Zhang Zhuoyuan was going crazy. Today was the day before the meeting started, and according to previous years' customs, as the most reliable ally of the government, the leader of Annihilation would choose to stay indoors to avoid causing psychological pressure to the leaders of some small and medium-sized organizations who came to say hello.

But this year, Annihilation's style completely changed.

"Director Zhang, when I came over here, I saw a group of people having a meal in the restaurant. There were Annihilation's Number Two and military personnel wearing Air Force uniforms inside. Two groups of people gathered together... may I ask if there is a celebration event on the ship?" a curious leader of a veteran medium-sized organization asked.

Zhang Zhuoyuan pressed down the blue veins bulging on his forehead and replied with a fake smile, "No... they just happened to run into each other and had a meal together."

"Ah, I see now," the leader of the medium-sized organization suddenly realized. He then asked with even more confusion, "I heard that when Annihilation was calling for a young man, Number Two, he was very respectful. Was that young man Annihilation's person? Also, I didn't see Mr. Lian Jun. His subordinates coincidentally ran into the air force. Why didn't he come out to take a look?"

Zhang Zhuoyuan looked at the seemingly simple-minded but actually probing "old guy" in front of him and replied with a smile, "This year, Annihilation's leader, Mr. Lian Jun, didn't attend the meeting due to some personal reasons. Instead, he sent his partner, the one called Young Master Shi, to come. Young Master Shi has a slightly more lively personality and is easy to get along with."

The leader of the medium-sized organization was taken aback and said, "Mr. Lian did not attend this meeting? That's against the rules..."

"It's within the rules. Mr. Shi is now the deputy leader of Annihilation. His identity was officially reported to our side by Mr. Lian before the incident with the Tarantula at the end of last year. So, it's completely fine for him to represent Annihilation at the meeting." With one sentence, Zhang Zhuoyuan shut down any attempts to nitpick the rules, his fake smile almost frozen on his face.

"I didn't expect Annihilation to have a deputy leader now. That's a big deal..." The leader of the medium-sized organization sighed with a simple and honest face. Suddenly, he changed the subject and quickly asked, "Why didn't Mr. Lian attend the meeting this time? Is he not feeling well?"

"Yes, he's not feeling well. He's been a little under the weather lately and needs to rest," Zhang Zhuoyuan honestly replied according to Shi Jin's instructions. He then couldn't resist picking up his schedule and checking it, smiling as he said, "Sorry, my assistant just informed me that the next leader has arrived..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for wasting your time. I tend to talk too much, sorry sorry," the leader of the medium-sized organization quickly apologized and left.

Zhang Zhuoyuan's expression immediately fell, and he rubbed his forehead in frustration. After preparing himself mentally, he allowed his assistant to bring in the next leader. The next person to enter was the leader of a quasi-first-tier organization, a sly old fox.

He greeted Zhang Zhuoyuan and then casually mentioned, "By the way, I just passed by the restaurant and saw a young man calling a Air Force Colonel 'Fourth Brother'. I couldn't help but ask, are military personnel now allowed to bring their families to such important meetings?"

Crack.

Zhang Zhuoyuan almost broke the pen in his hand, but he managed to suppress the urge to vomit blood and replied, "No, that young man is the deputy leader of the Annihilation organization and a legitimate participant in the meeting."

"Oh, so he's from Annihilation. But why did he call the Air Force Colonel 'Fourth Brother'?"

"Perhaps it was a slip of the tongue, or maybe you misheard," Zhang Zhuoyuan forced a smile, but inside he was cursing the scheming villain. The leader of the quasi-first-tier organization smiled falsely and said, "Maybe... By the way, where is Mr. Lian Jun staying? I have something to ask him."

Here comes another one. Zhang Zhuoyuan continued to fake a smile and repeated what he had just said to the previous leader, emphasizing, "Mr. Shi's deputy leader status has been recognized and is sufficient to attend the meeting. There are no issues with the rules."

The quasi-first-tier organization leader looked him up and down, and his fake smile deepened. "I see."

After seeing off this leader, Zhang Zhuoyuan drank a whole pot of tea before calming down, and then asked his assistant to bring in the next leader.

"Ah, Director Zhang, I saw a young man playing mahjong with the military officers in the lounge. May I ask who he is?"

Zhang Zhuoyuan: "..." Shi Jin I'm gonna @#$%^&!

Zhang Zhuoyuan, who considered himself to have a good temper, couldn't help but curse Shi Jin's lack of manners in his heart.

......

"Achoo!" Shi Jin turned his head and sneezed, frowning and saying, "I feel like someone is cursing me."

"It's normal. As the leader of the Annihilation, you're bound to be cursed behind your back," Number Two continued, playing mahjong and glancing at the wide-open door of the lounge. He lowered his voice and said, "The leaders of the quasi-first-tier organization Roaring Tiger affiliated with the Thousand Leaves and the medium-sized organization Mystic Gate affiliated with the Meridian Gate have both come. They should have already gathered all the information they need."

Shi Jin sorted out his cards and said, "Thousand Leaves and Meridian Gate are more easily agitated than I thought. They were probably intimidated by the armed helicopters that flew around earlier and my association with Fourth Brother. Let them speculate. The more they talk about me, the less they will pay attention to Lian Jun."

"But is it appropriate to expose Young Master Jun's physical condition like this?" Number Two asked.

"It's appropriate. The more cunning people are, the less they believe the truth. They're probably guessing why Lian Jun didn't attend the meeting and sent me, a 'young master,' instead. They might even be thinking about some conspiracy," Shi Jin replied, with a smile on his face and a hint of cunning.

Number Two nodded and his tone became sarcastic. "You're right. People who live by the sword are the least likely to believe the truth when it's presented to them... I'll make sure they pay attention to the wind direction over there."

Over there, Shi Jin nodded towards Lu Shan and then ended the conversation. He turned his head to look at Xiang Aoting, who had been standing quietly behind him the whole time, and happily said, "Fourth brother, let me teach you how to play. Have you played this before?"

Xiang Aoting had heard his entire conversation with Number Two earlier and was feeling quite complicated. But now, looking at Shi Jin's innocent and happy expression, as if he had no idea of the danger, Xiang Aoting couldn't help but reach out and pat his head, saying, "Don't be afraid, I will protect you."

Shi Jin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "I know, Fourth Brother is the most powerful."

Snap!

Li Jiuzheng angrily threw down a card.

"Peng!" Fei Yujing didn't hesitate to eat his card. As Number Two glanced at the two men, he silently gave them a thumbs down in his mind. It was obvious that among the three older brothers present, Shi Jin was clearly biased towards the Fourth Brother. Even before the game started, Fei Yujing and Li Jiuzheng had already lost.

......

It was clearly against regulations for soldiers to play mahjong in their uniforms on an official meeting ship.

To avoid trouble, Xiang Aoting chose not to join the game and instead sat behind Shi Jin, watching him play for a while. But just by being together like this, the signal they were sending out was enough to make other organization leaders suspicious and discuss their intentions.

People came and went to inquire about news from Zhang Zhuoyuan. They passed by the lounge, coming and going.

Only a deputy leader was sent to the meeting this year. The news of this deputy leader's close relationship with an Air Force general spread among all the leaders of criminal organisations. They discussed this matter, speculating on the background of the deputy leader, the motive for Lian Jun's absence from the meeting this year, and the meaning behind various performances. Their imaginations ran wild.

Among them, as the "enemy" who kidnapped Shi Jin, Lu Shan naturally received inquiries from "allies".

"Shi Jin's background is very complicated, and Lian Jun really values him. No, it's not just valuing him, Lian Jun can be said to be so in love with him that he's lost his mind," Lu Shan commented with a tone of sarcasm mixed with resentment. "How dare he bite me like that, Lian Jun deserves to die!"

The old grudge between Tarantula and Annihilation was well known to other organizations. On the other end of the call, Meng Qing pondered for a few seconds before asking, "What do you mean by Shi Jin's complicated background?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. After the incident in G Province, everyone should have looked into Shi Jin's background, but you guys didn't find anything important, did you?"

Meng Qing replied, "Indeed, he seems to have suddenly appeared in the country, using his real name. But his information is even more vague and difficult to trace than those who use code names like Number One and his group."

"He has a code name, he's Annihilation's new generation's Number Four. He was also at last year's meeting, the guy who pushed Lian Jun's wheelchair. You probably didn't pay much attention to him."

Meng Qing was surprised. He did remember Lian Jun bringing a fresh-faced newcomer to the meeting last year, but he didn't notice anything special about him at the time. In less than a year, how did this newcomer become a deputy leader?

"Also, the reason you can't find out about Shi Jin's background isn't because Lian Jun protected him too well, but because his father hid him too deeply in the past. Have you been curious why I suddenly targeted him? It's because I received information that Shi Jin, who is by Lian Jun's side, is the youngest son of Shi Xingrui, the former CEO of Ruihang in the foreign country. His net worth is not lower than that of some organization leaders."

Meng Qing furrowed her brows and asked, "What did you say, Ruihang?"

"It's Ruihang. I caught him initially to confirm this news, but ended up falling into my own trap. I found it strange before, why would Lian Jun suddenly bring a new and inexperienced person so close to him? Now I understand. Partner? It's ridiculous. He's probably just a pawn. Ruihang's company is so big, it must be useful." Lu Shan's tone was mocking, filled with malicious speculation and belittlement towards Lian Jun.

Meng Qing pondered her words for a moment, extracted the information from them, and only after a while did he ask, "Why didn't you tell me this news earlier?"

Lu Shan replied honestly, "At first it was a lack of trust, but later on I just didn't think much of it. Ruihang is just a big company, they pose no threat to us. Our target is Lian Jun. Focusing too much on this little guy is putting the cart before the horse. Besides, the person in charge of Ruihang now is not him, but his older brother Shi Weichong."

"But Lian Jun sent him to attend the meeting," Meng Qing's tone became serious as he spoke. "This Shi Jin is also getting close to the new Air Force Colonel who arrived this year. We need to investigate their relationship as soon as possible."

As she watched him try to worm his way out of the situation, Lu Shan felt a sense of satisfaction but kept a displeased expression on her face. "Meng Qing, don't you think we should focus on why Lian Jun didn't attend the meeting? No matter how complicated Shi Jin's background may be, he's just a rich kid. He only has a place here because Lian Jun values him. We don't need to pay too much attention to him," she said.

Meng Qing was a bit arrogant and couldn't stand being contradicted. Lu Shan's words only strengthened his resolve to investigate Shi Jin. "Shi Jin is likely just another pawn of Lian Jun's. Lian Jun never does anything without a purpose. And if Shi Jin really is the young master of Ruihang, then we'll have something to work with at tomorrow's meeting," he replied.

Lu Shan's interest was piqued by Meng Qing's words and she asked, "What do you mean?"

Meng Qing didn't respond, instead saying, "I'll contact Qi Yun, you contact Yuan Peng, we need to have a small meeting." After speaking, she hung up the phone.

Lu Shan looked at her phone after the call ended, tapping her finger on the back of it and sneering, "Arrogant fool!"