44: Chapter 44: The Li Group's Collapse Brings New Challenges to the Scene

Early the next morning, at the Magic City Economic Crime Investigation Detachment.

In the interrogation room, the recording of Night Rat's confession was playing:

"...It was Li Zeyu who contacted me. He paid one million upfront, with four million more to be paid upon completion. He wanted us to steal all the technical data and production processes for Fanxing Technology's 'Stardust-S1'... He said that as long as he got the technology, he could turn things around..."

"Lis Sci-Tech was going bankrupt, and he was desperate... He also said that if we were caught, we should insist that we wanted to steal the technology to sell for money ourselves and absolutely must not name him..."

The recording ended.

The investigating officer closed the transcript and looked at Li Guoxiong, whose face was ashen. "Mr. Li, you've heard it all. With both witness testimony and physical evidence, Li Zeyu is suspected of instigating commercial espionage, stealing trade secrets, and disrupting production and operations. We have already applied for an arrest warrant."

Li Guoxiong's hands trembled. After a long pause, he spoke with difficulty, "Captain Wang, could you... could you show some leniency? We are willing to pay compensation, any amount is fine, as long as..."

"Mr. Li, this isn't about money," the officer shook his head. "The nature of the case is severe, and the social impact is extremely negative."

Li Guoxiong's entire body jolted, and he slumped into the chair.

Two hours later, at the airport's international departures hall.

Li Zeyu, knowing the operation had failed, was wearing sunglasses and dragging a suitcase, queuing up for customs. He had bought a ticket for a flight leaving in an hour, flying directly to Sydney.

"Are you Mr. Li Zeyu?"

Two men in plain clothes stopped him and showed their IDs. "We are from the Magic City Economic Crime Investigation Detachment. You are suspected in a commercial secret theft case. Please come back with us to assist in the investigation."

Li Zeyu's expression changed drastically. "You must have made a mistake. I... I'm leaving the country legally; I have a visa..."

"Night Rat has already confessed," the plainclothes officer said coldly. "Mr. Li, please cooperate."

When the handcuffs clicked shut, the cold sensation made Li Zeyu tremble all over. He looked up and saw his own face reflected in the customs glass wall—pale, panicked, and pathetic.

Arriving at the police station, Li Zeyu saw Lin Hao and Chen Fan, who were giving their statements.

Only then did Li Zeyu suddenly realize that Fanxing Technology and Chen Fan—it had all been Chen Fan's doing from the start.

--

That afternoon, the Li Group headquarters was sealed off by the police.

Lis Sci-Tech's bankruptcy protection proceedings were urgently terminated and converted into bankruptcy liquidation. The bank quickly froze all of the Li family's accounts, and suppliers queued at their door to demand payment.

Even more fatal was that Li Zeyu's financial fraud case—falsifying R&D expenses and embezzling government subsidies—was also exposed due to this investigation. Tax, audit, and the Securities Regulatory Commission jointly moved into the Li Group; one investigation revealed a massive hole.

Three days later, the Li Group issued an announcement: Due to a break in the capital chain and the inability to repay maturing debts, the group and all its subsidiaries officially applied for bankruptcy.

As soon as the news broke, the Magic City business world was shaken.

That commercial empire that had stood for thirty years... had fallen just like that?

As the details of the case were disclosed, another name began to appear frequently in media reports—Fanxing Technology. Along with its mysterious young boss, Chen Fan.

"It is reported that the fuse for the collapse of the Li Group was precisely the unfair competition and illegal means employed by its tech subsidiary against Fanxing Technology..."

"With its disruptive material 'Stardust-S1', Fanxing Technology swept the high-end thermal conductivity market within a single month. Technical dominance became the key to victory..."

"Industry insiders reveal that Fanxing Technology's predecessor was a bankrupt company, and the technical team and capital background behind it remain a mystery..."

In the office, Chen Fan closed the financial news page.

On Chen Fan's desk lay three newly signed contracts: a three-year strategic agreement with Sheng Guo Group with a guaranteed first-year purchase of fifty million; a two-year exclusive supply agreement with Huayu Technology totaling thirty-eight million; Tiangong Group... Lin Hao pushed the door open, carrying a stack of documents. "Fan Zi, three more came! They're all high-end clients who used to work with Lis Sci-Tech, and now they're all looking for us! I did a rough calculation, and this month's total contract value... could break two hundred million!"

He set the documents down, his face full of both excitement and emotion. "Who would have thought that a month ago we were still worrying about losing orders, and now... the Li family is gone."

Chen Fan looked out the window. The sky was azure, and the sunlight was just right.

"Hao Zi," he said softly, "this is just the beginning."

"Huh?"

Lin Hao was stunned. "Then we..."

"We need to run faster." Chen Fan pulled up the R&D plan on the computer. "The samples for 'Stardust-S2' can be ready next week. Performance is improved by another 1% over S1, and costs are reduced by another 15%. Additionally..."

He clicked on another file. "Professor Qin contacted me yesterday. The National New Materials Laboratory wants to build a joint R&D center with us. If the cooperation is reached, we can access national-level R&D resources and testing platforms."

Lin Hao's eyes widened. "The National Laboratory?! Fan Zi, you... this is a meteoric rise!"

"It is a responsibility," Chen Fan said calmly. "The stronger the technology, the greater the responsibility. If stardust material is used in fields like military industry or aerospace, every one of our parameters could relate to national security."

He walked to the window, looking at the busy factory area below. "So the security system needs to be upgraded again. Not to prevent commercial spies, but to prevent... higher-level threats."

The phone vibrated at that moment.

Xiao Zhi pushed a notification: [Detected encrypted communication signals from overseas, attempting to penetrate the company server. Source of attack: Unknown; technical characteristics differ from all previous attacks. Threat level assessment: High.]

Chen Fan's eyes narrowed.

Sure enough, a new challenge had already arrived.

He replied to Xiao Zhi: [Activate maximum level defense, reverse trace them; I want to know who it is.]

The target points directly to the source of the Amplification system; Stardust-S2 has caused a stir in the global materials world, and the real contest has only just begun...]