How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 670

From Lancheide’s perspective, his devotion to Havide was absolute. As a subject, he was not only qualified but exceeded all expectations.

However, his flaw lay in his extremism, his tendency to see everything in stark black and white. This rigidity made him impulsive and prone to fixations.

His near-fatal attempt to prevent Maya from being with Yang Chen, back when this all started, was a clear demonstration of his character.

After considerable thought, Lancheide decided that since Yang Chen was already aware of his intentions, a direct approach was best.

“I’ll use myself as bait to force him into a corner!” Lancheide muttered.

Immediately, Lancheide summoned the ten loyal bodyguards he had personally trained.

“You came to our house when my father was still alive. Over the years, though we are master and servant, we’ve become like brothers. I have a historically significant mission for us, but it’s extremely risky and could cost us our lives. Rest assured, if we fall, His Majesty the King will provide for our families. Are you willing?” Lancheide asked, his voice heavy with tragic resolve.

The bodyguards responded instantly and in unison, “Willing!”

Lancheide nodded, a faint smile appearing. “Excellent! You haven’t disappointed me! You’ve all seen how Yang Chen from Dragon Country [China] disrespects His Majesty the King, even daring to act as an equal. We must make him pay the price and force him to show proper respect. However, he’s protected by Star Defense [a security agency], so our chances of success are slim. But that doesn’t matter; we’ll use our lives to give His Majesty a reason to strike against Yang Chen.”

One might say Lancheide had been reading “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” [a classic Chinese historical novel] and learned Pang Tong’s trick, sacrificing himself to give Liu Bei an excuse to attack.

Except Havide was no Liu Bei, and Yang Chen was no Liu Zhang, making Lancheide little more than a clown.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Salamander of the Sand Country [likely referring to a fictional Middle Eastern country] checked into the Royal Hotel.

Adubi entered Salamander’s room, trembling, and gave a detailed report of the situation.

Salamander flew into a rage, slapping Adubi across the face in public. “Idiot! It’s obvious you were schemed against! You bought the island for $3.5 billion USD and then sold it for $3 billion USD. You deserve to die!”

Crown Prince Salamander was known for his ruthlessness. He had an older brother who, by all rights, should have become Crown Prince. However, the day before his brother’s coronation, he died in a car accident.

Rumors circulated that Salamander orchestrated the accident, his motive clear.

Adding to the suspicion, Salamander personally investigated his brother’s death, and the driver and all his relatives within three generations were executed.

Salamander justified this by saying that harming the Crown Prince-designate warranted such a severe punishment.

However, the implication of relatives made people suspect a guilty conscience, a way to eliminate witnesses.

Of course, these were just rumors. No one dared to speak out without proof.

Subsequently, Salamander became the Crown Prince and began his journey to rule the Sand Country.

Because Salamander was this kind of person, wealthy individuals like Adubi were particularly afraid of him, fearing he would find an excuse to seize their wealth or even kill them.

Salamander’s slap was a deeply humiliating act, but Adubi saw it as the lightest possible punishment. At least after the slap, Salamander hadn’t taken any further punitive measures.

Adubi quickly admitted his mistake. “Your Highness, please calm down. It was my carelessness, I admit it. But now that things are as they are, please consider how to protect these three islands. When we return home, you can hit me or scold me, and I won’t say a word.”

Seeing Adubi’s submissive attitude, Salamander relented.

Just then, Havide arrived.

Salamander immediately rose and greeted him with a smile. The two embraced and exchanged pleasantries before Salamander led Havide into the room.

Salamander said, “Congratulations, my King. You’re much luckier than I am; you’re already on the throne. I don’t know how many years I’ll have to wait. By the time I ascend, I’ll probably be ancient.”

Havide chuckled. “Isn’t it a good thing for your father to live longer? I don’t even have the chance to speak to my father anymore. Cherish what you have; what you despise is something I can never have again.”

Salamander said with a hint of distaste, “Enough, no need to flaunt it. Tell me, what’s going on? Our people spent $3.5 billion to buy those islands; how did you lose them?”

Havide quickly explained, “Don’t misunderstand, and don’t accuse me unfairly. Adubi lost those three islands to Mr. Yang from Dragon Country in a dog race; it had nothing to do with me.”

Salamander asked, “Didn’t that No. 8 Abbas never lose to any dog except his brother? Why did he suddenly fail?”

Havide frowned. “Salamander, to be honest, I’m also puzzled. No. 8 Abbas has only ever lost to his brother, No. 5 Abbani. He performed well in the first half of the race, showing great momentum. But in the second half, Abbas suddenly faltered, and a seemingly weak and slender dog kept overtaking its competitors and finished first. I had people check both Abbas and that slender dog for drugs or other abnormalities, but the results were negative. So, I still don’t understand what happened.”

Adubi chimed in, “I’ve done business with people from Dragon Country, and I’ve heard that some of them practice magic. Could someone have used magic on the dog? Since magic is beyond the scope of science, we wouldn’t be able to detect anything.”

Salamander glared at Adubi. “Why don’t you say God possessed that slender dog? How dare you say such outrageous things? Are you trying to excuse yourself?”

Adubi stammered, “No, no, I’ve really heard that there’s magic in Dragon Country; they call it Taoism.”

Salamander snapped, “Shut up and get out!”

Adubi nodded quickly and scurried out of the room in fear.

Havide smiled and said, “Calm down, let’s talk this through. It’s already lost; getting angry won’t help. Are you here to race camels with him?”

Salamander nodded.

Havide stood up. “Let’s go; I’ll take you to see him. He’s on the floor above. You two can chat first.”

Salamander followed Havide upstairs to Yang Chen’s room.

Yang Chen and Maya welcomed Havide and Salamander inside. Salamander’s bodyguards tried to enter, but the Star Defense agents stopped them.

Havide said with a smile, “We’re just talking; the bodyguards don’t need to come in.”

Salamander hesitated, then nodded, signaling his bodyguards to wait outside.

Havide introduced Salamander to Yang Chen, and they shook hands and exchanged greetings.

Salamander said with a smile, “I heard that Mr. Yang is skilled at racing dogs, horses, and camels. I came specifically to compete with you.”

Yang Chen laughed. “Who’s spreading rumors? I’ve never raced horses or camels; I only did a dog race. But if Your Highness wants to race camels, I’m game. I’m here to have fun, and I definitely want to enjoy myself.”

Salamander was delighted. He had brought his guaranteed-winning camel. If Yang Chen dared to play, he was confident of victory.

Yang Chen still had an [Exchange Card] available, enough for at least one camel race, so he had to seize this opportunity and make a final, decisive bet, preventing Salamander from seeking a rematch.

Salamander said, “That’s perfect; I’m also here to have fun. Let’s race camels tomorrow at nine in the morning. Mr. Yang can choose a camel now.”

Yang Chen nodded. “Okay. What are the stakes?”

Salamander replied, “Since it’s a competition, there must be a winner and a loser, and the winner deserves a reward. How about this: let’s keep it small. If I win, Mr. Yang gives up Adubi’s three islands. If you win, I’ll give you $3 billion USD. Is that acceptable?”

The local tycoons here were all rich, and Salamander, as Crown Prince, could easily afford $3 billion USD. But Yang Chen wanted to ensure there was no second game, as he would have no more skill cards available.

If they were going to play, he would make Salamander lose so badly that he wouldn’t dare to ask for a rematch.

So, Yang Chen said with a smile, “Playing with Your Highness, how can we make such a small bet? How about this: the loser gives the winner $10 billion USD, and those three islands are valued at $3 billion USD. If I win, you give me $10 billion USD. If you win, I can give you $10 billion USD, or I can give you $7 billion USD plus those three islands; you can choose. How about it?”

Even a wealthy sheikh would feel the sting of a $10 billion USD loss.

Yang Chen’s sudden increase in the stakes startled Salamander.

Money was one thing, but he was also curious about the source of Yang Chen’s confidence and courage to raise the bet so high.

Salamander said, “It seems Mr. Yang is very confident in his judgment, daring to bet $10 billion USD.”

Yang Chen chuckled. “I don’t have much else, but I have a lot of money, especially cash in overseas accounts that I have no way to spend. If Your Highness can win $10 billion USD from me, it would be a great help, alleviating my problem of having too much money.”

Was this really happening?

They were used to flaunting their wealth, but they had never encountered someone who dared to flaunt their wealth in front of them.

Yang Chen’s words had seriously damaged Salamander’s pride, especially the disrespect shown to his headdress.

Salamander immediately retorted, “Okay! Since Mr. Yang wants to play, I’ll definitely oblige. $10 billion USD it is. Mr. Yang doesn’t lack money, and neither do I. Let’s help each other solve the problem of having too much money.”

When one king of pretense meets another, neither is willing to back down.

Havide laughed. “This is the highest single bet I’ve ever witnessed; I must be there to see it. Mr. Yang, I’ll take you to choose a camel this afternoon. After all, it’s a $10 billion USD bet; you must prepare well.”

Salamander believed his prized camel was unbeatable, and no matter which camel Yang Chen chose, he was destined to lose, so he wasn’t worried about Havide helping Yang Chen.

Yang Chen nodded with a smile. “No need to trouble yourself; I’ll just pick a camel from the competition site tomorrow.”

Salamander said, “I feel I must remind Mr. Yang that my camel is called Invincible War God. As its name suggests, it has never lost. For the sake of fairness, Mr. Yang should choose a camel to train with. Randomly picking a camel from the competition site won’t be a match for my Invincible War God. Let’s be clear: if you lose, you can’t claim it’s because the camel wasn’t good enough.”

Yang Chen replied, “Invincible War God? I can beat your camel by randomly picking one. Just because you’re the Crown Prince, others might let you win, but do you really think your camel is invincible? Haha… No way, you don’t actually believe that, do you?”

Salamander suddenly felt less confident. Others might be deliberately losing because they feared his status.

But on closer inspection, that didn’t make sense. People might consider relationships, but camels didn’t understand such things. Even if someone wanted to lose, they couldn’t control the camel’s actions.

Therefore, Salamander concluded that the Invincible War God was truly invincible because of its superior strength, not because others were throwing the race.

Salamander said with a smile, “Whatever Mr. Yang says; let’s see what happens. I won’t disturb you any longer. See you at the stadium tomorrow.”

Yang Chen nodded and saw Havide and Salamander off.

After they left, Maya quickly cautioned, “Brother Chen, I’ve heard of Salamander’s Invincible War God. I’ve seen it race before. It’s much better than other camels. We haven’t found a camel in China that can match it. If you pick one at the competition site, you won’t find one that can compete; it’s a guaranteed loss!”

Yang Chen said, “Not necessarily. Remember that dog? Everyone thought it was just a slender dog, and no one wanted to bet on it. What happened? I entered it in the race, and it beat the favored Abbas. It’s not that there aren’t good camels, but that people lack the vision to find them. Watch; I’ll beat Salamander tomorrow.”

Maya nodded with a smile. “I believe in Brother Chen’s judgment. You’ll find a camel that can defeat the Invincible War God. Let’s go shopping.”

Yang Chen nodded and took Maya out.

They went to a gold jewelry store, where Yang Chen planned to buy some jewelry for Maya.

As they were browsing, a few young men entered. A countdown timer of two to three minutes appeared above their heads.

Yang Chen immediately became alert. These men were going to die here, so what was about to happen?

Yang Chen quickly signaled his bodyguards to move closer. As they approached, the young men suddenly pulled out knives and charged towards Yang Chen and Maya.

The sudden attack terrified Maya. Fortunately, Yang Chen pushed her aside and jumped out of the way.

The bodyguards immediately rushed forward, shielding Yang Chen from the attackers, and a melee ensued.