely handle this matter steadily and thoroughly."

Seeing that he understood at once, a hint of satisfaction appeared in Secretary Liu's eyes. He added: "There is one more thing. M Country has sent word through someone that they intend to let bygones be bygones regarding the various grievances between the two sides. But you, from now on, must also restrain your explosive temper a bit..."

He Yuzhu chuckled upon hearing this and replied frankly: "I was never the type to go looking for trouble in the first place."