Chapter 1421: Chapter 1421: A Den of Dragons and Tigers
Ye Fan and his group entered a private residence, which belonged to the Lu family’s private estate.
The security measures inside the house were the most advanced, with guard dogs and Tibetan mastiffs, as well as a myriad of bodyguards.
Ye Fan and Mengyao moved in, accompanied by Qi Haomin and Qi Sixue.
Lu Qianqian also moved in and naturally brought along Zhou Qiuyan. As the host, it was natural to ensure Zhou Qiuyan had a place to stay, and Zhou Qiuyan did not refuse Lu Qianqian’s kind gesture.
"My daughter and her friends are also staying here. If Mr. Ye and President Chu want to go somewhere for fun or have any special dishes they want to try, just let us know; my daughter will take care of everything," said Lu Binwang.
"Patriarch Lu has arranged everything meticulously, so don’t stand on ceremony. If there’s anything we need, we won’t be shy," Ye Fan said.
"Then I’m reassured." After several polite exchanges, Lu Binwang finally left.
With Lu Qianqian here, safety was no longer an issue, allowing Lu Binwang to refrain from arranging additional protectors for Lu Qianqian, which set his mind at ease.
Ye Fan and Chu Mengyao understood this well and didn’t point it out; ensuring Lu Qianqian’s safety was only natural.
In this incident, as the owners of the ancient painting, Qi Haomin and Qi Sixue were involved.
After the mishap, Lu Binwang suggested to Qi Haomin to deposit the ancient painting at the underground auction house. In some sense, Lu Binwang was inviting trouble, but he had to do it because Qi Haomin had helped him a lot and he couldn’t just stand by.
The business dealings between Lu Binwang and Qi Haomin relied on Qi Haomin’s collection and taste, which helped Lu Binwang select many gifts with unique qualities for others. In this aspect, Lu Binwang was not as proficient as Qi Haomin.
Lu Qianqian, Zhou Qiuyan, and Qi Sixue gathered together, discussing topics about Ye Fan. There were countless legends about Chu Mengyao, known as Huaxia’s number one strongwoman, with information about her flooding the internet. However, there was less understanding of Ye Fan, who was an incredibly formidable and mysterious man, sparking their curiosity.
"What do you guys think, who exactly is Ye Fan? How does he always exude such an aura of mystery?" Lu Qianqian asked. It’s undeniable that mysterious men always pique women’s curiosity and become a topic of discussion, and that is exactly the case now.
"No matter how much we speculate, we won’t be able to guess," Qi Sixue said, "But one thing is unmistakably certain, he is an unfathomable man."
"Here we are eagerly discussing a man, it’s kind of embarrassing," Zhou Qiuyan laughed.
"What’s there to be embarrassed about? We’re openly discussing a man, it’s no big deal," Qi Sixue replied.
"I’ve never seen my father value anyone so highly. This time, I’m truly astonished," Lu Qianqian mused.
"That’s nothing, Old Fu seems quite reserved with Mr. Ye and Chu Mengyao," Qi Sixue mentioned, with amazement and shock, "They refer to that old bastard Fu with such disrespect, yet Old Fu isn’t angry—instead, he’s insistent on having ties with Mr. Ye and President Chu, as if afraid of being turned down."
"That is Old Fu, after all." Zhou Qiuyan and Lu Qianqian were utterly speechless with shock, exchanging wry smiles.
All they could do was murmur, "Chu Mengyao is a peerless beauty, and this Ye Fan, he’s simply not human."
Not long after, three people came to visit, two women and one man—Zhang Lu, Yang Shu, and Ji Jie.
Little needed to be said about Zhang Lu and Yang Shu, Old Fu had revealed that they had come earlier to handle the auction house’s security.
Ji Jie was one of the auction house managers, handling many of the affairs.
After the incident, as one of the shareholders of the auction house, Lu Binwang entrusted Ji Jie with full responsibility for the situation.
"Ye Fan, Mengyao, we meet again." Zhang Lu beamed, "This time, seeing both of you here, I’m much more at ease. With Ye Fan around, no sort of miscreants can cause trouble, and with Mengyao’s financial prowess, who would dare challenge her? Anyone stepping up would only get crushed."
"Don’t try to flatter us, just saying nice things isn’t appropriate," Chu Mengyao chuckled, looking at Zhang Lu.
Zhang Lu candidly replied, "With great power comes great responsibility. I was overjoyed upon hearing you’d come."
"Hello, Instructor, hello, President Chu," Yang Shu greeted properly.
"Hello, if there’s anything to discuss, let’s sit down and talk," Chu Mengyao kindly suggested.
Ji Jie, aware of all of Ye Fan and Chu Mengyao’s identities, was especially cautious and respectful.
"Let me introduce Ji Jie to you. He’s in charge of auction house security. With Ye Fan here, we’ll all heed your orders; that’s Old Fu’s command. Ji Jie is from the military, and he manages two of the checkpoints at the auction house," Zhang Lu briefly explained Ji Jie’s identity.
"Mr. Ye, President Chu, it’s an honor to meet you. I’ve heard your names echoing like thunder. Being able to work together this time, it’s truly a blessing," Ji Jie respectfully said.
"No need to be so formal, since we’re all gathered for a common purpose, let’s keep it natural," Ye Fan calmly replied.
"These are the security procedures and information we’ve gathered on the enemies. Please review it, and let us know if there’s anything to add; we can make adjustments as necessary," Zhang Lu handed a stack of documents to Ye Fan.
Taking a few minutes, Ye Fan absorbed all the necessary details.
The enemies comprised several groups, mainly five major factions. Other minor forces, whether from Jin City’s underground or small factions from other areas, could be largely ignored.
Among them, Japan’s overt forces were quite ostentatious, led by Saigoku, appearing consistently and unabashedly, unafraid of exposure.
The sheer power revealed by Saigoku’s group was astonishing.
The second was the underground world magnate, Boss Zuo.
Additionally, there’s the Clive and Charles-led E Country faction.
The Peng Bird group and the Black Cat Team were also formidable forces that couldn’t be overlooked.
These forces were tangible, evident entities.
These five enemy factions were a significant threat, coming in full force.
Other minor factions, either coerced or influenced by these forces, weren’t as important.
Moreover, the auction house’s security arrangements included high-tech security measures, and just in terms of human checkpoints, there were five layers. The outermost being the auction house’s security guards.
Next were the two checkpoints managed by Ji Jie.
Further inside were members of the Longyin Team led by Qin Yi.
Deepest inside were Zhang Lu and others.
It was a true dragon’s den and tiger’s lair; once inside, there was no escape.
And in fact, this proved true, as five attempted infiltrations of the auction house all ended in complete failure for the intruders.
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