The Way of Restraint

“I also find Wen Ting extremely terrifying, my father simply can’t control him. His methods are still those of a feudal emperor trying to manage powerful ministers, but those days are over. Back then, the emperor had the power of life and death over his subjects, now the situation is completely different,” Liu Guan said. “If Wen Ting had no backing and was just a lone operator, he could be controlled and used as a knife. But the power behind him is so vast it’s beyond our reach. If we try to use him, it will backfire.”

“It’s good that you understand your own limitations.” Su Jie nodded. “To be honest, someone like Wen Ting, no matter how powerful you become, can’t be used. As an enemy, the best course is to eliminate him physically. Don’t even think about changing his mind. His will is like steel, unbreakable. He’ll follow his path to the very end.”

“We need to eliminate my father’s wishful thinking, I can do that.” Liu Guan said. “The hard part is my sister. If this goes wrong, she’ll hate me for life.”

“Hating you for life is better than suffering for life. There’s no good outcome with someone like Wen Ting.” Su Jie saw clearly. “His core is no longer human. But I won’t interfere in your family affairs, you handle your sister. I’ll handle Wen Ting.”

“In this situation, even if my father cracks down hard, he can’t actually do much to Wen Ting, at most, he can fire him. We can’t find any evidence against him. If we try to force things, it might cause instability in the company. I think you should find some evidence of his illegal activities first,” Liu Guan said.

“That’s exactly why I provoked him, to draw the snake out of its hole.” Su Jie laid out his plan. “After today’s commotion, he’ll see me as a thorn in his side. He’ll know he’s been exposed and can’t keep lurking and advancing slowly, he’ll have to take risks. And that’s when he’ll start making mistakes.”

“I used to have a good impression of him. But after what you’ve pointed out and his behavior, a man who can maintain this level of disguise is more terrifying than a demon.” Liu Guan clicked his tongue. “No one expected him to have such ambition, to swallow our Hedao Group whole.”

“Extraordinary people do extraordinary things,” Su Jie said. “But honestly, I’m more worried about you.”

“Worried about me?” Liu Guan frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Hedao Group is your father’s life’s work, and it’s grown into this giant enterprise. You’re his only son, in the end, he’ll only feel secure handing the group over to you. Think about it: if you suddenly died, wouldn’t your father only have your sister left? And your sister is utterly devoted to Wen Ting…” Su Jie floated a horrifying possibility.

“That actually makes sense.” Liu Guan snapped to attention. “What do you think Wen Ting’s chances would be if he wanted to kill me?”

“Almost certain, a hundred percent.” Su Jie said. “And you wouldn’t be able to escape anywhere. With his skill, he could kill anyone, no matter where they ran. Even if he tried to kill me, he’d probably have a sixty percent chance. Of course, he probably wouldn’t do it himself, it would risk exposure. If I were him, I’d kill you first. It’s more cost-effective than killing your father. Killing your father would leave the group leaderless, he couldn’t control the situation. Killing you leaves your father with no choice. That’s exactly how the Xuanwu Gate Incident played out.”

Liu Guan fell silent at this, then suddenly said, “Maybe we can use this to truly draw the snake out! I’ll be the bait and force Wen Ting to reveal himself.”

“You’re volunteering for this?” Su Jie said with admiration. “Truly someone from Blackwater Training Camp, you have that kind of courage. Keep this mindset, and your future achievements won’t be low. But being bait is extremely dangerous, you could easily get yourself killed.”

“No risk, no reward.” Liu Guan smiled nonchalantly. “I’ve faced life and death a few times at Blackwater Training Camp. I won’t claim to be unafraid of death, but I’ve developed some courage. Life is nothing but a series of gambles.”

“Good! Then we need to make a detailed plan, truly draw the snake out. Maybe we can take down Wen Ting and the Feng family in one blow. They want to swallow Hedao Group like a snake swallowing a whale, we can choke them to death on it.” Su Jie said.

After discussing for a while longer, they parted ways.

“I need to go home.” Su Jie had made up his mind. “Feng Hengyi and Wen Ting working together, I’m definitely no match for them. Killing me wouldn’t be hard. I need to find another expert to help, but against opponents like them, even Liu Long would be outclassed. Who can I turn to? Only my father.”

After much thought, Su Jie concluded that only his father, Su Shilin, could help him.

His father was a top-tier expert, at least on par with Zhang Hongqing. If he could help, they could definitely handle the combined forces of Wen Ting and Feng Hengyi.

Besides, in battle, brothers fight together, and in war, father and son fight side by side. Having his father beside him would put Su Jie at ease, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about being stabbed in the back.

Without delay, Su Jie bought a plane ticket and decided to return home that night to discuss the matter with his father.

As Su Jie was making preparations, at an abandoned factory on the outskirts of B City, two people appeared.

One of them was Feng Hengyi. He wasn’t wearing his Taotie mask, he showed his face. Not far from him stood a person wearing a pitch-black mask, with only a pair of equally black eyes visible.

“We have a big problem?” Feng Hengyi asked. “Do you need my help? Can’t even you handle that Su Jie?”

“Originally, the higher-ups assigned you as my deputy for this mission.” The black-masked figure spoke. “If our mission fails, I’m sure you can imagine the consequences. Hedao Group is the most critical link in our organization’s layout. If it succeeds, the organization will have a deep-rooted foothold in the country that can’t be destroyed.”

“I know all that.” Feng Hengyi waved his hand. “Just tell me what to do. I can’t be bothered with thinking, I’m happy to kill. Su Jie has become a major problem. The key is that his skill is on par with ours, neither of us alone can kill him.”

“Wrong.” The black-masked figure said. “I can kill him, but I don’t want to expose myself. It would indeed be difficult for you to kill him.”

“Are you saying I’m inferior to you?” Feng Hengyi seemed ready to fight.

“I’m doing a capability analysis, not criticizing you.” The black-masked figure said. “Capability analysis must be precise, it’s not about pride. But right now, I don’t need you to kill him, I need you to kill Liu Guan first.”

“Kill Liu Guan?” Feng Hengyi understood instantly. “You’re finally accelerating the plan? This was originally a three-year plan, three years from now, after you’ve established yourself in Hedao Group’s upper management, become the largest faction leader, and grasped many core secrets, that’s when we’d kill Liu Guan. It would make Liu Shi lose his son, and by then, you and Liu Xiaoguo might have a child. But I should warn you, the organization is very cautious about this. If you have a child with Liu Xiaoguo, the organization might worry…”

“Worry about what?” The black-masked figure said. “The child would be sent to the training camp as soon as it’s born. Your father Feng Shoucheng did the same, you were sent to the training camp before you were even born. Otherwise, how could the Feng family have earned the organization’s trust?”

“By accelerating the plan now, are you sure you can handle the situation? Do you really think Liu Shi, after losing his son, will place his bet on you? According to what you’ve said, Liu Shi is already suspicious of you, and he intended to use you from the start, never as a successor,” Feng Hengyi also saw clearly.

“At that point, he’ll have only one heir, Liu Xiaoguo. But she can’t handle the situation, she’ll need a helper.” The black-masked figure said. “So tell me, who does she trust most? Who can quickly help her stabilize the company and even take the business to the next level? Only me. Otherwise, he’d have to hand the group over to an outsider, or find another assistant for Liu Xiaoguo. Do you think that’s possible?”

“So accelerating the plan makes sense, but it’s still riskier than advancing gradually.” Feng Hengyi nodded. “Unfortunately, Su Jie appeared out of nowhere. Until he’s dealt with, we’ll never have peace. Ideally, you’d marry Liu Xiaoguo and have a child. Once the child is born, things are settled. After Liu Shi loses his son, he’ll have no choice but to choose you.”

“You kill Liu Guan, cleanly. It’s best if you do it after he goes abroad, doing it domestically will cause trouble.” The black-masked figure said. “As for Su Jie, we’ll find an opportunity to join forces and eliminate him cleanly.”

“He’s not so easy to deal with.” Feng Hengyi said. “It’s not just about capability, that Mao old man said this kid is a nemesis for our Feng family. To get rid of him, we need the right timing, terrain, and people.”

“We can use his sister as bait to set a trap.” The black-masked figure said.

“You know that situation better than I do.” Feng Hengyi said. “His sister is now one of the scientists at the organization’s AI lab, part of a new project research team, reportedly highly valued by the higher-ups. I’ll say something you won’t like, you know the organization values valuable scientists even more than us. We can no longer command those people.”

“Once we pull this off, our status in the organization will truly rise, and we’ll gain access to core secrets.” The black-masked figure said. “Rest assured, I might even take over Odell’s position next.”

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