Volume 1, Chapter 42: The Heavyweights Enter the Arena

A moment later, the call went through.

"Hello, who is this?"

It was a woman's voice, presumably Qiao Youliang's mistress.

"Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Qiao! This is Zhou Yang," Zhou Yang said.

Hearing that the call was from Zhou Yang, Qiao Youliang hurriedly took the phone: "Hello, Mr. Zhou, what happened?"

The number left on his VIP token was a dedicated private line; whenever this phone rang, it meant trouble had arisen.

"Mr. Qiao, I'm very sorry to disturb you while you're recovering from your injuries!" Zhou Yang said. "We really have run into some trouble today. I'm currently at 88 Huijin Street. Some people are holding me and my superior hostage. I was wondering if you could use your network to smooth things over."

"What's the other person's name?" Qiao Youliang asked.

"He Quan!" Zhou Yang replied.

Qiao Youliang had never heard the name before. He said to Zhou Yang, "Mr. Zhou, put him on the phone!"

"Alright!"

Zhou Yang handed the phone to He Quan.

"Hello!" He Quan said in an insolent, punkish tone. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am Qiao Youliang from Punan," Qiao Youliang stated. "Zhou Yang is my brother. Whatever the issue is, I'll resolve it for him. Just talk directly to me!"

True to being a veteran underworld boss, Qiao Youliang valued loyalty.

He didn't even ask what Zhou Yang had done; even if the sky fell, he was ready to cover for him.

"Who do you think you are?" He Quan scoffed, acting arrogant. "I've never even heard of you."

"You don't need to have heard of me. Tell me, what will it take for you to let my brother go?" Qiao Youliang's voice dropped into a low, menacing register.

He was already exercising immense restraint.

If He Quan had been standing right in front of him, he probably would have sent a flying kick straight to his face.

He Quan sneered, "I don't have a personal grudge against your brother, but he insisted on acting like a big shot and protecting his boss. My boss and his boss have a major business deal to discuss, and your brother ruined my good thing. What do you think should happen?"

Qiao Youliang said, "I don't care what major business deal you have to discuss. Right now, you must release my brother and his superior."

"Damn, you're quite arrogant, aren't you?" He Quan sneered.

Although he didn't know Qiao Youliang, the steady tone and the natural authority in Qiao Youliang's voice made him feel somewhat unsettled.

Suspecting the man might actually have some clout, he invoked his backer to intimidate him. "I don't care who you are, but this business belongs to my boss, Brother Hao. Don't play street games with me. When it comes to the underworld, Brother Hao is the ancestor!"

"Brother Hao?" Qiao Youliang asked. "Li Jiuhao?"

"You've heard of my boss?" He Quan was startled.

Qiao Youliang let out a cold laugh. "I didn't expect the subordinates taught by A-Hao to be so ignorant of the rules! Looks like I need to remind him."

Then, he said to He Quan, "I'm going to hang up now and call your boss. You'd better not try anything stupid!"

"You know Brother Hao?" He Quan grew even more alarmed.

"More than just know him!" Qiao Youliang sneered. "Did he never tell you whose shadow he followed when he was first starting out in the streets?"

Hearing the implication in those words, He Quan realized that the Qiao Youliang on the other end of the line was apparently Brother Hao's former boss.

Cold sweat instantly broke out all over him.

Qiao Youliang hung up the phone and prepared to call Li Jiuhao.

The mistress standing nearby remarked, "That Li Jiuhao is an ungrateful wretch. Ever since he left you, he hasn't even come back to check on you! Are you sure making this call will work?"

Qiao Youliang replied, "He has never been truly submissive to me. Now that his wings have hardened, naturally he doesn't need to fawn over me anymore. But given the current situation, if I take the initiative to call him, he still wouldn't dare not to give me face."

With that, Qiao Youliang dialed the number.

"Hahaha, Brother Liang, what wind blew you my way?" Li Jiuhao's voice rang out.

"Do you have a subordinate named He Quan?" Qiao Youliang asked.

"Yes, I do!" Li Jiuhao paused before asking, "What's wrong?"

"He Quan is holding my brother hostage," Qiao Youliang stated.

"Oh dear, how could something like that happen? Isn't this just a case of family members fighting each other?" Li Jiuhao laughed. "Did Brother Liang call me just for this?"

"Yes, A-Hao. Order your subordinate to release them immediately!" Qiao Youliang demanded.

"Ah, Brother Liang, if I may speak frankly, if your brother hadn't done something wrong, why would my subordinate take him hostage for no reason?" Li Jiuhao reasoned. "You used to be my big brother, and you always taught me that in words and deeds, one must be reasonable. I can let them go, but I also have to ask my subordinate what exactly your brother did."

"My brother is just a low-level employee at a company. What capacity does he have to do wrong in front of you?" Qiao Youliang countered. "A-Hao, you don't need to play word games with me. I'll put it bluntly: today, these people must be released!"

Li Jiuhao gritted his teeth and said, "Hahaha, Brother Liang, you used to be my boss, so I'll give you this face. I'm calling He Quan right now. Wait for my news!"

Without waiting for a reply, Li Jiuhao hung up the phone.

Qiao Youliang frowned, pondered for a moment, and said to his mistress, "Contact A-Hu. Tell him to take a few men to 88 Huijin Street. Make it fast."

The mistress frowned and asked, "Didn't A-Hao just agree to let them go?"

"A-Hao is a ruthless man, and he has always harbored resentment toward me. It's just that his power isn't a match for mine right now, so he has to give me this face. However, there's no guarantee he won't play dirty behind the scenes," Qiao Youliang explained. "Quickly tell A-Hu and the others to head over, just in case."

"Alright!"

The mistress dialed A-Hu's number.

Meanwhile, Li Jiuhao slammed the phone down, grinding his teeth in fury.

"Damn it! Qiao Youliang, do you still think you're my boss? You're still giving me orders? Fuck your mother!"

"Brother Hao, if we go head-to-head with him right now, we're still no match for Qiao Youliang! You must hold back!" his military advisor cautioned from the side.

Li Jiuhao took a deep breath, his fleshy face twitching slightly. A moment later, he picked up the phone and called He Quan.

"Hello, Brother Hao!"

"Is Qiao Youliang's brother in your hands?" Li Jiuhao asked.

"Yes, the brat's name is Zhou Yang!"

"Why did you take him hostage?"

"Brother Hao, didn't you tell me to rush the EPS contract? Today I invited the EPS sales director over to talk business. Zhou Yang is that sales director's subordinate and tagged along. Now the deal has fallen through, and the other party refuses to cooperate. Naturally, I can't let her just walk away!" He Quan explained.

"I see," Li Jiuhao nodded.

The last time they cooperated with EPS, he made a staggering eighty million in just two months.

This time, they had made thorough preparations. If they could secure the cooperation, making a few hundred million would be no problem at all.

Facing such a massive revenue stream, Li Jiuhao naturally wanted to secure it by any means necessary.

He Quan was his capable lieutenant, and Li Jiuhao entirely approved of his actions.

"A-Quan, that Qiao Youliang used to be my boss, so I have to give him this face," Li Jiuhao said.

"Then should I let them go?" He Quan asked, sounding extremely reluctant.

"They can be released, but only after the job is done!" Li Jiuhao declared. "I'm not going to drop a business deal just because of a single word from Qiao Youliang!"

"Then what is your instruction, Brother Hao?" He Quan asked.

"Move on them right now. No matter what method you use, you must force the two of them to sign the contract!" Li Jiuhao commanded. "The harsher the methods, the better. Just make sure you leave that kid named Zhou Yang with a breath left in him!"

"Understood, Boss!" He Quan replied.