NOVEL NEXT Chapter 427 Price
"Chu Mo, aren't you being a bit too presumptuous!"
On the other end of the phone, Lin Youzhi's voice came through slowly, and Chu Mo could clearly hear the anger in his voice.
This made Chu Mo hesitate for a moment. Had he been mistaken? The puppet master behind the group of people under his feet might not be the Lin family. However, this thought lasted only a moment in his mind before Chu Mo immediately dismissed it.
Given Lin Youzhi's decisiveness and ruthlessness, and considering that the Lin family was at a critical juncture of life and death, it was not surprising that they would stake everything on this opportunity.
More importantly, a few days ago when Chu Mo went to Zhongzhou, the Family Head of the Liu family in Zhongzhou, Liu Peng, had asked him to give up competing with the Lin family. This indicated that Lin Youzhi had sought Liu Peng's help, which also suggested that Lin Youzhi probably couldn't hold on much longer.
Chu Mo said nothing, just quietly watched as six or seven hundred thugs gathered in the alley below him. He saw them begin to assemble orderly towards the bodyguards led by Jiang Tao. He feared that in a moment, even if Chu Mo chose not to break out, these people would still choose to launch an attack.
More than forty or fifty of the hundred or so professional bodyguards on Jiang Tao's side had suffered serious injuries, with nearly all the rest also visibly wounded, while the thugs on the opposite side numbered six or seven hundred and were continuously increasing.
Moreover, with countless professional thugs amongst them, even Jiang Tao, with his half-step Grandmaster strength, might not be able to break through successfully.
Going head to head, his side was at a clear disadvantage. Even if he wanted to call in reinforcements, there probably wasn't enough time. Now, the only way out was to negotiate with the puppet master behind the scenes.
Chu Mo determined that only the Lin family, among all in the city, had the resources to mobilize so many people and dared to make a move against him. No matter how innocent Lin Youzhi acted, he was just putting on a show for Chu Mo.
Taking a deep breath, with a somber expression, Chu Mo said:
"Director Lin, let's not beat around the bush. These people under my feet are undoubtedly linked to your Lin family. I want to make it clear to you—if anything happens to me tonight, even if all my forces crumble to dust, the Lin family will also be wiped from the city. If both Chu and Lin families were to be gone from the city, I'm sure someone would happily take over our remaining forces."
"The eight great families are notorious for their ruthlessness. While the Lin family is still standing, they might help you out. But as soon as the Lin family falls into dire straits, I believe they will definitely kick you while you're down. We would both end up as the proverbial fish dead and the net torn, a state of mutual destruction that will only benefit the third party.
Director Lin, I urge you to consider this seriously."
After his words, Lin Youzhi's helpless sigh came through the phone once more:
"Chu Mo, I don't know what you're talking about...!"
"I'm giving you one last chance. Last time, I gave you an opportunity, which you didn't cherish, so I supported the Fan brothers. This time it's the same. I'm offering you one last chance, Director Lin. If you call your men off, I'll act as if nothing happened tonight."
"Otherwise, we don't have to wait until tomorrow. I'll order right now—all my subsidiaries, including Bafang International, Shi Yuan Entertainment, and Longevity Club, will start blocking your Lin family with all their might from this moment forward, regardless of the cost or loss. Within three days, the Lin family will dissipate into smoke!"
Chu Mo's eyes were filled with solemnity. He was gambling that Lin Youzhi wouldn't dare go all in against him because once it got to that point, it wouldn't just be Chu Mo who was finished; the Lin family would also be removed from the city.
The Lin family, as one of the four major families of the city with a history of over a hundred years and past glories, bore the rise and fall of a century-old family on their shoulders. Naturally, Lin Youzhi, as the fourth-generation leader, did not wish to see the Lin family fall under his watch.
Therefore, at this moment, Chu Mo was betting that Lin Youzhi would back down. And if Lin Youzhi was not behind this incident, then he should do everything possible to prevent Chu Mo from getting hurt. Otherwise, if Chu Mo was determined to fight the Lin family to the bitter end, they would both be headed for mutual destruction.
This time, Lin Youzhi didn't rush to deny anything. His breathing also seemed very heavy. However, Chu Mo noticed that as Lin Youzhi remained silent, the thugs who had been ready to attack below seemed to have received an order and simultaneously stopped their advance.
At that moment, Chu Mo did nothing else. He simply held the phone in his hand and quietly waited for a response from the other end.
The silence on the other line lasted a long time. Two minutes later, Lin Youzhi's cold voice finally came through again:
"Chu Mo, I've said it before, I have nothing to do with this matter. It was the work of the Zhao family. I've already sent people to tell the Zhao family to stop, but it seems like they're determined to move against Mr. Chu. I'm afraid it's going to cost me..."
With his heart finally at ease, and a sense of relief slowly spreading, Chu Mo said:
"The Fan family's 360 jewelry stores will close tomorrow. Additionally, if you have time tonight, Director Lin, perhaps you'd like to visit my Emperor's Pavilion, where we can catch up properly... I'll make sure Fan Zhijian joins us."
Without any hesitation, Lin Youzhi on the other end of the line immediately responded:
"I will be there in an hour!"
After hanging up the phone, Chu Mo took a deep breath and saw that there were already close to a thousand people pouring into the far end of the alley. At the same time, all 380 professional bodyguards from his detective agency had arrived, as both sides stood in a tense confrontation.