As he spoke, Li Liang waved to the waiter next to him, who brought over another glass of red wine. He then lightly clinked his glass with Zhou Ziwei's, and without waiting for Zhou Ziwei's reply, he tilted his head back and drank the wine in one gulp.
Zhou Ziwei was slightly taken aback. He couldn't figure out if this guy was just a bit dim-witted or genuinely lacked any tact or composure with anyone. He actually came up to drink like that. Wasn't this guy afraid that Zhou Ziwei would suspect him of poisoning the drink and slap him twice, or... incur the wrath of the Second Young Master Hong, who had just lost face?
Although Zhou Ziwei secretly suspected that this young master Li might be mentally ill, he still admired the guy's boldness. Without hesitation, he picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Upon seeing this, Young Master Li's eyes lit up. He patted Zhou Ziwei's shoulder affectionately and said, "Brother, you're really straightforward... But... since you've come to the capital, it's not very nice of you not to come and see me first... Didn't I tell you? Don't forget to call me when you get to the capital. Even if you don't need my help, I still have to show you some hospitality... Hehe... I, Liangzi, may not be good at other things, but eating, drinking, and having fun are the specialties of the Four Young Masters of the Capital... Right, Second Young Master Hong?"
Young Master Hong's face had already turned ashen from the familiar way Li Liang and Zhou Ziwei acted. However, he seemed quite wary of Young Master Li. Just moments ago, he had been glaring fiercely at Li Liang's back, but when Li Liang actually turned to look at him, he hurriedly put on a cautious expression, gave an awkward smile, and nodded carefully, replying, "Yes...yes...hehe..."
Zhou Ziwei was dumbfounded... No way! I neither told him my name in Zhongdu, nor did I show him my current appearance, so how did this guy recognize me...?
Volume 2, The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 348: The Immortal Crystal Heart
Seeing that Li Liang clearly recognized him long ago, Zhou Ziwei was genuinely confused.
Could it be that this Young Master Li really can tell fortunes? He actually managed to figure out Zhou Ziwei's background? When they first met in Zhongdu, Young Master Li seemed to show great enthusiasm and goodwill towards Zhou Ziwei, and even predicted that Zhou Ziwei's future was limitless.
At the time, Zhou Ziwei didn't quite understand what kind of person this young master Li was, so he naturally didn't pay much attention to what he said.
But now that he's in the capital and has heard of the Four Young Masters of the Capital, even Zhou Ziwei isn't quite sure how much weight the Four Young Masters of the Capital carry. But he guesses that in a capital city where there are countless princelings, how could someone who is qualified to be called one of the Four Young Masters of the Capital have any power or background that is not good?
And yet, this young master of noble birth actually took a different view of Zhou Ziwei, who was dressed like a migrant worker. Regardless of whether he could tell fortunes or not, it has to be said... this young master Li is at least quite discerning...
Zhou Ziwei was puzzled for a moment, but at this moment he did not want to have too much interaction with this young master Li. He just smiled slightly at young master Li and said, "I am just passing through the capital this time. I will definitely come to the capital to visit young master Li again when I have time next time."
Hearing this, Li Liang didn't press the matter further. He casually tossed the empty glass in his hand to the waiter beside him, then nodded and said, "It's alright. As long as you remember that you have a friend like me in the capital, that's enough. Also... please don't call me 'Young Master Li' anymore. It sounds awkward. If you think highly of me, just call me Liangzi from now on! That's what my friends call me."
Zhou Ziwei didn't seem to care much about the form of address. He nodded politely and said, "Alright then! Brother Liangzi, I believe it won't be long before my business expands to the capital. I'll need your help then!"
Li Liang laughed and said, "No problem...no problem...as long as you consider me a friend, just let me know if you have any difficulties. I, Liangzi, will definitely not refuse to do anything I can. Of course...if it's really difficult, I certainly won't be stubborn, hehe...Brother, you are definitely not someone to be underestimated. Who knows, one day I, Liangzi, might have to rely on you as my brother..."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziwei simply chuckled, said goodbye to Li Liang again, and then turned and left.
Meanwhile, Zhang Jinglong, who had already used his connections to bring in officers from the Beijing Special Police Brigade, was utterly shocked by Zhou Ziwei and Li Liang's brief conversation. He immediately made another call, asking them not to send any more officers for the time being.
Now Zhang Jinglong understood that no matter who Zhou Ziwei was, he was no longer someone he could afford to offend.
It should be noted that even though his Jinglong International Trading Company has always been quite successful, and he is considered one of the few tycoons in Beijing who can speak with high-ranking officials.
But no matter how rich he was, he was just a rich man. Compared to the Four Young Masters of the Capital, Zhang Jinglong was nothing more than a dish.
Normally, if Zhang Jinglong were to host a banquet, it would be a great honor to invite even one of the four young masters of the capital, let alone just one of their trusted confidants.
Today, the four young masters of the capital have gathered here. Zhang Jinglong naturally doesn't think it's because he's recently had a stroke of good luck that all four young masters have taken a liking to him. Clearly, they all came here with other purposes.
But right in front of these four young masters of the capital, whom he could never even curry favor with, Zhou Ziwei completely disregarded them. He beat and scolded one of them without hesitation, while another even went up to him to befriend him...
Zhang Jinglong, who had built such a large business, was no fool. He knew that Young Master Li was clearly protecting Zhou Ziwei. Since he had spoken, he, a nobody, dared not offend this man again.
Of course... whether the Second Young Master Hong, who is on par with Li Liang, would give face to the First Young Master Li is unknown.
However, Zhang Jinglong estimated that given Young Master Hong's personality, he would definitely not let it go. It seemed that no one had ever dared to slap Young Master Hong in public before.
But today he has lost face in front of so many people, so it would be a miracle if he were to let it go.
Zhang Jinglong had made up his mind that he would not get involved in this matter under any circumstances. If Young Master Hong could send someone to kill this hateful outsider, that would be the best outcome. However, if even Young Master Hong couldn't deal with Zhou Ziwei, then he would have no choice but to swallow his pride and remind Zhang Jiayang, that little brat, that he must never provoke that living ancestor again.
Thinking of this, Zhang Jinglong originally wanted to politely see Zhou Ziwei off, but considering that he didn't know if Young Master Hong would be able to deal with Zhou Ziwei, if he was too polite to Zhou Ziwei, Young Master Hong might become angry with him again. So... for now, he decided to wait and see!
Seeing that Zhou Ziwei and Wang Xuewei had finally disappeared from the doorway, everyone in the banquet hall breathed a long sigh of relief.
The abilities Zhou Ziwei just displayed were truly terrifying, especially those security guards who had suffered at his hands, as well as the bodyguards around Young Master Hong.
Although they had pointed guns at Zhou Ziwei, almost none of them felt safe. They all had a vague feeling that the other party was not afraid of the guns in their hands. This could be seen from the extremely calm and composed expression on Zhou Ziwei's face from beginning to end.
Having lost face in front of everyone, how could Young Master Hong still have the nerve to sit here? Although he was quite interested in the foreign guest today, he had lost the mood for it. He immediately snorted, turned to look at the bodyguards beside him, and muttered, "Useless things." Then he waved his hand and led everyone away.
Seeing this, Zhang Jinglong hurriedly stepped forward, intending to say a few words to persuade him to stay. However, upon seeing the livid face of Young Master Hong, he knew that if he wasn't careful, he would surely offend him. So, he could only carefully escort Young Master Hong to the door.
However, Zhang Jinglong dared not provoke Young Master Hong, but Li Liang was not afraid of him. Seeing Young Master Hong leave in a hurry, he couldn't help but smile and say, "Eh... Young Master Hong, did you come here today not for that thing? Looking at the time, Miss Amy should be here soon, right? Why is Young Master Hong in such a hurry to leave... Doesn't this benefit the three of us?"
Young Master Hong snorted softly upon hearing this, but dared not speak ill of Li Liang. He simply shook his head and said, "We don't even know if that thing is real or fake yet, and I'm afraid even if you, Young Master Li, want to get it from that person, it won't be an easy task. This isn't the only opportunity; let's talk about it later!"
After saying this, Young Master Hong didn't linger any longer and quickly left, surrounded by a group of bodyguards...
Seeing this, Li Liang simply shrugged and then returned to his seat, chatting and laughing with Liu Gongzi and Ma Gongzi, who were also among the four young masters of the capital.
A moment later, the protagonist of the banquet finally arrived. Protected by a dozen black bodyguards in sharp suits, a woman in a snow-white dress with a white veil covering her face slowly walked into the banquet hall under the watchful eyes of everyone. This immediately caused quite a stir, and all the guests at the banquet stood up and cast their burning gazes on this woman who was said to be the richest woman in the world.
"Miss Amy, it is truly my greatest honor to have you grace us with your presence!" Zhang Jinglong greeted the guest in broken English as he rushed forward, but before he could even get within five meters of the woman, he was blocked by several black men with cold faces.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Jinglong could only smile wryly in resignation.
It can be said that Zhang Jinglong's rapid rise in Beijing in recent years is largely due to the mysterious and wealthy Miss Amy.
The Camorler Company, run by Miss Amy, is a world-renowned multinational conglomerate with businesses spanning various sectors, including retail, which it practically monopolizes half of Asia.
Zhang Jinglong initially made contact with Camole Company by chance, becoming one of the earliest domestic group companies to cooperate with Camole. As a result, he was able to get a share of the pie when Camole fully entered the domestic market, which enabled him to rapidly enhance the company's strength and become a business tycoon of great importance in Beijing.
As a partner of Camole Company, Ms. Amy, the president of Camole, suddenly came to Beijing. Although Zhang Jinglong did not know the purpose of Ms. Amy's visit, he still had to show her hospitality. Therefore, he held a grand welcome banquet and invited celebrities from all walks of life in Beijing.
However, although the post was sent out, Zhang Jinglong never dared to hope that someone like the Four Young Masters of Beijing would come to support him.
After all, although Miss Amy is a very famous wealthy woman internationally, no matter how much money she has, it is nothing in the eyes of people with powerful backgrounds like the Four Young Masters of Beijing. Zhang Jinglong naturally did not think that the Four Young Masters needed to give Miss Amy any face.
But now all four young masters of the capital have come together. Surely this is not just because Miss Amy is a strong woman who interests them?
Just now, when Young Master Hong left, Zhang Jinglong overheard the conversation between Young Master Hong and Li Liang, and vaguely sensed that their purpose for this trip seemed to be to obtain something. Could it be... that Miss Amy was carrying something that even the Four Young Masters of the Capital would covet? What kind of extraordinary treasure could it be? Although Zhang Jinglong was Sister Amy's business partner, he knew nothing about this.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing that his business partner seemed to be nothing more than an insignificant nobody in Miss Amy's eyes.
While politely greeting Miss Amy, Zhang Jinglong carefully observed Miss Amy and the two maid-like attendants behind her, but found nothing particularly strange about them, which puzzled him.
Miss Amy, however, seemed not to have seen Zhang Jinglong at all, and completely ignored the words of admiration from the other business people. Her eyes, hidden under a white veil, lightly swept across the faces of all the guests. Only when she saw Li Liang and Young Master Liu and Young Master Ma, two of the Four Young Masters of Beijing, did she pause slightly. However, she clearly had no desire to talk to anyone, nor did she give anyone a chance to approach her. She simply stood at the entrance of the banquet hall and gently waved her delicate, jade-like hand.
Seeing her slender hand beckon, a white woman following closely behind her immediately stepped forward and loudly proclaimed in fluent Chinese, "Miss Amy is here today simply to announce a message to everyone present... Whoever can help Miss Amy find the person she is looking for will immediately receive a reward of 500 million euros, in addition... will also receive an elder's badge of the Amy family... and... a drop of the Crystal Heart of Immortality..."
The white woman took a file folder from a bodyguard behind her before continuing, "However, our Miss Amy doesn't want this matter to become public knowledge. Therefore, she hopes that those present who wish to help Miss Amy find the person will do so only by mobilizing people within their own systems, and not by spreading the missing person information through the media... Now... each representative of a family or company in Beijing can receive a copy of the information and photo of the person they are looking for from me. However... I think only a small fraction of the people present will be qualified to receive this information. If your family's resources are insufficient, or your company's size is too small, please do not come up to receive it..."
Upon hearing the white woman's words, everyone present was stunned, and many of them involuntarily blushed with excitement.
Putting everything else aside, the 500 million euro bounty alone is enough to drive most people crazy.
That's 500 million euros, not 500 million yen or 500 million won. Although everyone present could be considered a celebrity or tycoon in the capital, very few of them actually had a net worth of 500 million euros.
Those familiar with the Amy family would know that, compared to five hundred million euros, the badge symbolizing the elders of the Amy family is far more valuable.
Camorler Corporation is an Amy family business, but it is not the entirety of the Amy family's business, and the magic of the Amy family does not lie entirely in these worldly matters.
The benefits of obtaining that elder's badge would far exceed what money could buy.
As for what this "immortal crystal heart" is, most people are quite clueless about it.
However, when the white woman mentioned the Immortal Crystal Heart, Li Liang, Young Master Liu, and Young Master Ma all trembled slightly involuntarily, and then their faces revealed an undisguised surprise.
Some of the guests noticed this and were secretly startled. Although they didn't know what the Immortal Crystal Heart was, it wasn't hard to guess that of the three rewards offered by the Amy family, the Immortal Crystal Heart was probably the most precious. Otherwise, if it were an ordinary item, why would these three renowned young masters of the capital show such expressions?
Although the white woman had already stated that only representatives of families and companies meeting certain conditions were qualified to help the Amy family find their missing persons, since no specific eligibility criteria were defined, many people naturally tried to take advantage of the situation and scrambled to get their hands on the extremely valuable information. However, Miss Amy's two female assistants seemed to know the background of everyone present very well, and none of those who tried to deceive others succeeded. As a result, although there were over a hundred guests present, excluding bodyguards, only a dozen or so people actually obtained this qualification.
Everyone who obtained the information was given a serious warning, reminding them to keep it confidential. If it were accidentally leaked, the Amy family would hold them accountable.
After Miss Amy had distributed the dozen or so documents, she immediately turned and left without hesitation, completely ignoring the so-called welcome banquet that Zhang Jinglong had specially prepared for her.
Fortunately, as the representative of Jinglong Trading Company, Zhang Jinglong managed to meet the Amy family's requirements and obtain a missing person's file. Otherwise... Zhang Jinglong would probably have been even more frustrated and driven crazy.
Since the main characters of the banquet had all left, the remaining people naturally lost interest in staying to enjoy the banquet. Just as most people were preparing to leave, the cell phones of the people next to Li Liang and the other two young masters rang at almost the same time.
If only one person's phone had rung, it wouldn't have attracted anyone's attention. But when the phones of the three young masters' assistants rang at the same time, those with a keen sense of smell immediately realized... something big must have happened in the capital.
Sure enough, when Li Liang and the other two took the phone from their assistant and answered it, their expressions changed slightly. If there was any difference, perhaps only Li Liang remained relatively calm, while Young Master Ma and Young Master Liu almost simultaneously gasped in surprise...
"What...Young Master Hong is dead."
Volume Two: The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 349: Orders from Above
Young Master Hong is dead.
This was absolutely shocking news. Just moments ago, Young Master Hong was here, lively and energetic, drinking and showing off with these people. But in the blink of an eye, that guy had already become an underground worker.
Given Hong Ershao's foul temper, he naturally wouldn't be very popular among the Four Young Masters of the Capital. However, as the saying goes, "the rabbit dies and the fox grieves," and the thought that the Four Young Masters of the Capital would now become the Third Young Master made the remaining three of them feel rather uneasy.
For some reason, upon hearing the news of Young Master Hong's death, almost everyone immediately thought of Zhou Ziwei, who had just slapped Young Master Hong here.
It's important to know that the Hong family holds an extremely important position in the capital. Even the other three people who are on par with the Second Young Master Hong, even if they occasionally harbor murderous intentions towards him due to some conflicts, can only give up helplessly once they consider the power behind the Second Young Master Hong.
Or perhaps only a ruthless person like Zhou Ziwei, who has absolutely no scruples, would completely disregard whether the person behind Young Master Hong is Hong Gang or Jiu Gang; if he messes with someone, he'll just kill them...
However, Li Liang and his companions later learned the details of the assassination of Young Master Hong from the news they received. They never expected that Young Master Hong was shot and killed by one of his bodyguards as soon as he returned to his own house.
Of course, after that bodyguard completed this assassination feat, he didn't get away with it either. Almost the instant his head was blown off by the bodyguard, the other bodyguards around him pulled out their guns and riddled him with bullets.
Hong Gang, the father of the second young master Hong, happened to be at home at the time. When he suddenly heard about this sudden change in status, he almost went crazy. All of the bodyguards around the second young master Hong were also severely punished by him.
Almost anyone who isn't a fool would know that although Young Master Hong was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, that bodyguard was definitely acting under someone else's orders.
That bodyguard has been by Young Master Hong's side for about three or four years now. He even once shielded Young Master Hong from a bullet with his own body, so he can be considered Young Master Hong's most loyal confidant.
It's hard to believe that such a loyal confidant, who was always loyal to Young Master Hong and the Hong family, was bribed and even became a assassin to kill Young Master Hong in public.
But now that the bodyguard has been killed on the spot, it will be extremely difficult to find out who was behind it.
Judging from the conversation between Zhou Ziwei and Young Master Hong today, although the two had a grudge in the past, they must have known each other for a short time, and it seems that this was their first formal meeting. Therefore, everyone present felt that Zhou Ziwei could not possibly be the one who instigated it.
However, Li Liang had a vague suspicion, a suspicion stemming from Zhou Ziwei's strange, mind-controlling roar and the chilling gaze emanating from his eerie eyes...
Zhou Ziwei didn't bother with these things. He had just taken a shower and was comfortably watching TV in the bedroom of his luxurious panoramic suite upstairs.
Although he didn't receive any calls, from the faint fluctuation in his soul just now, he could tell that... that despicable Second Young Master Hong, who had tried to rape Liu Xiaofei, should be dead.
Back in the banquet hall, Zhou Ziwei had already decided to kill Young Master Hong. However, since it was in front of everyone and Zhou Ziwei was showing his true face, he couldn't make things too conspicuous. So he pretended to be weak and let Young Master Hong go.
However, at that time, he had already successfully used his own modified hypnosis technique, which consumed nearly two hundred units of soul power, to successfully hypnotize one of the bodyguards next to Young Master Hong.
However, to avoid suspicion, Zhou Ziwei deliberately had the bodyguard kill Hong Er Shao Ye when he returned to the house, thus delaying the action for a long time.
Because the bodyguard's soul power had invaded part of Zhou Ziwei's mutated soul power, Zhou Ziwei naturally had a corresponding feeling when the bodyguard was killed on the spot and his soul scattered.
Hmph... I didn't get to personally refine your bastard's soul into a soul bead... You got off easy, kid.
Zhou Ziwei snorted inwardly, then took out another Flame Heart and immersed himself in continuous cultivation...