176: 176 Chapter: This is Just the Beginning (Two-in-One Big Chapter, Request for Subscription, Favorites, and Monthly Tickets) 176: 176 Chapter: This is Just the Beginning (Two-in-One Big Chapter, Request for Subscription, Favorites, and Monthly Tickets) “Hello, I’m Joey, I have an appointnt with Mr.
Kili.”
He Ao stood in the spacious and bright lobby, smiling at the receptionist.
The receptionist looked at his face, hesitated for a mont, then quickly recovered and picked up the internal phone, “Please wait, I’ll check with the CEO’s office.”
This was the headquarters of Avis Energy Group.
Yes, Avis Group was also a company in Dawn City.
It was a colossus among the Federation’s top five hundred companies, with a market value of several hundred billion federal coins, and factories and branches spread across dozens of Federation cities.
And Kili had been Avis Group’s CEO for the past twenty years.
One of the two victims who responded to He Ao last night had given him an important piece of information.
The victim had luckily survived the accident, realized the issue with the chanical arm, and demanded more compensation from Avis Group.
As a result, he had t with Avis Group’s CEO, Kili.
Kili first expressed in a very gentle manner that Avis Group would give him sufficient compensation and appeased him.
But the next day, he was arrested for extortion and sentenced to five years imprisonnt.
This gave He Ao two hints.
First, as the top executive of the Group, Kili was aware of the chanical arm issue.
Even if he had not known initially, after the victim ca forward, it would have been impossible for him not to investigate.
This ant that, regardless of how the issue originated, the higher-ups of the entire Group were likely aware and had tacitly allowed it to happen.
It was even possible that the issue had been a high-level strategy to ‘save on costs’ from the beginning.
After all, one or two executives couldn’t possibly orchestrate the sa accidents in a dozen cities simultaneously.
Second, He Ao could demand a eting with Kili based on the information he possessed.
To appease him, Kili would certainly agree, since he had done sothing similar before.
“Mr.
Joey, Mr.
Kili said he is waiting for you in the General Manager’s office.”
The receptionist hung up the phone and pointed to the elevator, “Go through there, directly to the 101st floor.”
“Thank you.”
He Ao thanked the receptionist politely and walked towards the elevator with his briefcase.
The receptionist’s gaze followed him intently until the elevator completely obscured his figure, then reluctantly retracted.
—-
The 101st floor was the top level of the Avis building, housing both the CEO’s office and the boardroom.
Kili was an elderly man with gray hair but lively spirit, his expensive silk suit impeccably tailored, with not a lint ball in sight.
Of course, this wasn’t his own doing, but the duty of the servant he hired.
As the de facto ruler of this massive entity for over twenty years, Kili had effectively stepped into the uppermost echelon of the entire Federation.
Within the elite circle, he was known for bringing maximum profits to the consortium with minimal costs.
This was also why he didn’t hold many shares but could maintain control of Avis Group for so long.
In fact, several top hundred Federation consortia had offered him olive branches.
“Is it Joey?
A young hero erges.”
Kili watched He Ao approaching, got up with a chuckle, and shook hands with him.
His smile was as warm as a genial elder in the family
He Ao also shook hands with him, smiling, “Mr.
Kili, I am here today…”
“Joey, here’s the thing,” Kili sat back in his chair, smiling at He Ao,
“I’m truly sorry about what happened to your parents.
In the email you sent , you ntioned that so staff mbers modified the maximum usage limit of the chanical arm.
I can assure you that the senior executives of the group were completely unaware of this.
We will definitely conduct a thorough internal investigation.
Does that sound good to you?”
He placed his hand on the table, “This issue is the group’s fault, and on behalf of the group, I offer you compensation of one million federal coins.
This money has to go through the financial system and the board of directors, so I can’t give you that much,”
At this point, he shifted his tone, “However, I can personally decide to give you two million federal coins, but my money is all tied up in investnt accounts and can’t be withdrawn imdiately.
Right now, I only have two hundred thousand that I can use directly.
Give your bank card details, and I’ll transfer it to you.”
Accepting this two hundred thousand would an starting with a twenty-year sentence.
He Ao had no doubts that the mont he would walk out of the Avis Group building, he’d step right into Dawn City Police Departnt.
Extortion is calculated by the amount demanded, and the actual money received validates the act.
Kili, seeing that He Ao did not respond but just kept looking at him with a hint of mockery, was slightly taken aback.
However, his expression remained unchanged, still gentle and composed, “If you feel this money isn’t enough, I can discuss adding more with the group,”
Having said this and noticing that He Ao’s expression still had not changed, he added softly, “Of course, we will also imdiately set up an investigative team to look into this malicious incident and give your parents justice.
If you would like, you can also take part in this investigative team, and the evidence you hold will beco our vital clue.”
This was to probe what evidence He Ao held.
At that mont, He Ao finally reacted, smiling as he took an olive-shaped object from his pocket, held it, and placed it on the table with his index finger going through the pull ring.
A laser grenade.
Kili froze instantly.
“Mr.
Kili, don’t move,” He Ao said with a smile, “This is real.”
When soone accuses you of threatening them, it’s best if you actually have the ability to do so.
Kili’s hand, reaching under the table, stopped mid-air, maintaining his smile, “Joey, don’t be rash.
You have a long future ahead of you, there’s no need to die with an old geezer like .”
“How is it fair for soone who recklessly sends others to their death to not want to die?”
He Ao smiled and pulled out a piece of white paper from the printer next to the table, handing it to Kili, “Mr.
Kili, I didn’t co for money.
I only have one goal.
I hope you can write down the nas of all the inford individuals involved in this incident.
Don’t tell you don’t know; why do you think I ca to see you today?”
“I…
really…
do…
not…”
Kili just started to deny.
Click—
Accompanied by the sound of tal friction, He Ao directly pulled the pin halfway out.
He Ao slowly stood, looking down at Joey from above, a terrifying and insane aura spreading from him, “Mr.
Kili, I no longer have parents or any relatives, and I don’t mind taking soone with when I go…”
Kili watched the sowhat sickly youth with stiffened gaze.
Then he slowly picked up the pen and began to write on the paper.
“Write your na first, denoting the address, position, office location, and your involvent in the incident.
You can deceive ,”
He Ao watched Kili with a smile, “But guess what…”
He slowly bent down, inching closer to the elderly man, his body blocking the bright light above, casting a shadow over Kili’s cheeks, “whether I have a list of my own?”
Kili’s movents stiffened, then he slowly wrote down his na.
As the first letter was inscribed, the rest of the nas followed without much resistance.
The scratching of the fountain pen’s nib against the paper echoed in the quiet office.
Kili wanted to drag out the ti; he had agreed to a fifteen-minute talk with He Ao.
Once that ti was up, the reception would call to check in, and he would have a chance to change the situation.
But clearly, He Ao wasn’t going to give him that chance.
The slower Kili was, the farther He Ao pulled the grenade’s pin out, forcing him to write faster.
By the ti he finished writing, the grenade’s pin was nearly pulled out.
The paper listed a total of fifteen nas.
He stood up, handed the paper to He Ao, and at the sa ti, his other hand hung beneath the desk and slowly moved towards the ergency alarm button underneath.
He Ao seed not to notice this.
He stuffed the grenade’s pull ring back in, took the paper from Kili seriously, and started examining it.
Halfway through, he let go of the grenade in his hand and reached for a pen, seemingly preparing to take notes.
At that mont, Kili’s hand was about to touch the ergency alarm button.
But as he saw He Ao’s hand leave the grenade, Kili paused his movent for a mont.
At this instant, He Ao had no weapons in his hand, and it seed that his attention was not on Kili.
Kili, with a finger already on the ergency alarm button, paused then skimd past the button and pressed another one next to it.
A silver small handgun instantly popped out from under the desk and fell into his palm.
He barely hesitated, lifting the gun and aiming it at He Ao, ready to pull the trigger.
However, as he raised the gun, he suddenly realized that He Ao had vanished.
What followed was intense pain in his throat.
He opened his mouth but no words ca out.
Blood gushed from his throat, saturating his fine and luxurious suit.
He Ao pulled the short sword from Kili’s throat, watching him stagger and fall onto the desk, as blood poured out over the expensive solid wood.
His eyes were wide open, staring dead at He Ao.
He Ao only glanced at him, sheathed his sword, then reached to pick up the fountain pen that had fallen aside, dipping it in the blood on the desk.
Bright red ink stayed on the paper, crossing off the first na.
Kili Bess
He then put the fountain pen back in the pool of blood, drew two pieces of paper from a delicate hollowed out embossed box nearby, and wiped the blood off his hands.
After doing all this, he pocketed the grenade, picked up the briefcase next to him, straightened his clothes, and made sure he had been careful enough not to let blood spatter on his garnt.
Then he took out a ‘Diamond K’ card from his sleeve, placed it on the bloodstained desk, and then slowly walked towards the door.
······
“Is Mr.
Kili available now?”
Just as He Ao walked out the door, not yet having closed the office door, a middle-aged man who had been waiting outside stood up from the sofa.
“You are?”
He Ao glanced at him with a puzzled look, the man’s na tag read ‘Erwan’.
“I…” Erwan laughed awkwardly, “I’m on the optimization list, looking for Mr.
Kili…
I may be old, but I can still put in a shift.”
“Oh,” He Ao turned his head to look back and casually closed the door, “he is probably feeling a bit under the weather…”
“I know…
I know…”
The man sat down dejectedly, “I’ll wait a little longer.”
“By the way, do you know where Mike’s office is?”
He Ao looked at the paper in his hand.
“Just take the elevator down to the 73rd floor, office 7001,” the man stood up pointing, then, looking at He Ao’s sowhat unfamiliar figure, “I can take you there.”
“No need,”
He Ao smiled, then readied to leave with the briefcase in hand.
Halfway through, he suddenly turned back, looking at the man who had returned to the sofa, “Things will get better.”
The man was slightly taken aback, then regained a bit of his smile, “Thank you.”
——
What followed was tedious work.
He Ao indifferently sent one person after another to their end, watching them fall in pools of blood, and then crossed off their nas with their blood.
By the ti He Ao left the Avis building, most of the list in his hand was sared with blood.
He wouldn’t kill people proactively, but he gave others the opportunity to kill him.
Killing is illegal, but self-defense isn’t.
Were there any kind individuals who didn’t lay hands on him?
Unfortunately, there were none.
Or rather, no one who made it onto this list refrained.
They all had better choices, but without exception, they seized every opportunity to eliminate He Ao.
It was a habit, an unchangeable habit.
The habit of viewing life as though it were dust.
Of course, when they died, they were fearful and unwilling.
But He Ao didn’t just kill people; he also gathered so intelligence, most importantly to confirm the authenticity of the list.
After cross-confirming with several individuals, He Ao was almost certain there was no problem with the list.
Perhaps it was confidence, or perhaps the belief that the list was useless in He Ao’s hands, Kili had not deceived him.
After leaving the Avis building, He Ao caught a cab to the Crown District.
Throughout the process, He Ao acted composed and gracefully, elegantly opening and closing doors, and finally leaving the lobby at ease.
Security at the Avis building was not low, but everyone was unaware of the events that had transpired.
Firstly, because the ti was short, He Ao moved quickly, and secondly, because this was sowhat beyond everyone’s comprehension.
To take down the CEO of a conglorate and many executives at the conglorate’s headquarters, and then leave with ease.
Even if this event truly unfolded before their eyes, so would think they were dreaming.
And just as He Ao had stepped out, a secretary discovered an executive lying in a pool of blood.
Subsequently, one body after another was exposed to the view of everyone.
What terrified the people was that the real man in charge of the Avis Group, Kili, was dead.
The Avis building was imdiately sealed off, and everybody was forced to undergo screening.
anwhile, He Ao had already reached the edge of the Crown District, walking under the lush greenery.
This was the real wealthy district of the Crown District, a villa community surrounded by a steel jungle and vibrant with greenery.
Living here were notables and luminaries of Dawn City, as well as heads of conglorates.
Mayor Wente’s manor was also located here.
He Ao stopped in front of a villa and gently rang the doorbell.
His heart was calm.
Was the killing over?
No, it was just the beginning.
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