Chapter 199
Chapter 199
John’s real name was Zhao En, a name known to very few people. His father had apparently been guarding against something so carefully that not even John’s grandparents knew his true name.
“Why would he do that?” Xiaoshuai asked curiously from the driver’s seat.
The only reason he knew John’s name was that, back on Nine Worlds Mountain, John had believed he was about to die and told him the truth.
“I don’t know. All I know is that both my name and my brother’s were hidden. Even our identity cards and household registers show nothing but rows of asterisks where our names should be. Then, after we were born, my parents died in an accident. My brother and I were raised by our grandfather.”
John took five packets of white sugar from his clothes, emptied them into his coffee, and drained the cup in one go.
“Your parents must have possessed impressive connections if the authorities allowed them to do that,” the Driver said, rubbing his chin.
Beside him, Liu Ye rubbed his chin as well. He didn’t know how impressive John’s father had been, but he did know that if John kept drinking coffee like that, his blood sugar would be extremely impressive.
“Once we grew up, we joined the group. We had been raised for that purpose from childhood, so handling its affairs came naturally to us. But as you all know, the Zhao Group ranks among the finest conglomerates in the Xia Kingdom. Our family is large, so we have no shortage of filthy schemes among our relatives.”
“Feuds among the rich. I know this one. They’re always swapping babies. Who got swapped in your family?” Liu Ye asked excitedly.
The Driver and Xiaoshuai stared at him.
“Please. That only happens in television dramas. Do you know how many people watch over the birth of a wealthy family’s child? Besides, rich people use private hospitals,” the Driver said flatly.
He had barely finished when John looked at Liu Ye in astonishment.
“As expected of Brother Liu. Nothing escapes you. My older brother really was switched at birth.”
He actually was switched!
The Driver and Xiaoshuai roared inwardly.
“As I said, my family’s internal filth is every bit as bad as anything outside it. When my older brother was born, someone took him away and replaced him. The man who is now my older brother is actually my Second Uncle’s son.”
John’s expression darkened.
“My grandfather had seven children. My father was the eldest. Our branch has good relations with Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle, while the remaining branches follow Second Uncle. My grandfather has always insisted that the eldest son inherit the family enterprise. Because of that, Second Uncle switched his own son with my older brother. I have no idea where he abandoned my real brother.”
“Does your grandfather know?” Liu Ye asked.
“He does, but he said it was perfectly normal. If a father lacks the ability to protect his own child, he has no right to blame anyone else for being ruthless.”
Silence followed.
No wonder John wanted Liu Ye to tell his grandfather’s fortune, the Driver thought.
From the front, Xiaoshuai looked at John through the rearview mirror and tried to comfort him.
“Don’t worry. Maybe your real brother is living a much freer and happier life somewhere.”
“Perhaps.”
John sighed.
“So you suspect Second Uncle was behind this incident?” the Driver asked.
“Yes. In fact, I suspect he is colluding with the Illuminati.”
John recalled the documents recovered from the hospital ruins a few days earlier.
The viruses carried by the hospital’s patients had all been created and tested according to requests from members of the Illuminati.
The virus carried by Patient Number Eight had been funded for research by a newly inducted member. The patient suffered from an aging disorder, but she had said the condition was actually a side effect of an ability.
And that ability was… soul swapping!
John investigated the channel through which the research had been funded, only to discover that the money had come from his family’s group.
“Fourth Uncle isn’t the only one with a problem. Something is wrong with my grandfather too. He was always very healthy, but his condition suddenly deteriorated. The hospital couldn’t find any illness.”
“So you suspect Second Uncle did something to him?” the Driver asked.
“I’m not certain. Everyone in my family is selfish. If something benefits them, they will do it, even if it means harming their own relatives.
“I have never doubted that Second Uncle is capable of attacking Grandfather. The problem is that the timing is wrong.
“If Grandfather dies now, the eighty percent stake he controls will immediately pass to me.
“Once those shares are in my hands, the others will be completely out of the game. So the person who least wants Grandfather to die right now should actually be Second Uncle.”
“By that logic, you’re the person who wants your grandfather dead most. Haven’t you considered making a move?”
“I can’t. Second Uncle manages every aspect of Grandfather’s daily life. Grandfather said that if he lives to eighty, he will split the shares evenly between my older brother and me. But if anything happens to him before then, every share will go to me. Because of that, the protection around him is extremely tight. My people can’t infiltrate it.”
“So you really did try? Didn’t you say your grandfather raised you?” the Driver asked speechlessly.
“He did raise me. But the first time my older brother and I met him, he ordered us to kill the dog that had grown up with us. His first lesson was that affection does not exist in this family.
“From then on, every cent we spent was entered into a ledger, with interest calculated according to the bank lending rate of that year. Once we turned eighteen, my older brother and I had to make a large payment every month until we repaid ten million yuan.”
Liu Ye and the others were stunned.
“Isn’t your family rich? Do you really need to count every penny like that?”
Liu Ye couldn’t understand why a family would live this way. His own family might be poor, but they had always loved one another.
“Grandfather said it was the only way to make us use every minute well. If we reached the standard he expected, we would be able to repay the debt. If not, we should prepare to spend our lives working it off.”
“How long did it take you to repay the loan?” Liu Ye asked.
“Three months.”
“Whoa! That fast?”
Liu Ye was shocked. He had been away from home for nearly two months and earned only a little over three thousand yuan. John had repaid thirty million! People truly couldn’t be compared.
“My older brother was faster. It took him only one day.”
“Second Uncle helped him, didn’t he?” Xiaoshuai asked.
“Yes. That wasn’t against the rules. The only requirement was repaying the money. Grandfather never asked where it came from.”
“How did you repay yours? Stock trading?”
That was how things always worked on television. The male lead used his extraordinary skill in the stock market to make hundreds of millions in one stroke!
“No. I kidnapped my older brother.”