Special District 9 Chapter 111: I Just Want One Word From You

Yuan Ke pondered for a moment, and instead of leaving right away, he sat down on the sofa and said, “Even while we were at Prosperous Dragon’s headquarters, there was already some gossip going around.”

“Gossip? What kind of gossip?” Yuan Hua asked with a frown.

“Our men, as well as those from Prosperous Dragon, are saying that the condition proposed by the other side was to trade Yong Dong for Xing Zihao, and it appears that Mr Xing approves of such a move,” Yuan Ke said.

Upon hearing those words, Yuan Hua immediately cursed, “Shit, I knew it! There is no way that fatso wouldn’t have known the condition when he asked me over to talk about this matter. He was trying to sound me out earlier!”

“That might not necessarily be the case,” Yuan Ke shook his head and replied. “The news might have come from our own people instead.”

Yuan Hua was taken aback by those words.

“Both our companies have worked closely together for quite some time now. It wouldn’t be surprising if some of our executives are close with Prosperous Dragon,” Yuan Ke explained.

Yuan Hua contemplated for a moment before replying, “There aren’t many people who know of this matter, just Baldie and a few others.”

“It would have to be them then. There was no way those from Prosperous Dragon could have befriended our companies’ cleaners,” Yuan Ke replied before looking at his older brother intently. “Brother, I want to know what is your current intention.”

“Old Ma and the others sure came up with a vicious move,” Yuan Hua remarked in frustration. “If I don’t agree to trade Yong Dong for Xing Zihao, there’s no way Prosperous Dragon would let the matter rest easily. Currently, we simply don’t have enough say to bargain with them yet. We are relying on them for our goods, and we need the connection with them for our company to thrive too. But if we were to trade Yong Dong for Xing Zihao, it would be as good as throwing him into the abyss…”

“Yeah, there’s no way Yong Dong would survive once that were to happen. They would never let Yong Dong go once you go through with the trade,” Yuan Ke said with a deep sigh.

He began to analyze the situation for Yuan Hua, and he said, “We’re in a very disadvantageous situation over here. Xing Zihao is in their hands, so we have no choice but to bow to their demands. If you go through with what they have planned, the most ideal situation is for us to have successfully saved Xing Zihao, but in exchange, we’ll lose Yong Dong for certain.

“However, in time to come, our position will weaken further. Firstly, Prosperous Dragon is already displeased that the situation has come to such a point, and it’ll be hard to build our credibility back. Secondly, the other executives in the company would surely be chilled by this move. This is because you’ll be choosing profit over your brothers.”

Yuan Hua looked at his younger brother with reddened eyes as he asked with an exasperated tone, “What do you want me to do then?”

“If Yong Dong were to be suddenly killed during the trade, what do you think the other party’s reaction would be? What do you think will become of Xing Zihao’s plight?” Yuan Ke suddenly asked with a dark look in his eyes.

Yuan Hua was stunned by the question.

“Brother, there’s no reason why we have to absolutely save Xing Zihao,” Yuan Ke said. “If it’s his fate to die, then we can…”

“Don’t talk bullshit!” Yuan Hua had already understood his younger brother’s intention. He abruptly shot to his feet and slammed his hand on the table, shouting, “Get out! I don’t want to hear a word from you anymore!”

“I refuse to leave!” Yuan Ke also rose to his feet in agitation as well. “Brother, I know that you value friendship and loyalty, but you don’t have the right to choose those now! You are the boss of the company! You have to know what you should prioritize during such a crucial time!”

“You are looking at only shallow shrewdness over here!” Yuan Hua clutched his chest as he howled. “If this were to be exposed, you and I will be utterly destroyed! You have to know that there are no secrets that can be hidden forever in this world… Get out right now! I don’t want to talk to you about such nonsense! Scram!”

…

The two brothers fought for another ten minutes or so before Yuan Ke left the room with his face slightly bruised. He stomped all the way to the elevator furiously.

Baldie, together with a few other people, bumped into Yuan Ke at this moment, and he asked, “Where are you going?”

“There are urgent matters for me to attend to in Songjiang. I’m heading back,” Yuan Ke tossed those words before he walked away without bothering to even turn around.

Baldie was utterly dumbstruck by the situation. He turned to the middle-aged man beside him and asked, “Such a huge matter happened, and he’s just leaving as he pleases?”

“Haven’t you gotten used to it by now?” the middle-aged man replied. “Don’t Yuan Ke and Yuan Hua always end up arguing with one another whenever problems crop up?”

“That’s true…” Baldie sighed deeply before walking away.

…

Yuan Hua sat on his sofa for a long while before he finally calmed his emotions once more. Then, he gave a call to Yong Dong personally.

A moment later, Yong Dong entered Yuan Hua’s room and sat down opposite to him.

He looked at Yuan Hua silently for a moment before he suddenly asked, “Are the rumors true?”

Yuan Hua lifted his head to meet Yong Dong’s eyes, but even after a moment had passed, his fists remained clenched, and he didn’t say a word at all.

“Hahaha.”

After a moment of awkward silence, Yong Dong suddenly laughed dryly to himself. “Xing Zihao was an inept fool. He had it coming all this while. If not for him, the ones kneeling right now would have been Old Ma and Ma Lao-er. I simply don’t get it. I was the one who offered the plan, and everyone can see with their own eyes whether it was effective or not. Yet, after offering my idea, I have to offer my life up next? Hahaha! I really don’t know what else I should say.”

Yuan Hua asked with a quivering voice, “How many years have we known each other for?”

“Old Yuan, you don’t have to do padding for me. I understand the position you are in,” Yong Dong said. “I just want to ask you one question. Are you going to choose me or Xing Zihao? If you choose Xing Zihao, I’ll cooperate with whatever you arrange without a word of complaint.”

The room plummeted into silence right after.

Yuan Hua took a puff of smoke before he slowly rose to his feet and looked at Yong Dong with reddened eyes.

“Heh,” Yong Dong chuckled wryly to himself as he turned his head away.

Gudong!

Yuan Hua’s knees bent down and fell on the ground heavily as he spoke, “Yong Dong, if Xing Zihao doesn’t return, the thousand brothers we have in our company will all lose their livelihood… I’m begging you, can you make a stand for them?”

Yong Dong gulped. He picked up the cigarette box and quietly lit one.

Yuan Hua was still looking at Yong Dong, and he continued with his voice still quivering, “Yong Dong, we have been friends for many years now. You should know what kind of person I am. If you tell me that you’re unwilling to do it, I won’t make things difficult for you either. You can leave Fengbei right away. No matter what Old Xing does to me, I’ll accept my fate.”

“Old Yuan, do you know why they named me of all people?” Yong Dong suddenly asked.

“They must have found out that you were the one who orchestrated the fake medicine incident,” Yuan Hua replied honestly.

“Yes. They hate me more than how much they hate you,” Yong Dong said as he took a puff of the cigarette. A word by a word, he spoke solemnly, “Their aim isn’t just to cleanse their reputation. They want vengeance as well. I’ve been pressing down hard on the Ma Family ever since the fake medicine incident, and they have witnessed with their own eyes how their men died one by one under my schemes. Do you know what will happen to me if I appear before them?”

Yuan Hua raised his head and said, “As long as you can stall for some time, as soon as we secure Xing Zihao, I’ll save you right away. I promise!”

Yong Dong rose to his feet, and with a bitter smile on his face, he nodded quietly and said, “Fine, I’ll do it.”

“Really?”

“You have already kneeled down, do I have any other choice?” Yong Dong sighed deeply as he turned around and began walking out of the room. “You can make the preparations. I’ll heed your instructions.”

Hearing those words, Yuan Hua slowly closed his eyes and a small teardrop flowed down his cheek.

…

On the car.

Old Cat turned to Qin Yu and remarked curiously, “You have been sending messages with someone all this while… And you are even using a new phone!”

Qin Yu flashed his phone screen over to Old Cat and said, “It’s Old Li.”