Reborn as a high school freshman with an awakened system, a fat boy transforms into a male god.

Lin Bei sat quietly in the corner, listening intently. He understood one thing: Shen Wancheng was working on a major project, a project that could determine the future of Shen Wancheng's company. If it went well, a series of follow-up projects would come; if it didn't go well…

He didn't think about it further because it had nothing to do with him. He was just a high school student who came to play chess with the old man; he could just listen to the adults' business dealings and not get involved.

Lin Bei took a sip of tea, and his gaze unconsciously drifted to another person.

Li Zeyun.

He was also drinking tea. He was very relaxed, holding a teacup in one hand and resting the other on the sofa armrest, leaning back comfortably. He was listening to Shen Wancheng and Wang Kangrong chat, occasionally nodding, occasionally agreeing, and occasionally smiling—the smiles were just right, neither too big nor too small.

Lin Bei's gaze lingered on him for an extra second.

He placed the smiles of the three people side by side in the memory palace for comparison.

When Wang Kangrong smiles, there are fine lines at the corners of his eyes, and his gaze is gentle; when Shen Wancheng smiles, his gaze softens, and his smile spreads across his entire face.

But Li Zeyun's smile was only a movement of the corners of his mouth; there was no smile in his eyes.

Lin Bei stared at him for three seconds.

Dispel illusions.

Lines of text reappeared in my field of vision.

[A secret buried deep in his heart: Six months ago, Li Zeyun accepted a secret investment from Zhao Heming, chairman of Jiangcheng Dingsheng Group, Shen Wancheng's main competitor. In exchange, he is implementing a three-step plan to dismantle Shen Wancheng's core projects from within:]

The first step (in progress) involves fabricating market research data to mislead Shen Wancheng into submitting an inflated bid. If successful, the project's actual profit will be far lower than expected.

The second step (in the plan) is to convey misleading information to Shen Wancheng’s key financing banks that “the Chengnan project may fail” after the first step is completed, so that credit approval will be suspended indefinitely, creating a break in the capital chain.

The third step (in the plan) is to arrange for a shell company controlled by Zhao Heming to act as a "white knight" and propose harsh asset collateral terms when Shen Wancheng is forced to launch Plan B for financing after the first two steps are completed.

If all three steps are completed, Shen Wancheng will lose control of the company within six months and face bankruptcy liquidation.

Lin Bei's hand, holding the teacup, froze.

The teacup hovered in mid-air, less than two centimeters from his lips, but he never actually drank the tea.

Falsifying research data, fabricating a broken funding chain, loss of company control, bankruptcy liquidation...

He understood the destructive power of those words. Shen Wancheng would lose everything.

Lin Bei glanced at Shen Wancheng subconsciously.

He was leaning back on the sofa, holding a teacup, talking to Wang Kangrong, his expression calm, even with a slight smile on his lips. He had no idea that the person sitting less than two meters to his right was slowly dismantling his "foundation."

Lin Bei gently placed the teacup back on the coffee table.

This time, the bottom of the cup touched the coffee table, making a soft "ding".

Nobody noticed.

Lin Bei took a deep breath, forcing himself to look away from Li Zeyun and focus his gaze back on his teacup. The tea was clear, the tea leaves unfurling in the water before settling to the bottom. He stared at that tea leaf for several seconds, his mind racing.

What should he do?

Stand up and say, "Uncle Shen, Li Zeyun is a traitor"? He'll be considered crazy. How could a sixteen-year-old high school student know these things? Say, "I have a superpower that allows me to see other people's secrets"? Shen Wancheng will immediately call a mental hospital to pick him up.

He couldn't say anything.

But he couldn't do nothing. He glanced at the lines of small white characters above Li Zeyun's head, then at Shen Wancheng's unguarded profile.

He thought of Su Wantang.

A little over a month ago, he did the same thing, and back then, there was only so much he could do... He brought her food under the guise of tutoring, fabricated white lies, found witnesses, and brought Zhang Mingqiang and Li Dong to Su Yuan. Each of his actions was small, but they were like dominoes, one after another, until finally, the wall that was Zhao Yumei collapsed.

Perhaps this time will be the same.

He doesn't need to solve all the problems at once. He just needs to find the first domino.

Lin Bei put down his teacup and leaned back on the sofa.

He closed his eyes and opened them again, his expression unchanged. But his palms were already sweating.

The conversation in the living room continued.

"How's the financing progress for that project in the south of the city?" Wang Kangrong asked.

Shen Wancheng put down his teacup and leaned forward slightly: "The process is still underway. We've contacted all four major banks: ICBC, ABC, BOC, and CCB. Currently, ICBC offers the best terms and the lowest interest rate. However, the credit approval process can only officially begin after the detailed compensation rules for the Chengnan project are released."

"How long does the approval process typically take?"

"If all goes well, two months."

Li Zeyun chimed in, "I'm familiar with the credit approval process at ICBC and ABC. From the time all the materials are ready to the time it's approved, it takes at least six to eight weeks. Moreover, they've tightened their loan approval standards for real estate projects this year. There was a project that was rejected because the resettlement ratio was too high."

Shen Wancheng glanced at him, his brows furrowing slightly: "Regarding the relocation ratio, we've already calculated it, and it should be within the bank's acceptable range."

"What I'm worried about," Li Zeyun said cautiously, as if he were considering Shen Wancheng's best interests, "is that the situation in the southern part of the city is more complicated than we anticipated. The residents being relocated have high expectations, and if the compensation standards don't meet their demands, it could drag on for a long time. The longer the project is delayed, the more the banks' confidence will be affected."

Shen Wancheng was silent for a moment, then nodded: "You make a good point. But we'll deal with this issue specifically after the detailed rules are released."

Li Zeyun nodded, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said nothing more.

Lin Bei sat in the corner, storing the entire conversation in his memory palace. Each word Li Zeyun said, taken individually, was perfectly reasonable. In fact, it could be said that he was making sense, showing that he was considering the project and Shen Wancheng's best interests. However, when combined with the text he had just seen through his Eye of Truth, these words took on a completely different meaning.

It's not a reminder, it's a prelude.

He wanted to convince Shen Wancheng that the relocation ratio was a major problem, financing would be difficult, and the project might stall. Then, when these problems actually "emerged," Shen Wancheng wouldn't doubt anyone; he would only think, "Li Zeyun had warned me long ago." Even when the bank suspended approval on the grounds of "project risks," Shen Wancheng still wouldn't suspect anything, because Li Zeyun had already "predicted" it.

Lin Bei leaned back on the sofa, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. The tea had gone cold, but he didn't mind.

He needed to find a way to make Shen Wancheng notice the problem without making him think he was crazy. He couldn't directly say "Li Zeyun is the traitor," but he could find another way to let Shen Wancheng discover the problem himself.

Just then, Grandpa Shen broke Lin Bei's train of thought, "Lin Bei, let's stop listening to them and play another game of chess."

Lin Bei paused for a moment, then nodded. "Okay!"