After Jiang Chenghao left, the air in the detention room seemed to remain frozen.
The madness in Lee Joong-ku's eyes had not receded; instead, he appeared exceptionally calm due to extreme rage.
He growled hoarsely at the guard by the door, "Get Secretary Han in here! Now!"
Half an hour later, a tall, thin man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses, looking like an ordinary office worker, hurried in.
He was Lee Joong-ku's true confidant and strategist, and one of the few allowed to visit at such a time.
"Chairman!" Secretary Han's heart sank when he saw Lee Joong-ku's appearance.
"To make a long story short," Lee Joong-ku leaned forward, his hands on the table, staring intensely at Secretary Han through the glass, "That bastard Ding Qing is holding a board meeting tomorrow to seize power! I can't let him succeed!"
"First, immediately contact all the brothers who can still move and tell them that I, Lee Joong-ku, am not down yet! Tomorrow, I want to hear voices supporting me, not the nonsense of a bunch of fence-sitters! Whoever dares to side with Ding Qing, when I get out, I'll wipe out his whole family!"
"Second, prepare some good stuff, the more the better. Tomorrow, we might need a little excitement to welcome our Director Ding."
"Third..." Lee Joong-ku's eyes became incredibly sinister, "Contact Leo and tell him the plan is moving up! The target... is no longer a test, it's an elimination! Get rid of that most annoying guy next to Ding Qing, that killer named Johnny! I want to chop off one of Ding Qing's arms when he's at his most complacent!"
The 'Leo' he spoke of was the same Leo who had clashed with Johnny in the parking lot.
A flicker of fear crossed Secretary Han's eyes behind his glasses, but it was immediately replaced by absolute obedience: "Yes, Chairman! I'll go at once!"
"Go quickly!" Lee Joong-ku released him and paced like an anxious caged beast in the small space, "Tomorrow, I'm going to give Ding Qing a lesson he'll never forget!"
The next morning, Goldmoon Group Headquarters Building.
The atmosphere was so heavy it could be wrung out.
Around the massive U-shaped board meeting table sat various directors and leaders of the Goldmoon Group.
But almost everyone kept their heads down, avoiding contact with the cold gaze from the main seat.
Ding Qing, wearing a well-tailored black suit and with his hair meticulously styled, did not have his usual seemingly amiable smile; instead, he sat expressionlessly at the head of the table, his fingers tapping intermittently on the polished surface.
The tapping sound was not loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.
Johnny did not sit at the conference table; instead, he stood like a silent statue, leaning against the farthest wall of the conference room, arms crossed, his gaze calmly sweeping the entire room.
His position offered an excellent view, allowing him to clearly see every subtle expression and movement of each person.
His very presence was a silent deterrent.
On Ding Qing's other side, Li Zicheng sat upright, his face somewhat pale, and the dark circles under his eyes showed he hadn't slept all night.
He tried hard to maintain his composure, but only he knew the turmoil within.
"Is everyone here?"
Ding Qing finally spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying an unquestionable authority.
A silence fell, indicating agreement.
"Very good."
Ding Qing leaned forward slightly, his gaze sweeping the room, "Then, there is only one agenda item for today's extraordinary board meeting. Director Lee Joong-ku is currently unable to perform his duties. The group cannot be without a leader. I propose electing a new Chairman to lead the Goldmoon Group forward. Does anyone have any objections?"
The conference room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The core members of the Di Ri Faction and Tiger Faction exchanged glances, but under Ding Qing's imposing presence and Johnny's cold stare, no one dared to speak first.
Just as this oppressive silence was about to be broken by Ding Qing, the conference room door was pushed open from outside!
It wasn't Lee Joong-ku who entered, but his chief confidant, the scholarly-looking Secretary Han with the gold-rimmed glasses.
Behind him followed several stern-faced, formidable core enforcers of the Di Ri Faction.
Secretary Han adjusted his glasses, and facing Ding Qing's icy gaze, though nervous, his tone was unusually firm: "Director Ding, forgive the interruption. I am here to attend this meeting on behalf of Chairman Lee Joong-ku."
A suppressed commotion arose in the conference room; Lee Joong-ku's people actually dared to barge in directly!
Ding Qing's eyes narrowed slightly, and his tapping fingers on the table stopped: "Secretary Han? Chairman Li seems to have forgotten that he is currently cooperating with an investigation and is not qualified to participate in board votes. And you... are even less qualified to represent him here."
"Qualified?"
Secretary Han took out a document from his briefcase, "This is a power of attorney personally signed by Chairman Li. During the period when he is unable to perform his duties, I am fully authorized to exercise all his powers, including voting rights! According to the group's articles of association, this is permissible!"
As soon as he finished speaking, some of the Di Ri Faction members who had been keeping their heads down seemed to find their backbone, looking up with hostile expressions.
Clearly, Secretary Han's arrival and Lee Joong-ku's authorization gave them the courage to resist.
Ding Qing's face darkened.
He hadn't expected Lee Joong-ku to pull such a move from detention!
Jiang Chenghao... he must have facilitated it, tacitly allowing or even orchestrating all of this!
"A power of attorney of unknown authenticity?"
Ding Qing's voice carried a chill, "Secretary Han, take your people and leave immediately. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."
"Impolite?"
Secretary Han seemed to have thrown caution to the wind, raising his voice, "Does Director Ding intend to use violence in front of all the directors? Although Chairman Li is temporarily absent, the people of the Di Ri Faction and Tiger Faction are still here! Do you want Goldmoon to split apart right here today?!"
The enforcers behind him stepped forward, their hands unconsciously moving to their waists, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
The directors supporting Ding Qing also stood up, glaring angrily.
The conference room immediately split into two factions, glaring at each other, with shouts and threats erupting, turning the originally solemn board meeting into a farcical scene like a marketplace.
Johnny's body tensed slightly, his keen gaze sweeping over Secretary Han and everyone he brought, assessing their threat level and possible timing for action.
His hands hung seemingly casually, but were already in optimal position for action.
Li Zicheng's heart was in his throat; the chaos before him far exceeded his expectations.
Ding Qing watched the almost out-of-control scene, his eyes icy to the extreme.
He knew this was Lee Joong-ku's counterattack, and Jiang Chenghao's scheme.
They dared not release Lee Joong-ku directly, so they used this method to disgust him, obstruct him, and even incite internal strife!
"Silence, all of you!"
Ding Qing slammed the table, the loud sound temporarily quieting the uproar.
He stared intently at Secretary Han: "Good, very good. You want to represent Lee Joong-ku? Fine! Then sit down! Let's see who will have the last laugh today!"
He sat back down, but the rift in the conference room had already appeared, and a storm was brewing at its center.
An election?
This had already turned into a banquet with ill intentions.
And just as everyone's attention was drawn to the fierce standoff inside the conference room... across the street from the building, on the edge of a slightly lower office building's rooftop.
Leo, dressed in black, like a hunter merged with shadows, lay silently prone.
Through the high-precision sniper rifle's scope, the crosshairs steadily locked onto Johnny, who was leaning against the wall in the conference room, his expression cold.
His finger rested lightly on the trigger, his breathing steady.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
The farce orchestrated by Lee Joong-ku's subordinates was the overt storm, but his fatal blow was the true killing move.
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