Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next day, as everyone was having breakfast on the hotel's outdoor garden terrace, a chopstick fell to the ground.

An assistant chuckled, "Young Xie, what's wrong with you today?"

Xie Yunshen picked up the chopstick and said, "My hand paid a heavy price for saving the world."

He had spun the power ball for too long last night, and his wrist was already protesting this morning.

The others around them laughed.

The culprit across from him showed no sign of remorse. Leaning back, his sharp brows framing eyes that seemed to be calculating the cause and trajectory of some matter in his mind.

Xie Yunshen suspected that because he had slept well, those eyes seemed even more intimidating today.

Yan Shiqi had barely eaten anything. He stood up, walked to the terrace railing, and gazed down at the towering bank building in the city. Even the soft morning light on his face seemed sharp.

"Top Star Gate's prophecy is out. The winner of this bid will be the Zhu family."

Xie Yunshen thought: *Do big shots all like to talk with their backs turned?*

An assistant chimed in, "If Top Star Gate dares to release such a prophecy, they must be 99% sure."

"Although the Zhu family is quite 'obedient,' they have no experience in port construction. Just a ten-thousand-ton wharf and a hundreds-of-tons lock project would be a stretch for them. They don't hold a candle to the Yan Group."

Yan Shiqi said, "Right now, aside from the Yan Group, the other families are likely just there to make up the numbers for the Zhu family."

"Should we switch to the second plan then..." another middle-aged manager voiced his concern.

Yan Shiqi remained calm and composed. "No. I've received news that there will be a disciplinary inspection team among the judges this time. This is our turning point."

"Mr. Yan, are you really going to... do this? Even if we succeed, the Yan Group will completely offend Top Star Gate because of this." The middle-aged man's brow furrowed deeply.

Yan Shiqi turned to look at him. "Every choice has its price. The Zhu family chose to align themselves with Top Star Gate and become puppets. I cannot allow the descendants of the Yan family to become their puppets."

The middle-aged man was stunned, finally letting out a long, slow breath.

Everyone lowered their heads, no one daring to meet those heavy, dark eyes.

So cool.

Xie Yunshen took the last bite of his sausage.

In the novel, the bidding for the "Third Phase" indeed stirred up quite a storm, but since there were no scenes from the male lead's perspective, it was only mentioned in passing through character dialogue.

Xie Yunshen wasn't clear on the specifics, but he knew that under Yan Shiqi's leadership, the Yan Group did win this bid, breaking Top Star Gate's hundred-percent accurate business prophecy for the first time.

It was precisely because of this incident that Yan Shiqi faced vicious retaliation from Top Star Gate.

In the bloody struggle, Top Star Gate and the Yan family both suffered heavy losses, while the Bai family, represented by the male lead, became the ultimate winner.

At that moment, Yan Shiqi's gaze shifted and landed on Xie Yunshen.

Xie Yunshen also raised his eyes to look at him.

Here we go again.

The big shot had been staring at him for no apparent reason these past two days, not hiding the probing and assessing look in his eyes at all.

Being looked at with such an intense, unnerving gaze—so straight it felt perverse, so direct it felt twisted—he admitted, even as a die-hard straight guy, his heart couldn't handle it.

Baihua Bank Building.

"Welcome, all corporate representatives, to the bidding site. Now, representatives from each bidding company will take the stage to present their proposals."

A presiding official on stage gave a brief opening speech.

Xie Yunshen watched as one professional after another took the podium, using terminology he couldn't understand.

Normally, in such settings, bodyguards are usually posted outside. But Yan Shiqi had placed him in the seat to his left.

To his right was that middle-aged manager.

Compared to watching the podium, the representatives from the other families were more interested in watching Yan Shiqi—although the "Third Phase" was a big project, it wasn't significant enough for someone of Yan Shiqi's stature to personally come to City B.

Everyone tried to guess what was on his mind from that calm and composed face.

As soon as the Yan Group's proposal was presented, Xie Yunshen understood why the originally predetermined outcome was going to change.

The Yan Group had actually utilized their latest proprietary technology to project the port construction plan in a 3D stereoscopic effect.

When the middle-aged manager adjusted the equipment and turned on the lights, a fully developed port appeared before everyone's eyes, eliciting gasps of amazement like a mirage.

In the entire country of A, the number of enterprises formally investing in research on this kind of naked-eye 3D imaging technology could be counted on one hand.

To bring out such technology just for a bidding process—Yan Shiqi was truly determined to oppose Top Star Gate to the end.

With such a gem presented first, the Zhu family's proposal seemed far too mediocre.

Under these circumstances, and with disciplinary inspection personnel present, how could the judging committee dare to engage in blatant favoritism?

When the organizing committee officially announced that the Yan Group had won the bid, everyone was in an uproar. Top Star Gate's prophecy had failed!

For over a hundred years since its establishment, the pyramid of prestige Top Star Gate had built in the business world would crack from this moment.

People in dark suits came forward to congratulate Yan Shiqi.

The Yan family patriarch stood among the crowd, showing neither a trace of joy nor gravity, only a firm, unwavering gaze.

Xie Yunshen knew the real storm was coming.

On the way back, Yan Shiqi and Xie Yunshen were again alone in one car, with the driver at the wheel.

Several assistants and that middle-aged manager stayed behind in City B to handle the follow-up matters.

Xie Yunshen kept an eye on the environment outside the car and the vehicles behind them.

"That large truck ahead looks suspicious," Xie Yunshen said.

"Got it," the driver replied, slowing down and increasing the following distance.

The large truck ahead also slowed down.

Just as they entered a tunnel, the truck suddenly skidded, its trailer whipping toward their windshield due to inertia!

Boom!

Fortunately, the driver kept his cool. With a sharp turn of the steering wheel and superb skill, the black Lincoln pulled a full 360-degree drift inside the tunnel, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

The car hadn't even fully stopped when a heavy-duty motorcycle slammed into the right rear—the side where Yan Shiqi was seated.

By then, Xie Yunshen had already unfastened Yan Shiqi's seatbelt, pulled him close, and covered him with his body.

This Lincoln was a security company's custom-built model, reinforced throughout with heavy, thickened bulletproof plating. Despite the motorcycle's violent charge, the car body only dented and did not overturn.

However, the seat Yan Shiqi had just occupied was now half-crushed by the buckled metal.

The motorcycle lay wrecked by the roadside. Two cars approaching from behind swerved to avoid it and collided with each other.

A perfectly staged "chain collision" trapped their Lincoln sedan in the tunnel, unable to move forward or back.

Just then, a heavy truck rumbled into the tunnel.

Xie Yunshen shouted, "Quick! Pull up alongside the trailer!"

The driver wrenched the wheel, and the car slid smoothly into the narrow gap between the trailer and the tunnel wall.

Sure enough, the truck barreled straight for their sedan but was blocked just in time by the massive trailer.

The truck tilted at a 45-degree angle, grinding against the wall with a piercing, screeching sound before finally coming to a halt just two meters away from the car.

The headlights of the truck and the sedan flashed nonstop in the darkness, like the rhythm of death approaching.

Several men stepped out of the vehicles and slowly closed in on the sedan. Under the glare of the headlights, a cold glint of steel flashed.

"They even brought toys. It's been a while since things got this exciting."

Truly a world straight out of a male-oriented power fantasy.

The scene piqued Xie Yunshen's interest. He shrugged off his jacket and was about to get out of the car.

Yan Shiqi grabbed his hand, his eyes signaling him not to leave the vehicle.

"In a situation like this, the only way we're getting out is by taking them down," Xie Yunshen said.

If anything, his blood was boiling with anticipation. After retiring, he rarely encountered this kind of excitement.

He got out of the car and closed the door.

Yan Shiqi remained inside, watching as Xie Yunshen walked toward the group of assailants. Dressed in a black shirt, he seemed to emit a golden glow under the flickering car lights.

The two men at the front swung their blades at him, but their movements were so synchronized it was as if they were delivering themselves on a platter. Xie Yunshen seized their arms, gripped their wrists, and disarmed one of them.

With a long blade now in hand, he repelled attackers from both sides, pulled a third assailant in by the ribs, struck an incoming enemy in the chest with the hilt, decisively pressed into a vital point, then kicked a fourth man under the truck with a backward sweep. Moving with the ease of a stroll in a garden, he wielded the katana with masterful precision until the enemies lost all ability to fight.

At that moment, the truck's cargo compartment swung open, and more men poured out.

The tunnel grew crowded as they surrounded Xie Yunshen and the Lincoln sedan.

Xie Yunshen retreated to the side of the car, glanced at Yan Shiqi inside, his gaze sharp as a torch, and tightened his grip on the sword hilt.

Reflected in the window was Yan Shiqi's calm profile. He took out a button-style phone and pressed a key.

Soon after, the sound of rushing wind echoed from the tunnel entrance as several helicopters descended from the sky and landed at the mouth of the tunnel.

A figure leaped down from one of the helicopters—it was Yi Wuyi.

More and more people disembarked from the helicopters, all members of the Yan family.

Xie Yunshen raised an eyebrow: So, Old Five has been flying around in the sky all this time?

Author's Note:

----------------------