He wants to adopt a younger sister, but his aloof wife disagrees.

October in Beijing should be a season of crisp autumn breezes and golden hues, but these past few days, the entire city has been shrouded in a suffocatingly low pressure. This isn't due to the gloomy weather, but rather to the textbook-worthy "dragon-slaying battle" unfolding in the capital markets.

Since the shocking kidnapping incident on the opening night of "Qingyun·Wanxiang," although the police have covered up the specific details, the news that Ye Qingcheng, the eldest daughter of the Ye family, was arrested on the spot for suspected attempted murder spread like wildfire throughout every corner of the capital. This was not just a criminal case, but the final domino to topple the behemoth that is the Ye family.

At 9:30 a.m. the following morning, as soon as the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets opened, a long-planned financial battle broke out without warning.

Jianghai City's Qingche Capital, in conjunction with Shen's Group and several mysterious overseas accounts (which were "Sky Capital" clones mobilized by Jiang Che using system capabilities), launched a suicidal short-selling attack on the three listed companies controlled by Ye's Group—Ye's Energy, Ye's Real Estate, and Ye's Technology—like a bloodthirsty swarm of sharks.

Inside the temporary command center on the top floor of "Qingyun·Wanxiang," Jiang Che, dressed in a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, stood before a huge floor-to-ceiling window, a glass of iced Americano in his hand, staring indifferently at the three enormous electronic displays on the opposite wall. On the screens, the red line representing the stock price trend (rising) had instantly turned downwards at the opening, transforming into a cascading green waterfall.

"Boss, Ye's Energy has hit its daily limit down! A million lots of sell orders have locked it in!"

"Ye's Properties has fallen below net asset value! News from banks indicates that all their credit lines have been frozen!"

"Furthermore! Several of Yip's Technology's core suppliers have just issued announcements terminating their cooperation and have filed lawsuits in court to preserve assets!"

Han Xiao sat behind rows of computers, directing dozens of top traders, his voice hoarse with extreme excitement. This was a massacre with no suspense whatsoever. The Ye family was already financially exhausted due to the failure of the "Panlong Bay" project, and now, with the scandal of Ye Qingcheng's imprisonment and the banks withdrawing loans, they were like a wounded giant, powerless against this overwhelming onslaught.

Jiang Che remained silent, simply watching the constantly fluctuating numbers. It wasn't just money; it was the legacy accumulated by the Ye family over generations, now turning to ashes in his hands.

Shen Qingge pushed open the door and walked in. She had just returned from the hospital. Su Xiaoruan's injuries had stabilized, but she was still somewhat listless. She walked behind Jiang Che, gently wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her face against his broad back, feeling his taut muscles.

"The Ye family is finished," Shen Qingge said softly. "Ye Zhentian called me three times just now, but I didn't answer. I heard he was so angry that he vomited blood in his office and was sent to the ICU, but he forced himself to pull out the tubes and went back to the Ye family's old house."

"He's waiting for me." Jiang Che turned around, placed his coffee cup on the table, his eyes showing no joy of victory, only a bottomless, icy pool. "He knows that I set this all up. He's waiting for me to deliver the final blow, or... to use the last secret he has to exchange for a way out with me."

"Are you going?" Shen Qingge asked with some concern. "Although the Ye family has fallen, Ye Zhentian has been ruthless his whole life. I'm afraid he might do something desperate."

"I have to go." Jiang Che straightened his collar, where his mother had left him a longevity lock, which was now worn close to his chest, cold and piercing. "Some debts can't be settled across distances. They must be settled face to face, one by one."

"I'll stay with you." Shen Qingge firmly grasped his hand.

"No." Jiang Che shook his head, reaching out to stroke her cheek. "You stay at the hospital with Xiao Ruan. I'll go to this father-son confrontation alone. Don't worry, the Ye family can't even afford a watchdog now; it can't hurt me."

……

Three o'clock in the afternoon, the old Ye family residence in the eastern suburbs of Beijing.

This manor, once a symbol of the capital's top elites, now exudes an aura of decay and death. The two imposing stone lions at the entrance seem to be covered in dust, the vermilion gate is half-closed, and the black-clad bodyguards who should have been on guard are nowhere to be seen. Only fallen leaves swirl in the autumn wind, telling a story of desolation and scattering of the fallen.

A black Hongqi L5 slowly pulled up in front of the gate. Jiang Che got out of the car and walked alone into the deep courtyard that he found both familiar and unfamiliar.

The courtyard was deserted. Most of the once arrogant servants had packed their bags and left. Even some of the valuable ornaments in the living room had disappeared, obviously stolen.

Jiang Che walked through the front hall and went straight to a detached small building in the backyard. That was Ye Zhentian's study, and also the power center of the Ye family.

As soon as I opened the door, a strong, bitter scent of sandalwood mixed with the aroma of Chinese medicine wafted out.

The study was dimly lit, with heavy curtains drawn tightly. Ye Zhentian sat in a grand chair, covered with a thick blanket, his hand gripping his dragon-headed cane tightly. In just a few days, he seemed to have aged twenty years; his once jet-black hair had turned completely white, the wrinkles on his face were deep as if etched by a knife, and his once piercing eagle eyes were now cloudy and gray.

Hearing footsteps, Ye Zhentian slowly raised his head and looked at Jiang Che, who was standing against the light.

"You've come." Ye Zhentian's voice was hoarse and broken, like a bellows being pulled. "I knew... you would come."

Jiang Che didn't say anything, but walked to the chair opposite him and sat down, looking calmly at this so-called father.

"Look at this house..." Ye Zhentian surveyed his surroundings, letting out a desolate laugh. "Yesterday it was bustling with visitors, today it's a haunted house. Che'er, your methods are even more ruthless than mine back then. In less than three days, hundreds of billions of assets are gone... completely gone..."

"That's a debt you owed," Jiang Che said calmly. "Twenty years ago, you abandoned your wife and children for these hundreds of billions. Now, I'm taking it away, leaving you with nothing to die with. That's fair."

"Fair? Cough cough cough..." Ye Zhentian coughed violently, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't care. He just stared intently at Jiang Che. "The business world is like a battlefield. If you lose, you lose. I, Ye Zhentian, admit defeat. But Che'er, there's one thing you've got wrong."

A strange glint suddenly flashed in Ye Zhentian's cloudy eyes: "You think... I drove your mother away back then for money, for the Ye family's business?"

Jiang Che frowned slightly, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart: "Could it be?"

"Money? Hahahaha!" Ye Zhentian laughed as if he had heard a joke, tears streaming down his face. "Back then, the Ye family, though not as powerful as it is now, was still a wealthy and influential family in Beijing! Would I send the woman I love most to her death in the snow for a mere pittance?!"

"Your favorite?" Jiang Che's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "You don't deserve to use that word."

"Whether you're a good match or not isn't up to you to decide." Ye Zhentian said, panting, as he pulled a photograph from his pocket. It wasn't the one Jiang Che had, but another one—in the photo, a young Ye Zhentian and Ye Wan (Jiang Che's mother) were standing on a cruise ship, with a vast blue sea in the background, and the two were smiling sweetly.

"Back then, your mother and I met in Southeast Asia." Ye Zhentian stroked the photograph, his eyes lost in memories. "She was so gentle, so kind. I brought her back to Beijing and married her against my family's wishes. But... I was wrong. I underestimated the power of those people."

"Those people?" Jiang Che keenly caught the key phrase.

"Nanyang, the Song family." Ye Zhentian trembled slightly as he uttered these four words, a fear etched into his very bones.

"The Song family?" Jiang Che searched his memory quickly, but there was no information about this family in the original owner's memories.

"Of course you don't know. It's a giant conglomerate hidden in Southeast Asia, controlling trillions of dollars in assets, and even able to influence the regimes of small countries." Ye Zhentian took a deep breath. "Back then, Soong Mei-ling, the eldest daughter of the Soong family, took a liking to me and wanted the Ye family to form a marriage alliance with the Soong family. At that time, the Ye family was like an ant in front of the Soong family. If I refused, the Ye family would be wiped out overnight."

"I resisted. I even considered eloping with your mother." Ye Zhentian closed his eyes in anguish. "But the Song family found your mother. In front of her, they gave me a slow-acting poison and told her that they would only give me the antidote if I married the eldest daughter of the Song family. Otherwise, I would die, the Ye family would die, and you in her womb... would die too."

Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat. This was completely different from the plot he had imagined.

"So..." Jiang Che's voice tightened, "she left voluntarily?"

"It was to save me!" Ye Zhentian roared, tears streaming down his face. "She did it to save me and you! She agreed to the Song family's conditions, left me willingly, and swore never to return to the capital, never to let me find her! In exchange, the Song family gave me the antidote and spared the Ye family!"

"But I never expected... I never expected that woman from the Song family to be so ruthless!" Ye Zhentian clenched his fists, his nails piercing his palms. "Although she let your mother go, she secretly sent people to cut off all her financial resources. Even when your mother had a difficult childbirth and couldn't get help on that snowy night, it was the Song family who blocked my rescue convoy!"

"That night, I knew where she was! I took the doctor and money, wanting to go save her! But the Song family's bodyguards held a gun to my head, forcing me to stay in the car, listening to the wind and snow, listening to news of her gradually disappear..."

"This is the truth."

Ye Zhentian slumped in his chair, as if he had used up his last bit of strength:

"For the past twenty years, I have lived every day in guilt and nightmares. I worked my way up the Ye family so that one day I could break free from the Song family's control and avenge your mother! But... the Song family is too powerful, so powerful that it makes people despair."

"I indulged Qingcheng and Ye Chen, and even became cold-blooded and ruthless, all to lull the Song family into a false sense of security, to make them think that I was completely rotten and had forgotten what happened back then."

"Che'er..." Ye Zhentian looked at Jiang Che, his eyes filled with a sorrowful plea, "You destroyed the Ye family, I don't blame you. This is retribution. But you can't fight the Song family. In their eyes, your current methods are just child's play."

"Take the money, and that girl from the Shen family, and go. Go abroad, to a place where no one knows you, and live out your life in anonymity. Whatever you do... whatever you do, don't go to Southeast Asia, and don't mess with the Song family."

A deathly silence fell over the study.

Only the wind howled outside the window.

Jiang Che sat there, motionless for a long time. He looked at the dying old man before him, at the tears streaming down his face.

He originally thought it was a simple revenge story—a cliché tale of a heartless man abandoning his wife for wealth and status.

But now, the truth is like a sharper knife, piercing his heart.

My mother left to save my father.

The father survived only to protect his family and son.

The real culprit, the mastermind behind all this tragedy, was the Song family of Nanyang.

"Is this the secret you wanted to tell me?"

After a long silence, Jiang Che finally spoke. His voice was no longer cold, but carried a chilling calmness.

"Yes." Ye Zhentian nodded. "Let's go, Che'er. Before the Song family notices you."

Jiang Che stood up, slowly walked to the window, and pushed open the heavy curtains.

Outside, the setting sun was like blood.

"You're wrong." Jiang Che said, looking at the setting sun on the horizon with his back to Ye Zhentian.

"What?"

"You think destroying the Ye family is my end?" Jiang Che turned around, his eyes burning with a fire he had brought back from hell. "No, this is just a warm-up."

"You're afraid of the Song family, but I'm not."

"You endured twenty years to survive. But I, Jiang Che, will avenge any wrong done to me, and I never let it linger overnight."

Jiang Che walked up to Ye Zhentian and looked down at him:

"Although the Ye family is gone, the shell of the Ye Group still exists. I will reorganize the Ye Group and turn it into a weapon in my hands."

"You say the Song family is very powerful? Controlling trillions in assets?"

Jiang Che's lips curled into a bloodthirsty smirk:

"Then I'll go to Southeast Asia and uproot this so-called trillion-dollar conglomerate."

"I want them to know that the blood debt from back then must now be repaid with interest."

Ye Zhentian stared at Jiang Che in shock. He saw in this young man a domineering and madness he had never seen before. It wasn't the recklessness of a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, but a confidence that commanded everything and looked down upon the world.

"You...you really want to..."

"Sign this."

Jiang Che took a document out of his pocket and threw it on the table.

That wasn't an acquisition contract, but a "retirement agreement".

"I'll leave the Ye family's old house to you. Every month, I'll have someone send you a living allowance, enough for you to live comfortably in your old age."

"You stay here and live well."

"Open your eyes and watch how I go to Southeast Asia to seek justice for the woman you wronged."

After saying that, Jiang Che walked out of the study without looking back.

Ye Zhentian's hands trembled as he picked up the agreement. Looking at Jiang Che's powerful signature, which seemed to penetrate the paper, this once-powerful old man finally couldn't hold back and collapsed onto the table, sobbing loudly.

It was regret, it was relief, and it was also a belated pride.

His son is better than him.

……

It was already dark when we left the Ye family's old house.

Jiang Che stood beside the Hongqi car, not in a hurry to get in. He looked up at the night sky of Beijing, as if he saw a gentle smiling face watching him from the starry sky.

"Mom, so you weren't abandoned after all."

"You are a hero."

"Next, your son will avenge you."

"Ring ring—"

Just then, Jiang Che's personal cell phone rang.

It's an unfamiliar number. The displayed location is Singapore (Nanyang).

Jiang Che's pupils contracted slightly.

They've arrived so quickly?

He answered the phone but didn't say anything.

On the other end of the phone came an elegant, languid, yet haughty female voice. Although she spoke Chinese, it had a distinct Southeast Asian accent.

"Mr. Jiang Che? Or... the young master of the Ye family?"

The voice chuckled softly, like a cat toying with a mouse:

"Congratulations on bringing down the Ye family. We thoroughly enjoyed watching this drama of sacrificing family for the greater good in Singapore."

"Who are you?" Jiang Che asked calmly.

Who I am is not important. What is important is that you seem to be holding something that doesn't belong to you.

The woman's voice began to sound dangerous:

"I heard the Shen Group is expanding its overseas business recently? The Southeast Asian market is huge, but it's also very complex. It would be a real shame if they got wiped out."

"Let me give you some advice, young man. Some truths can be deadly. Why not just accept the Ye family's inheritance and live a quiet life as a wealthy man? Why do you insist on jumping into the fire?"

Threat.

A naked threat.

Clearly, the Song family had been monitoring every move in the capital. The downfall of the Ye family caught their attention, or rather, the fact that the "bastard" from back then had grown up made them uneasy.

Jiang Che held his phone, his face showing no fear, but rather an excited smile.

That's the excitement a hunter feels when he finds his top prey.

"Miss Song, is that right?"

Jiang Che accurately guessed the other party's identity (based on Ye Zhentian's description just now):

"I'll also give you some advice."

"Wash your neck clean."

"The play in Beijing is over. Next, I'll be performing in Southeast Asia."

"I hope that by then, the Song family will be a bit tougher than the Ye family."

After saying that, Jiang Che hung up the phone, pulled out the SIM card, broke it in half, and threw it into a roadside trash can.

"drive."

Jiang Che got into the car and instructed the driver, "Back to the hospital."

The car started and disappeared into the night sky of Beijing.

In the back seat, Jiang Che closed his eyes and activated the system in his mind.

"System, use the remaining permissions of that [God-level Business Territory Expansion Card]."

[Host, please give instructions.]

"Target: Southeast Asia."

"I want to build a deep-sea fleet, and... help me find out all of the Song family's black market operations in Southeast Asia."

"Since I'm already living off a woman, this time I'm going to have the biggest meal of my life."

[Instructions confirmed. Target locked: The Song family conglomerate in Southeast Asia.]

[New map unlocked: Stormy South Seas.]

[High-difficulty task detected. Matching new god-level skills to the host...]