Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Jiang Fan walked out of the office.

The hall floor was covered with shards of broken glass, and several deformed steel pipes lay scattered on the ground.

Li Cheng had already arranged for the other employees to leave work early, leaving only him and Zhou Yutong in the lobby.

Li Cheng was cleaning the glass with a broom, while Zhou Yutong squatted beside him, picking up the scattered documents one by one.

Jiang Fan glanced at the mess on the ground.

Li Cheng stopped what he was doing.

"Brother Jiang, I've already found a renovation team. They can replace the glass and tables and chairs tonight."

Zhou Yutong put a stack of documents into a cardboard box and patted the dust off her hands.

"Brother Fan, who exactly are those people? They're so arrogant."

"They must have been hired by Star Shine Entertainment."

Zhou Yutong gasped. Star Shine Entertainment was one of the top three entertainment companies in China.

"Don't worry, you two should go back and rest early after you've finished packing."

"Okay," Li Cheng replied.

Jiang Fan turned and walked towards the door.

Now that Xinghui Entertainment has taken action, this matter is unlikely to end peacefully.

Downstairs at the office building, Jiang Fan opened the door of the SUV and got into the driver's seat.

The engine was started. The car merged into the evening rush hour traffic and drove all the way to the western suburbs of Shanghai, stopping in front of the black iron gate of Gu Qingqiu's manor.

The iron gate slid open to both sides.

Four security guards in black suits stood on either side, bowing their heads as they let people pass.

Jiang Fan drove the car in and parked it in front of the main building steps.

The main building was quiet and silent; the servants had long since left.

Jiang Fan opened the car door, stepped onto the stairs and went up to the second floor, arriving at the living room.

The door was ajar, and he pushed it open and went inside.

Gu Qingqiu sat on the leather sofa, wearing a wine-red silk nightgown.

On the coffee table sits a bottle of decanted Romanée-Conti, with two wine glasses beside it.

Hearing the door open, Gu Qingqiu stood up to greet her.

Her hand had just touched Jiang Fan's shoulder when she stopped.

Their gaze fell on Jiang Fan's shirt cuffs and shoulders.

There were a few white and gray stains there, and the hem of the clothes was a little messy.

Gu Qingqiu frowned.

"You got into a fight?"

Jiang Fan walked to the sofa, sat down, picked up the wine glass on the coffee table, and took a sip.

"Xinghui Entertainment hired some people. The leader is called Zhao Tianhu, and he said he's working for a young master named Jiang in Beijing."

Gu Qingqiu's hand holding the wine glass froze in mid-air.

She placed the wine glass back on the coffee table, the glass base hitting the marble surface with a crisp sound.

"Zhao Tianhu," Gu Qingqiu read the name aloud.

The vice president of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, who was usually not even considered a gofer in her eyes, is now reaching out to Jiang Fan.

She turned and walked to her desk, picked up her phone, and dialed her assistant's number.

The call was connected.

"Pass the word down." Gu Qingqiu spoke rapidly, "Before dawn, I want all of Zhao Tianhu's establishments in Shanghai to close down completely. Bathhouses, KTVs, underground casinos—leave none standing."

The assistant's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Mr. Gu, Zhao Tianhu is the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce. Should we speak to his superiors about this?"

"No need. Just send the Economic Crime Investigation and Public Security Bureau teams over there to check his accounts and shut down his place. Anyone who dares to tip him off will be dealt with as well."

The assistant sat in the office, his grip on his phone tightening.

"And Star Shine Entertainment. Cut off all their promotional channels in the Yangtze River Delta region. Remove all products endorsed by Star Shine from shelves."

"Understood, Mr. Gu, I'll get on it right away," the assistant replied.

After hanging up the phone, Gu Qingqiu tossed it onto the table.

She turned around and walked back to the sofa.

Gu Qingqiu straddled Jiang Fan's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

The straps of the silk pajamas slipped down her shoulders, revealing large expanses of pale, white skin.

"Dare to touch my man?" Gu Qingqiu whispered in Jiang Fan's ear, "I'll make sure they can't even hold their beggar's bowl properly."

Jiang Fan reached out and put his arm around her waist.

"Boss Gu has a very short temper."

Jiang Fan's fingers untied the wine-red ribbon. The silk fabric slid down Gu Qingqiu's shoulders and gathered at her waist.

The living room was dimly lit, with only one floor lamp on.

"To help you cool down."

He lifted Gu Qingqiu by the waist, placed her on the back of the leather sofa.

The sofa back was wide. Gu Qingqiu's legs dangled in the air, her hands gripping Jiang Fan's shoulders tightly.

About an hour and a half later.

Jiang Fan turned Gu Qingqiu over.

Gu Qingqiu had no strength left, and she tried to crawl forward using her hands and feet.

"Why are you running?"

Jiang Fan grabbed her ankle and pulled her back. Gu Qingqiu fell back to her original position.

"You..." Gu Qingqiu's voice changed as soon as she uttered a single word.

After a long while, Gu Qingqiu lay on her side on the sofa, panting heavily.

Sweat soaked his hair and clung to his cheeks.

Jiang Fan did not stop.

"You're already out of energy?"

Gu Qingqiu closed her eyes and pretended to be dead.

Jiang Fan pulled Gu Qingqiu's arm and carried her to the custom-made large bed.

Gu Qingqiu's eyelashes trembled. She had no strength left.

They could only let Jiang Fan do whatever he wanted.

Until the early hours of the morning.

Exhausted, Gu Qingqiu fell asleep in Jiang Fan's arms.

Jiang Fan leaned against the headboard, picked up the bottled water from the bedside table, and took a sip.

At the edge of the field of vision, the system panel pops up.

[Deep Compatibility x4, Lifespan +32000 points]

Current lifespan: 140300 points

Jiang Fan turned off the control panel and closed his eyes to rest.

He currently has enough lifespan points to handle the situation ahead, and he has absolute confidence whether he wants to exchange for god-level skills or cultural and entertainment works on Earth.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Shanghai, the top-floor office of a bathhouse.

Zhao Tianhu sat on a leather sofa, one of his arms in a sling around his neck with a white bandage.

There were seven or eight subordinates standing in the office, all of them with bruises on their bodies.

Zhao Tianhu used his good left hand to pick up the pack of Zhonghua cigarettes on the coffee table, took one out, and put it in his mouth.

One of his men stepped forward, took out a windproof lighter, and lit it for him.

Zhao Tianhu took a drag and exhaled a thick smoke ring.

He picked up the cell phone on the table and dialed a number in Beijing.

"Young Master Jiang."

Loud, bass-heavy music came from the other end of the phone.

"Is the matter settled?"

"Young Master Jiang, we failed." Zhao Tianhu's Adam's apple bobbed. "That Jiang Fan is a tough nut to crack. I brought more than twenty men, and we couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes. They were all crushed."

The music from Jiang Yu's side stopped.

"You led twenty people, and they got completely destroyed by a songwriter?"

"He's trained, and he's extremely ruthless. Solid steel pipes can be easily bent in his hands," Zhao Tianhu quickly explained.

"What a fucking piece of trash." Jiang Yu cursed into the phone.

Jiang Yu hung up the phone and threw it on the marble tabletop.

The top-floor office of a bathhouse in Shanghai.

Hearing the busy tone on his phone, Zhao Tianhu slammed it onto the coffee table.

Just then, with a loud bang, the solid wood door of Zhao Tianhu's office collapsed inward.

A large number of fully armed special police officers poured into the office.

The dark muzzle of the submachine gun was pointed at everyone in the room.

"Don't move! Put your hands on your heads and squat down!" the officer in charge shouted.

Zhao Tianhu's men all squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands.

Zhao Tianhu stood there, stunned, and the cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground.

Several special police officers rushed forward, pinned Zhao Tianhu to the desk, and locked his hands in cold handcuffs.

"What are you doing! I'm the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce! I need to call the Municipal Bureau!" Zhao Tianhu struggled.

The officer stepped forward, took out a document, and slammed it on the table.

"Zhao Tianhu, you are suspected of organizing organized crime, money laundering, and operating casinos. All your establishments are hereby seized and you are being taken away!"

Zhao Tianhu's face turned pale. He knew that this time, the higher-ups were serious.

Two special police officers escorted Zhao Tianhu out.

As he passed the window in the corridor, Zhao Tianhu turned his head and looked down.

Police cars were parked downstairs, their red and blue lights flashing alternately, and the door to the bathhouse was sealed with white tape.

At the same time, all the KTVs and underground casinos under his name were raided.

All the managers were handcuffed and put into police cars.

Zhao Tianhu was put into a police car. Jiang Fan's face flashed through his mind.

He finally realized that he had messed with someone he couldn't afford to offend.

Overnight, Zhao Tianhu's business empire, built up over a decade in Shanghai, crumbled.