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

"Located on a gentle slope in the middle section."

The engineer read the words aloud, his voice not loud, but it exploded like a thunderclap in the conference room.

He read it calmly, as if he were just reciting an ordinary coordinate, completely unaware that his words had overturned the carefully laid plans of half the people present.

"The northern section is located on the edge of the ore belt. Considering various indicators such as grade, reserves, and ore body continuity, the central gentle slope is the core enrichment zone of this mining area, and its reserves and grade are significantly better than those of the northern section."

After reading it aloud, he closed the report, adjusted his glasses, and remained completely expressionless. To him, this was just another routine task; he simply read whatever the data was.

But for the others in the room, those two sentences turned everything upside down.

The middle section is the core.

The northern section is merely the edge.

This conclusion is completely opposite to the assessment by the Western company. It's not just a slight difference or deviation; it's a complete reversal from the very beginning.

The northern section, which the other side insisted was the core of value and fought tooth and nail for, turned out to be just a scrap. The central section, which they determined would only be worthwhile after 2024 and generously conceded, was the true heart of the entire mine.

A judgment that treats the core as a peripheral element and the heart as a mere trifle.

It couldn't be more wrong.

The chief representative sat there, motionless.

He still clutched his evaluation report in his hand. The report he had worked on for over half a year, believed in for over half a year, and had just used to press for answers. At this moment, the paper in his hand felt as light as a withered leaf, yet as heavy as a red-hot iron.

He slowly placed the assessment on the table.

Then, he raised his head and looked at Lin Che opposite him.

He remained silent, neither raging nor questioning the third-party report. A man with nearly thirty years of experience in this field understands data and recognizes reality. Questioning a report jointly witnessed by both parties and issued by a neutral institution would only make him appear more ridiculous.

He just looked at Lin Che, whose face was filled with the deepest bewilderment and defeat of a professional in the face of irrefutable facts.

The highest level of losing control is not losing control.

He offered no explanation, because he knew better than anyone that he had lost, lost completely, and lost so badly that he couldn't even find a reason to vent his anger.

Endertu's expression was the most complex in the entire room.

He wasn't surprised that the mine was in the middle section. What shocked him was that this foreign Chinese man's understanding of this land was deeper and more accurate than his own, a local expert who had been cultivating the area for decades.

He had been running this business for half his life, and he thought he knew every inch of this land inside and out. But now, an outsider, who had come from afar, had pointed out the truth that even he hadn't seen through in just a few words.

The feeling of being overtaken was more unsettling to him than a simple defeat.

He opened his mouth, and finally, squeezed out a sentence through his teeth.

"It seems... we all misjudged them."

He was referring to us, but everyone present could tell that this local bigwig, who knew the local situation well, was admitting defeat on his own behalf.

The local official involuntarily leaned forward.

The way he looked at the report had completely changed. Before, he saw Lin Che as a foreign investor with a sensitive background who needed to be treated with caution. But now, his gaze towards Lin Che held a touch of solemnity, even a hint of barely perceptible awe.

He had previously hesitated to be cautious about a partner who could see things right where all the experts were wrong, and who always walked in the open.

The Chinese company that he once considered a nuisance now holds a completely different significance in his eyes.

He even began to vaguely feel that the earlier warning he had given to be cautious in choosing partners might actually be the thing he really needed to be wary of.

He Wei, who was standing behind Lin Che, suddenly stopped flipping through the meeting minutes.

She braced her knuckles against the edge of the table, suppressing all the emotions she wanted to vent. She had waited for this moment for far too many days. From that feigned concession to the presentation of this irrefutable evidence, she had watched Lin Che lead everyone here step by step.

Those agonizing nights, those moments when she thought she couldn't hold on any longer, all had an answer now. It turned out that from the very beginning, Lin Che had been firmly holding this hand. All that apparent passivity, concession, and forbearance was all preparation for this decisive moment.

Now that the dust has settled, she can't utter a single word; she only feels her eyes getting hot.

Shen Nan didn't look at anyone. He simply bent down and closed the briefcase that was lying on the table.

He had done what he needed to do. From the phone call Lin Che made from China, to flying halfway around the world to bring this architecture, and now witnessing it in action, he knew he had won this battle.

The meeting room was completely silent.

In the deathly silence, everyone was processing this earth-shattering reversal. One moment they seemed to have the upper hand, the next they were the losers. And the Chinese man, whom they considered theirs for the taking and almost forced out of the game, was the one who had truly held the chessboard from beginning to end.

All eyes eventually fell on the person who hadn't said much.

It fell on Lin Che.

From beginning to end, he didn't utter a single rebuttal, a single argument, or even a single defense of himself. He simply sat quietly, watching as the other party gradually drove him to his doom by crashing into this neutral report.

He didn't make a move. It was his opponent who crashed headlong into the iron-like reality.

All the wins and losses were already written in that report; he didn't need to say another word.

Lin Che reached out and closed the notebook in front of him.

That notebook was filled with symbols from the very first day he stepped into that meeting room. Every piece of information verified, every step taken, was recorded in it. Only he could understand it. Now, that notebook is no longer needed.

He stood up, his gaze calmly sweeping over the various faces opposite him, finally settling on the chief representative.

There was no smugness, no mockery in that gaze; it was as calm as if he were watching something predetermined. And it was precisely this calmness that made the other person feel more embarrassed than any ostentatious victory.

He spoke, his voice very faint, as if he were talking about something trivial.

"This report," he paused, emphasizing each word, "I only received it today."

This statement, though seemingly light, carries more weight than any rebuttal.

He didn't say, "I knew all along," or "You were wrong from the start." He only said, "I only received the report today."

The meaning couldn't be clearer. I, like you, only saw this report today. But what you misunderstood, I understood correctly from the very beginning.

This wasn't based on any inside information or prior knowledge of the answer. It was because his assessment of this land was inherently closer to the truth than the other party's global-level evaluation.

After saying that, he stopped looking at anyone.