Precision Blasting

Lin Yucheng’s eyes were already red as he said this.

He gripped his teacup, his fingertips resting against the rim, but he didn’t take a sip for a long time.

He was making himself look as humble and submissive as possible.

So humble that even Lin Gongcheng could barely stay seated.

But Lin Mo wasn’t buying it.

He picked up a piece of greens and chewed it slowly. Only after he had swallowed did he look up at Lin Yucheng.

With the Ancestral Dragon buff, how could he not know Lin Yucheng’s true circumstances?

Lin Yucheng’s house had a safe in it. Lin Mo knew exactly where it was, as well as the several property deeds stuffed inside, which drawer held the car keys, and who owned the BMW parked by the back entrance of the residential complex.

He could see it all clearly.

Every detail showed that Lin Yucheng was lying.

This uncle was putting on quite a convincing act of poverty.

Unfortunately, he had picked the wrong audience.

Lin Mo slowly set down his chopsticks.

“Oh? You lost money trading stocks?”

Lin Yucheng looked up and hurriedly nodded.

“Xiao Mo, your uncle really had no choice. I thought I could make some money, but then I got stuck holding the shares.”

“Then I feel even worse for you.”

Lin Mo looked at him.

“The condolence money from my parents’ funerals got lost in there too, didn’t it? You’re heartbroken, and so am I.”

The dining table fell silent.

His aunt’s hand froze in midair as she reached for a dish.

She glanced at Lin Mo, then at Lin Yucheng, and said nothing.

Doudou sat beside her, his head lowered as he shoveled rice into his mouth. His ears were practically standing on end. He didn’t understand what they were talking about, but he could tell it was something serious.

Lin Mo’s words were vicious enough to feel like a series of hard slaps across Lin Yucheng’s face.

The skin on Lin Yucheng’s face twitched. He suppressed his anger and forced out an awkward, polite smile.

“Xiao Mo, I know you hate your uncle. I admit I didn’t handle some things well in the past. But your uncle really has nowhere else to turn now. Can’t you help us? You can’t just watch the three of us sleep on the streets, can you?”

Lin Yucheng continued to play the victim.

Ever since they had returned from the police station last time, Lin Yucheng had disliked this nephew of his. He felt that Lin Mo wasn’t as foolish as he used to be and was no longer as easy to deceive.

Lin Mo didn’t answer immediately.

He had more or less guessed Lin Yucheng’s intentions.

The man had barely opened his mouth before asking to stay in his house. This wasn’t about borrowing a place in an emergency—he wanted to establish a foothold.

Once he moved in, he could rely on his status as an elder and refuse to leave. Eventually, it would become, “We’re all family. Why are you dividing things so clearly?”

After that, he would replace the keys, change the locks, and cry to all the neighbors about how pitiful he was.

As long as he managed to move in and stubbornly refused to leave, getting rid of him would become nearly impossible.

Lin Mo understood people like this far too well.

It wasn’t that they had no money. They simply couldn’t stand seeing something that belonged to someone else remain in that person’s hands.

Lin Yucheng’s greed was obvious.

In reality, Lin Yucheng had an even bigger scheme in mind.

The several property deeds at home, along with the BMW outside, had all been acquired with money he made from doing business.

It was just that, in the eyes of outsiders, every business venture Lin Yucheng touched ended in a loss.

That was because the losses always came out of his partners’ pockets. When it came to keeping the books, Lin Yucheng himself never lost a cent.

As for the story he had told Lin Mo about losing money in the stock market—that part was true.

And that was why he had set his sights on Lin Mo’s house.

Lin Mo didn’t know about any of this, nor did he know how exactly his uncle had built his fortune.

But he knew one thing: this uncle of his was definitely not poor.

Lin Gongcheng thought for a moment before finally saying, “Brother, renting a place doesn’t cost that much, does it? Jiahao is already in his senior year of college. He’ll be starting work in a few months and will be independent by then. You and your wife can rent a one-bedroom apartment. It won’t cost that much. Our second brother’s only property should be left to Mo-zai.”

He had put it very tactfully. What he really meant was that Lin Yucheng should stop targeting Lin Mo.

After all, Lin Mo was the only son his second brother had left behind.

As Lin Yucheng’s younger brother, Lin Gongcheng knew exactly what kind of person his elder brother was.

If he and his wife were to die right then, Doudou might very well be cheated by him too.

So it was obvious that Lin Gongcheng was taking Lin Mo’s side.

At the thought, Lin Gongcheng instinctively reached over and ruffled Doudou’s hair.

Doudou looked up and asked in a small voice, “Dad, why are you touching my head?”

“Nothing. I’m just checking whether your hair is oily.”

Doudou: “…”

The tension at the table eased slightly because of that remark.

Lin Mo glanced at his third uncle but didn’t thank him.

Some things didn’t need to be said aloud.

Lin Yucheng hadn’t expected his own younger brother to say something like that. His fist tightened slightly beneath the table, but he still didn’t explode. He wanted to keep up his act.

He had thought everything through before coming.

First, he would pretend to be miserable. Then he would appeal to family ties.

If Lin Mo refused, he would turn up the pity.

If Lin Gongcheng spoke up for him, he would use his position as the eldest brother to pressure him.

But he hadn’t expected Lin Gongcheng to block his path right from the start.

Even more troublesome was that Lin Mo had never allowed himself to be led by the nose.

The longer Lin Yucheng stared at his nephew, the more uncomfortable he felt.

The Lin Mo of the past had been quiet and timid. A few harsh words would make him lower his head.

But now things were different.

The boy sat there eating as usual and firing back as usual. He didn’t even bother pretending to care whether Lin Yucheng’s eyes were red.

Lin Yucheng cursed inwardly.

Ever since that incident at the police station, Lin Mo had been acting strangely.

Could he really have been jolted into becoming smarter?

Lin Mo paid no attention to what Lin Yucheng was thinking. He intended to tear off his uncle’s disguise then and there.

He raised a hand and tapped the tabletop, turning his gaze toward Lin Jiahao.

Lin Jiahao had been looking down at his phone. When he noticed Lin Mo watching him, he lifted his head and met his gaze.

After only one look, his neck instinctively shrank.

Lin Mo hadn’t done anything. He only wanted to hear the truth.

He had no intention of making things complicated.

This meal was wasting his time. It would be better to deal with everything once and for all, cutting off these troublesome family ties.

His divine sense entered the phone directly.

Lin Jiahao’s fingers stopped on the screen, and the impatience on his face became impossible to conceal.

A few seconds later, he slammed his chopsticks onto the table and stood up.

“That’s enough, Dad.”

Lin Yucheng froze.

Lin Jiahao glared at Lin Mo, all the anger he had been holding back finally bursting out.

“It’s not like we actually need his house. If that worthless orphan wants to keep it, then let him keep it. Do you really have to sit here pretending to be so pitiful?”

The table fell even quieter.

The piece of meat on Doudou’s chopsticks dropped back into his bowl.

His aunt frowned.

Lin Gongcheng’s face darkened as well.

Lin Mo’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t lose his temper. He simply looked at Lin Jiahao.

He had only made Lin Jiahao speak the truth. He hadn’t expected the man to casually spit out “bastard” and “worthless orphan” as if it were second nature.

He had said those words far too smoothly. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time.

It seemed that this father and son had never regarded him as a person.

Lin Yucheng reacted faster than anyone else. He rose and slapped Lin Jiahao across the face.

“Lin Jiahao! Who taught you to speak about your younger cousin like that? Is that how I raised you? Are you itching for a beating?”

The slap was hard.

Lin Jiahao covered his cheek, his eyes reddening as well.

But he wasn’t upset on Lin Mo’s behalf. He was upset that he himself had been hit.

“Dad, why did you hit me?”

Lin Yucheng lowered his voice.

“Apologize!”

Lin Jiahao looked at everyone around the table, then turned back to Lin Yucheng. His temper flared too.

“Apologize for what? Weren’t you the one saying those things at home?”

Lin Yucheng’s eyelid twitched.

Lin Jiahao continued, “You said Lin Mo was just a worthless orphan, and that there was no point in him keeping Second Uncle’s house all to himself. You even said we should use the excuse of needing a place to move in first, then refuse to leave after we’d stayed there for a while. He’s just a student—what could he do to us?”