Section 3: The Tycoon Returns to His Country
We are all very clear about the character of Second Brother. Wang Yilin sighed softly, "Regardless of whether the matter is resolved smoothly or not, if we keep it from him, he will definitely blame us. If the matter is resolved well, we might have our reasons, but the problem is, if it does not resolve well..."
I understand, I will return immediately!" Huang Longfei did not wait for the other party to finish speaking and directly hung up the phone. He then said to Li Minghan beside him, "Contact the airport as soon as possible to confirm when my flight can take off.
The position of Ling Tianxiang in the heart of the second brother is clear to both of us. Since childhood, he has been the one most valued by the second brother. If there are any serious consequences this time, we will not be able to explain it to the second brother!" Wang Yilin paused slightly, "I will not make the decision on this matter. Whether or not to inform the second brother, you decide.
After Gu Weimin left, the room fell into a deathly silence. Wang Yilin picked up a cigarette box from the table, slowly took out a cigarette, and then lit it. He did not refrain from smoking; he simply smoked very rarely. He would not smoke unless it was absolutely necessary for him to think.
Mr. Huang, we still need to meet with ... ...
Li Minghan approached and used sign language to inform Huang Longfei that the recording was already in progress. He then took a cigar from the sandalwood box on the coffee table, cut it properly, and handed it to Huang Longfei
Wang Yilin hesitated for a moment and put down the microphone
Mr. Huang, I just received a call from the domestic line
Mr. Huang, everything has already been arranged
Li Minghan hesitated for a moment, but still picked up the phone and dialed the number for the Sydney business jet airport. After receiving a response, he said to Huang Longfei: "The earliest we can take off is in one and a half hours."
"You, along with a few secretaries and bodyguards, will take a flight back. The others will return by a different flight." Huang Longfei seemed not to have heard Li Minghan's words. Seeing Li Minghan still in a daze, he raised his voice. "What are you still doing there? Hurry up and make the arrangements!"
What puzzled Li Minghan even more was that Huang Longfei could rise from an obscure small businessman to the number one businessman in the country and the fourth richest person in the world in less than fifteen years. He could not possibly be unaware of the importance of timing, nor could he be unclear about when to take action. In just a few hours, the merger agreement was to be officially signed. Could it be that Huang Longfei could not wait a few more hours?
After extinguishing the fourth cigarette butt, Zhou Guohui raised his head. His eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, and then he firmly nodded at Wang Yilin. Just as Lao San had said, such a serious matter should not be concealed from Lao Er. The sooner Lao Er is informed, the easier it will be to resolve the issue
Sydney, on the twenty-fourth floor of the Woolloomooloo Waters Hotel, in the luxurious presidential suite's outer hall, a sudden urgent ringing of the telephone startled the female secretary who had been dozing off at her desk. She rubbed her eyes and, as the phone rang a second time, hurriedly picked it up.
The middle-aged man with the surname Huang immediately turned to look at the secretary beside him. Upon making eye contact with the secretary, his expression changed instantly. "Who called from within the country?"
However, Zhou Guohui still seemed somewhat hesitant
The middle-aged man with the surname Huang immediately got out of bed, even without putting on his slippers, and quickly walked out of the bedroom to pick up the microphone placed next to the sofa in the living room
Tianxiang? Huang Longfei was slightly taken aback, "Did that kid violate discipline in the army?"
Zhou Guohui nodded firmly. "If we can control the situation, then there is no need to let the second one know. Similarly, if we cannot even control the situation ourselves, what use is it for the second one to know?"
Wang Yilin let out a breath, rubbing his face vigorously with both hands to make himself feel a bit more awake
Wang Yilin said nothing further; he discarded the already extinguished cigarette butt into the ashtray, picked up the teacup, and waited for Zhou Guohui to make a decision
At present, we cannot be certain whether Ling Tianxiang has fallen into the hands of the U.S. military. Even if the situation worsens, we cannot ascertain whether the U.S. military has grasped his true identity. If we were to contact the second one at this moment, would it affect what he is currently doing
However ... ...
With these questions and confusions in mind, Li Minghan quickly arranged the relevant matters. Undoubtedly, the more than ten shareholders who had benefited were very dissatisfied with Huang Longfei's sudden cancellation of the merger negotiations, and Li Minghan could only brace himself and endure it. By the time he had dealt with these issues and returned to the hall, Huang Longfei had already put on his coat and was ready to depart
We should inform Er Ge about this as soon as possible, otherwise..." Wang Yilin said while picking up the phone on the desk
Absolutely, my elder brother and I are currently figuring out a solution. We both believe that such an important matter should be communicated to you as soon as possible, after all, Tianxiang is also...
I have ordered the "Snow Leopard" team to continue the search and rescue operations. The most troublesome thing now is..." Zhou Guohui hesitated for a moment, "Who will inform Second Brother about this?"
Huang Longfei silently nodded, his gaze fixed on the window facing north. Li Minghan noticed that in the years he had followed Huang Longfei, he had never seen him display such an expression as if a mountain were collapsing before him.
"How many individuals can the scope of suspicion be narrowed down to?" Wang Yilin directly asked the key question
"Lao San, is it a bit too early?" Zhou Guohui called out to Wang Yilin while simultaneously standing up
"Second brother, I am currently at Third brother's place. There is something that we all feel should be told to you"
The phone was immediately transferred in, and a middle-aged man answered the call in the living room. After hearing just two sentences, he immediately hung up the receiver and quickly walked into the bedroom, waking up a middle-aged man who was sleeping.
I am Huang Longfei," the middle-aged man began with a self-introduction, and then the voice of Zhou Guohui came through the microphone. "Brother, why are you looking for me so early? It should still be the middle of the night over there, right?"
"Second brother, drinking is a trivial matter..." At this moment, the voice from the microphone was interrupted, and another voice followed. "Second brother, I am Third Brother. This matter is very important and concerns Tianxiang."
Wang Yilin nodded slightly, and then fell silent again
Speak, I am listening
What perplexed Li Minghan was that Huang Longfei had spent a full two years planning and executing the acquisition of Foster Offshore Oil Exploration Pty Ltd in Australia. If the acquisition negotiations were successful, it would mark the largest commercial activity involving the acquisition of an overseas oil exploration company in the history of the Republic. More importantly, it would enable the Huang Group to gain control over all offshore oil fields in the southeastern region of Australia, thereby making the Huang Group the third largest oil producer in the world. From a higher perspective, this acquisition would also open the door for the Huang Group to enter the Western oil exploration industry, representing a significant victory for both the company and the nation behind it. Now, the acquisition was just a step away, with more than half of Foster's shareholders having agreed to the acquisition plan, waiting to sign the acquisition agreement the next day. However, Huang Longfei's sudden return to his home country raised concerns that all previous efforts might be in vain. Those individuals, enterprises, and even governments that did not wish to see the Huang Group acquire Foster would likely seize this opportunity to sabotage the acquisition, making it difficult to recover from the potential losses in the future. So, what exactly prompted Huang Longfei to rush back home?
Then we must be prepared for both possibilities Zhou Guohui's gaze followed Wang Yilin as he wandered around the room
Many things were beyond Zhou Guohui's expectations. Ling Tianxiang successfully completed twenty-four missions without a single failure, and he had never been injured. Zhou Guohui originally thought that he was simply lucky, favored by the god of fate. However, when problems arose, they were always the most serious ones.
Little Li, what time is it
Mr. Zhou called, stating that there is an urgent matter to discuss
Although it is very likely that Ling Tianxiang has not fallen into the hands of the U.S. military, but has instead gone into hiding and temporarily lost contact with the rear, however...
Brother, please don't joke around. Today I still need to discuss the acquisition with the CEO of Foster Company. If this is about me treating you to drinks, then after I return to my country, I promise to treat you and Lao San to a good meal.
Second brother, you need to prepare yourself mentally first
***
"I know," Wang Yilin interrupted Zhou Guohui, "how confident are you that he has not fallen into the hands of the U.S. military? If the situation worsens, how confident are you in bringing him back?"
From 20 to 50 people, the main uncertainty now is how many individuals within the military intelligence agency are aware of this operation, and whether anyone inadvertently leaked information prior to this.
Zhou Guohui hesitated for a moment, saying, "Right now, I have at most a 50% certainty that he did not fall into the hands of the U.S. military along with the documents. If the outcome is unfavorable, then it would be nearly impossible to use military action to rescue him"
The reasons for the failure of the operation are under investigation, and it can now be basically confirmed that there is an insider. Zhou Guohui lit his second cigarette, stating, "It is still unclear at which specific stage the problem occurred, but we are primarily suspecting that there is an issue within the intelligence department. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of a traitor within the 'Snow Leopard' team."
The room was surprisingly quiet, and Zhou Guohui also sat down, with only the grayish-white smoke continuously rising.
"But have you ever thought about it?" Wang Yilin stepped in front of Zhou Guohui, "If we do not inform Er Ge about this matter, and ultimately fail to resolve the issue, what kind of reaction will Er Ge have?"
A young man under the age of thirty walked out from the room inside. "What is it? It's so noisy. Don't you know that Mr. Huang is sleeping?"
If it is the former, then it can be managed. We can arrange to exchange him back through secret channels; at least we still have leverage over the United States and someone they want. Wang Yilin paused by the desk and looked at Zhou Guohui. If it is the latter, then it would be troublesome
Zhou Guohui let out a sigh, firmly extinguishing the cigarette butt in the ashtray
Zhou Guohui also let out a sigh. Before arriving at the Prime Minister's Office, he had reproached Gu Weimin for not sending someone else, but instead choosing to send Ling Tianxiang to undertake such a dangerous mission. However, what good would reproach do? Gu Weimin was already feeling regret and guilt over this.
No, if it were a matter of violating discipline, we would not disturb your rest at this time. In fact ... ...
The middle-aged man was secretly startled and immediately pointed inside. "Go in, I will receive you inside!"
Li Minghan let out a sigh, turned around, and went outside to begin the necessary arrangements
Zhou Guohui took a step back, and his expression also darkened
Then pack your luggage and also contact the domestic side, no, contact the Capital Airport to arrange our flight number, the sooner the better
Secretary Li, this is a domestic call, line 4 is a confidential line
Since childhood, Ling Tianxiang has been one of the most capable children in the second family, which led to the second elder nurturing him with particular care. Initially, if it were not for Ling Tianxiang's insistence on joining the military despite the risk of falling out with his father, Zhou Guohui would not have accepted this new recruit. Ling Tianxiang's performance in the army fully confirmed the saying: "A tiger father does not raise a dog son." When Zhou Guohui was transferred to the Western Military Region to serve as the commander of the special forces, Ling Tianxiang graduated from the special forces training school and became an official special forces soldier. At that time, in order to take good care of his nephew, Zhou Guohui went to great lengths to transfer Ling Tianxiang to the Western Military Region, originally intending for him to serve as a communications soldier in a special operations unit or in another position that required only rear service without frontline action. However, Zhou Guohui never expected that less than two years after joining the "Snow Leopard" unit, Ling Tianxiang would become the best sniper in that unit, and his performance in other assessments also ranked among the top in the unit, even showing a trend of potentially replacing the unit leader, Gu Weimin. To prevent more people from knowing about Ling Tianxiang's background, Zhou Guohui could not directly intervene in the internal position arrangements of the special operations unit, resulting in the current situation, which was the last thing he wanted to see.
I understand that this matter also needs to be addressed. Inform Foster's side that the merger meeting has been postponed. Once I have arranged the schedule, I will contact them.
I have slept for four hours?" The middle-aged man sat up, and the young man with the surname Li immediately placed a pillow behind him, then handed over the cup of water that was on the bedside table. The middle-aged man took a sip. "It's almost dawn. Are we supposed to meet with the chairman of Foster Company today?"
"Hmm, I am listening," Huang Longfei covered the microphone, gestured to the young man standing by the bedroom door, and said in a low voice, "Minghan, go record the contents of the call."
"What are you saying?" As Li Minghan struck the match, preparing to light the cigar, Huang Longfei's expression suddenly changed dramatically, and then he waved his hand. "Old Third, this matter is no joke. Are you sure?"
It is almost six o'clock
That is to say, we must consider two possibilities. Wang Yilin stood up, walked around the room twice, and then said, "One is that the U.S. military does not know his identity, and the other is that the U.S. military knows his identity"
Are you saying that we should inform Er Ge after we have further news