Kicked Out: International Capital Moves to Snipe

That night.

Professor Chen was arrested in the staff residential compound, this time by a different department.

None of them wore uniforms.

Soon after, the online content was also taken down.

Outsiders had no idea what had happened that night.

But the next day, Cao Cheng flew straight to the capital.

His father-in-law wanted to see him.

Of course, it wasn’t about Professor Chen—such a trivial matter wouldn’t warrant the old man’s attention.

This time, the elder wanted to discuss Cao Cheng’s clash with Cohen’s backing firm, Barnacle Capital, and get a clearer picture of the situation.

There was also the matter of the medical collaboration.

The plan was to designate it as a priority project under the National Science and Technology Infrastructure Development Plan.

Multiple institutions would be involved, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, and the Institute of Biophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, all sharing the construction responsibilities.

Miracle Pharmaceuticals, on their end, was also conducting research on medical equipment.

Their recent anti-cancer announcement had mentioned a "visualized cell technology," which showed great promise.

The applications of this technology were vast, extending into gene editing and other cutting-edge fields.

The old man knew full well the real potential of life extension and anti-cancer breakthroughs—this wasn’t just empty hype. Naturally, he wanted to throw more support behind its development.

He also expected Cao Cheng to mentor the other participating institutions.

…

Upon arriving in the capital, Cao Cheng didn’t even get to see his father-in-law before being dragged into meetings.

Three straight days of them.

By the end, Cao Cheng was thoroughly exhausted.

His only reprieve was sneaking online during sessions to chat with fans and clap back at critics.

Ever since Professor Chen’s accounts were banned, public opinion had shifted again.

During one meeting, the medical university’s research team showed up.

Cao Cheng immediately stood.

"Apologies, everyone, but I don’t trust this institution’s research team. Not after Professor Chen leaked confidential data, and the university tried to cover it up to save face."

"With leadership like that, how can I trust their integrity?"

"So."

"Let’s end this collaboration right here."

"If you can’t even keep your own house clean, what’s the point of research? Go play with hammers instead."

With that,

Cao Cheng shot a cold glance at the university’s administrators and walked out.

The room fell dead silent.

All eyes turned to the medical university delegation.

This was a village council-level project—who wouldn’t kill to be part of it?

Originally, they hadn’t been included.

No one knew how they’d weaseled their way in.

But Cao Cheng didn’t bother with niceties. No pretense, no diplomacy. Before the team could even sit down or voice their input, he’d already flipped the table.

The backlash was instant.

The university officials were furious.

Professor Chen’s arrest had already been a blow—they couldn’t even protect him. His account ban had further tarnished their reputation.

Seriously.

Was all this drama necessary?

Couldn’t they have just quietly detained him?

But no, it had to be a spectacle.

Now, not only was he gone, but Cao Cheng was treating them like dirt?

Damn it.

When the university president got the news, he nearly smashed his teacup in rage.

Do you have any idea how many favors and how much persuasion it took to get us into a project of this caliber?

And just like that, we’re out?

Technically, they hadn’t been formally removed yet, but Cao Cheng’s stance was crystal clear: it’s either him or us.

This was a disaster.

The president immediately called his higher-up.

"Sir—"

A grim voice answered, "I’ve heard. For now, withdraw from the project. We’ll find another opportunity later."

"What? No!"

The old man panicked. "Sir, this is a rare medical initiative—we can’t just—"

Before he could finish, the voice cut in, "I know how rare it is. I pulled strings to get you in. But you brought this on yourselves by crossing him."

"Crossing Cao—?"

The president choked. "We never did!"

"Really? What else do you call this? Slapping him in public? Look, I can’t help you here. If you really want back in, go talk to Cao Cheng yourself. How you handle it is up to you. But remember—if you secure even peripheral patents from this project, your future funding worries are over."

The message was blunt.

The president understood.

In a village council-level project like this, they weren’t expecting the lion’s share.

Just the prestige of being involved.

If they could spin off some secondary patents from the collaboration, it’d be a goldmine—a ticket to the fast lane.

Not just for funding, but for expanding labs and research fields.

For an institution, this was everything.

"Sir… could you arrange a meeting with Cao—with Mr. Cao?"

"I'll give it a try, but don't get your hopes up. He’s the key figure behind the research project—if he simply says he doesn’t like you, there’s no way you’ll get involved, let alone when there’s already a legitimate excuse."

The call ended.

The old man sighed heavily.

What a mess this turned out to be.

It’s all Chen Liqiang’s fault.

Damn it.

He always seemed so honest, and the entire school leadership knew he was a doting father to his daughter. Who would’ve thought he’d also have a rebellious streak?

At the last moment, he ended up screwing the university over.

If they’d known this would happen, they wouldn’t have stopped him from getting arrested.

Reputation?

What reputation?

That little bit of goodwill is nothing compared to actual interests.

Besides,

The higher-ups were right.

Cao Cheng is the lead researcher—if he outright says, "I don’t like you," then there’s no way to participate.

Not to mention that idiot Chen Liqiang.

He really did leak a lot of information.

They got caught red-handed, and now there’s an excuse to shut them out.

Even if the old man tried to assure them now that there wouldn’t be any more leaks, who would believe him?

No matter how you spin it, the medical university is in the wrong here.

……

Meanwhile.

Cohen’s countermeasures arrived.

Almost exactly as Cao Cheng had anticipated.

First, a smear campaign.

Using their media influence, they launched a global-scale defamation effort against Miracle Group, targeting everyone from top to bottom.

It was effortless to paint Cao Cheng as an "extremist" in the public eye.

At the same time, they quietly circulated test reports claiming that X-Essence was harmful.

Just because no one had gotten sick yet didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen in the future.

It was a slow-acting substance.

Like MSG.

Causes cancer.

So, prolonged use of X-Essence would gradually seep into the bloodstream, drastically increasing cancer risks.

On top of that, they spread rumors that Miracle Cosmetics’ products were dirt-cheap to make, that their premium gift sets were low-quality, and that none of it was handcrafted—just mass-produced by machines.

The actual cost? Less than a thousand yuan.

Yet they were selling it for millions.

……

Cao Cheng had expected this, and he couldn’t help but admire the sheer reach of their propaganda.

From Lauren to the European and Eastern regions, nearly every major media outlet was quietly spreading the narrative that X-Essence contained slow-acting toxins.

Repeat a lie enough, and even the liar starts to believe it.

Forget ordinary people—even Cao Cheng almost doubted his own product.

This was his first time facing something like this head-on.

It was different from what he’d seen in his dreams.

In the dreams, Old Ren’s company had gone through something similar, but back then, Cao Cheng had been an outsider—just an ordinary spectator. He hadn’t truly felt the impact.

There was no way to fight back.

Because with rumors like these, explanations never worked.

……

After the media blitz came the second phase: ruthless, no-holds-barred market competition.

And you had to hand it to them—their market dominance, backed by capital and home-field advantage, allowed them to systematically block all cosmetics containing X-Essence.

Not only were they barred from retail stores, supermarkets, and malls, but online sales were also blocked.

Products were pulled with the excuse that they were "under investigation."

Meanwhile, certain high-level agencies began probing X-Essence, citing concerns over slow-acting toxins.

It was all a carefully orchestrated chain.

Even if the investigation turned up nothing, the mere fact that it was happening would sow doubt.

If there’s no problem, why investigate?

Why pull the products?

There must be something wrong, right?

Simple logic.

Seizing the opportunity,

Stellar Elements’ cosmetics began flooding the market, taking over X-Essence’s former strongholds.

At the same time, shipments of cosmetic ingredients were being detained at customs under the guise of "investigation," with no clear timeline for release.

All they could do was comply.

……

At the same time,

Several companies in which Cao Cheng held shares began issuing forced buyback orders from their boards.

Using the excuse of "shareholder misconduct," they demanded his shares at prices below market value.

……

But that wasn’t all.

Other companies filed patent lawsuits against Miracle Cosmetics, presenting fabricated—or possibly real—evidence to demand massive compensation.

Finally, the supply chain was locked down.

No one outside the Eastern region was allowed to sell key ingredients, like rare South African botanicals.

……

After this relentless combo,

Not just Miracle Cosmetics, but even their partners suffered heavy losses.

Cao Cheng had to admit—impressive.

For anyone else, this would’ve been a deathblow.

No chance to fight back.

But…

Who was Cao Cheng?

Heh.

He picked up the phone and called Xu Qing.

"Young Master." Xu Qing’s tone was tense, clearly still fuming.

Understandable.

Cohen had crossed the line—this wasn’t just normal competition anymore.

"Contact our partners. We’re holding a meeting in Zhonghai in two days."

"Young Master, do you have a way to deal with the current situation?" Xu Qing was well aware of his master's temperament—crafty and cunning.

Especially since the young master didn’t sound the least bit agitated, he probably already had a plan in motion.

"I’ve had things arranged for a while now. Don’t worry," Cao Cheng didn’t elaborate further.

But those words alone were enough to put Xu Qing at ease.

After the last open scheme they’d faced, Xu Qing had come to trust the young master’s capabilities unconditionally.

And rightly so.

These days, Teng Hu’s methods were a bit too extreme and heavy-handed, all thunder and bluster on the surface.

But to those who’d seen it all before, their tactics felt outdated. Who didn’t know what Teng Hu’s usual moves looked like?

And since they knew,

it was impossible not to have made some preparations.

Besides, they’d practically provoked them on purpose, just waiting for those predictable strikes.