"What? The hospital is surrounded by police?" Liu Hui sat up abruptly, startled, the pain in his chest completely forgotten.

"Yes, they've surrounded our hospital, but the brothers are holding them off," Wu Yuanjia reported.

"Good. You and the brothers hold the line. I'm coming right now." Liu Hui hung up the call.

"Third Brother, head to the hospital immediately. Something major is happening there," Liu Hui told Zhou Tengyun.

Zhou Tengyun had overheard Liu Hui's words. He glanced at the wound on Liu Hui's chest, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent, steering the car towards the hospital.

Liu Hui dialed Secretary Wei’s number, only to find the phone powered off. He sat back numbly. The powered-off phone, the trajectory of the news coverage these past few days, and his own intuition all pointed to the same conclusion: things were developing exactly as someone had planned. Tonight might be the night for a final showdown.

Zhou Tengyun was also worried about the hospital. He drove fast yet smoothly, ensuring Liu Hui didn't feel a single jolt. They arrived at Hantang Hospital quickly. Liu Hui saw that several blocks surrounding the hospital were densely packed with police—it looked as if every officer in the city had converged on his hospital. No wonder the Mad Dragon Gang and the Lu family could cause such a ruckus in the suburbs without any police presence; they were all here. The police had cordoned off the entire area, forbidding anyone from entering.

Liu Hui pushed away Zhou Tengyun’s supportive hand and forced himself out of the car. He addressed the officer in front of him, "I am Liu Hui, the owner of this hospital. What exactly are you doing here?"

The officer facing Liu Hui froze, immediately requesting instructions from his superior. After a brief pause, the superior replied, instructing them to let Liu Hui enter.

"Mr. Liu, please," the officer gestured him forward.

Liu Hui shoved past the officer and strode into the hospital, Zhou Tengyun closely following behind. The police attempted to stop Zhou Tengyun, but he had just killed many people, and the aura of slaughter surrounding him was thickest at that moment. He shot the officers a fierce glare, causing them to flinch backward instinctively, watching helplessly as Zhou Tengyun followed Liu Hui into the building.

Inside the hospital, a single officer stood waiting. He frowned when he saw Zhou Tengyun enter but suddenly seemed to recall something and held his tongue. The officer approached Liu Hui and stated, "Mr. Liu, I am Wen Sheng, Director of the Bashan City Public Security Bureau. Please follow me."

"Director Wen, is it? I see my hospital is surrounded by so many officers that even I can't move freely. Could you explain what this means?" Liu Hui asked calmly.

"If Mr. Liu follows me, he will know," Wen Sheng offered no further details.

Liu Hui and Zhou Tengyun followed Wen Sheng into the hospital and down to the basement. The basement door had already been opened, and the lights inside were on.

"Mr. Liu, please proceed," Wen Sheng made an inviting gesture but did not enter himself.

"Heh, needing an invitation to enter my own home. How bizarre!" Liu Hui chuckled, entering the basement with Zhou Tengyun. Wen Sheng did not follow; instead, he closed and locked the heavy iron door from the outside.

The basement looked as it normally did, save for one difference: a young man sat on the central sofa, with a gray-robed elder standing behind him.

"Young Master Guo, we meet again. I have missed you dearly," Liu Hui greeted him with a smile.

"Heh heh, Brother Liu doesn't seem the least bit surprised to see me here?" Guo Jia laughed.

"I am merely a humble commoner; I hardly deserve to be called your brother, Young Master Guo. Please refrain from such titles. If I were too curious, would Young Master Guo simply disappear?" Liu Hui continued to smile.

"Brother Liu is truly humorous, yet we shared a bond of friendship once. Why speak such cold words?" Guo Jia looked slightly taken aback.

"Since Young Master Guo appears here, I trust everything has reached its final conclusion," Liu Hui stated mildly.

"As expected of the self-made Mr. Liu. The fact that you show no curiosity about tonight’s events suggests you foresaw this situation long ago. Then we need not waste any more pleasantries, right?" Guo Jia applauded softly.

Liu Hui pulled over a chair himself and sat down. His internal injuries were still severe; he felt utterly weak and might collapse if he remained standing. Zhou Tengyun immediately positioned himself behind him.

"However, I still hope Young Master Guo will indulge me in some pleasantries, because I remain somewhat curious," Liu Hui said with a smile.

"Since you insist, I shall speak plainly. I am here today for one reason only: to acquire your Hantang Hospital. There is no second path for Hantang Hospital besides being acquired by me," Guo Jia said, looking at Liu Hui with a slight smile.

"Oh? Tell me, why is there no second path for my Hantang Hospital?" Liu Hui asked.

"The state apparatus will never allow a hospital monopolizing AIDS treatment, like Hantang Hospital, to remain in private hands. AIDS treatment involves significant national interests and political maneuvering; a private individual like you cannot maintain complete control. You can see this clearly from the recent news reports," Guo Jia began to explain to Liu Hui.

"You mean the recent news? What about before that? I recall the state was quite pleased with my contributions to the nation; they even praised me!"

"When your hospital first emerged, the higher-ups had not finalized any decision on how to handle it. They were hesitant, which is why their attitude towards your hospital seemed contradictory until they finally settled on this current tone," Guo Jia seemed ready to reveal everything.

"Don't treat me as politically ignorant. True, I don't understand politics, but I do know one thing: the state's attitude toward me has completely reversed from before. There is only one reason such a drastic shift occurs," Liu Hui observed Guo Jia with keen interest.

"Oh? What kind of reason is that? Tell me," Guo Jia became interested.

"That the current decision-maker at the top has changed," Liu Hui declared with shocking force.

Guo Jia paused, then said, "As expected of Mr. Liu. Indeed, there have been some personnel changes at the highest levels recently. You've analyzed all this; you truly are a genius. But since you've analyzed it, you must also know that the nationalization of Hantang Hospital is an irreversible trend. You are a smart man; you know what you should do!"

"I am indeed a smart man, but I will not comply with your wishes," Liu Hui sneered.

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Guo Jia asked curiously.

"Lin Dao was killed by your people, wasn't he!" Liu Hui suddenly asked.

"Lin Dao and I were very familiar; we were friends. How could I kill him? Mr. Liu must be joking," Guo Jia burst into laughter.

"Heh heh, you have the guts to do it but not to admit it. Guo Jia from the Three Kingdoms era was supposedly quite upright; you still have a long way to go to match him!" Liu Hui taunted.

"Heh heh, since you put it that way, why not admit it? After all, there are no outsiders here; it won't reach the Lin family's ears. Even if it does, the deed is done, and they cannot reverse it now," Guo Jia immediately laughed.

"You provoked Lin Dao to cause trouble for me, including spreading rumors in the capital that I stole his woman, all to infuriate him. Then you sent the police to arrest me, and that Deputy Director from the National Medical Products Administration—you tricked him here too, didn't you? Your goal was to make me hostile toward the Lin family, pushing me into an outright feud with Lin Dao! By doing all this, you aimed to pull the initially neutral Lin family onto your side," Liu Hui began his analysis.

"Mhm, not bad, there's some truth to it. Continue," Guo Jia watched Liu Hui with interest.

"But you didn't anticipate that I would reconcile with Lin Dao. That completely slipped outside your control and predictions, so you simply killed Lin Dao. Furthermore, without your machinations behind the scenes, no other organization could have spread the news of Lin Dao's death nationwide so rapidly. And to further provoke the Lin family, you deliberately selected the most gruesome photo of Lin Dao's corpse for the front page," Liu Hui continued detailing Guo Jia's arrangements.

"Brilliantly observed. Keep going," Guo Jia was thoroughly engaged.

"I don't know how you finally provoked the Lin family, but they must have joined your ranks in the end. They were likely the crucial vote needed to give you the majority, shifting the position of the decision-maker to your side. This is evident from the change in attitude from above toward my hospital. I estimate that the struggle for the top position has been ongoing, and you were consistently at a disadvantage. However, you cleverly used my hospital to bring the Lin family to your side, tipping the scales of victory in your favor. You finally achieved your goal. Am I wrong, Young Master Guo?" Liu Hui finished, looking at Guo Jia.

Guo Jia applauded, praising lavishly, "Excellent, very excellent! To deduce so much from such little information truly shames me. But now that you know the reason for the change in attitude from above, surely you know how to choose your course of action!"

"I will not transfer the hospital. Hantang Hospital can rot in my hands before I transfer it," Liu Hui stated firmly.

"Mr. Liu, why be so stubborn? Do you think you are the first in Huaxia to have your assets nationalized? Remember that steel mill in Ji Dong? That mill was highly profitable and donated over a hundred million during the great earthquake that year, but what happened? It was still annexed by a chronically loss-making state-owned enterprise. And the famous Zhejiang merchants in Huaxia, who operated so many coal mines in Jinxi—once the state document came out, they immediately had to hand them over. If they dared to dither, not only would they forfeit compensation, but they would also face investigation for accident liabilities. They were as powerful as you, but once they clashed with the state, they still surrendered," Guo Jia tried to persuade him patiently.

"Heh heh, that's because they needed the state's resources and were beholden to the state, compelling them to yield. My small hospital—if it can operate, it operates; if not, we close down. Surely the state wouldn't dare resort to outright theft?" Liu Hui countered with a smile.

"Mr. Liu, why won't you listen to reason? We were once like brothers; I showed you some regard. Don't make things difficult for me!" Guo Jia shook his head helplessly.

"I prefer to be a shattered jade rather than an intact tile," Liu Hui insisted.

"Since you insist, then don't blame me for turning hostile," Guo Jia finally dropped his polite facade.

"It seems you turned hostile a long time ago. Otherwise, how would the police surround the hospital?" Liu Hui sneered. Zhou Tengyun sensed his anger and immediately stepped forward to stand in front of him, radiating a dense, murderous aura.

"Oh? Something's amiss!" the gray-robed elder behind Guo Jia suddenly spoke. The vision of everyone blurred, and the elder instantly appeared in front of Guo Jia.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ Thanks to book friends: Yueya Kaixinguo, Zhen Machao for the tips, and book friend 100208044101224 for casting 4 tickets for 12,000-word updates. Qian Yu Chuhai, due to personal limitations, cannot fulfill your wishes, my apologies!

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