After several days of arguing, Lu Shan and Zhang Zhuoyuan finally showed a willingness to compromise and agreed to work with the government to clean up the economic mess in G Province.

However, Lu Shan still seemed to be holding a grudge. Despite helping the government, she shut down a large number of peripheral companies that had been previously sealed, and packaged all the goods held at the port to be shipped to Treasure Island without any intention of continuing to sell them. It was as if she was throwing caution to the wind.

Zhang Zhuoyuan watched in horror, afraid that the Tarantula was still not satisfied and was planning to retaliate against the authorities. He quickly contacted Lian Jun for advice.

Lian Jun reassured him with the theory that "the Tarantula is probably planning to consolidate its forces, cut off the damaged branches, and try to preserve its strength, in order to smoothly form an alliance with the Meridian Gate and Thousand Leaves." Then he hinted that Zhang Zhuoyuan should pay more attention to the Snake Fang recently.

"Snake Fang?" Zhang Zhuoyuan was puzzled and asked, "What's wrong with Snake Fang? Hasn't it already withdrawn from G Province?"

"It did withdraw from G Province, but it headed straight to Treasure Island. My team members have seen the silhouette of Snake Fang's ships near the island," explained Lian Jun, sending over prepared materials to the official email. He continued, "Check your inbox. I had my people track Snake Fang's ships for a few days and found that they often linger around Tarantula's cargo transportation line."

Zhang Zhuoyuan was not clueless. As soon as he heard "cargo transportation line," he realized what was going on.

He furrowed his brows while checking the email sent by Lian Jun and said, "Is Snake Fang planning to rob Tarantula's cargo? Did they ignore the documents I issued earlier?"

"You only issued a document prohibiting malicious competition between organizations. Even if Snake Fang has seized Tarantula's goods now, it's only the property of Tarantula that has been affected, not the leader's life, so it's not a taboo violation," said Lian Jun.

These words from Lian Jun woke up Zhang Zhuoyuan a bit. He swallowed the urge to curse Snake Fang and quickly opened the email to check its contents. Upon seeing only the silhouette of a few ordinary ships in the photos, he became a bit skeptical and asked, "Are these really Snake Fang's ships? How did you recognize them?"

"We have our own methods," said Lian Jun, who was not one to reveal all his thoughts. He vaguely answered the question and continued, "If Snake Fang really wants to steal the goods, there will definitely be conflicts along this transportation line. Contact the Tarantula side and ask about their shipment departure time. Clear the route in a timely manner to prevent other innocent cargo ships from being affected. The economy of Province G cannot withstand another turmoil."

Zhang Zhuoyuan was stunned by his words and asked, "You asked me to pay attention to Snake Fang just for this reason? Aren't we supposed to stop this from happening?"

"Otherwise?" Lian Jun asked in response, speaking calmly. "It's just a shipment of goods. Whether or not it's been hijacked doesn't affect the current strength of the Tarantula. Conflicts between criminal organisations are common. As long as it doesn't affect the balance between the four families, they can do whatever they want. I don't have the energy to deal with it."

Zhang Zhuoyuan listened with aching teeth and said hesitantly, "But if they start a conflict in the nearby waters, our position..."

"You'll have to ask Snake Fang about this. Despite knowing the official stance, they still decided to rob the Tarantula's goods and even chose to do it on the transportation line. Does Snake Fang have no regard for the authorities? However, I can understand why they did it this time. They expanded too quickly and their funds couldn't keep up. If they don't replenish their funds soon, they'll probably collapse from within." Lian Jun spoke in a calm and indifferent tone, as if he were commenting on the weather.

Zhang Zhuoyuan was certain that Lian Jun still held some resentment towards the authorities and didn't want to touch on that topic. He tried to suggest, "If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to let them collapse? Perhaps we can help the Tarantula stop Snake Fang from robbing their goods..."

"Stopping it is possible, but not necessary," replied Lian Jun, explaining, "If Snake Fang continues to expand smoothly like this, it's okay to suppress it appropriately to prevent its strength from growing too fast. However, it's too difficult and unrewarding to directly make it collapse. Snake Fang is such a large organization, and it's not too difficult to find ways to raise funds. We can stop it this time, but what about next time? It's unrealistic to keep watching it all the time. Now is a critical moment, and we'd better not be too distracted."

Zhang Zhuoyuan pondered and asked, "So, we just let it be like this?"

"As long as it doesn't attempt to viciously attack the other three organizations and upset the current balance of power, we can let it be. Eventually, the four organizations will form an alliance, and the more they conflict now, the lower the trust between them will be after they ally. This situation will be more advantageous for us. The leaders of Tarantula, Meridian Gate, and Thousand Leaves are all cautious and astute individuals. Their alliance needs a decisive leader like Yuan Peng from Snake Fang. It's not a good thing if the enemy is too united, and Snake Fang is a necessary thorn in their side."

After explaining, Lian Jun summarized, "In short, we need to pay more attention to Snake Fang and not let it develop too smoothly. But we don't need to be overly concerned. As long as it doesn't interfere with the other three, let it do as it pleases."

Zhang Zhuoyuan was impressed by Lian Jun's foresight and quickly agreed, saying, "You truly have great vision. I won't interfere with the Snake Fang gang's attack on the Tarantula's cargo this time. I'll have someone clear the shipping route."

"Thank you for your hard work," Lian Jun said before hanging up the phone. He then turned to Lu Shan, who was on the other end of the video call, and said, "That's the plan. If Snake Fang only steals the cargo and doesn't touch Treasure Island, then you can use this as leverage to delay their alliance with Meridian Gate and Thousand Leaves. But if they harm your interests on Treasure Island, then you can directly report it to the authorities. They will help you seek justice, and Number Three and Number Five will also take the opportunity to avenge you."

Lu Shan had never seen the way Lian Jun and Zhang Zhuoyuan talked privately before. Lian Jun easily diverted the conversation from "Is the Tarantula up to something sneaky again? Should we be on guard?" to "The Snake Fang organization is a piece of rat droppings. We must keep a close eye on them and not let them harm the other three families." Lu Shan felt her scalp tingling.

This guy was a monster. It was a relief that she wasn't his enemy.

"No, no problem. Can my goods leave the port now?" Her voice was inexplicably dry.

"Go ahead. It's been delayed for so long, Snake Fang probably can't wait any longer. Remember to inform Meridian Gate and Thousand Leaves of Snake Fang's movements. Their leaders will know what to do."

Lu Shan quickly agreed and hung up the phone, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. Underneath Lian Jun's attractive human appearance, could there be some kind of extraterrestrial creature hiding...

......

In the study, after chatting with Lian Jun, Shi Jin hurriedly approached him with a few files he had just finished reviewing, looking slightly nervous as he said, "I've finished them, take a look."

Lian Jun's cold expression quickly softened as he took the files and flipped through them. His lips slowly curled up as he praised, "Not bad, you've remembered everything that Mr. Feng taught you very well."

Shi Jin breathed a sigh of relief and asked happily, "So can I help you with some of the work now?"

Lian Jun changed the subject and asked, "What do you want for dinner?"

Shi Jin's expression suddenly fell as he asked, "Can't I do it?"

"Learning requires gradual progress, take it slow," soothed Lian Jun. He glanced out the window at the beach and asked, "Will your third brother come for dinner today?"

Shi Jin also looked at the beach outside and his smile faded a bit as he replied, "Probably not. The lead actor had some trouble with his scenes yesterday, and the production schedule was delayed a bit. He has to help out there."

"Not happy?" Lian Jun asked.

Shi Jin looked back at him, sat across from him, and leaned on the desk. He shook his head and said, "It's not that I'm unhappy, it's just that I feel like I can't get motivated to do anything."

Lian Jun pointed to the desk with his finger, slid out of the desk, stopped beside him, and put his arm around his waist, leaning in to kiss him.

Shi Jin blinked, closed his eyes, and let him kiss him tenderly. Breaths intertwined, exchanging air. It was a kiss filled with comfort. After the kiss, Lian Jun rubbed Shi Jin's rosy lips and said with a smile, "You really have no energy. If it were any other time, if I kissed you like this, you would have already pounced on me."

Shi Jin retorted, "It's not like every time... mmm."

Lian Jun kissed him again, his hand soothingly tracing down his spine, then slowly moving down, lifting up his clothes and gently touching him.

Their lips parted, and they could breathe freely again. Gentle, scattered kisses moved from Shi Jin's cheek to his ear, then his earlobe was lightly bitten. Even though Shi Jin was lacking energy, he was still aroused by Lian Jun's teasing and reached out to embrace him, going for his belt.

Knock, knock, knock.

The study door suddenly sounded.

Lian Jun and Shi Jin's movements both came to a halt. They looked at each other, one with a hint of regret in their eyes, the other still not fully comprehending the situation.

"Wait until tonight," Lian Jun kissed Shi Jin's lips again, straightened his disheveled clothes and hair, and tidied himself up before calling for the person to come in.

When Number Six didn't hear a response after knocking on the door, he already had a rough idea of what was going on inside. He hesitated about whether to leave or not, but then Lian Jun's calm voice came from inside.

Did he misunderstand something?

Number Six felt a little embarrassed and gathered his thoughts before opening the door. He saw Shi Jin sitting at the desk, buried in documents, with Lian Jun sitting next to him. They looked like they had just finished a class. Number Six immediately condemned his impure thoughts and steadied his voice to report, "Mr. Rong has arrived."

Mr. Rong had arrived?

Shi Jin turned his head towards the door.

"Go ahead, he's probably here for dinner," Lian Jun took the file from him and reassured him, "I'll come find you after I finish my work...don't worry, I'll been here the whole time."

Seeing Lian Jun's gentle and reliable demeanor, Shi Jin couldn't help but reach out and give him a hug.