Chapter One: An Unsettled Heart

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Outside the largest private room, the Hualong Hall, at the Shenghao Grand Hotel in Hualong City, Manager Chen gave instructions to a young man in a hotel uniform pushing a cake trolley:

“Yang Sheng, remember, once you go in, don’t say a word. Chairman Lin hates it when the staff chatter too much.

This is one of our hotel’s biggest clients. I’ve seen how well you’ve done this past year, so I’m giving you this opportunity.

Work hard. If you do well, I’ll consider promoting you to duty manager by the end of the year.”

The young man named Yang Sheng was tall and well-proportioned, about 1.8 meters tall, with handsome features. Most notably, he always wore a slight smile that radiated sunshine and warmth, making people instinctively like him.

Yang Sheng smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Manager.”

Manager Chen glanced at his watch. “Go on, go on. Remember, you must deliver the cake exactly at 11:58. Chairman Lin is very particular about timing.”

Watching Yang Sheng push the cake trolley away, Manager Chen sighed inwardly and shook his head slightly.

Such a pity for Yang Sheng. He’d heard that Yang was a graduate of one of the top medical universities in the country, yet he ended up working as a waiter in a hotel—a complete waste of his academic background.

The hotel business is all about seniority. No matter how capable you are, without the experience, it’s useless.

Even though Yang Sheng had been obedient, diligent, and hardworking for the past year, there were senior employees who had been here for years waiting for their turn. How could it be his?

Has the job market really become this cutthroat now?

Manager Chen shook his head in puzzlement but felt assured about Yang Sheng. Though young, he was steady and reliable.

Inside the private room, Lin Zhendong, the richest man in Hualong City and chairman of the Lin Group, sat at the head of the table. Seven or eight people beneath him were all senior executives of Lin Group and his close relatives, qualifying them to attend his birthday banquet.

Lin Zhendong was already in his seventies but had yet to retire, still firmly in control of the Lin Group.

This old man had started as a laborer carrying cement on construction sites. Over fifty years of ruthless business battles, he built the Lin Group, which spanned real estate, energy, steel manufacturing, and more. One-third of Hualong City’s population worked either directly for Lin Group or its affiliates.

Next to Lin Zhendong, a young man sat with his legs crossed, lazily playing with a lighter in his hand, yawning in boredom as the uncles and elders flattered his grandfather.

This was Lin Dongming, Lin Zhendong’s biological grandson, a notorious rich second-generation playboy in Hualong City.

The Lin family lineage had only one heir per generation for three generations, so Lin Dongming never worried about anyone threatening his position. No matter how reckless he acted, he was the heir to Lin Group.

At that moment, he couldn’t be bothered to listen to the flattery. His mind was still on a little internet celebrity girl he had been with the night before.

She appeared innocent during her livestream, coyly refusing hundreds of virtual gifts, but in bed, she was anything but shy.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Chairman Lin, your cake has arrived.”

“Come in.”

Yang Sheng pushed the cake trolley inside and naturally locked the password door of the Hualong Hall.

The Hualong Hall was a private room specially built by Shenghao Hotel for Lin Zhendong alone. The interior was luxurious and equipped with active soundproofing. Once locked, no sound could be heard outside, ensuring utmost confidentiality.

Lin Zhendong seemed to sense something, but before he could speak, Yang Sheng had already strode forward quickly with the cake trolley.

He was tall and took a few strides to reach the table. Lin Zhendong’s expression changed abruptly, and he shouted sharply, “Stop!”

Before anyone reacted, Yang Sheng calmly pulled out a triangular dagger from beneath the cake trolley, gripping Lin Dongming with his left hand and lifting him off the ground forcibly.

Lin Dongming felt as if Yang Sheng’s hand was an iron clamp; no matter how he struggled, it was useless.

Before he could scream, Yang Sheng whispered into his ear, “Don’t make a sound. I’m here to send you on your way.”

A soft “pop” sound followed as the dagger pierced Lin Dongming’s carotid artery. Yang Sheng quickly withdrew it and stabbed again into his heart—precise and swift. Blood gushed out like a flowing river from the Y-shaped gaping wound, soaking Yang Sheng’s pristine white shirt.

Yang Sheng threw Lin Dongming’s corpse onto the floor like a dead dog and looked at the bloodstained dagger with satisfaction.

He didn’t know who invented the triangular dagger, such a lethal weapon.

It wasn’t ideal for combat with swords or weapons because it only had one attack method—stabbing. The variety was limited.

But once inside the body, blood would continuously pour out along the blood channels, and air would enter, creating foam that blocked blood vessels, accelerating death.

Moreover, the Y-shaped wound it leaves cannot be immediately sealed, no matter how quickly it’s bandaged, making it near impossible to stop the bleeding.

Simply put, once stabbed, even the divine couldn’t save you.

That’s why Yang Sheng, despite studying various martial arts and weapons worldwide, chose the triangular dagger.

Everyone in the room, except Lin Zhendong, was frozen in terror.

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The lightning-fast events left them stunned. Only when Yang Sheng threw Lin Dongming’s corpse onto the floor did they scream loudly.

Yang Sheng frowned, pointing the dagger at them impatiently.

“You’re so noisy! Whoever screams again dies first!”

Instantly, no one dared make a sound, though some instinctively glanced toward the door.

Yang Sheng sat down on the table, looking directly at Lin Zhendong with a calm voice.

“Don’t bother looking. I changed the password the day before. OnceI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.