Tie Niu slammed his heavy combat boot onto the gas pedal.
The twin turbochargers of the lead Maybach command SUV roared with a deep, muffled growl. The vehicle surged forward into the dark, rain-swept highway, leading the twenty armored trucks through the mountain pass at ninety miles per hour.
Rain pounded relentlessly against the reinforced windshield. Outside the tinted glass, dark pine trees whipped past in the wind like shadows.
Inside the quiet, climate-controlled cabin, the dashboard satellite communicator crackled with frantic noise.
“Captain Zheng,” Lin Mo said, leaning toward the console microphone. “This is Lin Mo. Take a deep breath and give me the exact situation at the marina.”
Through the speakers, the sounds of crashing river waves and shouting guards cut through the static.
“Chairman Lin!” Captain Zheng’s voice sounded ragged, but hearing Lin Mo’s calm tone seemed to steady his breathing. “We have three river transport barges anchored fifty yards off the marina pier. We have eighty tons of vacuum-packed freeze-dried herbal concentrates and emergency medical supplies in our cargo holds.”
Dr. Gu Qinghe leaned forward from the second row, his face grave.
“Chairman Lin,” Dr. Gu warned in a tense whisper. “Those eighty tons contain five thousand doses of our Taichu Heart-Nourishing Elixirs and thirty crates of rare mountain warming herbs. They are meant for the free charity clinic at the provincial hospital and Little Guo’er’s stabilization teas. If the cargo temperature rises above five degrees, the live enzymes will spoil!”
Lin Mo nodded slightly, his expression steady.
“What did Manager Wei do?” Lin Mo asked into the microphone.
“Manager Wei shut off the pier’s shore-power connection,” Captain Zheng reported, his voice filled with fury. “Our barge refrigeration systems are running on backup diesel generators. We only have six hours of fuel left in our auxiliary tanks! On the docks, twenty of our advance refrigerated trucks are trapped behind hydraulic steel barriers.”
Captain Zheng paused, coughing against the rain before continuing.
“Fifty private security guards from the marina are blocking our drivers from leaving the parking lot,” Captain Zheng said. “Manager Wei told us that the Song, Murong, Ouyang, and Qin Tycoon Clans hold fifty-one percent of the marina port company. He said no Jiangcheng company has permission to land cargo in Tianhai without their written stamp. He gave us until sunrise to sign over our cargo as an ‘inspection deposit,’ or they will tow our barges out to sea!”
Tie Niu let out a low snort, gripping the leather-wrapped steering wheel so hard the stitching stretched.
“An inspection deposit,” Tie Niu muttered, his voice rumbling like distant thunder. “They want to steal eighty tons of life-saving medicine and call it an inspection.”
Beside Lin Mo, Su Wan adjusted her glasses, her eyes sharp and cold.
“Tianhai Cloud-Crown Hotel & Marina is a publicly registered international deep-water dock,” Su Wan said, tapping her tablet rapidly. “Under provincial maritime commerce statutes, refusing emergency docking during a Level 3 gale is a direct violation of maritime law. Manager Wei is committing an illegal blockade.”
Lin Mo leaned back against the leather headrest, a quiet chuckle slipping from his chest.
“They blocked our trucks at a five-star marina hotel?” Lin Mo mused softly. “How very considerate of them.”
Su Wan looked over, surprised.
“Considerate, Chairman Lin?” Su Wan asked.
“I was wondering where we were going to house our fifty drivers and security team when we arrived in Tianhai,” Lin Mo said, his lips curling into a deadpan smirk. “A five-star waterfront hotel with private yacht slips sounds like a wonderful provincial dormitory.”
Rich families always think a padlock and fifty private guards make them untouchable, Lin Mo thought, amused by their arrogance. They spent generations building high walls to keep working people out. They forget that any wall can be bought, bulldozed, or torn down by breakfast.
Manager Wei thinks cutting shore power to a medical barge is a masterstroke of corporate pressure, Lin Mo added in his thoughts, shaking his head. He forgets that diesel can be bought by the tanker truck. Arrogant tycoons always assume working men will beg on their knees the moment the lights flicker.
Lin Mo tapped the console screen.
“Captain Zheng, how many men do you have on the barges and at the dock?” Lin Mo asked.
“Thirty men total, Chairman Lin,” Captain Zheng answered. “Ten crewmen across the three river barges, and twenty cold-chain drivers trapped near the hotel loading docks. Every man has refused to sign Manager Wei’s papers.”
Lin Mo checked his spiritual radar.
Through the encrypted system channel, thirty clean green morality scores flashed on his screen, ranging from 86/100 to 90/100.
“Good,” Lin Mo said. “Listen carefully, Captain Zheng. Tell your men not to engage in physical violence with the guards yet. Do not sign a single paper, and do not let them touch the cargo hatches.”
“Understood, Chairman Lin!” Captain Zheng shouted. “We will guard the hatches with our lives!”
“You will not need to risk your lives,” Lin Mo replied warmly. “Taichu does not ask its workers to fight empty-handed.”
Lin Mo looked at Su Wan.
“Su Wan, unlock our emergency maritime operations fund.”
“Ready, Chairman Lin,” Su Wan answered, her stylus hovering over the authorization screen. “What is your allocation?”
“Ten million yuan flat,” Lin Mo commanded in a clear, resonant tone. “Three million yuan to immediately hire the top three maritime law firms in Tianhai to file emergency maritime injunctions against Cloud-Crown Marina. Two million yuan to dispatch private maritime refueling tenders to pump fresh diesel directly into Captain Zheng’s barges from the harbor side.”
Lin Mo paused, his eyes softening.
“The remaining five million yuan will be wired directly to Captain Zheng and all thirty stranded crewmen and drivers as an emergency hazard bonus. That is over one hundred and sixty thousand yuan in cleared cash to each man on duty right now. Tell them to turn on the cabin heaters, drink hot tea, and wait for my arrival.”
The static on the radio suddenly fell completely quiet.
Captain Zheng stood on the wet deck of his barge, holding the satellite receiver against his ear. His jaw dropped.
“Chairman Lin... five million yuan in cash bonuses?” Captain Zheng stammered, his voice choking with emotion. “We are just sitting on our boats waiting out the rain!”
“You are sitting in the freezing cold holding the line for Taichu,” Lin Mo said gently. “A man who stands firm against fifty armed guards deserves more than empty words of encouragement. The money is already in your accounts. Stay warm, Captain Zheng. Our convoy is three hours away.”
Tap.
Su Wan pressed Lin Mo’s Black-Gold Sovereign Benevolence Card against the terminal.
BEEP.
A magnificent, celestial bell chimed deep inside Lin Mo’s consciousness:
[Ding! Detected spending of ¥10,000,000.00 RMB on Stranded Maritime Cold-Chain Advance Team Relief & Legal Mobilization!]
[Target Beneficiaries: Captain Zheng (91/100) and 30 Stranded Maritime Crewmen and Drivers (Goodness: 86–90/100)!]
[Purpose: Emergency maritime fuel delivery, top-tier legal injunction retainers, and direct crew hazard bonuses (¥166,666 each)!]
[Pure Altruistic Intent Verified: Defending frontline transport workers against predatory corporate extortion, securing emergency medical cargo, and safeguarding human dignity!]
[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: ¥108,000,000,000.00 RMB!]
[Historic Financial Milestone Reached: Personal Liquid Vault Reaches ¥108,000,000,000.00 RMB!]
[Benevolence Merit Points: +1,000,000 Legacy BMP (+10,000 Sovereign BMP) | Total BMP: 200,949,528 Legacy BMP (2,009,495 Sovereign BMP)!]
[Good People Network Status: 10,000 Verified Righteous Allies (Solidified Provincial Sovereign Tier)!]
One hundred and eight billion yuan, Lin Mo thought, a wave of profound satisfaction rolling through his chest. A hundred and eight billion in cleared, untaxed, liquid cash sitting in my vault. When I started with that ten-thousand-yuan hospital refund, people laughed at me. Now I can buy entire corporate districts with pocket money.
Across the satellite speaker, the sound of thirty men cheering and weeping echoed through the cabin.
“Chairman Lin, we got the bank alerts!” Captain Zheng shouted, his voice cracking with pure gratitude. “Every brother received a hundred and sixty-six thousand yuan! The diesel refueling boat is already heading toward our barges from the western harbor! The men say they will defend this medicine until the oceans dry up!”
“Rest and stay dry, Captain Zheng,” Lin Mo smiled. “I will see you at the dock.”
Lin Mo ended the call.
In the second row, Grandma Chen opened an insulated food container, handing a warm mug of hot ginger broth to Dr. Gu Qinghe.
“Chairman Lin,” Grandma Chen said with a kind, wrinkled smile. “You treat your workers like your own family. The heavens will surely bless this journey.”
“Grandma Chen is right,” Dr. Gu said, sipping the warm broth. “In my sixty years of practicing medicine, I have treated governors, generals, and wealthy merchants. Most of them would not give ten yuan to a freezing sailor. Chairman Lin gives ten million without blinking.”
On the seat beside Grandma Chen, Little Guo’er stirred in her sleep.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawning softly as she held her small jade-lotus locket.
“Uncle Mo,” Little Guo’er whispered, looking up at Lin Mo with wide, innocent eyes. “Are we in Tianhai yet? Is the lotus flower there?”
Lin Mo turned in his chair, reaching out to gently tuck the cashmere blanket around her shoulders.
“Not yet, Little Guo’er,” Lin Mo said softly. “We are crossing the mountain pass right now. In a few hours, we will reach the city. Uncle Mo will bring you the finest lotus flower in the world.”
Little Guo’er smiled contentedly, resting her cheek against Grandma Chen’s shoulder, and drifted back to sleep.
The radio crackled again as Captain Gao’s voice came through from the tactical scout vehicle trailing fifty yards behind.
“Chairman Lin,” Captain Gao reported over the encrypted short-range frequency. “Our rear radar detected two black sedans following our convoy since we crossed the county line. They have provincial license plates from Tianhai. Do you want my scouts to box them into the guardrails?”
Lin Mo looked into the rearview camera monitor, spotting the distant headlights.
“Let them follow, Captain Gao,” Lin Mo replied calmly. “They are just scouts sent by the Four Tycoon Clans. Let them watch our trucks roll into their city.”
Shen Qiaoqiao’s cheerful voice chimed in over the kitchen van channel.
“Chairman Lin, the mobile kitchen has prepared seventy hot meals for Captain Zheng’s crew,” Shen Qiaoqiao reported. “We have insulated thermal boxes packed with braised beef and steamed rice, ready to deploy the second we arrive at the marina.”
A warm meal and a hundred and sixty thousand yuan in cash, Lin Mo thought, his inner voice deadpan and dry. Manager Wei thinks fifty private guards with batons can stop men who were just fed hot beef and given two years of salary. He has no idea what kind of disaster is heading his way.
The convoy crested the highest ridge of the mountain highway.
The thick mountain fog began to thin out. Below the winding asphalt road, the distant lights of the provincial plain began to flicker through the dark rain.
Tianhai Capital lay ahead.
It was a sprawling metropolis of towering skyscrapers, glowing neon bridges, and deep river channels.
Tie Niu glanced at the navigation display on the dashboard.
“Chairman Lin,” Tie Niu reported, his voice low and steady. “We are five miles from the Jiangcheng–Tianhai border tollgate. The toll plaza is straight ahead.”
“Maintain current speed,” Lin Mo instructed calmly.
Lin Mo closed his eyes, activating his newly evolved [Cultivator Halo Detection & 20km Provincial Distress Radar].
The golden lotus in his pupils began to rotate slowly.
His spiritual perception expanded outward in a golden spherical wave, sweeping over the asphalt highway, the steel guardrails, and the dark hills bordering the expressway.
His radar reached one mile.
Two miles.
Three miles.
Four miles.
Suddenly, a piercing spiritual alarm flashed across Lin Mo’s consciousness.
BZZZZT!
Inside the golden sphere of his mind, a blinding streak of energy ignited five miles ahead, near the side of the border highway.
It was not a weak green morality aura.
It was not the pale white light of an ordinary civilian.
It was a dazzling, razor-sharp Golden-Lotus Sword Halo, flaring like a miniature sun through the torrential rain!
The halo burned with a breathtaking purity rating: Goodness: 97/100!
Yet, interwoven with that brilliant golden light was a dense, ominous haze of crimson hostility and jagged sword intent!
Eight dark crimson markers surrounded that golden lotus, holding heavy steel weapons inside an old wooden roadside shack. The crimson light surged and clashed against the golden aura, like a pack of rabid wolves surrounding a lone crane in a thunderstorm.
Lin Mo’s eyes snapped open.
The golden lotus in his pupils burned with sharp, electric brilliance.
“Chairman Lin?” Su Wan noticed his sudden shift in posture and leaned forward. “Did something happen?”
Lin Mo stared into the dark rain ahead, his fingers tightening slightly against the leather armrest.
“Tie Niu,” Lin Mo said, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper.
“Chairman Lin?”
“Keep your foot on the gas,” Lin Mo ordered, his eyes locked onto the distant lights of the highway. “Three miles ahead, beside the old border tollgate. Someone is fighting for their life.”