The Curtain Rises

After the Hong Kong stocks market closed, he immediately flew back to Shan City. He had spent a month preparing for this day.

Now, the results of his hunt were beginning to emerge in a more dramatic fashion.

He knew Father Zhao Jianguo's crimes better than anyone. They had nothing to do with the company's operations.

What Zhao Jianguo had done was being strictly kept secret by the Police for now. The outside world only knew that he had been "taken away for investigation."

Zhao Chen knew this was only the beginning.

In his previous life, the secret had not been fully revealed until the trial. The public uproar and moral condemnation it triggered even surpassed the case itself.

In the end, with irrefutable evidence and an extraordinarily severe social impact, Zhao Jianguo was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Eight years!

For Zhao Jianguo, already in his fifties at the time, it practically meant the end of his business life.

Yet he had not fallen completely silent in prison.

He continually used what remained of his influence from within prison, along with Lin Wanqing's maneuvering outside, and was eventually released on medical parole after serving five years on the grounds of "serious illness."

And after Zhao Jianguo was released, his first act was not repentance. Instead, he secretly joined forces with Lin Wanqing, who had already taken control of the company's financial power, and gathered the executives he had bound to himself through leverage or benefits.

At the time, although Zhao Chen had stabilized Henglong through his own efforts and expanded into new businesses, deep down, he still held a faint, laughable contempt and carelessness toward his father serving time in prison, born of blood ties.

He thought his father had already suffered social death and could no longer pose any threat to him.

He had underestimated how crazed a man who had fallen from the peak and tempered his hatred and paranoia in prison could become in his thirst for wealth and power—and how utterly without limits his methods could be.

When Zhao Jianguo had fully completed his sentence, they carefully laid a commercial contract trap and sent Zhao Chen, who had already revived Henglong by then, to prison on charges of "misappropriation of funds" and "occupational embezzlement," carrying out the coldest possible act of a father seizing his son's enterprise.

Was it truly karma coming full circle? No. The human heart was more venomous than snakes and scorpions.

In this life, the chain of tragedy had to be completely severed with him.

He had already read the script of the tragedy.

Now, it was time to tear it apart with his own hands and rewrite the ending according to his will.

At this moment, he was in no hurry to step forward as the "crown prince" to stabilize the company.

On the contrary, the company's chaos and panic were the strongest bargaining chips in his hand.

Henglong was now a broken ship taking on water. The captain and first mate had been arrested, the crew was in a state of panic, and the storm was right ahead.

He wanted every director and executive—especially those who knew the truth or harbored ulterior motives—to clearly understand this:

Without Zhao Chen, Henglong, this sinking wreck of a ship, would not even have one last plank left to cling to.

His goal was clear:

In exchange for stepping forward to stabilize the situation and prevent the company's bankruptcy, he would obtain at least 15% of the shares from the agent who still legally represented his father, whose personal freedom had already been restricted. Added to his original 10%, that would make him the second-largest shareholder with decisive influence in one stroke.

This was the first price he named.

At the same time, he wanted all the Voting Rights attached to the shares in his father's hands.

This was not merely a safeguard for control—it was also part of his revenge: stripping Zhao Jianguo of his most fundamental support.

And that was not enough.

He also intended to use this power vacuum and panic to thoroughly screen and win over Henglong's executive ranks.

Liu Mingyu, that fence-sitting Board Secretary? He could be used for now and replaced when the chance arose.

As for those vice presidents, each with their own schemes? Divide them, win them over, pressure them. Someone would always choose a new harbor when faced with fear and profit.

And Lin Wanqing... this venomous snake hidden deepest in the shadows—he instead needed to "steady" her for the time being.

He would let her believe she could still remain hidden, let her continue to "hold the line" for his father and her children.

The overseas assets in her hands—he would find a way to devour them bit by bit.

What he wanted was not a mess he had hastily taken over, but a new beginning that had undergone an initial cleanup, with controllable people placed in key positions and the Equity Structure strengthened.

What if he did not step forward to stabilize the company?

Then the banks would be the first to withdraw loans, Suppliers would press for payment, bonds would default, and regulators would intervene...

The Vast Debt Chain would collapse in sequence like Dominoes.

In the end, Henglong would have no path left but bankruptcy liquidation. Zhao Jianguo's Lifelong Efforts would come to nothing, and All Related Stakeholders would lose everything.

That was where his confidence came from.

He knew what everyone feared most, and he knew what he could offer.

This was not a request. It was a negotiation.

It was also a game between him and Zhao Jianguo.

And he was the only one holding the Trump Card.

He headed toward that Noisy and Bewildered villa, toward the stage awaiting him to "take charge of the Overall Situation."

The Villa's Living Room was brightly lit, yet the light could not pierce the heaviness and anxiety permeating the air.

When Zhao Chen stepped through the door, Su Wantang was sitting in one corner of the Sofa, her face pale as her fingers unconsciously twisted the tassels of her shawl.

Wang Ma was nowhere to be seen. She had probably already left.

A Group of Senior Executives sat in the Living Room, led by Finance Director Lin Wanqing and Board Secretary Liu Mingyu.