The Presidential Suite of Central Hospital had been transformed. What was once a sterile medical wing was now a fortress of luxury. White orchids, flown in from the Alps, lined the hallways, and the scent of expensive incense masked the faint smell of antiseptic.
Lu Mei sat propped up on silk pillows, her color finally returning. She looked at her brother, who sat by her side peeling an apple with the precision of a surgeon.
"Brother," she whispered, "they say you bought the hospital. They say you're... a Lu."
Lu Chen smiled, a rare, genuine warmth in his eyes. "I was always a Lu, Mei. I just had to make sure the world was ready for us to take it back."
The moment of peace was shattered by the sound of voices outside the heavy oak doors.
"Please! Just five minutes! We just want to apologize to Young Master Lu!"
Lu Chen's smile vanished. He nodded to Chen Bo, who opened the doors.
The Gathering of the Desperate
Stumbling into the room were the Zhangs. Zhang Yan, her father (the CEO of Zhang Shipping), and her mother. They looked as if they hadn't slept in a century. Their clothes were wrinkled, their eyes bloodshot. Behind them stood Lin Feng, looking like a hollow shell of a man.
But they weren't alone. Standing in the corner of the room, sipping a glass of vintage wine, were Lu Feng (the "Golden Boy") and Lu Xinyi. They had clearly orchestrated this "visit" to test Lu Chen's resolve.
"Chen, look what I found crawling around the lobby," Lu Xinyi said, her voice dripping with amusement. "They were quite insistent on seeing you."
Zhang Yan's father threw himself onto the floor, his forehead hitting the marble with a sickening thud. "Young Master Lu! Please! I was blind! I didn't know your status! My company is collapsing—the banks are seizing our ships as we speak! My daughter... she's young and foolish! Spare us!"
Zhang Yan, seeing the cold indifference on Lu Chen's face, crawled forward on her knees. The woman who had mocked his "janitor energy" twenty-four hours ago was now clutching at the hem of his trousers.
"Chen... remember when we first met?" she sobbed. "I loved you then! I can be your maid, your servant, anything! Just don't let my family go to the streets!"
The Golden Boy's Gambit
Lu Feng, the AI billionaire cousin, stepped forward, his eyes fixed on Lu Chen. He wasn't interested in the Zhangs; they were just props in his game.
"You see, Chen," Lu Feng said, his voice smooth and calculated. "This is what happens when you use a sledgehammer to kill a fly. You create a mess. You've destroyed a shipping company that the Lu family could have used. It's... inefficient. If you give me control of your accounts, I can fix this in five minutes. I can make these people go away—quietly."
Lu Chen stood up. He walked past the sobbing Zhang Yan and stopped inches from Lu Feng's face. The height difference was minimal, but the weight of Lu Chen's presence made Lu Feng's smile falter.
"You talk about efficiency, Feng," Lu Chen said quietly. "But you forgot the most important rule of the Lu family."
"And what is that?"
"Debt," Lu Chen replied. "Financial debt can be settled with money. But the debt of blood and humiliation? That is settled with interest."
Lu Chen turned back to the Zhang family. "You want mercy? Fine. Zhang Yan, you said you'd do anything. Your father's company owes $400 million in liquidated damages to my subsidiaries. I will waive the debt on one condition."
The Zhangs looked up, a glimmer of hope in their eyes.
"The Jade Tower is hiring," Lu Chen continued. "We need people to handle the sewage systems in the basement. Your father, your mother, and you, Yan. You will work there for the next three years. You will receive the same salary I had as a janitor—$1,500 a month. No cars, no jewelry, no Chanel."
Zhang Yan's mother gasped, "The sewers? Me?"
"If you miss a single day," Lu Chen's voice dropped to a whisper, "I will ensure your father spends the rest of his life in a cell for the tax evasion I discovered in his 2022 records this morning."
The Final Strike
Lin Feng, who had been silent, suddenly lunged forward. "You can't do this! You're just a lucky loser! I'll kill you!"
He didn't even get close.
Lu Han, the "Iron Hound," appeared from behind a curtain. In one fluid motion, he caught Lin Feng's throat and lifted him off the ground.
"Young Master," Lu Han growled, looking at Lu Chen. "Should I break him?"
"No," Lu Chen said, checking his watch. "The police are already downstairs. It turns out Lin Feng has been using his real estate company to launder money for the local drug cartels. He'll be going away for a very long time."
As the police entered and dragged a screaming Lin Feng away, and as the Zhangs were led out by security to begin their "new jobs" in the sewers, Lu Chen turned his attention back to his cousin, Lu Feng.
"You see, Feng? I didn't destroy a shipping company. I acquired its assets, liquidated its leadership, and replaced them with my own people. And I did it all while you were busy checking your stock prices."
Lu Feng's face was a mask of rage. He set his wine glass down on the table so hard the stem snapped. "The Blood Gathering is in two days, Chen. You won't have the element of surprise there. The Elders won't be impressed by you bullying a few socialites."
"I'm not trying to impress the Elders," Lu Chen said, turning back to his sister. "I'm going to replace them."
The room went cold. Even Lu Xinyi stopped smiling. To say such a thing was treason within the family.
"Leave," Lu Chen commanded.
As his cousins walked out, Lu Chen looked at his sister. She was smiling.
"Brother," she said. "You're going to be the Emperor, aren't you?"
Lu Chen didn't answer. He just picked up the apple and continued to peel.