Chapter 609: How Could It Be a Joke

You don’t know until you hear it, and once you do, you’re shocked.

If it weren’t for Zhao Li and Liang Huan, the direct descendants of their respective families, personally explaining, Xu Shaochen wouldn’t have been able to imagine it.

Behind the glamorous exteriors and moral superiority of these great families lies a world full of dirty methods and shady deals.

They used the resources they controlled to covertly rob others of even more wealth, mastering the art of murder without drawing blood.

“Tsk tsk tsk… The history of your family’s rise to power is basically written with the blood and tears of others.”

Xu Shaochen turned off the camera and gave them a faint, mocking smile.

The two had been talking for over half an hour, and what they revealed was far too much to be easily recorded. Xu Shaochen was certain they were still holding back some secrets, but that didn’t matter. What they had already revealed was sufficient.

“Young Master Xu, you’re not that naive, are you? The resources in this world are limited, and to get more, you have to take them from others. What if they don’t agree? Then you have to use every method possible to make them agree, and make sure they can’t retaliate. Isn’t that just common sense?”

“In reality, we’re all the same kind of people. Maybe our methods are more intense, but we’re all doing the same thing. It’s just that the Xu Corporation’s methods are a bit more gentle. To be blunt, even though you might not want to hear it, the Xu Corporation has grown into the monster it is today by stepping over countless corpses. What right do you have to look down on us?”

Zhao Li’s calm demeanor cracked as he sneered in response to Xu Shaochen’s mocking smile.

Xu Shaochen paused, then with a touch of self-mockery, said, “You’re right. In some ways, we are similar.”

“Haha, Xu Shao, you’re not going to let us go now, are you?” Zhao Li said smugly, feeling like he had exposed Xu Shaochen’s hypocrisy.

Bang!

The next second, Xu Shaochen kicked him to the ground.

“You’re insane!”

Zhao Li was furious, but more than anything else, panic seized him. He thought Xu Shaochen was about to go back on his word.

Xu Shaochen stood over him, staring down coldly, and said, “We may be alike in some ways, but at least I still have a conscience.”

“Conscience?” Zhao Li chuckled but said nothing more. He hadn’t heard that word in a long time.

In his world, conscience was useless. Reaching your goals required any means necessary, and conscience would just hold you back from success.

Bang!

Xu Shaochen kicked him in the stomach again.

“Ah!”

Zhao Li cried out in pain.

“Those two kicks were just because I find you annoying. It shouldn’t affect our friendship, right?”

Xu Shaochen squatted down beside Zhao Li and lightly patted his cheek.

A person like Zhao Li, just as he himself admitted, would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

So, friendship with him was pointless, utterly worthless.

If that video Xu Shaochen held ever went missing, Zhao Li would undoubtedly team up with the Kong Family to turn against him without hesitation.

Cursing silently in his mind, Zhao Li managed to say, “No, it’s fine. It won’t affect anything at all.”

“Good. After all, I really do want to be friends with you, Young Master Zhao.”

Xu Shaochen smiled casually, then gestured for Long Yi to come over. Long Yi obediently approached, using a knife to cut the tape binding Zhao Li’s and Liang Huan’s hands and feet.

As soon as they were untied, the first thing both men did was stretch, their limbs sore from the constriction.

“Fourth Young Master Zhao, Second Young Master Liang, I hope you’ll reconsider what Chen Ju proposed about the partnership back at the bar.”

Xu Shaochen looked at them with a calm gaze.

Zhao Li and Liang Huan exchanged glances and nodded. “We agree.”

At the bar, they had thought Chen Ju was delusional.

But now that they knew who Xu Shaochen truly was, they understood where Chen Ju’s confidence came from.

With Xu Shaochen’s help, Chen Ju would definitely be able to swallow up all the gold mines.

But doing so would make him a target for the remaining six families which was why he needed their Zhao and Liang families on board to share the burden.

Once they realized this, any thought of rejecting Chen Ju’s offer vanished.

Besides, Xu Shaochen still held their dirty little secrets. How could they refuse?

“By the way, I have a bit of a grudge with the Kong Family, and sooner or later, we’re going to settle it, even if it means one of us won’t make it out alive.”

Zhao Li and Liang Huan flinched at his words. A bit of a grudge? It’s already blood-feud level! Do you even understand what ‘a bit’ means?

Before Xu Shaochen could finish his sentence, they cut him off. They had already guessed what he was going to say.

“Xu Shao, we are not like Chen Ju. As long as Chen Ju doesn’t mess up, he’s guaranteed to be the next head of the Cheng Family. Whatever he does, his entire family backs him.”

“We aren’t so fortunate. People like Liang Huan and me have several rivals within our own families. Even if we got into a conflict with the Kong Family, it would just be seen as a minor squabble. Our families would never risk making enemies with the Kong Family for us because we’re not important enough.”

“And forget about helping you fight the Kong Family. That’s even more impossible.”

Zhao Li made it clear—helping Xu Shaochen fight the Kong Family was out of the question because they had no power within their own families to do so.

Of course, they didn’t want to help in the first place, but they were smart enough not to say that part aloud.

Even if they could help, they wouldn’t admit it, because they wanted to use Xu Shaochen’s power to advance their own positions within their families.

Xu Shaochen looked at them with a faint smile. “So, unless you two become the heirs of your families, nothing’s going to change, right?”

“Exactly. Unless we reach Chen Ju’s position, where we become our families’ future leaders, our families wouldn’t back us in any conflict.”

“When family honor is at stake, they won’t compromise. Only then would they fully support us.”

Zhao Li was blatant about his ambitions. He stopped and turned to Xu Shaochen, “Besides, Young Master Xu, didn’t you just promise to help us earlier? Or was that just a joke?”

Liang Huan, though silent, stared intently at Xu Shaochen with the same unreadable expression as Zhao Li.

Xu Shaochen had blackmailed them with the video, but they were eager to leverage his power for their own rise.

“How could that be a joke?” Xu Shaochen smiled and shook his head.

Zhao Li and Liang Huan both breathed a sigh of relief, a smile of understanding creeping across their faces.

Then Xu Shaochen added, “What I said earlier was just to trick you. Of course, it wasn’t a joke.”

The smiles on their faces froze instantly, and their bodies stiffened like statues.