After hanging up the phone, Kobayashi Haruo regained his consciousness.
This time, Zhao Yuan didn't use another Enchanting Talisman on him.
The money had been donated. Naturally, he should save the Enchanting Talismans if he could. Why be wasteful?
'Good thing Kobayashi Haruo doesn't know about this,' Zhao Yuan thought. 'Otherwise, he'd definitely roar at me resentfully, "So now you know how to be frugal? Why didn't you know that just now? Was it fun throwing one Enchanting Talisman after another at me? Was it a good time?"'
And knowing Zhao Yuan's personality, he would have definitely replied, "You're right. It was indeed very interesting and a lot of fun!"
And then, Kobayashi Haruo would have been furious enough to die…
Right now, having regained his consciousness, Kobayashi Haruo's mind was in turmoil. This was a side effect of being repeatedly hypnotized by the Enchanting Talismans. The events that had just occurred had become fragmented memories in his mind. Although none were missing, they were a jumbled mess, and it would be difficult to sort them out anytime soon. As a result, he was temporarily confused about what had just happened.
Chairman Cui strode up to him, grabbed his hand, and said with a serious expression, "Mr. Kobayashi, although I despise your character and the despicable tricks you used during the challenge, I must, on behalf of the children in the impoverished mountain regions, thank you for donating your entire life savings to Project Hope! We Chinese know how to separate gratitude from grievances!"
"What a great line—'separate gratitude from grievances'!"
"Hahaha, why do I feel like Chairman Cui's words are a bit of a slap in the face?"
"I agree! Kobayashi Haruo obviously only donated the money because he was coerced by Great God, and his expression was one of pure agony when he did it. Now Chairman Cui is thanking him for it. Isn't that just rubbing salt in the wound!"
"I never would have thought! Chairman Cui looks so honest, but he has such a mischievous dark side. It's just too adorable!"
In the domestic online stream, the bullet comments were jubilant.
But Kobayashi Haruo, the man at the center of it all, was completely dumbfounded. "Donation? What donation? I said I would never donate my savings to that whatever-it's-called Project Hope! You can all just forget about it! If you dare to detain me and not let me leave, I'll call the police!"
Now, it was Chairman Cui's turn to be dumbfounded. "But Mr. Kobayashi, you clearly already donated the money just now."
"Donated? When did I donate?" Kobayashi Haruo froze, stunned. The memory of donating the money immediately surfaced in his mind, and his face instantly turned ashen. He frantically pulled out his phone, logged into his online bank, and checked his account balance. When he saw the single digit '0', he nearly went insane, screaming hysterically, "How could this be? Where's my money? My decades of savings are all gone just like that? Not a goddamn cent left?"
Zhao Yuan rubbed his nose, feeling a little embarrassed.
'Maybe I really went a bit too far just now,' he thought. 'I didn't even leave him the numbers after the decimal point. I should have left Kobayashi Haruo a few cents, just as a little souvenir.'
Kobayashi Haruo's contradictory reactions left people baffled.
"What's up with this guy? When the bank called earlier, he sounded so righteous. How did he turn into this mess in the blink of an eye?"
"Isn't it so? His reactions before and after are like two different people!"
"Could it be that the donation just now wasn't Kobayashi Haruo's own will, but that he was hypnotized by Great God?" someone blurted out, hitting upon the truth.
However, not only did no one believe this person's words, they also drew a wave of ridicule.
"Don't be ridiculous. Hypnosis? You think this is a movie?"
"As someone who has studied hypnosis, I can tell you definitively that hypnosis can't achieve this kind of effect!"
"The way I see it, this isn't hypnosis at all. Kobayashi Haruo just regrets it!"
At the scene, after his roaring fit, Kobayashi Haruo quickly found his bank's phone number and was about to call them, intending to stop the transfer and get their help in recovering the money.
Zhao Yuan had been prepared for this. He immediately activated another Enchanting Talisman and commanded, "You are not to try and recover the money you donated to Project Hope!"
This time, Zhao Yuan didn't just hypnotize Kobayashi Haruo; he placed a 'lock' on his mind. With this lock in place, whenever Kobayashi Haruo thought about recovering the money in the future, the lock would activate, hypnotizing him again and forcing him to abandon the idea.
After some thought, Zhao Yuan felt that making Kobayashi Haruo lose his entire fortune wasn't quite satisfying enough. So, with a wicked grin, he added, "Also, may you be forever impotent from this day forward!"
As soon as he said this, it immediately drew waves of roaring laughter.
"Hahaha, Great God is so mischievous!"
"'May you be forever impotent?' This is the first time I've ever seen such a vicious blessing! Is this really a blessing and not a Curse? I'm not very educated, so don't you dare lie to me!"
"As long as you're impotent, it'll be a sunny day?"
A few seconds later, the Enchanting Talisman wore off. After regaining his consciousness, Kobayashi Haruo, as expected, didn't mention recovering the donation again.
"Alright, you can let him go," Zhao Yuan said to the members of the Jing City Acupuncture Association who were blocking the way.
They were obedient and immediately cleared a path.
Zhao Yuan turned and looked at Kobayashi Haruo. "You can get lost now!"
Kobayashi Haruo's expression was incredibly ugly, but he didn't dare get angry with Zhao Yuan. By now, he had recalled the series of strange, uncontrolled behaviors from before. Although he didn't know why he had acted that way, he was certain it had something to do with Zhao Yuan!
The thought that this guy could control his body and make him do things against his own will sent a chill down Kobayashi Haruo's spine. How could he dare to talk back or get angry at Zhao Yuan? He couldn't wait to leave and get as far away as possible.
So, he turned on his heel and started to walk away.
"Wait!" Zhao Yuan called out to him again.
Kobayashi Haruo's whole body trembled. His legs shook with fear. He turned around, on the verge of tears. "What more do you want?" 'Is this ever going to end?' he wanted to roar. 'Is there no justice in this world? You can't just bully someone like this!'
Zhao Yuan smiled. "Don't be scared. I'm just reminding you to remember what you promised. If you dare to go back on your word, I'll come looking for you in East Japan, you know!"
To Kobayashi Haruo's eyes, this smile was more terrifying than a Demon's sneer. He stammered, "Don't worry. I will absolutely not go back on what I promised."
Zhao Yuan nodded. "Fine. Roll!"
Kobayashi Haruo quickly turned, but after just one step, Zhao Yuan shouted at him again, "I said, 'Roll'! Are you rolling?"
"You!" Kobayashi Haruo was furious.
"What, you got a problem with that?" Zhao Yuan asked coldly, activating the White Tiger Form. An icy, terrifying aura of a savage beast enveloped Kobayashi Haruo.
When had Kobayashi Haruo ever experienced such an aura? He was instantly scared witless, his face drained of all color. Not daring to object any further, he obediently got down on the ground and rolled all the way out of the Jing City Acupuncture Association.
And this very scene was completely recorded by the reporters and online streamers!
Without a doubt, when these recordings were broadcast, Kobayashi Haruo's reputation would be utterly ruined!