Chapter 1803 — Withdrawal

"Withdraw?" An Mingyue was taken aback. He had not expected Gu Pengzhan to pull his money out at a moment like this. If the man took back his billion, An Mingyue might still cheat him out of a portion of it—but with that billion in hand, Gu Pengzhan stood a very good chance of rising from the dead. After all, Gu Pengzhan was a veteran of business; this one lapse of judgment was entirely the hypnotist's doing.

"That's right. I'll have to trouble you with this, Brother Mingyue," Gu Pengzhan said.

"What exactly has happened, that you're in such a hurry, Brother Pengzhan?" An Mingyue asked, betraying nothing.

"Something's come up at home. It's not convenient to say..." Naturally, Gu Pengzhan could not go around babbling about Wei Zhao.

"I see... I don't even know whether a withdrawal is possible right now. This futures business—I don't really understand how it's done myself, so let me ask around and then get back to you?" An Mingyue did not refuse outright; that would have rung far too false.

"All right, I'll wait for your call," Gu Pengzhan said.

An Mingyue hung up and looked at An Jianwen beside him with some perplexity. "Jianwen, what game do you suppose Gu Pengzhan is playing now? He wants to pull out a billion?"

An Jianwen had had little to occupy him lately, and had devoted his main energies to ruining Gu Pengzhan. Every time An Mingyue spoke with the man it was on speakerphone and recorded, so An Jianwen had heard it all from the side. "I'm not sure, but that money absolutely cannot be allowed to go back to him. I have to bankrupt him, so that I can move in and win Gu Mengyao for myself!"

"Hmm... but if we don't give it to him, won't Gu Pengzhan get suspicious?" An Mingyue said with some concern. "Even if we do give him the billion, couldn't you have the hypnotist work on him—suggest to Gu Pengzhan that he marry Gu Mengyao to you?"

"What good is suggesting it to him? The key is whether Gu Mengyao herself is willing. With those two bastards Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu stirring up trouble in the middle, what use is Gu Pengzhan's consent?" An Jianwen shook his head.

"Then... hypnotize Gu Mengyao?" An Mingyue asked.

"Hypnosis only lasts so long. You can hypnotize someone for a time, but not for a lifetime. When Gu Mengyao comes to her senses, there'll likely be trouble. Besides, what I want is Gu Mengyao's heart. Otherwise I could simply have someone kidnap her and make the raw rice cooked—and everything would be settled. But I don't like that feeling!" In An Jianwen's heart there was an obsession close to madness that had driven him utterly insane.

"Then... how should we handle it?" In the matter of Gu Pengzhan, An Mingyue deferred entirely to An Jianwen; after all, An Jianwen was the one driving the whole affair.

"Dad, your mention of the hypnotist gave me an idea. Here's what we'll do: I'll have the hypnotist make a suggestion to Gu Pengzhan and ask him what he actually intends to do with that billion once he withdraws it. Then we'll decide," An Jianwen said after a moment's thought.

"That works. Find out first, then decide," An Mingyue said with a nod.

An Jianwen's word now counted as law in the Fire Wolf Gang. Though he was using the gang's influence for private ends, neither the hypnotist nor Dr. Yin raised the slightest objection—after all, while a man threw his life away making money for the gang, he was surely entitled to win some benefit for his own family.

So when the hypnotist heard An Jianwen's instructions, he disguised himself as An Mingyue's secretary and went with him to see Gu Pengzhan.

Gu Pengzhan had not expected An Mingyue to come in person, and received him in the company's guest room. "Brother Mingyue, whatever it is, it could have been said over the phone. There was no need to come to the company."

"Ha ha, I was just passing by anyway..." An Mingyue said, and as he spoke he shot a look at the hypnotist beside him.

The hypnotist's mouth emitted a most peculiar sound wave, and then Gu Pengzhan's expression froze slightly, his gaze growing somewhat vacant.

"Gu Pengzhan, why do you want to withdraw a billion?" the hypnotist asked directly.

"Because... Yao Yao called and said Xiao Yi had fallen into qi deviation and must have a billion to buy a spirit medicine. So I must withdraw a billion..." Gu Pengzhan said, face blank.

"Who is Xiao Yi?" the hypnotist asked instinctively.

"It's Wei Zhao," Gu Pengzhan said.

The hypnotist turned and looked at An Mingyue. He had asked everything An Jianwen had told him to ask, and now waited for An Mingyue to make the decision.

"Suggest to him that in this kind of financial speculation one cannot withdraw funds at will—that if he changes his method of operation now, he may lose everything—and then have him insist on withdrawing anyway..." An Mingyue said, struck by inspiration. There had been no good excuse before to explain how the money could be lost down to the last cent; now it was perfect. Gu Pengzhan wanted to withdraw, and here was the excuse ready-made.

"Good." The hypnotist nodded, emitted another strange sound wave, and repeated An Mingyue's words back to Gu Pengzhan. Then his mouth produced another sound wave, and in that instant Gu Pengzhan returned to normal.

"Eh? What just happened? I feel as though I dozed off?" Gu Pengzhan said, slightly startled.

"Brother Pengzhan, you were just woolgathering—I was about to talk to you about the withdrawal!" An Mingyue said. "Brother Pengzhan, I asked Jianwen's friend about it, and he told me that financial investment is not like ordinary business. To withdraw funds now might upset the whole plan, and you could end up losing everything clean."

"And why is that?" Gu Pengzhan was slightly taken aback.

"I'm not too clear myself, but it's probably the same principle as an operator cornering the stock market. I don't really understand the specifics either," An Mingyue said. "These financial geniuses must do things differently from everyone else—otherwise they couldn't have made so much money."

"I see..." Gu Pengzhan was a veteran of business, but he had always been in industry and had never engaged in financial speculation of this sort. Of stocks and futures he knew only the general idea and the simplest methods; the more complicated maneuvers were beyond him. So hearing An Mingyue's words, he hesitated—yet deep in his heart a voice was ceaselessly suggesting and urging him: even if it means a loss, you must withdraw. You must withdraw!

And so, pressed and prompted by that voice, Gu Pengzhan said, "Brother Mingyue, please speak to that person for me. I must withdraw the money!"

"Ah, well, all right. But problems are easily caused—and if a problem does arise..." An Mingyue spread his hands, looking rather innocent.

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