Chapter 21: Into Long Aotian’s World, Day 21
Chapter 21: Into Long Aotian’s World, Day 21
Chapter 21: The Twenty-First Day of Transmigrating into the Dragon King Novel
Shao Xiuya sat on the edge of the spacious desk, his long legs casually crossed. He also held a glass of wine, but his gaze was magnetically drawn to An Yi.
Hearing Chang Tongxin’s words, he let out a light laugh and added, “The losses are bound to be heavy. They thought they could follow that stupid pig Du Guyuan and get a piece of the pie, but instead they ended up with a mouthful of poison.”
“A few ‘friends’ of the Yuanchen Group in Europe really helped us out this time and made them pay a hefty ‘tuition fee’ for their lesson.”
An Yi stood by the window, his back to them. He held no wine glass, only a cup of steaming clear tea.
The exhaustion of the past few days seemed to truly wash over him at this moment, but his mind was exceptionally clear.
He turned around, a calm smile of finality on his face: “The testimony and evidence chain from Scarface Qiang, combined with the ironclad proof we provided, are enough to nail Du Guyuan to the wall.”
“His shady funding sources, illegal transaction records, paid sabotage... one by one, they’re enough to let him ‘spend his golden years’ in prison.”
“The best part was our ‘gift’!” An Yi chuckled. “Du Guyuan actually treated that poisoned ‘core plan’ like gold! I heard he mortgaged everything he could and even took out high-interest loans from loan sharks, and dumped all of it into that project that was always going to be a black hole for money!”
“I heard that the project went belly-up the second it launched, leaving a financial crater that could swallow a whole aircraft carrier! Bankrupt? More like he couldn't pay it off in a hundred lifetimes!”
Shao Xiuya set his wine glass on the table and added in a calm tone, “The Du family was planning to spring him out, but unfortunately the news about that south-side development was just a rumor, and on top of that, the industrial pollution made that land a total albatross around their necks.”
“Now they're like clay idols crossing a river—they can barely save their own skins.”
Chang Tongxin elegantly took a sip of wine, a cold, gleeful spark in her eyes: “Oh, and by the way. The last few high-quality assets under Du Guyuan’s name, including those he secretly hid under his lover’s name—I’ve already ‘helped’ to ‘acquire’ them at the lowest point. Tongxin's cash flow is pretty damn flush now.”
She set down her glass and looked at An Yi and Shao Xiuya, a sincere smile of congratulations on her face: “That was a damn beautiful victory.”
Shao Xiuya got up from the desk, walked over to An Yi, and casually slung an arm around his shoulder—a real sign of closeness.
He looked at Chang Tongxin and raised his glass: “We all worked together to make it happen.”
An Yi leaned into Shao Xiuya's arm, letting his body relax a little against him, feeling the solid strength in Shao Xiuya's arm drain away all the exhaustion from the last few days.
He turned to look at Shao Xiuya, his eyes full of undisguised warmth, and said softly, “Yeah, credit to everyone.”
Then he turned to the other two and raised his teacup: “I'll toast with tea instead of wine. To all of you. Cheers to a great partnership!”
“Cheers to a great partnership!”
“Cheers!” An Yi, Shao Xiuya, and Chang Tongxin said in unison, their glasses and teacups clinking softly with a crisp, pleasant sound, sealing the perfect ending to this flawless takedown.
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The heavy iron door clanged shut behind him, cutting off the last bit of light and noise from the world outside.
Dressed in a cheap, ill-fitting gray-blue prison uniform, his hands and feet shackled in cold iron, Du Guyuan was shoved by two expressionless guards, staggering as he walked into the cold, disinfectant-scented corridor of the detention center.
His once meticulously combed hair now stuck messily to his forehead, and his face, once famous for its charming smirk, now only showed gray despair, fear, and pure venom.
The expensive custom suit was gone, replaced by scratchy prison clothes. The huge shock made him squirm like a thousand ants were crawling all over him.
“Move it! Stop dragging your feet!” one guard urged impatiently.
Du Guyuan flinched at the voice, stumbled, and nearly fell.
He turned his head sharply, his bloodshot eyes glaring at the guard with the last traces of his old 'Dark Emperor' ferocity, and snarled, “Do you have any idea who I am?! I'm Du Guyuan! I'm a Du! How dare you treat me this way?! When I get out of here...”
“Shut your mouth!” the other guard barked, cutting him off.
“Du Guyuan? Never heard of you. In here, you're just a number!”
The guard’s voice was cold and merciless, like a bucket of ice water on his last pathetic fantasy.
They shoved him into a cramped, moldy-smelling holding cell.
The iron door closed again, and the tiny space was filled with nothing but his ragged breathing and the scrape of his chains.
“No... impossible... this can't be happening...” Du Guyuan leaned against the cold wall and slid down until he collapsed on the icy concrete floor.
He grabbed his head, digging his fingers into his hair, and let out a hoarse, animal roar: “An Yi... Shao Xiuya, you bastards! You plotted against me! I'll make you pay!”
He pounded the floor like a madman, his handcuffs clanging against the concrete, blood seeping from his knuckles. But he felt nothing—only bottomless hatred and soul-crushing despair.
He thought about the 'core project' he had poured everything into, which had collapsed in an instant, wiping him out; he thought about the way An Yi and the others had taken him out in the capital market, crushing any hope of recovery; he thought about the devastating investigation results from the regulators, stripping him bare in front of everyone; and he thought about the traitor he'd trusted as a last hope, crying and ratting him out in front of ironclad evidence!
“Traitors! Useless pieces of shit!” he screamed, spittle flying.
Now, stuck in this cell, fear coiled around his heart like a cold, slimy snake, choking the air out of him.
What awaited him was a long stretch in prison, his family's scorn, and... total ruin.
Dark Emperor? What a joke. He was nothing.
Listening to the chaotic chatter around him, An Yi's smile got even bigger:
“WAIT????????????”
“WAIT????????????”
“WAIT????????????”
“What’s going on?”
“The male lead is bankrupt and arrested?”
“Is the author crazy?”
“So this is supposed to be a Dragon King novel?!”
“The author is a fucking moron. They're just baiting and switching us, right?”
“Why does the female lead team up with the male supporting characters to take down the male lead? And they actually pulled it off!”
“And those are two gay male supporting characters!”
“What is this, a gay coup on a male power fantasy?!”
“Why was the little white flower Xia Youyou's first reaction to take the money and run!”
“And she actually succeeded!”
“She went to another city to open a trendy bubble tea shop! Didn’t even bother with Du Guyuan!”
“She even laughed when they took Du Guyuan away!”
“Truly a loner, huh!”
“Stupid male lead! Stupid author!”
“......”