"Impossible, absolutely impossible! You're bluffing me!" Cao Zhi's eyes widened, his spirit shattered, and his face turned ashen.
This matter was extremely confidential. Apart from the Tang father and son and Lu Weishen, no one else knew about it.
Even the assassins were hired at a high price from the dark web.
How could Li Zhonglou have known in advance?
Even if he did, this big guy couldn't have wiped out all those assassins by himself.
"What's going on?" Lü Chenggong was utterly bewildered and finally couldn't help but ask.
"This auction was a conspiracy targeting your Lü family, but unfortunately, it collapsed on its own," Li Zhonglou's gaze swept over Tang Xiuzhu, his father, and Lu Weishen, and he sneered, "But they weren't willing to give up, so they used Cao Zhi's feud with me to instigate his revenge."
"Killing me, and taking you out along the way!"
"But they didn't consider that heaven's net, though vast, misses nothing."
No one knew that all of Cao Zhi's actions were under Li Zhonglou's control.
This was all thanks to Wu Hao's professionalism.
When Li Zhonglou asked him to investigate people related to Lu Weishen, he discovered Cao Zhi's transaction records on the dark web.
The targets were directly aimed at Li Zhonglou and Lü Chenggong.
That's why Xu Lie and others were arranged to be on standby outside the venue, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Of course, Xu Lie alone was struggling against seven assassins, but the police were not to be underestimated.
These assassins from the dark web were all wanted criminals.
Hidden in the shadows, the police couldn't do anything about them. With Li Zhonglou's tip-off, a net had already been cast. As soon as they appeared, they were caught like turtles in a jar.
Zheng He and Cai Wen, who were pure bystanders, were completely stunned.
How could Li Zhonglou, this son-in-law, be so deeply hidden?
With such cunning and methods, was he even human?
If he had offended him, would he still be given a way out?
Thinking of this, they regretted it to their core.
They wished they could kneel down and beg Li Zhonglou for mercy on the spot.
The Tang Xiuzhu father and son's expressions became increasingly somber, with sharp glints appearing in their eyes.
With Cao Zhi's failure and their conspiracy exposed by Li Zhonglou on the spot, they had lost their chance to move against Lü Chenggong.
After the auction, their Tang family would face being expelled from the board of directors.
They might even go to jail.
Were they really going to fail like this?
"Li Zhonglou, you ruined my reputation! I will not rest until you are dead!" At this moment, Cao Zhi's face contorted, and madness erupted in his eyes as he roared and lunged at Li Zhonglou.
*Crack!*
Before he could get close, Xu Lie delivered a powerful whip kick to Cao Zhi's neck.
The force, as immense as a mountain pressing down, directly forced him to his knees, cracking the floor tiles.
The sound of bones fracturing from his kneecaps was sickening.
Without even a scream, Cao Zhi's eyelids rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.
Fortunately, the guests had already moved to the second floor; otherwise, how many people would have been shocked by this scene.
"Old Tang, I, your old Lü, treated you well. You're too ambitious!" Lü Chenggong withdrew his gaze from Cao Zhi and stared intently at Tang Guanghe, scolding him.
Hearing this, a sinister grin appeared on Tang Guanghe's somber face, "I treated you well? That's laughable!"
"As one of the group's founders and the second largest shareholder, what have I received over the years?"
"When the company went public, you held the board hostage and renamed it Lü's. Did you consider how my Tang family felt?"
"You are self-willed and arrogant. The company is destined to fall into an abyss in your hands."
"For the benefit of the shareholders and the company, I had no choice but to oust you."
His words were spoken with righteous indignation, seeming to carry some reason.
Li Zhonglou listened and let out cold sneers.
As expected, capitalists could twist black into white and justify stealing someone else's possessions so righteously.
No wonder villains never blame themselves; these wrongdoings were natural choices for them, the correct path.
Man dies for wealth, birds die for food; this is human nature, nothing to be ashamed of.
But using others as stepping stones for it was a detestable act.
What was the saying, "one general's success is built on ten thousand bones"? That was merely an excuse.
Li Zhonglou hated these people the most. He snorted, "You dealt with Lü's, but you dragged me into it as a shield. That was your biggest mistake."
"To use me, you two are not qualified!"
"Prepare to rot in prison. Your scandalous deeds are so numerous that even I can't stand them."
Lu Weishen's face tightened, and his heart trembled slightly.
He could absolve himself of today's events; it wasn't that related to him anyway.
But Li Zhonglou's words made him inexplicably fearful.
It was obvious that Li Zhonglou believed he and Tang Guanghe were the masterminds behind this.
Of course, that was the truth, but this feeling of being targeted wasn't pleasant.
Especially considering that the methods Li Zhonglou displayed had far exceeded his expectations.
At this moment, Tang Xiuzhu's heart was in utter disarray.
Li Zhonglou's words seemed to strip him bare, exposing his dark and ignoble heart.
Thinking of going from the esteemed young master of the conglomerate to a prisoner, the vast chasm between these two states filled him with fear.
A cornered dog will leap.
He, Tang Xiuzhu, was never a good person.
If Li Zhonglou dared to pressure him like this, how could he simply wait to die?
"Li Zhonglou, what are you so arrogant about!" Finally, Tang Xiuzhu tore off his disguise, pointed at Li Zhonglou, and cursed fiercely, "If you want my father and me to die, I'll drag you down with us!"
With that, he actually pulled a dagger from his embrace and, using his proximity to Lü Yunxu, suddenly darted behind her.
He pressed the dagger against Lü Yunxu's neck and yelled, "You think you're so tough? Try it!"
"If you don't want her to die, get Lü Chenggong to prepare a private jet to send us abroad!"
They knew their own affairs. The things this father and son had done in private, as Li Zhonglou said, were enough to land them in prison for life.
With this precedent, whether Li Zhonglou truly possessed the evidence no longer mattered.
What mattered was that they had suffered a crushing defeat.
If they didn't have other bargaining chips, their lives were over.
Fortunately, they still had Lü Yunxu.
He still had the qualification to fight back with all his might.
Seeing this, Tang Guanghe's pupils contracted sharply, and he moved closer to his son.
Clearly, father and son intended to go together.
"Tang Xiuzhu, you little beast, how dare you!" Lü Chenggong's face contorted as he saw his daughter being held hostage.
In his entire life, his beloved daughter was what he cared about most.
If he had to choose between the company and his daughter, he would undoubtedly choose the latter.
Now, his daughter was being held at knifepoint in front of him, how could he not be enraged?
Conversely, Lü Yunxu, despite being a hostage, remained remarkably calm. "Tang Xiuzhu, don't do anything reckless."
"Your current actions will lead you to eternal damnation!"
"Shut up!" Tang Xiuzhu shouted, "Because you, you bitch, brought this bastard Li Zhonglou here, I'm already damned."
"I showed you all sorts of kindness, but you pretended not to notice and never took me seriously."
"Today, I'll let you know that I, Tang Xiuzhu, am not someone you can underestimate."
As he spoke, a palpable greed and possessiveness burned in Tang Xiuzhu's eyes.
He had figured it out. As long as he could leave here and get on the plane, he would forcefully possess Lü Yunxu.
Turning the fantasy into reality would fulfill his long-held dream.
He might even be able to use her as a protective amulet.
At the same time, Xu Lie clenched his fists and took a step forward.
But Li Zhonglou immediately stopped him, "This kind of trash, I'll handle it myself."