However, it seems now that... this plan might not be appropriate.
He hadn't truly eliminated the threat from the black market assassin network; he'd only temporarily downplayed it. And now, his every move was certainly impossible to hide from the black market assassin network's intelligence network. So even if he revealed his past life's identity and name in front of his family, the mastermind behind the black market assassin network would likely find out immediately.
In this way, the fact that Zhou Ziwei had been reincarnated could no longer be concealed. And once this secret fell into the hands of the person who controlled Zhou Ziwei's life and death, the consequences would be terrifying. No one in this world doesn't want to live forever, and although Zhou Ziwei didn't have the elixir of immortality, for him, who possessed the secret of reincarnation, it was equivalent to possessing the secret of life and death.
Anyone would be interested in something like this, and as a result, the danger that Zhou Ziwei had temporarily downplayed would immediately become apparent. At that point, not only would Zhou Ziwei be in danger, but Yang's parents would also likely fall into the hands of the black market assassins and become hostages to force Zhou Ziwei to reveal the secret of his rebirth.
Zhou Ziwei absolutely wouldn't allow such a thing to happen, so... it seems that until the problem of the black market assassin network is truly resolved, his desire to reappear before the world as Yang Hongtao with dignity will be difficult to achieve. Zhou Ziwei really didn't know how to explain to Yu Xiaoru, and he was also worried that Yu Xiaoru wouldn't be able to stand his excuses, so he had no choice but to postpone it for now. If Yu Xiaoru really pressed him too hard, he might have to reveal his secret to her alone and let her know the truth.
Sigh... It's really not easy to be yourself again with dignity...
Because it wasn't peak tourist season, there weren't many passengers on the train, and the sleeper carriages, where tickets were almost more expensive than plane tickets, were even less crowded.
Zhou Ziwei and Xiao Mei were in a four-person sleeper room. However, the two beds opposite them remained empty until the car started moving. Zhou Ziwei breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Xiao Mei, who still looked dazed after half a month of recuperation, and sighed slightly. He then took out two soul beads, bringing the most ordinary low-grade soul bead close to the other high-quality soul bead that had fused with four souls. After letting the high-quality soul bead absorb about eight or nine tenths of the soul power from the ordinary soul bead, Zhou Ziwei forcibly separated the two tightly adhered soul beads. Then, he forcefully stuffed the tiny, almost invisible rice-grain-sized soul bead into Xiao Mei's mouth...
After Ah Da and Ah Er's experiments, the effect of the Soul Bead was clear. This time, there were no unexpected events. After Xiao Mei swallowed the weakened Soul Bead, her previously cloudy and dull eyes suddenly became bright. Then, like a newborn baby, she blinked her bright eyes curiously and looked around.
Upon seeing Zhou Ziwei, she hesitated only slightly before, like a timid child seeing their parents, burying her face in his chest and asking hesitantly, "Who...who am I? Where am I...I'm so scared..."
Feeling Xiaomei's firm, elastic breasts pressing against his chest, Zhou Ziwei could only forcefully shake his head to expel any unpleasant sensations. He then gently patted Xiaomei's back and said softly, "Xiaomei, don't be afraid... I'm your cousin, your cousin will protect you... We're on our way home, we'll be home soon..."
"You're my cousin... So my name is Xiaomei..." Xiaomei kept murmuring, but involuntarily she hugged Zhou Ziwei tighter and tighter.
Little did she know that she was a female assassin who had undergone rigorous training. If it were an ordinary person, they would not have been able to withstand such a full-force hug from her. Fortunately, Zhou Ziwei was now practically invulnerable to blades and bullets, so he didn't care about Xiao Mei's strength.
The tighter Xiaomei hugged him, the more he felt her firm, elastic breasts pressing against him...
Undoubtedly, Xiao Mei, having regained some of her senses, has forgotten everything from the past, which should be a good thing for her, right? Zhou Ziwei also doesn't want to go through all that trouble only to turn Xiao Mei back into the seemingly innocent but actually ruthless young assassin she used to be.
Xiao Mei is like a newborn baby now. If Zhou Ziwei guides her properly, he can definitely help her completely get rid of her past and become a truly pure and lovely girl.
However, it seems that Xiao Mei has at least retained some of her previous abilities, so at least Zhou Ziwei doesn't have to teach her to speak word by word, which is a relief.
It's not so bad for her memory to regress to that of a newborn infant, but if she also forgets her language, such a beautiful woman has to start all over again... just to learn to speak. That feeling is terrifying. Moreover, from Xiao Mei's subtle movements and reactions, Zhou Ziwei guessed that she hadn't completely forgotten her assassin skills. The training she underwent must have been hellish, so much so that those skills were deeply ingrained in her soul, and it was probably impossible for her to forget them even if she wanted to.
Even when Xiaomei couldn't take care of herself, such as eating or using the toilet, she didn't forget this. Now that she has regained some of her senses, she will naturally not lose this instinct.
That's good. How can anyone feel at ease if a girl, especially a pure and beautiful girl like Xiaomei, has no ability to protect herself? Zhou Ziwei can't always stay by her side in the future, so when he realized that Xiaomei hadn't forgotten the skills of an assassin, he breathed a sigh of relief.
In order to prevent Xiao Mei from seeing a different face after waking up, Zhou Ziwei put away the amoeba and returned to his original appearance when he fed Xiao Mei the soul bead... or rather, returned to his original appearance in this life.
After Xiaomei's emotions stabilized somewhat, Zhou Ziwei began to tirelessly and relentlessly cram fabricated stories about Xiaomei's background and experiences over the past ten years into her blank memories.
According to Zhou Ziwei's description, Xiaomei became a distant relative of the Zhou family. Her parents were ordinary miners in a southern city who died in a mining accident. Xiaomei suffered severe trauma and completely lost her memory. After receiving the news, Zhou Ziwei went to bring his poor niece back and provided her with treatment in several major cities. Although Xiaomei has not yet regained her original memories, she has regained her clarity of mind... Now, Zhou Ziwei plans to take his niece back to his hometown of Dangyang, where she will start a new life...
This is the simple backstory that Zhou Ziwei sketched for Xiaomei. Although there are many flaws in it, poor Xiaomei is as innocent as a newborn baby. Moreover, there is no one else to tell her to distinguish right from wrong. So she can only believe whatever Zhou Ziwei says.
And so it went... until the train arrived at Dangyang Station the next morning, Xiao Mei had basically accepted her new identity. However, Zhou Ziwei had suffered quite a bit that night... A beautiful young woman with the mind of an infant but the body of a mature and voluptuous woman had been held tightly in his arms all night... This... truly gave him a feeling of being tormented by both ice and fire... Tormented by inhuman desires, Zhou Ziwei could only keep repeating to himself: I am her uncle, I am not a beast... I am her uncle, I am not a beast...
Volume 2, The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 294: He's obviously not a member of the Zhou family.
“Zixu…we old guys are all veterans who have been with this company since its inception. Over the years, we’ve watched the Zhou Group grow and prosper little by little. We have much more feelings for this company than you younger generation!”
Inside the Zhou Group's large conference room, seven or eight elderly men, all appearing to be in their fifties or sixties, sat upright, their gazes all fixed on a short, stout man who was speaking. Zhou Zixu, seated at the head of the table, frowned slightly, also watching the short, stout man, quietly awaiting his next words. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, the short, stout man straightened his posture even more, seemingly trying to appear taller.
"However... no matter how deep our feelings are for the company, we can't let our emotions get the better of us!"
The short, fat man coughed lightly, picked up his water glass, took a sip, cleared his throat, and continued, "Everyone is probably aware of the current situation... Zhou's is truly finished this time. Because of that health product scandal, Zhou's reputation has plummeted. Almost all the large companies and distributors who have cooperated with Zhou's for many years have terminated their contracts with us. If this continues, the longer Zhou's Group holds on, the more money it will lose. Fortunately, Zhou's hasn't gone public yet, otherwise... I'm afraid our Zhou's stock would be worthless by now. Cough... I'll say it again: while Zhou's still debt-free, let's go bankrupt as soon as possible. All the real estate and equipment can at least be sold for some money. If we calculate based on the shareholding, we won't lose everything."
If this continues, even the huge monthly wages paid to the workers will eventually bankrupt us. If we continue production… it will be even more dangerous. We might not be able to sell a single product, and the raw materials and energy consumption… all these costs add up. If we continue to lose money like this, the Zhou family might be insolvent in less than six months. What's the point of all this?”
As soon as the short, stout man finished speaking, a thin, elderly man who looked somewhat like Zhou Zixu coughed lightly and chimed in, "Old Liu's words make sense, but I don't agree with selling off all the company's assets. Perhaps we could simply dismantle the Zhou Group, making each subsidiary independent. This would rid us of the burden of the Zhou Group's reputation. Or we could recombine the subsidiaries, removing that damned health product company and the other three problematic pharmaceutical factories, to form a new group company. Oh… but this new group company certainly can't be managed as loosely as before, like a pile of loose sand. Everyone must elect a truly capable chairman; otherwise, it will be difficult to get out of the current predicament!"
The other shareholders, who had remained silent until now, nodded in unison, echoing, "Director Zhengrui is indeed insightful... This is far better than simply selling off the factory, real estate, and equipment. Generally speaking, our Zhou Group still has a solid foundation; the only problem now is that our reputation has been tarnished by that health product company's new product. As long as we reorganize and form a new group company, we can definitely overcome our current difficulties and start afresh!"
"Yes, yes... But the selection of the chairman is really not something that can be decided hastily... For a second startup, a lack of experience won't do. Young and ambitious people can rely on the foundation laid by the older generation and live off past achievements, but if you want to rebuild a new group, young people without experience are not an option!"
"I think Director Zhengrui should be the chairman of this new group! You worked alongside Chairman Zhengxiang to build the empire, and your contribution to the Zhou family's current scale is no less than Chairman Zhengxiang's... If it weren't for that woman providing most of the initial funding for the Zhou family, the chairmanship probably wouldn't have gone to Zhou Zhengxiang. As for Zhou Ziwei now... sigh... to be honest, if Zixu were the chairman, I'd have some confidence, but with that spendthrift in the hands of that son of a bitch... I'm afraid the Zhou family wouldn't even last six months before we're all penniless and drowning in debt!"
The short, fat man was stunned when he heard this. Seeing that everyone was speaking in unison, it was clear that they had planned this in advance. However, he had no idea about Zhou Zhengrui's suggestion beforehand. Now he naturally realized that he had been excluded from that circle, and his face immediately turned very ugly.
Seeing this, Zhou Zixu sneered and said, "I suppose you all are so eager to fight over the Zhou Group's interests now that the black market assassin network's bounty list for us has suddenly disappeared, and you know that no more assassins will be chasing you, right? Hmph... When my eldest brother took over as chairman of the group during the most difficult time, why didn't you all jump out to oppose him? Now that you know you're not going to die, you've all perked up. Hmph... You want to dismantle the group? You'll have to get my eldest brother's permission first. He's not only the chairman of the group, but also the largest shareholder. Even if, as Uncle San said, the group is to be dismantled and reorganized, then the chairman of the reorganized group can only be my eldest brother."
Zhou Zhengrui's expression turned slightly embarrassed upon hearing this, then he gave a soft snort and said, "Zixu, how can you talk like that? Aren't we doing this for the good of the company? You know what kind of person your older brother is, don't you? He's worked in companies before, and with his abilities, do you think he can guarantee everyone will make money if we just hand over the integrated group company to him like this? Yes... he's the largest shareholder of the Zhou Group now, but... since he doesn't have the ability, he should just stay home and wait to get his share of the profits. Otherwise, as long as he remains in the chairman's position, I'm afraid no one will have the confidence to continue investing in the newly established group company. In that case, it would be better to do what Lao Liu said, just sell off the company's assets, split the profits, and go our separate ways... But... Zixu, think about it, this is our Zhou family's business! If there's still a glimmer of hope, we should keep going. We can't let our second brother's years of hard work go to waste!"
Zhou Zhengrui's words were not entirely unreasonable. Zhou Zixu thought about his brother's past actions, how when he was the general manager of a subsidiary, he would often embezzle large sums of public funds to gamble in Macau, and how after his father cut off his source of income, his brother simply sold off the family's belongings... All of these things had indeed happened, and his third uncle was not wronging his brother.
If the older brother doesn't truly change his bad habits, then handing the new group company over to him would be a very dangerous thing. The new company might just collapse in his hands again within a few days.
However... although Zhou Zixu had little contact with Zhou Ziwei during this period, in the few conversations he had, he could no longer sense even a trace of the spoiled brat aura in Zhou Ziwei.
I suppose my brother has already reformed his ways, right?
Zhou Zixu thought to himself, but he knew that even if he said it, no one would believe him. Helpless, he could only smile bitterly and say, "But no matter what... this matter must be approved by my elder brother. I don't care, but... I will listen to my elder brother."
Zhou Zhengrui shook his head dismissively and said, "If that's the case, then you have to make him come out and talk to everyone face to face... The bounty list on the black market assassin website has been removed, so what is he afraid of? Hmph... Didn't he say a month ago that he would freeze the entire group company until today? And the time has come. Regardless of whether Zhou's Group wants to continue operating, he has to show his face, right? What kind of business is this, hiding his face like this?"
Zhou Zixu was secretly anxious. Among all the members of the Zhou family, only he knew that Zhou Ziwei had not been in Dangyang, and he also vaguely guessed where Zhou Ziwei had been for the past month.
At that time, some of the intelligence about Xiao Yundong was provided to Zhou Ziwei by him, and then news spread that Xiao Yundong had been assassinated in a secret room at home.
Then... Zhou Ziwei disappeared without a trace. Fortunately, Zhou Ziwei had told him before that he might not be back for at least a month. Otherwise, Zhou Zixu would probably have already called the police and searched everywhere for Zhou Ziwei.
Just yesterday, the Zhou family's old butler suddenly told Zhou Zixu that all the bounty lists for the Zhou Group members on the black market assassin website had disappeared overnight.
Zhou Zixu was initially incredulous. Because his family had gotten into this mess, he had done a thorough investigation into the so-called black market assassin network and knew that its reputation was always top-notch.
As long as the employer pays enough bounty in advance, the black market assassin network will never terminate the bounty, even if the employer's entire family is wiped out, until the person on the bounty list dies.
However, when Zhou Ziwei turned on his computer and carefully searched the black market assassin website using the access password he had bought at a high price online, he finally confirmed that the old butler was right. He couldn't find any of his own name, Zhou Ziwei's name, or the names of the shareholders of the Zhou Group.
The deadly bounty was actually removed.
Although Zhou Ziwei hadn't told him to go to the black market assassin network to resolve this matter, Zhou Ziwei still immediately thought of Zhou Ziwei.
However, Zhou Zixu then became somewhat doubtful. Although he and his brother hadn't had much contact in the past two years, he still knew Zhou Ziwei to some extent, so he found it hard to believe that Zhou Ziwei had the strength to fight against such a terrifying international black market organization.
This is completely incomparable to killing Xiao Yundong; anyone with a brain could figure out the difficulty involved.
However, if Zhou Ziwei wasn't behind this, Zhou Zixu would find it even more incomprehensible how the black market assassin network could so easily erase so many people's bounty lists.
Zhou Zixu guessed that if Zhou Ziwei was indeed the one who erased the black market assassin's online bounty list, then he should be able to return soon after completing the task! But... if he really did that, would he be able to return safely?
Zhou Zixu didn't want to think about things in such a bad way, but... when he thought about the power of the black market assassin network that he had discovered, he felt a chill run down his spine, and he found it even more hard to believe that Zhou Ziwei would do something so big without paying any price. But... what exactly would that price be?
"What? He's been pretending to be sick at home for a month, and he still doesn't dare to come out and see anyone?" Zhou Zhengrui snorted and said, "He's fine now. He can't be that cowardly! Hmph... He's obviously not a member of the Zhou family."
"What did you say?" Zhou Zixu didn't want to be too harsh on this elder in his family, but he was immediately enraged by what Zhou Zhengrui had just said. He couldn't help but slam his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "Third Uncle... I respect you as an elder and call you Third Uncle, but you should also know how to respect yourself. Is this the kind of thing an elder should say?"
Zhou Zhengrui rolled his wrinkled eyelids with a hint of disdain and said, "Why can't I say that? How many of the older generation don't know about that? The second son is really too cowardly. He wore a green hat for so many years, and in the end, he actually gave all the shares under his name to an outsider. He's really... senile!"
"You..." Zhou Zixu was so angry that he was speechless for a moment. He stood up from his seat, pointed at Zhou Zhengrui, but didn't know what to say.
"Oh... I think I heard someone saying bad things about my father? My father has only been dead for a month, and people can't help but jump out and make up stories about him?"
A clear voice came from outside the door, and then the door to the conference room was pushed open from the outside. Zhou Ziwei and Xiao Mei walked in, looking travel-worn.
"Big brother...you...you've come."
When Zhou Zixu saw Zhou Ziwei finally appear before him unharmed, his heart finally settled down. He then rushed forward with a face full of joy, opened his arms, and gave Zhou Ziwei a big hug.
Zhou Ziwei patted his younger brother's shoulder with a slight touch of emotion and said with a smile, "Yes... if I hadn't come, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to keep my position as chairman. How could I not come?"
Upon hearing Zhou Ziwei's words, the shareholders who held only a small amount of shares blushed and stood up to greet the chairman.
Zhou Zhengrui, however, acted arrogantly due to his age, not even bothering to sit on the ground. He merely glanced sideways at Zhou Ziwei, then scanned Xiao Mei, who was following closely behind Zhou Ziwei, before revealing a look of disgust on his face.
"Hello everyone..." Zhou Ziwei greeted the shareholders with a smile, then his gaze finally settled on Zhou Zhengrui. He snorted and said, "Hey... old man, who do you think you are? What kind of saint are you sitting here pretending to be?"
"You... Zhou Ziwei, how dare you speak to me like that? I am your third uncle!" Zhou Zhengrui had never been insulted like this before. He slammed his fist on the table in anger, causing the teacup in front of him to overturn and spill pale yellow tea all over the table.
"You're my third uncle? That can't be!"
Zhou Ziwei pretended to pick his ear and continued, "I vaguely heard someone say from afar that I'm not a member of the Zhou family... Since I'm not a member of the Zhou family, I naturally have nothing to do with you, old man, right? So your third uncle is just an imposter, why should I pay any attention to you? Don't you think so... old man?"
"I..." Zhou Zhengxiang was speechless after being confronted by Zhou's words.
"Stop with the 'you' and 'me' stuff. There's nothing to say. Just sit there quietly and listen to me!" Zhou Ziwei said, then quickly walked to the main seat and sat down in the spot where Zhou Zixu had just been sitting. Xiao Mei nestled obediently beside Zhou Ziwei, her curious eyes constantly scanning the well-dressed old men in front of her.
Zhou Ziwei scanned the expressions of everyone present with his cool gaze before clearing his throat and saying, "I was hoping Zixu would help gather everyone, but I didn't expect you all to be more anxious than I am... Hehe... Well then, I'll take this opportunity to share my thoughts with you all..."
Zhou Ziwei casually crossed his legs and swung them around a few times. Then he picked up a cup of untouched tea from the table, gulped down more than half of it, and then smacked his lips somewhat unhappily, saying, "I suppose everyone remembers the first order I issued after taking office as chairman! That's right, you don't need to look at me like that. My mind is still functioning perfectly fine for now. The reason I'm a little late today is to give everyone a chance to consider the matter. Now... those who want the Zhou Group to be dissolved and bankrupted immediately, please raise your hands."
"Whoosh—" As soon as Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, all the shareholders present, except for Zhou Zixu and the short, fat man who spoke first, raised their hands without hesitation.
Zhou Ziwei nodded and said, "It seems everyone's opinions are fairly unified. However... you're destined to be disappointed, because I will never agree to this utterly rotten idea. But... I, Zhou Ziwei, am not an unreasonable person. Anyone who feels they no longer want to stay in the current Zhou Group can immediately transfer their shares to me. I'll buy them at double the price. How about it... old man, since you've decided there's no future with me, you'd better get out of here! The Zhou Group doesn't welcome scum like you with a brain full of bullshit."
Volume 2 The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 295: Acquiring Shares
As soon as Zhou Ziwei spoke, the entire room fell silent. Everyone stared at him with utterly strange looks, as if he were a prehistoric monster. Seeing this, Zhou Ziwei shrugged slightly and said, "What? Is no one willing to sell their shares? Then…"
"I do...I do..."
"You promised... double the price."
As soon as Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, several people immediately started shouting at once. Seeing that things were not going well, Zhou Zhengrui quickly shouted, "Wait... We seem to be determining the company's development direction right now. Even if you guys are planning to sell your shares, you have to wait until later."
Those who were clamoring to sell their shares paused upon hearing this, and lowered their heads somewhat reluctantly. Clearly, they had already discussed this with Zhou Zhengrui beforehand, and seeing Zhou Zhengrui step in to stop them, they couldn't say anything more.
Seeing this, Zhou Zhengrui immediately glanced smugly at Zhou Ziwei and said, "Ziwei... let's talk this out. I know you young people are hot-tempered, and I won't hold it against you... I see you're new here and probably haven't figured out our ideas yet. So... let's talk about what to do with the group company next. Old Liu just suggested selling all the company's real estate, factories, equipment, etc., and then everyone can split the money according to their shares. Selling now wouldn't require repaying any debts, so no one would lose everything. Hmm... but I don't think his idea is very good. After all, everyone has gotten used to working at Zhou's for so many years. I think it would be better to temporarily dissolve the group company, and then we..."
Zhou Zhengrui was still giving a long and eloquent speech about his grand vision, but Zhou Ziwei didn't even glance at him. Suddenly, he raised his hand, held up three fingers, and said coldly, "Now I'll offer three times the price. Anyone who doesn't have confidence in the Zhou Group can sell their shares and leave immediately... I don't want to waste my breath on you guys here."
"Three times...three times the price!" The few guys who were just interested softened their expressions again upon hearing this, but when they saw Zhou Zhengrui's stiff old face, they hesitated for a moment and still no one spoke up.
Zhou Ziwei glanced around at the group of people, then held up two fingers again and said, "Five times. I'm offering five times the price to acquire the shares of Zhou's Group. This is the limit we can offer. And... you only have three minutes to consider. After three minutes, if no one is willing, I'll leave immediately. But there's one thing I must remind you: I am still the highest decision-maker of Zhou's Group and its largest shareholder. Without my approval, you can forget about breaking up Zhou's Group and causing chaos. In short, I'd rather see Zhou's Group truly go bankrupt in my hands than let it change its name and fall into the hands of those with ulterior motives. Okay... now you can think it over carefully. Time is limited, don't miss out!"
The offer to acquire Zhou's Group's shares at five times the price was like a heavy bomb, instantly shattering the fragile alliance led by Zhou Zhengrui.
That's five times the price... Although Zhou's shares have shrunk somewhat now, five times the price is still a significant increase compared to Zhou's peak.
None of the people present were fools; they believed they would never have the chance to encounter such a cheap deal again in their lifetime.
Despite Zhou Zhengrui's promises of many benefits to win them over, including important management positions in the future new group company.
However, for them, that was still just a pipe dream, an unknown factor that no one could be sure of. But Zhou Ziwei's five times acquisition price was real, and no one could resist such temptation.
There was no need to wait even three minutes. Immediately, someone eagerly expressed their willingness to transfer all of their shares to Zhou Ziwei without keeping a single one. Moreover, this guy even took out his share certificate on the spot.
Zhou Ziwei was equally decisive. He reached behind him, took a purse from Xiao Mei's arms, took out a checkbook, and immediately wrote a check for the shareholder.