blogombal Page 52
Page 52
His eyes were clear, as if the undercurrents from just moments ago had never existed. But this pure trust and professionalism inexplicably stirred a sense of...guilt in Hawke's heart?
Andy rolled his eyes inwardly as he watched his boss struggle to survive: This isn't an interview; it's a rehearsal for a massive battleground!
She cleared her throat: "Gentlemen, this way please?"
The three women stood up and followed Andy out of the conference room.
The sound of high heels faded into the distance.
Hawke stood there, let out a long sigh, picked up the glass of water on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.
94 Hands are looking to make peace... [Please give flowers and subscribe]
New York, Manhattan, headquarters of Midtown Financial Corporation.
In the chairman's office.
The atmosphere was oppressive, so somber it seemed as if water could drip from it.
"Is everyone here?"
Alexandra, one of the five fingers of the Hand and Society, asked a useless question, because the Hand and Society now only has four fingers left, and there are four people present. It is obvious at a glance that she is just dizzy and confused by the pressure brought by Ryan recently, and has forgotten the rules.
Of the four fingers present, none laughed at Alexandra's mistake, nor did anyone respond, because they were also at a loss.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Hand and the Association have already taken down three directors of the Ryan Group and seem to have gained the upper hand. Only they know how difficult their lives are under Ryan's all-round suppression.
First, all of their public accounts and those of their club were temporarily frozen by the Department of Homeland Security in the name of national security, causing them to lose a large sum of money. All their financial activities had to be moved underground, wiping out years of their efforts to launder money.
Secondly, all of the Hand and Harmony's strongholds are facing investigation and suppression by the Lane Group. Currently, about 80% of the Hand and Harmony's strongholds in New York have been wiped out, resulting in a significant loss of power.
Furthermore, Ryan has already begun investigating the secrets of the building where the dragon bones are buried. Once Ryan discovers that there is a secret about immortality underneath, then given the official forces under Ryan's control, will they still have a chance to win?
It wouldn't be impossible for Ryan to deploy the state government's National Guard to that area.
Given all these factors, the situation the Hand Association is currently facing is very unfavorable.
"Now that everyone is here, let's share our thoughts. We've reached a point where our lives depend on it," Alexandra said, rubbing his face and forcing himself to stay alert.
“I have no opinion,” Sowanda said, still shaken. “When I first returned to New York, I was targeted by Ryan’s men. They sent a fully armed force to ambush me. If I hadn’t run fast, my body might already be Ryan’s spoils of war!”
Sowanda, the finger of the Hand in charge of African affairs, is a local warlord in Africa and also runs the Hand's assassin platform there. He is very powerful, but he never expected that he would almost be wiped out as soon as he returned to the Hand's headquarters in New York.
“My laundry detergent factory was completely wiped out by Ryan’s men. No, to be precise, it was wiped out by the New York Police Department.” Mrs. Gao sighed and said, “The loss is at least $10 billion, and I have lost a lot of manpower and my distribution channels have been completely cut off. The losses are incalculable. Ryan… I really can’t afford to mess with him.”
Mrs. Gao, of Chinese descent, has been in charge of the laundry detergent business in Southeast Asia, and also owns a large territory in New York.
Even Kingpin, the current kingpin of the New York underworld, was once Madam Gosling's underling. It was only later, as Kingpin's power grew, that he broke free from Madam Gosling's control and became a powerful force of his own.
Even so, Kingpin still maintained respect for Madam Gosling, rather than exploiting her like he would his other acquaintances to expand his own power.
“My territory is in Japan, so the impact isn’t too great,” Murakami said. “But this can’t go on like this. It has to be resolved as soon as possible, otherwise many of my businesses outside of Japan will be affected. So no matter how this is resolved, it has to be resolved.”
“Alexandra, it’s all your fault,” Sowanda suddenly accused. “If you hadn’t angered Ryan, we wouldn’t be in this predicament now. You almost killed me.”
“We’re facing a life-or-death situation right now, and you, Sowanda, still have the mind to start internal strife at a time like this?” Alexandra laughed angrily, saying, “I also wanted to coexist peacefully with Ryan. I would have given him Midtown Financial Company if he was willing to sell me that building. But that little fox isn’t so easy to deal with. He wouldn’t agree! So what do you want me to do? Give up Dragonbone? Heh, if we were to give up, it’s not too late now. As long as we abandon everything in the open and hide in the shadows for a few years, even if Ryan is powerful, he can’t wipe us out, right? Once the storm passes, we can change our appearance and go back to normal. We’ve encountered strong enemies all these years, haven’t we? This is how we got through it.”
Sowanga, Mrs. Gao, and Murakami all fell silent.
The fact is, they cannot give up the keel.
Because the dragon bones stored inside the Hand and Guild are almost exhausted, if they can't find any more to replenish them, then even they will be out of supplies.
507 In other words, their aging bodies could face natural death at any time.
Would they be willing to do that?
Having lived for hundreds of years, the longer I live, the more afraid I become of death.
The four people sat around the round table in silence.
The atmosphere became increasingly depressing.
It seemed like everyone was waiting for someone to speak first.
“I’m the youngest here, so if it’s not nice, let me say it: I think we should make peace with Ryan,” Sowanda said, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace.
The oppressive atmosphere dissipated instantly.
Murakami stretched his limbs: "Sowanda, you make it sound nice that we want to make peace with Ryan, but does Ryan want to make peace with us? You know, we've already killed three of Ryan's directors."
“They’re just some board members, not members of the Ryan family,” Sowanda said. “There’s definitely room for compromise here, isn’t there?”
"If Ryan doesn't protect their board of directors, will he still have any prestige in the business world?" Murakami said. "Once the Ryan Group takes action, even John Ryan can't just slam on the brakes and bring this super truck to a sudden stop, can he?"
95 Hands and the Association's Plan B [Seeking flowers and subscriptions]
“Under normal circumstances, of course it’s impossible, but we have leverage!” Madam Gao said, leaning on her cane. “Right now, in this world, only we, with our five fingers… four fingers and Kunlun, know the secrets of the dragon bones. And Kunlun obviously wouldn’t reveal this information to Ryan, so we become Ryan’s only option. In other words, if we are willing to share the secret of immortality with Ryan, we might have a chance to turn our enmity into friendship and share the wonders of the dragon bones.”
“The idea is good.” Alexandra listened for a while and then said, “But how can you guarantee that once Ryan obtains the secret of the dragon bones, he won’t choose to keep the benefits to himself, but will share them with us? Given John Ryan’s personality, unless he is forced to, he will definitely choose to keep everything to himself when he can.”
Madam Gao said, "At worst, the four of us can split up and each of us can choose one person to negotiate with Ryan. If Ryan really wants to break off relations and monopolize the benefits of the dragon bone, then we can simply reveal the secret of the dragon bone to the public. At that time, the prospect of immortality will attract a lot of big shots. Even Ryan wouldn't be able to withstand it, would he?"
The four fingers discussed it and decided to send someone to try to make peace with Ryan first. Given the current situation, the Hand and the Alliance couldn't hold out any longer, because every day various forces were digging up their strongholds and searching for them under Ryan's command. If Ryan found the four of them, they would be doomed. They knew that Hawke had several bodyguards with superhuman strength, which the Hand and the Alliance had never been able to handle, not to mention that Hawke could mobilize "regular troops".
The safety of those four people is the most important thing; everything else can take a backseat.
One of the five fingers has already died, and they will absolutely not allow themselves to be the next.
And so, Giganxin was dispatched to find Hawke and prepare to deliver the message that the Hand had sought peace with Ryan.
At the entrance of an upscale nightclub, Ji Gangxin, accompanied by several ninja subordinates, prepared to meet Hawke, who was having a blast inside.
They had only just approached the nightclub and hadn't even had a chance to go inside when an Asian girl suddenly appeared and blocked their way.
"Wait a minute!" Ji Gangxin's expression changed drastically. Seeing the situation was turning bad, he immediately tried to shout, "I am..."
However, before Ji Gangxin could even speak, his mouth was slapped shut, causing him to let out a shrill scream.
Next, Eun-bi swept away all the assassins with ease, like autumn leaves falling in the wind.
At that moment, Gu Ziyun walked out from the side, munching on a chicken leg.
"Sister Ziyun, it seems like they were looking at us before they died, as if they wanted to say something. Did we kill the wrong people?" Enfei scratched her head and asked in confusion.
"We didn't kill the wrong person!" Gu Ziyun said calmly, spouting nonsense with a straight face: "We received information that the Hand Peace Society planned to use the pretext of seeking peace to take the opportunity to assassinate Hawke. So when you encounter Hand Peace Society members who say they want peace, don't hesitate to kill them immediately, because they have ulterior motives."
"Oh, I see! I understand now!"
Eun-bi nodded seriously.
Zhongchengquan Financial Company.
The four fingers have received the message.
Alexandra: "Giganxin is dead just like that?"
Mrs. Gao: "Perhaps he was taken care of by Ryan's security team before he even had a chance to reveal his purpose."
Sowanga: "So what should we do now?"
Murakami: "Why not just send someone over? This time, make sure they explain their purpose beforehand."
Less than half an hour later, Four Fingers received another message: the personnel they had dispatched this time had also perished.
The four men looked at each other in bewilderment, and, unwilling to give up, sent men again to sue for peace.
It's happened again.
Even if the four fingers were stupid, they would know what was going on. It was clearly Ryan's doing; they wanted to make a life-or-death struggle with the Hand.
"Screw him! Ryan's really getting too big for his britches! Does he really think we're afraid of him?"
Sowanga slammed his fist on the table and left.
a long time.
Seeing that no one agreed with him, he could only sit down awkwardly.
Well, now that the four fingers are used to it, they are indeed a little afraid of Ryan.
"Things have come to this point, it seems that it's impossible for us to resolve things with Ryan so easily." Murakami said with a cold expression, "I don't want to fight Ryan to the death either, but since they insist on our deaths, we're not made of dough! Let's execute Plan B."
Alexandra: "Okay, let's execute Plan B."
Mrs. Gao: "I agree."
Sowanda was completely bewildered. What Plan B? How come I don't know about it?
No, aren't the four of us a team? We were discussing backup plans, and no one mentioned it to me? That's just too much!
And what exactly is the plan that makes you seem so confident in dealing with that little Ryan?
In the nightclub.
Hawke watched as a woman dressed in a black leather jacket that accentuated her curvaceous figure, resembling an hourglass shape, gracefully drank at the bar. She was tall, with delicate features and a wild charm that stirred an irresistible desire to conquer her.
"Damn it!" Hawke muttered to himself as he looked at the familiar face, "This can't be some kind of Plan B!"
"Beautiful lady, drinking alone?"
Hawke grinned and moved closer.
The Hand wants to use Plan B, so Hawke might as well use Plan B too.
He also planned to eliminate the five fingers of the Hand and then use the Hand's middle management to reorganize and incorporate them into his own forces.
The Hand Association has given him a great opportunity.
Hawke recognized the woman; her name was Erica, a woman who, like Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was skilled with double forks, and was also a T1 member of the Hand, second only to the Five Fingers.
Therefore, if Hawke could seduce her, he could immediately cause the Hand to lose both his wife and his army.
"Yeah, something happened?"
Erica glanced at Hawke and said indifferently, "Step."
96. Erica, the sensible one [Seeking flowers and subscriptions]
Things given away too readily are unlikely to be appreciated, especially by an assassin like Erica. Being too proactive would certainly arouse suspicion, so Erica naturally chose to play hard to get.
However, Hawke no longer had the same patience for a woman like Erica, who had traveled a long way to deliver a pen, as he did for Cheon Song-yi.