Chapter 34: Begging for Mercy? Too Late

The fear was not that Yang Chen would make excessive demands, but that he would make none at all.

Liu Hai, president of Jiangfa Bank, immediately said, "No problem! We will report this to our headquarters, and we will certainly meet your requirements."

"If we can take revenge on those foreign firms, not only will we recoup our losses, but more importantly, we will save face for the Dragon Kingdom's financial capital industry. What is a small outfit like Changhui Group compared to that? This is not difficult; we will report it to our headquarters upon our return," said Li Jun of the Industrial and Commercial Bank.

Yang Chen nodded with a smile and said, "Alright! It's a deal then. Prepare your funds. Once Changhui Group is confirmed for delisting, we will immediately move to take revenge on the foreign firms."

The bank presidents nodded in agreement and soon took their leave.

Yang Chen smiled at the six beauties and said, "Come, continue the massage, keep sucking."

While Yang Chen was living in luxury, the situation for Sun Changying was dire.

Sun Changying spent the entire day calling for help, but no one was willing to assist him. In desperation, he went to the Beijiang municipal government, hoping they would intervene to persuade creditors not to demand repayment and to inject capital into Changhui Group. With state backing, he believed the stock price would surely recover, avoiding the tragedy of a delisting due to falling below face value.

However, Changhui Group’s two main businesses—real estate and car sales—were highly replaceable.

The real estate industry had entered a bitter winter; a large number of small and medium-sized firms had collapsed, and even the giants were struggling to hold on. A company of Changhui's scale was simply not worth saving.

As for Changhui Auto Trading, it primarily dealt in joint-venture brand vehicles and possessed none of the new energy brands championed by the state.

After careful consideration, the Beijiang municipal government rejected Sun Changying's request for capital injection, though they were willing to coordinate with various parties to help Changhui Group navigate its predicament.

However, before Sun Changying could even leave the government building, orders came from above: the Beijiang municipal government was instructed to ensure that Changhui Group was delisted in an orderly fashion.

"Why?" Sun Changying asked, feeling deeply indignant.

"Word is that Yang Chen has agreed to help the five major banks take revenge on the foreign firms, reclaiming over a trillion that was harvested from us back in the day. A trillion! How much is your Changhui Group even worth? After careful deliberation, the higher-ups have decided to abandon the tech-devoid Changhui Group and choose to trust that Yang Chen can take revenge on the foreign investment banks," the Mayor of Beijiang said.

Sun Changying was now completely helpless and returned home in despair.

Once home, he locked himself in his room, staring blankly into space. Truth be told, he regretted his actions. He felt he shouldn't have prioritized revenge over the group's interests just because of a petty friction between his son and Yang Chen, and he certainly shouldn't have targeted Yang Chen while knowing that various powerful forces were determined to protect him.

But regret was useless now. Changhui Group’s delisting was set in stone. By tonight, news of the order would spread to all major institutions, and starting tomorrow, the stock price would hit the limit-down until delisting.

If the company were truly delisted, the shareholders would be furious. They wouldn't dare touch Yang Chen, protected as he was by multiple factions, so they would undoubtedly vent their rage on the Sun family.

At this thought, a wave of cold fear washed over Sun Changying; his heart rate accelerated uncontrollably. If they caused the shareholders to lose billions, those people might very well kill him and his son.

Sun Changying was no longer thinking about how to save the company from delisting, but how to save their lives.

Overcome by the fear of death, he ignored all pride and quickly pulled out his phone to call Yang Chen.

At that moment, Yang Chen was eating grapes peeled and fed to him by Chen Xi, while admiring the black-stocking dance of the other five beauties. He answered the phone when he saw it was Sun Changying.

"Hello, Chairman Sun, coming to threaten me again?" Yang Chen asked with a smile.

Sun Changying hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I wouldn't dare. I want to apologize to Chairman Yang. I admit defeat. Please, show mercy and don't let Changhui Group be delisted. I can give you my shares; Changhui Group will have nothing to do with me from now on. Is that okay?"

"What would I want with your pathetic company? Si-Hai Group is more than enough for me to handle," Yang Chen replied.

Sun Changying quickly added, "Then name your conditions. Anything, as long as you don't let Changhui Group be delisted."

"I want Changhui Group to be delisted. Why would I want to negotiate with you?" Yang Chen said with a laugh, then hung up and blocked Sun Changying's number.

He was the one who threatened to kill Yang Chen earlier, and now he was the one seeking a reconciliation. How could Yang Chen possibly agree?

Yang Chen could now calmly wait for Changhui Group to be locked into a delisting due to its face value, and then personally fight a beautiful battle of revenge for the Dragon Kingdom's financial industry.

Yang Chen usually started work around 8:30 AM and arrived at Si-Hai Group just after 9:00 AM.

Just past 8:00 AM, Chen Chao called him.

"Hello, Chairman Yang, this is bad. A group of customers who bought our wealth management products has arrived at the company with banners demanding their money. The security guards are currently in a standoff with them, and a physical altercation could break out at any moment."

"Tell the security team to remain restrained. Under no circumstances should they lay a hand on the customers. I am on my way; I will handle them."

The wealth management products issued by Si-Hai Group totaled 50 billion, with about 10 billion already overdue and unpaid. The first clause of the gambling agreement Yang Chen had signed with the Jiangcheng municipal government was to resolve the issues with Si-Hai Wealth Management within one year. Therefore, Yang Chen had to handle these angry customers personally.

Yang Chen arrived at the company with the six beauties. The guards and customers were pushing and shoving.

As soon as he stepped out of the car, Yang Chen ran over and shouted, "Stop! Everyone, stop!"

Chen Chao quickly grabbed a megaphone and shouted, "Everyone, be quiet! Our new Chairman is here. Please listen to what he has to say."

Hearing that the new Chairman had arrived, the customers stopped pushing the guards and turned to shout at Yang Chen instead.

"Si-Hai Wealth Management, return our hard-earned money!"

"Si-Hai Wealth Management, return our hard-earned money..."

Yang Chen stood there, speechless, covering his ears as he watched them chant. After they had shouted for over a minute, they finally stopped.

Yang Chen picked at his ear, and Chen Chao quickly handed him the megaphone.

"You've given me tinnitus with all that shouting! Speak if you have something to say. Yelling at me is useless; I'm not the one who owes you money," Yang Chen said, feeling quite frustrated.

The leader was a middle-aged man in glasses, Huang Haiming, a professor in the Finance Department at Jiangcheng University. Back when Si-Hai Investment first created these wealth management products, they had consulted him. He had happily invested his life savings, only to end up in this ironic predicament.

Huang Haiming said angrily, "But you are the new Chairman of Si-Hai Group now, so of course we are coming to you for our money. We don't even want the interest anymore; just pay back the principal."

The other customers chimed in.

"I don't want interest either, just return my principal. I've given up, isn't that enough?"

"My spouse and I have been working day and night at a street stall to save money. We bought these products because we trusted that Si-Hai Group was a big brand. Now that we can't even get our principal back, how are we supposed to live? *Sob*..."

"I also bought these products because I believed in the Si-Hai brand. Because of this, my wife divorced me, took the house, and left me with these worthless products. Sir, I beg you, please return my principal. Otherwise, I really don't know how I can go on."

Some customers actually knelt down, which made Yang Chen feel heavy-hearted.

Yang Chen sighed and said, "Everyone, please, don't do this. Get up. I have two things to say. First, it is not my responsibility that these products cannot be cashed out. Please understand this clearly and do not treat me like an enemy. Second, Si-Hai Group truly has no money right now, so it is impossible to pay you back."

At that moment, the system sent a notification.

"Host has refused to pay out the wealth management products for customers. The system rewards the host with the [Script Master] skill."

What the hell?

What is the point of rewarding me with this?