"Oh? What crisis has your Yang family encountered?" Chen Jie asked in surprise.
"Chen Jie, you don't know, but recently my brother introduced me to a blind date in the provincial capital. If I refuse, our Zhang family might decline from then on..." Zhang Xinyan said.
"What? You have a brother?"
Chen Jie asked, astonished.
As far as he knew, the Zhang family's businesses were managed by Zhang Xinyan and her parents. This was no secret; it was easy for anyone in their circle to find out.
If Zhang Xinyan had a brother, according to tradition, all the Zhang family's assets should be managed by him.
This was a custom unchanged for thousands of years. Women would eventually marry and leave, so logically and reasonably, the business should be managed by the male heirs of the family.
"Chen Jie, I have something to tell you, please don't be angry!" Zhang Xinyan said awkwardly.
"It's alright, just say it," Chen Jie replied indifferently.
Soon, Zhang Xinyan explained the whole story to Chen Jie.
It turned out Zhang Xinyan's brother was an overseas returnee who had studied abroad since childhood.
After returning to China, he established himself in the provincial capital and achieved considerable success, even founding a company with assets worth over a hundred billion yuan.
Of course, his achievements and lack of widespread fame were due to the substantial financial support from the Zhang family after their business took off.
The Zhang family was not foolish. Chen Jie's master had helped them soar, but it came with conditions. If she truly married Chen Jie, everything would eventually benefit him.
Therefore, they secretly channeled immense benefits to Zhang Xinyan's brother, aiming for success on both fronts.
Indeed, Zhang Xinyan's brother had not disappointed the Zhang family. He had expanded his business in the provincial capital, surpassing the assets of the Zhang family's main branch.
However, the Zhang family, fearing that their controlled assets might eventually fall into the hands of outsiders, had never allowed Zhang Xinyan's brother to assist them directly.
Only Zhang Xinyan had diligently managed their affiliated companies over the years and achieved some success.
Families like the Yangs had similar strategies, and the Wangs were even more so. In places Chen Jie couldn't see, there were undoubtedly vast hidden fortunes.
However, having wealth was one thing; being able to keep it was another.
Although the Yang family was also secretly seeking new avenues for development, they hadn't achieved much success. Zhang Xinyan's brother's achievements were largely due to his own capabilities.
Recently, Zhang Xinyan's brother had arranged a marriage for her to someone in the provincial capital.
But Zhang Xinyan didn't want to marry far away and preferred to stay in Pingcheng.
The consequence of this was angering her own brother.
Zhang Xinyan's brother threatened to cripple the Zhang family's businesses if she didn't comply, leaving Zhang Xinyan with no choice.
She had hoped to join forces with the Yang family to resist her brother, but whether Yang Siqing would agree was another matter. Now that the Yang family had lost everything, they were incapable of offering any assistance.
Now, Zhang Xinyan saw hope in Chen Jie.
She thought that Chen Jie was so powerful, and his Protective Talisman and Pill of Immunity were incredibly mystical. With these two items, even if her brother intended to sanction them, he would be powerless.
Furthermore, Chen Jie was her nominal fiancé, which was why she sought his help.
"You mean you want me to join forces with your Zhang family to oppose your brother?" Chen Jie asked, finally understanding.
"It's not like that."
Zhang Xinyan hastily replied, "We are family, there's no need to go that far. I want you to be my boyfriend and meet my brother. Perhaps my brother will change his mind."
"It's a pretense," Zhang Xinyan added.
Chen Jie pondered for a moment and said, "I can help you with this small favor. You arrange a time with your brother, and I'll handle him for you."
"Chen Jie, thank you," Zhang Xinyan said, her lips parting slightly as she looked at him.
"No need to be polite. We have some history, after all. Helping you is no big deal," Chen Jie replied.
"Then I'll arrange a time with my brother, and you can come with me to the provincial capital then," Zhang Xinyan said.
"Alright. We're almost there. You drive back first."
Chen Jie signaled Zhang Xinyan to stop the car, and then he got out.
After Zhang Xinyan left, Chen Jie found a small gully and dumped out the dozens of corpses from his storage ring.
He then entered the Dragon Group's secret villa.
The villa was vast, resembling a wealthy person's residence, but it was actually a gathering place for Dragon Group members. Beneath it lay a massive underground prison, holding many mysterious, dangerous criminals.
The members of the Dragon Group wore somber expressions due to the sacrifice of two important members.
When they saw Chen Jie, they all looked at him with admiration.
This was the formidable figure who had crippled Liu Lin, a person even the leader Sheng Guofu might not be able to defeat.
If such a person were to join the Dragon Group, wouldn't their strength increase by a large margin?
"Chen Jie, you've arrived!" Sheng Guofu, accompanied by Lin Shuang, personally came out to greet him.
Chen Jie asked, "Where is Jiang Xue?"
Sheng Guofu pointed to one of the rooms and said, "She's in there. This girl has been clamoring to see you. We just told her you arrived, and she hid in her room."
Sheng Guofu's tone was somewhat ambiguous.
"Group Leader, there's an emergency!" a good-looking woman ran up to Sheng Guofu, saying nervously.
"What is it?" Sheng Guofu frowned.
"You need to go personally. It's very important," the woman said with a grave expression.
Sheng Guofu and Lin Shuang exchanged a look, then turned to Chen Jie and said, "I have some matters to attend to, please excuse me."
Chen Jie nodded.
Sheng Guofu and Lin Shuang quickly departed.
Not long after, they saw numerous corpses lying in the small gully not far from the villa.
Soon, they discovered that these corpses were all members of the Dark Night Killer Organization.
Everyone gasped, "No wonder we couldn't find these missing people. How did he manage to dump all these people here at once?"
...
Meanwhile, Chen Jie pushed open the door.
Jiang Xue was sitting with her back to the door. Hearing the sound, she immediately turned around.
Just as she was about to speak, her excited expression suddenly calmed, turning utterly cold. "Why are you here?"
Chen Jie, not noticing her strangeness, replied as if it were natural, "Of course I came to find you! What do you think I'm here for?"
"Heh, looking for me? Why would you look for me? Even if I died, what would it have to do with you? Go find your Zhang Xinyan! Weren't you two having a great time together?" Jiang Xue said coldly.
"I know everything. You established the security company because you wanted to help me," Chen Jie said, his expression softening.
Jiang Xue's shoulders trembled.
"I can't believe I was so blind, thinking of helping you! I offered kindness, and you spat in my face!"
"Look at this," Chen Jie suddenly said, pulling out a Protective Talisman and holding it out to Jiang Xue.