Forced to Marry a Female Billionaire CEO-Chapter 652: Worth a Fortune?

"If he dies, what are we going to do?" Shi Hongda asked anxiously after the initial shock.

Has Han Wang's IQ taken a nosedive? Why is he being so impulsive?

Shi Hongda knew very well that if killing Xu Ke would have secured the antidote, they would have gotten it back on the Haisui Expressway. Back then, Han Wang had gotten right in Xu Ke's face, trying to force him to hand over the antidote, but Xu Ke hadn't budged.

That moment had scared him to his core; he hadn't expected Xu Ke to be truly unfazed by threats... If Xu Ke hadn't been so formidable, resisting Han Wang's attack with all his might, Shi Hongda figured he'd be weeping over Xu Ke's corpse right now, regretting not stepping in to save him while waiting to die from the poison...

That was why Shi Hongda was now so obedient to Xu Ke's orders, not daring to resist.

Xu Ke was ruthless. If push came to shove, he really would drag him and the Yin-Yang Elders down with him!

"Either way, we're not doing it. Let someone else do it if they want," the Yin-Yang Elders declared in unison, clearly dissatisfied.

They had originally intended to needle Xu Ke while gradually building an offensive and defensive alliance with Han Wang. Who would have thought Han Wang would lose his mind? That certainly didn't sit well with them.

Seeing this, Han Wang's eyes widened. "You're not cooperating?"

He was immediately annoyed. These three old bastards, why all the dithering about killing Xu Ke? How was he supposed to accomplish the task Xu Ke had set for him?

"It's not that we won't cooperate, it's that your method has no chance of success. I just want to live," Shi Hongda said. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The older he got, the more he feared death. He had just emerged from his death seclusion after achieving the Great Perfection of the Innate Realm. He hadn't even gotten to enjoy it for a full month... He had no desire to say goodbye to the world so soon.

"Tsk..."

Han Wang felt a headache coming on. After a moment's thought, he changed his tack. "Then how about this? We don't kill him, but I don't want to let him off easy either."

"What if we poison him?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the eyes of Shi Hongda and the Yin-Yang Elders lit up. "Go on."

"You're poisoned, and I'm poisoned," Han Wang said, seeing a glimmer of hope. "Right now, we're all controlled by Xu Ke. But what if we get a chance to force Xu Ke to take our poison, bringing him under our control? Wouldn't our relationship become one of mutual balance?"

"Then, at the very least, we could negotiate an equal exchange and take back some of the control."

"What do you think?"

As soon as he finished, Shi Hongda nodded excitedly. "This plan could work."

The Yin-Yang Elders nodded even more enthusiastically, chiming in, "Then he'll have to listen to us, won't he?"

"Deal!"

Han Wang breathed a sigh of relief. "But there are only a few of us. I'm not confident we can pull it off. I suggest we find the Ye Family and bring in Ye Taiqing. We let him get away last time. If we get his help now, this will be foolproof."

Hearing this, Shi Hongda and the others exchanged a look and nodded. "That could work."

But then they hesitated. "But what if Ye Taiqing just kills Xu Ke?"

"He won't," Han Wang said bluntly. "With so many of us here, can't we keep one Ye Taiqing in check?"

"True!"

At that, the three of them laughed, relieved.

Ye Lang, who had been a silent presence on the side, finally nodded and spoke up. "A pleasure doing business with you."

"A pleasure!"

With that, Shi Hongda and the Yin-Yang Elders began to seriously discuss the plan's implementation. They would contact Fang Caizhe and have him use the Northern Dragon Guard to create an opportunity, and they would also reach out to the Ye Family...

Watching Shi Hongda and the Yin-Yang Elders deep in their focused discussion, Han Wang sneered internally.

Three idiots. He'd only known Xu Ke for less than a week, but he'd quickly realized Xu Ke must be a poison grandmaster himself. He couldn't believe these three fools actually bought his story that some random poison could take the kid down. They really had rocks for brains. No wonder they could only ever be Retainers.

Still, Han Wang thought, it was better to deal with idiots. After all, it was the only way he could feel a sense of superiority.

「...」

After Shi Hongda and the Yin-Yang Elders left, Han Wang immediately called Xu Ke. After Han Wang arrived in Tianhai, Xu Ke had finally tasked Feng Wei with arranging a secure phone number for him.

"Is it done?"

"It's done. Listen, you need to be careful. Even though they're poisoned by you, they genuinely want to kill you, understand?" Han Wang began to spill the beans, holding nothing back as he relayed every detail of the plan they had just discussed.

He also warned Xu Ke to be vigilant and not actually fall for the poison trap. He was genuinely worried something might happen to Xu Ke.

"Understood," Xu Ke said with a laugh. "Thanks for your hard work."

"It's nothing. Just remember to give me the antidote," Han Wang said.

"When the time is right," Xu Ke replied with a dismissive smile. "For now, just keep gathering information for me. I'll let you know when I've found the right time and place."

"Fine."

Seeing that Xu Ke had given no definite time for the antidote, Han Wang could only grind his teeth in frustration, ultimately nodding in helpless agreement.

After hanging up, Xu Ke chuckled to himself. Shi Hongda probably never imagined that the Han Wang who approached him to kill me would be the traitor...

To be honest, Xu Ke had been a bit startled when he heard the specifics of Han Wang's proposed plan. If Han Wang and Shi Hongda had actually managed to find a poison he'd never seen or heard of, the five of them might have really been able to control him.

However, it was a pity. No matter how meticulously Shi Hongda and the Yin-Yang Elders planned, their plot was doomed from the start...

But these three old bastards are still ambitious. I need to stay vigilant. Xu Ke reminded himself not to treat everyone like a fool. A man like Shi Hongda might seem docile now, but he was surely waiting for a chance to strike... How could a newly promoted expert at the Great Perfection of the Innate Realm possibly obey my orders forever?

Just as Xu Ke finished that thought, his phone rang. It was Shi Hongda.

"Xu Ke, I have something to tell you," Shi Hongda said.

Xu Ke paused, taken aback. "What is it?"

"I'm warning you, don't think that just because Han Wang is poisoned by you, he'll do your bidding. He just came to me with a plan to kill you. It's a pretty good one, too. He's plotting against you, did you know?" Shi Hongda said gravely.

Xu Ke: "..."

Shi Hongda had completely thrown him for a loop! He had just been reminding himself to be wary of the man, certain that he would find an opportunity to betray him. And now here he was, ratting someone else out... This... was certainly unexpected.

"Hello? Are you listening?" Shi Hongda asked, puzzled. Why wasn't Xu Ke saying anything?

Snapping out of it, Xu Ke hastily feigned alarm. "Is that really true?"

"Scared you, didn't I?" Seeing Xu Ke's apparent panic, Shi Hongda gloated. "How about that? I'm calling you to save your life! Isn't this information worth a fortune?"

"It is," Xu Ke said, his voice filled with gratitude. "Extremely valuable. Then please, tell me... what exactly is Han Wang's plan to deal with me?"