From Sun Wei's reaction, it was clear that he hadn't just decided to join the Chi Army on a whim. It was more likely that he'd been wanting to get out of this business for a while, and especially didn't want to cooperate with the Xue family anymore.

Why was that?

First, the final payments were too difficult to settle. If he quit, his men wouldn't have anything to eat. If he continued, he wouldn't make much money and would still have to worry about covering the costs. Plus, Sun's base was located at the border of 045, in the conflict zone between the Chi Army and the rebels. To put it bluntly, if the two sides ever fought a major battle, they could lose everything.

So, if he wanted to keep going, he'd have to move and become a lackey for the Xue family in rebel territory. But Sun Wei didn't want to do that. The Chi Army had been very active recently and its power was growing. He also felt that the 125th Army was unreliable. Furthermore, he was just a second-tier "supplier" under the Xue family and couldn't talk to the upper echelons of District One. So there was no need to risk his entire family dying to serve a bunch of black people.

Sun Wei had been wanting to find a way out for a long time, but he hadn't had an opportunity.

As soon as Su Tianyu arrived, his mind started racing.

It was like an indecisive customer meeting a prostitute eager to sell; it would be hard to avoid a transaction.

In front of the SUV, Su Tianyu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Sun Wei. "The Chi Army's ranks are full..."

"Chief Su, to be honest, if you take twenty million from me, my thousand or so men won't even have any working capital." Sun Wei grabbed Su Tianyu, tearfully pleading. "Without money, without the factory, there's no way to make a living... How are we supposed to survive? The Chi Army is a Chinese unit, claiming to protect Chinese interests... You can't just watch us, a thousand or so people, become homeless, can you? And... if I give you the money, and the rebels and District One find out, they'll accuse me of funding the enemy, won't they? If they get angry, we'll be slaughtered...!"

"Yeah, Chief Su, if the higher-ups find out we're funding the enemy, they'll definitely come over with machine guns and mow us down...!"

"Chief Su, please take us in!"

"..."

The Sun family all came over to beg for mercy, their words sincere and their posture very humble.

A good robbery had turned into suffering people begging a living Buddha for help. If you didn't help them, you'd be letting down the Chi Army's slogan.

Su Tianyu's head was buzzing. He suddenly felt like he'd mobilized an entire regiment, only to end up losing money.

One hour later.

Hou Guoyu, accompanied by Xin Xiaodong, met with more than twenty black marketeers active in the local area at the regimental headquarters in the 045 border area.

None of these people's shady dealings could be brought out into the open. There were people who trafficked in human beings, smuggled military equipment, forced people to grow opium, and kidnapped people for the flesh trade. And many of them were black, so they definitely had some connection with the rebels.

"I'm not going to make things difficult for you. One million per family, and you can give it to us and we'll leave. If you don't give it, then we'll just have to do things another way." Xin Xiaodong took a drag from his cigarette. "Half an hour to gather the money. I'll have someone pack it up in sacks."

This was an arrogant, outright demand.

...

On the resort island in Washington.

An Qiqi and Qiuqiu accompanied Wang Ying off the boat. The three girlfriends found a cold drink shop by the shore and sat down, talking softly.

"Spill it. What's going on?" Qiuqiu asked, propping her chin up with her right hand, her voice indifferent.

Wang Ying lowered her head, her mood very low.

An Qiqi looked at her, arms crossed. "Are you going to talk or not?"

Wang Ying buried her face in her hands. After a long moment, she said with a haggard expression, "Yes, Qiuqiu is right. I used company funds to start a new project with a friend. Now... the funds are tied up, and we need to inject more capital to get it going again, but I don't have any money."

An Qiqi was speechless when she heard this. Qiuqiu drank her drink and rolled her eyes.

"The use of these funds was approved by my superiors. In short, he also wanted to make a little extra money." Wang Ying sighed. "But now that the funds are tied up, he immediately turned against me and secretly told me... if the money isn't replenished, he'll sue me, and I'll go to jail for financial embezzlement..."

"You're in finance yourself, and you dared to use this kind of money?!" Qiuqiu raised her eyebrows at her. "Didn't you think about the consequences if you couldn't pay it back?"

Wang Ying looked at her. "Actually, a lot of people in finance aren't clean. You can't make big money if you're timid. There's over 100 million in cash sitting in our project team's account... If we don't use it, someone else will. I'm just unlucky."

"That's theft!" Qiuqiu said, pursing her lips. "It's normal for people to report you and sue you."

An Qiqi crossed her arms and looked at Wang Ying with a blank expression. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Wang Ying hesitated for a moment, then gathered her courage and said, "Qiqi, Qiuqiu, you know that I can't count on my family anymore. Over the years... the only friends I've confided in are you. I... I really don't know what to do...!"

"Alright, alright, stop with the build-up," Qiuqiu asked. "Just tell us what you want!"

"Can you invest in me?!" Wang Ying said very seriously. "The project I'm investing in now is definitely going to make money, but my partner made some mistakes in the investment budget when evaluating the industry. We didn't expect the project to cost so much money, so we got stuck. If you two could each invest a little, let me balance the books, and use the remaining money to get the project going and stock up on inventory, I'll definitely recover in a year or so."

An Qiqi was silent when she heard this.

"Just say it directly. How much do you want?" Qiuqiu asked.

"If you can raise twelve million for me, I can get through this crisis." Wang Ying immediately said, "I'm selling high-end tea, and my clients are all upper-class people who are willing to collect it..."

"Six million each? You've got some nerve! Do you think we print money?! Qiuqiu frowned.

Wang Ying lowered her head. "I really have no choice..."

"Forget it, forget it, don't give me that wronged act." Qiuqiu waved her hand. "You're always crying when something happens... It's so annoying. Fine, six million... I'll see what I can do. It's not a big deal."

"Thank you so much! With the money you invest, we'll get a share certification, and it will be counted as your share." Wang Ying stood up excitedly and grabbed Qiuqiu's hand.

"Hey, stop being so clingy. Just this once, and don't let it happen again." Qiuqiu's tone with Wang Ying was like an older brother talking to a younger brother. It wasn't very respectful, but she was still helping her friend in a critical moment.

Wang Ying turned to look at An Qiqi and said softly, "Qiqi, there's one more thing you need to help me with."

"What is it?" An Qiqi asked.

"Could you invite your aunt to attend a company event? To support me." Wang Ying pleaded with a long face. "Your aunt is a high-ranking official in the council. If she can show her face and help me, then... then it'll be hard for the company not to make money."

An Qiqi looked at her and frowned.