After entering the room, Li Ziming deliberately glanced at Lin Chu’s expression. He found Lin Chu messaging someone, a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his face that made him look completely self-assured.

He inwardly breathed a small sigh of relief.

This situation was clearly a shakedown—or at the very least, a probe.

This Lan Yuzheng character was notorious throughout the golf course industry. He was like a leech: once he latched onto a piece of flesh, he wouldn’t let go until he’d drunk his fill.

Once, a golf course owner from the north had been bled dry by him—a slow, agonizing death by a thousand cuts that drove him to bankruptcy and, eventually, suicide by jumping off a building.

The incident had caused quite a stir within the industry.

However, from a legal standpoint, they could never pin anything on Lan Yuzheng. After things died down for a while, the matter was simply dropped.

As for President Lin...

To this day, Li Ziming still didn’t know the full story behind President Lin.

But he was certain there was one.

Otherwise, how could a twenty-four-year-old possibly acquire such a massive enterprise?

He’d seen all the sensational news buzzing around online.

But as for which powerful backer President Lin was relying on, he had no idea. He’d never seen them, nor had he heard so much as a whisper.

This situation would likely be the moment he’d see what President Lin was really made of.

"Sit."

Lin Chu said casually, finishing his chat with Yang Huixian.

He had just sent her a message: "Aren’t you good at running background checks? Help me look into someone named Lan Yuzheng."

Lin Chu sent her the basic information.

’If you’re going into a fight, you need intel.’

When Yang Huixian first received the message, she thought Lin Chu was mocking her. But after a few more texts, she understood that the golf course was in real trouble, so she immediately agreed to help.

Finishing his chat, Lin Chu finally looked at Li Ziming.

"First, explain something to me. He wants to be the contractor for our project, so logically, that makes him the vendor, right?"

"So why the hell am I, the client, expected to roll out the red carpet for him?"

"What kind of sense does that make?"

An arrogant defiance flickered in Lin Chu’s eyes as he suddenly fired the question at him point-blank.

This was the first time Li Ziming had seen Lin Chu angry. And this wasn’t even full-blown rage, just slight irritation.

Still, it was terrifying enough.

He was even a little worried that Lin Chu might grab the ashtray from the table and smash it over his head.

"President Lin, please, let me explain."

"This business with Lan... he’s not someone you want to cross..."

Li Ziming quickly repeated everything he knew about the man’s background, his connections, and the ruthless things he’d done in the past, laying it all out for Lin Chu.

Lin Chu watched him with a blank expression.

When he was done, Lin Chu spoke slowly, deliberately. "And?"

Uh...

For a moment, Li Ziming was at a loss for words.

’Yeah, and?’

’Everything I just said was based on the assumption that President Lin either had no powerful backer or that his backing wasn’t strong enough to handle this kind of "shakedown."’

’But what if he did?’

’But I really have no way of knowing for sure.’

"I don’t need to see him. You receive him first and see what the situation is."

"If he wants to be treated with respect, you treat him with respect. If he doesn’t, you’ll have to teach him some."

"If his attitude is good, we can talk. If he comes in here acting all high and mighty, arrange a little ’car accident’ for him tonight. Start by rear-ending him, we’ll take it from there."

Lin Chu said to Li Ziming.

His words were laced with a cold, sinister ruthlessness.

Hearing this, Li Ziming was completely stunned.

’Holy shit!’

’What kind of tactic was this?’

’So high-stakes business warfare often involves the most primitive methods?’

’Wait, were President Lin’s methods really this gangster?’

This was a completely different person from the genius-level, sophisticated Lin Chu of the past two days. This version was brutal and aggressive, to the point that Li Ziming felt a genuine flicker of fear.

Back when he worked for Zhou Ming, Zhou Ming would never have resorted to such tactics.

"I..."

"It-it won’t come to that. It really won’t. I’ll meet with him first. We’ll see how it goes from there."

Li Ziming took a deep breath, trying his best to maintain his composure.

Lin Chu gave a noncommittal smile. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

’He could basically confirm that Li Ziming had nothing to do with this.’

He leaned back in his chair, offered him a cigarette, and said nonchalantly, "It’s just an ordinary traffic accident. It’s not like I asked you to hit him with a dump truck."

Li Ziming: "..."

"I understand. I just feel it’s not necessary at this stage."

He reiterated.

’This kind of talk was terrifying.’

Standing nearby, Liang Jieyu was also startled when she heard Lin Chu’s words. The defiant, thuggish aura he projected right now was powerfully intimidating.

’But, of course, it was directed at his ’enemies.’’

Lin Chu lit his cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke. He smiled, seeming less agitated now, and said lightly, "President Li is certainly a prudent man. In that case, I’ll be waiting for you to handle this matter... prudently."

’You didn’t have the guts to execute the plan I offered, so now it’s your turn to handle it.’

Li Ziming’s brow furrowed. He took a deep breath. "I’d like to request that Vice President Ma join me for the reception tonight."

’Keeping that second-generation heir around did have its benefits.’

’At a time like this, Ma Lin could be useful.’

"Suit yourself."

Lin Chu said dismissively, picking up his teacup.

Li Ziming knew this was a gesture of dismissal, so he immediately stood up. "Alright, understood. I’ll go make the preparations now."

’His heart still felt heavy.’

’This was by no means an easy task.’

Still, seeing President Lin’s fearless, even brazen demeanor, he felt a little more confident himself.

Watching him leave the office, Lin Chu’s expression was once again calm.

’I’ll just stall for a bit.’

’Wait for the "intel."’

’The information from Yang Huixian.’