He, a CEO ranked in the top ten of Asia’s billionaire list, was actually not as clear-sighted as a mere repairman.
How ironic.
“But for just a low-level guy to have such insight, he counts as quite the talent,” President Hao turned to laugh it off.
Suddenly he noticed in the lane ahead, a small truck seemed about to pass by.
At first he didn’t pay it much mind, but in the next second, the truck abruptly veered as if out of control, charging straight at his car!
Whoosh—
“Eh?!”
“Ah!!!”
In an instant, the three inside the car were all thrown into panic!
Hao Liguo tried desperately to yank the steering wheel!
But he couldn’t change the inevitable collision—
Bang!!!
Screech screech screech…
Violent impact, ear-piercing brakes, glass shattering, human screams, all instantly flooded Hao Liguo’s mind, making him lose consciousness amidst the agony and terror.
Splash!
It felt like just a moment, or perhaps a long time had passed…
Hao Liguo felt a bucket of cold water splashed on his face!
“Eh?!”
The man instantly woke up, the pain all over his body and dizziness in his head telling him — what just happened wasn’t a nightmare.
“Where… is this?”
He tried to move, to stretch out his hands and feet, to look for his family —
But all he saw was a somewhat indifferent, young face.
His hands and feet seemed to be restrained, and this young man was holding a bucket, clearly the one who had done all this to him.
“You…who are you! Where is my family! Do you… know who I am?!”
The aura of a superior instantly erupted from the CEO, as if trying to overawe this young man before him.
But unfortunately, the other’s face remained cold and indifferent.
“Hoo…young man, listen to me, you’ve got a long road ahead…there’s no need to throw your future away over something like this. Look, whatever you want, I can give it to you.”
Seeing that intimidation didn’t work, Hao Liguo switched to persuasion.
“Heh…did you know, the camera outside your house was broken?”
The man didn’t respond to Hao Liguo’s offer, nor did he state any demands.
He just said this bizarre line.
“Your wife goes out for beauty treatments every Friday. Your daughter attends X City’s private elite high school. Your housekeeper naps every day from two to three thirty in the afternoon.”
“I used that time to go in and sabotage the camera, then installed one with a blinking red light. Heh~ looked exactly the same, didn’t it?”
“You…what exactly do you want…”
Hearing this detailed account, Hao Liguo was furious, but also felt a chill down his spine.
This was clearly a premeditated kidnapping…and this guy in front of him was careful, probably planning it for a long time!
Damn…if only he’d stationed more guards at the villa.
“Mm…every Saturday night, you go home to eat with your wife and daughter, and you never bring anyone along. You insist on driving an old sedan yourself — a habit from when you were in real estate, right?”
“From a big boss dancing on the edge of the gray zone…to a charitable figure.”
The man slowly squatted down, meeting the eyes of President Hao, who was tied to a rickety chair.
“What do you want!!”
The middle-aged man’s temple veins bulged! He hadn’t lost his temper like this in decades!
They say the older someone is, the more tempered they become, the calmer their heart.
But a life that had been too smooth, coupled with long-standing high status, and his current predicament, had clearly made Hao Liguo lose the caution a businessman should have.
“It’s really nothing, actually~” the man said with a smile, rising to his feet.
“It’s just that…I’ve been planning to wipe out your whole family for a very long time~”
“You…”
Hao Liguo’s body trembled slightly.
He could tell this guy wasn’t joking.
“Don’t make that shocked face~” the man said softly as he washed his hands.
“Before you became one of the elites…what did you used to be?”
“You…haven’t forgotten, have you?”
Before…before becoming a man of status…
Hao Liguo’s mind went blank for a moment.
Once, he’d been at the very bottom of society—running shady deals, small businesses, scraping by…
No—this wasn’t the time to think about that!
His eyes darted around the room, but he found nothing that could help him escape—not even a pin.
However…on a side table, he spotted an old newspaper.
Or rather, a carefully cut-out section of a paper, mounted in a frame with deliberate care.
[In XX County, on Pingshan Street, Dong Hutong No.2, house demolition leads to tragic deaths of parents, daughter, and elderly family member—all four perished.]
As he read this, Hao Liguo’s pupils shrank sharply!
Memories began to surface…of things that happened before he struck it rich.
Back then, he was just a small-time real estate developer…and that incident was what helped him make the right connections, paving the way for his smooth rise to power.
It had been…an “accident” that happened with tacit approval from “certain people above.”
Just a few rural workers dead—back then, that was normal.
No internet, no viral videos, even TV was scarcely available.
With some people intentionally covering it up, it was soon forgotten.
What a joke…that must’ve been nearly twenty years ago!
Besides, in that era where you had to be ruthless to survive, what successful person didn’t have a dark past?
“W-wait, there must be some misunderstanding between us!”
For the first time, Hao Liguo truly panicked.
Because he realized—this man wasn’t after money; he was after blood.
“Pingshan Street, Dong Hutong No.2.”
The man flicked the water from his hands, a dead smile on his face as he looked at this mighty tycoon.
“That was my home…before you came along.”
“Before I got to you, I already visited the builders, the project managers. And now, you—”
The man slowly turned, suddenly grabbing Hao Liguo’s hair and yanking hard.
“Argh!!”
As Hao Liguo cried out in pain, the man calmly clapped his hands, then said in a low voice, “You’re the final link. Heh…actually, you don’t need to be so tense right now. I plan to let your family first experience the pain my family went through…and then I’ll come for you~”
Just like how I watched my loved ones get buried alive in the rubble…my sister was only just starting elementary school then…what had she done to deserve the agony of being buried alive…?
“Madman…madman!! You lunatic! Let me go! Let them go!…I…no! We can talk this out! Listen to me, kid! In this world, everything can be negotiated!”
“I can…I can give you whatever you want! Far beyond anything you ever imagined! Trust me, please…we can…we can work this out!”
Rage, desperation, bargaining, pleading…
Hao Liguo had never imagined that he—someone so rich he wouldn’t blink at throwing away a billion, a man with unfathomable depths—would, at his age, experience such violent swings of emotion.
But…no matter how intense, it all seemed…futile.
Because the man before him never offered a second option.
In those eyes, as still as dead water, there wasn’t even the thrill of revenge.
Only a quiet announcement.
“Then…let’s begin.”