Chapter 924 — A Share of the Spoils

"Oh, is that so? But what if Gu Pengzhan brought someone in from overseas?" The moment Xiao Ji learned that there were no real fighters to be found in the domestic mercenary outfits, his thoughts turned to the ones abroad.

"Do you think Gu Pengzhan has that kind of ability? If he did, his company would already be one of the Fortune Global 500, not merely one of the national top five hundred!" Zhao Qibing said with contempt. "Relax. If he could hire anyone stronger, would he settle for second best and drag in some piece of trash for you two to beat on?"

"That's true enough!" Xiao Ji finally let out a breath and nodded, reassured. "Thank you for clearing that up for me, Young Master Bing!"

"Mm, now that you mention it, I'm rather tempted myself. I'd like to go and take a little off him too! By the way, what terms did you two squeeze out of Gu Pengzhan?" Zhao Qibing asked.

When Xiao Ji heard that Zhao Qibing wanted a slice as well, he grew a little anxious. Their own shakedown had not even succeeded yet, and here Zhao Qibing was already angling for the same spoils — wasn't that plainly a bid for a share of the pie? But he dared not say a word of it to Zhao Qibing's face, so he could only answer sullenly, "We asked him for the Pengzhan Commercial Building and the Pengzhan Business Hotel, plus two hundred million in seed capital."

"Oh, I see..." Envy stirred in Zhao Qibing's heart. It seemed he ought to make his move soon as well, or the Gu Group would be carved up before he ever got to it! When a wall is about to fall, everyone pushes — if he did not act now, when would he?

So Zhao Qibing had no more patience for pleasantries with Xiao Ji. After a few perfunctory words, he hung up.

Xiao Ji was anxious on his end too. The instant he hung up on Zhao Qibing, he began deliberating with Xiao Ben. "Second Brother, Zhao Qibing seems tempted as well. If he goes and sticks his nose in, do you think we'll still be able to get that much money out of it? This does not bode well for the Xiao family!"

"Heh, Big Brother, there you go overthinking again!" Xiao Ben waved a hand, wholly unconcerned, and laughed. "As things stand, the more of Gu Pengzhan's enemies who go after him, the better it is for us! The more the merrier, I say!"

"Oh? And why is that?" Xiao Ji's head was not as quick as Xiao Ben's, and he could not quite follow.

"Think about it. With that many enemies bearing down on Gu Pengzhan, he'll truly be at the end of his road. He'll have no choice but to cut off a piece of his own flesh! Even if he has the means to drum up a few more helpers, can his helpers stand against so many?" Xiao Ben explained. "If our Xiao family were the only ones making trouble, Gu Pengzhan might still cling to a little hope, might still think he can slip away!"

"So that's it!" Xiao Ji nodded, duly instructed. "Second Brother, your head really does work better than mine. That way, though the Xiao family may end up with a somewhat smaller share of the profits, we'll be sitting far more securely!"

"Exactly! So there's nothing we need to do now but wait for Young Master Bing to kick up his fuss. When Gu Pengzhan is scorched black and burning, we'll go apply a little more pressure — I refuse to believe he won't cave!" Xiao Ben said.

The moment Zhao Qibing hung up the phone, he frantically summoned Li Cihua, Jin Gubang, and Zhong Fabai. He meant to move against the Gu Group, and this sort of business could not wait — go too late, and the profits would all have been divvied up, and that would be a loss too bitter to swallow!

By now Zhao Qibing already regarded Gu Pengzhan's assets as his own, and he dreaded above all that someone else might beat him to them.

"Old Jin, Old Zhong, you both know the Gu Group well. Tell me — this time, under what pretext should we demand money from Gu Pengzhan?" Zhao Qibing asked bluntly. These were all trusted men of his; there was no need to be coy. "The Xiao family used the insult to Xiao Ji's wife as their opening. What about us?"

At Zhao Qibing's level, though this was plainly plunder dressed up as justice, every matter had to be given its reason, lest tongues start wagging. When Zhao Qibing made his move, he naturally had to find himself a fitting excuse as well — otherwise, would it not simply be robbery in broad daylight?

That was the sort of thing Wei Zhao did; Zhao Qibing did not have the nerve for it! Every level had its own rules, and no one would break them of his own accord. Do otherwise, and everything would descend into chaos.

But Wei Zhao was not of the upper-class circle, nor even of the hidden-family level, and so he had always done things strictly by his own rules, never playing by the book — which was precisely why Zhao Qibing had never gained the slightest advantage over him!

Now that a chance had finally come to put Gu Pengzhan in his place, how could he possibly let it slip by?

The Gu Group's real-estate company was an industry Zhao Qibing had long coveted. If not for Wei Zhao sticking his oar in and getting in the way, the real-estate firm under the Gu Group would by now be in Zhao Qibing's name!

"Mm, all our clashes have been with Wei Zhao. If we use Wei Zhao as our excuse, it won't quite hold up," Li Cihua said. "The Xiao family's reason is a bit laughable, but it is true that Gu Mengyao offended the Xiao family's Gou Huli..."

"I know that. If we could just go and demand money outright, why would I need to discuss it with you?" Zhao Qibing shot Li Cihua a glare and said impatiently. "Everyone, put your heads together, and be quick about it. I'm afraid that once this news spreads, more of Gu Pengzhan's enemies will come knocking. If we arrive too late, our share will be that much smaller!"

"Young Master Bing, I do have a good idea," Jin Gubang said after a moment's pondering. "Though it amounts to a sort of robbery in the dark..."

"Dark is fine. So long as it isn't daylight robbery, the rules won't be broken!" Zhao Qibing said. "All I want is a reason! Gu Pengzhan is probably in a fine mess already. We go give him a scare, and he'll have no choice but to yield!"

"Here's the thing. Didn't I once try to take control of the company's board of directors? I also quietly held back a blank document bearing Gu Pengzhan's signature. At the time I meant to buy off the other board members and then forge a letter of resignation, with Gu Pengzhan stepping down as chairman. But then that brat Wei Zhao stirred things up and sent me packing with my tail between my legs, so the blank document was never put to use!" Jin Gubang said. "What if we forge it into an asset-transfer agreement?"

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