The Stance of the Huang Consortium
Chen Ling naturally couldn't tell them that he was Six of Hearts and intended to relieve the targeted Dusk Society stronghold. After all, his relationship with the Huang Consortium wasn't solid enough for that... And he indeed needed the Huang Consortium's help, so he directly brought up the current crisis of the Red Dust Domain.
Huang Suyue was from the Red Dust Main City, and she was young. After learning about this, there was a high probability she wouldn't just sit back and wait for death. Coupled with Chen Ling's own "persona" here, and the debt of saving her life and changing her fate... With multiple factors stacked together, Chen Ling was confident he could tie them to his chariot.
Most importantly, every sentence Chen Ling spoke was the truth.
Without waiting for Uncle Quan to speak, Huang Suyue's brows tightly knit, and she said without hesitation:
"Publicly, this is a matter of national righteousness, we absolutely cannot turn a blind eye; Privately, the Special Envoy Lord has shown kindness to our Huang Consortium, and I, Huang Suyue, have always repaid my debts of gratitude... Our Huang Consortium is willing to follow the Special Envoy Lord's orders."
Seeing this, Uncle Quan's expression instantly became somewhat helpless... Unlike Huang Suyue, he had been struggling in this world for so many years and always maintained a questioning heart. For an earth-shattering event like a Realm War, relying solely on Chen Ling's single sentence, he actually didn't believe it deep down and still wanted to test and verify it.
But he didn't expect Huang Suyue to state her stance so straightforwardly. If it were an outsider, they would definitely think this girl was simple-minded and acted recklessly. But Uncle Quan understood Huang Suyue best. Her judgment and boldness were in no way inferior to those seasoned old foxes who had been in business for many years, even more daring than them!
If it weren't for Huang Suyue keeping her promise half a year ago, sparing no expense to auction off that golden treasure; if it weren't for Huang Suyue decisively taking measures the moment she received Chen Ling's message, the Huang Consortium would absolutely not be where it is today.
[Audience Expectation Value +1]
Getting the answers from the two, Chen Ling was more confident in the plan in his heart. He smiled slightly and said:
"I indeed have two things I need your help with on this trip... However, for the Huang Consortium, they shouldn't be difficult matters."
"Please speak, Special Envoy."
"First, I need a Flawless identity." Chen Ling took out a sticky note with an address written on it from his pocket and gently tossed it on the table. "My identity cannot be exposed this time, so I bought a Theater House around a suspected Wuji Domain stronghold, temporarily going by the alias 'Lin Yan,' to secretly monitor their actions.
However, I don't have a solid enough background in the Red Dust Domain. If the Police Officers or [Floating Life Painting] investigate deeply, my identity will easily be exposed... Handling this matter myself is too cumbersome, but for a top-tier consortium, there should be quite a bit of room to maneuver."
Huang Suyue and Uncle Quan exchanged a glance, and the latter nodded. "This isn't difficult. Right now, our consortium cooperates with the vast majority of small towns within the Realm. We just need to pick a remote town, forge a non-existent family, and then sign a brokerage contract with you, and naturally, you can legitimately stay in the Main City."
"Second, I need an invitation card to Mu Chunsheng's birthday banquet."
"...Mu Chunsheng?"
This request made both of them freeze. Huang Suyue reacted extremely fast and asked in a low voice:
"The consortium you just mentioned, the one suspected of reaching a cooperation agreement with the Wuji Domain... Could it be..."
"Exactly, so I need to find an opportunity to go in and investigate."
"This... has some difficulty. After all, the invitation cards are issued by the Beidou Consortium, making it hard for us to intervene." Huang Suyue fell into deep thought. "May I ask, under what identity do you wish to enter the birthday banquet?"
"Thespian of the Jinghong Theater, Lin Yan."
"...A Thespian, then there is room to maneuver." Huang Suyue's eyes lit up. "For this birthday banquet, Mu Chunsheng invited a large number of stars to attend and perform congratulatory shows, among which are also early-year Famous Actors... What our Huang Consortium mainly operates in now is entertainment-related, sending a Thespian in won't be difficult."
"That's good."
The two major difficulties Chen Ling faced were easily solved with the Huang Consortium's intervention. He checked the time and slowly stood up from the sofa.
"It's about time, I won't disturb your rest... If there's anything, you can come to the Jinghong Theater to find me."
"Oh, right."
As if he remembered something, Chen Ling suddenly turned back to look at the two.
"Do you know where in the Red Dust Main City one can get Explosives? The large-yield kind."
"Explosives?" Huang Suyue froze. "What do you need that for?"
The corners of Chen Ling's mouth rose slightly,
"Since I'm going to congratulate Mu Chunsheng on his birthday, I can't go empty-handed... No matter what, I still have to prepare a little gift, right?"
[Audience Expectation Value +3]
[Current Expectation Value: 54%]
...
The day of the birthday banquet.
A misty drizzle fell from the grayish-white sky. For the Red Dust Domain, the rainy season seemed to be the main theme here. When the hazy water vapor rose from the ground, the colors of the weeping willows and peach blossoms seemed to smudge in the air, dreamy and illusory.
The neon sign of the Great World Cabaret flashed silently in the dense curtain of rain. By the window of the VIP room on the second floor, Li Ruohong, wearing a Suit and leather shoes, adjusted his tie in front of the mirror. Looking at his rather temperamental self in front of him, a confident smile rose on the corners of his mouth.
"This time, let's see if I don't charm those little chicks to death?"
Just as he was muttering to himself, the Cabaret manager knocked lightly on the door and said respectfully, "Brother Hong, your car is ready. As you ordered, it's parked at the back door."
"Got it."
Li Ruohong looked down at his watch, picked up the gift box in the bag on the table, and walked straight out the door.
His figure passed through the corridor on the second floor, his peripheral vision looking at the lobby downstairs. Today's Cabaret guests were exceptionally numerous. Although it still couldn't compare to the full house before the incident, compared to the past few days, it was already very good. This made Li Ruohong's already good mood increasingly joyful.
Li Ruohong walked straight to the door of VIP Box 001. After looking around and making sure no one was there, he raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door three times.
After a brief silence, this box, which hadn't been opened for who knows how long, finally opened slowly from the inside. Two men wearing black bodyguard Suits with cold and severe appearances were standing under the dim light, the sharp gleam in their eyes faintly flashing.
"The car is ready." Li Ruohong smiled. "You two, come with me."
The two exchanged a glance and nodded calmly.
Li Ruohong led the two down the stairs step by step, deliberately avoiding the crowded lobby, and walked straight towards the Cabaret's back door through the back kitchen path.
As Li Ruohong pushed open the back door, a black car was parked at the back entrance, seemingly having waited for a long time.
"Phew... Finally out." One of the "bodyguards" closed his eyes, feeling the coldness of the raindrops hitting his face, and took a deep breath, as if reminiscing about this natural and fresh air.
"Get in the car first." The other person spoke plainly. "If everything goes smoothly, from now on we can live in this kind of environment every day."
The three got into the car one after another. As the vehicle started up with a buzzing sound, it draped itself in the rain curtain and slowly disappeared at the end of the street.
Almost at the same time the three went far away, a chef in the back kitchen silently walked to an unmanned corner and pressed the Walkie-talkie hidden in his clothes:
"They've set off."