Feng Yue walked into the restaurant with the woman beside her, and Qian Gang, who had been standing in the lobby, immediately greeted them with a beaming smile.
Xu Mu was too far away to hear their conversation.
However, through his perception, he could roughly guess they were just exchanging pleasantries.
Afterward, Qian Gang led Feng Yue and the other woman upstairs.
Qian Gang remained there, waiting quietly—clearly for Chen Bei.
Xu Mu continued observing and noticed Feng Yue went to the fifth floor, though the private room had changed to the one next to the previous one.
About ten minutes later, a BMW X5 pulled up at the entrance, and Chen Bei stepped out.
The moment Qian Gang saw Chen Bei, he immediately went out to welcome him with a smile. "Old Chen! You’re finally here. I’ve been waiting forever."
"Old Qian, what’s going on? Why the sudden invitation to dinner?" Chen Bei asked with a grin.
"It’s been too long since we last had a meal together. Come inside first, and we’ll talk there."
Qian Gang grabbed Chen Bei’s arm and led him into the restaurant.
Xu Mu didn’t rush to act. Only after sensing they had entered the private room did he follow them inside.
The moment he stepped in, a waitress approached him with a smile.
"I’m here to meet someone."
Before Xu Mu could finish speaking, he spotted a familiar face—the young man who had previously worked for him.
He immediately walked over and stood in front of the young man. "Come with me."
The young man recognized Xu Mu and followed him outside the restaurant. Once there, he asked, "Sir, what do you need?"
"Here’s your payment. Same as before—five thousand."
Xu Mu handed a listening device to the young man. "Room number 520."
The young man was stunned. He hadn’t even spent the five thousand from yesterday, and now another five thousand? Was money really this easy to make?
"What? Not interested?"
Seeing his lack of reaction, Xu Mu couldn’t help but ask.
"No, of course I’ll do it. You’re always so generous, sir. Leave it to me."
The young man nodded slightly.
Without hesitation, Xu Mu found the previous transaction record and transferred another five thousand to him.
Seeing the money arrive, the young man flashed a smile before turning back toward the restaurant.
Xu Mu, meanwhile, headed to a nearby bank. At this hour, it was already closed.
He sat on the steps, connecting the listening device to his phone.
Holding the phone to his ear to give the illusion of a call, he focused his perception on the private room.
...
"Gentlemen, this is our signature dish. Please enjoy."
The young man, just as before, carefully placed the dishes on the table before leaving.
"Old Qian, what’s going on? Did you get a new wife?" Chen Bei teased with a smirk.
"Don’t talk nonsense. Let me introduce you—this is Feng Yue, owner of Moonlight Bar."
Qian Gang pointed at Feng Yue.
Feng Yue smiled politely and said, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Chen. This is my sister, Zhou Wen. She owns a beauty salon."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Chen."
Zhou Wen offered a mature, charming smile.
There was no denying it—women like her were like poison to men like Qian Gang and Chen Bei.
"Nice to meet you both."
Chen Bei played dumb, turning to Qian Gang with a questioning look. "So, what’s really going on?"
"Between brothers, I won’t lie to you."
Qian Gang poured Chen Bei a glass of wine. "But let’s drink first. We’ll talk after a few rounds."
"What’s this about? You’re making me nervous."
Chen Bei frowned.
"Mr. Chen, I’ve heard from Mr. Qian that you’re a man of great capacity. Let me toast you first."
Zhou Wen raised her glass and downed it in one go.
Seeing this, Qian Gang patted Chen Bei’s shoulder. "Don’t embarrass me now. She drank first—you can’t refuse a few glasses, can you?"
Chen Bei had no choice but to drink along.
After several rounds, everyone at the table was slightly tipsy.
Qian Gang, sensing the right moment, let out a heavy sigh before speaking. "Old Chen, I’ve made a mistake. I need your help!"
Chen Bei furrowed his brows. "What happened?"
"The formula materials Mr. Xu entrusted me to safeguard—I let someone else get their hands on them."
Qian Gang wiped his face with his hand.
"So that’s why the prices suddenly spiked these past few days. It was you!"
Though Chen Bei already knew, having worked with Xu Shou for so long, he knew how to keep his composure.
His face was a picture of shock.
"I had no choice. I was threatened. You know my son—he’s no better than Xu Mu. Someone set him up. If I didn’t hand it over, he’d go to prison!"
Qian Gang downed another glass of liquor.
"Old Qian, you know the Chairman’s temperament. Given our history, he’ll forgive you if you just admit your mistake. Go apologize."
Chen Bei patted Qian Gang’s shoulder. "Even if they have the materials, without the exact process and ratios, replicating it won’t be easy."
"It’s too late. The evidence against my son is still in their hands."
Qian Gang grabbed Chen Bei’s shoulders. "Brother, I’m begging you—give me the documents you have."
"Qian Gang! Have you lost your mind? You want me to betray the company too?"
Chen Bei’s expression darkened.
As seasoned veterans, they both knew it would be suspicious if Chen Bei handed over the documents too easily.
"I’m begging you. I just want to save my son! I swear, if you give me the documents, I’ll hand over everything I own to you."
Qian Gang stood up and bowed deeply. "Brother, please!"
"No! This isn’t negotiable. I’ve been loyal to the Chairman for decades. I won’t betray him!"
Chen Bei rose abruptly.
Before coming, he had spoken to Xu Shou on the phone and shared his plan—to reject Qian Gang outright during the first meeting and leave immediately.
Xu Shou had agreed. Only by being resolute would they not suspect the falsified documents later.
But just as Chen Bei stood up, his vision blurred, and he collapsed back into his seat.
"Old Qian… the wine… it’s drugged…"
Chen Bei struggled to keep his eyes open, but his eyelids refused to obey.
"Old Chen, I’m sorry. The wine was fine—it was your glass."
Qian Gang sighed deeply. "I know you too well. You’d never give them to me willingly, so I had to resort to this."
"What are you planning to do to me?"
Chen Bei was stunned. He never expected Qian Gang to be this ruthless—drugging him at their first meeting.
"Sister Zhou Wen here will take some… intimate photos with you. If you refuse, those photos will be leaked."
Qian Gang’s expression was cold. "Your wife, Xu Shou—everyone will see them. You’ll be ruined."
"Qian Gang! After twenty years of friendship, this is how you treat me?" Chen Bei roared.
"I’m sorry. I really have no choice."
Qian Gang exhaled heavily.
At the same time, Chen Bei slumped forward onto the table, unconscious.
...
Watching from afar, Xu Mu shook his head slightly. The saying was true—business was war.
He was considering whether to go to the rescue.

pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"

] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"

lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”