Chapter 170: Chapter 90: Sitting in Silence, Slipping into the Night

The gate isn’t cheap. If the original purchase receipt or market comparisons of similar products can be found, the amount could constitute a crime of damaging public or private property.

The police arrived, and so did the property management. After a round of investigation and evidence collection, they didn’t solve the case on the spot.

The two guys wore maintenance uniforms, drove a closed van into the community, wore masks during the act, and left quickly. They headed straight to the suburbs and disappeared from surveillance cameras, clearly seasoned in such misdeeds.

As for the license plate, the investigation revealed it was fake.

If the police handled this case with the intensity of a homicide investigation, it might not be too difficult to solve. But for such a non-violent crime with a relatively small financial sum, it’s impossible to dedicate such resources.

He Kao wasn’t going to just let it go, so he argued with the property management. In the end, he got that year’s property fee waived.

This incident caused quite a stir; not only did the neighbors of this building, but the entire community’s ownership group also heard about it. He Kao simply replaced the gate with a new one, keeping the receipt as evidence of the involved amount.

Gu Ziyuan definitely heard about these things too, imagining He Kao’s impotent rage, likely laughing secretly to himself. Let him laugh then.

The investigation into Gu Yunteng was finally officially over. The investigation team technically still existed, but the personnel had returned to their original units and positions, essentially disbanded.

He Kao didn’t hear this from Yao Shaolan, but from Gao Xue’e.

Gao Xue’e had been paying close attention to the situation of Bada Group and Gu Yunteng. With Gu Yunteng under investigation, many rumors surfaced, which might have been deliberately leaked by someone.

Gao Xue’e also read the materials. From her perspective, if everything was true, it would have warranted execution three times over twenty years ago, but she did not believe Qi Yuan could take down Gu Yunteng over it.

Yao Shaolan believed there wasn’t enough evidence. Gao Xue’e thought the influence was too significant.

Bada Group is the largest real estate company in Qi Yuan, with its business spread nationwide, although its main base remains in Qi Yuan.

According to the available financial statements, its total assets amount to 800 billion, total liabilities just over 700 billion, and net assets close to 100 billion. The financial situation appears healthy, but who knows how many hidden issues there lie?

Especially parts like contingent liabilities, joint guarantees, and impairment of inventory, may not be reflected in the current reports.

Its assets are primarily real estate, land reserves, construction in progress, goodwill, etc., but its liabilities are solid cash, mainly loans from major financial institutions in Qi Yuan and unpaid material and project payments.

Bada Group has also issued a large number of commercial notes and launched numerous finance products through private placements, appearing problem-free as long as cash flow is maintained, but liquidation would cause significant trouble.

On paper, with total liabilities of 700 billion, adding hidden debts, total liabilities could near a trillion, so no one in Qi Yuan dares to act rashly. If Bada Group collapses, the impact would be tremendous.

Recent years have seen a decline in the real estate market, but Bada Group continues to acquire land and start projects in Qi Yuan, contributing significantly to local fiscal revenue and GDP metrics.

At least in Qi Yuan, Bada Group is already considered “too big to fail” in some eyes, making Gu Yunteng a delicate figure not to be easily disturbed.

The reporting materials eventually transferred to Qi Yuan for handling, indicating that Gu Yunteng could ultimately pass the crisis unscathed.

That night, in his private office atop Yunteng Mansion, Gu Yunteng stood with his hands behind his back at the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at Qi Yuan City’s nightscape. He didn’t turn on the lights; the whole floor was empty.

He didn’t recall when it began, but he seemed to relish this feeling of dominion, as if he had everything under control.

When he founded Bada Group, it was to aid his Qi Observation Skill training, but later, his Qi Observation Sect Sorcerer status seemed more beneficial to his business.

As a result, his Magic Cultivation level never advanced beyond Tier Two since then, though his business grew larger and larger. In Qi Yuan’s domain, he’s long been a figure of substantial influence.

Is it a case of misplaced priorities? He doesn’t think so! Those who suggest such ideas simply can’t achieve as much as he has.

In the Magic Sect, many achieve nothing more than Tier Two in their lifetime, but who can compare to him, Gu Yunteng? Even those with higher Cultivation, like Qian Guran, have to seek his help now and then…

This time, he emerged unscathed from the investigation. Outsiders saw it as a perilous escape, but he had long known the investigation team couldn’t touch him.

Even the Magic Sect’s Hall of Sect Rules didn’t press him this time, and it’s heard that Earth Master Gu Chun left Qi Yuan today.

This gave him an even greater sense of accomplishment.

It had been over a week since he last returned to this office. A week ago, under the pretense of attending a business forum, he attempted to head to the Red Port Special Zone to move abroad but was restricted from leaving.

The group was panicked at the time, but he remained calm. It was merely about that evidence, but he had seen it already and was confident it couldn’t harm him.

Of course, he wouldn’t admit trying to flee overseas to lay low. Now that it’s all over, it proves his strong control and importance once again, and returning here lets him enjoy the feeling once more.

Just then, the faint, buzzing noise in the environment disappeared, leaving a pronounced silence.

Gu Yunteng realized—it was a power outage!

How could Tengyun Mansion have a power outage? On closer sensing, it seemed that not the entire building was without power, but only the thirty-sixth floor where he was located.

Although he hadn’t turned on any lights, the whole floor had many devices connected to power, emitting weak background noise that ordinary people might not notice, but a Tier Two Sorcerer could detect.

He sensed something off, turned around, and saw that at some point someone had sat down on the sofa opposite his desk.

“Don’t reach for your phone, and don’t make any moves that might make me misunderstand. I know there’s no surveillance here, so we can have a nice chat.”

The mysterious visitor’s words stopped Gu Yunteng from reaching for his phone. Although the room was unlit, the light pollution of a modern city at night was severe. Using the light coming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Gu Yunteng could still make out the silhouette of the other person.

The visitor should be a young man, with a gun placed on the side table, its cold metallic surface clearly showing it was real.

“No intent to kill, having the gun is probably just for show, or perhaps to embolden himself…” Gu Yunteng quickly assessed in his mind and tried to calm himself.

He didn’t move toward the desk, nor did he make any moves that could be misunderstood by the other, instead he slowly came to the front of a side sofa, sat down, and spoke, “He Kao, is it?”

If this were a kidnapping, calling out the other’s identity was quite risky, but Gu Yunteng had his reasons for doing so. If the person was ordinary, as a Tier Two Sorcerer he was close enough that the other wouldn’t be able to use the gun.

He Kao: “Oh, do you know me? This is our first meeting!”

Gu Yunteng: “You’ve been quite famous recently in Qi Yuan, how could I not have heard of you? Back then I was friends with your father, so I followed your circumstances closely; recognizing you isn’t surprising.”

He Kao: “You say—friends with my father? All these years, how come I didn’t know he had such a friend like you?”

Gu Yunteng: “You were still young then, not having heard or remembering isn’t unusual, but back then I collaborated with your father multiple times. You recently should have obtained Mr. Zhou Du’s belongings; that house was given by me to him.”

He Kao: “The relationship was that good? He died in the detention center, and for twenty years the family knew nothing about the house, didn’t you forget to notify your friend’s family?”

What Gu Yunteng said, He Kao didn’t want to believe a word, but he was somewhat surprised by Gu Yunteng’s calmness, his quick response in such a sudden situation, and his ease in spouting lies.

Since Gu Yunteng wanted to chat frivolously, He Kao didn’t mind accompanying him, also wanting to find out what exactly happened with his father back then, drawn by curiosity to confirm suspicions he’d had.

Gu Yunteng sighed: “Things back then were very complicated, involving some personal privacy of mine, which you probably saw. The house deed and a piece of material were placed together, and I absolutely don’t want anyone to discover that material, not even clues to it.”

He Kao: “What is that material? If my father was your friend, why would he collect black material on you?”

Gu Yunteng shook his head and said: “He didn’t collect it… Have you heard of Jia the Sixth?”

He Kao remained silent, waiting quietly for him to continue his narrative.

Gu Yunteng had to again answer himself: “Over twenty years ago, Jia the Sixth was a prominent figure in Qi Yuan, a famous crime boss wanting to turn legitimate and began dabbling in real estate.

He and I both set our eyes on the same plot of land and secretly collected black material on me to threaten me. He said he put the material in a bank safe deposit box and would make it public if I won the bid.”

He Kao interjected: “Who got the land?”

Gu Yunteng: “He got it at the time; I didn’t bid at all. But afterward, he couldn’t develop it, and soon enough met with a crackdown on gang crime, where people had long wanted to take down this crime boss.

He escaped overseas, heard to have died years later on the Black Wilderness Continent… Afterwards, that land was re-listed and developed by our Bada Group.”

He Kao: “Then how did the material appear in my father’s belongings?”

Gu Yunteng: “That was before Jia the Sixth fled—though I didn’t contest for the land, the material was still a risk. So I discussed with your father, first confirming whether the material existed and then its contents.

I don’t know how your father managed it, but he seemed to be caught by the police and taken away but still managed to get a message to me from the detention center.

The material did exist but had been taken out by him and placed in another safe deposit box he rented at the same bank, along with the house deed I gave him.”

He Kao: “Such a matter, you consult with a small-time business owner in renovation?”

Gu Yunteng: “Child, you should now know your father’s identity.”

He Kao finally asked the crucial question: “So, twenty years ago, you already knew he was Hidden Moth?”

**

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep