Zhou Fatou showed no great reaction to Huang Wenhua’s welcoming gesture, his expression remaining very calm. He nodded, "Everyone, please be seated."
Huang Wenhua was taken aback for a moment, then glanced at Ling Feng, who was at the head of the group. Puzzled, he could only obey Zhou Fatou’s instruction and turned to sit back down.
The others also took their seats, though most of their gazes remained fixed on Ling Feng.
It was clear that these people all considered Ling Feng to hold the highest status among the group that had just entered. Moreover, the remark Ling Feng had made upon entering had instilled a sense of apprehension in everyone!
Only someone of Zhou Fatou’s standing could utter such words. Therefore, did this mean Ling Feng’s status was even more formidable than Zhou Fatou’s?
At this moment, Zhou Fatou stood behind Ling Feng, bowing respectfully, "Tian Zun, please!"
Tian Zun?!
Upon hearing this title, everyone couldn't help but tremble.
This was not a title that just anyone could be addressed by.
Instantly, many people’s gazes towards Ling Feng changed, shifting to resemble those of people seeing a ghost, or even becoming extremely fervent.
Ling Feng naturally saw the changes in their eyes clearly.
He then calmly swept his gaze across everyone, took a few steps forward, and addressed them all, "The purpose of summoning you here today is singular: to have you contribute money, effort, and manpower to construct a safe zone in the wilderness!"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the venue erupted in an uproar. Everyone dared not believe what they had heard.
Having them construct a safe zone was already a considerable challenge, but now they were being asked to do so in the wilderness!
And they were expected to fund it, provide the labor, and supply the personnel themselves!
This was outright bullying!
Did having high status and position grant one the right to bully others?
Was there no law in this world anymore?
The reverence evoked by the title "Tian Zun" had only momentarily stunned them. What followed was money, money, money, and profit, profit, profit…
Their minds were filled with nothing but these concerns. They were, at their core, businessmen, and naturally, they had to consider profit and loss.
Therefore, someone couldn't help but stand up and say, "May I ask what this means? Is this an order? Why should we do this? While we are skilled at such tasks, it doesn't mean we have the responsibility or obligation to undertake them. Also, who do you represent?"
As this question was posed, other voices chimed in.
"Yes, Mr. Zhou, please say something."
"Indeed, asking us to construct a safe zone in the wilderness is already a high-cost endeavor. But you are now asking us to provide the money, labor, and personnel. Isn't this a bit too much like bullying…"
Seeing that the situation was about to completely explode,
Zhou Fatou’s expression changed drastically. He stepped forward and slammed his hand directly onto the table!
Crack!
Instantly, the sturdy tabletop shattered.
Everyone was startled, jumping up from their seats and looking at Zhou Fatou with extreme fear. They truly hadn't expected Zhou Fatou to be so enraged.
Huang Wenhua was so frightened he almost collapsed onto the ground. He quickly bowed to Zhou Fatou, his heart filled with indescribable dread. Most importantly, Huang Wenhua couldn't fathom why Zhou Fatou would allow a young man to step forward and suddenly issue so many commands.
Yes, these were commands!
And they were commands that evoked strong resistance, commands that were impossible to accept directly.
"Scoundrels, a bunch of scoundrels! How much money have you made over the years? Tell me yourselves! Now, I've only said a few words to you, no, just half a sentence, and you're already whining. Do you all want to die? If I hadn't turned a blind eye to your actions all these years, do you think you'd be living so freely today?!"
Zhou Fatou was truly furious, his anger reaching its peak as he berated everyone.
As his words fell, everyone below turned pale with shock.
However, an elder couldn't help but frown and say, "Can we not make money from doing business? Whoever has done anything illicit, Mr. Zhou, you can go after them. At least I am upright and have nothing to fear."
"Upright and have nothing to fear?! Three years ago, if I hadn't pointed a gun at your head and made you do things, would you old geezers have had the chance to rise to power? Would you have had the chance to whine at me? You say you haven't done anything illicit? Then let me ask you, how did your company acquire those plots of land at auction before? Didn't you collude with other companies to deliberately suppress prices? Controlling land prices, that's something this old bastard like you can do. On these projects alone, how much benefit have you already reaped?"
Zhou Fatou roared, stepping closer to the elder opposite him as he spoke.
This aggressive demeanor caused everyone around to change their expressions, filled with immense fear.
The elder's face also changed drastically. As he retreated, he continued to argue, "These are normal operations between us, and they are entirely in accordance with regulations. What is there to hide?"
"Heh, in accordance with regulations? If you hadn't colluded together to monopolize the industry, would others have had no opportunity?!"
Zhou Fatou's voice grew even colder, his stance appearing incredibly domineering.
Huang Wenhua, standing nearby, quickly stepped forward, "Mr. Zhou, please calm down, calm down…"
"Calm down about what? It's all due to your lax supervision over the years. Otherwise, how could we have reached this situation of nurturing a tiger to become a menace?"
Zhou Fatou turned and berated Huang Wenhua.
At this, everyone around couldn't help but gasp.
Even Huang Wenhua had no standing to whine here anymore, let alone them!
Zhou Fatou had deliberately come to make things difficult for them today!
The elder's eyes turned bloodshot red, "One must have evidence to speak. You…"
Just then, Ling Feng's indifferent voice emerged, "I didn't come here to watch you argue, Zhou Fatou. I have only one question for you!"
"Yes, this old servant is here!"
Zhou Fatou was instantly startled and knelt on one knee before Ling Feng, his entire body trembling.
Seeing this, everyone around gasped again. Just how high had this young man's status and position reached?
This was too terrifying!
This also stunned the elder who had been about to retort.
Ling Feng, however, did not look at the kneeling Zhou Fatou. Instead, he stared at the elder opposite him and asked word by word, "Has this person's greed been enough for him to be shot? Or has he used his power to bully others, causing any deaths under his operations? I'm talking about concrete evidence!"
As these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.
Zhou Fatou quickly responded, "Yes, there is concrete evidence, but this old servant has simply not found a suitable opportunity to present it."
"Yang Fei, execute!"
Ling Feng still did not look at Zhou Fatou, issuing a calm command.
Yang Fei, who was already prepared, replied, "Yes!"