“Brat!” Hong Weiguo stared intently at the video. He finally reacted when the person on the screen repeated himself. He had to be completely brain dead if he did not agree to such a thing! It was just to film an advertisement. It did not even require Hong Dali to personally be there. All they needed was a lackey in the armored suit. Who would know who was in it?
“No problem, definitely no problem!” Hong Weiguo laughed out loud. Since Hong Dali managed to create such an impressive thing, they had to make good use of it. “As long as the three of you continue to support me, an advertisement is no problem!”
Aiya, unexpected. Really unexpected.
What he had thought was a dead-end turned out to be another lifeline. He had worried himself over the deflection of the three men for nothing. He did not expect that his Dali would come up with something that would have such a positive effect.
“CEO Hong, I have to say this, your Dali is really…” The three old presidents shook their heads and laughed helplessly. “I really don’t know what else to say, he is simply too impressive!”
Mechanical Holy Garment, Mechanical Man! He had no idea what the authorities would have to say about those, but if the upcoming movie “Holy Warriors of the Goddess” had the Mechanical Holy Garment to pave the way, it was bound to be a big hit!
Once something got popular, it would be easy to get publicity. Movies were not a one-time sale. If the first movie sold well, you could produce a second, third, fourth, and so on. The publicity would be like a chain effect, one after another! If he managed to strike up a good relationship this time, next time it would be easier if he wanted Hong Dali to help him advertise using his new creations. That would be fantastic!
Moreover, this thing was equipped with weaponry. Once this video was released, the state was bound to provide him with some special political support. Right then, Hong Dali was like a big tree. No one knew how big the tree was, but it was definitely not small and more than sufficient for the three of them to hold their arms around.
“Haha, my son will definitely be good! Hahahaha!” Hong Weiguo laughed heartily. “As long as the three of you support me, you will not be left out if there are any benefits to be had in the future.”
“Haha, in that case, thank you, CEO Hong.”
…
On the other side of the Door to Heaven.
Qian Guangzhao went back to his own territory in high spirits. However, once he entered, he saw that the ten-over people present looked terrible. One of them saw him enter and hurried over. “CEO Qian, Bad news! Bad news! Hong Dali from the Hong Family came up with something again! This time, it looks really impressive!”
“Hong Dali? What has that wastrel mucked up this time?” Upon hearing that it was related to Hong Dali, Qian Guangzhao began to worry. The trend had held true so far. Hong Dali either remained dormant or erupted spectacularly.
This could be said to be one of his signature moves.
Everyone present looked really pale. Just based on this, Qian Guangzhao could imagine that whatever Hong Dali had managed to do this time was enough to make him take a hit, and it would not be a small one.
“Where? Quickly, let me see!” Qian Guangzhao hurried to his chair and sat down. He said impatiently, “What exactly is it?”
Someone had already brought in a notebook playing the video of Hong Dali’s interview “Protecting the peace of the world, I am Mechanical Man.”
“This… this…” By the time he finished watching the interview, Qian Guangzhao was completely stunned. He stayed shell-shocked for quite a period of time before viciously pounding the table with his fist. With a “bang” and spittle spraying from his mouth, he spat. “Hong Dali! How did the Hong family create such a thing? How does he manage to create such huge waves! If he continues like this we will all be left desolate in the dust!”
By then, someone couldn’t hold back anymore. He asked in a small voice, “CEO Qian, what Hong Dali managed to create this time is really… The effect of this will be great. Just look at the number of downloads, it has almost exceeded one million. This Mechanical Man is really…”
“Mechanical Man!” Qian Guangzhao stood up menacingly and walked towards the man. Sprays of spit rained upon him. “What can a Mechanical Man do? We should impeach him. We must impeach him!”
“But…” The people seated shot glances at each other before standing up as one. They said in a low voice, “CEO Qian, we’re very sorry, but we intend to withdraw from this matter. We’re not against impeaching Hong Weiguo, but Hong Dali has managed to create such a stir this time… It’s not possible that the government will sit back and do nothing. We’re just businessmen, we only know how to do business. We’re game to go up against Hong Weiguo, but against the government… we’re very sorry.”
“You wish to withdraw?” Qian Guangzhao glanced at them, then narrowed his eyes before laughing sinisterly. “Do you think it will be so easy to withdraw now? Don’t forget that the impeachment documents have your signatures on it too!”
“You!” Their faces immediately turned pale when they heard what Qian Guangzhao said. “How dare you threaten us!”
“Hehe, threaten? No, no, no.” Qian Guangzhao suddenly smiled and said slowly, “Before you leave this room, what I said cannot be counted as a threat. Yes, everyone here, today’s situation is a little special, and I may have behaved inappropriately earlier.” As he spoke, he looked at everyone and said, “Don’t be hasty, please hear me out first.”
Seeing that the situation may have changed, the few who stood up did not insist on leaving. Instead, they sat down again.
No matter what, they had signed on the impeachment documents. Even if they really decided to withdraw, it would not be easy to absolve themselves of all involvement. By then, they would have fallen out with both sides. They might as well listen to what Qian Guangzhao had to say first.
“Everyone, please do not be anxious about Mechanical Man first.” Qian Guangzhao cleared his throat and continued, “Since we have already broached the topic, let’s have an emergency meeting. Please inform all our other allies, and I’ll tell everyone what I am really planning.”
Once they heard that he was going to disclose everything, everyone started whispering. “Full disclosure? It’s obvious that things are not that simple. Let’s listen and decide later!””Yes, let’s listen first. If there is really no problem, then we’ll go along.” “Let’s keep a status quo to deal with the changes, hear him out first!”
Now that the decision had been made, everyone immediately contacted all their allies.
Soon, people started trickling into the small conference room. Before long, a gruff voice rang out from the door, grumbling, “Old Qian, damn. Why did you call me over in such a hurry? Are we rushing to attend a funeral? Hong Dali made a Mechanical Man. Have you thought of any counter-moves? I’ll make it clear first, if you don’t have any good ideas, I will not be joining you!”
The person was of average build but leaning a little towards plumpness. He was dressed in a simple gray T-shirt with a string of sandalwood beads in his left hand. He was Cheng Qifu, Fourth Master Cheng, the CEO of Heavenly State’s Jin Di Real Estate Company, with a net worth of thirty billion.
As he stepped in, a cold female voice said, “Since you have called us here, you must have a good reason?” The Black Widow, Wang Yingqiu, was dressed in a professional-looking black suit and a pair of black-rimmed glasses. Her expression was cold as ice.
“Haha, since everyone is here, let’s begin.” Qian Guangzhao chuckled. “I have gathered everyone here today because I have something very important to announce.”
“Aiya, CEO Qian, things have progressed to such a state, why are you still keeping us in suspense?” Cheng Qifu had a short temper and a thunderous voice. “Our time is money! Who can tolerate you beating about the bush?”
Once he said that, everyone else nodded in agreement.
“Okay, okay. I will get straight to the point, then.” Qian Guangzhao nodded and went straight to the point this time. “Everyone should know by now that Hong Dali made a Mechanical Holy Garment. It’s extremely powerful and enjoys a lot of attention in the Heavenly State at the moment. Also, since it has weaponry built-in, I believe the Heavenly State military will not ignore it. There’s no question of that.”
“Right, isn’t that obvious? Our situation is not ideal now!””That’s right, Hong Dali is not a person we can mess with.””CEO Qian, do you have any solution to this problem?”
“Hehe, a solution.” Qian Guangzhao listened to the discussion below and smiled as he said, “Naturally, I have a solution, and not just one! In order to impeach Hong Weiguo, I must have some hidden cards in my hand.”
He still had a hidden trump! Everyone present demanded loudly. “CEO Qian, what is it? Tell us quickly!”
Qian Guangzhao glanced at the crowd and said with conviction, “Let’s put it this way. Although Hong Dali has the right to be a prodigal, and the things he creates are really good, there’s one very important factor. The government will not allow an individual to keep this powerful weapon for his personal use. We’re not Merika, after all. I believe that our military is already getting ready to take over Hong Dali’s Mechanical Holy Garment. Otherwise, the military might allow Hong Dali to retain the Mechanical Holy Garment but order the weaponry removed. Here is the question: Will Hong Dali willingly hand it over just because they asked? Without the weaponry, this Mechanical Holy Garment is nothing more than a movie prop.”
Qian Guangzhao had a point.
Heavenly State had all along had very strict laws regarding weaponry. It was not possible that they’d show no reaction at all to something with which had as much destructive power as the Mechanical Holy Garment. Once the two sides came head to head…
“But…” Someone below asked, “What if Hong Dali hands it over? If he does that the military will definitely give him extra protection. It’s not possible that he gets no benefits at all. What we are afraid of is that Hong Weiguo will get the support of the military. If that happens, and he decides to take revenge…”
“There is such a possibility.” Qian Guangzhao chuckled. “The determining factor here is time. See, if the military takes away his weapon, it will take a while before they disburse his benefits. There will be a period of downtime. It could be a month, two months, half a year, or even a year. This period of time will be enough for us to kick Hong Weiguo out of the Resource Chamber of Commerce!”
After saying that, Qian Guangzhao pounded the table viciously. “Once he has been kicked out of the Chamber of Commerce, his net worth will go down, and his area of influence will be greatly reduced. Even if the military gives him benefits, he will not be able to do much more than try to keep himself afloat by then! A time delay, what we are counting on is a time delay. This is just the first reason why I have gathered everyone today!”
