The other side of the Earth.
Canada.
Ning Hua, living it up in Vancouver, was now experiencing a very satisfactory afternoon. After a hearty al, he had packed up his eight-year-old son and extraordinarily beautiful wife to watch a baseball match. With the abundance of funds in his account, he had already kicked off his retirent.
He had benefited from a considerable amount of money back ho. He had borrowed at least 100 million RMB privately; this, in combination with the earnings from the sale of his factory and past earnings, was duly converted and transferred abroad through underground banking. This money was sufficient enough to sustain his extravagance for the rest of his lifeti.
Repay it?
It had never crossed his mind.
Why should he pay back the money that he had borrowed on his own?
As for the ss left behind, who was going to handle it?
It was not his problem.
Having climbed up from being reckless, he believed he had co to an understanding of human nature. In his eyes, society was all about wealth and desired it. He considered others to be foolish, blaming society, and considered himself an unfortunate victim.
Cuddling his youthful and gorgeous wife, the forty-six-year-old Ning Hua felt like he was truly living. His ex-wife and prodigal daughter left back ho had been forgotten long ago. Leaving them a house and savings of up to tens of thousands, he and his mistress, with whom he shared a secretly-born son, immigrated here.
Experiencing the freedom of the baseball field, with the warm sunshine and his beautiful wife by his side, Ning Hua had long forgotten his past life and people from back ho.
"Honey, Chanel has released a new perfu. Can you buy it for ?"
"Sure, I will."
"My mom is ill and has been hospitalized. Can we send so money back?"
"No problem. Fifty thousand. Is that enough?" Ning Hua knew that the woman was tricking him for money, but since she birthed him a son, a token amount wasn’t a big deal.
"Thank you, honey. You are the best."
"Haha..."
"Long ti no see, Bruce." A ’muscular’ western man ca to greet Ning Hua, who had taken the English na ’Bruce’ for himself-- easy and morable.
"Hello, you gained so weight. I told you to eat more vegetables," Ning Hua joked. Although his English was terrible, speaking slowly was enough for others to understand him.
"Can’t help it, can’t lose weight. We’re planning to go to Las Vegas in the United States next week. You interested in joining?"
"Yeah, sure. It’s been a long ti since I’ve visited." Ning Hua knew the man was looking to take advantage of the Eastern culture of "treating guests."
"Great, I’ll get in touch with you beforehand."
"..."
Ning Hua continued to exchange greetings with all of his acquaintances. Although every single person held ulterior motives and many held him in contempt, what did it matter? After all, he was wealthy.
That was the truth.
He was even considering investing in sothing. Not necessarily for making money, but rather to attain a certain social status locally, and perhaps, the desire to beco a boss had sprouted in his mind again. Just the thought of his subordinates cursing him internally while treating him respectfully on the surface gave him a kick.
At that very mont.
His cell phone began to vibrate.
Glancing at it,
he saw an unknown number. Ning Hua didn’t think much of it and answered the call.
"Hello, this is Ning Hua," he said in his Chinglish accent.
"Mr. Ning Hua, hello."
The voice on the phone spoke the most authentic Chinese, clearly enunciated, definitely at the level of a broadcaster. On hearing it, Ning Hua frowned, unable to recall having heard this voice among his acquaintances.
"Who is this?" Ning Hua asked sternly.
"Mr. Ning Hua, you don’t need to know who I am. I’m informing you that we’ve withdrawn an amount equivalent to 60 million RMB from your bank account as per client preferences. I advise you not to think about getting this money back from the bank. If you attempt it, you will end up with nothing." The threat from the ’fighter’ was pretty straightforward, which can be considered classic foolishness. But negotiations cannot be attempted, right?...
Did I just lose 60 million RMB?
Ning Hua was taken aback. What does it an by ’as per client preferences?’ Though he did not want to know, he was aware that his money might have been inexplicably transferred by soone.
"Who the hell are you? What did you do with my money? I’m going to report you to the bank. Return my money at once," Ning Hua roared angrily in Chinese. He had already received a text ssage notification showing a substantial reduction in his bank balance. Most probably, it was too late to change the password, so he decided to issue a direct threat. From their previous conversation, he was aware that the other party was afraid of him chasing the money back through the bank.
"Mr. Ning Hua, it seems like you’re not very cooperative. Seven billion. Any questions?"
Seven billion?
What does that an?
Ning Hua was stunned, but the text ssage from the bank startled him back to reality. The ssage read that another 1.5 million Canadian dollars were gone.
Ning Hua was furious,
and almost lost his footing.
Needed to hold onto the railing.
"Who...who ordered you? I’ll file a complaint against you," Ning Hua grunted in frustration, drawing a crowd around him, but he didn’t care.
This was his ’hard-earned’ money, after all!
"Eighty million," another chilling phrase ca through the phone.
The next second, he received another text ssage. Nearly 1.5 million Canadian dollars were gone, again.
Ning Hua was truly terrified this ti.
His face was a mask of panic.
"I... I... stop, let’s talk about it..." He had to back down. He couldn’t afford to continue, or he might end up bankrupt.
"Good, Mr. Ning, you have finally cald down. To tell you the truth, you won’t be able to reclaim this money. If it wasn’t for our policy against overstepping, you would not have had a single penny left. We simply do not want to ddle too much."
Ning Hua took a deep breath.
He contemplated how to resolve this amicably. But, considering the other party’s tone, it appeared an amicable resolution was not possible today.
"Brother, I admit it. I’ll give you the sixty million, but can you return the rest of the money?" Ning Hua pleaded.
"Okay, seeing as you have a good attitude, we’ll return the extra three million Canadian dollars to you. But, if you cause us trouble, I promise that the rest of your life will be full of trouble. Please believe that we have the power to do that. Goodbye, Mr. Ning."
"Beep, beep, beep."
Listening to the busy signal on the phone, Ning Hua felt a ntal short circuit. Had he just lost 60 million RMB and couldn’t fight back?
At this mont, he received a text ssage that 3 million Canadian Dollars had been transferred back to him.
Perhaps this text ssage had given him confidence.
Ning Hua made a decision.
He declined.
Yes, he would call the police.
After making up his mind, Ning Hua quickly dialed the Canadian police and reported that his bank money had been illegally transferred away.
He ended the call with the Vancouver police.
Just as Ning Hua was about to call the bank to freeze his account,
The next second, his mobile phone received two text ssages. Both ssages ended with the sa sentence: Balance: One hundred thousand Canadian Dollars.
Ning Hua’s hand went limp after reading the ssages, and the phone fell to the ground.
"Clang..."
His mobile phone was a Nokia and, luckily, it hadn’t broken.
All the money in his two bank cards was gone, leaving only two hundred thousand Canadian Dollars—or just over one million RMB.
What could he do with that?
He was ruined.
Suddenly, Ning Hua’s vision turned black. He couldn’t accept the reality and fainted. Shouts of surprise echoed in his ears before his consciousness slipped away.
The next day.
Ning Hua woke up in the hospital, slling the scent of disinfectant. He groggily opened his eyes and saw the doctor and his wife by his bedside. Initially, he could not rember why he’d fainted, but soon he recalled the fact that he could be penniless.
And then... he fainted again.
Two days later.
When Ning Hua woke up again, he didn’t pass out. Instead, he started to think of a way out. He couldn’t just wait for death. He had lost nearly all the money he had worked hard for half his life and he couldn’t accept this. Although he still had over a million dollars in his other accounts, compared to before, he was now truly impoverished.
Yes, he would call the police.
He would file a lawsuit.
He would expose the incident in the dia.
He would employ the best team of lawyers to sue the bank. The bank must compensate him for this money.
Just as Ning Hua was filled with resolute thoughts.
A man with a Western face wearing a white gown walked in. He looked quite handso but was expressionless.
"Mr. Ning Hua, hello," the Westerner closed the door, approached the bed and said.
Ning Hua found it strange. Hadn’t the doctor just been here? He had ntioned a police officer coming to take a statent and that his young wife was on the way. Now another one was here, an intern maybe?
Probably.
"Hello, when can I be discharged," asked Ning Hua casually. He needed to get out of there and start arranging for a lawsuit. As for freezing the account, it was no longer necessary. With such little money left, what was the point?
"No, it’s too early for your discharge, and, you might be dying soon."
The kind-faced Westerner suddenly looked sinister as he uttered this.
His expression.
Ning Hua was almost scared to death.
"You... you... that’s impossible. The previous doctor only ntioned that my blood pressure was slightly high," Ning Hua said nervously as he leaned against the hospital bed. It wasn’t so much the fear of death but the look in the man’s eyes. It resembled those of killers from the movies, the more he looked at him, the more frightened he got.
Damn it.
Could his luck be any worse?
"Mr. Ning Hua, of course, it is possible. Especially if you plan to continue causing trouble by calling the police or suing, click, you will indeed die soon," the man said as he took out a pistol from his coat, loaded it, and pointed it at Ning Hua’s head.
Feeling the cold muzzle against his forehead,
Ning Hua gave in imdiately, his mind a complete ss.
"Are you... are you the one who made the phone call?" Ning Hua was not stupid and imdiately connected the two incidents. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such dialog.
"You have no right to know. You only need to know that if you keep pestering us, I can’t even imagine your future," the man scoffed.
Upon hearing the man’s admission, Ning Hua dared not think of calling the police again. He didn’t want to die.
He could not ss with such forces.
For a mont, he terribly missed his ho country, where guns were banned.
"Can I have the money back?" Ning Hua asked weakly.
"Sorry, we gave you a chance and you didn’t take it. So, you only have that small amount of money left. I believe you still have money in your other bank accounts, but we are not interested. Please don’t force us to be," the man warned Ning Hua.
"Okay, I will not report to the police, or sue the bank. When the police co, I will tell them it was a mistake," Ning Hua blurted out. Faced with the threat of death, he knew how to choose.
Ning Hua felt a chill down his spine. The people he was dealing with were too secretive, but regardless, he didn’t want to die. He still had plenty of good days ahead. The money he had left was enough to live on.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Please cherish the days you can see the sun. If you see next ti, it will probably be the last ti you’ll see this world, understand?"
"Yes, yes, I understand," Ning Hua nodded hastily in agreent.
"Goodbye, Mr. Ning, or rather, I hope we don’t et again."
Having said that, the man put away his gun and walked out of the room.
His task was not yet over. He needed to leave soone here to handle any sudden incidents, just in case Ning Hua beca desperate—a small possibility, but still.
Watching the man leave, Ning Hua felt utterly powerless to fight back. He didn’t know who they were, but he was sure he couldn’t offend them. He could only swallow this bitter pill, otherwise, he didn’t dare imagine the consequences.
PS: Next Chapter around ten o’clock.
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