"No, no, no!" Wang Dongdong said quickly, "This is a bottomless pit. I only owe them a hundred thousand, but they're demanding a million. I've already scraped together a hundred thousand, but I'd rather die than pay a million."
"Moreover, even if I had a million, they'd just demand more."
"You know about this too?" Chen Fan chided lightly.
"Big brother, please, I beg you to put in a good word for me. You know the villa owner; only you can help me." Wang Dongdong pleaded with tears streaming down his face.
"For Ah Xue and your sister's sake, this is the last time."
Chen Fan spoke with a blank expression, "When are they coming?"
"Immediately, they'll be here any moment. Big brother, please wait. Here, have a drink to wet your throat."
Wang Dongdong opened the whiskey and poured a glass for Chen Fan, but he himself drank a different foreign liquor.
Chen Fan didn't move at first, but after waiting for a while and no one appearing, he impatiently urged Wang Dongdong and then downed the drink.
Wang Dongdong glanced in a certain direction and grinned.
"The person you're waiting for hasn't arrived yet?"
Chen Fan said impatiently, "Wang Dongdong, you have ten more minutes. I don't have time to waste with you. If they don't show up, you're on your own."
This time, Wang Dongdong was not so humble. He smiled and said, "Big brother, they actually arrived a while ago."
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people rose from the dark corner of the bar.
With a click, the lights blazed on.
Men and women who were partying in the bar protested with dissatisfaction.
"Tonight, this place is booked by us. Everyone get out immediately!"
An arrogant voice rang out.
Under the bright lights, Jiang Shaolong, full of swagger, led a dozen people towards Chen Fan.
Chen Fan frowned and looked at Wang Dongdong.
Wang Dongdong chuckled obsequiously, "Big brother, I didn't want to do this, but you wouldn't help me when I begged you."
The people Jiang Shaolong brought began to clear the bar under the bartender's coordination.
Smugly, Jiang Shaolong walked up to Chen Fan and laughed, "Chen Fan, you're dead within five minutes. Even God and Jesus can't save you, I, Jiang Shaolong, say so."
He picked up the opened bottle of whiskey, shook it, and said with a smile.
"Five minutes, are you sure?"
Chen Fan asked with a frown.
"Do you know what's in this wine?"
Jiang Shaolong leaned down, looking down from above, and said, "It's an aminotetrahydroquinazoline compound. Oh, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it. To put it simply, it's pufferfish toxin. Five milligrams can be fatal. I gave Wang Dongdong a full ten grams!"
"In less than two minutes, you'll feel difficulty breathing and paralysis of your limbs. At this dosage, you'll be dead within three minutes."
"Despair, Chen Fan? This poison ranks among the top five deadliest substances. I went through a lot of trouble to get it. Using it on you, you won't suffer for too long. You can consider yourself lucky!"
Looking at the triumphant Jiang Shaolong, Chen Fan suddenly smiled and asked, "Do you hate me that much?"
"Yes, I hate you. I wish I could tear you to pieces and scatter your ashes."
Jiang Shaolong gritted his teeth, his face contorted, and said, "I want you to experience the greatest pain in the world, to despair, and to beg me for mercy on your knees."
"But you can't, can you?"
Chen Fan's expression was calm, as if he hadn't been poisoned.
Jiang Shaolong snorted, "I don't know what kind of rotten luck you, a good-for-nothing, stumbled into to get involved with the owner of Villa Number One. Otherwise, I would have made you wish you were dead. For the sake of the villa owner, I'll give you a quick end."
Chen Fan said with a half-smile, "So, you bribed Wang Dongdong to poison me?"
"Do you know how much I spent? Three million one hundred thousand. Chen Fan, for a good-for-nothing like you, I had to waste such a large sum of money. You should feel honored and die without regret!"
Jiang Shaolong said coldly, "After you die, I will build a good relationship with the owner of Villa Number One, and then I can rise to power and become the most prominent figure in Hangjiang City."
Chen Fan chuckled and said, "You don't even know who the owner of Villa Number One is, yet you have the audacity to try and leverage their influence. Isn't that ridiculous?"
"What's ridiculous is you."
Jiang Shaolong became furious at his words and shouted, "Chen Fan, you useless, penniless wretch, what right do you have to fawn over someone like the villa owner, a dragon among men?"
"Even you, a worthless son-in-law kicked out of the house, could have such an opportunity. Why can't I?"
"What makes you better than me?"
"In terms of family background, talent, everything, you're not even fit to carry my shoes!"
Jiang Shaolong's face turned ferocious, and his voice became a roar, "But you, a good-for-nothing, could marry Su Yingxia, and could get close to the mysterious villa owner. There are always big shots to back you up. Why?"
"I, Jiang Shaolong, a distinguished talent, have repeatedly suffered bad luck and losses because of a piece of trash like you. I'm just not convinced. I want you dead, I want you dead!"
Believing Chen Fan was doomed, Jiang Shaolong poured out his twisted thoughts without reservation.
He wanted to control the Su family and marry Su Yingxia, but she had been married to Chen Fan before.
He wanted to get close to the villa owner, but Chen Fan got there first, slapping his face in the villa and losing all his dignity.
Of course, what he hated most was becoming impotent after being beaten by Chen Fan, but he was too ashamed to say it.
"To want me dead, you are not worthy!"
Chen Fan said casually, then suddenly grabbed the bottle of whiskey, poured himself a glass, and drank it down.
This action stunned Jiang Shaolong.
"Aren't you curious? Five minutes are almost up, and I'm still fine?"
Chen Fan said disdainfully, "Pufferfish toxin is fatal in doses over seven milligrams. If it were ten grams, it wouldn't take five minutes; half a minute would be enough."
"If there was poison, do you think I wouldn't smell it?"
"Wang Dongdong, you..."
Jiang Shaolong's heart sank, and he suddenly looked at Wang Dongdong.
Wang Dongdong chuckled and said, "Young Master Jiang, murder is punishable by death. Three million is a lot, but life is more important than money."
"You were just acting for me?"
Jiang Shaolong understood. Wang Dongdong had never poisoned Chen Fan at all.
The dialogue he had just heard was merely Wang Dongdong's performance for him.
He trembled with rage, pointed at Wang Dongdong, and roared, "Wang Dongdong, you're finished. I will definitely kill you!"
Wang Dongdong didn't seem too scared. He said, "Young Master Jiang, I'm just a thug, but you don't seem to take me seriously at all. You never intended to give me the three million, did you?"
Jiang Shaolong was furious, gnashed his teeth at Wang Dongdong, then looked at Chen Fan, and grinned sinisterly, "Good, very good. Chen Fan, Wang Dongdong, you two dirty bugs from the lowest rung, you dare to scheme against me?"
"You think you're fine because you weren't poisoned? Today, you're still dead!"
Saying this, Jiang Shaolong stood up, pulled something from his waist, clicked it, and pointed it at Chen Fan.
It was a black handgun.