Chapter 517: I Forgave You

After more than ten minutes.

Zhao Zhicheng knelt before Xu Shaochen.

The knees of his pants were already worn through with faint traces of blood seeping onto the floor. It was clear that he had suffered greatly along the way.

At this point, his previous arrogance was completely gone. He looked disheveled and haggard, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

“Do you remember what I said? I told you that if you weren’t kneeling before me by tomorrow night, I wouldn’t set foot on Hong Kong again for the rest of my life.”

“It seems I overestimated you. You couldn’t even last a few hours. You’ve really disappointed me.”

Xu Shaochen sat on the sofa, looking down at Zhao Zhicheng. A slight smirk curled at the corner of his mouth, revealing a hint of mockery.

Hearing this, Zhao Zhicheng’s face alternated between pale and flushed. His heart was filled with anger and humiliation, but more than that, he felt embarrassed and utterly ashamed.

Every word Xu Shaochen spoke was like a dagger piercing Zhao Zhicheng’s heart, making him wish he could dig a hole and bury himself.

Thinking back on his previous actions, he found them utterly foolish. In Xu Shaochen’s eyes, he must have been nothing more than a jumping monkey.

Actually, he even overestimated himself. In Xu Shaochen’s eyes, he was less than a monkey. At least a monkey knows some tricks.

“Bang.”

Zhao Zhicheng kowtowed to the floor with a loud thud, his voice low and hoarse as he said, “I was blind and ignorant before. I didn’t know my place. Now I realize my mistake. Please, Young Master Xu, have mercy and spare me a way out.”

“And what if I don’t?” Xu Shaochen asked, his expression a mixture of amusement and disdain.

Zhao Zhicheng raised his head, looked at Xu Shaochen, and gritted his teeth as he said, “Young Master Xu, I admit I was blind before, but I just want to say one thing: I have over a thousand people who depend on me for their livelihood.”

The underlying message was clear: if you don’t let me go, I’ll fight you to the death. A barefoot man isn’t afraid of losing his shoes.

“Heh, not only were you ignorant before, but you’re still ignorant now. Threatening me? The one thing I fear least is threats.”

Xu Shaochen sneered coldly and said, “Our Xu Corporation owns a security company abroad, complete with a fully equipped assault team, several well-known international mercenary squads, attack helicopters, artillery, countless guns and ammunition, and even our own arms manufacturing line. Do you think your thousands of people can stop any of that?”

“Oh, and by the way, minor players like you aren’t even worth wasting that much firepower on. I met with Mr. Ye Zhaoyun just a few hours ago. Understood?”

“With just one call, I can make sure you go from eating meat to eating dirt, and maybe not even get dirt! Tell me, what do you have to fight me with?”

“There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t dare do. There’s only what I don’t want to do.”

Zhao Zhicheng’s face turned deathly pale. Kneeling on the ground, his body trembled slightly as cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

His narrow perspective and limited imagination prevented him from grasping the true power represented by the Xu Corporation.

Even now, after Xu Shaochen gave him some details, he couldn’t fully imagine what a fully equipped assault team could bring to bear.

But there was one thing he knew for sure: if Xu Shaochen wanted it, he would be dead for sure.

“Xu…Xu Shao, please have mercy! I was reckless and foolish. I’m scum, I’m nothing. Please, please spare me… I beg you…”

Zhao Zhicheng continued to kowtow, crying and sniveling, much like Chen Yaowei had done when Zhao Zhicheng had earlier used him to threaten Xu Shaochen.

“Alright, I’ll spare you. Now get out of here. The farther, the better.”

Xu Shaochen casually waved his hand, his eyes holding a hint of mockery and coldness.

Spare him? Could that be possible? Zhao Zhicheng was the first person who had dared to threaten him like this. Since he was so eager to die, he wouldn’t need to live anymore.

“R-really? Thank you, Young Master Xu! Thank you so much!”

Zhao Zhicheng was stunned at first, but then he was overjoyed, filled with the excitement of having narrowly escaped death.

Having saved his own life, he silently vowed that if he ever rose to prominence, he would make Xu Shaochen taste the bitterness of begging on his knees.

“Get out.”

Xu Shaochen waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.

“Yes, yes, thank you, Young Master Xu! I’m leaving right away!”

Zhao Zhicheng hastily agreed and scrambled out of the living room.

No sooner had Zhao Zhicheng walked out than Xu Shaochen dialed Ye Zhaoyun’s phone number.

He informed him that Zhao Zhicheng had just shown up with a gun, threatening him.

So Zhao Zhicheng would spend the rest of his life in prison, and his time behind bars would be utterly miserable.

After all, he had made a lot of enemies over the years, and quite a few of them were already in prison, waiting for him.

“Xiao Xu, that wasn’t very fair of you… but I like it.”

Watching Xu Shaochen hang up the call, Mei Liangxin remarked with a knowing expression.

Just moments ago, he had truly believed Xu Shaochen was going to let Zhao Zhicheng, that worthless fool, go free.

………

“What are you doing? Let me go! Let me go! Young Master Xu already forgave me, let me go!”

Zhao Zhicheng had just exited the villa area when he was apprehended by the police. Now, he was shouting and struggling desperately.

“Hmph! Forgave you? Zhao Zhicheng, you really are digging your own grave. You dared to bring a gun and threaten Mr. Xu? You deserve nothing less than death.”

A police officer looked at Zhao Zhicheng coldly, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

“This…this can’t be!”

Zhao Zhicheng was stunned, his mind reeling with disbelief. Xu Shaochen had clearly said he’d spare him! “Xu Shaochen, you liar!”

“Bang!”

Before he could finish shouting, Zhao Zhicheng was struck on the head with a rifle butt.

“Shut up! Keep shouting, and I’ll knock all your teeth out.”

The once-dominant Zhao Zhicheng didn’t dare make another sound, though in his heart, he cursed Xu Shaochen a thousand times over.

The hope he’d just seen was ruthlessly shattered by Xu Shaochen without mercy.

This feeling of being lifted from hell to heaven, only to be thrown back into hell, made him wish he was dead.

Xu Shaochen had given him hope with his own hands, and now he had taken it away, leaving Zhao Zhicheng with nothing but endless despair.

He knew that Hong Kong still had the death penalty.

But even greater was the dread that his life from now on would be unbearable.

Over the years, he had offended so many people. Most of them were probably already in prison.

He could already imagine what would happen to him once he got there.

His heart was filled with regret and despair. If he were given another chance, he swore he would never provoke Xu Shaochen again.

But it was too late. There’s no medicine for regret in this world.