Within ten days, I will definitely get the money back!

Golden Triangle, Niu Er Industrial Park.

Looking at the sunset about to dip below the horizon, Niu Youde slapped his own forehead.

A full day and night had passed, yet his trusted subordinate, Staff Officer Wang, whom he had dispatched to China, still had not returned.

Not only had there been zero news from him, but the man himself had completely vanished without a trace!

"This... shouldn't be happening, right?"

Niu Youde furrowed his brows deeply, muttering to himself.

He had immense confidence in his trusted aide, believing absolutely that Wang would never be caught by the cops over there in China.

"Could he have been detained by the people of those two villages?"

The moment this thought surfaced, he shook his head to dismiss it. "No! If Staff Officer Wang had fallen into their hands, they definitely would have contacted me long ago!"

"What the hell is actually going on?!"

Niu Youde was already in an irritable mood, and racking his brains over this problem only made him more volatile.

Since he hadn't returned by now, it was basically certain that Staff Officer Wang was never coming back!

"Sigh!"

Li Guifen walked up behind Niu Youde and let out a helpless sigh. "There's no way we're getting that money back on our own. It looks like we'll have to hire someone to do it!"

"Oh?"

Niu Youde narrowed his eyes, pondering as he asked, "You mean..."

Li Guifen gazed off in a certain direction and slowly said, "Doesn't the Xia family boast that as long as the price is right, nothing is a problem?"

"Let's hire their people to go collect our debt for us!"

The Xia family.

One of the four major warlords in the northern Golden Triangle.

Unlike the Jin family, the core business of the Xia family could be summed up in a single sentence: [Take people's money, eliminate disasters for people.]

Just as Li Guifen had said, as long as the money was right, nothing was out of the question!

Whether one wanted to hire an assassin for a hit or acquire confidential intelligence.

"The Xia family? Would they take on a debt-collection job for us?"

Niu Youde raised an eyebrow, saying with hesitation.

"Besides, everyone in the Xia family is as black-hearted as hell! They don't have fixed prices; they quote based on who's asking. If we hire them, they're very likely to open their mouths wide like a lion and demand an astronomical fee!"

"We simply can't afford that right now!"

Hearing this, Li Guifen let out another helpless sigh. "Do you have any other ideas, then?"

A shock went through Niu Youde's heart!

The deadline to pay protection money to the Jin family was fast approaching. Could they possibly get the money back relying solely on themselves within such a short time frame?!

Collect a debt?

Running a scam park that harvested human organs, he had never dabbled in finance and had no idea how debts were even collected!

Furthermore!

The debtors were in China, which made an already difficult task even harder.

After agonizing over it for a long time, Niu Youde finally gritted his teeth and nodded. "We have no choice but to hire the Xia family!"

He decided to reach out to the Xia family first.

After all, it remained unknown whether they would even accept a debt-collection commission.

And... what would their price be?

If they demanded an exorbitant sum, they wouldn't be able to pay it right now anyway!

After all, having operated an industrial park in the Golden Triangle for so many years, Niu Youde had built up quite a few connections.

That very night, he headed to the Xia family's territory.

Unlike the enclosed, fortress-like headquarters of other warlords, the Xia family's stronghold was entirely open to the outside world!

After all, their reputation was world-famous—as long as you had money, they could do anything!

Every day, people from various countries around the world arrived here to place all sorts of commissions.

As soon as Niu Youde stepped into the Xia family's premises, a dedicated receptionist greeted him.

"Good evening, sir. What services do you require?"

"Are you looking to hire an assassin, or do you wish to purchase intelligence?"

Niu Youde hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking up, "I'd like to hire you to help me collect a debt."

"Collect a debt?" The Xia family representative opposite him paused slightly upon hearing those two words.

While they claimed that anything could be done for the right price, most people who sought them out essentially came for two things: hiring hitmen or gathering intelligence.

Though all sorts of bizarre requests came in occasionally, coming to them to collect a debt like this was truly a first!

"Sir, you will need to provide the specific details of the situation."

Niu Youde nodded and laid out his exact requirements: "Go to two villages in China and help me retrieve thirty million Chinese Yuan."

Before long, the Xia family representative submitted the request up the chain of command.

"Oh? Going to China to collect a debt? Now this is interesting!" The request ultimately landed in the hands of Xia Fei, who would decide whether to take the job or reject it.

"Take it!"

Upon receiving the order, the staff member told Niu Youde, "Our Xia family can take this job. The fee will be eight million Chinese Yuan."

"Eight million?!"

Niu Youde sprang up from his seat, slamming both hands fiercely onto the table in front of him, still unable to believe his ears!

He had long heard rumors that the Xia family was heartless, but...

He never imagined they could be this ruthless!

They were only recovering thirty million in total, yet the Xia family dared to demand an eight-million-yuan commission?

That was nearly a third of the total amount!

Following Xia Fei's instructions, the staff member explained unhurriedly,

"This is our standard rate. Since you don't have an IOU or any concrete proof of the debt, collecting it is exceptionally difficult to begin with. On top of that, the target is in China, and you already know what the environment is like over there!"

"Getting thirty million back for you even after paying us eight million is something you should be grateful for."

Niu Youde was so furious he felt steam coming out of his seven orifices. He genuinely wanted to turn around and walk away, but...

If he left now, that thirty million yuan was truly never coming back!

"If the thirty million can be recovered, so what if I give them eight million? After paying another ten million in protection money, I'll still have twelve million left!"

"With that twelve million, I can make a comeback!"

After undergoing an intense internal struggle, Niu Youde finally asked in a muffled voice, "What are your chances of success?"

"We have never failed a commission taken by the Xia family!"

"How long will it take to recover the money?"

"About ten days or so."

"Ten days?" Niu Youde muttered to himself. There were still fifteen days left before they had to pay their protection money to the Jin family.

If it could be recovered within ten days, it wouldn't be too late!

In the end, after further detailed negotiations, Niu Youde gritted his teeth and retained the Xia family's services.

After paying a one-million-yuan deposit, the staff member smiled and produced a contract. "Rest assured, Mr. Niu. You can go ask around about the Xia family's reputation worldwide—we certainly won't let you down!"

Niu Youde's heart was bleeding, but short of this, he simply had no other idea what to do!

*Let's just hope this Xia family can actually get the thirty million back from Tazhai and Mang Village.*