Chapter 346 - 242: Starting Today, I’ll Be a Ten-Billionaire

Chapter 346: Chapter 242: Starting Today, I’ll Be a Ten-Billionaire

"What’s this guy’s story?"

The live stream had just ended. As Lin Chu closed the feed and lit a cigarette, he heard Jackie Chan ask with a laugh beside him.

He still looked a bit tired. After all, he was getting on in years and had stayed up late. There was a smile on his face, but Lin Chu could detect a strange undertone in his voice.

He instantly understood. ’He probably suspects I arranged for that guy to show up.’

’Makes sense.’

No one likes having trouble dumped on them.

’I don’t even like this kind of trouble.’

’But... maybe I’m too much of a pushover?’

Last time, when Zhang Songwen was on the stream, someone asked for a job.

This time, with Jackie Chan on the stream, someone was asking for help.

It was getting out of hand, with no sense of boundaries.

It was like his stream was a wishing well.

’Damn it, I wanted to be a cyber Foster Father, but now I’m just a cyber bootlicker.’

But that’s just how it is for a "public figure." When people want to speak, you can’t just block them, can you?

’The prize draws... I can’t really keep doing them.’

’If this keeps up, the day I stop doing them, I’ll probably get flamed by everyone. It might even trigger a massive backlash. After all... that’s just human nature.’

’—Give someone an egg every day, and their gratitude will fade. The day you stop, they’ll probably curse you out.’

In that instant...

All these thoughts flashed through Lin Chu’s mind. Facing Jackie Chan’s question, he put on a smile. "My bad. I didn’t manage the stream well. Big Bro, don’t worry about this. Sorry for the trouble. I’ll handle it my way."

’First, I need to get him out of it.’

"It’s nothing, what trouble is this? Okay, I’ll be heading off then. I’m old, don’t have the energy I used to. Time for sleep."

Jackie Chan smiled and patted Lin Chu’s shoulder. He paused, then added, "Three days from now. Four in the afternoon. Party."

He felt that Lin Chu wasn’t lying. The unexpected incident didn’t seem staged.

Besides, there was no need for it.

What would be the point of arranging something like that?

"Sounds good, I’ll be there on time. Are you sleeping here or heading home? Come on, I’ll see you out. Also, there’s something I wanted to ask you, something I couldn’t bring up on the stream."

Lin Chu said casually with a smile.

"Heading home. Go ahead, talk."

The two of them walked side-by-side toward the door.

On the way out of the suite and toward the elevators, Lin Chu asked naturally with a smile, "If you were in this situation, with a stranger asking you for help, what would you do?"

Hearing this, Jackie Chan couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.

"Depends on your age. Before forty, you’re full of hot-blooded passion, so you’d definitely help with all you’ve got. You’re in your rising phase, after all, and your reputation is the most important thing. When people call you ’Big Bro,’ it’s not for nothing. Being the ’Big Bro’ means you have to let people take advantage of you a bit."

"After forty, well, you start differentiating between who’s close to you and who isn’t. When you’re climbing up, you have to grab onto everything. But once you’ve reached a certain height, you have to watch out for people trying to pull you down."

"People, we’re all just monkeys, you know."

His tone was light and full of jest.

Lin Chu smiled and nodded. "Lesson learned. Good night, Big Bro."

"Good night. Don’t forget the party."

The driver had already pulled a Rolls-Royce up to the entrance. Jackie Chan got in, and the car sped away.

...

Back in his hotel suite, Lin Chu lay down on the sofa, casually pulled out his phone, and dialed a number for Gao Haitao.

He had originally planned to stay in Xiangjiang for just one day, so he’d given him the time off.

After all, this was Xiangjiang; it wasn’t like there would be any danger.

The call connected quickly.

"Old Gao, you asleep yet?"

Gao Haitao laughed. "Not yet. I just finished watching the live stream and figured you’d probably be calling me, so I waited up."

’His emotional intelligence is off the charts.’

"First, tell me what you think."

Lin Chu asked casually.

"This whole thing... I think you should do it. The pros outweigh the cons. The engagement on the stream was through the roof."

"Besides, from what I know, excluding accidents, most of the people who go missing over there are kidnapped or coerced by organized groups. And the people behind it are all Chinese."

"Looking into it won’t be that hard. I’m not sure if Big Bro Jackie Chan has sources, but my big boss definitely does. Or, you could ask that brother of yours, Hou Chengjin. Of course, this is just a guess. He might not have connections himself, but he most likely knows people who do."

Gao Haitao said with a chuckle.

Huh?

Those words gave Lin Chu pause.

"Explain. What do you mean?"

"Last time we went to his house, didn’t he have a statue of Guan Gong on display? A solid gold one, in the main hall. I thought it was pretty strange at the time. Later, I came back and did some asking around... and it turns out that brother of yours... has seniority. As for why he’s going down the MCN agency route, I have no idea. Maybe he cut ties with his past on his own. After all, that’s not exactly a legitimate path."

Listening to this, Lin Chu’s brow gradually furrowed.

This touched on some dark stuff.

An absolute taboo.

After a moment of thought, Lin Chu decided he absolutely couldn’t get involved.

Even if Hou Chengjin really did have the channels, there was no need to trouble him.

’He’s already cut ties himself. He had to come to me for a ten-million investment to shoot a micro-series. Why would I drag him back into that life?’

In fact, even before calling Gao Haitao, he already had an idea in mind.

"What do you think about us setting up a security company in Xiangjiang?"

Lin Chu asked with a smile.

’Rather than looking for connections, it’s better to have your own people.’

In Peng City, the restrictions on this sort of thing were too tight.

But in Xiangjiang, Lin Chu felt it would be fine.

’A security company is perfectly legal and legitimate!’

"Hm?"

"We can, no problem. My company has a branch here in Xiangjiang, but it doesn’t have much business. The local Xiangjiang market has its giants."