Ding Shanxue left the meeting with Chen Fan with a tangled knot of trouble in his mind. He was given a price, but he doubted his higher-ups would agree to it. Chen Fan was essentially asking for lifetime amnesty
Yu Qin stayed behind and after Xue Jiao and the others were gone, Yu Qin pulled a long face and said: “Grandmaster Chen, I have some information relating to the Vitality Serum that I would like to share with you.”
“Oh? About what?” Chen Fan asked curiously.
“Our source showed that the entrance of foreign spies into China tripled ever since you have invented the number one stock solution three months ago. Many of those agents had arrived in Jin City. We are confident that they came here for the Vitality Serum.” Yu Qin flipped a few pages in a stack of papers and said seriously.
“For example, Mr. Lee Hyun-bin was one of them.”
Yu Qin rushed the folder to Chen Fan. Chen Fan took a glance and saw the picture of a feminine-looking young man. He was Zhong Yaoyao’s new boyfriend, Lee Hyun-bin.
“I have seen him a few days ago.” Chen Fan nodded.
“On the paper, he appeared to be the CEO of Samsung group, a member of the offshoot branch of the Lee Family, and the nephew of the family lord of the Lee Family, Lee Jianhi. In reality, he is the chief of Samsung’s Covert Operation Unit, an A+ class Extraordinary One.” Yu Qin explained.
“Samsung’s Covert Operation Unit? What is the A+ class?” Chen Fan asked with furrowed brows.
“Samsung’s Covert Operation Unit is a special unit inside of the Samsung group. It recruited men and women with near-supernatural abilities to execute the company’s will under the table. They were used to tidy up loose ends, business espionage and stealing business secrets. Based on our records, there was at least one Korean president who was assassinated by Samsung’s Covert Operation Unit.” Yu Qin explained.
The information even took Chen Fan by surprise.
He then recalled that none of the Korean presidents were able to retire in peace, they were either thrown behind bars or were assassinated. This was a clear sign of lack of solidarity and leadership within the country.
Samsung group was a behemoth company. It was worth over a few hundred billion US dollars and made up about one-tenth of the Korean annual GDP. It would not be an easy task to control and manage such a large corporation. The group owned four publicly traded companies that had entered the world’s top five hundred list. In 2008, there were only a handful of private firms in China had made the cut. The Samsung group’s influence was at least ten times more powerful than even the Zheng family.
Therefore, there was a saying in Korea that went like this: Samsung owned Korea, and Lee Family owned Samsung.
“Due to the close ties between Samsung group and the Korean government, Samsung’s Covert Operation Unit had shared some responsibility with the Korean National Intelligence Agency. That being said, the covert units have always been under the direct control of the Lee Family and was under the command of the direct descendants of the Lees.” Yu Qin put in.
“A+ class is a class based on the international standards for categorizing the Extraordinary Ones. C-class is equivalent of initial success in Internal Force, B class is of phenomenal success, A class peak, and S class Extraordinary Ones were equivalent to Grandmasters. A+ class was somewhere in between A and S class. Their power is about the same as that of semi-transcendent state martial artist. This individual was very close to becoming a top Extraordinary One.”
“So, you mean Lee Hyun-bin is a powerful Extraordinary One?”
Chen Fan asked distractedly.
However powerful Samsung group was, Chen Fan was not concerned by its threat.
Chen Fan could kill even the members of the Hong Sect which boasted six deadly underbosses, much less the Samsung group. As long as he stayed out of the Korean peninsula, Samsung group could not do harm to him. Chen Fan doubted that the Samsung group’s Extraordinary ones were more powerful than the underbosses of Hong Sect; after all, one was a commercial enterprise, the other was an underground professional criminal organization.
“Lee Hyun-bin is not the most powerful one inside Samsung’s Covert Operation Unit, but he was on the top five list. Based on our information, the Lee Family has three S-class elite Extraordinary Ones in its service.” Yu Qin said.
“I see.”
Chen Fan replied nonchalantly without any sense of concern.
Yu Qin knew where Chen Fan’s confidence came from. Although Chen Fan was not as wealthy as the Lee Family, when it came down to personal strength, he could hold himself against the combined might of ten Lee Families. Yu Qin continued.
“Our information also showed that Lee Hyun-bin was not alone, there were about ten other of his peers who have made their way into Jin City. Some of them could be the S-class elite Extraordinary ones. They might also carry weapons that the Korean government have invented to counter Martial Artists like you. However, if you wish, we could send a warning through our embassy in Korea to the Korean government and the Lee Family.”
Yu Qin sounded matter-of-fact and no-nonsense.
Despite the hundreds of billions of assets at its disposal, the Lee Family was only an ant compared with the mammoth weight of China; even the country of South Korea was dwarfed by the Asian giant, much less a private company.
“There is no need, if he dares to mess with me, I will kill him.”
Chen Fan flicked a finger and remembered Lee Hyun-bin’s gaze on Fang Qiong’s face. The promise of blood and killing brought a cold smile on his face.
Yu Qin remained quiet and kept her thoughts to herself.
She knew Chen Fan well and had registered Chen Fan’s deadly intent to kill.
Afterward, Yu Qin briefed Chen Fan about other unsavory individuals that had been lurking behind the scenes. Chen Fan was taken by surprise to see the amount of elite martial artists and Extraordinary Ones hiding in plain sight in Jin City.
Yu Qin spent some time telling Chen Fan about the leader of the Dark Totem: Theseus, the Phantom.
The intel showed that Aid International had spent three billion to mobilize nearly half of the Dark Totem. Not only were they going to avenge Jason, but they were also going to steal the secret of the Vitality Serum.
“Theseus was the most powerful of them all and his power was recognized by the international underground world. He was listed as the second most powerful man in the world, right after you. He had awakened the Shadow force inside of him and could control shadows. That ability had made him the most feared assassin in the world.” Yu Qin said as concern flickered in her eyes.
“Don’t worry. You can let me handle them while you make sure about the safety of my family.” Chen Fan cracked a smile and said.
Chen Fan had foreseen the coming of the Dark Totem ever since he killed Jason.
The Aid International also rubbed Chen Fan the wrong way. They had faked cooperation during the research, but as soon as they saw the profit in the miraculous serum, they revealed their true colors, and eager to gobble up the prize entirely.
Like Jason said, the pharmaceutical world was a dog-eat-dog world. The powerful companies were always hungry for new profit and new markets, and would never sit around and let the others claim the lion’s share. They might be afraid of Chen Beixuan’s name and his power at first but when they grew more comfortable, they would become restless. There were over trillions of profit at stake, and they would even wage a war with a nation for it much less getting rid of a teenage boy.
“You can be reassured. We have upgraded your family member’s security rating to SS and havd dispatched Cang Dragon unit to protect them.” Yu Qin said confidently.
Chen Fan nodded.
Securing his family’s safety was one of his top priorities while he negotiated with the military.
Powerful as he was, he could not stay with his family and protect them all the time. If anyone sent a Grandmaster-level assassin to harm his family, Chen Fan would not respond in time. The protection jade talisman could save their lives once or twice, but not forever. However, the involvement of the government forces should deter most of the assassination attempts.
“There are also some agents of the Hong Sect in the city. Our source in North America told us that the Hong Sect had dispatched their Dark Moon unit.” Yu Qin said seriously. “The Dark Moon of Hong Sect had the same reputation as Samsung’s Covert Operation Unit for its deadliness. Each member of the unit is an elite martial artist and a master of all kinds of weapons. They were lead by three underbosses, one of them is Thunder King, Zoro.”
“Hong Sect is going to take advantage of the situation.”
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes.
Samsung’s Covert Operation Unit, Dark Totem, Dark Moon of Hong Sect… so many powerful forces converged at Jin City where they conspired and plotted against him. Alongside them were spies and agents of powerful nations such as Russia and America.
The amount of attention attracted by the Vitality Serum had far exceeded Chen Fan’s expectations.
He had thought that the mortals on earth should have discovered the implication of using the Vitality Serum after a few decades. However, he had underestimated the mortal’s greed, what extent to which mortals would go for profit. The serum’s purported effect of improving man’s sexual prowess would also make it extremely sought after in the market, making it even more valuable.
Viagra had racked in over billions of profit each year for the company that invented it, and the effect of the Vitality Serum was a few times more potent than viagra, therefore, it would be even more successful and profitable.
If the inventor of the serum was not Chen Fan, the Chinese government would have already taken over the Laboratory For Future Life Science and claimed everything for itself.
The Chinese government had not done that because they feared the ire of the most powerful Grandmaster in the world. Chen Fan had put his power on full display many times, so the government knew he was not just a charlatan. Plus, Li Wuchen and other benefactors of Chen Fan inside the government must have vouched for Chen Fan’s peaceful nature. Otherwise, the government would never tolerate Chen Fan’s existence and his possession of a valuable asset.
“Influence is as important as a personal strength. Without it, I would never be able to negotiate peacefully with such a mighty nation.”
Chen Fan exclaimed.
When he has just reborn back into his life as a high school student, the military headquarters would simply brush off his requests, and there would be no negotiations. Chen Fan was aware that it was his influence and strength that had brought the military to the bargaining table, not the Vitality Serum. One day, when he had finally reached Connate Spirit and gained Golden Core, even the American President would have to kowtow to him.
After he had ironed out some details about the mass production of the serum, Chen Fan was ready to go. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught a few words on a piece of paper presented by Yu Qin.
“She is here too? Is she here for the Vitality Serum?”
On the paper was a line of Japanese Kanji Characters and it read: Yukishiro Sa