The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

The conference room was on the top floor of the mining company's building, with floor-to-ceiling windows covering an entire wall, offering views of the Nairobi skyline. The table was a single piece of dark wood, polished to a shine, and long enough to seat more than a dozen people.

When Lin Che went in, the other party had already arrived.

The chief representative stood up, walked around the table, and extended his hand.

"I've heard so much about you." He spoke in English with a perfect accent. "I'm very surprised and honored to meet you at this table."

He was probably fifty years old, his hair was neatly combed, his suit was ironed, and the cuffs were clean. His handshake was neither too firm nor too soft, and his gaze was level, without the slightest hint of condescension.

"I've read some of the materials Mr. Lin has done in China." He released his hand and gestured for him to sit down. "To be able to piece so many things together takes real skill. In our line of work, there aren't many people I can truly admire."

Lin Che sat down opposite him.

"You flatter me."

"You flatter me." The chief representative smiled. "Precisely because you are my opponent, I am more willing to put things on the table rather than try to trip me up behind the scenes."

He Wei sat to Lin Che's left, her notebook open. Shen Nan sat to his right, his worn-out briefcase resting at his feet.

Endertu sat on the side of the table, closer to the other person. He didn't say much, but everyone in the room knew that while the government made the official decisions, behind the scenes, matters concerning this land couldn't be discussed without his approval. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping absently on the edge of the table, his gaze lingering on Lin Che's face for a moment before shifting away.

A local government official arrived and sat on the other side, not sitting next to anyone. He sat very upright, but his body neither leaned towards the other person nor towards Lin Che, as if he was there to observe, not to take sides.

The small talk passed quickly.

Lin Che moved his chair further in, straightened his back, and placed his hands clasped on the table, adopting a posture of attentive listening. This posture made him look less like a competitor vying for the land and more like a guest seeking advice.

The chief representative didn't beat around the bush; he had his assistant distribute a report.

"This is an independent assessment we conducted," he said. "There aren't many organizations globally that can do this kind of assessment, and we hired one of the top ones. From sampling to modeling, it took more than half a year."

The report was thick, easily over a hundred pages long, with the organization's logo printed on the cover. Inside were densely packed charts and data. Each page had a number and signature at the bottom, all meticulously prepared, clearly indicating a great deal of effort had been put into it.

"The conclusion is clear." He turned to a page with a cross-sectional map of the mining area. "The core of this deposit is concentrated in the northern section. All our drilling, sampling, geological modeling, and reserve calculations point to this."

His finger pointed to the northern section of the map.

"What you've targeted is this gentle slope in the middle section." He moved his finger a little south, his tone still polite. "According to our model, the ore zone in the middle section is too thin and the grade isn't high enough. At current mining costs, it's not worthwhile."

He raised his head and looked at Lin Che with a sincere expression, not like he was bluffing.

"To be frank," he said, "the land you've chosen won't be worth developing until after 2024. Before that, any money invested will just be tied up and unable to come out. I'm being upfront about this because I don't want to see you wasting your time on land that's not ready yet."

After he finished speaking, he pushed the cross-sectional diagram towards Lin Che, making it easier for him to see. There was no hint of boasting in this gesture; it was more like a seasoned veteran giving guidance to a junior he valued.

This is what truly weighed on He Wei's mind.

The other person wasn't there to bully anyone. He was professional, polite, and even the way he handed over the report showed his tact. A judgment made by someone like that is far more convincing than any threatening statement.

After those words were spoken, the meeting room fell silent for a moment.

The official nodded slightly, as if acknowledging the assessment. Endritu's expression remained unchanged; he had clearly heard this explanation before and believed it.

The report was laid out in front of everyone. The charts were professional, the data was professional, and it was signed by a top-tier global organization.

Nobody thinks there's anything wrong with this.

Lin Che flipped through the report, reading it page by page.

He looked at it slowly, his finger lingering on the cross-sectional diagram for a moment before turning it back. Throughout, he neither interrupted nor argued. Occasionally, he would glance up, his eyes carrying a hint of not quite understanding, like a novice encountering this kind of professional assessment for the first time, trying to keep up with the other person's train of thought.

He Wei sat beside her, her palms starting to sweat again.

She knew better than anyone else in the room that the core of this mine was in the middle section, not the northern section. Three lines converged underground: the thickest enrichment zone measured geologically, the old grudges unearthed by past grievances, and the area quietly being monitored by regulators—all pointed to that gentle slope in the middle section.

The other party's entire conclusion is fundamentally flawed.

But the other party spoke with such certainty, and the report was so thick and professional. From the charts to the signatures, there wasn't a single flaw. She opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed her words.

She turned her head and glanced quickly at Lin Che.

Shen Nan remained silent. He sat firmly, the briefcase beside him untouched, the frame he had brought from Hong Kong inside still completely hidden. He simply listened quietly as the other man finished speaking, occasionally making a few strokes on his paper, his expression as expressionless as Lin Che's.

Lin Che's face remained expressionless. He closed the report, pushed it aside, took a pen from his inside suit pocket, and opened his notebook.

He Wei stared at his movement, her heart pounding even harder. She knew Lin Che too well; the more composed he was, the heavier the weight he held in his hands. Everyone at the table thought they understood the situation, but only she knew that the one who truly understood was the one who remained silent, head down, flipping through reports.

The chief representative reiterated the assessment of the northern section, this time in greater detail, even providing a rough timeline for when mining would be suitable to begin. He spoke logically and methodically, supporting every statement with data.

The official listened attentively, occasionally jotting down notes in his notebook. He was taking notes on what the other person was saying, but after finishing, he would look up at Lin Che, as if waiting for the Chinese guest to also express his opinion.

Endertu remained silent. He leaned back in his chair, his expression one of certainty, a certainty that this land was already in his grasp and outsiders could not provoke him.

Everyone at the table believed the report.

Lin Che did not refute.

He lowered his head and scribbled down an inconspicuous symbol in the corner of his notebook.

The symbol was so small that no one noticed it; even He Wei, who was sitting next to him, couldn't see what it was.