Arranged marriage, love blossoms; a fiercely devoted soldier dotes on her alone.

at this time,

The balcony of the second floor of Anxiang Tea Restaurant.

"I'm not in a hurry to take over. Let me sort things out first. As the saying goes, 'Sharpening the axe won't delay the time for chopping wood.'"

Xiao Zhan spoke calmly and respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Deng Zhi's expression froze slightly, a hint of confusion in his eyes. He asked, "Xiao Zhan, what do you mean by this?"

Xiao Zhan didn't rush to answer him. Instead, he took a drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaled a string of smoke rings, and then said slowly, "These big shots in the capital all know that I'm going to replace you. Why don't you take the lead and I'll cause trouble for them from behind? Let's just physically eliminate those who don't obey. As for those obedient families who are willing to follow our orders, let them continue to cooperate with us."

"Hehe, this is called a reshuffling or survival of the fittest. In short, we need to let these people know that they will definitely not have a good ending if they don't listen to us."

Upon hearing Xiao Zhan's words, Deng Zhi's brow twitched, his eyes instantly turning sinister, and a murderous aura silently emanated from his body. He gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "Xiao Zhan, you want to use me as bait?"

"I'm a dying man, and you still treat me like this? Can you really bear it?"

Xiao Zhan looked at Deng Zhi calmly and said, "You can understand it that way. After all, you left behind so many messes, you can't just dump them on me. I don't want to carry the blame you've given me and become the target of everyone's criticism."

"Besides, the economy and military are meant to serve politics. You control trillions of assets; if you don't contribute to the country now, you'll never have another chance."

Deng Zhi was surprised by Xiao Zhan's words.

Deng Zhi's face was so gloomy it could drip water, but there was nothing he could do. He could only suppress his displeasure, take a few puffs of his cigarette, and say, "The Lin Ruoxi sisters were killed by Lin Weihao."

"You know about this, right?"

Xiao Zhan nodded calmly and said, "I've heard about it. Those two sisters are really unlucky. But at least they'll have each other on their journey to the underworld, so they won't be lonely."

Deng Zhi wasn't in the mood to listen to Xiao Zhan's teasing and continued, "The Lin Ruoxi sisters have a company called Xilan Group, which mainly deals in cosmetics and beauty products. After the incident, I immediately had the finance department audit the company's finances and business operations. Unexpectedly, the company's operating performance was quite good, with an annual turnover of five or six hundred million and a profit of more than one hundred million. I'll hand this company over to you!"

Xiao Zhan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are the conditions?"

Deng Zhi gave away such a valuable resource without any strings attached; Xiao Zhan would never believe it if he were beaten to death.

Businessmen are driven by profit, especially people like Deng Zhi, who calculate how to maximize profits with every step they take.

Deng Zhi looked at Huang Pengfei, who was drinking tea in the room, and said, "You know about Huang Pengfei's relationship with Zhu Ziqiang, right?"

Xiao Zhan nodded and said, "I know."

Deng Zhi: "The condition is that Zhu Ziqiang and his son Zhu Junjie be released, and that the remaining small portion of the assets be returned to the Zhu family. The Zhu family has already paid a heavy price."

Xiao Zhan asked directly, "They should be executed or rot in jail. Why are you helping the Zhu family?"

Deng Zhilu sighed and said, "Ah, Huang Pengfei came to me a couple of days ago asking for my help. I owed him a favor before, and you know my current situation. I don't want to owe anyone a favor before I leave. It's that simple. Don't overthink it. Actually, for the Zhu family father and son, losing most of their wealth is already the biggest punishment."

Xiao Zhan thought for a moment and said, "Deal."

Deng Zhi: "Thank you."

Deng Zhi paused for a moment and then said, "I ordered Ishida Mako to kill Yan Wenlong because I had wanted to get rid of Yan Wenlong for a long time. That old bastard betrayed his own side and even secretly joined CiA. I just hadn't found a suitable opportunity to kill him."

Xiao Zhan admired Deng Zhi's honesty towards him.

So he asked, "Who's managing the Dragon Gang now?"

Deng Zhi looked at Xiao Zhan: "I'd like to hear your advice?"

Xiao Zhan grinned and said, "Asking me is like asking a nobody. How would a retired soldier like me know anything about managing gangs?"

Deng Zhi knew, of course, that Xiao Zhan was negotiating with him, but he didn't say it outright; that was his brilliance...

Didn't you want me to take over?

Then it depends on whether their sincerity and conditions are enough to get me involved.

Deng Zhi laughed and said, "I had two reasons for having Ishida Mako kill Yan Wenlong. First, by killing Yan Wenlong, she would have incurred the wrath of the CIA. Second, I have leverage over her, which would allow our investments in Japan to be deeply intertwined with the Ishida family. This would benefit our development in Japan. Of course, this is all your business from now on."

Xiao Zhan looked at Deng Zhi with a deep gaze and said thoughtfully, "Such leverage is insignificant and can be ignored. It's only temporary. When our investment in Little Japan reaches a certain level, that will be the time for the Ishida family to take over."

Deng Zhi smiled calmly and said confidently, "Xiao Zhan, it's great that you can think of such a deep level. I'm very pleased. I didn't misjudge you. But don't worry, as the saying goes, if he has a clever plan, I have a way to get around it. I've already thought of a countermeasure. If that day really comes, someone will naturally help you deal with the Ishida family."

Xiao Zhan provocatively said, "Oh, so it seems you had this planned all along?"

Deng Zhi grinned and said, "That's right. If others could swallow up my assets so easily, I would probably have gone bankrupt long ago and ruined my family."

"Phew~~".

Xiao Zhan exhaled a puff of smoke and waited for more than ten seconds. Deng Zhi stopped talking and Xiao Zhan didn't ask him what kind of scheme he had set up. If he did ask, then he would lose.

This is a contest of wisdom and courage!

Xiao Zhan took out a USB drive and handed it to Deng Zhi, saying, "Brother Zhi, this is a USB drive I got from Su Zixing."

Deng Zhi took the USB drive and put it directly into his pocket. He didn't look at it, nor did he ask Xiao Zhan if he had looked at it or copied it.

If he asks, then he loses.

The two of them tacitly avoided mentioning the most crucial topic.

Speaking of Su Zixing, Deng Zhi's eyes softened a little, and he sighed, saying, "Alas, I'm sorry to Zixing. She doesn't want to come back because she doesn't want to forgive me. But I can't force her to come back. It's better that she doesn't come back. At least she can spend her last days in the United States safely, unlike the capital city, which is full of dangers, deceit, and intrigue. Life there is thrilling."

Xiao Zhan thought for a moment and said, "I promised Zixing that I would clear the identities of her men so they could all return to China and settle down. What do you think of this?"

Deng Zhi readily agreed, "Give me the information on these people, and I'll figure out a solution. This is probably the last thing I'll do for Zixing."

Xiao Zhan calmly replied, "Alright."

His daughter's matter should be resolved by him.

Deng Zhi took out two more cigarettes and handed one to Xiao Zhan.

The two men lit cigarettes, took a drag, looked at each other, and then both lowered their heads to smoke. Finally, Deng Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Zhan, when are you planning to make your move?"

Xiao Zhan raised an eyebrow and asked, "When do you want me to make my move?"

Deng Zhi: "Can we just not take action? Let's maintain the status quo!"

Xiao Zhan shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Impossible. The country will not allow it, the people will not allow it. It's like Emperor Jiaqing killing Heshen. It can not only quell public anger and replenish the national treasury, but also demonstrate the determination and attitude of the higher authorities in fighting corruption."