socalfunplaces Page 794
Page 794
However, he also understood that it would be difficult to make waves in this field by his own efforts alone. He needed to find like-minded and powerful partners to build a strong team together in order to have any hope of competing with Taixing Company.
After careful consideration, he decided to invite two influential figures in the business world—Fok Ying-tung and Ho Yu-chu—to join this high-stakes gamble.
Huo Yingdong has been working in Hong Kong for many years, accumulating rich business experience and extensive network of contacts. His prestige and strength in the business world are obvious to all. He Yuzhu, on the other hand, has made a name for himself in the business world in just one year, thanks to his keen business insight and decisive decision-making ability.
As a result, the lineup of participants competing for the gaming license is truly impressive, with each person possessing unique strengths and complementing each other's advantages. The sheer scale and spectacle of this competition are truly extraordinary.
However, He Hongshen's actions aroused the vigilance and dissatisfaction of his competitors, such as Gao Kening.
In Gao Kening's view, the addition of He Hongshen and others undoubtedly posed a huge threat to his monopoly position in the gambling license market.
In order to give the other party a warning and to serve as a deterrent, Gao Kening did not hesitate to send two well-trained assassins to secretly murder Huo Yingdong and He Yuzhu.
Their move was intended to establish their authority, demonstrate their ruthlessness to other participants, and make it clear to everyone that anyone who dares to challenge their authority in Macau will pay a heavy price.
Because in the Haojiang area, most people have deep backgrounds, and various forces are deeply intertwined and interdependent.
The fact that they dared to kill someone like Fok Ying-tung, a big shot who had been in Hong Kong for many years and had a great reputation, is enough to show their arrogant and domineering nature.
As for He Yuzhu, although he has made a name for himself in the business world, he is still regarded as a newcomer compared to those established forces with deep roots, and naturally he is not taken seriously by Gao Kening and others.
Therefore, choosing these two as targets can not only deliver a heavy blow to the opponent, but also serve as a warning to others not to easily oppose them, which is quite a case of killing the chicken to scare the monkey.
It's a pity that man's calculation is not as good as God's calculation.
The two assassins Gao Kening sent were utterly incompetent. During the mission, their actions were riddled with flaws, and they seriously underestimated the strength of their target.
Not only did they fail to complete the mission, but they also ended up in He Yuzhu's hands by a twist of fate.
It must be said that bad luck played a part, but if He Yuzhu hadn't possessed extraordinary skills and methods, even Huo Yingdong would probably have been caught in the same trap, and might even have lost his life.
With his keen insight and extraordinary courage, He Yuzhu saw through the assassin's plot at a critical moment and reacted quickly, subduing the assassin in the blink of an eye.
This brilliant maneuver not only saved Huo Yingdong from disaster but also gave everyone a deeper understanding of He Yuzhu's abilities.
He Yuzhu first sensed an unusual atmosphere in the surrounding environment. His eyes instantly sharpened like an eagle's as he silently observed every move around him.
Just as the assassin stealthily approached, preparing to deliver a fatal blow, He Yuzhu struck with the swiftness of a cheetah. In a flash, he appeared before the assassin, delivering a sharp palm strike that precisely chopped into the assassin's neck, instantly rendering him incapable of resistance.
Seeing this, the other assassin was terrified and turned to flee, but He Yuzhu would not give him the chance. He lightly touched the ground with his toes and chased after him like an arrow. With a flying kick, he knocked him to the ground and then easily subdued him.
He Yuzhu wasn't too surprised by the result, because he knew very well that if the person attacked wasn't Ye Han himself, then Ye Han naturally wouldn't have gone to such lengths to avenge him.
In this realistic world of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the martial arts world), everyone has their own interests to consider. When it comes to their own safety and core interests, they will often make the choice that is most beneficial to themselves.
Chapter 567
But what does it matter?
The most important thing right now is to focus on bidding and win that incredibly valuable gambling license!
Only by successfully obtaining a gambling license can one remain invincible in this fierce business competition and lay a solid foundation for future development.
Time flies, and just two days later, the deadline for bidding arrived like a death knell.
At this moment, a raging fire burned deep within He Yuzhu's heart, and he wished he could immediately launch a counterattack and completely annihilate those enemies who attempted to harm him and Huo Yingdong.
But reason told him that such reckless action was by no means the best course of action.
If he were to rush in recklessly, the enemy might have already laid a trap, waiting for him to walk right into it.
After all, Taixing Company is a well-established enterprise that has been in the business world for many years. Its think tank team will definitely provide advice and formulate a series of strict defense measures and response plans.
Therefore, the most urgent task should be to find a way to successfully seize the gambling license from the opponent, so that Tai Hing Company's wishful thinking will be completely thwarted.
Then, seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the enemy, catching them off guard.
After all, since ancient times, only thieves who have been engaged in theft for a long time have been living in constant fear and caution. If the defending side wants to ensure that nothing goes wrong, it needs to maintain a high level of vigilance at all times and dare not relax or slack off even for a moment.
In contrast, He Yuzhu, as the key figure in controlling the situation, had complete power to decide when to launch an attack.
Moreover, before that, he had to seize the time to gather all kinds of intelligence information so that he could firmly grasp the initiative in the whole event and know himself and his enemy, so that he would never be defeated.
After chatting with He Yuzhu for a while, Ye Han got up to say goodbye and leave.
After Ye Han left, He Yuzhu immediately summoned his capable subordinate Du Guanghe to his side and gave him a detailed account of the task, ordering him to go out and investigate the relevant situation as soon as possible.
Upon hearing this, Du Guanghe's face showed a hint of worry. He couldn't help but ask, "If we leave like this, won't our forces here become extremely weak? What if something goes wrong?"
In his view, leaving the base at this time to investigate the situation elsewhere would undoubtedly put him in a dangerous situation and could also pose a potential threat to the base.
However, the other person waved his hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry, even if something happens, at most they'll just send a few people over to try and take these two prisoners away."
The man's tone was full of confidence and certainty, suggesting he had a clear understanding of the current situation.
By this time, everyone's vigilance had greatly increased, and even Huo Yingdong had brought his entire team of bodyguards.
These well-trained bodyguards were scattered throughout the villa, armed with various firearms and weapons, ready to defend themselves.
Their eyes were sharp, constantly watching their surroundings and not missing a single suspicious sign.
In the villa's courtyard, several bodyguards were concealed behind bushes, their submachine guns ready to fire at any moment; on the villa's roof, bodyguards had also set up sniper rifles, closely watching the surrounding movements.
One can imagine that even if the opponent were a legendary master of the Transcendent Realm, they would probably find it difficult to escape unscathed from such a dense barrage of fire, since the power of machine guns is not something that can be easily withstood.
As for the person named He Yuzhu, there is even less to worry about.
As long as he doesn't rashly storm the Governor's Mansion, he shouldn't encounter too much danger in the entire Haojiang area.
With his strong abilities and rich experience in the underworld, He Yuzhu has established a certain prestige in this area, and ordinary henchmen dare not easily make a move against him.
Upon hearing this, Du Guanghe nodded thoughtfully, indicating his agreement to the arrangement. He then hurriedly left the luxurious villa with his men.
They hurried along, disappearing into the night like a gust of wind, embarking on an unknown journey.
Du Guanghe and the others walked briskly along the winding street, the moonlight shining on them and elongating their shadows.
They would occasionally observe their surroundings warily, and at other times whisper about the details of the mission, before quickly disappearing at the end of the street.
It was soon noon when Ye Han and the others arrived at the villa one after another.
The group sat together and engaged in an in-depth discussion about the current situation.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was heavy, and everyone's face showed a hint of anxiety and unease.
They each offered their opinions, trying to find the best solution.
Some suggested raising the bid price to ensure a successful bid; others worried that excessively high prices would create enormous financial pressure and advocated for a more cautious approach.
However, after a whole afternoon, despite the heated discussion, no consensus was reached.
Everyone has their own thoughts and concerns, and when it comes to issues involving significant interests, no one is willing to compromise easily.
As night fell and the clock struck past ten, the lengthy discussion remained unresolved, and in the end, everyone had no choice but to go their separate ways home.
After everyone else had left, Huo Yingdong couldn't help but sigh and lament, "Sigh, these guys, they're all scheming. They all want that incredibly valuable gambling license, but none of them are willing to spend an extra penny."
In his view, everyone who joined forces to compete for the gaming license should have worked together to deal with the powerful opponent.
However, reality disappointed him greatly. Faced with the prospect of personal gain, everyone started to pursue their own interests, which undoubtedly added a lot of uncertainty to the operation.
The group was sitting together discussing how to bid for the coveted gambling license.
According to official information, the starting price for this auction is a staggering HK$300 million!
This figure was like a bombshell, causing a huge uproar among the public.
Everyone gasped, their faces showing shock and hesitation.
It's important to understand that in those days, HK$300 million was no small sum, enough to deter many people.
At that moment, He Yuzhu generously offered to lend 100 million yuan, instantly increasing their available funds to a full 400 million yuan.
He Yuzhu's generous act was like a timely rain, bringing a glimmer of hope to everyone.
However, faced with such a huge sum of money, everyone was unable to reach an agreement on the bid amount.
On the one hand, some people worry that bidding too low will cause them to miss this rare opportunity, given the large number of competitors, all of whom are formidable. On the other hand, they fear that setting the bid too high will result in wasting money.
After all, no one can guarantee that this investment will bring a substantial return.
In this business world full of uncertainty, every decision can lead to drastically different results, so everyone is extremely cautious.
Fortunately, there is still one day left until the deadline, which means they have a whole day to carefully consider and weigh the pros and cons.
During this time, He Yuzhu secretly harbored a lot of resentment.
It should be noted that he himself had no interest in getting involved in the gambling business, and the reason he was willing to lend out this 100 million was purely out of consideration for his friend.
He knew all too well that while the gambling industry was highly profitable, it was also fraught with risks and uncertainties, and a single misstep could lead to utter ruin.
Therefore, he remained silent and did not utter a word during the heated discussions among others regarding the bid amount.
He sat quietly to the side, watching the crowd argue endlessly, while he was making plans for his own affairs.
He reflected on his journey in the business world, from the initial difficult start to the achievements he has made today, every step of which was filled with hardship and sweat.
He didn't want to ruin his hard-earned reputation and wealth by getting involved in the gambling industry.
Finally, He Yuzhu couldn't suppress his questions any longer and asked, "Have you ever thought about running this casino properly?"
His gaze was fixed on Huo Yingdong, his eyes revealing a hint of expectation and concern.
Huo Yingdong slowly shook his head and said softly, "Brother, although the gambling business is indeed more profitable than selling river sand, and it's practically a sure thing, the waters run too deep! As the saying goes, nine out of ten gamblers lose; the buyers can never outsmart the sellers. Anyone who can run a gambling den is a powerful and influential figure. We must be careful and not act rashly..."
Huo Yingdong's words were filled with worry and concern. He was well aware of the darkness and complexity of the gambling industry, which was rife with fraud, conspiracy and violence.