SWDnovel Chapter 786 - 504: Six Billion, All-In! (Part 2)
Chapter 786 - 504: Six Billion, All-In! (Part 2)
Zhou Bin and Li Maocai exchanged a glance. The former opened his mouth, then braced himself and said, "Alright, alright, so Mr. Li, about joining the Ugly Group...""Joining the Ugly Group?"
Li Xiang turned around, his face showing undisguised mockery, "Does it even matter to discuss this now?"
He walked up to them, looking down from above, "You’ve lost your shares, lost your position in Guanghui. The only thing you can do now is shut up and stop making trouble for me."
"We’ll talk about the rest later!"
These words were utterly ruthless. Zhou Bin’s face flushed red instantly, wanting to argue, but Li Maocai gripped his arm tightly under the table.
Li Maocai squeezed out a smile uglier than crying, "Mr. Li’s right in educating us, we’ll leave now, we’ll leave."
The two of them practically fled.
Outside the hotel, Zhou Bin finally couldn’t suppress his anger anymore. He kicked a concrete barrier in the parking lot, cursing, "Damn bastard! Cross the river and demolish the bridge!"
"When he was begging us for help, he was like a grandson! Now he acts like he doesn’t know us!"
Li Maocai was a bit calmer, but his face was equally gloomy.
He adjusted his tie, speaking in a sinister tone, "There’s no point talking about it now. We got played. Qi Yun and Liu Guangxin both view us as traitors; we’re screwed inside and out."
"Then what do we do now?" Zhou Bin panted, eyes red, "Just accept it?"
"Accept?"
Li Maocai let out a cold laugh, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes, "Ten billion just stole the work of so many years, there’s no way I’m swallowing this quietly!"
"We’ll discuss it again later!"
The two got in the car and left.
Though they had already learned a lesson once, the two were still not vigilant enough. They did not notice that a business car behind them had quietly followed since they left Guanghui Group...
...
In the evening, Qi Yun returned home early and busied himself in the kitchen.
Crucian carp soup simmered in the pot, filling the kitchen with a fragrant aroma.
Zhao Qing leaned against the door, watching his focused profile, a tender smile playing on her lips.
Zhao Qing was nearly 18 weeks pregnant, with a noticeable belly. Qi Yun wouldn’t let her do any work now, and specifically hired two experienced nannies to care for her at home.
"The soup’s almost ready, go have a seat and wait." Qi Yun turned his head to smile at her, "Today’s fish is really fresh, Liu Meng just caught it during the day and brought it over."
Zhao Qing didn’t move. Instead, she took a couple of steps closer, gently wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, resting her profile against his back.
"What’s wrong?" Qi Yun asked softly.
Zhao Qing shook her head without saying a word.
Qi Yun put down the spoon, turned around, cupping her face in his hands, and kissed her forehead.
"Once this busy period is over, I’ll be at home every day with you guys."
At this moment, the little girl came running over, wrapping her arms around Qi Yun’s leg, looking up and asking, "Daddy! The fish soup smells so good! Can we eat now? I’m hungry."
"Hungry?" Qi Yun looked down at his daughter’s bright eyes and picked her up, "Then let’s eat right away! Today daddy made fish soup, guaranteed Nuannuan will have two big bowls!"
The little girl happily hugged his neck, giggling.
During the time they lived in Wang’s rental house, money was tight. Every time Qi Yun visited his daughter, he wanted to give her some nourishment. He made fish soup and boiled prawns, so Nuannuan also liked fish soup.
The family enjoyed a warm dinner and strolled in the garden by the door.
Nuannuan held Zhao Qing’s hand, gently touching her belly, innocently asking, "Sister Qing, when will little brother or little sister come out to play with me?"
Zhao Qing and Qi Yun exchanged a smile. She patted the little girl’s head and gently said, "You still have to wait a while. Once Nuannuan gets a bit older, the little baby will almost be ready to come out."
Nuannuan nodded as if she understood, then leaned closer to Zhao Qing’s belly and said softly, "Little baby, hurry up! Sister is waiting for you."
These childish words gently touched the softest part of Qi Yun’s heart, perhaps this is the meaning behind his efforts.
....
Two days later, a mysterious document appeared simultaneously on the desks of the ministers of finance and justice of the U.S.
At the same time, news about suspicious fund exchanges between a finance company under the Ugly Group and Chen Xiaozhi’s fraud company in Cambodia began circulating within several influential international financial media outlets.
Various television stations raced to report this major news.
Ugly Group’s international influence might not compare to giants like Amazon or Apple, but it is still within the top five in Huaxia by market value, so it surely drew attention, leading to widespread international focus on the matter.
The U.S. Department of Justice also promptly announced it would investigate the Ugly Group’s operations in the U.S.
Domestically, fueled by financial power, numerous leading self-media outlets quietly began following the matter.
Their criticism wasn’t as direct as foreign media, and their wording was more cautious, without mentioning names, but everyone knew where their intent aimed.
All major internet platforms were filled with eye-catching titles like "Unveiling the Grey Capital Chain behind Fintech Companies" and "The Hidden Hand Behind Cambodian Scams."
These contents acted like catalysts, quickly sparking a chain reaction on the internet, with a flood of curious onlookers joining in to discuss and spread the news.
Moreover, the focus unknowingly shifted.
Initially, the expose targeted the loan company under the Ugly Group, but people ignored this point and directly started attacking the Ugly Group.
Recently, Cambodia had already been under the spotlight, and with the platform’s long-standing exploitation of couriers and merchants, public resentment had accumulated.
As Qi Yun predicted, as soon as the rumors broke out, they were like sparks falling into a pile of dry wood, instantly igniting the long-repressed public outrage.
Countless former delivery riders, merchants crushed by high commissions, and even regular users started sharing their experiences, condemning the Ugly Group.
Public opinion was thoroughly ignited.
Working on two fronts, with all attacks unleashed.
Qi Yun wanted to apply maximum pressure on the opponent in the shortest possible time.
Within just a few hours, this overwhelming public sentiment quickly spread to social news, Weibo hot searches, short video platforms, creating a wave of public opinion against the Ugly Group sweeping across the entire internet.
The effect even exceeded Qi Yun’s expectations; without much effort, everyone spontaneously began to besiege the Ugly Group.
Meanwhile, the Ugly Group certainly wasn’t sitting idle.
At this moment, in a conference room at the headquarters of the Ugly Group in Beijing, Zhang Xing, who had received the news, hastily returned to oversee the situation.
Seated at the head, he gloomily scanned everyone along both sides, "Can someone tell me what exactly happened? Why have we suddenly become public enemies?!"
On his left, Rong Jun’s eyes flickered before he spoke righteously, "There must be someone behind this stirring things up; it’s a meticulously planned conspiracy aiming to drag us through the mud, trying to ruin us!"
Zhang Xing turned his head, giving him a deep look.
His expression seemed to say, "How do you even have the nerve to say such things? Aren’t all these troubles your doing?"
Having reached his current position after navigating countless tumultuous internet battles, his instincts were razor-sharp; of course, he could see that someone was manipulating behind the scenes.
"The PR department is to initiate the emergency plan immediately, make every effort to minimize the impact of public opinion!"
"The legal department must fully follow up, issue legal warnings to all defaming reports and those spreading maliciously!"
"Identify those accounts and IPs that are leading the charge! Sue them directly! Make an example out of them to deter others!"
Amongst these companies, the department with the most employees is invariably the legal and PR departments.
Under Zhang Xing’s command, a team of over a thousand people instantly began to operate, sending out sternly-worded legal cease-and-desists like snowflakes everywhere.
However, once the flood of public opinion is unleashed, how could a few legal threats stop it?