CHAPTER 499: CHAPTER 499: A SLIGHT MISTAKE WOULD LEAD TO IRREPARABLE DOOM

Hearing the word "boss," Lan Hui hesitated for a moment before finally opening the door.

But she still did not put down the fruit knife in her hand.

The man stepped into the room without wasting any words and immediately handed her the folder he was holding.

"You can’t stay in the country anymore. The boss wants you to leave immediately. Inside are your passport, visa, and plane ticket. Oh, and you need to leave right now, or you won’t make it in time for the room."

Lan Hui had just managed to secure her position as the director of the provincial TV station, and now she was being told to leave suddenly, filling her with reluctance.

"Do I have to go?"

"This time, Zeng Pengchao is coming for you, and no one can protect you. If you don’t leave now, it may be too late by tomorrow!"

"But I haven’t prepared anything, and I don’t have any money on me."

"Once you’re abroad, someone will take care of everything for you. As for your money, give me your card, and I’ll transfer it for you later."

"This... doesn’t seem right."

Clearly, Lan Hui didn’t trust the man.

However, the man urged her, "If you don’t leave today and you’re caught tomorrow, all that money will be confiscated. You have no choice but to trust me."

At this point, Lan Hui had no other options.

She could only say, "I’ve invested all my money in gold. It’s buried in the cellar of my family’s old home."

Then, she provided the exact address and handed over the key to the man.

On the way to the airport, Lan Hui was filled with reluctance.

She would never have left like this if she had any other choice.

It wasn’t until the plane took off that she finally exhaled a little in relief.

But endless resentment and hatred filled her heart.

"Chen Bin, just you wait. I will never let you get away with this!"

At the same time, the man in sunglasses immediately started driving toward Lan Hui’s family home.

Perhaps in his hurry, he didn’t notice that a black car was silently trailing him like a ghost.

That night, at around 3:30 a.m., Chen Bin was suddenly awakened by the sound of his phone ringing.

Glancing at the caller ID, he quickly picked up the call.

"Hello? What’s up?"

"Boss, I just tracked one of Lan Hui’s men and found her money’s hiding place in the cellar. I’ve knocked him out. There are sixteen full bags of gold in there! My car can’t hold it all—hurry and come help!"

Hearing this, Chen Bin instantly perked up.

Glancing at Zhao Xinmei, who was lying beside him, he whispered.

"Take as much as you can fit, and leave the rest. Taking everything might spark retaliation."

"But leaving any behind feels like such a waste with this much money."

"As long as we leave a little for Lan Hui, she’ll take the loss quietly. If we take it all, she’s liable to fight us to the death."

Finding this reasoning sound, Cheng Zhuang reluctantly replied.

"Alright, I’ll start loading up the car. I’ll call you when I get to your place."

From that moment, Chen Bin was no longer the least bit sleepy.

He got dressed and sat alone on the living room couch, idly scrolling through videos on his phone.

About an hour later, the phone rang again.

He answered it immediately.

"Boss, I’m at the parking lot downstairs. Come down quickly."

"Okay, I’m on my way."

After hanging up, Chen Bin headed downstairs at once.

In the parking lot, it didn’t take him long to spot Cheng Zhuang’s car.

He opened the trunk, which was stuffed to the brim. Even the passenger and back seats were loaded with burlap bags.

He casually unzipped one of the bags, revealing glittering gold bars inside.

Though he wasn’t inexperienced with money, it was the first time he’d ever seen so much gold in one place.

In this moment, Chen Bin felt a mix of emotions.

Lan Hui running away was undoubtedly a wise move. With this much money involved, she would’ve been as good as dead if she’d stayed.

"Bro, won’t someone trace this much money back to us?"

Cheng Zhuang smirked with confidence.

"Relax. Lan Hui’s stash was in the village where surveillance is sparse. On the way back, I swapped license plates three times, all in places without cameras. No one’s going to trace this."

After taking inventory, they found a total of eight bags of gold.

Working together, they carried four bags into Zhao Xinmei’s house, making two trips in total.

Sitting in the living room, Chen Bin poured Cheng Zhuang a glass of water.

Pointing to the four bags, he asked, "With this much money, didn’t it cross your mind to keep it all for yourself?"

Cheng Zhuang froze for a moment before shaking his head.

"Honestly, the thought didn’t even occur to me. When I discovered the stash, I contacted you first thing."

Patting him on the shoulder, Chen Bin was clearly moved.

"Nice, you’re a stand-up guy!"

Cheng Zhuang grinned.

"How about you help me carry them back? I’m having second thoughts."

"No way! Once it’s in my house, it’s mine!"

Lighting a cigarette, Cheng Zhuang gazed at the gold, a bit troubled.

"Boss, with this much money, can we even spend it all?"

"Don’t worry about that. Gold is hard currency and difficult to trace. Even if Lan Hui gets caught, this stash won’t lead back to us."

Even after hearing this reassurance, it all still felt surreal to Cheng Zhuang.

He’d never imagined having such obscene wealth in his life.

If he’d kept it all to himself, he’d surely live in constant fear.

But now, with Chen Bin involved, he felt much more secure.

In his mind, Chen Bin was the backbone of the operation.

As long as Chen Bin said it was fine, it would be fine.

After delivering the gold, Cheng Zhuang didn’t linger long and left after saying goodbye to Chen Bin.

After securing the four burlap bags, Chen Bin couldn’t help but reflect.

It was a stroke of luck that he’d instructed Cheng Zhuang to watch Lan Hui; otherwise, he would’ve missed this windfall.

Once Zhao Nianbing left for school that morning, Chen Bin asked Zhao Xinmei to take half a day off work.

He handed all the gold over to Zhao Xinmei.

Since she’d handled gold before, Zhao Xinmei wasn’t rattled at all.

Only after hearing where the wealth had come from did she relax slightly.

After Lan Hui fled, Zeng Pengchao convened a meeting to discuss her successor as the provincial TV station director.

Following heated debate, Chen Bin was appointed as the acting director.

When he received the news, Chen Bin was visibly surprised.

"Secretary Zeng, was this your doing?"

On the other end of the phone, Zeng Pengchao’s voice rang out, "What, are you not happy to not get it all in one step?"

"Not at all. I’m just curious."

"During the meeting, only Vice Secretary Li Lu among the provincial leaders supported you. If I’d pushed too hard, it would’ve seemed like I was dominating the discussion."

"Thank you so much, Secretary Zeng."

To Chen Bin, being an acting director was still just a temporary role, giving the impression of instability.

But since Zeng Pengchao had put it that way, Chen Bin knew better than to press for more.

After ending the call, Chen Bin took a deep breath, his face void of any joy but growing graver instead.

He understood that although Lan Hui had fled, her backers hadn’t fallen.

In other words, an unprecedented retaliation might be coming his way.

One wrong move, and he could find himself in a disastrous position...