"Zhou Huayang?" Luo Feng's mind raced. So, it was him!
The officer at the detention center had informed him that Zhang Haobai had enlisted Zhou Huayang's help to orchestrate the attack against him.
"You're Zhou Huayang?" Luo Feng flashed a faint smile.
Zhou Huayang's heart skipped a beat. Under Luo Feng's intense gaze, a wave of nervousness washed over him. And he had every reason to be nervous. If Luo Feng decided to take action against him, he would surely be in deep trouble. Forcing a smile, Zhou said, "Yes, that's me, Brother Luo. How about we find a more suitable place to have a chat?"
"Sure thing," Luo Feng nodded. "I actually have something I want to talk to you about as well."
××××××
Not far from Nanan Community stood the Yangzhou Bathhouse, a high-end establishment known for its luxurious offerings. Even the smallest private suite here came with a minimum charge of 1,000 yuan. Although Luo Feng had heard of this place, he had never set foot inside before. Now, accompanied by his brother and Zhou Huayang, he stepped through its doors.
The Yangzhou Bathhouse was a comprehensive venue that combined bathing, foot soaking, and various recreational activities.
"Alright, you can go now. I'll call you if I need anything," Zhou Huayang instructed the waiter in one of the private suites.
"Yes, sir," the waiter replied and promptly left the suite.
This private suite consisted of three rooms. The first was a bathing room, specifically designed for taking baths. The second was a lounge area, suitable for having tea or conducting business discussions. The third was an entertainment room, equipped with facilities for surfing the internet, watching TV, and singing.
"A Hua, you can stay here and have a good time. I need to talk to Zhou Huayang about something," Luo Feng said with a warm smile.
"Okay, bro. Go ahead," Luo Hua responded.
Luo Hua skillfully maneuvered his wheelchair to the computer desk, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Wow, a 46-inch ultra-thin screen with a voice control system. This is really amazing!"
Luo Feng couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. The laptop at their home was of the most basic type, with a manual operating system, and it had cost only a few hundred yuan. In stark contrast, today's luxury laptops were mostly voice-controlled, and there were even rumors about the most top-of-the-line models featuring 3D virtual holographic projections.
Of course, devices with 3D virtual holographic projection capabilities were exorbitantly expensive, almost like something out of a legend. Even a wealthy family would probably have to exhaust all their resources just to afford one.
While Luo Hua was excitedly testing out the voice control system at the computer, Luo Feng and Zhou Huayang entered the lounge.
"Click." The door closed behind them, and Luo Feng and Zhou Huayang took seats facing each other in the lounge.
"Brother Luo, have some tea," Zhou Huayang said as he picked up the teapot and poured a cup for Luo Feng. His face was etched with a look of guilt. "Brother Luo, I'm here today to offer my sincere apologies. I feel truly ashamed about what happened... I really am at a loss for words."
Luo Feng held the teacup and listened in silence.
Zhou Huayang was a typical figure in society, someone with extensive connections who took on jobs for money. He had simply accepted Zhang Haobai's payment and arranged the attack; there had been no pre-existing animosity between him and Luo Feng. Luo Feng didn't hold much resentment towards Zhou. His real loathing was reserved for Zhang Haobai.
"Even if Zhang Haobai hadn't hired Zhou Huayang, he would have found someone else to do his dirty work," Luo Feng thought to himself. "Zhou is just a middleman in all of this. But since he's come to me, I might as well settle this matter privately."
Noticing Luo Feng's silence, Zhou quickly continued, "When I arranged that attack on you, Brother Luo, I had no idea about your true situation at all. It was all Zhang Haobai who misled me. I hope you can be magnanimous and forgive me, Brother Luo."
"Forgive you?" Luo Feng grinned.
"This is a small token of my apology. I sincerely hope you'll accept it," Zhou Huayang said as he took an envelope out of his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Luo Feng. "It's a registered check from China Merchants Bank, payable only to you. You can cash it at any branch of the bank."
Luo Feng took a look and opened the envelope. Inside was indeed a check, valid for ten days and made out to him, with his ID number clearly attached.
What caught his immediate attention, however, was the amount written on it:
One million yuan
"A million?" Luo Feng was visibly taken aback. It was a substantial sum of money. His family's total savings over the years had never exceeded 100,000 yuan. Chinese yuan was still highly valuable, and for most company executives, one million yuan was a significant amount.
"I hope you can forgive me and let this whole matter be put to rest," Zhou Huayang pleaded earnestly.
One million yuan... His family had never had such a large sum of money in their hands before. It would be foolish to refuse it.
"I know you're just a middleman in this, so I won't make things difficult for you. Alright, I'll accept the money," Luo Feng nodded. Zhou Huayang immediately let out a sigh of relief.
"But cashing this check is quite troublesome. How about you transfer the money directly to my account online right now?" Luo Feng suggested.
"Sure, no problem," Zhou Huayang replied without hesitation.
Luo Feng nodded, picked up a pen on the table, and wrote down his bank account number and the name of the bank on a piece of white paper. "This is my bank account number, and here's the address of the bank where it's opened. The account is in my name."
"Got it," Zhou Huayang said as he retrieved the envelope and the check. He then took out his phone, quickly accessed the online banking system, and within moments, the transfer was successfully completed.
Luo Feng felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and opened it to see a text message from the bank. It was a notification of the change in his bank card balance, informing him that 1 million yuan had been added to his account.
"The money has been transferred, right?" Zhou Huayang asked with a smile.
"Yeah," Luo Feng nodded.
Zhou Huayang smiled and said, "Brother Luo, you're so straightforward and decisive. If you ever run into any problems in Yangzhou City, just come to me directly. I'll do everything in my power to help you. Of course, you'll soon become a warrior. But you know, sometimes it's the petty people who can cause the most headaches. Having someone like me to deal with those kinds of issues might make things a lot easier."
"Okay, I'll definitely reach out if I need your help," Luo Feng said as he stood up.
Zhou Huayang also stood up immediately, and the two of them shook hands.
"Well, I'll be on my way then," Zhou Huayang said with a smile. "I've already paid for the suite, so you and your brother can enjoy yourselves here until tomorrow morning." He then greeted Luo Feng's younger brother, Luo Hua, and left the suite.
In the suite, only Luo Feng and Luo Hua, the two brothers, were left.
In the entertainment room of the suite...
"Bro, what did that guy want from you?" Luo Hua asked with a laugh. "He seemed really polite."
"He came to give us money," Luo Feng replied with a smile.
"Give us money?" Luo Hua was startled.
Luo Feng hadn't told his parents or his brother about what had happened in the detention center. He didn't want his family to worry about him. In Luo Feng's opinion, now that he had chosen the path of a warrior, it would be filled with numerous difficulties and dangers at every turn. It was better not to burden his parents with such troublesome matters.
"Right, A Hua," Luo Feng said with a smile. "How's your stock trading going?"
Because Luo Hua had been confined to the house for many years and had a strong interest in finance, especially in the stock market. Despite his young age, he had already been trading stocks for three years.
"I didn't make any money in the first year, but in the past two years, I've made quite a bit. I've quadrupled my initial investment. Now I have over 20,000 yuan," Luo Hua said.
"Really? That's amazing!" Luo Feng was greatly surprised.
It wasn't the amount of over 20,000 yuan that astonished Luo Feng; rather, it was the incredible efficiency of his brother's earnings. Quadrupling the investment was truly a remarkable achievement!
"It's not that big of a deal," Luo Hua said with a smile. "Actually, when it comes to trading stocks, it's all about psychology and mathematics. As long as you can control your positions well, manage your purchase prices through successive buying, and follow the big players behind the scenes, it's quite manageable... But sometimes, when the stock market is volatile, it can really affect your mindset. That's why I didn't make any money in the first year. I would often sell my stocks too early out of fear."
Luo Feng listened, feeling a bit confused.
"My earnings are nothing compared to those of the real experts who trade futures. While I've quadrupled my money, they can make ten or even twenty times their investment. Of course, futures trading is much riskier. One careless move, and if you get forcefully liquidated, you'll lose everything," Luo Hua said, shaking his head.
Although Luo Feng didn't fully understand the intricacies of stock and futures trading...
He did understand one thing: earnings from stocks grew in a compounding manner.
For example, it had taken his brother three years to grow a few thousand yuan into over 20,000 yuan. But if he had started with a principal of 1 million yuan, he might already have 4 million yuan in assets. And with 4 million yuan as the principal, he could potentially amass 16 million yuan in assets.
Money makes more money, and the growth becomes more and more astonishing as time goes on.
"A Hua, I'll give you 500,000 yuan later," Luo Feng said with a smile. "Work hard and make the most of it."
"500,000?" Luo Hua's eyes lit up with excitement. "The stock market has dropped significantly today. This is the perfect opportunity to buy at the bottom and make a huge profit." Having shared a room with his brother for so many years, Luo Feng had long noticed that his brother always hoped for the stock market to crash, while their neighbor, Uncle Wang, always hoped for it to soar.
Luo Hua made money from stock trading, while Uncle Wang lost money.
Do all the experts hope for the stock market to crash? Luo Feng wondered to himself.
"By the way, bro, where did you get all that money?" Luo Hua asked eagerly.
"From that Zhou Huayang," Luo Feng replied with a smile. "Brother, you can use this money. Once I become a warrior, I'll be able to earn a lot more." Ordinary warriors didn't earn a great deal, but Luo Feng was well aware of his own strength. Just his ability to control objects was far more terrifying than a heavy machine gun.
After all, bullets traveled in a straight line, while the spikes and other objects he controlled could change direction instantaneously.
"On August 1st, there's the warrior combat assessment. Once I pass it, my career as a warrior will officially begin," Luo Feng said. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on the teacup in his right hand. With a snap, the teacup shattered, and the tea spilled all over the floor.
Luo Hua beside him was startled and jumped. "Bro, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Luo Feng said, shaking his head and smiling.
But in his heart, he thought to himself, "When I cultivated genetic energy in the detention center cell, my strength increased significantly. And then, after awakening my abilities, my strength grew even more! Now, my power and speed are far greater than before. However, growing in strength too quickly isn't entirely a good thing. I'm not able to control my power with precision yet."
Crushing the teacup in a moment of excitement clearly showed his lack of control over his power.
"Alright, tomorrow morning, I'll go to the Extreme Martial Arts Gym. From now until August 1st, in these twenty-odd days, I'll train really hard. I'll refine and master my current speed and power, and strive to fully unleash my potential," Luo Feng thought to himself.