Chapter 421: Purple Sandalwood Peace Buddha

"What? We can't make a reservation at the hotel today?"

Several figures stood gathered at the entrance of a grand and luxurious hotel, their brows furrowed in concern.

"Yes, I apologize, but our Red Dust Hotel is not open to the public today," a figure who appeared to be a supervisor replied calmly from the doorway.

Behind him, over a dozen people were busily decorating the hotel's exterior, giving the impression that they were rushing to completely refurbish the place.

"You've laid out colorful banners and red carpets, and you're telling me you're not open to the public??"

"Our hotel has special guests today, so we've booked the entire venue."

Upon hearing the words "special guests," some of them seemed to realize something, their expressions turning helpless. But others hadn't caught on and, fueled by alcohol, continued:

"I've already arranged to treat my business partners to dinner at the Red Dust Hotel today, and now you're making things very difficult for me... I've been hosting banquets here for years, and I even know your boss. Surely, even with guests, you won't use all the private rooms. Why don't you just do me a favor and add one more table?"

"I'm sorry, that's not possible," the supervisor replied, his tone unyielding.

"Damn it, who do you think you are? Get your boss over here to talk to me..." The man's eyes widened, about to lash out, but the others behind him immediately stopped him.

"Are you crazy? Didn't you read the newspapers?! This hotel was likely booked by the Five Great Financial Groups today to host the Golden Society's special envoy... You want to compete with the Five Great Financial Groups for space? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Upon hearing "Five Great Financial Groups," a cold sweat instantly broke out on the man's back. Much of his drunken bravado vanished, and his face turned deathly pale.

"Oh, let's go... We'll find somewhere else."

The others pulled him, and they immediately began to leave, glancing around nervously as if staying there any longer would put them in danger.

"Slow down... Slow down! Why are you in such a hurry?" The man stumbled, practically being dragged away, and couldn't help but say, "I just won't make a reservation, right? Do we really need to run like this?"

"Are you an idiot?! Don't you know how the Five Great Financial Groups operate?!" a companion whispered, scolding him.

"The Five Great Financial Groups are already in constant, overt and covert competition. Although they are co-hosting this banquet, it's merely an opportunity to curry favor with the special envoy and thereby gain an advantage over the other financial groups. Given this, they'll undoubtedly be involved in the banquet's arrangements well in advance, both to ensure the hotel's setup benefits them and to prevent other groups from interfering.Furthermore, even if the Five Great Financial Groups weren't internally struggling, do you think the second-tier financial groups would let this opportunity pass? They'd love nothing more than for the envoy to fall out with the Five Great Financial Groups, ideally leading to another bloodbath like the one four years ago, as that's their only chance to rise to power.On the surface, this looks like a normal banquet, but in reality, this place has already become the eye of the storm for power struggles among all the main city's financial groups. And you wanted to cause trouble at such a critical moment??"

"Do you know how many people have been secretly watching us since we arrived?"

These words instantly sobered the confused man. He instinctively looked around and realized that the snack shop across the street, the stall next door, the hotel room diagonally opposite, and even an inconspicuous beggar on the street corner were all staring intently at their group.

He paled with fright and practically ran, escaping the hotel's vicinity and disappearing down the street in a flash.

The hotel supervisor watched impassively as the group vanished. Just as he was about to turn and enter the hotel, he saw a young man carrying a ladder rushing over.

The supervisor recognized the man as a hotel employee and immediately frowned slightly, asking:

"What's going on?"

"A light bulb on the convention hall ceiling is broken. I went out to borrow a ladder, and I just got back," the young man said, wiping sweat from his brow.

Seeing this, the supervisor didn't ask further, simply waving his hand. "Hurry up. If it's not set up by 5 PM, you don't need to come to work tomorrow."

"Yes, yes!"

The young man hurried into the hotel, carrying the ladder.

Once inside the lobby, the young man's eyes deepened. He casually scanned his surroundings, committing the entire layout to memory, then walked directly toward the convention hall.

"These guys are really going all out," Chen Ling thought to himself, observing the staff diligently laying out a red carpet nearby.

To seize this opportunity at the banquet, Chen Ling knew he had to personally inspect the venue. After all, even the most skilled director couldn't design an outstanding performance on a stage they had never set foot on.

Although he was playing the role of the powerful and mysterious "special envoy," Chen Ling was keenly aware of his own capabilities. Blind overconfidence and complacency would only lead him into an abyss from which there was no return. As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger."

As Chen Ling familiarized himself with every corner of the venue, carrying the ladder, his gaze fell on the convention hall entrance not far away, and his eyebrows subtly rose.

He saw several figures wearing "Beidou Financial Group" uniforms pushing an object over three meters tall, which they stopped at the convention hall entrance. They seemed to be figuring out how to get it inside. A white cloth covered the object, obscuring what lay beneath.

Chen Ling's mind raced. Wiping sweat from his brow, he walked closer and asked, seemingly casually:

"Need a hand, brothers?"

The Beidou Financial Group staff looked him over, realizing he was a hotel employee, but their vigilance didn't lessen. "No thanks, we can manage."

"That thing is too big; you definitely can't get it through the door vertically," Chen Ling said helpfully. "Try tilting it a bit and moving it diagonally. That should work."

The staff exchanged glances, realizing there was indeed enough space with that method. They combined their efforts to slightly tilt the object beneath the white cloth and laboriously moved it toward the hall. Seeing this, Chen Ling also "enthusiastically" lent a hand.

Once the object was moved to the entrance of the hall, Chen Ling released his grip, feigning exhaustion and wiping abundant sweat from his forehead.

"Thanks, brother," one of the staff members said sincerely, seeing his effort.

"No problem, we're all just working people," Chen Ling replied with a simple smile. "By the way, what is this thing? Why is it so big? I haven't heard about our hotel ordering any large decorations..."

"This wasn't ordered by your hotel; it's a gift from our Beidou Financial Group to the special envoy."

"A gift? What kind of gift?"

The staff member looked around to ensure no one was listening, then leaned in and whispered to Chen Ling, "It's fine if I tell you, just don't spread it around... Inside is a nearly three-meter-tall Zitan Wood Buddha of Peace!"