Chapter 507: 503. A Visitor from Forbes (Seeking subscriptions, monthly tickets!)

The e-commerce war is raging like a wildfire, with big news happening every day, while some smaller online shopping platforms are struggling to hold on.

Some have already begun to enter the bankruptcy stage, losing customers every single moment; how could they possibly hold on?

Now, not only those in the industry but even those outside of it, ordinary people, have all understood that this time, Fengli Group will not be satisfied unless it takes the throne of number one.

Yet Zhang Ran, who should have been at the center of the vortex, appears incredibly leisurely at this moment, following his usual routine every day: picking up and dropping off his children, drinking tea, chatting, and occasionally playing chess with some old men.

On this day, two foreigners arrived at the residential compound where Zhang Ran lives, and when they found Zhang Ran, they both wore expressions of utter bewilderment.

"Hanke, is this really the legendary Mr. Zhang?" William felt as if he had been played for a fool.

Hanke also stared blankly at Zhang Ran, who was arguing intensely with an old man, his face showing signs of a breakdown; he also felt he had found the wrong person.

But the information he had received pointed to this place, and the appearance was exactly the same.

"It should be right, shouldn't it?" Hanke said hesitantly.

Just at this moment, they suddenly felt a chill down their backs, and subconsciously turning their heads to look, they discovered that someone had stood behind them without them noticing, looking at them with a dangerous gaze.

"Who are you? Who are you looking for?" He Yong asked coldly.

Hanke gave a start and hurriedly said, "Hello, we are staff from Forbes. We have come this time to pay a visit to Mr. Zhang Ran."

Hanke spoke fluent Huaxia language; at the very least, He Yong could understand him, which was one of the reasons Forbes sent him.

He Yong scrutinized the two of them seriously, as if determining whether they posed a threat.

Hanke and William hurriedly showed their work credentials to He Yong; they knew that none of these wealthy individuals were to be trifled with, and they weren't stupid—how could they offend people casually?

He Yong took a glance and said, "Wait here."

After saying this, he walked quietly to Zhang Ran's side and whispered the situation; Zhang Ran took an unexpected look at Hanke and his companion, then turned his head back to continue playing chess.

"Wait a moment, wait until our boss finishes his game," He Yong said.

"That's only right," Hanke said immediately.

At the same time, they also confirmed that they had not identified the wrong person; this man really was the legendary Mr. Zhang.

This person, who should have been the mastermind behind this e-commerce war, was now so leisurely, completely different from what they had imagined.

This wait lasted for nearly an hour, and Hanke and his companion felt their legs growing sore; they had originally wanted to find a place to rest, but with He Yong standing to the side watching them coldly, this thought was dispelled without them realizing it.

After Zhang Ran finished his chess game, he walked over, and Hanke immediately stepped forward to introduce himself: "Hello, Mr. Zhang, I am Hanke from Forbes. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Zhang Ran shook his hand and said, "Let's go, let's talk at my house."

Zhang Ran had also guessed the purpose of their visit, or rather, this was something that would happen sooner or later.

Now that the internet knows about the Zhang Ran System and knows about him, Zhang Ran, if his name were missing from the rich list published by Forbes at this time, Forbes's credibility would certainly drop significantly.

This is something Forbes is unwilling to see, yet when they tried to investigate Zhang Ran's assets, they encountered quite a bit of resistance.

With no other choice, they could only come to find Zhang Ran in person; of course, even if they investigated clearly, they would still have some contact with Zhang Ran on their end.

Once inside the courtyard, after Zhang Ran poured tea for the two of them, he asked directly, "What have you come for this time?"

Hanke immediately sat up straight and said, "Mr. Zhang, we at Forbes are about to release a new rich list, so we have come this time to seek your opinion. Could you see if you could make things convenient for us?"

Hanke is a very smooth talker and also has quite an understanding of some Huaxia culture.

"Mr. Zhang, please rest assured, we will absolutely not release things that shouldn't be released," Hanke added hurriedly.

Zhang Ran took a sip of tea and said, "You want to investigate my industries?"

"Mr. Zhang, not investigate; we don't have that right. We just want to understand a bit," Hanke said hurriedly.

Zhang Ran laughed: "Understand? Don't you understand enough already?"

Hanke smiled bitterly: "Mr. Zhang, when we were trying to understand your industries, we encountered some obstacles, so we don't know much."

He was speaking the truth; this was also his insight after dealing with so many wealthy individuals.

Playing mind games with these wealthy people was something he was absolutely incapable of; on the contrary, it was better to just say whatever there was to say.

Zhang Ran thought for a moment; he knew he couldn't stay hidden behind the scenes forever. It might have been possible if the Goddess of Destiny incident hadn't happened, but now that things had blown up so big, if he wanted to keep hiding, he would have to treat everyone in the world like a fool.

Therefore, exposure is inevitable, but he also doesn't want everything to be exposed; selective exposure is necessary.

"How about this: Maikai Supermarket, Fengli Group, Dahe Group, and Yaotian Pharmaceutical—you can go and look into those," Zhang Ran thought for a moment and said.

These have already been exposed, and everyone can guess them anyway; there is no point in hiding them.

As for Kangshilan?

Zhang Ran was not prepared to mention that.

However, Hanke did not want to just let it go like that; he actually knew more, such as Kangshilan, or perhaps Galaxy Capital?

"Mr. Zhang, as far as I know, Kangshilan and Galaxy Capital also have some connection to you?" Hanke asked cautiously.

Once these words were out, Zhang Ran looked at him with calm eyes: "What are you trying to say? Or rather, what are you trying to publish?"

"Cough, cough, well, Mr. Zhang, you misunderstood. My brain just had a lapse for a moment. I'm sorry." Hanke decisively conceded.

With Zhang Ran's previous answer, he was already very satisfied; at the very least, he wouldn't leave empty-handed. However, Huaxia people just love to hide their wealth, Hanke muttered to himself.

"Alright, you go and look into those over there. I won't keep you for a meal," Zhang Ran prepared to start shooing them away.

However, Hanke and his companion didn't just come for this matter this time; there was another matter that someone had asked them to pass on a message about.

"Um, Mr. Zhang, Iron Fir Capital, the Meisheng Consortium... they want to meet with you, Mr. Zhang. What do you think?" Hanke said hurriedly.

This time, he was just a messenger; it was also because those people knew he was coming to visit Zhang Ran, or rather, this was the main purpose.

Zhang Ran's actions are too big now, and these capital groups can no longer sit still; they want to talk to Zhang Ran to see if they can conduct some interest exchanges and avoid such a large-scale struggle, because as things stand, the losses are getting a bit too high.