After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The Maybach cuts through the morning mist like a silent black shark.

The carriage was deathly silent.

The only sounds were the low hum of the engine and the subtle vibrations of the tires rolling over the asphalt.

Zhou Ran leaned back in the back seat, closing his eyes to rest.

He was not sleepy at all.

Now, I savor the feeling of crushing Li Cangtian to death, and the power of rules within that tiny crystal.

Is this Ji Yue's Dao?

Lin Qingxue curled up beside him, her small hands tightly gripping the hem of his clothes, her brows still furrowed even in her dream.

The stench of last night's bloodshed cannot be washed away, even after three days and three nights of washing.

"What are you calculating?"

In the passenger seat, Chen Ya suddenly spoke.

She held the coffee Wu De had brought in her hand, but her gaze, like a hook, was fixed on Zhou Ran through the rearview mirror.

The man in the mirror opened his eyes.

His pupils were a pure, bottomless black.

"Settle the accounts."

Zhou Ran's voice was somewhat hoarse, carrying the lingering smell of gunpowder.

"The Song family's power in Jiangcheng has collapsed, but that centipede, though dead, is not stiff."

"If you don't eat it while it's hot, are you just waiting for flies to land on you?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ya tossed her coffee cup into the storage compartment.

She turned around, and in those signature peach blossom eyes, there was no trace of the weariness and fear she had shown before.

Instead, there is the excitement of seeing prey, the greed of a business queen.

"Quite an appetite."

Chen Ya smiled and tapped her fingers unconsciously on the leather seat.

"The Song family's business in Jiangcheng mainly involves export trade and high-end real estate."

The Xiao family owns a port but lacks trade; the Chen family has always focused on supplying building materials and has little involvement in high-end real estate.

That's a big, fatty piece of meat, but unfortunately, it's too fatty.

"Official seizures will be subject to judicial auctions, a process that takes at least three months."

"Then those ruthless, bloodthirsty aristocratic families in the capital will come running, drawn by the smell."

She paused, her tone becoming playful.

"You want to keep it all for yourself?"

On what grounds?

"Just because you had a good time killing people?"

Zhou Ran smiled.

He didn't say anything, but simply took out his phone, opened a newly published pop-up news article, and showed it to Chen Ya.

Breaking News! Responsibility for the Jiangcheng Collapse Accident Determined: It Was Caused by "Jinghong Construction" Cutting Corners in the Construction!

Chen Ya glanced at the title and her pupils contracted sharply.

Jinghong Construction.

That was a front company used by the Song family for money laundering and dirty work; the legal representative was one of Song Tiancheng's lackeys.

"I told Liu Jianguo to put the whole pot on top of this."

Zhou Ran put his phone away and said casually:

"Hundreds of billions of dollars in damage to public facilities, plus the losses from the 'fire' at the Shaw Building."

"In accordance with the law, all related assets of Jinghong Construction are immediately frozen to compensate the victims."

A shoddy construction project worth tens of billions of yuan is enough to give Jinghong Construction a run for its money.

Zhou Ran pointed to himself, then to Chen Ya.

"And we are the biggest victims."

"Has the first-priority claim right."

Chen Ya stared at Zhou Ran, her chest heaving violently.

That's a dirty trick.

That's absolutely amazing.

This means killing the Song family, boiling their bones into oil, and peeling off their skin to make drums.

Not only did they not have to spend a penny on the auction, but they also legitimately turned the empire that the Song family had built in Jiangcheng into "compensation" for the Xiao and Chen families.

This is the ultimate way to kill someone by destroying their spirit.

"This is a dramatic scene."

Zhou Ran looked out the window at the receding street scene, his tone chilling.

He felt his blood boiling, finally experiencing the feeling of a big boss in Hong Kong dramas.

"The stock market opened two hours later."

"The remnants of the Song family in Beijing, along with those capitalists who want to take advantage of the situation, will definitely short our stocks like crazy."

"We'll eat as much as they throw out."

But not now.

"What do you mean?"

Chen Ya's eyes narrowed.

Human greed is a natural tendency.

Zhou Ran's voice was deep, yet it carried a chilling insight into people's hearts.

"When the stock price drops by 10%, retail investors will panic."

If the price drops by 30%, institutions will cut their losses.

A drop of 50%...

All rationality will crumble.

"What I'm waiting for is that critical point of collapse."

……

Xiao Family Manor.

The Maybach came to a stop.

Lin Qingxue and Xiao Hongli were helped back to their room by the servants. Both women were exhausted and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Zhou Ran didn't sleep.

He went straight up to the rooftop terrace.

The east is turning white.

A wisp of purple mist pierced through the clouds, marking the moment when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was at its purest.

Zhou Ran sat down cross-legged.

With each breath, the purple mist in the surrounding air surged into his mouth and nose like a whale inhaling water.

Last night, his physical body broke the sound barrier and he caught a missile with his bare hands, almost draining every drop of spiritual fluid from his dantian.

At this moment, the Yin-Yang Technique was operating wildly.

It absorbed all of Li Cangtian's spiritual power and then transformed it.

Fifteen minutes later.

Zhou Ran opened his mouth and spat out a white streak.

His cultivation level has recovered to 70%.

"The recovery was quite fast."

Behind me, the sound of high heels clicking on the marble floor rang out.

Zhou Ran didn't turn around, but she noticed a new, expensive perfume scent in the air, mixed with the rich aroma of red wine.

Chen Ya washed away the dust and bloodstains covering her body.

She changed into a burgundy silk slip dress.

The fabric was minimal, clinging tightly to her devilish figure, with a large expanse of snow-white skin revealed at the slit.

She walked in the morning breeze, carrying two glasses of red wine.

The look in their eyes was no longer tentative, but blatant aggression.

She walked up to Zhou Ran but did not offer him a drink.

Instead, she straddled Zhou Ran's lap, hooked her arms around his neck, and looked down at the man who was ten years younger than her.

"We didn't finish our discussion in the car."

Chen Ya brought the wine glass to Zhou Ran's lips, her voice languid, her eyes crinkling.

"How about we play a game of chess?"

"Great! I couldn't be happier!"

Without saying a word, Zhou Ran picked up Chen Ya and threw her onto the chessboard.

You little pervert!

"Is my sister referring to this game of chess?"

With her other hand, she pulled out a thick stack of documents from behind her back and tossed them onto the wicker chair next to her.

Those were top-secret financial statements of the Xiao Group and Chen's Building Materials, as well as a complex equity structure diagram.

"This is my battlefield."

Chen Ya took a sip of red wine, the bright red liquid staining her lips, making her look breathtakingly alluring.

"According to my inside intelligence, at least three groups of speculative capital with assets exceeding 10 billion yuan in Beijing have their eyes on us."

"Adding to the existing hidden holdings of the Song family, once the market opens, it will be an avalanche."

"Our cash flow is very tight. If the stock price falls below the pledge line, the bank will force liquidation."

Chen Ya leaned close to Zhou Ran's ear, her breath sweet as orchids:

"Little brother, being hard isn't enough."

"This game is a meat grinder of capital."

"How do you plan to break this game?"

Zhou Ran looked at the stunningly beautiful woman before him.

He put down his wine glass.

His large hand unceremoniously wrapped around her slender yet strong waist and pulled her sharply into his arms.

"Well……"

Chen Ya let out a muffled groan, her eyes instantly becoming glazed over.

"You're right, this is a meat grinder."

Zhou Ran picked up the report with his other hand, glanced at the red deficit figures on it, and casually tossed it aside.

Paper flew everywhere.

"But who will be the meat and who will be the knife is still undecided."

He looked into Chen Ya's eyes, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

"As for how to break this deadlock..."

"It's very simple."

"Come play chess, your little brother will teach you a lesson!"

Zhou Ran's fingers traced Chen Ya's delicate collarbone.