The East Suburb Hotel was a well-known landmark in the provincial capital, making it a convenient meeting spot.
Not long after hanging up, Wu Zongnian mentioned that ten billion had been transferred into his account. He chuckled, "This Jiang Zhenkun shouldn't cause any more trouble, right?"
Ye Tian said indifferently, "Human hearts are unpredictable. Twenty billion is most of his life's savings; he might not be willing to accept it."
Wu Zongnian was taken aback. "He's still not giving up?"
Ye Tian replied, "Opposite the East Suburb Hotel is the Broadcasting Building. We'll wait for him there."
Wu Zongnian mused, "It's still you, younger brother, who is so meticulous!"
The car didn't drive to the Broadcasting Building. The building was tall with a wide field of vision, allowing surveillance of the entire East Suburb Hotel from the top floor.
The two arrived at the top of the building and watched the hotel.
Wu Zongnian took out a cigarette and said, "Jiang Zhenkun should be arriving soon. If he can't deal with you through martial arts means, I suspect he'll resort to using the power of law enforcement."
Ye Tian's expression was impassive. "If he wants to die, I'll oblige him."
As they spoke, dozens of police cars, all heavily armed, drove into the East Suburb Hotel.
At that moment, Jiang Zhenkun called. "I've arrived. Where are you?"
Ye Tian said, "I'm in the first-floor lobby. You can come in."
Afterward, the group of police officers rushed towards the lobby of the East Suburb Hotel, but upon entering, they couldn't find Ye Tian.
Jiang Zhenkun grew anxious and called again. "Mr. Ye, where are your people?"
Ye Tian said calmly, "Do you need something from me?"
Jiang Zhenkun was startled. "Mr. Ye, I am Jiang Zhenkun."
Ye Tian replied, "I'm sorry, I don't know you." With that, he hung up and turned off his phone.
Seeing this, Wu Zongnian laughed. "This scoundrel actually dared to do this. I wonder what he's thinking now, if he's already scared out of his wits?"
Ye Tian stated, "Only when people are close to death are they willing to give up their life's wealth. Tonight, he will call again."
Wu Zongnian asked, "Little Ye, how much more do you plan to take from him?"
Ye Tian replied, "I've inquired. He has at least three billion in assets. It's not unreasonable for me to ask for another billion, is it?"
Wu Zongnian gave a wry smile. "You people of the martial world are truly not to be trifled with. If you cross them, it leads to ruin."
Ye Tian countered, "I'm not that cruel. I'll only make him bankrupt."
Wu Zongnian remarked, "Having coughed up three billion, he's likely borrowed the money, or taken out loans. Heh heh, he might even have to sell his mines and jade."
Ye Tian explained, "You reap what you sow. If he hadn't harbored ill intentions towards you and me, why would I have targeted him?"
Wu Zongnian agreed, "So this scoundrel is not to be pitied. Little Ye, you're right to fleece him!"
Then he asked, "Thirty billion. Shall I continue to manage your finances?"
Ye Tian's previous hundreds of millions were already with Wu Zongnian.
Ye Tian inquired, "How much can you earn for me in a year?"
Wu Zongnian proposed, "How about this: of these thirty billion, I'll make a stable investment with ten billion, which can guarantee the principal. The remaining twenty billion, we can put into some riskier investments. What do you think?"
Ye Tian said, "Whatever you think is best. I don't understand it anyway. As long as you can make me money by the New Year, that's fine."
Wu Zongnian smiled. "Investment requires patience. If you only give me one year, I can't guarantee no losses. But if you give me five years, I guarantee this thirty billion can at least double to sixty billion. And if luck is on our side, it could even grow to a hundred billion, or two hundred billion."
Ye Tian commented, "You capitalists are truly clever, making money with money."
Wu Zongnian cautioned, "You only see those who survive. Many people have died playing with capital, you just don't see them."
Ye Tian asked, "Old Wu, tell me honestly, how much money do you have now?"
It was a common question, and one that piqued curiosity.
Wu Zongnian chuckled. "If you ask about my book assets, the number would be quite staggering. It's distributed across major stock markets globally, thousands of funds, bonds from over eighty countries, and more than seven hundred companies. The total amount, even I don't know precisely, but it's in the trillions of dollars."