108: Chapter 108 A Life-or-Death Game Where No One Can Escape the Table

"With that million-dollar bribe to save your life, and this half-smoked cigarette, let's see how many days you can last in the interrogation room."

Director Li Jianguo stood up and turned his head to look at the SWAT officer.

"Take him back and lock him in the cell across from his blonde master." Director Li Jianguo pulled the towel off his shoulder to wipe his face.

"Interrogate him all night. I need the owner of that Hongqi car dug out."

"Move!" The SWAT officer grabbed Old Xu and dragged him out the door.

Chenguang Electronics Factory, Factory Manager's Office.

Wu Dong gripped his tablet, his fingers turning white from the tension.

The green numbers on the screen showing the decline refreshed several times a second, making one's scalp tingle.

"Boss." Wu Dong looked up, his voice hoarse.

"Old Zhou told me everything about what's happening outside. We are in big trouble."

Wu Dong slammed a large-screen calculator onto the desk.

"We signed on thirty thousand people last night. There are forty-one thousand people on the payroll in total." Wu Dong pressed his hands against the desk.

"I just reconciled the accounts with Old Li in finance. We have to pay the guaranteed living allowance today. Combined with the construction costs for the twenty thousand mu of land and the food expenses, our fixed expenditures for today come to 150 million."

Wu Dong stared intently at Lu Chen. "Once Great Wall withdraws their 45 billion deposit, our joint account will be forcibly frozen by The Big Four Banks immediately. We'll be out of funds by ten o'clock."

Lu Chen leaned back in his boss chair.

"Once these forty thousand people find out we have no money in the account, regardless of deposits or whatever, they'll absolutely tear down our factory and sell it for scrap just to survive!" Wu Dong slapped his thigh in anxiety.

Lu Chen didn't speak.

His gaze passed through Wu Dong and stopped in mid-air.

A system light screen, visible only to him, was suspended there.

[Single-day income: 417 million.]

[Note: Funds have been forcefully laundered via the Absolute Defense mechanism, ignoring any financial freezing orders.]

This was the daily income. Tomorrow, this number would jump again. As long as the forty thousand people were still working at the Chengbei High-Tech Zone site, Morgan wouldn't be able to drain him dry.

Lu Chen pulled a pack of double happiness from his pocket, took out a cigarette, and bit it between his lips.

He flicked his finger. "Ding." A lighter flame flared up.

Lu Chen took a drag, and the smoke drifted away.

"They're being shorted by Wall Street because they lack the confidence to defend their stock price." Lu Chen tapped the lighter on the desk. "Does that have anything to do with us?"

Wu Dong was stunned. "But..."

"Has the battery been produced over at Chen Hao's side?" Lu Chen interrupted him.

"It's produced. The first batch of mass-produced units came off the line late last night." Wu Dong quickly replied.

"But can this thing save the market right now?"

"It can save lives." Lu Chen tapped his finger on the desk. "Call the chairmen of Great Wall and BYD. Call them now."

"This... what do I say when I get through?"

"Tell them to pack up those refund request scraps. My product has been created; there's no room for them to return goods in this world." Lu Chen's gaze turned cold.

Wu Dong's tongue tied in knots. "Boss, Great Wall's Chairman Wei Jianlin is famous for his stubborn temper. He's desperate to save his company right now. If I call and tell him not to cancel the order, what if he starts cursing?"

Lu Chen looked at Wu Dong.

"If he dares to curse once," Lu Chen exhaled smoke, "you tell him the battery supply priority will be pushed back by one month. For every extra curse, push it back another month."

Wu Dong's eyes widened.

"Tell them if they want to save their companies, they should book tickets and get to Jiangcheng overnight." Lu Chen pointed to the Chengbei High-Tech Zone outside the window. "Eight o'clock tomorrow morning, be at the workshop on time to inspect the goods."

Wu Dong's palms were sweating.

"Boss, this is something ASML hasn't been able to fix in thirty years. If we bring this battery out, Morgan's 100 billion short-selling position..."

"Means nothing." Lu Chen picked up the platinum USB security key on the table and pinched it between his fingertips. "If I slam this on the table, Morgan's board of directors will explode today."

A boom went off in Wu Dong's head; he completely understood what Lu Chen meant.

This was about using black technology that was decades ahead of the world to forcefully tear apart Wall Street's financial stranglehold.

"Understood, I'll get it done right away." Wu Dong turned and ran out.

"Wait." Lu Chen called him back.

"Go put up a new sign at the factory entrance." Lu Chen flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Black background with white text. Make it big."

"What should it say?"

Lu Chen looked at the rising sun.

"Those who don't arrive to inspect the goods by eight tomorrow morning will be considered to have automatically breached the contract." Lu Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an absolute sense of oppression.

"The 45 billion deposit will be fully forfeited, and not a single battery will be sold to them."

After Wu Dong left, the phone in Lu Chen's pocket vibrated.

It was an encrypted number, calling from Director Li Jianguo.

"Lu Chen." Director Li Jianguo's voice was extremely exhausted. "The mole in the Municipal Public Security Bureau has been caught. We've identified the Hongqi car and the emerald thumb ring."

"Who?" Lu Chen asked.

"I can't say over the phone, but the sky over Jiangcheng is about to change. That person... isn't someone you can crush just by throwing money at." Director Li Jianguo's voice was heavy. "Don't make any big moves for the next couple of days."

Lu Chen glanced at the full-band walkie-talkie on the table.

"It's too late." Lu Chen crushed the cigarette butt.

"What do you mean?" Director Li Jianguo didn't understand.

"I've already made it impossible for them to leave the table." Lu Chen hung up the phone.

Two o'clock in the morning, it was raining heavily.

Three commercial vehicles stopped at the entrance of Jinlan Hotel, and the doors opened.

Great Wall's Chairman Wei Jianlin stepped into a puddle with a dark expression, his leather shoes half-soaked.

A group of car company executives followed behind him, none of them holding umbrellas.

The lights in the lobby were blinding.

"Twenty minutes after the stock market opened, 20 billion is gone." BYD's chairman rubbed his forehead. "CEO Wei, if we don't withdraw from this contract, the board will fire all of us tomorrow."

Chairman Wei Jianlin took off his suit jacket and threw it to his assistant.

"Withdraw? Didn't you hear what Lu Chen said on the phone? If you dare to withdraw the deposit, don't even think about getting a single battery from them for the next ten years."

"If he has this technology, why does he need our 45 billion?"

"He's using us as pawns." Chairman Wei Jianlin gritted his teeth. "Tying us together to go up against Wall Street."

The group walked toward the elevator.

BYD's Vice President Zhou Cheng walked at the back. He walked slowly, looked left and right, then veered off and ducked into the restroom at the end of the lobby.

He closed the door and locked it.

Zhou Cheng leaned against the door panel, panting. He pulled a black bar phone from his inner suit pocket, his hands trembling as he pried open the back cover, fished out an anonymous overseas SIM card, and inserted it.

He turned it on and dialed.

Two seconds later, the call connected.

"Vice President Zhou, is the rain heavy in Jiangcheng?" David's voice came through the receiver, his Mandarin slightly off-key.

Zhou Cheng swallowed hard. "What exactly are you trying to do? With a 100 billion leverage hammer coming down, BYD almost went bankrupt today!"

"This is a welcome gift from the boss to Lu Chen. Sorry that you got hurt in the process." David laughed twice.