"Ms. Cheng makes some valid points, but I'm naturally thinking about your best interests. If you still want to overthrow CEO Lu and take revenge, cooperating with me is an indispensable path. Whether you act today or not, our encounters in the business circle in the future are inevitable. If you miss this opportunity today, you'll also miss out on the chance to be involved in many industries."
What he meant was that if she wanted to replace Lu Qianzhou, and continue to cooperate with him, she had to act today.
Yan Xia's face was tense, and her mind was racing.
She was now like a rider on a tiger, unable to dismount. She was in a real bind.
Long Tao was still waiting for her reply. "Ms. Cheng can make a choice now. Putting him out of his misery earlier is also a good deed."
While she was still weighing her options, the voice of the police came through the earpiece again. The person on the other end spoke in a very serious tone. "Don't act!"
If she showed any signs of suspicion now, or tried to get away scot - free, it would probably arouse Long Tao's suspicion.
Even if he didn't take action today, she might still end up on the blacklist of the forces behind him. She might evade danger for a while, but not for long.
By that time, all her efforts after returning to the capital would be in vain. Lan Mengfan would have died in vain, and her enemies would still be at large, while she would become a useless person at the mercy of others.
But it was no easy feat to both spare the life of this traitor and gain Long Tao's trust to get involved in his illegal business.
This was the first time in her life that she had pointed a knife at someone with the intention of killing.
Her palms were sweaty. After a moment of hesitation, she raised the knife and pointed it at the man.
Perhaps sensing that she was about to act, the man stared at her in horror with his one remaining eye. His gaze was filled with fear, but more importantly, it was an appeal for her to stop.
"That's it," Long Tao adjusted her position and said beside her. "Ms. Cheng is truly a smart person. Now that you've made up your mind, act!"
From the earpiece, Shangguan Yao's urgent voice came through.
"Yan Xia! Don't forget what I told you! Don't be controlled by him. Even if you don't act, he won't dare to do much to you for now."
He also said "for now". Who could guarantee what the future held? No one could protect her for a lifetime.
She listened to the voices from both sides. On one side was Shangguan Yao's urgent dissuasion, and on the other was Long Tao's urging to act.
Perhaps because his many wounds hadn't been bandaged, blood was seeping out from under him. A large pool of crimson blood kept spreading.
She pointed the knife at the man for a moment. Suddenly, the chandelier above made a loud noise. Someone fired a silenced gun not far away. The lamp went out, swayed a few times, and the lampshade fell to the ground, landing not far from Yan Xia.
They were warning her.
Long Tao's eyes narrowed, and his lips twitched.
"I'm not saying I can't act, but Mr. Long's coercion makes me reluctant," Yan Xia smiled. "If I don't follow your instructions today, what will the consequences be?"
Long Tao glanced at the lampshade at his feet out of the corner of his eye. His gaze was sharp. "I'm afraid Ms. Cheng won't be able to leave here safely today."
Yan Xia said sternly, "Mr. Long, I sincerely want to cooperate with you, but you're targeting me for a traitor who has nothing to do with me. Isn't that a bit unreasonable?"
She looked at Long Tao but couldn't fathom his thoughts.
Did someone tell him that she was suspicious, so he suddenly wanted to test her loyalty with a human life?
If so, who had passed the message to him? After all, only a few people knew about her cooperation with the police. This was a very secret matter.
"Actually, I've suspected your motives since you first approached me. If you were just a supplier, you wouldn't have needed to come to me. So there are only two possibilities. Either you want to engage in deeper cooperation and transactions with me, or..."
A mocking smile curled his lips. "Your painstaking efforts to approach me can only prove that you have an ulterior motive. Even if I let you go today, I'm afraid Ms. Cheng won't be able to live in peace in the future."
This was an explicit threat!
She was extremely anxious, but she couldn't show it on her face. She mustn't let Long Tao see her panic.
It was the first time in her life that she felt so panicked and helpless.
He continued to put pressure on her.
"Ms. Cheng has a close relationship with CEO Lu. You've always said that you have a deep - seated hatred for each other. But as far as I know, your relationship with CEO Lu has improved a lot. So what reason do you have to show goodwill to me and yet be afraid to act against him? Can I understand that Ms. Cheng has another identity and can't bear to harm her own people..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed a gun at Yan Xia's head. The empty muzzle was aimed at her. With just a slight squeeze of Long Tao's finger, he could easily take her life at any time.
Yan Xia gave him a sharp look. Suddenly, she raised her hand. Without even looking at the traitor, she just stared into Long Tao's eyes and stabbed the knife into the man's left chest.
The sound of the knife piercing the flesh was like tearing a piece of ragged cloth. It sounded extremely sharp in her ears.
The knife didn't go all the way into his body, but the blood still gushed out like an untightened faucet. A few drops of blood splashed on Yan Xia's face. Her eyelids fluttered. The blood under the man spread rapidly and flowed to her feet.
As if burned, Yan Xia's hand dropped. The knife remained in the traitor's body.
She hid the hand that had held the knife behind her, but in a place where Long Tao couldn't see, that hand was trembling constantly.
Her stab hadn't hit a fatal spot, but it must have been very painful.
The man groaned and let out a heart - rending wail from his throat. His whole body trembled uncontrollably. If he hadn't been held up, he would probably have collapsed to the ground.
Yan Xia couldn't bear to look at such a scene. Her heart was pounding, her chest felt stuffy, and she had a nauseating feeling of wanting to vomit at any moment.
Yan Xia's voice was tense. She asked coldly, "Mr. Long, aren't you going to put down your gun?"
Long Tao's hand slowly dropped, but he still didn't give up. He said with a smile,
"It's only natural that Ms. Cheng missed the mark on her first try. It doesn't matter. Once you've done it once, you can do it again."
He wanted her to continue...
From the earpiece, Shangguan Yao roared at her, "Yan Xia, are you crazy? Don't act again! Stop immediately! We'll arrange an alternative plan right away to get you out of this mess."
Long Tao slowly walked to her side. Just like before, he took out the knife. Blood spurted out and landed on his face and clothes, making him look blood - thirsty.
Long Tao took the knife and aimed the tip at the man's heart. All she had to do was give a gentle push, and it would all be over.
He said, "Just like this."
Perhaps sensing that Yan Xia was still hesitating and reluctant to act, his gun was once again pressed against Yan Xia's waist.