Chapter 48 - 18 Extortion_3

After sending that text message, there was a brief silence on the phone. But Zhou Qingfeng knew he had hit a nerve. The mother was Gray Shark’s only weakness. As long as he grasped this point, that guy would become much more compliant. A few minutes later, the phone vibrated again. It was another call from an unknown number. Zhou Qingfeng answered the call. This time, it wasn’t the cold electronic voice but a stammering, clearly nervous voice: "Y-you... who are you? How... do you... know... me?" Listening to the nervous and flustered voice on the other end, Zhou Qingfeng knew that, for now, he had the upper hand in this game. However, he didn’t let his guard down. Porter was a cunning person, never willing to be controlled by others. Any slight mistake and he might retaliate. "Someone called to blackmail me. I recorded it." Zhou Qingfeng explained his predicament, "The person also sent me a video link as evidence to threaten me. I want you to help me find that guy." There was a moment of silence on the other end of the call, with only the sound of light breathing. Zhou Qingfeng continued, "You surely know who I am, and have some understanding of my background. I also know you won’t be honest and will definitely investigate further, maybe even try to eliminate me." Saying this, he deliberately paused, then his tone turned cold, "I must remind you, don’t force me to send your address to your enemies." Immediately, Zhou Qingfeng dropped several names, each one like a heavy hammer, pounding Porter’s heart. These names included politicians exposed by Gray Shark, drug dealers who suffered great losses because of him, and even neighbors he had messed with. These were the names Gray Shark had told Zhou Qingfeng personally when they were both friends and enemies during the apocalypse, when they would talk about anything. However, now these names spoken from Zhou Qingfeng’s mouth sent a chill down Gray Shark’s spine as he hid in his basement. He looked around, the various LED-lit electronic devices seemed to mock his helplessness, as if ghosts were secretly watching him. He even suspected someone had installed surveillance in his home, otherwise how could Zhou Qingfeng know his every move so well? Zhou Qingfeng didn’t give him much time to think and sent over the recording and video link directly. Gray Shark spent a minute skimming through it and instantly understood the whole story—it was this kid who did the "bar lottery" case. His eyes scanned across the large screen in the basement, showing all the case information from internet searches, including details about Raul and Toto and their causes of death. One was strangled, the other stabbed; it must have been done by a formidable character. Gray Shark took a deep breath and replied to Zhou Qingfeng, "We can be friends. I’ll help you investigate, just don’t touch my family." Hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng let out a light chuckle, "You should know, in a few days I’ll have assets worth over a billion US dollars. The resources I can mobilize will greatly increase. So please, don’t move out of the apartment on Sunset Avenue. If you do, I’ll consider it as you trying to break our mutual understanding." Gray Shark was angry and frustrated, but also sweating in fear. He knew he was cornered with no choice. And Zhou Qingfeng, standing high above, looked down at him coldly. After ending the call, Zhou Qingfeng sent a message to Kelly, asking her to keep an eye on a paralyzed patient living in an apartment on Sunset Avenue in the Kendall district of Miami. It wasn’t hard to do, just hire a private detective to pay some attention, not costing much. But it had to be done, as verbal threats couldn’t intimidate that guy. Just as Zhou Qingfeng quietly waited for his unknown opponent to make the next move, Selena called him, crying emotionally: "Victor, where are you? My dad was arrested by the FBI. Can you come back? I’m really scared."