The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

In the afternoon, the Financial Street was baked by the sun, and the air was thick with heat.

A black Mercedes-Benz G-Class sped in from the east and slowly pulled up in the parking space in front of the Golden Years Cafe, drawing envious and jealous glances from many onlookers.

The engine was turned off, the car door opened, and Ling Yun, dressed in high-end casual wear, got out of the car and walked alone towards the entrance of the coffee shop.

As soon as he appeared, a young man who was on the phone at the door swiftly flicked three fingers out from his side, then immediately retracted them.

Seeing the agreed-upon gesture, a smile flashed in Ling Yun's eyes.

Without a doubt, the young man was a security guard he had sent ahead to scout ahead; everything was ready and there was nothing unusual.

In the blink of an eye, Ling Yun had already pushed open the door and entered the coffee shop.

Welcome!

The beautiful waitress at the door bowed to greet us, her voice exceptionally gentle.

Perhaps it was seeing Lingyun driving a G-Wagon and wearing an expensive Patek Philippe that made the beautiful waitress so enthusiastic, her eyes shining.

Unfortunately, her charming glances were just for show.

Ling Yun's gaze lingered on her face for less than two seconds before moving past her and looking into the store.

"Hello, I've reserved a booth, reservation number 0356."

What's so great about that? It's just a little bit of money!

The pretty waitress's face stiffened for a moment, then she forced a smile.

"Okay, sir, please follow me."

He then led Lingyun into the coffee shop and headed straight for their reserved booth.

As they walked, Lingyun quickly surveyed the store's interior.

It's afternoon now, and there are quite a few people here drinking coffee and talking business. A significant portion of them are white-collar workers who work in the financial district.

Of course, there are inevitably some pretentious people who sit there all day with their laptops, cappuccinos or Americanos.

Apart from insignificant passersby, the three bodyguards from China Aviation Oil were scattered in different positions, forming a triangular formation, covering the entire coffee shop.

Attorney Zhang and Secretary Zhou arrived two minutes earlier and were sitting next to the booth Ling Yun had reserved, pretending to be customers drinking coffee and chatting.

Ling Yun exchanged quick glances with them wherever his gaze fell, without making any unnecessary movements.

The booth that Lingyun had reserved was empty and there was nothing unusual about it.

He went straight over and sat down, casually ordering a coffee.

After the waiter left, he immediately took out his phone and sent a text message to Lawyer Zhang.

"Can you hear me from here? Is it clear?"

A moment later, Zhang Lu replied.

"The sound from the headphones is very clear. We have started recording. Security personnel have reported that the surveillance footage is very clear and there are no blind spots."

Ling Yun smiled slightly and casually sent another message.

"Everyone, just wait and see the performance, it's sure to be a great show!"

After sending the text message, he put his phone in his pocket and waited leisurely.

Two or three minutes later, the coffee shop door opened and three men in suits walked in.

The leader was a foreigner in his forties or fifties, flanked by a man and a woman, both of whom were Chinese.

As soon as I entered, the woman in the skirt suit immediately announced my seat number.

The waiter nodded in confirmation and immediately led them toward Lingyun.

Clearly, this is Anthony and his entourage.

When they approached, Ling Yun got up and stepped out of the booth, greeting them in fluent English.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Anthony. It's an honor to meet you. I'm Ling Yun."

Anthony shook hands with him, somewhat taken aback.

"Hello, Mr. Lingyun, it's a pleasure to meet you too. Have we met before?"

"No, there really isn't."

Ling Yun smiled and shook his head, then offered a few explanations.

"I've attended several financial forums in Shanghai before, and I saw you there, so I recognized you immediately."

"Oh, I see."

Anthony nodded in realization.

Next, he introduced the secretary and the deputy general manager of the Beijing representative office.

After exchanging a few polite words, Ling Yun turned to the side and gestured for Anthony to take a seat.

As for the other two guys, they didn't offer them any invitations at all.

The two guys were sensible enough to say hello to Ling Yun and Anthony, and then went to a nearby table.

After settling into a booth, Anthony ordered a coffee for himself.

After the waiter left, Ling Yun smiled and said:

"Welcome to Beijing, Mr. Anthony. If I'm not mistaken, you're here for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics..."

He suddenly stopped talking at this point.

The unspoken implication is that the US president and finance minister will attend the Olympic Games opening ceremony!

This was Anthony's main purpose in coming to Beijing: to use this opportunity to climb the social ladder and meet with Ling Yun, achieving both goals simultaneously.

Anthony paused for a moment, then nodded.

"That's right. The Olympics are held every four years, and I've been working in China for a long time, so naturally I don't want to miss this Olympics."

After a few casual words, Lingyun took the initiative to get to the point.

"Mr. Anthony, what brings you here? I'd like to know."

"If you're inviting me to join Goldman Sachs, then there's no need to say anything. I made it very clear to your HR director before that I have absolutely no interest in joining Goldman Sachs!"

His direct approach left Anthony momentarily speechless.

But this foreigner had been in the underworld for many years, so he wasn't going to give up so easily and immediately threw out a bait.

"That's right, Mr. Ling, the reason I asked to meet you today is indeed to invite you to join Goldman Sachs' headquarters in Shanghai or New York!"

"Your previous investment performance at Broad Group was truly impressive, but the support that Broad Group as a platform can provide you is very limited."

"Even in your country, due to the limited openness of the financial market, it is difficult for your amazing talent and potential to be fully realized and utilized."

As he spoke, he leaned forward, his tone becoming even more inflammatory.

"But Goldman Sachs is different. It is the world's largest investment bank, standing at the very top of the industry pyramid, unmatched by any other investment bank."

"From a personal development perspective, I believe you should join Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs will offer you the best compensation and the biggest platform..."

Next, Anthony offered a series of very attractive recruitment terms.

For example, the annual salary for joining the New York headquarters increased from ten million US dollars to twelve million US dollars, with significant improvements in all benefits and authority.

Zhou, the secretary, and Zhang, the lawyer, who were eavesdropping in the booth next to them with headphones on, were both speechless with astonishment.

Looking at Ling Yun again, however, he remained unmoved.

Although he wore a smile, a hint of disdain occasionally flickered in his eyes as he watched Anthony's animated performance.

After Anthony finished listing the recruitment conditions, he firmly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Anthony, my stance remains unchanged. I'm very grateful to Goldman Sachs for valuing me, but I will not join Goldman Sachs, nor will I work for Goldman Sachs."

"It's not about the money. Even if Goldman Sachs offered me a $100 million annual salary, I wouldn't join them."

He paused, then said, word by word:

"To be honest, I've already made up my mind that I will never work for any person or company again; I will only be my own boss."

"Let's leave it at that. If you have nothing else, I'll take my leave. This coffee is on me."

As he spoke, he pointed to the coffee in front of Anthony.

Anthony's smile vanished completely, replaced by a burning hatred that seeped into his teeth.

Fuck! That damn little bastard.

Since you're so ungrateful, don't blame me for resorting to dirty tricks.

Anthony cursed under his breath, his fingers unconsciously stroking the tie clip pinned to his chest.

Seeing that Ling Yun was about to leave, he immediately lowered his voice and said:

"You won't work for anyone or any company anymore? Then how come you're remotely controlling Far Eastern Group's Hong Kong Island branch to aggressively short the international financial markets?"

"In the past two months, under your remote command, Yuanda Hong Kong branch has made over US$40 billion in profits by shorting international financial markets."

"You must have profited immensely from this, plus the huge dividends you earned leading your team to go long on international crude oil futures—that's your source of confidence, isn't it?"

Ling Yun, who had just lifted his buttocks, sat back down on the sofa.

He glanced at Anthony disdainfully and sneered:

"When did the world's most famous investment bank become a CIA branch? Or does Goldman Sachs simply enjoy using such underhanded tactics?"