Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

Huike Biotechnology Headquarters Building, Changning High-tech Zone.

The top-floor conference room was brightly lit, with dark curtains drawn tightly, completely blocking out the light that had just begun to rise outside.

Eight people sat on either side of the long conference table, each with a tablet computer in front of them.

The screen was filled with photos and intelligence summaries of the collapse of the Third Mental Health Prevention and Treatment Center in Shanyang City, the overturning of a security vehicle on the mountain road, and the destruction of the Shannan Provincial Eugenics and Childbirth Research Center.

Chen Hui was seated at the head of the conference table.

The founder and chairman of Huike Biotechnology Co., Ltd., is 51 years old, lean, with high cheekbones and a bluish chin, and is wearing a dark gray turtleneck cashmere sweater.

He held a thin cigarette between his fingers, a bit ash accumulated on it, and no one dared to interrupt his thoughts.

"Gentlemen."

Chen Hui stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and glanced at every face in the room.

"All the cooperative sites in Shanyang are finished."

"Qi Jianmin is dead, Sun Guodong is dead, Zhou De'an is dead, and the five people at the hospital are also dead."

"The research center was smashed into ruins, the psychiatric hospital administration building collapsed in two, and the security vehicle was smashed into scrap metal by stones thrown from the sky."

"A woman named Li Su completely destroyed our plans for Shanyang City overnight."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

The middle-aged man sitting in the second seat to Chen Hui's left spoke first.

His name is Fang Zhizhong, 54 years old, former deputy director of the Shanyang City Commerce Commission, who resigned five years ago to start his own business.

On the surface, he was a medical device distributor in Shannan Province, but in reality, he held 13 percent of the shares of Huike Biotechnology on behalf of Zhou Zhengde, acting as Zhou Zhengde's front man in Huike Biotechnology.

Fang Zhizhong put down his tablet, picked up his water glass, took a sip, and then put it down again.

"The person from the provincial government has already made a phone call."

His tone was cautious.

"Mayor Zhou is in a very passive position now. Cheng Yanqiu, deputy director of the National Center for Response to Abnormal Affairs, has directly taken over the extraordinary affairs in Shanyang. Local security forces have been completely suppressed and are not allowed to make contact with Li Su."

The higher-ups demanded that we first completely absolve ourselves of any responsibility, destroy all records of our dealings with the research center, and completely sever all financial ties.

"Clean it up?"

Across the conference table, a man with slicked-back hair and an overweight build chuckled.

His name is Qian Shoucheng, the former chairman of the Changning City Credit Union. He was later kicked out of the system and then injected a large amount of funds into Huike Biotechnology through a fund in an overseas country.

He holds 19 percent of Huike Biotechnology's shares, making him the second-largest shareholder after Chen Hui.

"Will Cheng Yanqiu let us off the hook just because we cleared our names? Zhou Zhengde can't even protect himself, how can we expect him to bail us out? Brother Fang, your old boss is about to be taken away by the Disciplinary Committee, his promises are worth less than toilet paper now."

Fang Zhizhong's expression darkened slightly, but he did not lash out.

"Mr. Qian, I don't care who the Disciplinary Committee takes away right now. What I care about is Li Su. What if the investigation traces her killing people at the research center back to Huike Biotechnology?"

How will she investigate?

Qian Shoucheng poked the cigar in his hand into the ashtray and leaned forward.

"She killed everyone at the research center, but so what? People are dead, who's going to guide her? All the computers in the lab were buried, and Zhou De'an burned the paper files himself; the rest are all under the rubble. Tell me, how could a woman who just escaped from a mental hospital possibly trace her back to us?"

"Online public opinion."

A woman sitting to Chen Hui's right spoke up.

Her name is Song Mingxi, she is 37 years old, the chief legal officer of Huike Biotechnology, and also the business liaison of Beiyuan Federal Alpha Biotechnology in Shannan Province.

She was responsible for connecting Huike Biotechnology with the illegal human experiment data trading channels of the Kitahara Federation.

"Li Su's story has gone viral online. Local social media in Shanyang City is full of videos and eyewitness accounts. Some people have already uncovered that the Third Mental Health Prevention and Treatment Center and the Eugenics and Childbirth Research Center have corporate backgrounds. Although they haven't directly mentioned our company yet, at this rate, someone will find out about Huike Biotechnology within 48 hours."

She pulled up several screenshots on her tablet and pushed them to the center of the conference table.

"This message was posted around 5 a.m., saying, 'The research center spends over 300,000 yuan on electricity every month. Ordinary public institutions can't afford to burn through that much money. There must be a big spender behind it.'"

"This message was sent at 6:07: 'My friend is a security guard at the research center. He said that luxury cars often come and go in the middle of the night, and he even saw a boss smoking with Professor Zhou at the entrance.'"

"This one is the most troublesome. It was sent at 6:41. 'Huike Biotech's R&D expenses tripled in last year's financial report, but no products were launched. Where did the money go?'"

Song Mingxi read out the last sentence.

"There are already over 700 comments below."

The atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly became heavy.

The sneer on Qian Shoucheng's face disappeared, replaced by annoyance.

Fang Zhizhong's brows furrowed tightly.

Only Chen Hui maintained that expressionless demeanor, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

"Make use of the connections with the network management department."

"The Shanyang Cyberspace Administration is under Zhou Zhengde's jurisdiction. Even if Cheng Yanqiu manages to control public order, he won't directly intervene in internet control for the time being. Let Zhou Zhengde use the excuse of 'emergency response to a major emergency' to suppress the online buzz. The company will then spend money to hire a group of people to counter public opinion, release some false information, say that the research institute was hit by a landslide, or that the woman was a composite image, to muddy the waters first."

"This is only treating the symptoms."

Song Mingxi interrupted him rudely.

"Cheng Yanqiu has personally intervened, indicating that the Abnormal Affairs Response Center has placed the Li Su case as the highest priority. As long as he checks the research center's financial records, he will eventually find our company. Even if the online public opinion is suppressed, what about the internal financial chain? Our partners in the Beiyuan Federation have already called me three times, asking if there are any security issues with our projects."

"I'll handle the cash flow."

Chen Hui glanced at her.

"Within three days, I will disguise all R&D expenses related to the research center on the company's books as bad debts and write them off. Then, through Mr. Fang's connections, I will transfer the remaining profits out. If the partners of the Northern Plains Federation ask, you will tell them that the project has encountered a local regulatory investigation and needs to be suspended for three months. After three months, when things have calmed down, we will restart it."

"Three months?"

Qian Shoucheng scoffed.

"That monster woman demolished a six-story building in less than five minutes, and you're telling me it will take three months? You want to wait three months? She might not even give you three hours."