Young Master Cao is also extremely concerned.

Actually,

this incident hasn’t caused much of a stir in the "village" yet.

Over the past two years, Cao Cheng has taken down quite a few small-scale PR firms specializing in online manipulation.

And whenever he identified individuals taking bribes to sway public opinion, he’d confiscate a batch of USB drives.

So,

while there have been some reports within the village, they haven’t been as overwhelming as those outside.

...

Two days later.

Cao Cheng returned to Zhonghai and held a closed-door meeting with the partner club.

It was also a test of loyalty.

At this point, anyone who wanted to jump ship, Cao Cheng wouldn’t stop them.

Seeking fortune and avoiding calamity—it’s only human nature.

But unexpectedly, the club’s structure remained fairly stable, with no one backing down.

Though many wore expressions of concern,

in the end, they gritted their teeth, ready to go head-to-head with Miracle Cosmetics.

Cao Cheng also quietly assessed the "loyalty levels" around him.

To secure the outside, one must first settle the inside.

Since there were no internal issues, Cao Cheng wasted no time.

After the closed-door meeting, he launched his counterattack.

The first step, naturally, was addressing the investigation.

Foreign institutions had initiated probes into X-Serum under pretexts like "chronic toxicity" and "carcinogenic risks"—all within legal bounds.

This wasn’t crossing the line.

Just standard tactics within the framework.

Cao Cheng’s response was equally legal.

He directly presented comprehensive third-party test reports from renowned institutions in regions like Europe, all conducted on X-Serum.

Before any issues arose, these tests had already been completed as part of standard procedure.

And they were still within the validity period.

After submitting these reports, regulatory bodies no longer had grounds to block X-Serum’s shelf availability.

At most, they could delay things for a few days.

Similarly, shipments of raw materials at major ports couldn’t be held indefinitely.

...

Meanwhile.

After several companies filed lawsuits against Miracle Cosmetics, the latter immediately dispatched a professional legal team to countersue.

All of this stayed within legal boundaries—nothing crossed the line.

This was enough.

The real trouble wasn’t these legally framed issues but the court of public opinion.

If the PR battle wasn’t handled well, even if all inspections were passed and shipments weren’t held up, everything would still be for nothing.

Fortunately.

Cao Cheng had prepared in advance.

He’d been ready since last year.

This preparation wasn’t originally meant for the cosmetics war but for another arena. Now, it was just a small test to gauge its effectiveness.

Over the past year,

Cao Cheng had used corporate proxies to register over 3,000 self-media accounts and media companies in the Cayman Islands.

He built a swarm network.

These media companies were embedded across Europe and the U.S.

Though they couldn’t rival major outlets, the PR matrix was now operational—and when activated, it could overpower anything.

Sometimes, whispers in the wind reach ears faster than headlines.

At the same time,

Cao Cheng deployed AI for the first time in an external operation.

The system, codenamed "Nuwa,"

could generate articles in 280 languages within 17 minutes.

The content? Hard evidence of corruption among top executives in major cosmetics firms and their supply chain shortcuts.

It even laid out the conspiracy chain these companies used to smear X-Serum.

People love a good conspiracy.

So Cao Cheng gave them one to feast on.

He didn’t expect this PR blitz to crush the opposition outright.

But,

with these narratives in play, at least the fight would be even—X-Serum wouldn’t collapse from a single blow.

...

Within two days of launching the PR offensive,

X-Serum and Star Element became household topics.

Additionally.

Knowing no one could reverse-engineer X-Serum, Cao Cheng had patented it in over 100 countries.

This formed a patent matrix.

So once the PR wave hit,

he filed 300+ counter-investigations and lawsuits against all companies and markets using Star Element.

Using the patent matrix, he strangled Star Element in its tracks.

Let’s be real.

No matter how impressive Star Element was, it was still a knockoff of X-Serum.

It couldn’t withstand scrutiny.

Meanwhile.

Cao Cheng had Tang Xin leverage offshore funds to short the stocks of relevant companies.

...

In no time,

the market was in turmoil.

Cao Cheng alone had hired over 600 lawyers, domestic and international.

To the average person, it might seem like nothing was happening.

But industry insiders were stunned by Young Master Cao’s tactics.

In the past,

when Chinese companies expanded overseas and got targeted, which one didn’t suffer heavy losses? Either slapped with massive fines or bogged down in endless lawsuits, drained physically and mentally.

Who would’ve thought that Cao Cheng, usually seen as all talk and no bite,

could strike so fiercely when the time came?

Even the West’s signature long-range "animal husbandry"—their PR machine—couldn’t drown out Young Master Cao’s voice.

He managed to make himself heard loud and clear in their own backyard.

Right.

People seemed to have forgotten—Young Master Cao had always been a master of schemes, both overt and covert. And his methods were ruthlessly effective.

Not that anyone had truly forgotten.

Sometimes, Cao Cheng hid his true nature too well, playing the part of a hot-headed young man so convincingly that many people assumed his tactics were all surface-level.

In reality,

his hidden methods were far more ruthless than they appeared.

Soon,

the reputation of Star Elements began to decline.

Mainly because more people started using it.

As the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy.

When stacked against X Solution’s products, Star Elements couldn’t even pass as a budget alternative.

The difference wasn’t just slight—it was massive.

At the same time,

domestic distributors began slashing prices and launching promotions, waging a price war to crush all of Star Elements’ competitors in one fell swoop.

……

……

The battle raged on.

It was clear this would be a protracted war.

Cao Cheng’s series of tactics could only suppress Tengu Capital’s arrogance, but he couldn’t eliminate them outright.

This was inevitable.

After all, that was their home turf.

And their resources were too vast to be taken down with a single strike.

Patience was key.

The cosmetics industry was just the first blow.

There would be countless more to come.

For example, the cancer treatment drugs—Miracle Biopharma would be the second strike, destined to clash with Old Leng’s biopharmaceutical empire sooner or later.

A matter of time.

……

That day,

Cao Cheng was drinking tea in the eco-park.

Security came to report that the old man outside had waited yet another day, refusing to leave.

Night was about to fall.

The old man was the president of a medical university. He had been standing guard at the gate for three days straight, stubbornly insisting he wouldn’t leave until Cao Cheng agreed to see him.

Quite the persistence.

Cao Cheng finally spoke, "Let him in."

"Yes, sir."

Security left.

Soon, an old man—

Well, not exactly old.

Just in his fifties.

But the past few days had left him looking haggard and aged.

"Mr. Cao, hello, I’m Zhang—"

Cao Cheng cut him off, "Principal Zhang, I know who you are. But there’s no need to call me ‘Mr. Cao.’ You can just call me ‘that stinking businessman.’ I can’t handle being addressed so formally by intellectuals like you—it might shorten my lifespan."

"……"

Principal Zhang’s mouth opened slightly.

His heart skipped a beat.

Damn.

How did he know?

In the university’s group chats, many professors indeed looked down on "that stinking businessman," dismissing him as nothing but a money-grubber.

Their words were dripping with prejudice and disdain.

"Mr. Cao, there must be some misunderstanding…?"

"Misunderstanding?"

Cao Cheng smirked. "Were your faculty group chats hacked, then? Wasn’t ‘stinking businessman’ the consensus?"

"N-no, Mr. Cao, you’ve got it all wrong." Principal Zhang was sweating bullets now.

Before coming, he had rehearsed his pitch—

flattery,

as much as it took.

Secure the partnership first, then figure out the rest.

But now…

Cao Cheng’s bluntness had shut down every possible angle.

Principal Zhang realized—there was a mole in the group.

Someone must have leaked the chat logs to Cao Cheng, either for money or career advancement.

After all, Miracle Group had its own research institute.

So did Miracle Biopharma.

For many medical professors, the temptation was too great to resist.

"Have some tea."

Cao Cheng tapped the tea tray.

The attendant beside him, sharp as ever, poured a cup.

Principal Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

Though the weather was pleasant—neither too hot nor too cold—

his heart felt like it was trapped in the dead of winter.

He didn’t know what to say.

Not just because Cao Cheng had exposed them so effortlessly, but also because the sheer presence of the man made it hard to even meet his gaze.

What the hell?

Even when meeting high-ranking officials, he’d never felt this kind of pressure.

This Cao guy… was no ordinary "stinking businessman."

Principal Zhang’s mind raced as he sipped the tea, scrambling for a way out.

He didn’t notice it was scalding hot.

A sharp hiss escaped him, his hand jerking as he nearly dropped the cup.

Gritting his teeth, he swallowed the boiling liquid and forced a pained expression—playing the sympathy card.

……

Cao Cheng took a slow sip.

"I’ve always held scholars in high regard. But unfortunately, some so-called intellectuals aren’t driven by a desire to educate or serve society—just prejudice and arrogance."

"They think a few years of book-smarts make them superior."

"Don’t blame me for not giving you face. You’re the ones who threw it away."

"So…"

"Principal Zhang, you may leave."

"Look inward for once, instead of blaming everything on us ‘stinking businessmen.’"

"Also, a partnership is out of the question. Not now, and maybe not ever."

"Goodbye."

"B-but, Mr. Cao—" Principal Zhang tried to speak.

But Cao Cheng had already set down his cup—the universal sign of dismissal.

Security stepped forward, arm extended in a firm "after you" gesture.

At the last moment,

the old man put on a show of despair.

His silhouette looked especially forlorn.

A softer soul might have bought it.

But Cao Cheng didn’t even glance his way.

Whether Principal Zhang had genuinely aged ten years in an instant—

or was just putting on an act—

didn’t matter.

What mattered was that everyone reaped what they sowed.

If you can bear the consequences, then do whatever you want—no matter how arrogant you are, that’s your own skill.

But if you can’t handle the fallout, the more you do, the more mistakes you’ll make.

It wasn’t even a big deal to begin with.

Just some petty prejudice.

Mutual dislike.

Cao Cheng wouldn’t go out of his way to mess with them, but he certainly wouldn’t work with them either.

That’s all there was to it.

Rather than wasting energy on their nonsense, why not just enjoy life? Keep the music playing, keep the dance going.

The eco-resort had its own dance troupe.

Primarily for internal entertainment.

No need to entertain outsiders with drinking or singing.

The girls raised here—if they performed well—could even be sent to Miracle Media later. Even if they didn’t become stars, they could still work behind the scenes as dance instructors or fitness coaches.

So,

while it was called a dance troupe,

aside from practicing basic techniques, they also learned other skills, like acting.

And the most important part of acting? Letting go—or in professional terms, "liberating your natural instincts."

If you can’t break free from your inhibitions, how are you supposed to perform objectless acting in front of hundreds of people?

You’d die of embarrassment.

The best way to liberate those instincts? Crawling under legs, pretending to be a gorilla, scrambling on the floor…

The more awkward, the better.

You’d get used to it eventually.

Lately, Cao Cheng had been reading a lot of books on performance. Though he still couldn’t act himself, he’d learned how to help others unleash their potential.

Young Master Cao really had his hands full.