The twenty armored vehicles idled quietly at the foot of the subterranean ramp as Lin Mo stepped toward the dispatch platform.
Tie Niu walked half a step behind him, his hand resting on the door of the lead Maybach command SUV.
“You mentioned a final defensive lock, Chairman Lin?” Tie Niu asked.
“The convoy is ready, Tie Niu,” Lin Mo replied calmly. “Our rear defense in Jiangcheng is what we are sealing now.”
Su Wan stepped forward with her executive tablet.
“Chairman Lin is right,” Su Wan agreed. “We are moving twenty armored vehicles and fifty elite guardians to Tianhai Capital. If provincial clans try to strike our rear in Jiangcheng while we are on the road, our home enterprises cannot be left exposed.”
Lin Mo walked over to Master Lu Jian and the branch directors waiting near the elevators.
Among them stood young Chen Yu from the battery factory, Clinic Director Xu from the community hospitals, and Lin Xiaoxiao from logistics. Above their heads, their Goodness Scores glowed in honest green between 86/100 and 93/100.
Leaving a home base unguarded while marching into enemy territory is foolish, Lin Mo thought. The Four Tycoon Clans expect me to rush blindly into Tianhai. I prefer to lock my backyard so tight a mosquito cannot slip through.
Lin Mo addressed the three directors.
“Master Lu, Director Xu, Chen Yu,” Lin Mo said in a measured voice. “While we establish our beachhead in Tianhai, you three hold executive authority over Jiangcheng. Master Lu, once our defensive lock here is finalized, you will fly to Tianhai to lead our engineering team.”
Lin Mo nodded to Su Wan.
“Unlock the municipal autonomous reserve fund.”
Su Wan tapped her tablet screen.
“What is the amount, Chairman Lin?” Su Wan asked.
“Ten million yuan flat,” Lin Mo instructed. “Chen Yu receives three million for battery maintenance and spare parts. Director Xu receives three million for community clinics. Master Lu receives four million for security grid upkeep. Every cent is cleared into your independent branch accounts right now.”
The three directors stood frozen.
Chen Yu gripped his clipboard with shaking hands.
“Chairman Lin... that is ten million yuan in emergency cash,” Chen Yu stammered. “You already gave us a full production budget on Monday!”
“Monday was for regular production,” Lin Mo smiled faintly. “This ten million is for absolute independence. If outside clans try to tamper with our facilities or bribe local officials, you do not need my signature. Spend this cash on the spot to crush any threat.”
“Understood, Chairman Lin!” Master Lu bowed deeply, his eyes shining with loyalty. “I will lock down every brick in Jiangcheng and join you in Tianhai at once!”
Tap.
Su Wan confirmed the transfer with Lin Mo’s Black-Gold Sovereign Benevolence Card.
BEEP.
A grand chime rang out inside Lin Mo’s mind:
[Ding! Detected spending of ¥10,000,000.00 RMB on Jiangcheng Municipal Autonomous Branch Reserves & Emergency Funds!]
[Target Beneficiaries: Master Lu Jian (92/100), Chen Yu (89/100), Clinic Director Xu (88/100), and Jiangcheng Branch Operations (Goodness: 86–93/100)!]
[Purpose: Independent operating reserves, local emergency medical funds, and facility defense grids!]
[Pure Altruistic Intent Verified: Protecting municipal livelihood, safeguarding thousands of working families, and securing local stability!]
[Triggering 100x Pure Benevolence System Refund!]
[Cash Refund Received: +¥1,000,000,000.00 RMB!]
[Funds deposited directly into Host Personal Liquid Vault!]
[Personal Liquid Vault: ¥107,000,000,000.00 RMB!]
[Benevolence Merit Points: +1,000,000 Legacy BMP (+10,000 Sovereign BMP) | Total BMP: 199,949,528 Legacy BMP (1,999,495 Sovereign BMP)!]
[Good People Network Status: 10,000 Verified Righteous Allies (Solidified Provincial Sovereign Tier)!]
One hundred and seven billion yuan, Lin Mo thought, deeply satisfied. Another clean billion in cash. Spending ten million on my loyal managers brings me a hundred times that amount.
At that moment, the warm golden energy in Lin Mo’s dantian surged.
His limbs felt weightless. His muscles, bones, and meridians hummed with pure power. His physical strength reached the absolute limit of Rank 2 Peak Martial—Half-Step Grandmaster.
He could feel the thin spiritual barrier separating him from Rank 3. Only one small step remained before his internal qi condensed into pure Golden Benevolence Qi.
Lin Mo opened his eyes.
With his Half-Step Grandmaster breakthrough, the golden lotus in his pupils spun with even greater clarity, and his [Cultivator Halo Detection & 20km Provincial Distress Radar] locked onto the resonance shift across the garage.
He looked at Tie Niu.
Resonating with the convoy’s readiness, Tie Niu’s Bronze-Gold Shield Halo had condensed until it looked like solid cast metal.
He glanced at Master Lu.
Backed by the newly wired reserve fund, Master Lu’s Mountain-Forge Halo pulsed with brighter earthen strength, anchoring the sanctuary structure above them.
No one can hide their true power from these eyes, Lin Mo thought. In Tianhai Capital, where ancient families boast about their hidden experts, I will see every ambush coming from miles away.
Lin Mo turned toward the lead Maybach.
“All accounts are settled,” Lin Mo said. “Convoy, move out!”
VROOOM!
The twenty heavy engines roared, vibrating through the concrete floor. The lead SUV rolled forward, climbing the ramp toward the rain-slicked highway.
***
Four hundred miles north, an old green-skin bus rattled along the provincial highway.
Its diesel engine coughed gray smoke as it bounced through potholes. The windshield wipers squeaked against the steady rain, smearing grit across the glass.
Inside, the air smelled of damp raincoats, garlic sausages, and sour noodles.
Sitting in the third row from the back was Liu Yan.
Her Goodness Score hovered above her forehead in an ugly crimson: 14/100.
Liu Yan wore a cheap imitation designer trench coat made of thin vinyl. The plastic gold buckle at her waist was peeling.
In her lap sat a fake leather bag missing half of its metal studs.
Her face was pale and tired. Dark bags sagged beneath her bloodshot eyes. She had spent twelve hours on hard wooden seats after fleeing Jiangcheng in the middle of the night.
In her coat pocket was a cracked phone and one hundred and twenty yuan in crumpled notes. She had scraped together one hundred and sixty yuan before leaving Jiangcheng and spent forty yuan on her rural bus ticket, leaving that last handful of cash as every cent she owned.
Yet, Liu Yan kept her chin high.
She opened a plastic compact mirror and dabbed chalky powder onto her peeling nose.
Beside her sat an elderly woman in a patched blue poncho. The old woman had two wicker baskets of leeks and cabbages between her rubber boots. Her Goodness Score showed an honest 78/100.
The old woman shifted slightly to make room on the narrow seat.
Liu Yan sneered, pulling her synthetic coat away.
“Watch where you put those dirty greens, old woman!” Liu Yan snapped. “This coat is imported! If you get farm dirt on my outfit, your vegetables cannot pay for the cleaning bill!”
The old woman blinked in surprise.
“I am sorry, young lady,” the old woman said politely. “The bus is crowded. I was just trying not to bump your knees.”
“Of course it is crowded,” Liu Yan scoffed loudly for nearby passengers to hear. “I would never ride this filthy bus if my flight had not been canceled by fog. A woman like me belongs in first class, sipping champagne!”
A college student across the aisle looked up from his textbook with a skeptical smirk.
Liu Yan saw the smirk and lifted her phone.
“Look at this,” Liu Yan announced. “My boyfriend is Monsieur Bernard. He is the Executive Director for French Haute Couture in Tianhai Capital. He manages three hundred luxury boutiques across the province.”
The old vegetable vendor tilted her head.
“A foreign gentleman?” the old woman asked.
“A true European aristocrat!” Liu Yan bragged loudly. “He drives a red Maserati and owns a riverfront penthouse. As soon as we arrive at the northern terminal, his private chauffeur will pick me up in a limousine!”
The young student across the aisle frowned.
“If your boyfriend has a limousine and a penthouse,” the student asked, “why did he put you on a forty-yuan bus that stops at every village?”
Liu Yan’s face turned bright red.
“What do you know, broke kid?” Liu Yan screeched. “Bernard had emergency meetings with foreign diplomats all night! He told me to take the first ride available so we could meet at the Tianhai Cloud-Crown Marina Hotel! He is buying me a luxury yacht this weekend!”
Passengers exchanged amused glances. Several people hid chuckles behind their jackets.
Nobody believed her.
Liu Yan gripped her bag, her teeth grinding in anger.
Laugh all you want, you miserable peasants, Liu Yan thought, glaring at them. You will spend your lives eating dirt. Once Bernard introduces me to Tianhai high society, I will be a billionaire’s wife!
She unlocked her phone, staring at her chat with “Bernard.”
The last message from Bernard had arrived six hours earlier:
[My sweet rose, I am waiting at the Cloud-Crown Marina. Bring your ID and five thousand yuan in cash for the customs fee, and our luxury suite will open!]
Liu Yan bit her lip.
She did not have five thousand yuan. She only had one hundred and twenty.
It does not matter, Liu Yan told herself. Bernard loves me. Once he sees me, he will pay the fee himself.
Then, memories of Jiangcheng flashed in her mind.
She remembered Lin Mo standing outside Grand Golden-Plume Plaza. She remembered the gleaming armored Maybachs. She remembered ten thousand citizens cheering Lin Mo’s name.
She remembered Zhao Kun and his father dragged away in handcuffs, reduced to bankrupt convicts in yellow debtor vests.
Toxic jealousy burned inside Liu Yan’s chest.
Lin Mo is just a lucky fraud, Liu Yan thought, digging her nails into her purse. He found some dirty underground sponsor in Jiangcheng. Jiangcheng is just a third-tier backwater! In Tianhai Capital, the Four Tycoon Clans rule supreme. A peasant like Lin Mo will be crushed within five minutes of arriving!
She peered out the dirt-streaked bus window.
A highway sign appeared in green reflective paint:
[TIANHAI PROVINCIAL CAPITAL - 30 KM]
Liu Yan smoothed her messy hair and smiled a grotesque, spiteful smile.
“Just wait, Lin Mo,” Liu Yan muttered under her breath. “When I become the lady of Cloud-Crown Marina, I will have Bernard wipe out your little business!”
***
Two hundred miles behind the noisy bus, the twenty-vehicle Taichu convoy moved with silent power.
The matte-black Maybachs cut through the rain like iron warships. Their graphene motors made almost no sound, only the faint hum of tires gripping wet asphalt.
Inside the lead command vehicle, Lin Mo sat in the leather captain’s chair.
Su Wan monitored the encrypted telemetry on a widescreen display. Behind them, Little Guo’er was fast asleep, wrapped in a cashmere blanket with her head resting on Grandma Chen’s lap.
Dr. Gu Qinghe sat quietly, checking Little Guo’er’s pulse.
Tie Niu drove with steady precision, his hands resting easily on the steering wheel.
“Chairman Lin,” Tie Niu said, checking the mirrors. “We crossed the northern river bridge. We are thirty miles from the mountain pass. The road is clear.”
“Maintain eighty miles per hour,” Lin Mo replied calmly. “There is no rush.”
Lin Mo closed his eyes, sensing his dantian.
The golden qi circulated smoothly, sharpening his spiritual senses with every mile north.
Suddenly, a loud alarm broke the quiet cabin.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The dashboard satellite communicator flashed bright red.
Su Wan grabbed the handset and decrypted the incoming transmission.
“This is Executive Secretary Su,” Su Wan said. “Identify yourself.”
A panicked voice crackled through the vehicle’s speakers over roaring wind and pounding rain:
“President Su! Chairman Lin! This is Captain Zheng from the advance cold-chain team!”
Su Wan sat upright, her face turning cold.
“Captain Zheng, report your situation,” Su Wan commanded. “You were scheduled to dock at the Tianhai Cloud-Crown Port two hours ago!”
“We arrived at the port, President Su!” Captain Zheng shouted over heavy static. “We arrived with three river barges carrying eighty tons of Taichu medicine! But the port authorities refused to open the docking gates! They claim our permits are invalid!”
Tie Niu’s knuckles tightened on the steering wheel.
“Who refused to open the gates?” Tie Niu growled.
“The Tianhai Cloud-Crown Five-Star Hotel & Marina!” Captain Zheng yelled. “The general manager, Manager Wei, came out with fifty guards armed with steel batons! He locked the flood barriers, cut the shore power cables, and left our barges drifting in the river during this storm!”
Through the speaker came the sounds of crashing waves and shouting men.
“Manager Wei said that by order of the Four Tycoon Clans—the Song, Murong, Ouyang, and Qin families—no vessel or vehicle bearing the name Taichu can touch Tianhai soil!” Captain Zheng cried. “Our advance trucks on the shore are surrounded! They are trying to seize our medicine right now!”
Su Wan looked toward Lin Mo, her eyes cold with anger.
Tie Niu looked in the rearview mirror, his muscles tensing.
“Chairman Lin,” Tie Niu said, his voice hard as iron. “Give the order. I will take five Maybachs and smash their gates to pieces.”
Lin Mo did not raise his voice.
He sat quietly in his leather chair, a cold, dangerous smile appearing on his face.
The golden lotus spun slowly in his dark pupils.
“Manager Wei,” Lin Mo murmured softly, his tone relaxed and fearless. “The Four Tycoon Clans want to play games before we even reach the city.”
Lin Mo tapped the armrest with his index finger.
“Tie Niu,” Lin Mo said.
“Ready, Chairman Lin!” Tie Niu responded.
“Floor the accelerator,” Lin Mo commanded, his eyes shining like blades. “Let us go see how high the gates of Tianhai really are.”