MWC – Chapter 43 It’s Blackmail!

I AM DROPPING THIS NOVEL. IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE THEY CAN. IF POSSIBLE PLEASE SHARE THE LINK SO I CAN BINGE READ TOO.

Wind Bao Club, VIP Room 88.

Zhu Guodong, the second son of Lingwei Motors, evidently looked down on Zhao Xingwang’s invitation and only sent a lawyer as his representative.

The lawyer was a Westerner with a hooked nose named Rodman, a third-level lawyer, which means he was a senior advocate.

In the entire North Guan, because Liu Hanming had not yet advanced, a third-level lawyer was the highest level among lawyers in North Guan, and they were few and far between.

Rodman also had an arrogant expression, showing no regard for Lu Ming.

Wen Liangyu and Zhao Xingwang were playing cards in the private room’s game room, but the door was open, clearly curious and wanting to hear how Lu Ming would negotiate.

Lu Ming found it amusing but had no reason to make them leave.

Currently, Lu Ming’s identity was that of a major shareholder and legal representative of Xingwang Industries.

Lu Ming flipped through the materials on the table and asked, “Mr. Rodman, last October, our Xingwang Industries submitted the product description for the three-point seat belt to your company. You have consistently rejected this product and refused to adopt this seat belt in your new cars, correct? Moreover, you have also stopped purchasing ordinary seat belts from our company.”

“Yes, this is a business decision of Lingwei Motors and has nothing to do with the law. I don’t know why you are bringing this up,” Rodman replied leisurely, sipping his coffee without even bothering to look at Lu Ming.

Lu Ming stared at him until Rodman finally raised his head slowly. “Please don’t waste everyone’s time anymore.”

“Mr. Rodman, take a look at these…” Lu Ming slid several files on the table towards him. “These are severe accident reports involving various Lingwei cars since last October. In just three days, we found five cases where car owners or their relatives suffered serious harm. Among these five cases, two car owners died, and three were severely injured.”

“So what?” Rodman didn’t even lift his hand, a slight sneer on his lips.

“This is the safety test report for the three-point seat belt. According to this professional report, the three-point seat belt improves safety by 85% compared to the two-point seat belts your company currently uses.”

Rodman merely sneered.

Lu Ming smiled, “You’d better take a look to avoid a major mistake. This safety test report used twenty newly manufactured Lingwei cars, with four cars each of your five best-selling models. Half were equipped with original seat belts, and the other half with three-point seat belts. The results, simulating various car accident scenarios, were provided by the Donghai Automotive Industry Safety Association.”

Rodman was stunned, then reached out and picked it up, flipping through it with a furrowed brow, “So what?”

“Mr. Rodman, you are being rather obtuse. This means that if your client’s company had adopted the three-point seat belts produced by Xingwang Industries, some of these serious injuries could have been avoided!” Lu Ming lightly tapped the five accident files on the table.

“And this is just the tip of the iceberg. If I patiently search, I will undoubtedly find more car owners who suffered unnecessary harm due to your company’s negligence. It could be dozens, even hundreds. Imagine the terrifying situation your company would face when I represent them in a class-action lawsuit.”

“Could it lead to bankruptcy?” Lu Ming shook his head slightly and slowly picked up the tea on the table.

Rodman’s face turned pale as he stared at the report.

“This report was only issued yesterday!” His eyes suddenly lit up.

“But, when Xingwang Industries presented the product description to you, they already mentioned that the three-point seat belt could improve safety by over 30%. In court, who do you think the jury would sympathize with more? A large corporation? Or the poor people who lost loved ones or became disabled?”

“And, as soon as this case is filed as a class action, the reputation of Lingwei Motors…” Lu Ming looked at Rodman, “If you can’t grasp the severity of this issue, I suggest you call Zhu Guodong immediately, or else this responsibility could end your career in law!”

Rodman’s face turned slightly white. Finally, he reached out and picked up the five accident files and slowly started to read through them.

By this time, Zhao Xingwang had already hurried out of the game room and quickly picked up the assessment report to read. His expression was strange, unclear whether he was angry, surprised, or had other feelings.

Finally, he put down the report and gave Lu Ming a bitter smile, “That’s quite a move.”

Just buying 20 brand-new cars for safety testing was something only a madman would do.

He definitely didn’t have that kind of courage. Plus, involving the association’s officials in this test must have cost hundread thousand or eighty thousand at least?

Although he faintly felt that a golden opportunity had been snatched by Lu Ming, it didn’t seem like he was being unfairly treated.

“Are you that confident?” Zhao Xingwang asked with a bitter smile.

Lu Ming nodded, “Huaxia Technology is also working on this, but I didn’t expect you to register the patent first.”

Zhao Xingwang nodded, not much more to say.

But there was still a hint of bitterness in his heart.

Wen Liangyu, beside him, lightly patted his shoulder, “Old Zhao, don’t think about what you lost, think about what you gained. Isn’t this a principle of doing business?”

Zhao Xingwang sighed lightly and nodded silently.

Wen Liangyu looked at Lu Ming with eyes shining, as if he had discovered a new world.

Then, he persuaded Zhao Xingwang back to the game room.

“Lawyer Lu, what solution do you propose?” Rodman asked solemnly, finally seeing Lu Ming as a real opponent.

“Actually, you don’t represent Lingwei Motors, but rather Zhu Guodong personally, right? Well, I have a cooperation opportunity that will greatly benefit Zhu Guodong’s career at Lingwei Motors.”

“If you really care about Zhu Guodong’s interests, suggest to him to propose to his father that all Lingwei cars should use three-point seat belts in the future. This could be Lingwei’s biggest selling point. With our assessment report, Lingwei Motors would certainly stand out and lead the automotive industry trend. Zhu Guodong would also undoubtedly gain his father’s favor and no longer be stuck in the procurement department.”

Rodman’s eyes brightened further, but then he looked uneasily at Lu Ming, “Then, what price are you asking for these three-point seat belts?”

Lu Ming smiled, “First, your company must resume the procurement contract with Xingwang Industries, but the three-point seat belt is not monopolized by Xingwang Industries. This patent now belongs to Huaxia Technology, which will license it to you. You, in turn, can license it to downstream suppliers. But for each car equipped with a three-point seat belt, you must pay a one-yuan patent fee.”

Rodman was stunned. This condition was unexpectedly favorable. He had worried that Xingwang Industries would monopolize the three-point seat belt and demand an outrageous price.

But who knew how the new seat belt models would sell? Would they be profitable?

But now, it meant only an additional one yuan per car, which was negligible, and it provided a new selling point.

When Zhu Guodong proposed this to his father, it would certainly earn his father’s appreciation.

“If that’s the case, I will have a good talk with Mr. Zhu Guodong,” Rodman nodded calmly, though he was trying to suppress his inner excitement about the opportunity this presented for him and Zhu Guodong at Lingwei Motors.

Lu Ming smiled.

…

In the game room, Wen Liangyu remarked, “This young man is remarkable—ambitious, even fearsome.”

Zhao Xingwang smiled bitterly and remained silent.

“Old Zhao, don’t just think about your situation. Think about it—if you hadn’t met this young man, would you have been able to develop that safety belt of yours? You might have ended up with your factory closing down and your patent rights falling into someone else’s hands.”

“Now, your factory is alive, and you have a powerful business partner. If it were me, I’d be overjoyed!”

Wen Liangyu smiled, full of praise.

Zhao Xingwang looked at him curiously. This figure, akin to a godfather in Beiguan, was usually reserved and silent, keeping many thoughts to himself. It was the first time he had shown such appreciation for someone.

“If this young man succeeds, the patent fees could bring in millions each year, and even more in the future,” Wen Liangyu said with a smile.

Zhao Xingwang was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

Wen Liangyu laughed, “The new concept he gave to Lingwei is also a promotion for his safety belt. Each year, millions of cars are produced nationwide. If they all use his seatbelt, with high-end cars paying a patent fee of 2 yuan, mid-range cars like Lingwei 1 yuan, and low-end cars 50 cents, it adds up to millions annually.”

Zhao Xingwang was stunned, looking at Wen Liangyu, who seemed to be smiling at him knowingly. His feelings were mixed.

The door of the game room was gently knocked. It sounded like Lu Ming was seeing Rodman out, and then he pushed the door open and came in.

“Congratulations, Brother Qianxing!” Wen Liangyu smiled broadly.

Lu Ming smiled back and looked at Zhao Xingwang. “Chairman Zhao, I urgently need money, a lot of it. So, please forgive any offense. If I ever make it big, I will repay you many times over.”

Feeling a bit sour, Zhao Xingwang couldn’t help but admire the young man’s integrity at that moment.

Moreover, Lu Ming wasn’t hiding anything from him. If he had operated behind his back, it might have taken a long time for him to realize it.

“Forget it. In fact, you are my benefactor and owe me nothing,” Zhao Xingwang smiled bitterly and waved his hand.

Wen Liangyu laughed, “Brother Qianxing, although you are young, you make big moves. That test report must have cost around hundread thousand, right? Are you so confident?”

Lu Ming smiled without replying.

Right now, he was nearly broke, with only a few thousand yuan left in his bank account.

He even had to ask Zhou Xiaobao from the immigration company for a small loan.

“Brother Qianxing has a kind heart,” Wen Liangyu sighed again.

He was referring to how Lu Ming had asked Rodman to have Lingwei Motors appropriately compensate the five car accident victims, deducting the amount from Huaxia Technology’s patent fee.

Lu Ming felt he owed these five car owners or their families for using their cases, so it was only right to compensate them.

Listening to Wen Liangyu’s praise, Lu Ming waved his hand modestly.

…

“Master, you’re back!” As soon as Lu Ming stepped onto the balcony from the side stairs, the door was quickly opened.

A soft, delighted voice greeted him.

Looking at the beautiful Zhen Shi with joy, Lu Ming was equally thrilled. He had been worried that the next time he saw her, she would be Beizhu.

He had just returned from a drink with Wen Liangyu and Zhao Xingwang, feeling a bit tipsy.

“Hanzhu, where have you been these past few days?” Lu Ming felt a bit dizzy as he entered the room and, with Zhen Shi’s help, sat down on the sofa, sighing as he asked.

“I felt dizzy and slept for several days,” Zhen Shi replied, carefully placing a wet towel on Lu Ming’s forehead.

The coolness seeped into his mind, making him feel extremely comfortable. He turned to look at her.

Zhen Shi’s concerned, beautiful eyes, large and watery, seemed to speak, her long, shiny black eyelashes fluttering as if tickling his heart.

Driven by an inexplicable impulse, Lu Ming gently reached out and held her soft hand.

Zhen Shi’s body trembled violently. Although she had previously helped Lu Ming wipe his face and hands, him taking her hand was something else entirely.

“You must not disappear, understand?” Lu Ming sighed softly, looking at her with affection.

He vaguely felt that Beizhu’s mental strength was so powerful that he feared Hanzhu, this weak and pitiful girl, might completely vanish.

If that day came, it would be so sad for her, not knowing that her brief life was just a pawn to awaken another who would replace her.

“As long as you don’t despise me, I will always stay by your side,” Zhen Shi lowered her head, her fair face blushing.

Lu Ming looked at her, his nose tingling with sadness. His greatest fear was that she might disappear without a chance to say goodbye.

Gently, he reached out and tenderly caressed her smooth cheek. Zhen Shi’s face turned even redder, her body going limp as she softly moaned and collapsed.

“You silly girl…” Lu Ming sighed helplessly. It seemed she had fainted. Was it out of fear, joy, or some intense emotional shock?

Zhen Shi slowly opened her eyes again.

“You…” Suddenly, Lu Ming felt something was wrong. Zhen Shi’s eyes flashed with a cold gleam.

“Ah…” His wrist, which had been caressing her cheek, suddenly throbbed with pain, and his body inexplicably fell off the sofa, leaving him dazed.

Zhen Shi abruptly stood up, then seemed to realize what had happened, biting her lip as she looked at Lu Ming. “Master, please behave.”

No need to say, it was clear that Beizhu had taken over. Lu Ming slowly got up and waved off Beizhu, who tried to help him. “Forget it, call her back.”

“Master, forgive me. I truly didn’t know what was happening just now!” Beizhu bowed and said softly, “Does Master find me so annoying? The last time I woke up, I stayed awake for several days and nights just to see the world a little longer… Now, having just woken up, does Master want me to sleep again?” Her voice held a hint of sorrow.

Lu Ming was taken aback, looking at her. He finally sighed, “Fine, do as you see fit. But Hanzhu is ignorant and pitiful…” He turned and walked to his bedroom.

Before entering, he suddenly remembered something and asked, “Have you heard of Fernard Academy?”

“Of course, it’s the school where Master studied,” Beizhu replied, puzzled. “Why do you ask?”

Shaking his head, Lu Ming sighed inwardly. The highest secrets of his family, even Beizhu, this so-called servant or bodyguard, wouldn’t know.

He entered his room, lay down, and let his mind wander for a long time before gradually falling asleep.

The next morning, seeing Zhen Shi’s bright, blinking eyes in front of him, Lu Ming finally felt at ease.