But where there is joy, there is sorrow. Lu Weishen's indifferent expression clearly showed his mood.
"This won't do," Lu Weishen worried inwardly and then signaled his disciple.
The latter, understanding, immediately quickened his pace. Before long, the host on stage, who was supposed to announce the next match, suddenly announced a halftime break.
"What the heck? They didn't mention any halftime break before, did they?"
"What's going on? How long do we have to wait?"
As soon as the host said this, the crowd below became displeased. They were just getting into it, and now they were told it was stopped?
A chorus of complaints arose from the audience. These were not ordinary citizens. To be honest, who among them didn't own several luxury cars? When had they ever suffered such an indignity?
Facing the surging tide of complaints, the host's forehead beaded with sweat, but he still braced himself and announced the notification he had just received.
"My apologies, everyone. It was our oversight in not informing you in advance. I will clarify now: our arrangement is to determine the winners by dividing the competition into the first and second halves. Today's event is only the first half. We ask for your understanding."
As soon as the host finished, he scurried off the stage and backstage. This time, not only the crowd below, but even Li Chonglou was taken aback.
Why didn't I know about this?
Li Chonglou glanced at Lu Weishen and keenly noticed that his disciple had vanished at some point.
He then looked at Lu Weishen, who appeared unfazed, as if he had long anticipated this moment.
Li Chonglou immediately understood, "They really reached out quite far." Li Chonglou murmured, looking coldly at Lu Weishen, while Lu Weishen seemed not to notice, continuing to walk off stage on his own.
Li Chonglou let out a cold laugh and turned to leave. Subsequently, the staff from both sides came on stage to carry away the remaining treasures.
Seeing that both protagonists had withdrawn, the crowd below had no choice but to give up and also began to leave.
"That was too sudden. I was really enjoying it."
"Exactly. They didn't even notify us beforehand."
"Oh well, at least I had my fill today. But tomorrow is New Year's Eve, how could they arrange it so bizarrely?"
"All we can do now is wait for notification."
Confusion and bewilderment were the expressions on most people's faces as they left. Only a small number of people left with thoughtful looks.
"This is not that simple."
While intelligent people were not many, they did exist, and some had even guessed part of the truth.
Why was the competition suddenly interrupted?
It was simple, because the instigator, Lu Weishen, had no more trump cards.
Lu Weishen, after leaving the competition stage, went straight back to his car, where his disciple was already waiting.
"Master, what do we do now? That Li Chonglou actually saw through our trump cards..."
"I was careless this time. I wasn't prepared enough."
Lu Weishen stared ahead with a somber expression, as if contemplating something important.
"Let's go back first. We'll discuss it when we get back. Regardless, I definitely cannot lose this competition!"
A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Lu Weishen's eyes. His disciple immediately understood his master's intent. He glanced back towards the association and then pulled out his phone.
After Li Chonglou regrouped with Jiang Yuxin, Lin Zhendong, and others, Lin Zhendong was the first to warn, "Be careful of Lu Weishen."
Li Chonglou nodded, "I understand. But before that, I have something else to deal with first."
Jiang Yuxin inquired, "What happened?"
Li Chonglou did not want to worry Jiang Yuxin, so he didn't say much. Instead, he asked Wu Hao to take good care of her and to stay with her and their master. Then, he turned and walked into the association's inner hall.
This competition was held right outside his association because Li Chonglou was the true organizer. However, someone had now made a decision without his knowledge.
With a grim expression, Li Chonglou went straight to the host's office. As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw the host packing his belongings.
"President, I'm sorry. I was forced into this."
As soon as Ying Yuan saw Li Chonglou, he immediately knelt down. Without Li Chonglou having to question him, he confessed everything.
It turned out that three days ago, his wife and daughter were suddenly kidnapped by a group of thugs. They then threatened him to follow their orders, promising to return them unharmed after today's events.
"They just contacted me and told me to say those things. President, I really had no choice."
Ying Yuan understood that by saying this, he had betrayed the association and Li Chonglou, which was why he was packing his belongings as soon as he returned. He felt he no longer had the face to see Li Chonglou.
Ying Yuan had even prepared himself, thinking that Li Chonglou would be furious or even resort to violence, but he would endure it all. For his wife and daughter, he was willing to tolerate and abandon everything.
However, none of his expectations came to pass.
A pair of hands suddenly lifted him up. Ying Yuan looked at Li Chonglou in astonishment. Li Chonglou's expression was calm, and he said leisurely, "It's not your fault, and you don't need to leave. What you need to do now is tell me everything from the beginning, especially about that group of thugs."
About ten minutes later, Li Chonglou walked out of Ying Yuan's office with a blank expression and headed straight outside. Inside the room, Ying Yuan looked at Li Chonglou's retreating back with a mixture of doubt and belief.
Li Chonglou first found Jiang Yuxin and the others and gave them brief instructions before leaving the association.
Jiang Yuxin gazed in the direction Li Chonglou had left, appearing as if she had something to say but hesitated. Lin Zhendong, however, saw through it and comforted her, "Don't worry, it's fine. With my disciple's current strength, not many people can harm him. Moreover, he must go at a time like this."
Jiang Yuxin asked in confusion, "Why?"
Lin Zhendong said solemnly, "Because he is the President. If he cannot handle or mishandle this matter today, the enemy will repeat it a second, a third time. By then, the entire association will be in turmoil, even collapsing."
In fact, this was one of the reasons Li Chonglou chose to handle it personally. If this matter was not resolved perfectly, it would have endless repercussions for the entire association.
"Hello, Captain. It's me. I need a favor."
Given the urgency of the situation, Li Chonglou had to rely on the resources of the Eagle Special Forces to obtain information as quickly as possible.
After reporting all the information he had obtained, Li Chonglou quickly received clues about the thugs.
"Within this month, your snakeheads only sold three batches of guns. One group was outsiders. The current suspected area should be within three kilometers of Jiayi Factory."
Upon receiving the intelligence, Li Chonglou immediately drove to Jiayi Factory. However, upon arrival, Li Chonglou realized that the surrounding area was all factory districts, and many of them were abandoned factories.