68: Chapter 68 No one offers help in times of need, but someone quickly kicks you when you're down.

The car screeched to a halt, drifting to a stop in the plaza in front of the Jiangcheng Development Bank headquarters building.

The harsh sound of tires screeching caused many people outside to look up.

Lu Chen pushed open the car door and stepped out, with Wu Dong and Da Biao following closely behind.

On the steps outside the headquarters, a dozen people were squatting in disarray, cigarette butts covering the ground. Some were clutching leather bags and wailing, while others were cursing loudly into their phones.

"Old Zhang?" Wu Dong recognized a middle-aged man with messy hair at a glance, walked over, and patted him. "What are you doing squatting here?"

The man called Old Zhang looked up, his eyes bloodshot; seeing Wu Dong, tears immediately streamed down his face.

"President Wu! We can't go on! The moment Morgan's ban was issued this morning, all of us downstream factories that supply domestic smart device companies were doomed! The big factories don't dare to use foreign chips and have all halted production, so all our orders have been canceled."

Old Zhang grabbed his hair tightly with both hands. "These banks heard the news and notified me of a forced loan recall the moment they opened today. The eight million in payment that had just hit my account was directly seized by them under the pretext of risk prevention to pay off debts! I can't even pay my workers' wages!"

Wu Dong gasped.

He looked around; everyone squatting on the steps consisted of small business owners from the high-tech zone's supply chain.

A single notice from a foreign consortium had directly plunged an entire domestic supply chain into a desperate situation. The banks not only refused to help but were the first to brandish their butcher knives to carve out flesh.

Lu Chen didn't speak; he stepped onto the stairs and strode toward the luxurious revolving glass doors.

The lobby was well-air-conditioned and resplendent with gold and jade.

As the three of them entered the lobby, two security guards in black uniforms immediately came up to meet them, reaching out to block their path.

"What are you here for? The corporate business windows are full today; wait outside." The tall security guard said with a straight face.

Da Biao stepped forward, the old black vest on his body tightening to reveal his thick arms.

He didn't say anything, just lowered his head slightly and stared fixedly at the tall security guard with his bloodshot eyes.

A thick, murderous aura washed over them—the lingering power from having just crippled four foreign special forces soldiers at the airport.

The tall security guard felt his scalp tingle with fear, his Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his legs involuntarily retreated half a step, clearing the way.

"Top floor." Lu Chen threw out these two words and headed toward the exclusive elevator.

The elevator went straight to the 12th-floor exclusive VIP reception area for the bank president.

At the end of the corridor, the heavy double mahogany doors were tightly shut.

Inside the doors, President Ma Jianping was leaning back on a large leather sofa, holding a cup of hand-drip coffee with exquisite latte art.

The Lobby Manager stood opposite the coffee table, holding a thick stack of asset liquidation forms.

"President, the Chenguang Electronics accounts have been completely locked. They can only receive funds now, not withdraw. The intent money from car companies that came in yesterday totals forty-five billion."

The Lobby Manager looked pleased. "We've calculated that if Chenguang Electronics halts production and goes bankrupt within a week, after deducting our thirty million in loan principal and interest, these tens of billions will be frozen for a long time due to foreign disputes. The daily average idle flow generated by this massive amount of capital in our bank will be enough to meet all our performance targets for this year!"

"Well done."

President Ma Jianping blew on the steam of his coffee and took a sip. "This is called eating the deceased's estate. That kid Lu Chen is too arrogant. Does he really think he can turn the world upside down with one Solid-state battery? In front of Morgan, he's not even an ant. Without chips, a production line worth tens of billions will immediately become a pile of scrap metal. If we don't take a bite of his fat meat now, how can we live up to the international situation?"

"Bang!" A loud noise.

That mahogany door, over two meters high and weighing over a hundred jin, was kicked open violently from the outside.

The door panel slammed against the walls on both sides with a 'bang,' shaking the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

The Lobby Manager trembled in fear, and the reports in his hands scattered all over the floor.

President Ma Jianping's wrist jerked, and the scalding coffee spilled onto his suit trousers, burning him so much that he jumped up instantly.

Lu Chen walked in with his hands in his jacket pockets, stepping on the wood shavings covering the floor, his face expressionless.

Da Biao and Wu Dong stood on either side.

President Ma Jianping saw who it was and his expression changed drastically, but he quickly recovered, pulled out a tissue to wipe his pants, sat back down on the sofa, and put on an official, business-like demeanor.

"I wondered who it was, with such a temper. It turns out to be President Lu." President Ma Jianping crossed his legs. "It doesn't matter if the door is broken; we'll just deduct it from your account. What do you want with me?"

The Lobby Manager also regained his composure, straightened his back, and scolded, "Lu Chen! You dare to cause trouble at the bank headquarters? Do you believe I'll press the alarm and have you arrested right now?!"

"You press it and see what happens?" Da Biao shouted sharply and stepped forward half a step.

The Lobby Manager saw Da Biao's mountain-like physique and wisely shut his mouth, shrinking behind President Ma Jianping.

Lu Chen walked to the chair opposite the desk, pulled it out, and sat down.

"President Ma Jianping, open my corporate large-sum payment authorization within ten minutes." Lu Chen stared directly at him. "I have five billion in funds that must be sent out. Not a minute less."

President Ma Jianping couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing this.

He slammed the coffee cup in his hand onto the coffee table and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"President Lu, you rushed over here just for a transfer? Aren't you putting me in a difficult position? You know the current international climate; as soon as the foreign ban came down, our superior compliance department immediately sounded the alarm. Preventing foreign-related financial risks is a hard rule. Chenguang Electronics is now considered a high-risk enterprise, and I cannot just watch funds flow out."

"That is my money." Lu Chen said, his tone devoid of emotion.

"If it's deposited in our bank, we are responsible for the safety of the funds. What if you go bankrupt, and those downstream material suppliers and contractors come to us with court judgments demanding money, and the account is empty?"

President Ma Jianping spoke in bureaucratic jargon, his eyes full of mockery.

Wu Dong couldn't listen any longer and pointed at President Ma Jianping, cursing loudly.

"President Ma Jianping, f*** you! Yesterday afternoon you ran to our booth at the auto show, carrying two boxes of wild ginseng, bowing and scraping, begging our President Lu to deposit the intent money with you. Why the hell didn't you say we were high risk back then? The ban only came out this morning, and you immediately turned around and strangled us? What kind of bullsh*t bank policy is this!"

The Lobby Manager poked his head out to retort, "President Wu, watch your mouth. Yesterday was yesterday; your batteries were indeed impressive yesterday. But what about today? The foreigners have cut off your chips! So what if you have batteries? Without main control chip management, are you going to use wires to connect the positive and negative poles to make sparks? The production line is just a pile of junk!"

"What the hell do you know! Our President Lu has already..."

Wu Dong almost blurted out the matter of the Lithography Machine but swallowed it back hard, gritting his teeth and cursing, "That five billion is the deposit that concerns our life and death! If you delay our important task of poaching talent, what will you use to compensate us? Besides, that is the hard-earned money of the tens of thousands of people in our factory. By what right do you freeze it just because you say so!"

President Ma Jianping raised his hand to stop the Lobby Manager and slanted a cold look at Lu Chen.

"President Wu curses well, but business is just that realistic."

President Ma Jianping completely tore off his mask. "Lu Chen, let's not play games. What deposit are you in such a rush to pay with these five billion? Buying a few hundred chips to linger on? Or are you planning to transfer assets overseas and run away before the total collapse?"

President Ma Jianping leaned back on the sofa, a look of mocking insight on his face.

"Do you really think I don't know what situation you are facing?"

President Ma Jianping looked full of disdain. "Without the foreigners' chips, those tens of thousands of people in your factory can't even make a single screw now. They aren't employees; they are just a bunch of waste-producing machines waiting to die! You have tens of millions in labor expenses every day you wake up. This tens of billions in cash is dead money staying in your account; sooner or later, it will be emptied out by paying wages to those peasants. You want to transfer funds? Keep dreaming."

Lu Chen sat quietly, tapping his finger on the armrest.

"Waste-producing machines? Say that again if you dare."

The voice was very soft, but the temperature in the entire VIP room instantly dropped to freezing.

President Ma Jianping felt a tremor in his heart.

But thinking of Morgan's massive influence, he straightened his back again.

This was his territory, and the security guards outside the lobby downstairs could come up at any moment.

Lu Chen was just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, his throat cut by the foreigners; surely he couldn't bite back.

"Did I say something wrong? What else can those stinking workers do now besides rot in the dormitory waiting to die?"

President Ma Jianping opened the drawer, pulled out a document, slammed it onto the coffee table with a 'bang,' and pushed it forcefully in front of Lu Chen.

《Notice of Forced Loan Recall and Asset Preservation》.

The bold, black characters in the title were extraordinarily glaring.

"The year before last and last year, you used your factory buildings and land as collateral to take out two loans from our bank. The principal and interest add up to exactly thirty million."

President Ma Jianping pointed heavily at the document, his tone extremely mean. "They weren't originally due, but given that your enterprise is now involved in severe external sanctions and supply cut-offs, you could go bankrupt at any moment. Our bank is officially initiating the procedure for early forced loan recovery. This thirty million must be deducted from your account immediately today!"

President Ma Jianping took out a signature pen and threw it onto the notice.

"Factory Director Lu, sign it immediately. As for the remaining tens of billions in cash, I must legally freeze it under maximum risk control. It will be unfrozen when the foreigners lift the ban. If you don't sign now, you won't walk out of this door today."

Wu Dong was so angry his eyes bulged, and his cheeks turned purple.

"President Ma Jianping! You won't release the funds, and you're kicking us when we're down by directly seizing our money? You are a f***ing animal! I'm going to report you to the Provincial Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission!" Wu Dong roared.

"Go ahead and report me." President Ma Jianping spread his hands indifferently. "I am following the rules to prevent systemic financial risks; I'm not afraid of going anywhere to reason. It's your fate that the foreigners are killing you; I only care about protecting the bank's interests."

"F*** your rules!" Da Biao completely exploded, the veins on his forehead bulging. He clenched his fists and was about to step forward to flip the table, planning to beat him until his teeth were scattered all over the floor first.

Da Biao had just taken one step.

A hand firmly held his arm.

Lu Chen sat in the chair without getting up, blocking the furious Da Biao with one hand.

The room was so quiet that one could only hear the Lobby Manager's rapid breathing and the whistling of the air conditioning vent.

President Ma Jianping watched Lu Chen's actions, thinking he had completely given in, and curled his lips into a smug, cold smile.

When funds are strangled, what does it matter how strong you are? Whoever holds the money is the boss.

Lu Chen didn't look at the notice on the table, nor did he take the pen.

He slowly leaned back in the chair, his gaze ice-cold and piercing, staring straight into President Ma Jianping's eyes.

There was no unnecessary anger. Only a chilling calmness.

"President Ma Jianping." Lu Chen spoke, his voice filled with bone-chilling coldness. "You want to use me as a sacrifice to show your loyalty to foreign capital. This thirty million is your token of allegiance, isn't it?"

President Ma Jianping frowned deeply. "Don't try to fear-monger here. I'm only talking about compliance operations. Sign it quickly and stop making things unpleasant for yourself!"

Lu Chen watched him indifferently and reached out to grab the Notice of Forced Loan Recall.

"Since you want to be a dog so badly."

Lu Chen's eyes revealed absolute control.