Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Hey!" The sideburned man turned around and shouted at Yang Ce. "You drive and follow us, but don't try any tricks, or you'll die far from home."

"Oh, all right, all right." Yang Ce nodded repeatedly.

"Forget it, I'll ride with you instead." The buzz-cut man did not trust Yang Yongjin, and he leaped into the passenger seat of Yang Ce's car.

So the sideburned man drove ahead, Yang Ce followed behind, and the two cars drove one after the other into the Fenghuang City Sankun Machinery Co., Ltd. compound.

The security guard on duty at the gate glanced at the buzz-cut man sitting in Yang Ce's car, then simply waved them through.

"All right, just park the car here." The buzz-cut man pointed to an open space in the factory yard and said to Yang Yanzhou.

Yang Ce parked the car as instructed and got out after the buzz-cut man. Before he could steady himself, the buzz-cut man and the sideburned man had him pinned by the arms, one on each side.

"What—what do you mean by this?" Yang Ce asked, feigning panic. In truth, Yang Ce had sensed their intention before either man moved. If he had wanted to guard against them, these two would already be dead dogs. But Yang Ce was afraid of alerting the enemy and scaring off Sankun Machinery's boss, which would make certain things difficult to handle. What Yang Ce wanted now was to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

"Nothing much. Once you're here, naturally we call the shots. You be good and don't try any tricks." Although the sideburned man did not think Yang Ce posed any danger, they still had to be careful for the boss's safety. After all, Mingyang Heavy Industries and Sankun Machinery were enemies—who knew whether this kid harbored ill intentions?

This was also because the boss of Sankun Machinery, Yan Shoubao, had offended so many people over the years that he had honed his wariness to a fine edge.

Yang Ce did not resist. He let the two men press him along into the factory office building and then into the elevator.

The elevator stopped at the sixth floor. The sideburned man and the buzz-cut man marched Yang Puqi out of the elevator, but feeling no resistance from Yang Ce whatsoever, they relaxed their guard.

When they reached the door of the innermost office on the floor, the sideburned man and the buzz-cut man stopped and knocked.

Yang Ce noticed that many bosses liked to set up their offices in the innermost corner of a floor.

"Come in." A rough, gruff voice came from inside.

The sideburned man opened the door, pushed Yang Ce inside, and then pulled the door shut behind them.

"Boss, we've brought him," the buzz-cut man reported respectfully to a thin, middle-aged man sitting behind the desk in the office.

The middle-aged man was very thin, with a pair of cross-eyes and a hooked nose, which made him look especially sinister. Yang Ce studied this Sankun Machinery boss from the corner of his eye, and at that moment the man was studying Yang Ce as well.

"You're the one Mingyang Heavy Industries sent?" Yan Shoubao raised his head and stared at Yang Yanzhou.

"So you're the head of Sankun Machinery?" Yang Jiyan had shed his earlier meek, obsequious manner and asked mildly.

"Heh, that's me." Yan Shoubao's gaze sharpened, and he looked Yang Puqi up and down. "I guessed as much long ago. Mingyang Heavy Industries wouldn't send a worthless driver to deliver goods—and send him alone, no less."

Now that Yang Ce had met the head of Sankun Machinery in person, there was no need to conceal his identity any longer. "You guessed right. I came looking for you today."

"But what a pity—no matter how you originally planned it, I saw through your scheme." Yan Shoubao shrugged with some complacency. "You think that by yourself you can change anything? This is my territory. I can have you dead at any moment."

"Is that so?" Yang Jiyan said dismissively. "Since I could come here, then of course I won't die."

"Hmph. Playing tricks in front of me, Yan Shoubao—you're still too green." Yan Shoubao said scornfully. "When those two called me earlier, I already felt something was off. A mere driver, daring to come see me? But I still had them bring you here, to see what tricks you were up to. Go on—what's your purpose in coming to me?"

"My purpose?" Yang Jiyan laughed. "My purpose is simple. From now on, Mingyang will set up a distribution point in Fenghuang City. You lot can go find somewhere cool to stay."

Yan Shoubao was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Did you two hear that? Is this kid sick or what? Don't you think so? Hahahaha, I'm dying laughing. All right, we've had enough fun. Cripple him, then throw him out."

With that, Yan Shoubao closed his eyes, as if savoring the scream Yang Juehuan was about to let out.

But he waited a long while and heard nothing at all. Yan Shoubao was startled, then opened his eyes again and said impatiently, "What's wrong with you two? Hurry up! Hmm?"

The scene before him left Yan Shoubao bewildered. The sideburned man and the buzz-cut man were still standing on either side of Yang Juehuan, except that both of them had their heads lowered.

"What are you doing? Didn't you hear what I said?" Yan Shoubao was getting anxious.

"Heh, sorry. They probably can't hear what you're saying anymore." Yang Puqi let go, and the sideburned man and the buzz-cut man on either side collapsed to the floor with a thud.

"You—how could you possibly—" Yan Shoubao could scarcely believe his eyes. The bearded man and the buzz-cut fellow were two of the best men he had, men who could normally take on four opponents between them without trouble. How had they ended up lying on the floor for no apparent reason?

Still, Yan Shoubao was quick-witted and cautious by nature. He had always feared that someone might mean him harm, and so he kept bodyguards at his side around the clock. His office consisted of an outer room and an inner one, and in the inner room were two personal bodyguards charged with his safety.

Before Yan Shoubao could say a word, the door to the inner room was pushed open, and two men in white suits and white gloves strode briskly out. Yet once out, they did not launch an attack on Yang Ce; instead they took up positions to Yan Shoubao's left and right, guarding him.

Yang Ce understood at once. These two were professional bodyguards, employed solely for Yan Shoubao's protection. Under any circumstances, unless Yan Shoubao gave the order, their first priority was to keep him safe; everything else came second.

"Kill him." Yan Shoubao had originally meant only to cripple Yang Ce, to send a warning to that insufferable Mingyang Heavy Industries. But now Yang Ce had quietly disposed of the bearded man and the buzz-cut fellow with such ease that a surge of fury rushed through Yan Shoubao.

In all these years, no one had ever dared to lay hands on his men right in front of him. Kick a dog and you shame its master; Yan Shoubao felt his face had been stripped away entirely.

So Yan Shoubao gave the two bodyguards the order to kill Yang Juehuan outright. He had more than a few lives on his conscience already; so long as it was done cleanly, no one would ever suspect him.

And even if they did suspect—so what? With his connections in Fenghuang City, hardly anyone dared to touch him. That was why Yan Shoubao conducted his affairs with such utter recklessness.

He knew perfectly well that Mingyang Heavy Industries was a enterprise backed personally by the provincial authorities of the neighboring province, and still he refused to show it any respect.

Having received their orders, the two bodyguards did not move as one. Only the one on Yan Shoubao's left—the one with the black mole at the corner of his mouth—stepped forward, while the other remained rooted at Yan Shoubao's side, watching Yang Ce warily.