The coffee shop was very quiet at this moment. A few people were still sitting in the corner, with no one else within several meters around them.
Mike had chosen this coffee shop with certain considerations. He knew the business there had never been great, and it wasn't even peak hours yet.
Max became much more silent after Cao Baming arrived, not uttering a word from beginning to end, but staring intently at Wu Xue.
Cao Baming had no intention of being polite. Seeing that Max ignored his greeting, he directly reached out and slapped Max across the face.
This time, Max didn't react at all. Cao Baming's speed was several times faster than Mike's. Even though Max was very agile, this slap landed hard on his face.
Mike watched from the side, his expression struggling to suppress a smile, but inwardly he was roaring with laughter.
Let's see how this guy would act arrogant in front of Cao Baming. He would definitely not end up well.
After delivering the slap, Cao Baming placed his hand back on the table.
Max was initially astonished, but quickly shifted his gaze from Wu Xue to Cao Baming.
"Hello, I'm Cao Baming," Cao Baming repeated patiently with a smile.
Max knew very well that if he didn't respond quickly, another slap might come in two seconds. He couldn't do anything to Cao Baming.
"I'm Max. We've met, so I don't think much introduction is needed."
Cao Baming became interested, looking at the man before him, a question arising in his mind.
"Tell me, why are you hiding your identity?"
Max was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Cao Baming to completely ignore the matters of the phone and the team transfer, and instead ask such an unrelated question.
"I haven't intentionally hidden anything. I've said what I needed to say. As for having a company, I didn't think it was worth mentioning. After all, a company worth less than a hundred million is probably small potatoes in your eyes."
"That's true."
"Then where are you from? Your football skills seem pretty good. Why didn't you join a professional team before?"
"I'm a local..."
Slap! Another slap landed directly on Max's face, before he could even finish speaking.
"Don't try to lie to me."
Cao Baming actually knew his basic situation well before he arrived. The conversation was just for his amusement.
Although Max was furious, he was powerless and had no choice but to endure it.
After some exchange, Cao Baming finally brought up the phone.
"Why did you steal my phone? You only have one chance to answer."
At this, Max immediately denied it.
"I didn't steal your phone..."
Mike, upon hearing this, quickly slammed the table and stood up.
"He didn't say that earlier. When he was talking to me, he was so smug, as if he wanted to brag to the whole world that he did it!"
Cao Baming found this interesting.
Max continued to explain, "I haven't finished speaking yet. I didn't steal the phone. It just happened to fall into my hands. Anyway, I couldn't do anything with it, so I returned it!"
"Does that even sound like a person talking?" Mike was furious and wanted to teach him a lesson himself.
"He's afraid you'll hit him, so he's afraid to speak now!"
Max, however, put on an innocent look.
"Don't worry, I'm not interested in anything inside the phone and didn't touch it at all, if that's what you're worried about."
"As for more details, I don't think I need to disclose them."
As he spoke, Max's haughty expression reappeared.
Come to think of it, what he said was actually true. Just before they arrived, the technical team had sent the final results. After thoroughly investigating from all angles, the phone had only been turned on and off once each, with no other usage history.
Even the most basic battery usage records had been checked.
However, Cao Baming could not completely believe such a suspicious situation.
"You're saying you just happened to pick it up?"
"Yes."
Max nodded.
Slap! Another slap.
Cao Baming appeared very relaxed. In fact, he was gradually beginning to enjoy the feeling of hitting him.
If Max had said something useful, it would have been disappointing.
Max's lips were sealed. No matter how much Cao Baming hit him, he would not confess, nor would he even admit that he had any intention of targeting Cao Baming before.
However, such behavior only proved that this person was indeed problematic.
...
An hour later, Cao Baming and Wu Xue walked out of the coffee shop hand in hand, followed by Mike and the coffee shop owner, who were discussing something as they walked.
Two minutes later, another person walked out of the coffee shop. His face was swollen beyond recognition, and his legs appeared to be broken. He could only lean on things to move forward with great difficulty.
"With him looking like that, he won't be able to play football even if he joins Manchester United. I'm quite sure his left leg is fractured."
Cao Baming said to Wu Xue with a smile.
Although Wu Xue was a soft-hearted woman, she felt no pity for Max whatsoever. The man deserved to suffer all of this.
Throughout the entire evening, Max had barely said a few words and hadn't retaliated. He had only uttered useless things and stared intently at Cao Baming with his dead fish eyes.
It was indeed strange to think about, but as things stood, nothing had been found out.
Without sufficient evidence and with him refusing to confess, the matter had to be temporarily shelved.
Glancing back at Max limping and barely supporting himself, Mike was also extremely happy.
He had just bribed the shop owner out of his own pocket, paid for the damaged equipment, and asked him not to call the police. This money was enough for him to earn for a month of steady work.
Although nothing could be uncovered, fortunately, no problems were found. Both the Chinese companies, their plans, as well as bank accounts and stocks, were all fine.
Now, it was time to put it behind him.
Returning home, to compensate for today's regrets, Cao Baming opened the options trading software and made a big move using his time perception ability.
He thought that perhaps when he became even richer or his time perception ability grew stronger, sooner or later, he would be able to easily bring down the economy of a company, or even a country, with ease.
These were not mere pipe dreams; they were the reality before his eyes.