I chose one of four options at the start, and I chose the number one clan in Lingnan.

Lin Fei stood on the excavator with a megaphone in hand, his voice echoing through the valley.

None of the five hundred thugs below dared to move. They threw their machetes and steel pipes onto the road, making a chaotic clanging sound.

Lei Hu crouched beside the SUV's tires, his hands covering his head. His men huddled behind the truck, none daring to utter a sound.

Lin Fei tossed the megaphone to a tribesman nearby. He pulled a one-meter-long solid steel pipe from the tracks and jumped onto the asphalt road.

Lin Dayou led more than fifty Zhongtang men behind Lin Fei. They carried large wrenches and crowbars as they strode toward the convoy ahead.

Lin Fei walked up to the first SUV.

The driver sat in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands, his legs shaking uncontrollably.

Lin Fei raised the steel pipe in his hand, aimed it at the windshield of the SUV, and swung it down in a wide arc.

A loud crash.

The entire windshield was dented and shattered, with glass shards splashing into the passenger compartment and covering the driver's head and face.

The driver screamed, clutched his head, and shrank under the steering wheel, not daring to look at the people outside the car.

Lei Hu scrambled out from beside the tire and knelt down at Lin Fei's feet with a thud.

"Brother, let's talk this out." Lei Hu raised his hands above his head. "We took the money to do this job, we didn't mean to really mess with the Lin family. This is the five million that the boss gave us as a toll, I'll hand it all over, please spare our lives."

Lei Hu took the check out of his pocket and handed it to Lin Fei with both hands.

Lin Fei raised his foot and kicked Lei Hu in the shoulder.

Lei Hu, a burly man weighing several hundred pounds, rolled twice on the ground, getting covered in yellow dust.

"The Lin family's rule is that we don't collect protection money." Lin Fei pointed a steel pipe at Lei Hu's nose. "Who paid for you to come here? Let's get this person out here and talk."

Lei Hu lay on the ground and turned to look at the Maybach at the very back of the convoy.

There was no movement behind the convoy.

Lin Fei raised the steel pipe in his hand and tapped the hood of the off-road vehicle, producing a dull metallic sound.

"Lin Dayou, get the brothers to do it. Smash all fifteen vehicles and drag the people back to the back of Tazhai to fill the pit," Lin Fei shouted the order.

Lin Dayou raised the red flag in his hand.

Two hundred excavators roared simultaneously behind, their tracks pressing down on the gravel as they pushed forward.

"stop."

A woman's voice came from behind.

Leng Qiu pushed open the door of the Maybach and got out of the car.

She was wearing a haute couture business suit and ten-centimeter high heels. Just now, while stepping back, the heel of her right high heel got stuck in a crack in the stone and broke.

Leng Qiu bent down, took off her high heels, and threw them on the roadside.

She walked barefoot on the gravel-strewn asphalt road, step by step, toward the off-road vehicle.

The pebbles on the ground were sharp and hurting her feet. Leng Qiu gritted her teeth and forced herself to straighten her back.

She walked up to Lin Fei, her once neatly combed hair now loose on her shoulders, and the hem of her suit skirt covered in dust.

"I am Leng Qiu, the representative of the Jiangnan financial conglomerate and the chief person in charge of the municipal square project of the Municipal Construction Committee." Leng Qiu introduced herself, her eyes fixed on Lin Fei.

Lin Fei looked her up and down, then threw the steel pipe in his hand on the ground.

He turned his head and glanced at the black Land Rover parked at the very back of the excavator array.

The Land Rover's window was rolled down halfway. Lin Ting sat in the back seat, twirling two red walnuts in his hands; the clicking sound of the walnuts rubbing together was clearly audible amidst the roar of the engine.

Lin Ting didn't speak, but simply gestured with his chin towards Lin Fei.

Lin Fei turned his head, took out a calculator with chipped keys from his work pants pocket, and held it in his hand.

"President Leng, you're so powerful." Lin Fei pressed the power button, and the calculator emitted an electronic sound indicating that it was returning to zero.

"Bringing five hundred people to vandalize our Lin family's construction site, we need to settle this score," Lin Fei said, holding a calculator.

Leng Qiu suppressed her anger.

"I admit defeat today. Make your excavator move aside, and I'll take my men and leave. The Lin family can hold onto the city's projects; I won't interfere," Leng Qiu stated her terms.

Lin Fei sneered.

"The project was originally won by our Lin family through our own abilities. President Leng is using other people's things to do favors; he's really shrewd." Lin Fei's fingers flew across the calculator.

"Jiangjing Haoting has 100 excavators, with a daily rate of 2,000 yuan. Lao Zhao's fleet has 100 dump trucks, with each truck costing 500 yuan in fuel and 1,000 yuan in lost wages. The municipal square has 200 heavy machines, plus 10 cement mixer trucks."

The calculator makes a beeping sound as it presses the keys.

Lin Fei raised his head and looked at Leng Qiu.

"Four hundred vehicles were shut down and stopped working. Drivers, workers, and the Zhong brothers, more than a thousand people, abandoned their jobs and came to the county border to accompany Boss Leng to see the scenery. How does Boss Leng plan to settle this score?"

Leng Qiu's eyes widened.

"This is extortion," Leng Qiu said through gritted teeth. "I'm calling the police."

Lin Fei took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Leng Qiu.

"You report it. Let the police come and see. Five hundred men with machetes blocking the county border. Is that considered disorderly conduct or an organized crime group? Also, check Lei Hu's criminal record and see if your conglomerate can get away with it." Lin Fei handed his phone forward.

Leng Qiu looked at the phone in Lin Fei's hand but didn't take it.

She knew that once the police got involved, the scandal of the chaebols hiring thugs to seize construction sites would be exposed, and the top executives of the three major chaebols would directly push her out as a scapegoat.

Lin Fei put his phone away and continued pressing the calculator.

"Lost wages, machinery depreciation, fuel costs, plus compensation for the brothers' emotional distress, totaling five million," Lin Fei stated.

Leng Qiu suppressed her anger.

"Five million? You've only been here for less than half an hour, and you want five million from me?" Leng Qiu's voice rose.

Lin Fei's face darkened, and he stuffed the calculator back into his pocket.

"Mr. Leng thinks it's not enough? Then leave these five hundred people behind and let your conglomerate pay to ransom them. Ten thousand per person, that's exactly five million." Lin Fei pointed to the group of thugs squatting on the ground behind him.

Lin Dayou led dozens of men forward in unison, slamming their crowbars heavily onto the ground.

Lei Hu kowtowed on the ground.

"Boss Leng, hurry up and pay! If this drags on any longer, all the brothers will die here!" Lei Hu shouted at the top of his lungs.

Leng Qiu clenched her fists tightly.

She glanced at the men of the Lin family who were eyeing her menacingly, and then at the two hundred alloy excavators hanging overhead.

If those buckets were to fall, both the person and the vehicle would be turned into a pancake.

Leng Qiu turned around and waved to her assistant.

The assistant scrambled over and handed Leng Qiu the handbag.

Leng Qiu rummaged through her bag, pulled out her checkbook, and found a fountain pen.

She walked to the SUV, lay down on the shattered hood, and used her checkbook as a cushion to write.

My hand was shaking so badly that the pen tip tore through the paper, leaving a streak of ink on the hood.

Leng Qiu signed a cash check for five million and tore it off.

She turned around, handed the check to Lin Fei, her lips tightly pressed together, unable to utter a single word.

Lin Fei took the check and flicked it. He carefully examined the numbers and stamp, then folded the check and put it in his pocket.

"Mr. Leng, you're very generous." Lin Fei waved his hand. "The Lin family is hospitable, so we won't keep you all for dinner tonight."

Lin Fei turned and walked towards the excavator.

Lin Dayou raised the red flag in his hand and waved it down forcefully.

The dump trucks at the front started moving and backed away to make way for just one truck to reverse.

Leng Qiu turned around and walked barefoot back to the Maybach.

The assistant opened the car door, Leng Qiu got into the back seat, and slammed the door shut.

All fourteen heavy trucks ahead were in reverse gear.

The piercing sound of the reversing warning echoed through the valley. Fifteen vehicles lined up in a long queue, awkwardly retreating from the county border crossing.

The thugs inside the truck huddled in a corner, not daring to even lift their heads.

The convoy exited the horn-shaped intersection, turned around on the wide road, and fled towards the city center.