Chen Fan observed these young masters.
Some of them were observing him in return.
In the third round, Chen Fan was dealt the good guy card and was the first to be eliminated.
The decision to kill him was made by Shen Tingxuan. This woman held a grudge against Chen Fan and, upon receiving the killer card again, chose to eliminate Chen Fan first.
She exposed herself in the process and was subsequently voted out by Du Fumin and Xu Yuntian.
Next, Xu Yuntian was killed.
During the subsequent vote, Du Fumin, based on everyone's accusations and his own analysis, meticulously unraveled the situation and instigated others to vote according to his line of thinking.
Ultimately, Du Fumin, the killer, emerged victorious.
This performance further piqued Chen Fan's interest in Du Fumin.
In the fourth round, Chen Fan survived until the end, facing off against Xu Yuntian. As the killer, he was voted out, his efforts thwarted at the last moment.
In the fifth round, Shen Tingxuan decided she no longer wished to play and switched to being the judge. Shen Tinghao stepped in.
The situation immediately became more intriguing. Most people hesitated to point fingers at Shen Tinghao, making the game complex.
Shen Tinghao's cunning and intelligence were not much inferior to Du Fumin's. Coupled with Li Qian and others' intentional or unintentional reluctance to accuse him, his performance was exceptional.
Chen Fan experienced both wins and losses, but regardless of the outcome, his performance was commendable.
As the final round concluded, Shen Tinghao declared, "We've been playing for a while. Let's call it a day."
No one objected.
When the final accounts were tallied, Chen Fan had actually won 1.2 million.
Of course, such sums were negligible to the young masters present, and none of them placed any importance on these stakes.
"Chen Zhuo, let's exchange contact information!" Shen Tinghao stood up to leave and then said to Chen Fan, "Let's have tea and dinner together sometime!"
Chen Fan was surprised and stood up, smiling, "Sure!"
They then exchanged contact information.
Patting Chen Fan on the shoulder, he left with Shen Tingxuan.
The others also bid farewell. Li Qian and Yu Zhen, among others, greeted Chen Fan.
Only Du Fumin and Xu Yuntian remained in the private room.
"Mr. Chen, the matter is settled. You can send someone to the Xingyue Lake project department to sign the contract at any time," Xu Yuntian said. "I am the legal representative, and the contracts are ready. Once signed, your funds will be transferred to the project department's account, and it will be effective. The specific investment phases will depend on your cash flow, and we won't let you suffer any losses!"
"Alright, thank you very much, Mr. Xu!"
Chen Fan readily agreed.
"Congratulations, Mr. Chen. Here's to a pleasant collaboration!"
Du Fumin extended his hand.
Chen Fan laughed heartily and shook Du Fumin's hand. "It's all thanks to your care, Young Master Du and Mr. Xu. A pleasure working with you!"
"Great, we'll walk out together and see Mr. Chen off."
The three exchanged contact information and left the private room to head downstairs.
Yu Fuguo had been waiting in the lobby for a long time, but he showed no impatience. Upon seeing Chen Fan, he immediately came forward.
Du Fumin and Xu Yuntian paid Yu Fuguo no mind. After a brief greeting, they got into their cars and departed.
"How did it go, Brother Chen?" Yu Fuguo asked expectantly. "This dinner took so long, everything must be fine, right?"
"Naturally," Chen Fan said proudly. "With me personally handling it, how could there be any issues? Did you see Young Master Shen? He even invited me for tea!"
"Brother Chen's ability and charm are truly extraordinary. In time, Longteng Group will undoubtedly be yours to command."
Yu Fuguo lavished praise, saying, "Brother Chen, when this project makes money, don't forget to let your brother have a little taste, okay?"
"Don't worry, you'll get your share," Chen Fan nodded and said, "Come to my company tomorrow, and I'll have Gu Weidong give you a few small projects."
"Thank you so much, Brother Chen, haha. Following Brother Chen, I feel I'll surely prosper one day!"
Yu Fuguo continued his flattery.
Chen Fan smiled and waved goodbye. "I'm off."
Once in the car, Chen Fan took out another phone and dialed Xiang Jingzhu.
"I need the most detailed information on Du Fumin, Xu Yuntian, Shen Tinghao, Li Qian... Send it to me as soon as you get it!"
Xiang Jingzhu on the other end paused for a moment. "You... suspect these people are related to the Brotherhood?"
"Not sure yet. Send me the information first, as detailed as possible."
After hanging up, Chen Fan continued driving, recalling the performance of those individuals during the game.
Du Fumin and Xu Yuntian were the most likely core members of the Brotherhood. Both their status, cunning, and abilities were fitting for high-ranking core members of the Brotherhood.
As for Shen Tinghao, he was harder to gauge. His deliberate attempt to befriend Chen Fan seemed to have ulterior motives.
Among the remaining individuals, there were likely one or two more members of the Brotherhood, but it was difficult to identify them. Li Qian was a strong possibility.
Regardless, he felt he had now touched upon the core of the Brotherhood, and his next actions should be directed at these individuals.
Furthermore, Chen Fan felt his position as division manager might not last much longer.
The influence of these young masters was immense. Although he had made preparations, if someone truly wanted to, it wouldn't be too difficult to discover that Chen Zhuo and Chen Tianjiao were the same person.
Moreover, Shen Tinghao's doubts in this regard might not have completely disappeared.
As he drove away, Du Fumin's car stopped outside a chess club.
He entered the club, where there were few patrons, mostly elderly customers who enjoyed Go.
"Young Master Du has arrived?"
An old man greeted him with a smile, clearly familiar with Du Fumin.
"Mmm!"
Du Fumin nodded and entered a quiet, elegant, yet very private room.
Inside, two people were engaged in a game of Go.
With a snap, a black stone was placed, and the game paused. The black stones formed a continuous formation, dominating the board.
Several of the white player's groups were clearly on the defensive, struggling to maintain their positions. The situation of being overwhelmed was all too apparent.
What was even more frustrating for the white player was that not only was the strategic advantage significantly behind, but the actual territory was also far from sufficient.
Even if the white player could manage to save all their groups, they would still be behind by more than ten points in territory.
And after the endgame was concluded, the white player would still have to endure the black player's constant nibbling at the edges.
The player using white stones was a middle-aged man. He gave a wry smile, placed a few stones on the board, and resigned.
"National Master Xie, thank you for the guidance. That's all for today. I'll play again when I have time!"
The player using black stones was a young man in his late twenties, with a refined appearance and a detached, pure demeanor. He spoke with a smile.
"Young Master Wu's Go skills are already comparable to those of National Master Ke Liang."
The middle-aged man commented, nodded, and turned to leave.
National Master Ke Liang was currently the unrivaled champion of the Go world, having created his own era and won eight major titles, making him unstoppable in the Go community.
Glancing at Du Fumin, the young man smiled. "A'Min, would you like to play a game?"
"I won't seek self-torture," Du Fumin replied, shaking his head. "Even giving you five handicap stones, I was thoroughly defeated. I absolutely will not play Go with you."
The young man chuckled. "The joy of Go lies not in victory or defeat, but in the setup, the battle, the control over the entire board from a single stone, and the sense of mastery over any single stone from the perspective of the whole game."
Du Fumin said, "In this world, how many people possess such a level of control?"
The young man calmly placed the exquisite Hetian jade stones back into their box and asked, "How was it?"
"From this one observation, that Chen Zhuo is cunning and has depth. He can be considered a talented individual."
"As for what Young Master Zhang said earlier about his strong competitiveness and arrogance, it wasn't very apparent. Perhaps because our identities are not ordinary, unlike that Zhang Shaoyu, Chen Zhuo concealed his pride."
"Elaborate," the young man said.
Du Fumin nodded and recounted everything Chen Fan had said and done during dinner and the 'Werewolf' game.
He reproduced Chen Fan's entire performance with remarkable observation and memory.
The young man listened intently, occasionally asking questions.
When Du Fumin finished speaking, he pondered for a few seconds and then said, "Chen Tianjiao initially used the name Chen Zhuo when he was with the Fang family!"
"You mean, this is not a coincidence?" Du Fumin frowned upon hearing this.