The moment Wang Guan spotted the figure, he was certain: this had to be the Mr. Zhu they had been searching for relentlessly. A surge of elation flooded him, making him wish he could burst into song right there to release the sheer joy in his heart.

"Calm down, maintain a neutral demeanor, be reserved..."

Wang Guan took a deep breath, slowly bringing himself back to earth. A new frustration then emerged: how exactly was he supposed to apprehend Mr. Zhu? After all, they were out on the open sea, and it was just him and the person driving the speedboat—a truly outnumbered situation. If he charged onto the yacht, he risked looking like a fool rather than a lone hero.

"What should I do?"

As the saying goes, one regrets not having read enough books when the time comes to use the knowledge; now, Wang Guan keenly felt the lack of manpower, making him feel like he had lost the battle before it even began!

While Wang Guan hesitated, the luxurious yacht showed no signs of stopping, proceeding straight toward the shore at a considerable speed. It quickly widened the gap between itself and the speedboat.

Seeing this, Wang Guan gritted his teeth and immediately waved his hand, calling out, "Catch up!"

The big fish was right there; he couldn't let it slip away so easily. Even taking a calculated risk was worth it. Moreover, if the yacht had been heading toward the deep ocean, Wang Guan might have hesitated, but heading toward land made him willing to gamble everything.

Since the speedboat was already heading toward the mainland, their destination was essentially the same, which hopefully wouldn't arouse too much suspicion. Having made his decision, Wang Guan didn't dwell on it further, instead continuing to cut through the water behind the yacht, hanging back at a safe distance.

As luck would have it, after only seven or eight minutes, the number of vessels on the sea began to increase significantly. There were not only yachts and speedboats but also fishing boats and sailboats. Wang Guan blended in among them, no longer conspicuously visible.

"A perfect opportunity."

A smile touched Wang Guan's lips in an instant. He quickly returned to the speedboat, put on his clothes, grabbed a fishing rod, and adopted the look of someone who had just finished fishing. Though it was unlikely anyone was paying attention, putting on a facade was necessary—details determined success.

Just like that, nestled among the other boats, the speedboat attracted no undue notice, silently tracking the yacht until they soon arrived at a pier on the shore.

At this moment, Wang Guan’s gaze sharpened as he watched Mr. Zhu slowly step onto the pier, get into a waiting car, and drive away immediately.

"Quickly!"

Seeing this, Wang Guan lost some of his composure. However, fearing he was being watched, he immediately instructed his driver to circle the speedboat around to a different part of the pier to dock, then he quickly disembarked and hurried to follow. Leaving the pier, he rapidly walked to the side of the main road, hailed a passing car, and by the time he was inside, more than ten minutes had already passed.

Looking out now, the road was jammed with bumper-to-bumper traffic. He had no idea which vehicle was Mr. Zhu’s ride, or if Mr. Zhu’s conveyance had already turned off into some side street, vanishing without a trace.

The thought brought a touch of bitterness to Wang Guan. He instructed his accompanying personnel to remain at the pier to watch the yacht, while he, holding onto a sliver of hope, told the driver to follow the main road forward, praying for a miracle sighting.

Of course, while the driver was piloting the car, Wang Guan did not neglect to activate his supernatural ability, constantly scanning the surroundings. Perhaps heaven heard his plea, because as they passed near an intersection, they unexpectedly ran into a massive traffic jam ahead.

A sudden turn of events, a hidden path revealed.

Wang Guan was ecstatic. Seeing the long line of stalled vehicles meant the jam had been ongoing for some time; surely Mr. Zhu was trapped here as well.

With this thought, Wang Guan focused intently. A moment later, a smile of profound relief involuntarily spread across his face. He dared not let his guard down, however, carefully keeping an eye on Mr. Zhu while simultaneously dialing Elder Fang’s number to report the current situation.

"What? You’re all the way in Tainan?"

Elder Fang was naturally surprised, but upon hearing that Mr. Zhu had appeared and that they hadn't lost the trail, he was equally delighted. He quickly instructed Wang Guan not to make any rash moves and to await his detailed instructions.

"One hour. Just one hour," Elder Fang stated with solemnity. "Someone will contact you then. Once the necessary forces are assembled, proceed according to the situation."

"Understood." Wang Guan nodded repeatedly. After ending the call, he glanced at the stalled traffic and, for the first time, sincerely wished the jam would worsen—ideally lasting the full hour.

Alas, fate did not align with his wishes. A moment later, traffic police arrived, and under their direction, the flow of vehicles returned to normal. Seeing this, Wang Guan could only sigh at the irony of human plans versus the will of heaven, and all he could do was urge the driver to follow more closely.

To avoid alerting Mr. Zhu that he was being tailed, Wang Guan specifically asked the driver to take several extra turns. Thanks to his full control via his supernatural ability, he wasn't worried about losing the target.

The driver was naturally puzzled by the unusual request, but Wang Guan bypassed any further questioning by offering a generous sum of money upfront. The driver immediately stopped arguing; as long as Wang Guan wasn't planning a robbery, he couldn't care less about a client's peculiar habits.

After weaving through traffic for nearly half an hour with the detours, Mr. Zhu's vehicle finally pulled up to an exceptionally luxurious grand hotel. Wang Guan then watched Mr. Zhu alight and walk briskly into the building.

"Is the operation starting?"

Wang Guan paid the driver immediately and stepped out, looking up at the magnificent, gilded hotel. He pondered Mr. Zhu’s purpose for coming here. The most probable scenario was that he had located a major mark and was preparing for the slaughter.

Regardless of whom Mr. Zhu intended to fleece, Wang Guan remembered Elder Fang’s warning and refrained from acting impulsively, patiently waiting instead. Another half hour passed before he finally received a contact.

A moment later, a van pulled up, and several burly men in sharp suits spilled out. Undoubtedly, this was the backup force Elder Fang had arranged.

Wang Guan finally felt a sense of ease. He quickly changed into a smart outfit, adopting the air of a magnate, and led the contingent toward the hotel. As they neared the entrance, a concierge immediately came forward to greet them.

"Looking for someone..." Wang Guan delivered the brief instruction and swept into the hotel interior.

Wang Guan didn't actually know which floor Mr. Zhu was on, but he was certain the man was inside and hadn't left. He could now roughly gauge Mr. Zhu’s usual pattern of operation: at this stage, he would surely be flaunting his wealth, meaning the most expensive private rooms in the hotel were the most likely destination. His guess wouldn't be far off.

Facts were stronger than rhetoric, and Wang Guan had guessed correctly.

After a brief inquiry, he learned that the most expensive private rooms were all concentrated on the eighth floor. Wang Guan and the hulking bodyguards immediately took the elevator up, arriving at the eighth floor in moments. The décor here was indeed opulent and resplendent. There were only eight private rooms, each adorned with names that aimed to be both elegant and charming, such as "The Beauty of the Realm," "A Thousand Miles of Success," and "Auspicious Purple Dawn."

All eight rooms were currently occupied, but Wang Guan couldn't tell which housed Mr. Zhu. However, as he surveyed the area, he was suddenly astonished to realize he recognized someone inside one of the rooms.

"What a coincidence!"

In that instant, Wang Guan looked up at the room's name: The Beauty of the Realm. It was certainly fitting.

Glancing at the attendant beside him, Wang Guan didn't hesitate any longer, pushing the door open. Inside, he saw a beautiful woman seated, her elegant hair swept up high, sporting oversized glasses that contrasted sharply with her overall air of an elite office professional—it was Su Yu, whom he hadn't seen in ages.

"Who is it?"

Startled by the uninvited intrusion, Su Yu was naturally quite astonished.

"It's me."

Wang Guan offered a slight smile, casually removing his sunglasses to reveal his carefully applied makeup. Since the touch-up was done by himself, and without the shield of the glasses, any discerning eye could easily spot the deception.

"You..."

Su Yu paused momentarily, her expression a mixture of surprise and confusion. "How could you be..."

"Here, right?"

Wang Guan smoothly picked up her sentence, then chuckled. "To tell you the truth, our goals are quite similar. If you can be here, why can't I?"

"That's true." Su Yu considered this and nodded. "A cake this large certainly isn't something a few people can consume alone. But why do you look... like this?"

"I am, after all, a public figure. I naturally have to conceal my identity." As he spoke, Wang Guan sat down, speaking casually. "Ms. Su, is Mr. Qian next door? And who else is present?"

"Who else but various wealthy individuals from different regions," Su Yu replied dismissively. "We're currently calculating how to divide the spoils. By the way, why aren't you joining them? Did Elder Qian himself arrive? Or perhaps someone from the Yu or Tang families?"

It wasn't surprising that Su Yu was suspicious; situations where Wang Guan acted as a subordinate were rare—at least someone of Elder Qian's stature would normally be required for him to play such a role.

"No, it's just me, actually." Wang Guan shook his head. "But before I join them, I wanted to gauge the specifics—see how far the negotiations have progressed. You wouldn't mind sharing some of the details, would you?"

"Do you take me for a fool?" Su Yu’s charming eyes flickered dismissively. "This is strictly commercial intelligence; I can’t just hand it over."

"I'm already involved. No matter the secret, I'll find out eventually. Frankly, our positions are probably aligned. There’s no need for such tight security between us, is there?" Wang Guan pressed with a tone of apparent sincerity. "You tell me what you know, and I’ll share some intelligence with you. We exchange information; nobody loses out."

"Then you tell me first what you know," Su Yu said shrewdly. "And then I'll tell you the specifics."

Wang Guan managed a helpless smile. This was precisely why he disliked negotiating business with beautiful women—they were too fixated on tedious, trivial details and refused to concede an inch.

After a moment's thought, Wang Guan stopped playing coy and lowered his voice. "What I really wanted to ask is: this is a deal approaching ten billion yuan. Aren't you the least bit worried?"

"Worried? How could we not be worried?" Su Yu nodded. "If we weren't worried, the deal would have closed already. Why the drawn-out process, nearly a year now?"

"I see."

A flicker of realization crossed Wang Guan's mind, and he couldn't help but inwardly admire Mr. Zhu's caution and the meticulous nature of those wealthy investors. Such a massive transaction, yet discussed for over a year with barely any leaks—it demonstrated their extreme prudence...