Homo Sapiens

Peng City.

Xinxin Group Headquarters.

Du Shuping set down the notification letter, his expression grim.

The letter stated that the Xinxin Group shares previously owned by Wu Heguang had now been formally inherited by Li Qingye.

Li Qingye’s holdings in Xinxin Group now totaled 12.1% (5.8% from his parents and 6.3% from Wu Heguang), surpassing Du Shuping’s 11.5% and making him the new largest shareholder.

The current shareholder ranking for Xinxin Group was now Li Qingye at 12.1%, Du Shuping at 11.5%, and Yang Haibo at 5.2%.

Of course, Du Shuping wasn’t afraid of Li Qingye. After all, Xinxin Group was a shadow of its former self, with total assets having dwindled to less than 23 billion.

Its profitable assets had long since been carved up by Du Shuping and seventeen other parties.

Even if Li Qingye managed to seize back control of Xinxin Group, he would only be getting an empty shell.

However, the deaths of Wu Heguang and Kong Zhao Lin, combined with Li Qingye’s takeover of Donghua Group, deeply unsettled him.

”Haibo, what do you think?”

Yang Haibo, his hair now completely white, had a vicious glint in his eyes. ”Not getting rid of that little bastard back then was a huge mistake. Things wouldn’t have gotten so troublesome now.”

”The situation with Xinxin Group isn’t a major issue. Our combined shares exceed 50%. Even if Su Ruoyu supports Li Qingye, their total shares won’t surpass 20%,” Du Shuping said, completely composed.

However, another person in the office reminded them, ”Dad, Uncle Yang, we don’t need to worry too much about Xinxin Company. What I’m worried about is that Li Qingye will use other means. After all, this is all too coincidental.”

Yang Haibo and Du Shuping knew exactly what he meant.

Years ago, Li Zhonghua and his wife had died in the Huangpu River. Now, Kong Zhao Lin had died in the Huangpu River as well.

And in both cases, the death was followed by a drastic change in corporate control.

Add to that the notification letter Li Qingye had sent, announcing that he had become the largest shareholder of Xinxin Group.

It was a brazen declaration to all insiders that he, Li Qingye, was the one who had done it.

It was the same playbook, only the roles were reversed.

Du Shuping’s eyes narrowed. ”Jianxin, has there been anything unusual with Purple Sky’s recent business operations?”

”No. In fact, we made over a hundred million by shorting Donghua Group’s stock,” Du Jianxin replied directly.

Du Shuping then turned to Yang Haibo. ”Haibo, what about New Nanyang Company? How is Tiancheng doing?”

Yang Haibo managed a strained smile. ”The company is running as usual. Tiancheng is trying his best to take over his duties.”

Although he wasn’t satisfied with Yang Tiancheng as an heir, he had no other choice. His most favored son, Yang Tianci, had become erratic and unstable, so he could only focus all his efforts on grooming Yang Tiancheng.

”That’s good.” A chill entered Du Shuping’s eyes. ”We can’t underestimate that little bastard anymore. We have to find a way to make him disappear.”

Yang Haibo’s fists tightened. ”He’s too cautious. He never leaves Dongzhi, and he’s under the protection of the local Hongsawaddy warlord. It’s hard for our people to get anywhere near him.”

”Can we ask the Morgans to make a move?” Du Jianxin suggested.

But Yang Haibo shook his head at the suggestion. ”Relations between Hongsawaddy and America are terrible. They probably wouldn’t be able to infiltrate Dongzhi.”

The three men fell into deep, troubled thought.

Clearly, Li Qingye’s status was no longer something to be taken lightly.

Although they had powerful backing, their patrons wouldn’t get personally involved. Just asking them to help cover up their tracks in the past had cost Du Shuping and the others a hefty price.

Li Qingye’s growing power in Hongsawaddy was already making some people antsy. However, due to incessant internal debates and other pressing matters, no final decision had been reached.

Du Shuping and his group knew their own influence was limited, and Wu Heguang’s fall only intensified their sense of crisis.

If they couldn’t eliminate Li Qingye soon, they would very likely be sacrificed.

After racking his brain for a moment, an idea suddenly struck Du Shuping. He asked his son, ”I hear he’s developed several new drugs?”

Du Jianxin nodded. ”Mhm. One treats AIDS, and another treats rabies. They’re highly effective and have been selling extremely well in Southeast Asia lately.”

”Since he won’t come out, we’ll go to him, openly and aboveboard,” Du Shuping said with a sinister glint in his eye.

”The new drugs? Go to him openly?” Yang Haibo was baffled.

Du Shuping laid out his plan. ”We’ll use the Morgan Clan’s connections to contact the Siam Xu Family, the Malaysian Guo Family, and the Xingdao Li Family. We’ll publicly organize a group of universities and biotech research institutes from all over Southeast Asia to visit him in Dongzhi under the guise of an academic exchange.”

”No matter how level-headed he is, he’s still a young man. With constant flattery, he’s bound to get complacent and let his guard down. Then, at the right time, we plant one of our own in a visiting delegation and eliminate him for good.”

Yang Haibo mentally rehearsed the plan and realized it was highly feasible. ”Excellent. Brother Du, you’re as sharp as ever.”

But Du Shuping’s expression remained grave. ”Don’t celebrate too soon. We only get one shot at this. If we fail, he won’t fall for it again. Besides, we don’t have much time. We must eliminate him before the end of the year, or we’re the ones who will be discarded.”

Du Jianxin took the opportunity to propose, ”Dad, I’m planning to move some of our assets to Southeast Asia, just as a precaution.”

”Yes, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket,” Du Shuping said, his tone laced with resignation. ”Here’s the plan: you take a group of people to Xiangjiang and Xing Island to open branch offices. We’ll leave just a shell company as the headquarters in Peng City. Don’t come back here without a good reason. I’ll stay in Peng City and watch over Purple Sky Group for you. If we need to meet, I can come to Xiangjiang.”

”I understand.” Du Jianxin understood his father’s intention. By going to Xiangjiang and Southeast Asia to expand the business, he would be creating an escape route for their family.

Yang Haibo had similar plans. All great families liked to have multiple bolt-holes, to avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop.

Du Shuping gave his son further instructions. ”Your Uncle Yang will probably have Tiancheng manage their Xiangjiang branch as well. You two should stay in close contact and look out for each other. The other families are likely just as spooked by Li Qingye as we are. Once you’re in Xiangjiang, you can leak some details about the situation to them. Get them to invest some money in the Purple Heaven Investment Fund.”

”Haha, Brother Du, you really think of everything!” A flicker of apprehension crossed Yang Haibo’s eyes, but it was quickly followed by a sense of powerlessness.

If Yang Tianci were still sane, Yang Haibo would never have conceded Du Jianxin’s position as the leader of the younger generation.

But unfortunately, he knew his eldest son Yang Tiancheng’s true capabilities. Although he had improved somewhat, he was still far from ready to stand on his own, let alone compete with someone like Du Jianxin.

Therefore, Yang Haibo could only settle for the next best thing. His energy wasn’t what it once was, and his mindset had grown more conservative. All he hoped for now was for the Yang Family to preserve what it currently had.

After their secret discussion, the three men moved quickly.

For his part, Du Shuping secretly contacted Thomas Morgan, hoping he would agree to help.

Thomas didn’t refuse. After all, this disruptor, Li Qingye, had caused the Morgan Clan’s investments in the beverage, pharmaceutical, and medical testing industries to suffer considerable losses.

Thus, Thomas agreed to Du Shuping’s request and promised to cooperate with the assassination plot.