bestfiction Chapter 135 Desperate Measures
Chapter 135 Desperate Measures
Bai Li forcibly pulled her thoughts away from Wu Hai and reconsidered the contents of the [Information Insight Card].
Despite its seemingly large and formidable size, the Qing Teng family actually has obvious weaknesses and is full of flaws.
If they were in a legitimate industry, with their substantial financial resources and extensive network, Bai Li wouldn't have any way to quickly bring them down in the short term. But unfortunately, they were involved in smuggling and organized crime, which created many loopholes.
Furthermore, the family is a den of snakes and rats, with some key members engaging in illegal and unethical activities, such as commercial bribery, in order to obtain exclusive operating rights for a large project. Although the relevant evidence was cleverly hidden, the information insight card still revealed its hiding place.
Moreover, the antique smuggling network that the family is so proud of, while seemingly sophisticated, actually has many regulatory loopholes.
The entire smuggling chain, from the illegal acquisition of cultural relics to the layers of cover-up during transportation, and finally to their entry into the illegal trading market, could become a trigger for a crisis at any stage.
Once these loopholes are exposed, they will first face severe legal sanctions. Law enforcement agencies will follow the clues and launch a comprehensive crackdown on the entire smuggling network.
At the same time, the power of public opinion should not be underestimated. The public's deep hatred of cultural relic smuggling will make the Qing Teng family a target of public criticism and subject them to the contempt and condemnation of the whole society.
At that time, they will face unprecedented legal risks and public opinion crises, all of which will become powerful tools in Bai Li's hands to control them. If used properly, they can strike at the heart of the matter and cause this evil family to collapse.
The only thing to watch out for is the Qing Teng family's revenge.
The Qing Teng family will never sit idly by and wait for their doom.
Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; even when faced with dire straits, they might launch a fierce counterattack.
Their dark influence and network of connections posed a huge threat to her.
Therefore, she must always be vigilant, pay attention to her safety, and never reveal her actions or intentions.
Every decision and every action must be made with utmost care, for the slightest carelessness could lead to utter ruin.
Bai Li took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She inhaled deeply, as if trying to take in all the sparse courage around her. When she exhaled slowly, it brought out a bit of anxiety from the bottom of her heart.
Just six months ago, Mingming was a fat, lazy guy living in a 20-square-meter rented room, barely surviving on near-expiry food from convenience stores.
How did I end up in such a dangerous power struggle today? To become the one who overturned the inkstone.
This stark contrast gave Bai Li a strong sense of unreality.
Just then, Afei knocked on the door of the private waiting room, temporarily interrupting Bai Li's musings.
The doorknob was pulled, and Afei walked in quietly, reporting in a low voice, "Miss Bai, the standby area is ready, and the plane can take off at any time."
Upon hearing this, Bai Li nodded slightly, then suddenly remembered something, raised her hand to signal A Fei to wait a moment, and said, "Okay, let me make a call."
She took her phone out of her bag and quickly swiped her finger across the screen.
"Okay." Afei replied respectfully, then bowed slightly and gently left the waiting room, closing the door behind him to leave Bai Li with the space so she could make the call in peace.
Finding the familiar contact, Bai Li paused, staring at the name on the screen. A complex emotion flashed in her eyes, but more so, a resolute determination as if she had nothing to lose.
After a brief pause, Bai Li pressed the dial button.
The moment the call connected, Bai Li instinctively gripped her phone tightly.
A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone, filled with a sweet, affectionate tone: "Hello? Honey, what's up? Did you miss me?"
It's both cheeky and full of energy.
Normally, Bai Li would have been amused by him, but at this moment, she couldn't feel happy at all.
Bai Li bit her lip, opened her mouth but didn't know where to begin.
In such a critical situation, she didn't have time to explain to Ying Xiangyang in person, so she could only inform him by phone.
Xiangyang has the right to know these things.
When Ying Xiangyang noticed that Bai Li hadn't replied to him immediately, he immediately realized something was wrong. His hand holding the phone tightened slightly, and the smile vanished from his face in an instant.
He put down the towel he was using to wipe his sweat, patted the shoulder of his friend sitting next to him, stood up, quickly greeted him, and hurriedly walked out of the basketball court.
Reaching a relatively quiet corner, Ying Xiangyang's voice became more urgent: "Why aren't you saying anything? What happened?"
On the other end of the phone, Bai Li sighed softly: "I need to tell you something, it's very important."
Very important...
Shirai specifically emphasized that it was very important.
This was the first time he had heard Bai Li speak in such a serious and earnest tone. Ying Xiangyang felt as if his heart had been suddenly clenched by a hand, and a feeling of unease quietly spread in his heart.
Bai Li sorted out her thoughts, carefully choosing her words, concealing the complex and dangerous affairs of the Qing Teng family, and slowly said, "There are problems with the film censorship, and we've encountered a lot of obstacles. I can't resolve this in China."
Her knuckles pressed against the side of the phone, turning bluish-white, and Bai Li heard her own dry voice continue, "And... I need to go abroad to find someone who is very important to me; something might have happened to him."
The other end of the phone went silent instantly, leaving only the sound of their slightly rapid breathing.
This brief silence felt as long as an eternity.
Ying Xiangyang's back slowly leaned against the cold tiled wall of the gymnasium. The chill penetrated through his clothes and went straight to his bone marrow. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed a sharp pain.
Although Bai Li did not explicitly name the person, Ying Xiangyang felt a strange pang of sadness. He clearly sensed that the "he" Bai Li was referring to was the "he" with the "person" radical.
He is an extremely important man to Bai Li. So important that she risked going abroad to find him, so important that he makes her so anxious and worried right now.
Ying Xiangyang felt as if his heart was about to stop beating.
He bit his lower lip, remained silent for a moment, and tried to make his voice sound calm, but his nasal laughter sounded like shards of broken glass, piercing Bai Li's eardrums sharply: "Is it Jing Ye?"
"How could you..." Bai Li exclaimed in astonishment.
Ying Xiangyang tilted his head slightly, looking at the dim yellow light on the ceiling of the gymnasium. A complex emotion flashed in his eyes, a mixture of helplessness, bitterness, and stubbornness: "I know, I always have."
He figured it out himself.
Normally, Bai Li never deliberately avoided calling him, and at first, Ying Xiangyang didn't think much of it.
But as time went on, he noticed that seemingly ordinary work calls would occasionally be interspersed with some trivial matters from his daily life.
When Bai Li spoke to the person on the other end of the phone, her tone unconsciously revealed a deep trust and reliance—a trust that was given without reservation and with all her heart.
During the call, she would share stories of having her favorite oatmeal for breakfast, or the beautiful sunset she saw on her way home from get off work, as well as other details of her life that he was unaware of, conveying intimacy and relaxation in their conversations.
Therefore, Ying Xiangyang clearly knew that outside of his life, Bai Li should have a very close "him" who was someone Bai Li could trust to the extreme.
Later, I gradually learned that it was a man named Jingye.
Ying Xiangyang had long had a vague premonition that this day would come, but he never mentioned it. He kept this secret, pretending that everything was normal, waiting for Bai Li to choose the day he could tell her.
The airport announcement suddenly cut in, and Bai Li realized that her palms were covered in cold sweat.
So, even before she achieved [the balance of love?], Ying Xiangyang already knew about Jingye's existence?
Although now that there is [the balance of love?], Ying Xiangyang will accept Bai Li having a new relationship, but he is still just an ordinary person. He will experience the same emotions as others: jealousy, sadness, fear, and worry.
[The Balance of Love?] will help Bai Li solve the problems in her system upgrade task, but it will not help her resolve the contradictions she needs to resolve herself, or the complex emotions she needs to deal with.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, an airplane roared past, tearing through the thick clouds like a sharp silver blade, ripping open a gash in the dark blue sky.
“I need him to live,” Bai Li confessed, her nails almost digging into the metal trim. “Just like I need to send you at least fifty meaningless messages on WeChat every day, you are both my anchors, equally important, and irreplaceable.”
Ying Xiangyang pressed his fingertips firmly against the corners of his moist eyes, trying to wipe away the emotions that were about to spill over.
Some strange force was soothing his shattered nerves, as if warm water was flowing over the folds of his heart.
Even so, when he said, "I'll book the next flight to accompany you," his voice still trembled uncontrollably.
"No."
Bai Li's voice suddenly became unusually firm, and her taut spine was reflected in the glass curtain wall. She knew all too well how much danger was hidden in this trip.
She switched the overheated phone to the other side and spoke quickly:
"Do you remember Casablanca, the movie we watched on our first date? Humphrey Bogart said, 'When the world collapses, there are always some pieces worth protecting.' Now I have too many pieces, so many that I have to use the sharpest edge to protect them."
Ying Xiangyang understood what Bai Li meant. Don't be fooled by Bai Li's soft appearance; she is actually more stubborn than anyone else. Once she has made up her mind and is determined to do something, no one in this world can easily change her mind.
After a brief silence, Ying Xiangyang spoke: "Okay, then promise me you'll give me a signal every day. If you don't receive one every day, I'll do everything I can to find you."
……
Only when the roar of the plane began did Bai Li dare to hang up her already overheated phone.
The lock screen photo is from last month's fireworks display; the warm yellow light casts a cozy filter over the entire image.
Ying Xiangyang and Bai Li stood on the viewing platform of the fireworks festival, with fireworks blooming like a dream behind them.
Ying Xiangyang lowered his head slightly, his affectionate gaze falling on Bai Li.
His hair was a little messy from the wind, but it didn't diminish his handsomeness at all. Beneath the wispy bangs on his forehead, his deep eyes were full of love.
Bai Li nestled against Ying Xiangyang's chest, tilting her head so that her cheek was almost touching his. Her hair danced in the wind, with a few strands playfully falling onto Ying Xiangyang's arm. Her eyes smiled like crescent moons, reflecting the dazzling fireworks, lively and bright.
Behind them, fireworks burst forth in layers, golden light cascading down like a waterfall, and purple fireworks twinkling like stars.
Although Bai Li took the photo on the lock screen, Ying Xiangyang used Bai Li's phone to change it for her.
Looking back now, it must have been this clumsy fellow asserting his "sovereignty."
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After the plane finished its climb and entered a stable flight, Bai Li sat in the spacious and comfortable cabin, gazing out the window at the boundless sea of clouds. She had carefully considered how to deal with the Qing Teng family.
The Qing Teng family is headquartered in Southeast Asia and is extremely powerful, with its own special armed forces.
She could choose to fight them head-on, musket against musket, but that would be far too dangerous.
She has a [crisis warning] feature, but this is only an emergency avoidance feature. It can only detect a potential crisis 3 seconds in advance and cannot avoid all dangers.
—It's easy to defend against a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark.
Therefore, Bai Li decided to first adopt the strategy of "capture the king first" to create some chaos for the Qing Teng family and disrupt their formation.
The current head of the Qing Teng family is undoubtedly her primary target.
Thanks to the magical [Information Insight Card], Shirai obtained a crucial piece of information.
The head of the household's current gout medication is exclusively formulated by pharmacy No. 17 Rue du Mont-Blanc in Geneva; replacing two of the ingredients would cause him to become mentally unstable.
This is an excellent opportunity to break through.
Realizing this, Bai Li acted swiftly, using clandestine black market channels to entrust the task of changing the medicine to a local gang at an astonishingly high price.
At an altitude of 10,000 meters, the private jet's built-in satellite network supports online operation.
Being a behind-the-scenes operator is currently the safest strategy.
She possesses a flawless identity; it is impossible for anyone to trace her back to her through the black market.
Of course, this is only the first step in dismantling the power structure of the Qing Teng family, and its effect is merely to divert some of their attention. The real main event is yet to come.
Within the family, several elders formed multiple power factions.
When Jingye was handling family affairs, these factions had many conflicts due to the unequal distribution of benefits, and some of them still covet the highest power in the family.
The elders had significant disagreements regarding the direction of the family business's development.
They were constantly engaged in open and covert struggles, each secretly resorting to any means to weaken the other's power.
If the current head of the family develops a serious health condition, the elders who were already itching for a move will definitely become even more active.
Her second key plan was to exacerbate the internal conflicts within their family.
She plans to use the detailed shipping information provided by the [Information Insight Card] to work closely with Interpol and the domestic cultural relics bureau to accurately intercept the cultural relics smuggled by the Qing Teng family.
In this way, when the Qing Teng family finds that their smuggling operations are repeatedly thwarted, their first suspicion will certainly not be of external threats, but of their internal competitors.
It was like lighting a fuse in an already volatile factional struggle, which would further ignite the powder keg of infighting, plunging the Qing Teng family into endless internal strife and creating more favorable conditions for her to completely destroy this evil family.