Chapter Sixty-Five: Struck by Misfortune...

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Today is a good day, an auspicious and propitious day. The money from Country Y has finally been transferred back home. After the final tally, Zhuo Nan was overjoyed—a thirty-something thousand pound bet, and after all taxes, he had made more than eighty million yuan. Zhuo Nan thought to himself, if I made a living off gambling, by 2010 I could easily rake in at least ten billion. The only question is whether I’d live long enough to spend it…

Seeing such a major client, the bank staff immediately provided Zhuo Nan with a checkbook. From now on, he could imitate those scenes on television: write out a check, tear it off with a flourish, and toss it to his underling. He did precisely that.

At Du Fanhao’s desk, Zhuo Nan leaned over and filled out a check for twenty million, handing it to Du Fanhao. “Brother Du, we must launch this before September…”

Du Fanhao had everything ready except money. According to his plan, before releasing the product, he would launch overwhelming nationwide publicity. He aimed for the effect of thunderous silence followed by an earth-shattering debut, rapidly capturing the national market from the outset. Wherever there was a computer, there would be QQ…

If anything exemplifies high profile, this is it. Moreover, for the next three years, thirty percent of QQ’s profits would be dedicated to promotion and advertising. Zhuo Nan’s QQ was already completely different from its “previous incarnation.” He had followed Superbrain’s advice and integrated Alipay functions into the QQ platform; many online transactions and transfers could now be done through QQ. In the next two years, he planned to move online banking onto QQ as well. QQ itself didn’t require real-name authentication, but activating Alipay and online banking functions would; thus, it was even safer and more convenient.

Chatting, online payments, online banking, and even future concepts of online communication would all be realized through QQ. The current QQ could be considered the first generation.

Even so, Longhua Technology’s product was already groundbreaking, offering both Chinese and English versions. Clearly, Zhuo Nan’s vision extended far beyond the domestic market; he was eyeing global domination.

Du Fanhao took the check, grinning from ear to ear. “Brother Nan, don’t worry. This is exactly the money I was waiting for. Once QQ hits the market, we won’t need to invest any more ourselves.”

Zhuo Nan rolled his eyes. What do you mean “we”? Seems like all the money came from me… Of course, he only thought this; if he said it aloud, who knows what Du Fanhao would think.

“Alright, I’ve brought the money. I’m off now, you get back to work.” Zhuo Nan clapped his hands and stood up to leave.

Du Fanhao looked stunned. “Brother Nan, why so rushed? This is your company; shouldn’t you at least do an inspection?”

“Bah.” Zhuo Nan waved his hand. “I’ve handed it over to you, haven’t I? I won’t interfere. I have some business at the bar later, planning to start on real estate…”

Du Fanhao’s eyes widened. He thought, “Comparing myself to others is infuriating. Brother Nan’s business covers every industry…”

While Du Fanhao was still fantasizing, Zhuo Nan was already strolling out of the company and taking the elevator downstairs.

Outside the building, Zhuo Nan glanced up and down the street; there was no sign of a taxi. Since that was the case, he decided to walk on for a bit. He lowered his head and followed the sidewalk southward. After a while, still no car appeared. Just then, he reached a crossroad—a side street leading into the industrial park, with few vehicles or pedestrians. Crossing here would take him straight to the main road, where it would be easier to hail a taxi. Besides, both sides of this street were shaded by trees. It was midsummer, the sun scorched the earth, and Zhuo Nan’s back was already soaked. Damn, should have bought a car and hired a driver…

After walking some distance, Zhuo Nan heard the heavy rumble of an engine behind him. He didn’t need to look to know it was a luxury car. Sure enough, when he glanced back, a black Mercedes cruised past. Through the rear window, he could vaguely see a woman inside. Zhuo Nan shook his head, guessing she was probably the owner of some factory in the industrial park, and paid no further attention, continuing on his way.

But as he took his next step, the Superbrain urgently spoke, “Zhuo Nan, something’s not right…”

“What’s wrong?” Zhuo Nan asked instinctively.

Before the Superbrain could answer, there was a dull “bang” in the distance. The black Mercedes suddenly lost control, swerving wildly until it crashed into a tree by the sidewalk.

Zhuo Nan cursed inwardly, “Damn, a car accident… Better go help.” He ran toward the scene.

“Forget the accident, that was a gunshot—get back!” the Superbrain cried urgently.

“Damn, why didn’t you say so sooner?” Zhuo Nan was already halfway across the road when the Superbrain spoke.

At that moment, a burly man in black, his face covered in blood, got out of the Mercedes, opened the rear door, and shouted, “Miss, get out, run that way!”

The young woman addressed as “Miss” was pale as a sheet. Another dull bang rang out; a mist of blood erupted from the man’s leg. Almost pleading, he urged, “Miss, run, run!”

Zhuo Nan’s mind froze. After all, he was just a streetwise punk; he’d never witnessed real gunfire before. It seemed there was a sniper involved. As far as he remembered, Deqing had never seen such sensational cases—even when the infamous Ghost Male ruled the streets, he’d never heard of snipers being used.

There was no time for further thought. The black-clad man pulled a pistol from his pocket, using the car door for cover. He carefully observed, then fired at a building to the southwest: “bang, bang, bang!” Perhaps the sniper was positioned there. His shots suppressed the sniper’s fire briefly, and the man continued urging, “Miss, quick, run!”

Just then, he spotted Zhuo Nan lying on the ground not far away, and shouted, “Brother, call the police, quick!”

Damn it, call the police? “I don’t have a phone!” Zhuo Nan shouted back.

The black-clad man quickly tossed his phone toward Zhuo Nan. But the distance was too great; Zhuo Nan had to crawl forward a few steps to reach it. The sniper in the southwest wasn’t about to give him the chance. “Bang!” A bullet struck near Zhuo Nan, chips of concrete spraying his face.

Damn, this was a hail of bullets… He shouted toward the southwest, “I’m just a passerby, minding my own business!”

But the sniper didn’t care. “Bang, bang!” Two more shots landed near Zhuo Nan’s feet, forcing him to sprint toward the Mercedes, seeking cover. He cursed as he ran, “What rotten luck…”

Pressed against the inside of the Mercedes, he was finally safe. The black-clad man, still behind the car door, shouted to Zhuo Nan on the other side, “Brother, this is my young lady. Please take her away, ensure her safety, and the Dongfang family will reward you generously…”

The young lady sat there like a stunned goose, paralyzed by terror. At that moment, a black Buick sped up, screeching to a halt beside the Mercedes. From the window protruded a handgun, aimed at the man behind the car door. Two shots rang out, striking his head—red blood and white matter mingled in a nauseating display.

Hiding behind the car, Zhuo Nan witnessed the scene and cursed inwardly, “Reward, my ass! You’re dead yourself.”

Both doors of the Buick swung open. Two masked men leapt out, fierce as wolves, and rushed toward the young lady. Only then did she react, crying, “Stay away, stay away…”

From the situation, it was clear the young lady was the good one; the masked men were clearly villains. Judging from their actions, if she fell into their hands, her life would be forfeit. She had to be saved. But the enemy had a sniper, plus two men with guns; Zhuo Nan himself didn’t even have a stick.

Zhuo Nan was certain that if he so much as showed his face, the sniper would blow his brains out. “Boss, quickly control their minds!” In this critical moment, Zhuo Nan thought of the Superbrain. As the saying goes, with Superbrain, I’m invincible…

But the Superbrain’s response was painful: “No can do, Zhuo Nan. These two have clearly undergone strict military training; their willpower is strong. I can’t control them.”

“Damn, I thought you were so great…” When your life’s at stake, even Superbrain is useless; time to rely on yourself.

Damn, where are the police… He reached into his pocket and found a square object—the pager Lan Qian had given him. No time to hesitate, he slipped off his left shoe, pager in his left hand, shoe in his right. Taking a deep breath, he silently counted: one, two, three…

With a swift motion, Zhuo Nan hurled the shoe toward the front side of the car. At that exact moment, gunshots rang out: “bang, bang!” He exploited the time gap, springing up and hurling the pager at the masked man on the right, then, with an almost unnatural move, braced both hands on the car roof, spinning to deliver a Thomas full twist, kicking the masked man on the left hard in the face. “Bang, bang!” Within half a second, bullets hit the car roof, but Zhuo Nan had already let go, rolling away from the bullets and landing behind the car door, temporarily shielded from the sniper’s shots.

The man struck by the pager collapsed on the ground. Seeing Zhuo Nan suddenly before him, he raised his gun to fire. But close combat was Zhuo Nan’s forte; he grabbed the man’s gun hand and yanked it forward. “Bang!” The shot hit the other masked man Zhuo Nan had kicked down.

“Second Brother!” the masked man shouted, glaring at Zhuo Nan. His trapped right hand suddenly released, the gun switching smoothly to his left hand. Zhuo Nan was alarmed—damn, this bastard’s reflexes were too fast.

“Bang!”—that was the gunshot. A blood-red blossom erupted from Zhuo Nan’s chest.

“Ah!”—that was the scream. Two jets of blood spurted from before Zhuo Nan’s eyes.