Chapter 395: Exposed (Two in One)

"Get lost?"

Zeng Qing's expression was calm, and then she suddenly laughed. "Are you dreaming, Zeng Ru? If you want to play a teenage girl's game of make-believe, I have no objections."

When they were teenagers, Zeng Ru had ordered her around just like this. Back then, every time Zeng Ru ran into her, it was always a one-way street of commands and mockery.

Since taking power, she hadn't found the time to track Zeng Ru down. She certainly hadn't expected her to jump out on her own right now.

"I'm not joking with you."

Zeng Ru smiled faintly, a strange light flashing in her scarlet eyes. "You know how many points the company's stock price has plummeted over the last few days, don't you?"

"17.3%."

Zeng Qing smiled. "Why, do I need to report to you?"

"Heh, so you are aware." Zeng Ru took a slow step toward Zeng Qing, her smile widening. "Company regulations stipulate that a 15% short-term drop in the stock price triggers the executive director step-down rule. A 25% drop triggers the emergency accountability clause. And a 35% drop mandates a forced takeover of management by the chairman."

"Well? Aren't you going to step down?"

"Once the emergency accountability clause is triggered, you know exactly what will happen to you, right?"

She looked down at the Information Component on Zeng Qing's wrist and smiled. "Let me guess. The messages in your Information Component are already blowing up, aren't they?"

"Honestly, your methods are decent, but you just aren't ruthless enough. Step down. I won't do anything to you. After all, you've kept quiet since you took power, haven't you? Now that you've had enough fun playing around, you're actually terrified inside, aren't you?"

Saying so, she reached out and patted Zeng Qing's hair.

Zeng Qing chuckled as well. "According to Clan regulations, even if the step-down rule is triggered, unless the sitting executive director yields the position voluntarily, any newly appointed director needs the support of over a third of the shareholder assembly. Do you have those votes?"

"Heh."

Zeng Ru smiled faintly and shook the Information Component on her wrist. On the Holographic Screen, a contact number displaying the word 'Father' appeared.

Beneath the name, the call log showed a full thirty minutes of communication time between the two of them.

"Take a guess."

She looked at Zeng Qing with a smile.

The shareholder assembly consisted of thirteen people; over a third meant she needed five votes.

And clearly, Zeng Ru had already secured two votes from the chairman. With those in hand, securing the remaining three would be an absolute breeze.

"Not bad."

Zeng Qing's smile faded slightly.

She had long anticipated this. How could her father ever be willing to let things slip out of his control?

"It's a pity, but I have no intention of stepping down."

She then tapped the Information Component on her wrist.

Secretary Li quickly walked through the office doors.

Zeng Qing spoke coolly. "Xiao Li, please escort Miss Zeng Ru out."

Unexpectedly, the secretary looked somewhat troubled.

He looked at Zeng Ru and opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to say anything to her. Instead, he bowed slightly to Zeng Qing. "President Zeng, isn't this... a bit inappropriate..."

Clearly, he had already made his choice.

Zeng Qing's downfall was inevitable, and offending Zeng Ru at a time like this would be completely irrational.

No matter what his own fate would be after Zeng Qing was ousted, he refused to make things worse for himself now.

Zeng Qing kept the smile on her face, but a faint, icy glint flickered in her eyes.

But before she could speak, Yan Jing, who was standing nearby, asked softly, "Are there any company clauses that authorize physical force?"

Zeng Qing froze, failing to process the question for a moment. Yan Jing continued, "For instance, if someone disrespects an executive director, can they just be beaten to death, or something like that?"

Zeng Ru's eyes narrowed. But before she could react, the corners of Zeng Qing's lips curled up. "There is," she said softly. "If an employee three or more levels beneath a superior speaks disrespectfully and trespasses into their office, they can be expelled. The method... is unrestricted."

"What do you think you're doing?"

Panic flashed across Zeng Ru's face as she watched Yan Jing leap down from Zeng Qing's shoulder.

Before she could even react, there was a sudden blur, and Yan Jing appeared directly in front of her.

Her bodyguards frantically scrambled forward to intervene.

But the outcome was already set in stone.

Very quickly, figures went flying out the doors of Zeng Qing's office like torn cloth sacks, crashing heavily onto the ground outside.

The commotion drew shocked and bewildered stares from the nearby employees.

"If you want revenge, call your Fourth Master."

Yan Jing stood in the doorway, flipping a middle finger at the bloodied and battered Zeng Ru.

Only after the heavy doors slammed shut did Zeng Ru painfully drag herself to her feet. She glared at her former office, her ruby-like eyes practically seeping blood.

His handiwork complete, Yan Jing unhurriedly strolled over to the sofa and picked up a newspaper.

Then, without even lifting his head, he said, "Try to hug your Fourth Master, and I'll throw you out too."

Zeng Qing, who already had her arms outstretched, froze in place. Awkwardly, she pulled her hands back and took a seat beside him instead.

"She won't let this go. I know her," she sighed. "I should have had her killed the moment I took power."

"To be honest, I don't think she matters at all," Yan Jing replied, his eyes still glued to the newspaper. "Someone else is the real problem."

"Who?" Zeng Qing's long eyelashes fluttered.

"Your father."

Hearing Yan Jing's words, her eyelashes fluttered once more.

"It's true. He's never liked me." Eventually, her expression settled back into a calm facade.

"Are you an illegitimate daughter too?" Yan Jing folded the newspaper in his hands.

He was referring to Chen Xiaojing's family.

Zeng Qing shook her head. "I'm his legitimate daughter. But he has a lot of legitimate children—probably in the triple digits. I just happen to be his least favorite among them."

"He views himself as a monarch. To him, his children are merely his subjects. And subjects are expected to be grateful, paste smiles on their faces, and sing his praises."

"Unfortunately... I never learned how to do that."

"When I was little, all I wanted was a father who would hug me just because I was his daughter—someone who would indulge my little tantrums. But all he ever wanted was a daughter who would treat his every word as absolute law, weeping tears of gratitude just for the privilege of being his child."

"Maybe there's something wrong with me, expecting to be pampered in a megacorp Family..."

She sighed. Seeing that Yan Jing remained silent, she asked, "What about your father?"

"My father?" Yan Jing's gaze grew distant. "I don't know. He just... really likes me."

"I have no idea why he likes me so much, either. Honestly, there's nothing particularly outstanding about me. Of course, he likes my two older brothers, too."

"Are you showing off?" Zeng Qing smiled.

Yan Jing's gaze was completely tranquil. "Maybe. But to be honest, it genuinely confuses me."

It truly did baffle him.

So much so, in fact, that when he received a call from Papa Rat that night, he asked him directly.

"Pops, what do you think of me?"

Yan Jing asked softly.

"A pile of dog shit."

After several seconds of silence, Papa Rat's deadpan voice came through the receiver.

"Hey! How can you insult a child?"

Yan Jing was highly offended.

Papa Rat let out a dry sneer. "Calling you rat shit would be a compliment. Calling you cat shit doesn't quite capture how annoying you are. Dog shit is just about right."

"Heh." Yan Jing gave Papa Rat's species-discrimination joke a mental thumbs-up, then retorted indignantly, "If you suffered through all these years just to raise a pile of dog shit, you should take a good look in the mirror."

"Enough of your nonsense," Papa Rat snapped. "Did you hear what I just told you?"

"I heard you," Yan Jing drawled. "You want us to step down immediately because this whole thing is a trap set by the opposition."

"Good. So you're not deaf," Papa Rat nodded approvingly.

But in the next second—

"Not a chance! Keep dreaming, Pops!"

Yan Jing suddenly spoke from the other side, his squawking voice utterly grating. "Your son is going straight to the top this time! Hehe, just sit back and get ready for the good life!!!"

"—" Papa Rat's fists clenched.

Face-to-face, he was 'Dearest Pops.' Over the phone, he clamored about keeping dreaming, Pops.

He should have known this kid hadn't changed at all. He was exactly the same as before, only calling him Dad when he wanted money.

Taking a few deep breaths, he forcibly reined in his temper. "Listen to me. I've looked into some cases from the past few years, and I found something very wrong. Every time there's a conflict between a megacorp and the Anthill like this, right after the tide turns completely against the megacorp and hits rock bottom, a different account steps in with a massive amount of capital to buy the dip, then exits the market."

"Our opponents are extremely dangerous."

"On top of that, things have escalated so much that the higher-ups are already watching."

"Things aren't as simple and pure as you think. If President Zeng ends up losing, and Mr. Luo treats you as a sacrificial pawn, what are you going to do?"

Yan Jing's eyes flickered thoughtfully.

He had been trying to figure out Tianxuan's true motive for orchestrating all of this.

In his opinion, the idea of weakening the megacorps through a war of attrition was somewhat absurd. For towering behemoths like them, the chances of collapse were pitifully low unless they were dealt a single, fatal blow.

Besides, Tianxuan had been operating for years; if that strategy were actually going to work, she would have succeeded a long time ago.

Now, hearing Papa Rat's theory, Yan Jing finally understood.

He couldn't help but marvel at the sheer depth of Tianxuan's scheming.

However—

Just like he had said before, everything was already prepared.

So right now, he needed to steady Papa Rat first.

"Alright, Pops, let's stop here for now. Love you, Pops, see you tomorrow."

"See you in court tomorrow."

Yan Jing hurriedly finished his sentence, directly hung up the call, and let out a long breath.

When Zeng Qing had mentioned wanting to be a bit willful earlier that morning, he hadn't fully understood. Or rather, his brain couldn't really process what kind of emotional need that even entailed.

But after deliberately testing the waters just now, he felt like he was starting to understand.

"So this is what it feels like... It's actually pretty nice."

He blinked, suddenly sensing something, and swapped his consciousness into Luo Sheng's body.

At that very moment, his Luo Sheng persona automatically answered an incoming call.

"Hello?"

"This is Big Rat."

Papa Rat's voice came through from the other side.

"Mr. Big Rat, do you have—"

Yan Jing took a deep breath, but before he could finish his sentence, Papa Rat's low voice cut him off. "Luo Sheng, I'm warning you. I don't care if you're a Seventh Rank or an Eighth Tier—I couldn't care less. I'm already pushing seventy, and as a rat, I don't have many years left to live. Mao Si is my son. If you touch him, the price you pay will definitely be greater than if you don't touch him."

"I know you're strong, but nobody wants an accident to happen, right?"

"This isn't a threat, nor is it a warning, it's my plea. A plea, do you understand? If you also have family, I believe you will understand."

Yan Jing froze for a moment. Then he raised his Information Component to confirm it was Papa Rat on the other side. He opened his mouth, but unexpectedly couldn't find anything to say for a moment. Finally, he could only say, "Of course, Mr. Big Rat."

"Of course."

"Like I said, I think very highly of Mao Si."

"It had better be." Papa Rat directly hung up the phone.

Yan Jing stared blankly at his Information Component for a long time, and ultimately didn't sleep all night.

Until the next day.

He looked at the mission issued a few days ago.

[Dungeon Stage B Mission {Mission 1: Help & & & (This mission has undergone a Mutation)]

[Mission Description:

Originally, you were supposed to help Tianxuan complete this mission, but you chose to defect. Please prevent all of this from happening. Note: Because you invoked the effects of an Honorary Title, the difficulty of this mission has massively increased compared to before. After all, doing evil is always easier than stopping it. Mission 2: Good Person &—&—& (This mission has undergone a Mutation)]

[Mission Description:

It's time, tell the world that you are the ultimate villain. Let your name be remembered by the masses! The more people who remember you, the higher the completion rate of this mission. Note: This mission carries no penalty.} {When Mission 1 is completed, this Dungeon will end. If Mission 1 cannot be completed, this Dungeon will be unable to end.} As the countdown and the system notification sound ended, Yan Jing appeared once again in the Inner World.

This time, he was not with Tianxuan.

This was his solo mission; it had nothing to do with Tianxuan anymore.

Originally, the Second Stage mission of the Dungeon was to help Tianxuan, but due to the effects of [Yi], everything had changed.

He just smiled. Taking his time, he made his way directly to the courthouse in the Victory District.

The trial hadn't started yet, and the attendees had yet to fully gather.

He stood in a corner and his Stone Immortal ability activated. Very quickly, the bustling crowd around him completely ignored him.

Then he waited quietly.

A few dozen minutes later, a figure slowly approached from the distance.

He went straight up to meet her, and his Stone Immortal ability automatically dispelled. The Stone Immortal state could only conceal his aura; it was not true invisibility.

"Miss Tianxuan, we meet again."

He offered a faint smile.

When Tianxuan saw Yan Jing, she subconsciously froze, then the corners of her lips curled up. "I didn't expect that we would meet again, Mr. Yan."

She thought Yan Jing was here to catch up.

"I didn't expect it either."

Yan Jing smiled. "You look incredibly happy. It seems the old saying holds true—people radiate joy when good fortune strikes."

"Indeed."

Tianxuan spoke softly. "We are right on the verge of success. And it's all thanks to you, Mr. Yan."

"I still want to say it to you once more—you share in the credit for this. You are truly great."

"My part?"

Yan Jing blinked. "Are you saying... you're going to pay me my share of the money?"

At the mention of the word 'money,' a flash of unconcealable shock passed through Tianxuan's eyes. However, she quickly returned to calm and laughed. "You want money, Mr. Yan?"

"Of course, that's no problem. I will have your compensation delivered to you shortly."

Yan Jing smiled. "Then I suppose I should thank you."

"Heh."

Tianxuan smiled. "It's only natural."

"Well then. We're at the courthouse, and given your identity, it would be inconvenient for you to go inside. I think it's best if you leave first. We can meet up later at the old place."

After speaking, she glanced at the surrounding crowd, hinting to Yan Jing that people were already starting to notice them. Then, with a faint smile, she stepped toward the courthouse interior.

But in the very next second, she froze as if struck by lightning.

"Alright then, Miss Tianxuan, remember to wire the money from my cut of the shares to me after this is over."