The Three Elements of News Heading West... You Won't Get Caught Here, Right

“We don’t know him, Boss Lin, we swear we don’t know this man!”

After the shady logistics company boss had successfully skipped town, a few people remained tied to chairs in the abandoned warehouse—men, women, old and young alike.

These people weren’t the former bosses of the shady logistics company. They were another group entirely: the family of Mo Liangxin.

Mo Liangxin had been planted into the ground like a ginseng root back in broad daylight, and he still hadn’t been discharged from the hospital. He was lying in a ward just like Niu Fen.

Dahai City’s Aristocratic Academy was a special case—outsiders couldn’t easily get in, nor could they easily make a move inside.

If they wanted to drag Mo Liangxin out, they’d have to use other methods... somewhat more underhanded ones. Things like arranging a “happy family reunion,” or the classic “You wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to your parents, your grandparents, your little brother and sister, would you?”...

That kind of scenario.

“It’s fine. It’s normal that you don’t know him. As long as someone in your family does, that’s good enough,” Lin Tianxiong said with a smile, then handed over a phone that had been prepared in advance.

On the phone was a memo listing what he needed them to do next, along with the exact lines to say...

Unlike the logistics boss who’d been let go earlier, the people in front of him were true “outsiders”—genuinely innocent. Dragging them into this was admittedly a bit immoral.

But there was no choice.

Great deeds aren’t bound by petty scruples. Sometimes, handling problems through more extreme means gets results far more efficiently.

After reading what Lin Tianxiong had handed over, a middle-aged man—the head of the Mo family, Mo Liangxin’s old man—finally realized what was going on.

The reason his family was suffering through this today was entirely because of that unfilial son of his, who’d gotten mixed up in something way over his head and now couldn’t get out of it.

“Boss Mo, let’s begin. Don’t worry—I’m a man of my word. I understand the principle of not harming family members for the sins of one man. But right now, my own family has been caught up in this mess, and that makes me a little unhappy. You cooperating with me shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”

Lin Tianxiong had a cigarette dangling from his lips, a strangely sinister smile on his face, his gaze dark and brooding—like the textbook villain protagonist from those female-oriented web novels, the cold, obsessive type.

And truth be told—

Like father, like daughter. Lin Baizhi was already vicious enough to whip up a full banquet with a hidden agenda for Ye Cheng, complete with “the wine has already been poured to celebrate”!

Father and daughter were cut from the same cloth.

The madness Lin Baizhi displayed now was merely a shadow of Lin Tianxiong’s younger days. After all, Lin Baizhi hadn’t yet become the cautionary tale that the upper circles of Dahai City’s aristocrats used to warn their younger generations against.

Lin Tianxiong had achieved that.

That was the gap between them.

Old Man Mo’s family was also in the media industry, but unfortunately, with the rise of self-media, traditional media was slowly dying out, and the Mo family was gradually falling apart.

They didn’t even rank as second-tier, let alone compete with the current top-tier elite that was the Lin family. The Lins could crush them more easily than crushing an ant.

Old Man Mo even counted himself lucky that this matter could still be negotiated and had room for leniency. Otherwise, if the family went bankrupt one day and everyone ended up on the streets without knowing why... that would be the most despairing way to die in this world.

“No problem, Boss Lin, what you said is completely right. The fault lies squarely with that bastard son of mine. I’ll call him over right now!”

Old Man Mo spoke quickly.

Lin Tianxiong gave a signal to the people around him. A group stepped forward, and under Old Man Mo’s terrified gaze, the ropes binding him were undone.

“Huh?” Old Man Mo looked confused. Wait... weren’t they going to beat him?

Why were they letting him go just like that?

“He’s in the hospital. Go pick him up. I’ll wait for you here. Boss Mo, I trust you know how I do things. I don’t want you playing any tricks with me. I really don’t have any patience left right now—you understand?”

Lin Tianxiong took another drag from his cigarette, slowly exhaling the smoke that curled around him, making the mood hazy and blurred.

An indescribable pressure settled over Old Man Mo’s heart.

Sweat poured down his face, and he nodded frantically, his complexion paling several shades: “Boss Lin, rest assured, I would never dare pull any tricks. I’ll be back in no time, I guarantee I won’t disappoint you. What about...”

“Release them.” Lin Tianxiong gave the order, and the rest of the Mo family members were untied as well, looking like they’d just escaped death.

Their eyes were filled with terror, but they dared not utter a single word in such a suffocating, oppressive atmosphere. That man in front of them... he was terrifying.

“Go on, Boss Mo.”

“Thank you, thank you...” Old Man Mo was almost moved to tears of gratitude. When the power gap is this enormous, you can’t even muster the thought of revenge.

Just having the other party stop tormenting them was already reason for immense gratitude. A debt of gratitude!

You think you’re tough?

So what if you’re tough? In this world, what matters is influence!

The waters of Dahai City ran deeper than anyone could see. Even when the surface looked calm, you could fall into an abyss you could never climb out of the very next second, without even knowing where you died.

Time ticked by, and Old Man Mo was escorted away by a group of Lin Tianxiong’s men.

Inside the factory, the atmosphere remained heavy. All eyes were fixed on Lin Tianxiong, whose dark expression still hadn’t fully cleared.

He kept his brow furrowed, as if it couldn’t relax no matter what, a stone weighing on his heart...

“Ring ring ring...”

The sharp, jarring sound of a phone rang out. Lin Tianxiong’s phone. A call from the Lin family’s logistics department.

“Sir, the young miss has woken up, but her mood seems a little unstable. She’s insisting on going out. What should we do?!”

Lin Tianxiong’s frown deepened further. He let out a sigh, took the cigarette from his mouth, dropped it on the ground, and crushed the embers with the sole of his leather shoe.

“Sigh...”

A long silence followed, as if he were making some difficult decision.

“Give her two shots of sedatives. Have someone watch her. If her mood fluctuates too much, hold her down. Keep her in that state until I get back...”

The people around him exchanged uneasy glances. They knew Lin Tianxiong could be ruthless, but this was a whole new level—doing this even to his only daughter?

Shouldn’t a normal person try to calm her down? Why go straight to medication?

If she woke up, wouldn’t she hate him for this? Father-daughter estrangement, even? The stories circulating about the Lin Group were plenty.

But the one constant in every version was that Lin Tianxiong doted on his daughter fiercely. Ever since Lin Baizhi had returned to the Lin family, Lin Tianxiong seemed like a changed man—gentle, like a proper gentleman. But only those who’d lived through his wilder days knew the truth: not a chance.

It felt like Lin Tianxiong had been possessed, man. Do you have a split personality or something? You used to dabble in everything—black, white, clean, dirty—and now suddenly you’re playing the saint?

You gotta be kidding me.

A similar contradiction had also appeared in Lin Baizhi...

Now it seemed that such rumors were indeed worthy of scrutiny. Rumors were just rumors after all—who doted on their daughter like this?

These people didn't know, but Lin Tianxiong, as her father, knew all too well. His daughter had always been stubborn and single-minded. Now that she knew something had happened to Ye Cheng, there was a real chance she might just follow him into the grave.

What if it all turned out to be a misunderstanding, and Ye Cheng was fine, but his daughter had already gone first?

Then he'd be alone again... no, worse—maybe the whole family would end up reuniting down there together.

Involuntarily, Lin Tianxiong's mind conjured the image of his late wife, forever frozen as the beautiful woman in his memories... the carousel of his life began spinning.

"Yes, sir!"

On the other end of the line, the Lin family's logistics personnel hung up, and the abandoned factory fell once more into an eerie silence.

The only thing that changed was the look in the eyes of the people around him as they stared at Lin Tianxiong—admiring, fearful, reverent... a man among men.

People of the Dragon Nation seemed to have never had any resistance to stories of underdogs or rising from the ashes, especially now, among the motley crew gathered in this factory, who reeked of the underworld.

Their loyalty wasn't purely transactional—they were drawn in by Lin Tianxiong's unique charisma. Otherwise, money or not, they wouldn't have lifted a finger.

As the saying goes, even begging for favors requires connections—not just anyone's money gets accepted!

A few more minutes passed, and from outside the abandoned factory came the roar of a car engine. A black sedan pulled up outside and stopped.

Old Man Mo and his group had returned. Mo Liangxin sat in a wheelchair, wrapped up like a Teletubby, terror written all over his eyes...

No way!

Not this again!

With little delay, Mo Liangxin was wheeled up to Lin Tianxiong, and his presence immediately got crushed—the difference in aura was painfully obvious.

Mo Liangxin was drenched in sweat, not daring to even breathe too loudly. This scene... he felt like he'd only ever seen this in TV dramas?

Compared to Du Wanyi, who was more of a grounded street hustler, Lin Tianxiong, with his air of brooding melancholy and cold ruthlessness, fit the public's image of a crime boss far better.

"Click!"

A flame flickered, and Lin Tianxiong lit another cigarette, taking a drag.

"Did you post that thread?"

Mo Liangxin wore a pitiful expression: "I was wrong, Uncle Lin. I just happened to run into it at the time and thought about earning some credit for the news department position. The thread is already deleted, and I won't post stuff like that anymore..."

"Uncle" this, "Uncle" that—it was obvious Old Man Mo had drilled him on the proper address on the way over.

Lin Tianxiong narrowed his eyes and blew out a wisp of smoke: "Tell me everything you know. If what you say matches what I've already gathered, your whole family can walk out of here. But if it doesn't match..."

"It'll match, it will definitely match!" Mo Liangxin cut in hastily.

The story had originated from him in the first place. If it didn't match, that would truly be supernatural!

Driven by a fierce survival instinct, Mo Liangxin even remembered his elementary school QQ password. He described every detail with vivid flair—not just Ye Cheng jumping off the building, but even the head maid's appearance, sketched out in near-perfect detail. Indeed... memory technique really worked wonders!

Suddenly it all came flooding back!

In truth, Lin Tianxiong didn't have that many versions of the story. Saying that was just a psychological tactic meant to add pressure and make sure nothing was being withheld.

Judging by Mo Liangxin's current performance... he was probably telling the truth.

"Alright, your family can go. But before you do, isn't there something else you should be handing over to me?"

Lin Tianxiong spoke, and a subordinate brought over a computer.

Mo Liangxin caught on instantly: "I've got it, Uncle Lin, I've got it. I have backups, deleted drafts of the post, and the original video. I'll copy all of it for you!"

Survival instinct maxed out.

Half an hour later, the entire Mo family left just as they had arrived—except by the time they got out of the car, everyone's legs had turned to jelly.

The whole family stood at their own front door, none of them able to take that first step. Old Man Mo took the lead, planting one foot forward... then, thud—his legs gave out and he collapsed onto his knees.

Everyone else: "..."

That very night, the Mo family made a decision that went against their ancestors—they abandoned the family business that had been passed down for generations and fled from the seaside city...

As for the route... well, that's such a hard guess.

Probably not heading west, right?

In the early hours of the morning, Mo Liangxin sat on a long-distance bus, eyes vacant, leaning against the window, silently weeping...

God dammit, who was it that said the three essentials of journalism were "out of context, twist the words, and stir the pot—come out, I'll beat you to death!!!"

The biggest regret of his entire life was writing that post.

...

Meanwhile.

Western Dragon Nation.

On a sketchy long-distance bus.

"Damn, this is the life!" Ye Cheng stared at the desolate view outside the window, feeling like he'd finally made it.

Decision made—until this godforsaken cancer of his got better, he wasn't going back. They couldn't possibly chase him all the way out here, right?