Chapter 126: Obstacles in the Acquisition

The morning sun is the best; at least that is what Xiao Tianci has always believed. The morning sun is neither scorching nor harsh, but gentle and warm. On the circular balcony, Xiao Tianci is earnestly eating his breakfast; he treats the act of eating with great seriousness.

Looking down from here, one can only see vehicles like ants; as for people, unless one has abnormal vision, they are difficult to see clearly. However, in modern cities, there seem to be more cars than people, so a casual glance downward reveals only ants arranged in long, crisscrossing formations.

King Kong gently pressed his earphone, listening to a report from his subordinate. He stepped forward from behind and said, "Boss, Tang Bing has woken up and is on his way here."

Unknowingly, Xiao Tianci has developed a habit of drinking tea, and having grown accustomed to the tea brewed by the Chief Steward, he finds it hard to drink anything else. He raised his hand to receive the warm towel handed to him by the Chief Steward and wiped his hands lightly.

"Awake? Good. Let him come in shortly." As he spoke, Xiao Tianci gazed at the rising sun. At this moment, its light was not blinding; it felt similar to watching a sunset, yet it carried a distinct, different sensation.

After taking a sip of tea, Xiao Tianci suddenly remarked, "By the way, everything piled up yesterday, so I didn't get to ask. Just now, I recalled that Tang Bing later said he had been hiding there an hour before we even entered the restaurant. How did you discover him?"

This question had crossed Xiao Tianci’s mind at the time, because there was a lapse in time between their arrival at the restaurant and the eventual discovery of Tang Bing. He was mainly curious: when they first walked in, King Kong hadn't noticed him, so why was he suddenly detected later?

King Kong replied, "Tang Bing is a famous assassin among mercenaries. When I entered the room yesterday, I had a feeling. Later, while you were talking with Fire Phoenix, I carefully sensed everything around us, but I found nothing unusual. At the time, I thought I was being overly sensitive. However, I remained cautious. This Tang Bing’s concealment technique is truly formidable; he can even control his body temperature and heartbeat remarkably well. But under those circumstances, as long as I was by your side, he would have had no chance even if he were there to assassinate you. As for discovering him, it was because after you finished telling your story, he actually let out an 'hmm'."

Xiao Tianci couldn't help but laugh after hearing this. He set down his teacup and shook his head with a smile, thinking that Tang Bing was truly fascinating—a person of great character and formidable strength.

No sooner had King Kong finished speaking than footsteps were heard. Since instructions had been given beforehand, no one stopped Tang Bing, who entered directly. His face was dull and lifeless, his head hung low as if he had done something shameful.

Xiao Tianci looked at him: "Tang Bing, what's wrong? Why are you here so early? Come, sit down and have something to eat. Just say whatever you'd like."

Tang Bing sat down and, hearing Xiao Tianci’s words, lifted his head slightly. Xiao Tianci looked at him and thought, *Not bad, he’s still got stamina.* To have been with three women all night and still be able to walk out—and look decent—was truly rare. The young man had potential.

For a long time, Tang Bing didn't speak. He looked at Xiao Tianci with wavering eyes, seemingly about to say something, but held back each time.

Xiao Tianci deliberately said, "How were those young ladies last night? I thought you were getting along quite well with them... haha... how was it? Do you need them to keep you company for a few more days to have some fun?"

Hearing this, Tang Bing quickly waved his hands: "No, no..." He looked at Xiao Tianci, not knowing how to explain that he was still a virgin and intended to save his first time for the woman he loved. He couldn't bring himself to say it.

The Chief Steward answered a phone call behind them and said, "Boss, Xu Guowei is on the line. He says he has an urgent matter to discuss with you and is currently on his way over."

"Mm, I see." Xiao Tianci nodded and looked at Tang Bing again, very seriously: "Tang Bing, that the King of Soldiers holds me in high regard is my honor. I should have gone with you immediately, but as you can see, I have many matters at hand. So, how about this: let me finish dealing with the tasks on my plate, and then I will go to pay my respects to the King of Soldiers. What do you think?"

Hearing Xiao Tianci speak of serious business, Tang Bing gathered his restless thoughts: "Big Brother, that is certainly no problem. You handle your business first, then we will go. I will wait for you."

Xiao Tianci thought to himself, *Handle it? Once I go, I won't be handling anything.*

Hearing Tang Bing say this, Xiao Tianci asked, "Should we notify the King of Soldiers, then?"

Tang Bing nodded: "You can rest assured about that, I will contact people in the group."

"Oh." Xiao Tianci stood up and said, "Since that is settled, I have some business to attend to. You stay here and have some breakfast."

Tang Bing said, "Big Brother, go ahead and do your work, don't worry about me. I happen to want to go out and look around—hehe, I've never been here before." As he spoke, Tang Bing couldn't wait to go out and see what this world-class city looked like.

Xiao Tianci found it strange. Generally, mercenaries live on the edge, so after earning money, they usually spend it wildly to vent. Even if the methods of spending differ, most people are like that; even if they don't spend wildly, they aren't short of money and do whatever they please. A person like Tang Bing, who ranks in the top ten of the King of Soldiers’ leaderboard, goes without saying.

But seeing him like this, and recalling what he said yesterday—*could it be that it was really his first time "out"?* Xiao Tianci, who was already about to leave, stood there and probed: "Tang Bing, is this your first time coming out to 'play'?"

Xiao Tianci specifically used the word "play" because he had already read Tang Bing's file; since his teens, he had achieved remarkable combat records.

Tang Bing looked somewhat embarrassed: "Hehe, Big Brother, don't laugh at me—I’ve never been out alone my whole life until now."

"Ah... is that really the case?" Xiao Tianci quickly asked, "That’s not right, don't you travel the world when you execute missions?"

Tang Bing looked around cautiously like a mouse before standing up and leaning close to Xiao Tianci's ear to whisper: "Big Brother, I’ll tell you, but don't tell anyone else. Every time I go, there are many people following me. Besides the missions they send me on, I have to listen to them for everything else."

*Hmm, how could that be?* Even if he were the adopted son of the King of Soldiers, he shouldn't be treated like this. Looking at him now, his combat power was formidable, and that skill in concealment and bone-shrinking was definitely honed through life-and-death battles. Xiao Tianci suddenly understood why, despite Tang Bing's immense combat power, he acted like a child at times. If the Chief Steward hadn't seen how much he cared about this aspect, he wouldn't have come up with yesterday's ruse.

It was just a small trick to make him too embarrassed to pester them further, and having him initiate the request would prevent offending the King of Soldiers. It was just a minor scheme. Now it seemed this Tang Bing was indeed like a big child.

"Oh, I see. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Xiao Tianci nodded, watching him look eager to fully enjoy the feeling of freedom.

Xiao Tianci patted him on the shoulder and said, "Alright, go eat something. Being with three at once isn't easy, either!"

*Swish...* Tang Bing’s face turned as red as a monkey’s bottom, and he lowered his head, looking utterly humiliated: "Big... Brother... can we... not mention... that... please?"

"Ha... ha... ha..." Xiao Tianci walked inside, laughing, and said as he went: "Just tell the King of Soldiers that I will definitely keep our appointment in three months."

"Don't worry, Big Brother, I... ah..." Tang Bing looked up with a flushed face to agree, but upon hearing Xiao Tianci's last words, he realized what was said and chased after him, shouting: "Big Brother, no... that won't do..."

Hearing the door open, Xu Guowei quickly stood up and said respectfully: "Boss."

"Mm." Xiao Tianci nodded. After sitting down and seeing Xu Guowei still standing, he told him to sit, then asked: "How is the acquisition proceeding? Have there been any problems?"

"According to your requirements, we began by quickly acquiring companies outside the top ten in each country. While complex, the process has been very smooth." Such acquisitions could be handled easily by the lawyers under Xu Guowei; otherwise, if he had to run to every country personally, he would get nothing else done all year.

However, looking at the data for those companies, his head ached. He didn't know what his boss was aiming for; he knew that if the acquisitions continued, they would be impossible to control. But seeing his boss's demeanor, he felt that speaking up would likely be useless. Furthermore, there were even more problems—the integration and management of so many companies were currently a mess; they had been acquired, but there was no change from before.

The original staff remained, doing exactly what they had done before.

As he spoke, Xu Guowei took out several documents and handed them to Xiao Tianci: "Following your instructions, we used the two top-ten global companies we acquired first as a foundation and began to constantly increase the level of our acquisitions, finally moving against two other companies in the global top ten. Our two companies simultaneously proposed acquisitions of the other two. Beyond meeting with strong opposition from their management and shareholders, we have also been accused of industrial monopoly. Our acquisition cases are currently awaiting anti-monopoly review by the European Union and the United States Department of Justice."

To say that complete, one-hundred-percent control is possible is something everyone knows is impossible. However, after seeing the acquisition list Xiao Tianci gave him, Xu Guowei understood. It was a bit different from what the boss had originally said, which had been hair-raising and felt impossible.

But after seeing this list, he felt the boss had considered things. He had started by using quick, covert methods to acquire medium-sized companies—especially those with strong advantages in several major countries or regions but which were not significant internationally.

He needed exactly these kinds of companies. The advantage of such companies is that they are not multinational and do not attract global attention; at most, they are considered to have some strength within their own countries.

With enough money in the hands of Xu Guowei's subordinates, the eighth-ranked global media group was controlled by Xiao Group No. 1, and the fifth-ranked was controlled by Xiao Group No. 2. Because the Xiao family already held high stakes in these two companies, they were transferred internally without much stir. The subsequent clearing of companies in various countries was carried out by these two entities.

Of course, no one yet knew that these two had become Xiao Group No. 1 and No. 2. The acquisition actions were covert and had not yet been exposed, and they had been handled quite well. Following the end of Xiao Tianci's list, they finally began to move against two of the top ten. Xiao Tianci hadn't specified which ones, but as a battle to make a name for themselves, they certainly had to take on top-ten competitors.

In fact, after Xiao Tianci’s capital injection and the acquisition of over three hundred companies across more than twenty countries, Xiao Group No. 1 and No. 2 had become the undisputed first and second largest media groups in the world.

They were just waiting for the final blow before revealing everything. Xu Guowei guessed that the boss probably wanted a world-shocking effect, which is why he hadn't let these two groups send personnel to take over and integrate the newly acquired companies.

Xu Guowei said, "Currently, Xiao Group No. 1 and No. 2 each own over a hundred companies in more than twenty countries. If these companies are integrated, they will immediately become the leading entities in those nations. Once Xiao Group No. 1 and No. 2 integrate all these, they will undoubtedly be the top two media groups in the world. Boss, the anti-monopoly reviews by the EU and the US Department of Justice have already begun. If it were a normal acquisition, given my relationships and our methods, it would be easy to resolve, but this time it is quite special, so..."

Xiao Tianci just flipped through the pages roughly; it seemed Xu Guowei had become much smarter, not bringing him mountains of documents. It was impossible for him to read through the market value of every acquired company, so he just provided a simple summary of a few dozen words. Which ones were now part of Xiao Group No. 1, which were Xiao Group No. 2, and then the documents regarding the anti-monopoly reviews.

The EU and the US Department of Justice stepping in—would that have anything to do with his side? But it was not surprising that they would get involved in such mergers; it had been expected long ago.

As he flipped through the pages quickly, he didn't even look up and asked: "So what? Speak!"

Xu Guowei said cautiously: "Should we abandon the acquisition of these two? The current situation shouldn't have too much of an impact." After saying this, he watched Xiao Tianci warily, his heart feeling chaotic and without any confidence. After all, his boss was truly too crazy; no one could guess what he would do or say next.