<h4>Chapter 1355: Chapter 1663: The North-South Struggle (Part 4)</h4>


    "You want to negotiate terms?" Ling Chen calmly said, "Sure, release everyone, and I’ll let you leave East Sea City safely."


    "No, no, no." The other party chuckled, "Mr. Ling, though I’m not very smart, I understand one thing: never hand over all your chips. If I do that, I certainly won’t walk out of East Sea City alive. So, I can only hand over one person. You now have two choices: either agree to my terms, or we fight to the death, at worst, perish together. At that point, you won’t be able to save anyone."


    Ling Chen pondered for a moment, then said, "Fine, then release my father first."


    "Mr. Ling, I’m very sorry, I can’t agree to that request. I can only hand over that woman to you, if you agree, we’ll meet at the Hongyu Group’s port in an hour." After a pause, the other party continued, "Mr. Ling, I advise you not to y any tricks, otherwise, you won’t save anyone." With that, he hung up the phone.


    "Sixth Brother, who called you?" Qiu Yong asked.


    "People from the Southern Ling Family." Ling Chen frowned and said, "They want to make a deal with us using hostages, one person in exchange for theirplete safety."


    "This won’t do." Hu Fei red and said, "Those bastards are too savvy in doing business, this isn’t right. No, one is not enough, at least three people. Ling Chen, just stay firm, if they don’t agree, we can fight it out with them."


    Ling Chen thought for a moment, then nodded, "I understand. They arranged to meet an hourter at the Hongyu Group’s port. Fatty, send a few people to keep an eye on the outside of the port. They will surely be on guard against us, so be careful, and don’t get discovered."


    "Don’t worry, leave this kind of thing to me, there won’t be any problems." With that, Hu Fei quickly walked out of the hospital room.


    "Second Brother." Ling Chen walked to the bedside, looked at Xu Ming on the hospital bed, and said, "Rest up, I’ll have Eighth and Seventh Brothers stay behind to take care of you."


    "Sixth Brother, be careful yourself. The Southern Ling Family’s master on the Heavenly List is very formidable, his strength is almost on par with Su He. With my strength, I can’t even withstand one move from him." Xu Ming advised.


    "I will be cautious."


    Leaving the hospital, Ling Chen and Qiu Yong drove straight back to the base. Along the way, Ling Chen’s expression was grim, even with his optimistic nature, he couldn’t take this situation lightly. Porridge girl, Ling Kun, these were his family; no matter the cost, he had to save them. As for Ling Tao and the others... to be honest, he wasn’t very close to them. It would be great to save them, but if not possible, he could only choose to let go.


    By the time they reached the base, Hu Fei had already arranged everything.


    "The area around the port is surrounded by us. I’ve ced personnel in the nearby buildings, they’ll monitor the port constantly. Also, I’ve called Hongyu Group, they’ve closed the port, and all staff have been evacuated."


    Ling Chen checked the time; there was still half an hour left until the arranged time, "Have they shown up yet?"


    Hu Fei pointed to arge screen, "I’ve pulled up the surveince near the port, as soon as they approach, we’ll definitely spot them."


    Just then, a technician who was watching the surveince footage stood up abruptly and said, "They’re here!"


    Everyone focused on the surveince screen, seeing three vans slowly driving along the road, stopping in front of the port’s main gate. After the vans stopped, someone from the front passenger seat of the first van got out, opened the closed gate, and once all three vehicles entered the port, he closed the gate and joined the convoy.


    After those people entered the port, their tracks were lost on the surveince screen.


    "Switch to the cameras inside the port." Hu Fei immediately ordered. Soon, the surveince footage changed, and the situation inside the port was clearly disyed on the screen. Once the three vans stopped, people inside began to get out, including those from the Northern Ling family, Ling Kun, Ling Tao, porridge girl, and three others Ling Chen had never met. Judging by their ages, they were likely high-ranking members of the Northern Ling family.


    These people stood by the cars, examined the surroundings, then found a warehouse and took the hostages inside.


    "Ling Chen, should I have someone sneak in?"


    Upon hearing Hu Fei’s suggestion, Ling Chen shook his head, "It’s useless. They have a master on the Heavenly List on guard, unless we intervene personally, there’s no use. Let’s not rush, we’ll wait and see."


    The time passed slowly, and soon the half-hour had psed. As the hour deadline arrived, Ling Chen’s phone rang right on cue.


    "Hello! Mr. Ling, we’ve arrived at the port, where are you?"


    "Sorry, I didn’t n on epting your terms, so I didn’t go to the port."


    "Ling Chen, what do you mean?" The other party’s tone turned noticeably colder, "Are you really nning to watch them die?"


    "If I can only save one, I’d rather save none." Ling Chen replied coolly, "If you want to kill, go ahead, the entire port is already surrounded by my people. If they die, I’ll immediately order a full attack. If I can’t save them, avenging them would suffice."


    He paused, then continued, "Listen carefully, my terms are simple: release all hostages, and I’ll ensure your safe exit from East Sea City. I’ll give you half an hour to consider. If you haven’t reached a decision by then, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to order an attack."


    "Ling Chen, can you really bear to see your father killed?" The other party said chillingly.


    "If you darey a finger on him, I swear, I’ll make sure you live a life worse than death. Enough talk, decide for yourselves." Ling Chen said, then hung up without giving them a chance to bargain further.


    "Ling Chen, do you think they’ll agree?"


    "No, but I believe they’ll make the right decision. This operation involved considerable manpower from the Southern Ling, and it would be a heavy loss if those people lost their lives in East Sea City."


    Just then, a technician spoke, "Mr. Ling, we found a yacht heading toward the port in the nearby waters, about ten kilometers away."


    Hu Fei chimed in, "That must be their getaway vessel, keep an eye on it."


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