The game starts by hacking Alipay and then goes on a crazy spree of eating young girls.

When the plane landed at the Hongqiao Business Jet Terminal, the sky over Shanghai was hazy and overcast, a completely different world from the blue skies and white clouds of Tahiti.

As Chen Ye led Su Rou down the gangway, he yawned. The long flight and jet lag were indeed exhausting.

The Maybach was already waiting by the tarmac. Chen Ye opened the back door for Su Rou to get in first, then walked around to the other side to get in.

As the car drove out of the airport, Su Rou leaned back in her seat and turned to look at him: "Are you going back to Tan Palace or back to the company?"

"I'll take you back to Tomson Riviera first, then I'll go to the company." Chen Ye took out his phone and glanced at it. Zhang Yi had sent three messages, all related to Zhao Hongyuan.

Article 1: "Zhao Hongyuan has recently been in contact with several minority shareholders of TechnoMed, offering a price that is 30% higher than the market price."

Article 2: "He asked someone to find out about Hoshino Capital's financial structure, trying to get to the bottom of our business."

Article 3: "I'll hold back for now and wait until you come back."

After reading the message, Chen Ye locked his phone, his expression remaining unchanged.

Su Rou glanced at him sideways: "Is something wrong at the company?"

"It's a small matter, I can handle it."

The car pulled up to the Tomson Riviera building, and Su Rou unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek: "Come back early when you're done with your work."

After saying that, she opened the car door and walked away in her high heels.

Chen Ye signaled the driver to turn around and head towards the IFC. When they arrived at Hoshino Capital's office, Zhang Yi was already waiting in the conference room, with a laptop and several printed documents spread out on the table.

"Mr. Chen, the commotion from Zhao Hongyuan's side is bigger than I expected."

Chen Ye sat down and took the tablet computer that Zhang Yi pushed towards him: "Speak."

"Tainuo Maibo has several small shareholders, each holding between three and five percent of the shares. Zhao Hongyuan contacted two of them through an intermediary and offered a 30 percent premium to acquire their shares."

If both deals go through, he'll acquire nearly 7% of the shares. Adding that to the shares he bought on the open market, his stake could reach around 10%, making him the third-largest shareholder.

Zhang Yi swiped his finger across the screen twice. "Neither of them has given an answer yet, but we can't rule out the possibility that he will raise the price further."

Chen Ye leaned back in his chair: "Anything else?"

He checked Hoshino Capital's business registration information through an intermediary company to find out the source of its funds.

"However, our financial structure is very clean, he can't find anything out." Zhang Yi paused, "But he already knows that you are the sole shareholder, and he also knows that we hold 38% of Technomab's shares."

After listening, Chen Ye didn't rush to speak, but tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

Zhao Hongyuan's approach is very clear: first, infiltrate the companies he invests in, then dig into their backgrounds; this is the most classic hunting tactic.

Have you contacted those two minority shareholders?

"I contacted them; one was ambiguous and said they would think about it, while the other directly refused."

Based on my judgment, the one with the ambiguous attitude is waiting for a quote.

Chen Ye nodded: "Meet with the one whose attitude is ambiguous. I will talk to him personally. Also, have the legal department draft an agreement to acquire his shares at a 50% premium in the name of Xingye Capital."

Zhao Hongyuan offered a 30% premium, I'll offer a 50% premium, let's see who has more money.

Zhang Yi's eyes lit up: "In that case, Zhao Hongyuan will either raise the price or withdraw from the deal altogether."

"If he raises the price, I'll raise it again. I'm not going to let him get involved in the TechnoMab line."

Chen Ye stood up and walked to the French windows: "Also, Stefan mentioned buying a yacht. Could you help me find out about the yacht market first, and then decide on a specific model once the island is almost finished?"

"OK."

Chen Ye stayed in the office for another half hour, going over the investment direction for the next six months with Zhang Yi.

Hoshino Capital's recent financial performance has been good, with two smaller projects besides Tainomab showing steady returns.

It was already dark when Chen Ye came out of the IFC. His phone rang as soon as he got into his car; it was an unknown number.

The voice on the other end of the line was that of a young man: "Is this Mr. Chen? I'm Mr. Zhao's secretary. Mr. Zhao has a gathering at the Peninsula Hotel tonight. He heard you've returned to Shanghai and would like to invite you over for a chat."

Chen Ye held his phone and remained silent for two seconds. "What time is it, Mr. Zhao treating?"

"Okay, I'll be there when the time comes."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ye glanced at the time: 7:15, less than an hour to go. He thought for a moment and sent Zhang Yi a message: "Zhao Hongyuan asked me to dinner tonight, I'll go meet him."

Zhang Yi replied instantly: "Should we bring two people with us?"

"No need, it's just a meal."

The car traveled through the streets of Shanghai during the evening rush hour for more than forty minutes before stopping in front of the Peninsula Hotel at 7:55 p.m.

Chen Ye got out of the car, straightened his collar, and took the elevator directly to the top floor. The door to the Cloud Pavilion was open, and four or five people were already sitting inside.

A man in his early fifties sat in the main seat. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and a broad forehead. He was wearing a dark blue stand-up collar jacket and was talking to the person next to him while holding a teacup.

Seeing Chen Ye come in, he put down his teacup, looked him up and down a few times, and then chuckled.

"President Chen? I've been hearing about a promising young man who's come to Shanghai. I'm so glad to finally meet him today."

Zhao Hongyuan stood up and shook hands with Chen Ye, his grip neither too firm nor too loose.

Chen Ye replied, "You're too kind, Mr. Zhao. I definitely have to come since you invited me."

Zhao Hongyuan smiled and asked him to sit down, then called the waiter to add more dishes.

Several exquisite cold dishes and an opened bottle of Moutai were laid out on the table, and the people sitting next to them all looked like familiar faces from the real estate or investment circles.

The first half of the dinner consisted of casual conversation. Zhao Hongyuan asked Chen Ye what he had been busy with lately, and Chen Ye simply said he was doing some small-scale investments.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses next to him chimed in, "Hoshino Capital is no small fry; the whole industry is talking about what Taino Mabo did." Zhao Hongyuan just smiled and didn't reply.

After a few rounds of drinks, Zhao Hongyuan put down his glass, leaned back in his chair, and casually asked, "Does President Chen have a good relationship with Mr. Stefan of the LV Group?"

"We've collaborated several times."

"Stephen carries considerable weight in Shanghai's social circles; it takes real skill for you to have connections with him."

Zhao Hongyuan picked up his teacup and took a sip. "But in Shanghai, no matter how loudly a monk from elsewhere chants his sutras, he still has to pay homage to the local bodhisattvas."

Chen Ye understood the implication in his words but didn't respond. He simply smiled and picked up his wine glass: "Master Zhao is right. I hope you'll take care of me in the future."

Zhao Hongyuan stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled, reaching out to clink glasses with him: "Young man, you know how to talk."

In the second half of the game, he didn't say anything more admonishing, but instead talked about golf and yachts, acting like an elder chatting with a younger person.

Chen Ye cooperated throughout the conversation, without bringing up any business matters.

It was almost 9:30 when the dinner ended. Zhao Hongyuan stood up and saw him to the door of the private room, patting him on the shoulder.

"Mr. Chen, let's meet up more often in the future. We run into each other all the time in Shanghai, so feel free to ask me for help if you need anything."

Chen Ye smiled and nodded, then turned and walked towards the elevator. The moment the elevator doors closed, his smile vanished, and he took out his phone to send Zhang Yi a message: "The dinner is over."

He mentioned Stefan, which means he's already investigated my network of connections.

"We need to expedite the meeting with that minority shareholder tomorrow."

Zhang Yi replied instantly: "Understood. I've already made an appointment at the teahouse downstairs at the IFC at 10 a.m.