Sun Song was at a loss. As the saying goes, the King of Hell is easy to deal with, but the minor demons are troublesome. If he could talk to someone on the same level, all problems would be solved instantly. But the other party had stationed four bodyguards at the door; there was no point in reasoning with such a low-level functionary!
Luo Kelong thought irritably, then asked thoughtfully, "Which one of you can get Wang Zhuo's contact information?"
Seeing no one respond, Sun Song said, "Regardless of success, let's all give it a try."
So, the four of them sat in the small lounge near the elevator lobby on that floor and started making phone calls. After about twenty minutes of effort, they still couldn't get Wang Zhuo’s contact details. However, the bespectacled youth unexpectedly managed to obtain Fei Long's mobile number from a friend.
"How did you get his number?" Luo Kelong asked with a wry smile.
"Who cares? As long as we can reach the main person, that's what matters." Sun Song grinned and dialed Fei Long's number. "I'll talk to him. This minor character doesn't require your attention, Kelong."
Luo Kelong nodded slightly. Great men needed to maintain a certain aloofness, even if it was just for show.
...
Five minutes later, Fei Long called Wang Zhuo.
"Leader, I need to report something! There's a guy named Luo Kelong looking for me. He said he wants to see you, and his father is the Director of the Jiangzhou Customs."
Who is this person? Wang Zhuo, who was analyzing a topological map of a chemical agent, asked distractedly, "Did he say what it was about?"
"He didn't say, but I can guess what he wants," Fei Long chuckled dryly.
"What's the situation?" Wang Zhuo asked casually, his mind completely elsewhere.
Fei Long said sheepishly, "That gift I brought you—it’s currently staying at the Glorious Holiday Hotel, right? He saw those female celebrities and got my number so he could contact you. Do you get the picture now?"
Wang Zhuo paused, dedicating a sliver of his attention to ponder the matter. He snorted dismissively and said, "Tell him I'm busy. If he wants to chase girls, he should handle it himself."
Fei Long felt it necessary to remind his boss and cautiously inquired, "Leader, how high-ranking is a Customs Director? Does he fall under Boss Qin's jurisdiction?"
"No matter how high-ranking, I'm busy. Who does he think he is, expecting me to play pimp for him?" Wang Zhuo said irritably. "I'm occupied; you handle him yourself!"
Hanging up, Wang Zhuo returned to scrutinizing the topological map, quickly putting the matter out of his mind.
Was the function of Customs insignificant? Absolutely not. Especially for a multinational group like Wang Zhuo’s, a major pharmaceutical producer, massive quantities of goods had to pass through Customs scrutiny daily for export or the import of raw materials or finished/semi-finished products. If Customs arbitrarily stalled the shipment for any reason, the direct or indirect economic impact would be incalculable.
For instance, that very night, a batch of Wangchao Wuliang raw pulp was scheduled to ship to the United States. After secondary processing there, it would be canned into the finished product to supply the total quarterly output for five continents. If Customs suddenly blocked the shipment, claiming there was an issue with the goods, or used any other pretext, a delay of one week would deplete inventory across those five continents. A ten-day delay would result in irreparable economic loss!
Furthermore, Wang Zhuo’s business had bloomed globally. If Customs became an obstacle, the consequences wouldn't just be economic losses; his business reputation would also suffer severely.
However, Fei Long didn't understand any of this. While listening to the call, he only analyzed that the District Chief's son was not as powerful as the Customs Director's son. As for how powerful the Director was, sorry, that concept didn't exist in his brain...
Seeing Wang Zhuo's arrogant attitude, Fei Long immediately developed a sense of slackness himself. When he called Sun Song back, his tone had completely changed.
"Sun Song, is it? Wang Zhuo is very busy today. If your matter isn't urgent, how about you call me another day to schedule a time?"
Sun Song was stunned, and Luo Kelong, who was listening nearby, immediately furrowed his brow into a sharp character.
Snatching the phone away, Luo Kelong asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure he's so busy today that he can't spare time to see me?"
"Who are you?" Fei Long asked, hearing a different voice, but feigning ignorance. "I already conveyed the message. Do you need anything else? If not, I'm hanging up!"
"I am Luo Kelong!" Luo Kelong stated with a cold snort. "Give me his mobile number, and I'll call him myself!"
Himself? What an air of importance... Fei Long replied irritably, "I already said, he's very busy today. If you have something that absolutely must be said to him, and it must be said right now, then tell me. I'll consider passing it along."
"I don't have time to waste talking to you," Luo Kelong said coldly. "Tell him to call this number within three minutes, or face the consequences!"
With that, Luo Kelong decisively hung up, leaving Fei Long on the other end equally furious. Without a word, he called Wang Zhuo back and recounted the situation, embellishing it slightly.
"The Customs Director's son?" Wang Zhuo paused slightly after hearing Fei Long's narrative. He dismissed the idea of having his bodyguards throw the man out, pondered for a moment, and said, "Then I'll give him a call."
"Leader, that punk is arrogant! We can't back down now!" Fei Long exclaimed. "He definitely has designs on those Japanese girls! I know you don't care about them, but we can't lose this face!"
"I know what I'm doing; do you need to teach me?" Wang Zhuo said irritably. "Leave this to me; you don't need to worry about it!"
Fei Long finally felt reassured. However, having spent the last few days living it up with Lu Weimin and the others behind Wang Zhuo's back, he felt uneasy about this sudden issue. After hanging up, he immediately got dressed, went downstairs, and drove straight to the Glorious Holiday Hotel.
Just as the three minutes were up, Sun Song's phone rang. The display showed a long string of zeros, startling both Luo Kelong and Sun Song.
"It should be Wang Zhuo calling. Pick it up," Sun Song said.
Luo Kelong nodded slightly, pressed the answer button, and held the phone to his ear.
"I am Wang Zhuo. Are you Luo Kelong?" The voice on the other end belonged to a man in his twenties, clear and deep.
Luo Kelong replied with a forced smile, "Mr. Wang is clearly very busy. It's quite troublesome just to get a short call with you."
Wang Zhuo remained unruffled. "What is it you need from me?"
"What is it? It's not convenient to say over the phone, is it?" Luo Kelong said lightly. "I'm at the Glorious Holiday Hotel right now. Could Mr. Wang grace me with a visit?"
What arrogance! Wang Zhuo was almost amused by Luo Kelong's attitude. He was merely a second-generation official's son, yet he dared to be so presumptuous with him. Never mind this punk relying on his father's power—even if his father were making this call, he would first have to state his business, then arrange a time and place for a meeting, rather than demanding someone come to him based on a casual phone call without stating a reason!
Besides, even if the Customs Director summoned someone, it would only be the relevant department head of a subsidiary company. Even a subsidiary CEO wouldn't be summoned on a whim, let alone the number one boss!
"Luo Kelong, before you called me, did you bother to understand the situation?" Wang Zhuo mocked subtly. "You just told my friend to 'face the consequences.' I'd like to ask now, what consequences did you mean?"
If it weren't for this Luo fellow having a Customs Director father, Wang Zhuo wouldn't have been this polite; he would have already thrown out, "Are you an idiot?"
"Very good, very good. You are quite something." There was no common ground in their conversation. Luo Kelong could sense the other party's attitude was extremely arrogant and completely unyielding. It seemed he had no chance with Miss Asami tonight!
"Wang Zhuo, enjoy yourself while you can. We'll see!"
Slamming down the phone, Luo Kelong's face was livid with anger. He harshly asked Sun Song, "Do you have any powerful friends in Customs?"
Sun Song pondered. "I have friends, yes, but whether they are powerful enough depends on what you intend to do."
Luo Kelong glanced chillingly toward the corridor guarded by the bodyguards and stated in a low voice, "An international prostitution ring—would that qualify as a major case?"
...
On the other side, Wang Zhuo tossed the hung-up phone onto the desk, muttered "Lunatic," and looked back at the diagram, only to find his train of thought completely derailed.
"With a son like that, the father probably isn't any better," he couldn't help but complain. Since he couldn't focus on the topological map anyway, he started searching for Luo Kelong’s father’s background on the computer, trying to figure out the origins of this inexplicable nuisance.
While he was digging into Luo Kelong’s background, Luo Kelong was frantically seeking backup, eager to cause trouble for Wang Zhuo immediately. But no matter who he asked—any friend in a position of power who could manage the situation—as soon as they heard the target was connected to Shengshi Dynasty, they all refused to get involved. When pressed, they would beg, "Please, don't smash my rice bowl!"
Although everyone was still observing the shifting relationship between the Qin family and Wang Zhuo, given the prior lesson from Huihai, no one in any system dared to provoke the formidable Wang Sovereign before the situation became crystal clear.
After making inquiries, Luo Kelong and Sun Song exhausted all their available connections but remained helpless against the other party. Filled with frustration, they had no choice but to leave the Glorious Holiday Hotel crestfallen.
Fei Long arrived at the hotel a while later. After asking the bodyguards, he grasped the general situation. Just then, Lu Weimin emerged from one suite and was heading to another for a "visit." The two greeted each other, slung arms over shoulders, and plunged into the "Invasion of Japan War!"
Two days passed in a blink. Wang Zhuo, hearing no further news, asked Fu Xinran to check on recent import/export matters. As expected, he received the confirmation he anticipated. A junior just reported that a vessel carrying raw materials for 'Ark of Life' that had recently arrived from South Africa was detained by Customs yesterday, under the pretext of suspected smuggling of illegal wildlife!
"Wildlife smuggling?" Fu Xinran relayed the news to Wang Zhuo while stifling a laugh. "That ship of deep-sea blue algae we have is worth far more than any wild animal. Would we bother earning such petty cash?"
Wang Zhuo sneered and shook his head. "Someone is starting to give us a hard time. This is just the beginning; there's more trouble ahead."
For more novels, visit storyread.net.