Chapter 167: Industrial Zone Trade

Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Industrial Zone Trade

In the restroom, Zhang Yun entered the Peach Blossom Spring Space and took out two guns.

He planned to sell one to gauge the price and the buyer’s sincerity. The other, of course, was for self-defense. What if the boss tried to take his items by force? Or worse, what if he tried to silence him permanently?

He returned to the café and let the two women know he was leaving.

Feng Ru was immediately annoyed. She had been trying to create an opportunity for Zhang Yun and Yang Xiaoyun. Her plan was to wait until a romantic atmosphere settled in, then excuse herself, only to pop back out during dinner to liven things up. This careful push-and-pull matchmaking was meant to bring them closer together as quickly as possible, setting the stage for further progress tonight.

But with Zhang Yun running off now, all her efforts were in vain!

Yang Xiaoyun, on the other hand, assumed he was meeting He Xiong. She even suspected that He Xiong had followed them here to find him. She didn’t ask too many questions and simply told Zhang Yun to be careful.

"Sister Xiaoyun, you’re way too soft! When you see fresh young blood like him, you need to make your move. If you miss your chance, someone else is going to gobble him right up. You’re a single woman, so what do you have to worry about?"

Yang Xiaoyun just smiled and shook her head at Feng Ru’s hushed persuasion.

"Oh, sister! We’ve both been through so much—do you still believe in love? If there’s meat, eat it! If there’s a young stud, take a bite! We should enjoy ourselves while we still have our charm."

"Don’t act so thirsty. You’ll scare the poor guy. Be a little more refined, will you? Zhang Yun is still just a kid!" Yang Xiaoyun laughed.

Feng Ru grew anxious. "A kid? He could put a kid in you, that’s for sure!"

"..."

"Don’t let your curves go to your head just because you have a great figure. You have to go out and fight for a good man yourself!"

Yang Xiaoyun sighed softly. "Who knows if anyone is truly a good man? Back in the day, both you and I thought our exes were good men, didn’t we?"

"Great question! That’s exactly why we need to change our mindset. We have to ditch that outdated idea of committing forever just because we slept with them. Men are like sugarcane—deep down, they all end up as useless pulp. We just need to enjoy them while they’re fresh and sweet. Once we feel them turning into flavorless trash, we simply spit them out and grab a fresh stalk!"

Yang Xiaoyun rolled her eyes at her. "Keep your voice down. With all this talk about spitting things out and grabbing another one, people who don’t know the context might get the wrong idea about what you’re discussing."

Feng Ru chuckled mischievously. "Just tell me, does it make sense or not? I’m not trying to brainwash you; I’ve just finally seen through it all. How long does a person’s youth last? A woman’s youth is even shorter. If you don’t change your mindset now, are you going to wait until menopause? By then, even if you want to play around, you’ll only be able to toy with old men. No young guy is going to give you the time of day!"

"Tch! You make it sound so convincing, but I don’t see you taking any action. You’re all bark and no bite. Are you trying to use me as a guinea pig?"

"Sister, even if I were to act, I’d still be picky, okay? You have an opportunity, so don’t miss it. When it comes to guys like Zhang Yun, I could take on ten of them at once!"

"Impressive, impressive! Why don’t you start by taking on Zhang Yun, then?"

"Heh, if I actually swooped in and stole him, you’d definitely cry. You’d probably even cut ties with me!"

While the two women were whispering about embracing their inner heartbreakers, Zhang Yun was already in a car.

The leader of the thugs, who called himself Brother Long, repeatedly assured Zhang Yun that he would protect his privacy. He hadn’t brought anyone else along and was driving the car himself, personally escorting Zhang Yun to meet the boss.

Sitting in the back, Zhang Yun made casual small talk while secretly observing the man. It was obvious that Brother Long was familiar with the route, which aligned with his story—this boss was just an acquaintance, not his actual superior.

However, Brother Long stubbornly refused to use a GPS. Was that to protect the other party’s privacy? Perhaps he didn’t want Zhang Yun searching for the boss’s information based on a registered address.

This made Zhang Yun feel slightly more at ease, though he still refused to drink the bottled water Brother Long offered. What if it was poisoned? What if it was laced with sleeping pills, and they planned to strike as soon as he passed out?

He had already been careless last night when his enemies ambushed him on the road. He absolutely could not repeat the same mistake!

Brother Long drove toward the suburbs, eventually arriving at a rather remote industrial park.

"Are we here?"

"Yes. This is it. It’s huge inside, so we’ll drive in."

"The boss you mentioned runs a factory in here?" Zhang Yun looked at the rows of factory buildings, starting to believe Brother Long’s earlier claims.

For this boss, getting a gun for self-defense was secondary—showing off was his primary need!

"Of course not. He’s the owner of this entire industrial park. He uses a few of the buildings himself, but most of them are rented out."

"Impressive!" Zhang Yun was genuinely convinced. Securing such a massive plot of land required serious wealth, and getting approval to build an industrial park required deep connections. That demanded far more power and capital than merely running a single factory.

Inside, the industrial park resembled a small community, with perfectly straight, intersecting roads. Every building was a factory complex with a large courtyard.

Brother Long’s car navigated to Building 11. He honked the horn, and a security guard opened the automatic gate to let them in.

"Sorry about that. I haven’t been here many times either, so it took a bit longer. I’ll be able to drive much faster on the way back!"

Brother Long parked the car in the lot and led Zhang Yun into the factory building, bowing and scraping the whole way.

"Why don’t I hear any machinery running? I don’t see any workers, either," Zhang Yun noted.

"Private factories like this usually don’t have weekends off. They schedule shifts for nights and holidays. If no one’s working, there’s probably only one explanation..." Brother Long observed their surroundings as well.

"Which is?" Zhang Yun asked casually.

"No orders! Private bosses are the most ruthless. When orders are pouring in, they force their employees to work endless overtime—sometimes without a single day off for an entire month. When there are no orders, they force everyone to take time off, using it to offset accumulated leave or advancing future vacation days. It’s a trick to avoid paying the legally mandated triple overtime rates..."

Zhang Yun smiled faintly. "Is that so? And here I thought they gave everyone the day off specifically to welcome my arrival."

"Haha, you’re a VIP! You deserve a grand reception. However, this transaction needs to be kept low-key, so sending the workers home on vacation is entirely possible too," Brother Long replied with an awkward laugh.

He led Zhang Yun into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth-floor office area.

Watching the floor numbers climb, Zhang Yun said casually, "With the factory deserted, it makes it a lot easier to silence someone permanently, doesn’t it?"

"Haha, you’re joking. A person like you must come from a powerful background. What boss would dare disrespect you?" Brother Long forced a laugh, offering awkward flattery as a fine layer of sweat broke out along his hairline.

As the elevator reached the third floor, Zhang Yun suddenly shot out a hand and seized Brother Long by the throat.

"B-Boss, w-what... what are you doing!" Brother Long began to tremble, hastily squeezing the words out. "I just brought you here... I’m not even that familiar with the boss here..."

DING!

The elevator had arrived at the fifth floor. The split second the doors opened, Zhang Yun yanked Brother Long forward to use him as a human shield.

"Y-You see, there’s nothing..."

Brother Long shivered, cold sweat pouring down his face. Outside the open elevator, there were no thugs lying in ambush, which made him sigh in relief.

With one hand clamped tightly around his throat, Zhang Yun pushed Brother Long forward as they stepped out. He remained on high alert, scanning every corner with his eyes and listening for the slightest sound. He was ready to hold his breath instantly if he detected any strange odors.

Once the two of them were out, the elevator doors closed behind them. Brother Long pointed down the corridor. "Over there... Don’t worry, it’s definitely safe here..."

At that exact moment, the elevator behind them began to descend—someone on a lower floor had called it!

Simultaneously, with a loud CREAK, the adjacent fire door swung open, and a crowd of people instantly surged out from the stairwell!