470: Chapter 465 Someone did this on purpose

Shen Yan sidestepped, avoiding his grand gesture.

"I am just a businessman."

"I need steel, and you need business. It’s just a transaction."

Zhang Jufeng stood up straight and gave a bitter smile.

"For you, perhaps it is just a transaction."

"But for me, you allowed my Master’s lifelong efforts to see the light of day again."

"I, Zhang Jufeng, will remember this kindness."

He paused, his tone becoming extremely solemn.

"Mr. Shen, rest assured. From now on, everyone at Jufeng Steel will work around the clock in three shifts, regardless of cost or price, to forge the batch of steel you need at the fastest possible speed!"

"The quality will only be higher than the original factory stock from Yuanshan Heavy Industry over the years!"

"Because I am the one who understands the meaning of every single parameter on it the most."

Shen Yan looked at the light in his eyes and nodded.

"Good. Chen Guangke will contact you immediately regarding the contract and down payment."

He finished speaking and prepared to put his phone away.

However, Zhang Jufeng asked one more question, laced with a hint of cautious probing.

"Mr. Shen, may I ask one more thing?"

"Where did you obtain this data...?"

Shen Yan paused his movement.

He looked at the other man's deeply inquisitive eyes, his own expression unreadable.

"The Third Steel Mill in the Southern Suburbs."

He did not mention the System, only stating a real place name.

Zhang Jufeng was stunned.

"The Third Steel Mill? Wasn't that abandoned long ago...?"

He stopped halfway through his sentence, as if suddenly realizing something, and his expression shifted slightly.

"Master... he did frequent that place before. He said the No. 2 Blast Furnace there was the most perfectly designed furnace he had ever seen; it was the source of all his inspiration..."

Shen Yan offered no further explanation.

He retrieved his phone and put it back in his pocket.

"Mr. Zhang, I await your good news."

With that, he lingered no longer and turned to walk out of the office.

Zhang Jufeng did not try to stop him again, merely standing in place and watching Shen Yan's receding figure disappear near the stairwell.

He returned to his chair and gazed out at the bustling scene in the factory, his eyes holding traces of tears and memories, but more prominently, an unprecedented brightness.

Master.

Did you see it?

We are going to start again.

Zhang Jufeng let out a long breath, as if expelling three years of pent-up frustration from his body.

He picked up the glass of water Shen Yan had left behind. The water was already ice cold, yet he drank it all in one gulp.

The icy liquid slid down his throat but failed to extinguish the flame that had reignited in his chest.

He reached for the landline on his desk, his fingers hovering over the dust-covered number keys, preparing to dial the number for the production workshop director.

Revenge would begin with bringing his Master's life's work back into the light.

His fingers had just touched the keys when the office door was pushed open again.

Zhang Jufeng looked up sharply.

Standing at the doorway was Shen Yan, who should have already driven away.

He had returned.

Shen Yan's face still held that same placid expression, as if leaving and coming back was as simple as stepping out for a cigarette.

He strode back into the office with his long legs.

He did not walk toward the guest sofa by the door, but went straight to Zhang Jufeng's desk, pulled out the chair opposite, and sat down.

This action carried an undeniable sense of pressure.

Zhang Jufeng was stunned, his finger poised over the phone button frozen in mid-air.

He was somewhat baffled.

"Mr. Shen?"

"Did... did you forget something?"

He could not think of any other reason.

Shen Yan did not answer his question.

He leaned back in the chair, resting his hands casually on the armrests, his gaze fixed calmly on Zhang Jufeng.

That look was like a scalpel—precise and cold, as if it could dissect a person's heart.

He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but exploding like a heavy bomb in the quiet office.

"What exactly happened with your Master's accident?"

Zhang Jufeng's pupils constricted instantly.

The air in the office seemed to be sucked out at that moment.

The warmth and excitement that had surged up from seeing the formula were instantly replaced by a bone-chilling cold.

All the muscles in his body tensed subconsciously.

"Mr. Shen... what do you mean by that?"

His voice became dry and guarded.

He no longer used the respectful "You" but the equal "you."

Shen Yan tapped his fingertips lightly on the chair armrest.

"Literally."

"I want to know all the details of that smelting accident three years ago, the one labeled an 'accident.'"

Zhang Jufeng stared intently at Shen Yan.

This man appeared with his Master's posthumous work, and now he was beginning to interrogate the cause of his Master's death.

Who exactly was he?

What exactly did he want?

Countless questions churned in Zhang Jufeng's mind.

He did not answer immediately, but countered,

"Why are you interested in this, Mr. Shen? Does this have anything to do with our business?"

"Not yet."

Shen Yan said lightly.

"But it soon will."

He paused and threw out his second question.

"What do you think of Yuanshan Heavy Industry's bankruptcy?"

This question further confused Zhang Jufeng.

But he suppressed his impatience and replied,

"Bad luck and poor management. What else is there to think?"

This was the consensus among everyone in the industry.

"Is that so?"

A faint, almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of Shen Yan's mouth, carrying a hint of mockery.

"A month and a half ago, they were still announcing quarterly earnings, with a profit margin increase of seven percent and ample cash flow."

"A month ago, they high-profilely announced that the 'Tianqiong' series was about to receive epic optimization, preparing to launch a new round of capacity expansion."

"A week ago, without any warning, news broke of a broken capital chain, stock hitting the limit down, and filing for bankruptcy protection."

Shen Yan's pace was slow, but every word was like a nail fiercely driven into Zhang Jufeng's heart.

"From surging momentum to sudden collapse, it only took one week."

"Mr. Zhang, you've been in the steel business for so many years. Do you think this is normal?"

Zhang Jufeng's breathing grew heavy.

He was aware of these events.

He had also felt it was strange, sensing an indescribable strangeness underlying it all.

But Yuanshan Heavy Industry was too large; outsiders could never know the internal struggles and power plays.

What could he, an 'abandoned disciple' long since pushed out of the loop, possibly investigate?

Over time, he, like everyone else, attributed it all to the unpredictability of the marketplace.

But now, these doubts he had deliberately ignored were being brutally ripped open and laid before him by Shen Yan.

"I've heard some whispers over here."

Shen Yan leaned slightly forward, lowering his voice further.

"Yuanshan Heavy Industry's collapse was not an accident."

"Someone was behind it, deliberately orchestrating it."

Boom!

Zhang Jufeng's brain felt as if it had been struck by a thunderclap.