C2 He Was Forced into a Dead End(2)

Five minutes later, atop the Phoenix Building, a young man found himself on the precipice.

Behind him, on an adjacent rooftop, several security guards were visibly agitated.

"Kid, don't do anything rash..."

"Pay me what I'm owed, or I'll ensure Phoenix Real Estate becomes infamous!" Chiang Le brandished his debt claim sign, his eyes resolute.

The security guards were at a loss.

Chiang Le stood on the rooftop's edge, caught in a bind.

Jumping was out of the question. He had a sister who depended on him, a girlfriend who adored him, and a bright future ahead. He wasn't foolish enough to throw it all away.

But he needed to stand his ground!

I refuse to believe that Phoenix Real Estate, with its renowned name, wouldn't value its reputation. They wouldn't risk a public relations disaster over a few thousand yuan!

Chiang Le remained on the rooftop's brink as the sun blazed and the wind roared.

Below, a crowd had gathered, eagerly whipping out their phones to capture the scene.

Chiang Le awaited a response from Yang Aoxue.

But Yang Aoxue remained silent.

Half an hour ticked by.

The security guards transitioned from initial tension to boredom, eventually retreating to a shaded area to smoke.

"Kid, come on back. Your life is precious."

Chiang Le was in a tough spot, opting for silence.

Meanwhile, the spectators had already shared Chiang Le's plight online, anticipating the moment he might leap.

Impatience grew below: "Hey, are you jumping or not?"

Despair engulfed Chiang Le as he remembered the grueling work, his sister's longing for tuition, and his girlfriend's yearning gaze at a handbag she couldn't afford. His blood boiled.

"Don't push me—I might just do it!" Chiang Le gritted his teeth in defiance.

"Don't jump," the security guards responded half-heartedly.

"Get on with it!" heckled some from the crowd.

In that moment, stepping down from the ledge seemed like the ultimate humiliation. If he backed down now, Yang Aoxue and her brother would only grow bolder.

Chiang Le's mind was a battleground where reason and madness clashed incessantly. To jump or not to jump—that was the question tormenting him!

As Chiang Le grappled with his decision, videos concerning him started spreading across the internet.

Some expressed their concern with heavy sighs, while others reveled in his potential downfall. The reactions varied widely.

Meanwhile, in a control room plastered with surveillance monitors, dozens of elite hackers were frantically at work. A piercing alarm set the entire room abuzz.

"Target locked... Target locked..."

"Initiating facial recognition, 99% similarity confirmed..."

"A cinnabar mole beneath the neck, target confirmed."

The hackers erupted in excitement, hastily making a call to the phone of the enigmatic and influential boss.

After briefing him on the situation, they exchanged high-fives, eagerly anticipating the confirmation of their findings.

These were the world's most formidable hackers, hired a week prior by a shadowy figure to descend upon Jiang City in search of an enigmatic young man.

The urgency of the mission was palpable, and given the boss's desperate response, the individual they sought was undoubtedly of significant importance to him.

Their relentless efforts over the past week had finally unearthed a lead on their target, much to the hackers' thrill.

In the grandest villa of Jiang City's Half Mountain Villa complex, a middle-aged man with the air of a butler rushed forward, presenting a tablet to a dignified elderly gentleman.

The old man, his hair a snowy white, peered through cloudy eyes at the screen, his demeanor instantly electrified, his voice filled with unwavering certainty: "That's him. Where is he now? Take me to him at once."

"He's on the rooftop of the Phoenix Building, on the verge of jumping," the butler reported, his voice laced with concern.

"We must stop him!" the old man urged, his anxiety palpable. "There's no time—get the helicopter ready."

The butler nodded, springing into action. Within a minute, the old man was on the villa's helipad, the pilot poised for departure.

Climbing aboard the helicopter, the old man was the picture of urgency, his features etched with worry. "Full throttle," he instructed briskly, "Get us to the Phoenix Building as fast as possible."

"Right away, Elder Xu!" the pilot responded, saluting with the utmost respect.

Like a falcon on the hunt, the helicopter sliced through the sky, racing toward the Phoenix Building.

Atop the Phoenix Building, Chiang Le perched on the railing, his gaze dark and stormy, while security guards chuckled and dealt poker cards nearby.

Below, the crowd of onlookers grew restless and began to thin out.

"Tell Director Yang this: No salary, no waiting—I'll jump in three minutes!"

Chiang Le whipped out his phone and set a grim countdown.

The security team abandoned their game and relayed the situation to Director Yang via walkie-talkie.

Through the static, Yang Aoxue's voice cut in, icy and detached, "No negotiation. He jumps or he doesn't—that's his choice."

Despair gripped Chiang Le, a devil clawing at his insides, eager to break free.

Time marched on, relentless.

Ten seconds to countdown's end.

Nine... Eight... Seven...

After an internal struggle as intense as that between a Celestial Man and a mortal, Chiang Le exhaled in resignation.

He had been bested.

Against these siblings, who trampled on human decency and the law without a shred of shame, Chiang Le's defeat was absolute.

As hopelessness consumed him, a helicopter appeared in the distance.

It circled the skyscraper before landing deliberately on the side farthest from Chiang Le.

The door swung open, and an old man, Elder Xu, stumbled out, his pale hair whipped into disarray by the chopper's blades.

A bodyguard rushed to assist him, followed by a woman clutching a briefcase.

"This won't do, this won't do!" Elder Xu halted three meters from Chiang Le, fixing him with a piercing gaze. "Please... don't do anything rash."

Chiang Le froze. Was there a chance for a turnaround?

"All I want is my salary."

"Agreed." Elder Xu consented without a moment's pause.

"I've put in 29 days, plus 17 hours of overtime—that's 9,120 yuan, not a yuan less!"

"9,000 yuan?" Elder Xu regarded Chiang Le with a profound, sorrowful chuckle. "You're oblivious to your own potential. If you only knew, the riches and influence of this world could be yours for the taking! Anything you desire could be within your grasp!"

Chiang Le cast a skeptical glance at the old man and, to his surprise, noticed that the old man's eyes were rimmed with red.

A warmth spread through Chiang Le's heart. After a brief hesitation, he descended from the low wall of the rooftop and approached the old man.

The old man gazed at Chiang Le, shaking and shivering, scrutinizing his face intently. Before he knew it, tears were streaming down his cheeks.

Could it be...? The thought was almost too bizarre to entertain. Was this old man, the father he'd lost touch with so many years ago, some kind of big shot? After all this time, had he finally found me? The wild idea flickered through Chiang Le's mind.

No sooner had the thought surfaced than the old man, already with a face wet with tears, collapsed to his knees before Chiang Le, weeping inconsolably.

"I've finally found you. Thank goodness I never gave up," the old man clutched at Chiang Le's legs, looking up through his tears, his voice thick with emotion. "Forgive me, godfather. Your unworthy son, Xu Fu, is so sorry. You've endured so much these years!"