At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

Old Li guessed exactly what was going on, and Ma Bozhang finally understood.

Running away? That's the last resort a low-level thug would choose when they have nowhere else to turn.

Ma Bo has worked hard in Tianshui City for 35 years, owning companies, real estate, and a complex web of social relationships.

If he were to drive out of the province today, his assets in Tianshui City would be completely devoured by his creditors and enemies like rotten flesh tomorrow.

Faced with absolute capital and unparalleled power, how far could his two legs run?

Even if he runs to Southeast Asia, they can use some underhanded tactics to put him in a gasoline drum and sink him at sea!

Running away is a dead end, and playing dead is even more suicidal.

In this matter concerning the high-tech industrial park, the eldest son of the Li family will definitely need someone under his command to deal with all sorts of people and handle those dirty and tiring jobs that can't be brought to the table.

When it comes to underhanded tactics like smoothing things over and using coercion and bribery in Tianshui City, Ma Bochang is more adept than anyone else! That's all the value he has left!

"Being a dog isn't shameful... not even worthy of being a dog, that's what deserves a gruesome death!"

Ma Bo gritted his teeth and forced out those words, his eyes bloodshot.

He pushed open the car door, trembling, ran to the trunk, and pulled out a suit that he usually kept in the car for business occasions.

The early autumn morning breeze made him shiver. Right there in the open space of the gas station, he hurriedly took off his ridiculous bathrobe and put on a suit.

He didn't even bother to tie his tie, and stepped barefoot into a pair of leather shoes.

The black Mercedes-Benz S-Class turned around with extreme ferocity and charged directly onto the highway entrance leading to Jiangyang County.

He was going to Jiangyang to find Li Xiao.

……

10:30 a.m., Jiangyang International Hotel.

When Ma Bochang's Mercedes-Benz S-Class braked suddenly at the edge of the hotel plaza, the scene before him dealt another blow to his already fragile mental defenses.

The entire square was packed with top-of-the-line luxury cars, and the perimeter was cordoned off. The usually arrogant real estate developers couldn't even get into the hotel today; they could only stand in small groups on the square, smoking in silence and anxiously inquiring about the inside story of the penthouse auction.

Ma Bo stumbled and pushed open the car door, forgetting to even take the keys out. With his hair disheveled by the wind, he stumbled and rushed toward the hotel's main entrance.

With his bloodshot eyes, he looked like a gambler who had just lost everything at the casino, and he didn't have a trace of the demeanor of a big boss in Tianshui City.

"Halt! What are you doing here? The hotel has been booked out by Lansheng Capital today. No unauthorized personnel are allowed in!"

As soon as he rushed down the steps, two burly bodyguards in black, as imposing as iron towers, blocked his way with expressionless faces.

"I...I am Ma Bozhang from Tianshui City! I've come to see Young Master Li! I've come to apologize! I beg you two brothers to make an exception and let me see Young Master Li!"

Ma Bo bowed and scraped, his voice trembling with undisguised pleading.

Just then, a young man in a custom-made suit walked out of the hotel lobby. It was Zheng Hao, who was impatiently patrolling the security downstairs.

Hearing the noise, Zheng Hao frowned and walked over.

He sized up the disheveled Ma Bochang. "Oh, isn't this the famous Boss Ma from Tianshui City? What, you didn't have enough fun in the penthouse suite at the InterContinental Hotel last night, so you've come to Jiangyang for a barefoot stroll today?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Bochang knew his chance had come. His legs went weak, and with a thud, he knelt straight down on the hotel's marble steps in front of so many people in the square!

This kneeling incident stunned the local business owners who were smoking nearby.

"Young Master Zheng! Ancestor Zheng! I, Ma Bochang, was blind and foolish! I absolutely had no intention of touching Lansheng's plate. It was all that bitch Duan Xue's own madness; I was deceived by her!"

Ma Bozhang didn't care about dignity or face at all. He grabbed Zheng Hao's leg and tears and snot streamed down his face instantly.

"Please, Young Master Zheng, pass on a message to Young Master Li! I, Ma Bochang, have been in Tianshui City for over thirty years, and I have connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles. I'm willing to be Young Master Li's slave! If any of those local thugs cause trouble during the earthwork and concrete mixing in the High-tech Zone, don't worry about dirtying Young Master Li's hands, I, Ma Bochang, will take care of them! I just beg Young Master Li to spare my life!"

Zheng Hao looked at Ma Bochang, who was lying at his feet like a mangy dog, and couldn't help but gasp.

Last night, his father, Zheng Guodong, was still marveling at Li Xiao's extraordinary abilities. But today, it's clear that Li Xiao's methods are far more than extraordinary. Even Ma Bochang, a seasoned veteran who used to be a big shot in Tianshui City, was forced to abandon his dignity and kneel down in the street begging for mercy by Li Xiao's move without even showing his face!

Zheng Hao pulled his leg out with disgust and looked down at him.

"Boss Ma, even if you want to be a dog, you have to see if your master is willing. Do you think you're qualified to go up there?"

"I'll kneel! I'll kneel here and wait!" Ma Bochang gritted his teeth, as if grasping at the last straw. "As long as Young Master Li doesn't give the word, I'll keep kneeling here until he calms down!"

Zheng Hao snorted coldly, neither agreeing nor kicking him out. He simply took out his phone, dialed Zhou Yanhuai's number, and quietly reported the situation downstairs.

A few minutes later, Zheng Hao hung up the phone. Looking at Ma Bochang, who was still trembling, his eyes held a complex mix of sympathy and mockery.

"You're lucky, old man. You ran fast enough and your brain works fast enough too."

Ma Bo scrambled to his feet, his wrinkled Brazilian suit, originally meant to decorate his appearance, now making him look like a comical circus clown.

But he didn't dare utter a single unnecessary word. He wiped the tears and snot from his face, turned around, and without even bothering to pick up his shoes that had fallen on the steps, he ran barefoot and limped wildly toward the Mercedes.

Watching the Mercedes-Benz S-Class flee in disarray, the group of local business owners from Jiangyang County and Tianshui City who had been whispering among themselves in the square fell silent, not daring to even breathe loudly.

That's Ma Bozhang! A local tycoon in Tianshui City who has connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles and is worth hundreds of millions!

He was just dismissed by Zheng Shao with just a few words? And he was even grateful, as if he had been given a second chance at life?!

What exactly happened?

Although it wasn't a secret that Li Xiao went to Tianshui to acquire Zhao Kang's core assets, it only happened yesterday, and even with their information channels, it would take them two days to find out.

Zheng Hao straightened his suit and tie, then looked away with disdain.

He ignored the awe, fawning, and even fearful looks around him and turned to walk straight into the hotel lobby.

In that instant, he truly understood what it meant to wield immense power. And this power stemmed solely from the presence of the young man named Li Xiao behind him.