Take It While You Can

"Hehe."

Kang De said.

Xie Liqian's expression remained unchanged, but his heart skipped a beat.

As an elderly person who forces himself to continue accepting new things, he has almost witnessed firsthand the impact of rapid social development and the changes brought about by the Internet age on society and culture.

Every aspect.

For example, the meaning of some words has changed in a way that makes him sigh with emotion or even "Holy crap!"

For example, Miss.

For example, comrade.

For example, philosophy.

For example, lilies.

For example, hehe.

These words were perfectly normal, beautiful, and even bright and cheerful in his youth, but now they have undergone an indescribable change, and their original meanings are no longer used by young people.

For example, the two words "hehe" mentioned by Kang De.

It used to mean a polite or even friendly laugh; now it means "fuck your mother."

In other words, the talks broke down.

"Why? I admit Xie Guangjun offended you, but he's finished, he can't live or die. I admit my attitude was somewhat offensive, but I didn't cause you any real harm. I will make extremely generous compensation and apology, enough to make you forget any unpleasantness between us. Just nod your head, and you'll soon see my first act of sincerity."

Xie Liqian said sincerely, "You are a person with a bright future, and this is a terrible world, so terrible that we rich people, who are not much different from ordinary people, can obtain happiness and enjoyment that ordinary people can't even imagine in a lifetime just by using money. Don't you think you can get more?"

"Think about it, a charlatan who pretends to be a ghost can be wildly popular with many rich and powerful people. So what about you? You have real talent. With a little packaging, can you imagine what the future will be like?"

"Countless riches, fame, adoration, and followers—you have no idea how foolish and superficial people can be. Wealth cannot increase intelligence. I can tell you with certainty that your future is limitless."

His tone grew increasingly sincere, completely from the heart. "Are you still stubbornly clinging to your own opinions? Are you still angry about this? Of course, you can continue to humiliate me, even torture me, but I advise you not to kill me. After you've vented your anger, you can think back to what I said. We can cooperate."

Xie Liqian's tone remained calm.

But I was already feeling a bit anxious.

Things were once again beyond his control.

He thought this argument would sway Kang De... He explained the drawbacks and then painted a picture of the future. He was familiar with Kang De's past experiences. A child from an ordinary family suddenly gaining great power could destroy a person even more easily than becoming rich overnight. Xie Liqian knew what Kang De wanted most.

--That's how it is.

But why was he unmoved?

"Cooperate?"

Kang De said calmly, "Actually, I overheard your previous phone calls and your mutterings to yourself, Mr. Xie. I'm listening to what you're doing. Don't say what's on your mind unless it's obvious. You called a high monk, ordered some national and foreign liquors, and even contacted Africa hyenas, guessing I was possessed by a female ghost—were you trying to talk to me about cooperation?"

"If I really only made a deal with the female ghost, allowing me to use her power, and then I was suppressed by some high monk, subdued by some assassin, or my family was kidnapped by you and forced to submit to you—at that point, would you still talk about cooperation, or say that my future is limitless?"

He stared at the other man and said coldly, "Xie Liqian, you were trying to hunt me down, weren't you? Capture me, subdue me, and make me your own. You'd have a super-powered henchman, able to do more things you wanted to do but didn't dare before. Isn't that a bright future? Isn't that awesome?"

Xie Liqian's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm, saying, "I admit, I did have this plan before, but your abilities exceeded my expectations, so the foundation for our cooperation is even stronger. You don't need to worry about being betrayed by me; it's still a win-win situation for us..."

Kang De scoffed. "If I'm weak, you can leash me and make me your henchman; if I'm strong, you have to negotiate with me for a win-win situation—are all rich people as shameless as you?"

His smile vanished instantly, "Xie Liqian, are you worthy to cooperate with me?"

Xie Liqian calm, his tone a mix of soft and hard tactics, both ingratiating and defiant. "You can crush me with a single finger, that's a fact. But after you kill me, you'll face endless troubles, that's also a fact. Since that's the case, why don't we put aside our prejudices and try cooperating? If you're not satisfied, you can turn your back on me anytime."

Kang De jumped off his desk, stood up straight, and took a step forward. "I'm not satisfied right now. You dog-like person, do you even deserve to talk to me about cooperation? Do you dare to investigate and threaten my family? Do you even have the right to threaten me?"

Xie Liqian's body stiffened slightly, and he said coldly, "I advise you not to act impulsively, Kang De. Think about what I said. Killing me will not do you any good; on the contrary, it will bring you endless trouble."

Kang De smiled, "Do you know what your son's thugs told me? It's your son's basic operation: whoever offends him, he gets someone to beat them up, make them pay compensation, or send them to jail. Then he finds another group of people to continue beating, torturing, and humiliating them until the victim breaks down. I don't believe you're completely unaware of what he's done. Now I'm returning your son's methods of harming people to you. What do you think?"

Guess how many ways I can mess with you?

"From morning till night, I'll beat you, poison you, torment you with magic, create illusions, summon ghosts—what kind of terrifying scene do you want? Anything is possible. I'll torture you in different ways every day, drive you mad, break you, make you regret offending me, make you regret being born into this world..."

Xie Liqian's expression suddenly changed, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Kang De! I've said it before! This kind of threat is useless. I, Xie Liqian, built my business from scratch, and I'm not someone who can be intimidated!"

"Over the past few decades, those who have tried to harm me through intrigue and underhanded tactics—you can look them up and see what happened to them. Even though you're powerful, you'd better think twice before the Xuanhua Group gets serious! I'm telling you responsibly, this world isn't a place where you can do whatever you want just because you have some magic or superpowers!"

Kang De looked at him, then suddenly smiled, "Scared?"

Xie Liqian stared intently at him.

"Then I can tell you with certainty that you know nothing about power."

He said, "What are you going to do to me? Report me to the government? Let the government know my secrets? That's how you threaten me. You think you can threaten me like that, is that it?"

He took two steps back, leaned back against the table, and spoke calmly.

Just like Xie Liqian had spoken eloquently and with great confidence earlier.

"Of course you can tell me my secret and do your best to prove to the relevant departments that this is an irrefutable fact and not just conjecture or wild talk. The country will certainly investigate and verify that this matter is true. I have no doubt about it."

"Then let me tell you what will happen next."

"The relevant departments will immediately conduct a secret political investigation of my immediate family members for three generations to ensure my innocence. All my personal information from birth to the present has been repeatedly studied by a newly established elite group. They will assess my values, secretly question my friends and teachers, review all traces I left on the internet, create a personality profile of me, and summarize my political leanings and patriotic enthusiasm."

Kang De slowly said, "Then they will be pleasantly surprised to find that I am a Han chauvinist self-proclaimed patriot with serious great-power chauvinism tendencies."

"Then, on a sunny day, I will receive a call from an elder with government connections, who will convey a meeting request from a very important person he cannot refuse."

"I was playing outside when I happily took the bus home. A security guard downstairs showed me his ID. At the door, I saw an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit waiting alone. It was a hot day, and he was sweating profusely. He had been waiting for at least half an hour, carrying two boxes of unbranded gifts. There was no impatience or dissatisfaction on his face, only an apology for disturbing me."

"I invited him into my home and poured him tea. His face showed no arrogance or sternness; instead, he was kind and gentle, like an elder who greatly admired me. We chatted casually, talking about my childhood, his experiences, history, the country's painful past, and how he had witnessed the republic's decades-long journey from poverty to greatness. Finally, he asked me if I could do anything for the country, and what the republic could do for me."

"I said yes, because I am China and love this country. I hope it can become strong again and reclaim what we have lost."

"I will show him my power—fire, electricity, ice, and wind—simple and casual, lacking persuasiveness. So I will take him to London to feed the Pigeon. If he doesn't want to go to a capitalist country, I can take him to sit on the top of the Pyramid of Khufu. When we come back, the tea on the table will still be piping hot."

"I told him I could provide a complete training program to train a super-powered force for China. If possible, this force should ideally be called the Dragon Group. I said that China's rise is still too slow, and I want it to be faster. The kind elder smiled approvingly and with satisfaction, shook his hand firmly, and thanked me with a choked voice."

"Then he said goodbye and left. I saw him off all the way to the outside of the residential area. The security guards outside saluted me and then escorted him to his car and drove away. He kept waving to me from the car."

"Next, a seasoned and loyal officer will approach me, salute me, and lead a team of the Republic's top elites, whose sole mission is to prepare me for joining the country's power structure."

"And I only have one request."

"That means handing over the person who betrayed me to me for punishment."

Kang De leaned closer and said calmly, "Guess what the chances of this succeeding are."

Xie Liqian paused, his breath catching in his throat.

Fear and panic finally showed in his eyes.

This was an emotion completely unfamiliar to him.

"You think that if I kill you, I won't be able to clean up the mess or cover up the subsequent turmoil and consequences?"

"You think that cooperating with you is the only option besides killing you? You think I have no other choice?"

"Do you think that if I defect to the country, I'll only be viewed with suspicion, or even dissected?"

"Guess what the chances are that the government will help me resolve all of this. Your Xuanhua Group might even smoothly replace its chairman with someone surnamed Kang."

Do you understand what I'm saying?

Kang De asked in a gentle and pleasant manner.

Xie Liqian opened his mouth, then nodded subconsciously.

Smack

Kang De raised his hand.

The slap was loud.

The face of this prominent local figure, who made his fortune during the reform and opening-up era, swelled up at a visible rate. After accumulating his first pot of gold by riding a tricycle through the streets and alleys, he had never been in a fight or been beaten again for decades.

After the excruciating pain came an indescribable sense of humiliation. He had always been high above, looking down on everyone else, and had always relied on his wealth and power to be confident. He had never suffered such humiliation before.

But the rising anger hadn't even been vented before... smack smack

Two more shots, one with a backhand and one with a forehand.

Blood was flowing from his mouth, and his cheeks were numb and painful, but Kang De, sitting opposite him, simply remained calm.

His movements were completely invisible.

But they felt the fear and threat of death.

Before he could speak, the shadow flashed before his eyes again, and the next moment, he was grabbed by the hair and placed in front of the desk, his head slamming against the hard surface with a thud.

"Listen carefully, your son broke the law. If he had turned himself in, confessed, and actively compensated the victims, he might have been able to save his life. But he destroyed evidence, showed no remorse, was utterly depraved, and even tried to harm me. In the end, he brought about his own demise. This is his retribution, and you can't blame me."

"You shouldn't threaten me with the country or anything like that. I can also tell you that I have two paths in front of me. One path is peaceful, but a bit difficult. The other path is simple, but it will be very troublesome. The reason I'm choosing the first path for now is because I already have enough on my plate, and I want to make things simpler. But that doesn't mean I'm afraid to choose the second path, understand? The second path will be even more enjoyable for me."

"As for you, it's the father's fault if the son is not taught, but it's not a crime. The state won't put you in jail, and I won't implicate you. That's why I didn't look for you, that's why I let you go. I didn't intend to kill your whole family, nor did I intend to torment you. But this is just my tolerance, my magnanimity, my morality. It doesn't mean you're powerful, that you can do whatever you want just because you have a few stinking coins, or that you can even dream of any cooperation."

Do you understand?

"I'm not killing you out of fear, but because I'm reasonable and have morals. And right now, I'm still not killing you because I genuinely want to avoid trouble. I'm also interested in what you said before, but you're not qualified for cooperation. But since you've come to me, I think we can have a better way to cooperate. Since you were planning to hunt me down, I'll return the favor to you."

"So I suggest, Mr. Xie, let's become dogs."

You have the right to choose, and you have the freedom to refuse.

Kang De grabbed Xie Liqian's hair and slammed his head onto the table, blood flowing from both sides.

But I also have to tell you something.

He bent down and whispered in the other man's ear, "Xie Liqian, I'm giving you face, you'd better watch out."

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PS1: Second update, 4,000 words, 8,000 words today! Other writers would be updating four times a day! Hurry up and vote! Sigh, you guys are rushing me too much, and this was written a bit hastily... (staring into the distance)