Dajiang Group Headquarters.
In the conference room, Chu Lintian was reviewing reports from various subsidiaries, but the atmosphere was tense.
Dajiang Group owned over a dozen subsidiaries, and today's meeting was aimed at the management of each one.
Chu Lintian swiped her finger lightly across the tablet in front of her, freezing the quarterly report data of a specific subsidiary.
She looked up, her gaze calm, sweeping over the three people behind her: General Manager Lin Zhiming of Jiangteng Company, alongside his director Jiang Yeqiu and the finance manager.
"The report looks impressive—growth rate and net profit both exceeded expectations."
Just as Lin Zhiming was about to offer a modest smile, Chu Lintian's tone took a sharp turn.
"But I have another set of data here."
She turned the tablet toward them. "The after-sales complaint rate reported by customer service has increased by thirty-seven point five percent year-on-year, General Manager Lin. How do you explain this number?"
The air froze instantly.
The director and finance manager already had faint beads of sweat forming on their foreheads.
Within the company, Chu Lintian fully embodied her role as a formidable woman in power.
As the current chairman of Dajiang Group, Chu Lintian had completely taken control of the company.
Since Lin Mo cleared out those deeply entrenched obstacles, the entire Dajiang Group had become her sole domain.
Now, with a strong alliance with the Jiang family's Tianyun Century Group, momentum was on their side.
But precisely because of this, her scrutiny of details became even more exacting.
Lin Zhiming's heart skipped a beat, though he maintained a composed facade on his face. "Chairman Chu, we've already noted this issue. It's mainly due to the rapid expansion of business—the after-sales team's training hasn't kept up. We've already—"
"I don't want to hear about the process."
Chu Lintian cut him off, tapping her index finger twice on the table. "I only care about results. Next quarter, I want this number down to below fifteen percent."
No room for argument.
"Alright, that's all for today. I have other matters to attend to."
She stood up sharply, her movements brisk. "You're welcome to stay for a meal at headquarters' cafeteria if you have time—the food is decent. Bonuses for companies with good performance will be paid as usual, but I expect results next quarter."
Before her words faded, she was already at the conference room door, the crisp sound of her high heels echoing and fading into the distance.
At that moment, Jiang Yeqiu wanted to raise a hand to stop her, but considering the number of people present, he suppressed the idea immediately.
He quietly slipped the bone ring from his finger and tucked it into his pocket.
A wave of unexplained anger churned in his heart.
Wasn't that guy Zhafu bragging about how powerful this ring was?
He'd said that as long as someone wore it, they could unconsciously influence the wearer's mind, making them feel inexplicable fondness and attention, ultimately capturing that person entirely.
But throughout this entire meeting, let alone fondness, Chu Lintian's gaze at him felt no different from how she looked at cold, lifeless numbers.
Completely useless!
Could it be that the ring's effect was too weak, needing a slow buildup like simmering meat over a low flame?
Jiang Yeqiu even entertained the absurd thought of trying it on someone else—perhaps someone here.
But he quickly dismissed it.
No, he needed to stay steady.
Keeping a low profile was better. Zhafu had also told him that some of the things he'd recently nourished had been taken care of, which meant there was someone more skilled than him in Yangcheng.
That guy had practically become a turtle hiding in its shell these days—rarely going out, lying low like there was no tomorrow.
But that was fine. Zhafu obviously had limited understanding of modern society. Though he possessed some special abilities, as he put it: there are always mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people.
Patience was key for now.
Without staying at headquarters' cafeteria, their group went straight back to their own company.
Back in the CEO's office, Chu Lintian rubbed her wrist.
She had just felt the jade bracelet growing warm. Nothing was wrong with her, but the heat from the bracelet signified that something had gone awry.
The moment she left the conference room, she felt better.
What did this mean?
It meant someone had tried something against her—and it was highly likely that person was among the subsidiary heads in that conference room.
"Mistake on my part. I should have called each of them in for individual talks."
Chu Lintian knew the jade bracelet protected her, which itself provided a good opportunity for testing and troubleshooting without risk.
She wondered if the other party would notice or become wary.
Just as she was planning her next move, a voice rang out.
"Your jade bracelet reacted."
Hearing this voice, Chu Lintian felt not shock but delight.
"Why are you back?! Didn't you go to Tianjing again?"
"It's fine, it's been about half an hour since I returned."
Flying was still too slow. Lin Mo wished he could instantly return to Yangcheng.
Lin Mo grabbed Chu Lintian's wrist and scanned the bracelet. The spiritual energy within it had been slightly depleted.
"Something happened just now?"
Lin Mo asked seriously.
"Nothing... barely any trouble. It's just that the bracelet got a little hot."
"That means something did happen, even if you didn't notice. Tell me, what were you doing when the bracelet heated up?"
Chu Lintian instantly pouted and retorted, like a little girl.
"I know someone must have tried something against me. I'm not an idiot. I also have some guesses about who it might be—I'm just not sure which one exactly."
She immediately recounted the events of the meeting.
But with dozens of people in the conference room, screening them one by one would be troublesome.
Lin Mo couldn't help but frown.
It was clear the opponent's strength was negligible. Such a trivial trick couldn't even consume half a shred of the bracelet's spiritual energy.
The small amount spent would recover on its own.
Strictly speaking, Chu Lintian was still quite safe.
Still, after some thought, Lin Mo gave her a few extra talismans for self-defense.
Defense alone wasn't enough; it had to be paired with strong offensive capabilities.
"In that case, just investigate and probe carefully."
Lin Mo didn't think Chu Lintian would do anything foolish. As long as she didn't remove the bracelet, no one could harm her.
Finding the culprit would be simple—all he needed was a name list.
Lin Mo directly obtained the list of everyone who attended the today's meeting.
And then he spotted a familiar name.
This didn't surprise him much, since Jiang Chengshan had already told him before.
He had scanned that person with his spiritual sense before and found nothing unusual, but he still sent the list to Liu Zheng.
After all, the Yanhuang Awakened needed something to do—otherwise, the Northern Profound True Lord himself would end up handling everything.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
