Super Rich: It all started when I met a young woman in a sleeper car.

"My idea is to do the opposite and set a trap for them."

After Chen Xun finished speaking, he looked at the three women in front of him.

The shop was already closed, and they gathered in a small office that had been temporarily set up on the second floor, next to the newly installed monitoring room.

Li Qian crossed her arms and remained silent.

Lin Xinyue frowned.

Yang Xiaotao exclaimed, "Big brother, a trap? How? There are so many of them, and they have powerful connections..."

"It's precisely because they have connections and an organization that they're even more proactive." Chen Xun walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and said, "Why are they targeting us? It's to devour us at a low price, or at least drive us out of the market, right?"

Li Qian nodded: "Jiang Tianxiong's industrial chain follows this pattern."

"So, what's their weakness?" Chen Xun wrote the word "greed" on the whiteboard. "Greed for speed, greed for convenience, wanting to get the biggest benefit with the least cost. If we show that we're 'about to collapse,' but still have 'a little bit of value,' won't they pounce like cats smelling fish?"

Lin Xinyue seemed to understand a little: "You mean...pretending to be weak?"

"Yes, play the weak card and expose our weaknesses." Chen Xun circled the word "greed." "We'll use the new store's 'theme renovation project' as bait. Spread the word that we're expanding too fast, our cash flow is tight, and this renovation project is unmanageable, and might even bankrupt the entire store."

Yang Xiaotao's eyes widened: "Huh? Will our business be affected?"

"It's fake, Xiao Tao," Li Qian spoke up, looking at Chen Xun. "Do we need to create concrete 'evidence'?"

"Yes." Chen Xun put down his pen. "Li Qian, you're in charge of making a seemingly legitimate 'fake project budget' and 'project risk assessment report.' Intentionally include a few obvious funding loopholes and seemingly problematic 'difficulties' that could stall progress. The more professional it is, the better, but it should be so that someone 'in the know' can spot the problems at a glance and think there's an opportunity to exploit it."

Li Qian thought for a moment: "No problem, I can find templates online, and I can edit the data. After it's finished, through what channel will it be 'leaked'?"

"Two channels." Chen Xun held up two fingers. "First, Lin Xinyue, contact Zhou Wenbin. Tell him about our plan and ask him to cooperate. As the landlord, he can 'inadvertently' reveal to that circle that the young Mr. Chen who rents his shop is currently struggling to raise funds for renovations and is constantly asking him if he can postpone the rent or pay in installments, but the plan itself seems to have major flaws and might fall through."

Lin Xinyue nodded: "I'll call him later. Zhou Wenbin should be willing to cooperate, since it's all about getting Jiang Tianxiong."

"Second," Chen Xun looked at Yang Xiaotao, "Xiaotao, post some updates on your Xiaohongshu and WeChat Moments. You don't need to say it explicitly, just post some emo captions like 'Starting a business is so hard,' 'Immense pressure,' or 'My dreams are big but my wallet is empty,' along with some empty shots of the store or photos of you looking tired. Remember, be natural, don't be too deliberate, just like a normal rant."

Yang Xiaotao was a little nervous: "If I post this, will some customers really think we're not doing well anymore?"

"No, most of your fans are our real customers and potential young people. They'll just find you authentic when they see this, and they might even encourage you." Chen Xun patted her shoulder. "The fish we're trying to catch aren't ordinary customers, but those who are hiding in the shadows, specifically watching our data and our 'weaknesses'."

Li Qian added, "Moreover, our store's normal operations, online orders, and customer reviews are all proceeding as usual. Even the construction of the 'themed experience area' can continue as normal; we're just releasing smoke and mirrors the news of 'financial difficulties and potential disruptions.' This mix of truth and falsehood makes it seem more real."

【Ding! 】

[The host is detected developing a high-risk, highly strategic business strategy, intending to actively lure potential hostile forces into making a move.]

[This has been classified as a "strategic fraudulent investment," with a high risk rating.]

[System Special Warning: If this strategy succeeds, it can greatly weaken the opponent and potentially yield excessive returns; if it fails, it may cause the opponent to launch a more aggressive attack prematurely, resulting in substantial losses.]

[Confirm execution?]

Chen Xun silently repeated in his mind, "Confirmed."

[Strategy has been recorded. The potential rebate coefficient is now in a floating calculation mode, and will be settled based on how well the competitor "takes the bait" and the final result.]

The system's voice gave Chen Xun more confidence. High risk, high reward.

"What if... what if they really pounce on us?" Lin Xinyue was still a little worried. "Won't they use even more ruthless methods?"

"When they pounce, their first step will definitely be to test the waters," Chen Xun said. "For example, they might send someone to pretend to be a 'potential investor' or a 'competitor' to contact Zhou Wenbin, or they might come directly to our store to 'inspect' and extract information. We just need to stay calm and play our part as if we're 'tight on funds but still trying to make a living.' Once they've confirmed the 'intelligence' and feel it's time to act, they'll most likely come to discuss 'acquisition' or 'equity investment' at an extremely low price."

Li Qian sneered: "That will be the time for us to close the net. We have evidence of their attempts to maliciously lower prices and take advantage of the situation, as well as evidence of their previous online smear campaigns, and the dirt on Jiang Tianxiong provided by Zhou Wenbin..."

"Yes." Chen Xun nodded. "Either they issue a public apology, promise not to harass us again, and compensate us for the losses. Or we pack up all the evidence, call the police, and go to the media to make a big scene. People like Jiang Tianxiong, who can't stand the light of day, are most afraid of being exposed."

The plan sounded comprehensive, but its execution was fraught with peril.

Yang Xiaotao asked in a low voice, "Big brother, isn't this...isn't this considered entrapment?"

Chen Xun laughed: "We just showed our 'weaknesses,' we didn't ask them to bully us. If they competed fairly, nothing would have happened. They're the ones with bad intentions, trying to kick us when we're down, so they can't blame us for preparing a manhole cover for them."

These words made the three women relax a little.

"Okay, I'll do it!" Yang Xiaotao raised her hand. "I'll go and come up with my emo copy right away, I guarantee it'll be convincing!"

Lin Xinyue also took out her phone: "I'm calling Zhou Wenbin."

Li Qian was already sitting in front of the computer: "I'll start making that fake report now."

As Chen Xun watched the three women move quickly, the slight unease he felt due to the system warning subsided.

As long as the team is still there and the morale is still high, we can fight this battle.

For the next two days, everything proceeded as planned.

Li Qian stayed up all night to produce a PowerPoint report of more than 20 pages, titled "Feasibility Analysis and Financial Planning for the Renovation Project of the Theme Experience Area of ​​'Seeking the Flavors of Instant Noodles' in MixC World". The report contained detailed data and professional charts, but in the crucial section on cash flow forecasting, she deliberately made a very optimistic but weak assumption, and highlighted several glaring issues in red on the risk page, such as "over-reliance on single-store cash flow", "poor risk resistance", and "the possibility of a break in the cash flow chain if there is an unexpected shutdown".

She "accidentally" saved the report in a shareable cloud drive link, which was only sent to Chen Xun and Lin Xinyue. However, as Chen Xun instructed, the traces of this link could be made to appear to "interested individuals" that it had been accidentally leaked through some technical means.

Lin Xinyue and Zhou Wenbin spoke on the phone.

After listening to the call, Zhou Wenbin was silent for a few seconds, then laughed: "Brother Chen, that's quite a trick. Okay, I'll play along. I happen to have a small dinner party in a couple of days, where two guys have some unclear relationships with Jiang Tianxiong's side. I'll have a couple of drinks then, and complain with a 'worried face' about the tenants' financial difficulties and worrying about not being able to collect rent. They'll definitely pass that word back."

Yang Xiaotao updated her WeChat Moments and Xiaohongshu.

"After three consecutive all-nighters working on design plans, I feel completely drained... The gap between the classroom of my dreams and the bills of reality seems a bit too big (Image: A blurry desktop covered with design sketches, and a cold cup of coffee)"

"I got chased for final payment from the supplier again today. The humble startup dog is here online... I hope our instant noodles can soon become everyone's source of joy. (Image: A selfie of Yang Xiaotao frowning at her computer screen, with a corner of the shop in the background)"

The copywriting's tone was just right, somewhere between complaining and persisting. Sure enough, many regular customers commented "Keep it up," "Hang in there," and "I'll buy an extra bowl next time to support you," without causing any negative public opinion.

The store's actual operations proceeded as usual. In fact, the weekend saw a slight increase in customer traffic because some areas of the "themed experience zone" were opened for trial use ahead of schedule.

Chen Xun sat in the shop, outwardly calm, but inwardly he was constantly on edge.

He is waiting.

Wait for the fish to come smelling the aroma.

On the afternoon of the third day, Lin Xinyue received a WeChat message from Zhou Wenbin.

"The bait has been taken. A guy claiming to be a manager from 'Dingtai Investment' just contacted me, trying to subtly inquire about your tenant, Mr. Chen, the instant noodle shop owner, and whether he's having financial difficulties lately. He also mentioned that his company is interested in specialty restaurants and that we could talk if there's an opportunity. I looked into this guy, and he's one of Jiang Tianxiong's henchmen."

Upon seeing the message, Chen Xun replied, "Brother Zhou, what was your reply?"

Zhou Wenbin: "I acted according to what we agreed on. I said that Boss Chen is a very hardworking person with good ideas, but young people are too radical. This renovation budget is too big, and I am a little worried about his subsequent rent. The manager seemed quite interested and said he would 'study it further'."

"Thanks, Brother Zhou."

"You're welcome. Just wait and see."

Chen Xun showed the message to the three women.

Li Qian: "The test has begun, and it's faster than expected."

Yang Xiaotao was a little nervous: "They...they really believed it?"

"We're still a bit skeptical, so we need to confirm further," Chen Xun said. "We've notified the monitoring room to pay special attention outside the store these next two days, especially outside of business hours, to see if any unfamiliar faces are loitering for extended periods or taking photos."

Sure enough, shortly after the shop closed at around 10 p.m. that night.

Yang Xiaotao, who was on duty in the monitoring room, suddenly called out softly into the internal phone, "Big Brother! Sister Qian! Sister Xinyue! Come quick!"

Chen Xun and the other two immediately went into the monitoring room.

On the screen, surveillance footage from four directions is displayed simultaneously.

Behind the shop, under a streetlamp near the fire escape, a man in a gray jacket was taking pictures of the shop's facade and part of the exterior wall with his phone. After taking pictures for a while, he even walked around the shop a little, taking pictures from different angles.

Their behavior was deliberate, unlike that of a passerby.

"What is he filming?" Lin Xinyue asked.

"They might be assessing the physical condition of the store, or just confirming its location and current status," Li Qian calmly analyzed. "If it's Jiang Tianxiong's people, this could be considered a preliminary 'on-site inspection.'"

Chen Xun looked at the figure on the screen and said to Yang Xiaotao, "Xiaotao, don't be nervous. Just pretend you didn't see it. Let him film."

Yang Xiaotao swallowed and nodded.

The man filmed for about five or six minutes, then put away his phone, looked around, and quickly left the surveillance area.

The shop was quiet.

After a while, Li Qian said, "It seems they really care."

【Ding! 】

[We have detected false intelligence indicating that hostile forces have made initial contact and have begun on-site reconnaissance.]

[The "luring the enemy into the trap" plan's execution rate: 40%.]

The likelihood of the opponent taking the bait has increased significantly.

The current investment risk rating has been upgraded to: Extremely High.

[Potential rebate rates are soaring, and the probability of a critical hit is initially activated.]

[Please maintain the pace, host, and prepare for the final stage of the operation.]

The system notification sounded in Chen Xun's mind, bringing with it an unprecedented sense of "excitement".

High risk, high reward. The system is also waiting to see the outcome of this game.

Chen Xun took a deep breath and looked at the three women, whose expressions were somewhat solemn.

"Don't be afraid," he said. "The fish has already smelled the bait and is still circling around. Now, it's just a matter of waiting for it to lose its temper and take a bite."

"We," Chen Xun smiled, "just need to prepare the nets."