Chapter 357: 276. Road to the Heavens (Asking for 10,000 Monthly Votes as a Guarantee)
“Whether you live or die, what does that have to do with us?” Liu Dezhu calmly asked, “Protecting and placing someone as reckless as you, we’re afraid we’ll get dragged down ourselves.”
Liu Dezhu modulated his tone deliberately.
Don’t ask, if you ask it’s that Daylight scorns doing this business deal.
When in the Outer World, Zhang Chengze had the upper hand in this transaction because at that time, he hadn’t encountered any danger and had more choices.
But now, things were different; the roles had been swapped.
One thing must be said, this was also because Daylight’s luck was maxed out. If Zhang Chengze had no danger in crossing over and was still an important figure, they wouldn’t have had this opportunity.
Zhang Chengze earnestly said, “Classmate Liu Dezhu, I’ve come to recognize my own mistakes. Could you discuss with your boss? I’m willing to pay more for protection, as long as you can keep me safe in the Inner World! We are all compatriots; you can’t just watch me die, the Inner World is too dangerous!”
Liu Dezhu sneered, “I wouldn’t want to bother the boss for such a thing. The boss is an important figure in the Inner World and doesn’t have time to deal with such trivial matters.”
At this moment, it was Hu Xiaoniu’s turn to smooth things over, “Uncle Zhang, how about this, if you really die here, it would be hard for me to explain to my father. I’ll try to talk with the boss and see what he says, okay?”
Zhang Chengze, overjoyed, said, “Good, Xiaoniu, please speak to him for me!”
After finishing speaking, Hu Xiaoniu left the bathhouse and pretended to go to the dressing room to make a phone call.
Ten minutes later, he returned with a troubled expression, “Uncle Zhang, I’m sorry, the boss is quite angry about this matter. He said we can only protect you for the week of your crossing, and after that, it’s out of our hands.”
Zhang Tianzhen sighed from the side, “We three had a lot of preparations in mind, like taking you to enjoy the nightlife in the Fourth District after settling down, taking you to visit the Upper Three Districts, helping you find the Genetic Potion, but it’s a shame. Uncle Zhang, you chose someone else in the Outer World, and that angered the boss; he even somewhat blames us for not vetting the reliability of the client before doing business.”
Zhang Chengze, with reddened eyes, grabbed Zhang Tianzhen’s arm, “It’s uncle who has dragged you down.”
At this point, Hu Xiaoniu said, “However, there’s still a chance for things to take a turn.”
“What chance?” Zhang Chengze perked up.
Hu Xiaoniu hesitated for a moment, “This is what the boss told me privately; if it wasn’t for your relationship with our Hu Family, I definitely couldn’t tell you. The boss told me to quietly observe your behavior this week. If it’s good, then there’s a chance for further cooperation.”
“And if it’s not good?” Liu Dezhu asked.
Zhang Tianzhen pondered, “Given the boss’s way of doing things, he’d probably leave Uncle Zhang to fend for himself.”
Zhang Chengze hurriedly said, “I will definitely behave well. Xiaoniu, Tianzhen, please tell Uncle Zhang how I should act. Should I offer more money?”
Hu Xiaoniu replied reservedly, “Uncle Zhang, our boss isn’t partial to money; after all, as you know, neither the Hu Family nor the Zhang Family is short of money. If the boss needed money, our Hu Family and Zhang Family would have given it outright… but this is also one of the most direct ways to show it since other things can’t be measured in value.”
Zhang Tianzhen added, “Yeah, that’s right, show a comprehensive attitude and start by adding some money.”
“Okay,” Zhang Chengze said earnestly, “it’s a million a week now; how much more should I add?”
Liu Dezhu thought for a moment, then silently raised three fingers.
“Thirty million?” Zhang Chengze was startled.
Liu Dezhu’s fingers trembled imperceptibly.
You see, when Zhang Tianzhen said “start by adding some money,” it seemed like adding money wasn’t a big deal, but they knew that was the boss’s real objective. Otherwise, why act out so much drama tonight?
And Zhang Chengze subconsciously saying thirty million also surprised Liu Dezhu.
They all overlooked one thing—they hadn’t personally experienced the terror that Zhang Chengze had faced.
For Zhang Chengze, it was no longer about protection fees; it was about buying his life.
How much is a life worth?
Zhang Chengze said, “I really can’t do thirty million a week; that’s 1.2 billion a month, 14.4 billion a year, and my company only has a hundred million in working capital. It’s not that I don’t want to give; if I go with that price, my company will collapse within a month. I can offer five million a week; that’s twenty million a month. I’m willing to pay an additional twenty million as a token of my gratitude for saving my life!”
Zhang Chengze had no energy for bargaining; he was speaking the truth.
His business was real estate, which was quite profitable in the early years, but since the domestic policy of ‘houses are for living, not for speculation’ was implemented, his cash flow was nearly crushed by bank loans.
The debt ratio of a real estate company was unimaginably high.
He had barely recovered over the past two years, so it wasn’t possible to take out so much cash in a month.
His status as a boss was far less glamorous than Hu Dacheng’s.
Liu Dezhu steadied himself and said, “I need to check this price with the boss; in the end, it’s up to the boss himself to decide.”
“Alright, alright, no problem, please tell your boss, and later, when I buy things like Genetic Potion, I’ll also pay extra, ” Zhang Chengze said.
Liu Dezhu instructed, “This week, I’ll arrange a place for you to stay and make sure it’s safe outside first. As for the future, we’ll discuss that when the time comes.”